Answering Questions About Studying Musical Theatre!
I had the privilege of being interviewed by @long-suffering-little-spoon , who asked some wonderful questions about what it's like studying and performing musical theatre!
1) What course are you studying and where?
I’m currently in the final year of my BM in Music Theatre at the Wanda L Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University (the Kristin Chenoweth/Kelli O’Hara school)! I’m also taking courses/lessons in music composition, though it’s not part of my degree.
2) What made you choose said course at said institution?
I auditioned for more than 20 musical theatre programs, I passed to the final round of auditions for almost half of them and got into five. OCU was the first program that passed my prescreen, so it’s sort of perfect that that’s where I ended up going! There was just such a lovely feeling when I visited the campus- it definitely helped that our program director gave such an inspiring speech at auditions that contributed to it being my dream school. They have beautiful facilities and a great consistency of quality in their training/productions. OCU also gives you a really thorough music theory/musicology training in addition to your performance courses. Some of my classmates don’t enjoy that, but I do, because it’s incredibly helpful for the composition side of things.
3) What is your daily routine like?
I usually get up an hour before my first class (at 8 am or 10 am depending on the day). On M/W I have Tap Fundamentals, On Camera Acting, Musical Theatre Dance, and choir. On Tuesday/Thursday I have Orchestration (not part of my degree plan, taking it for composer reasons), voice lessons, vocal coaching, and Musical Theatre Workshop. And on Friday, I have masterclasses with my voice studio and student composition club. My evenings are currently taken up by rehearsals for our production of White Christmas, in which I have several small roles and understudy the role of Martha. I also have a part-time job singing in a church choir on Wednesdays and Sundays. I get my academic work and practicing done in the pockets where I can, and in my free time (when I can get it), I’m listening to as many albums and cast recordings as I can, organizing movie nights with my friends, seeing other people’s shows and recitals, or writing, whether it’s music, video essays, or fanfiction!
4) When did you first know you wanted to be a performer?
I properly caught the singing bug when I was around seven, which usually manifested in me singing Taylor Swift songs in the shower and trying and failing to get my unamused classmates to put on impromptu productions of The Sound of Music. I properly fell in love with musical theatre in sixth grade when we studied Phantom of the Opera in music appreciation class, which I talk about in more detail in the video essay I made about that show three years ago. I won my school’s talent show singing Defying Gravity from Wicked that same year, and that was when my parents and I knew singing and acting was more than just a pipe dream for me. It’s all I’ve ever imagined doing with my life since.
5) What has been your most interesting role to play and why?
I could talk for literal hours about playing Anna Maurrant in Street Scene, and plan to in probably two future videos. People often reduce Anna to the things that happen to her: she’s a woman who has an affair and gets killed by her husband. But she is a character of such enormous warmth and soul and passion. Anna’s gentleness is always her most emphasized trait, but I think she is also such a fighter. The way that she is so determined to see beauty in the world and in the people around her in spite of things being so seemingly hopeless, the faith she has in the next generation to create a better world… you see her fight for what is good and kind and true in so many quiet, beautiful ways throughout the show. Our director also made a very unconventional choice with Anna: He wanted whether or not she was having an affair to be truly ambiguous, and I decided to play it like she wasn’t. I REALLY dug into her relationship with Frank- developing their backstory and how their marriage got to this point, how she could possibly still love him and want to fight for their marriage in spite of things being so awful. That entire dynamic was such a harrowing, but ultimately really deliciously intense and meaty acting experience, and I loved having those nitty gritty conversations with my costar who played Frank, plus going home and texting my friend Ellie until 1 AM about all the realizations we had about the characters during rehearsal. Oh, and Anna’s aria Somehow I Never Could Believe is just maybe my favorite thing I’ve ever gotten to sing, but if I keep talking about Street Scene I’ll have nothing left for the video essay!
6) What have been your favourite and least favourite shows you’ve done?
My current top three favorite performing experiences I’ve had have all been this year. Street Scene is one of them, of course. Head Over Heels, which I did my junior year of college, was just a blast. It isn’t the best written show in the world, but screlty rock songs are my bread and butter, and the imperfect-but- delightful pseudo-Shakespearean text was a delicious challenge. Mopsa was a very special character to play as my first explicitly queer role, and I got to channel a lot of my personal frustrations about love and trying to exist in the world into her. It’s also got such a strong community element- I’m an incredibly relational actor, and the variety of interpersonal dynamics I got to play, from romance to sisterly bonds to parent/child, was such a treat.
And this summer I got to play Cinderella in Into The Woods in Vicenza, Italy! Aside from it being just a magical study abroad experience where I made so many new friends, the intensity and mental challenge of putting on my first Sondheim show in two weeks was just everything I’d been craving artistically. Cinderella was not the role I ever imagined playing in that show (ingenue has never been my track), but I’m so happy I got the opportunity to play her. She is so interesting and messy and lovable and human, and I got to create a really unique version of her based around the particular concept of that show- we did it set at a school in lockdown, and I played Cinderella as this extremely anxious homeschooled Catholic girl getting her first taste of the world outside her sheltered repressed bubble. It’s a show where everything just links together into this beautiful tapestry, and there’s always new connections to discover, whether it’s between the characters or the music.
I’m the type of person who can have a fulfilling experience even in a show that isn’t very well written, so the shows I’ve enjoyed doing the least have a lot more to do with the environment than the material. One of the only shows I’ve done that I would consider a net negative experience would be The Little Prince my freshman year of high school. We had a director/drama teacher who was incredibly manipulative, loved pitting people against each other and making us twist ourselves into knots for his approval. I had a very small part, so most of that process was just sitting backstage in the dark stewing in the awful atmosphere he had created for everyone. It’s unfortunate, because it’s such a beautiful story and a beautiful script. Oh, and I also had to hold my arms out in the shape of a tree without moving for seven minutes. Terrible time.
7) How do you remain resilient during the audition process?
Ahhh, now we’re getting to the questions where I’m like, “do I?” I had to be mega resilient my first two years of college- I didn’t book a show until second semester of sophomore year and I had many a crashout over it. There isn’t really much advice I can think of that hasn’t already been given by people who are more emotionally mature than I am, but something I think is very important is staying busy and finding ways to create your own opportunities. I fell in love with composing my freshman year of college partially because it was something I could control- casting directors may hold the key to me getting into a show, but no one could stop me from writing and performing my own music. Start a Youtube channel! Put together a cabaret with your friends for fun! There are plenty of ways you can still get performance experience even when you’re not having any luck with booking.
8) What do you do to prepare your mind and body for an audition?
Tea is a must- one for energy, one for throat coat. I always warm up both my head voice and my belt, and usually I use my nebulizer for about ten minutes. I never audition on an empty stomach, but I can’t have a huge meal either. I always leave myself plenty of time to put on my makeup while listening to music, it helps me get out of my insecure dorky self and into being able to confidently embody the song/character, as does my almost definitely killer outfit I picked the previous night.
9) How do you keep yourself physically and mentally sustained whilst rehearsing and performing?
I don’t really do anything too complicated- eat a full three meals, pack a snack, don’t do much drinking or partying, make sure I’m getting 7-8 hours of sleep most nights. Electrolytes are super helpful for long, energetic days. Rehearsals where I’m sitting for hours are the biggest danger for me because I can get too in my own head and start getting really nihilistic and self-critical when I’m not kept busy. On days like that making sure I’m getting up and talking to my friends every once in a while is important! Anna Maurrant is the most emotionally intense role I’ve had to do by far, and in a show like Street Scene, having a sense of humor and finding those moments of laughter both onstage and off helped to keep things from getting too heavy.
10) How do you balance your time?
I need to be better about this, honestly. I try not to scroll too much, but there are so many things I could be more efficient about. I can always get my work done on time, but I actually have a lot of trouble leaving time for my creative pursuits these days, because the anxiety about whether or not I’ll be able to produce something of quality causes me to procrastinate. I’m very routine oriented, and I have a tendency to try to get all of my tasks and “rituals” done before I allow myself to do ANYTHING extra. Basically, don’t be like me.
11) Who inspired you to become a performer? And who inspires you now?
My middle school choir teacher was the first person to take me seriously as a musician, and she gave me such a strong foundation of musicianship and dedication to the process that I’ve carried with me ever since. Obviously all of my college professors are hugely inspiring. Anyone who knows me knows that David Tennant is my biggest acting icon. The influence he’s had on me as both a performer and a person needs to be studied (which it was in the two hour video essay I made about him). As a neurodivergent actor the way he expresses himself makes me feel so seen, and I’m always striving for his levels of specificity, vulnerability and commitment. Marin Mazzie and Stephanie J Block are my two main musical theatre divas. Their repertoire makes up a big chunk of my dream roles, and they both have such rich, powerful, and expressive voices.
12) What advice do you have for young people looking to pursue performing arts?
KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!! And especially know who you are outside of a performance context. I know so many theatre people whose whole sense of individuality growing up was based on the fact that they were performers, and then they get to the collegiate/professional world and all of a sudden everyone is a performer and they have no idea what sets them apart anymore. Knowing the strengths of your personality- your humor, your warmth, your intelligence, your drive- and how you can bring that into the room is going to get you way farther than being able to screlt a G or kick your face ever will. Developing a sense of taste is also very important. Know why you like the material you pick, and don’t just pick it because you think it’s what people want to hear. If you’re auditioning for a show, know why people find that show appealing and how you can bring that out of the material. And if the material isn’t good, what can you do to make it better?
13) What are the main differences between performing in a classical style vs a more musical theatre style? Which do you prefer?
Classical singing has much more defined rules than musical theatre- the default is always low larynx, head voice in and above the staff, vibrato on every syllable, sing everything as written unless the piece calls for ornaments, proper IPA diction. Musical theatre has a lot more stylistic freedom- chest or head? Vibrato or straight tone? Should I add an opt up? Etc. That can be harder in its own way, though- there’s a comfort in having that solid classical foundation and knowing for certain that you’re singing something the “correct” way. People think of classical music as stiffer and less emotive than musical theatre, but the best performers are able to be equally playful and communicative with both. It’s just harder sometimes to do that with classical due to the technical demands and the fact that the text is sometimes much less naturalistic than musical theatre, especially if it’s a classical or baroque opera.
14) Did you start off singing classical or theatre and do you play any instruments?
I’m definitely a musical theatre singer first. I’d been given some classical repertoire before I got to college, but it was primarily my OCU voice teacher who taught me the ins and outs of singing in that style. I play a little bit of piano- very out of practice. I need to pick up the guitar again after college. I started learning the year before and lost all my momentum as soon as I got to school.
15) What is your dream role that you have yet to play? Are there any you’ve already played?
Mother in Ahrens and Flaherty’s Ragtime is at the top of my list. I’d say some of my other big ones are Fosca in Passion, Trina in Falsettos, Susannah in Floyd’s Susannah (opera dream role!), Fantine in Les Miserables, anyone in Sweeney Todd or Great Comet, a whole host of genderbends, and of course Elphaba in Wicked. Ugh there are so many more, but the list is way too long. I wasn’t familiar with Street Scene at all until it was announced that my school was doing it, but Anna Maurrant definitely became a dream role while I was preparing for her; I wanted her BAD by the time auditions rolled around. As far as in the more conventional sense- parts I’d already wanted to play for a long time before I got the chance to, I got to play Elsa in Frozen and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet in high school, and those were both definitely dreams come true.
16) Where do you see your career in 10 years in a dream scenario?
As much as I’d love to eventually make my Broadway debut, I would honestly be just as happy working primarily at the regional level if it means I get to play more characters I love. That said, I definitely still have a soft spot for 17-year-old me’s dream of being the first woman to win writing and acting Tonys for the same show. I’ve been writing a musical adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist off and on with my friend Fiona for the past several years, and getting that premiered and originating the role of Riza Hawkeye is definitely one of my biggest ambitions. I’d also absolutely love to be in a band and have released some albums by that time. Or, I could do none of those things and be a Ghoulette on the next Ghost tour instead. That would be great too.
17) You’ve spoken about your disability and how it intersects with your performing life. Is there anything you’d like to say to other disabled actors?
This is honestly a complicated one, because I don’t really feel like it’s my place to give advice or speak to the experience of anyone with a disability other than my own. I have no idea what it’s like to be in a wheelchair, or have a facial difference, or a cluster B personality disorder. I guess the only thing I do know is that in spite of the fact that the industry tries to tell us we deserve less as human beings and artists, it’s not true and it will never be true.
18) Performing is emotionally and physically taxing. What does your institution do to support its students?
I’m lucky to go to a school that offers free counseling to all of its students. Unfortunately, we recently had our most senior counselor lose her job unjustly over a personal statement she made following the death of Charlie Kirk, and the school has not replaced her, which has left a lot of our most vulnerable students without counseling. It’s a really tragic situation, and I’ve been working with some of my classmates on holding the school accountable.
As far as the musical theatre program itself goes, the culture around mental health among the students and professors has been very understanding and supportive. Probably the biggest example of this I experienced personally was at the tap call for White Christmas when I got extremely overstimulated and had a meltdown in front of all 120 people present- screaming, hitting myself, the whole nine yards. I was removed from the room, and the stage manager and one of my friends talked me down and promised to advocate for me. My episodes haven’t always been treated with empathy, but I was shocked by how compassionate literally everyone was; nobody told me I was a freak or doing it for attention, and it was generally understood that it was a reaction borne out of chemical overwhelm. The funniest part of all of this is that somehow, I still ended up booking the show! I guess they just thought I was really brave for still doing the rest of the callback.
19) Which composer/playwright’s work do you enjoy performing most? Do you think they draw out the best in you as a performer? Sondheim is such a basic answer, but he’s basic for a reason. I can’t think of another composer whose work manages to be so specific to the character and situation and so universal at the same time, or one with such a consistently compelling repertoire. I also adore the soaring whimsy of Steven Schwartz, the eclectic idiosyncrasies of Dave Malloy, the aching humanity and impeccable hooks of Jason Robert Brown…
