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AE: What about when it came to filming scenes of an intimate and erotic nature, such as the one between Ricky and Dwane (Nate Adams)?  Was it difficult to film those scenes, or did it flow naturally? 
P-IP: Love scenes are always difficult regardless of the sexuality or genders of the participants. Because you’re dealing for the most part with actors who don’t know each other. But it’s a part of the job, it’s a part of being an actor you have to be able to pretend and play the character. One thing I made very clear to everyone who auditioned for Noah’s Arc was that this is what the show is about, these characters do have fully realized love lives and sex lives.

Every actor on the show, at one time or another, will probably have to kiss a man, will probably have a love scene with a man, so if anyone has a problem with that don’t even come in the door. I just put it out there, right up front, to avoid that problem. The most important quality in an actor for me is fearlessness. You have to be committed to the craft of acting, you have to be committed to doing whatever it takes to portray the character that you’re playing.

I don’t have time to deal with people who are squeamish about doing what it takes. If you don’t want to kiss a guy this isn’t the show for you. Luckily we had dozens and dozens of people audition who didn’t have a problem with that and wanted to play interesting characters.  

AE: The scenes with Noah and Wade (Jensen Atwood) were especially sexually charged. Does the relationship continue?
P-IP: What I wanted to do in the first season of the show, with the four main characters in Noah’s Arc, is explore four different stages of relationship. All four guys are in a different stage of the relationship. You have Noah and Wade who are just embarking on a new affair. You have Alex who’s been with his partner for seven years and experiencing that seven year itch and trying to figure out how do we keep the music playing. 

You have Ricky who doesn’t want to commit, frowns on monogamy and just wants to have fun. Then you have Chance who’s moving in with his lover and new stepdaughter and adjusting from being a single man in his own space to sharing a space with a nuclear family. 

We do spend the first season exploring all of the relationships, including Noah’s relationship with Wade and what it means to date someone who’s newly gay.

AE: Wade’s character represents the straight but curious aspect of the community. Was it important to include character representing that part of the community?
P-IP: No, not really. With Noah’s Arc I’m not really interested in glorifying the so-called “D.L.” (down low) phenomenon. What is interesting is what it does mean, because gay people come out at different times. They’re coming out younger and younger now. But, some don’t come out until their twenties, some don’t come out till their thirties; some even come out later.

It makes for interesting drama and interesting stories to explore. What does it mean when somebody comes out in their mid-late twenties and how do they deal with that? It’s an interesting dilemma and I thought that would be one that would be worth exploring in the first season of Noah’s Arc.

I didn’t want to get too bogged down in it and didn’t want to make it about someone being “down low.” I wanted to make that distinction, but I still think it’s rich territory to explore.