You better sit down, Erica.

All My Children actress Eden Riegel and creator Agnes Nixon discuss Bianca Monlgomery's historic daytime coming-out

Call it Eden Riegers crash course in Method acting. This summer, when the 19-year-old won the plum part of Bianca Montgomery on ABC's All My Children, she also won an experience in dissembling--the actress had to conceal her character's lesbianism from suspicious fans and the press.

Although this closet door will be blown open in December, when Erica Kane (played by daytime diva Susan Lucci) finally discovers the truth about her teenage daughter, Riegel spent months struggling to keep mum. "When I first got on the show, [the producers] said, `You can't tell anybody.' I was like, `Not even my mom?'" recalls Riegel. "So I was keeping this big secret!" The actress isn't gay herself but learned plenty from "people close to me who have had to deal with coming out to their parents [and] to themselves."

Daytime dramas have told gay-themed tales before--indeed, All My Children introduced soaps' first lesbian back in 1983, and the show won back-to-back GLAAD Media Awards for powerful, affirming story lines in 1996, 1997, and 1998. But this story is particularly significant because it breaks new ground: Viewers have watched Bianca (played by a number of actresses) since she was born, which makes her the first long-standing character on a soap revealed to be gay. And Bianca's identity as the daughter of Erica--daytime's most legendary role, played by daytime's biggest star--brings an extra buzz to the story.

"I think the right word for Erica's reaction is denial," offers Agnes Nixon, the show's creator, who sees a parallel between her character and a real-life superstar. "I read Family Outing by Chastity Bono. Chef had loads of friends who were gay, but she wasn't able to deal with [Chastity's being gay]. In this prejudicial society in which we live, the first reaction from a parent usually is, `What did I do wrong?'"

Nixon, 72, known for her relevant story lines, says the germ for this plot began in 1947, when Nixon was Riegel's age and a college housemate came out to her. "Now, in a soap, if you want to do a story about a social issue seriously, the character has to be really well integrated," explains Nixon, who acknowledges that their original lesbian story in 1983, which lasted just two months, was imperfect. "Bianca's story is the result of that--with growth and maturity."

And it's that maturity that Riegel appreciates. "I'm enjoying the emotional story line they're writing for me," she says. "Promoting tolerance is a really exciting concept for me, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to influence people in a positive way."

Find more on All My Children, Susan Lucci, and Eden Riegel at www.advocate.com

Behrens contributes to the Chicago Tribune and to gay papers nationwide.