Okay, so last week was such an exciting week for me!!
So, UArts celebrated its 130th year anniversary on November 11th. Since I was told that LaChanze, who won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical was going to be there, I knew I had to wiggle my way into this event.
And I did! Not only did I get a picture and an autograph on my “The Color Purple” CD booklet, I got a personal interview with her! She was an absolutely lovely person to talk to. I talked to other people and apparently she gave the school free tickets and a tour backstage to “The Color Purple” last year.
The event was Moulin Rouge-themed. There were students in Victorian style/Renaissance clothing who greated all the guests as they came across the Red Carpet. The Hamilton Hall that I spent my entire orientation week in was re-decorated like I wouldn’t believe. There were approximately 250 in attendance to this incredible event.
It was so great to be at an event celebrating a place like UArts. Various people spoke and said, “We want UArts to be at the point that people will say, ‘The Kimmel Center for Performing Arts? Is that the place down the street from the University of the Arts?’” They talked about how UArts provides the talent, passion, and inspiration for students to achieve their dreams. I couldn’t agree more. I am so happy here because of my teachers’ dedication to us, the students.
There were many previous students and donors at this event, including Hamilton who is the person who donated all the money to Hamilton Hall…..hence the name. A bunch of Musical Theater majors and dance majors performed Paris-themed songs. It was great! There was tons of *free* food and some people were even dressed up in character.
And now for my interview with LaChanze!!!!
Q: What surprised you about the “real world” after leaving UArts?
A: I was really surprised how big everything was. There are so many people looking for a job and how uniqueness really stands out because everyone is so talented.
Q: What surprised you about “The Color Purple” as you worked on it?
A: I honestly had no idea it was going to be such a big success. I had read the book and seen the movie and loved them both, but I didn’t see it working as a musical. But I was really surprised how so much depth of emotion could be portrayed through song.
Q: When you think about your experiences at UArts, is there anything that you are sorry you didn’t take advantage of while you were here?
A: I’m really sorry that I didn’t take more visual arts classes. I had gone to Paris and thought I could paint, but I couldn’t. I would have liked to have taken some visual arts classes haha.
Q: Our school of theater makes a big deal about knowledge through our art and outside of our art because they say how we can’t communicate if we don’t know enough about the world. What are your feelings on that?
A: Absolutely. I completely agree. When I was here, one of the great things I loved about the school, is that I would have dance 8:30 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon dance dance. And then I would go and take all my liberal arts classes, which was great becase they were so intense as well. I got to learn dance history, I remember. I was learning so much about dance history that I wouldn’t have learned by just dancing. My major was theater dance at the time, there was really no musical theater major, which is where I got what you are probably getting in the musical theater major. It was heavilly heavilly a dance program as well as a musical program.
Q: One of the things that I am struggling with as an acting student is how to have my emotions come across but to not always be feeling the pain that my subtext is. How do you get to the point in performance that your pain may be coming across to the audience, but you’re not necessarily feeling the horrible pain you may have felt before? How do you balance your life and not let these emotions take over the rest of your life when you’re not on stage?
A: You’re always feeling. I don’t think you can do it without feeling it. There is no sepearation between you and the character you’re playing. You may just interpret what you’re doing differently. But what you’re doing is that person. If that person is upset, you’re upset if you’re doing it properly. There is really no way not to feel these feelings, which is why as an actor it’s important to have balance in your life outside your work because you can go on a pretty serious roller coaster ride if you stay in the head of your character. So it’s really important to commit fully to what that character is going through, but to then have balance in your life outside. You have to feel it. You’ll also learn as you mature as an actor what things you say that you don’t want to cry about, what emotions and the place in your mind where your tears are, so you’re not always crying. In the beginning, that’s what it is and you have to go through it and accept.
Q: I really was wondering about your feelings towards color-blind casting. As I auditioned for these musical theater programs, I know a lot of schools were looking for minorities. Do you think that that is the first step to hopefully having color-blind casting on Broadway.
A:Of course I look forward to the time that we can be a lot more inclusive of all actors of all color to be involved more on stage in different roles, but I think the responsibility really lies with the creators, the producers, and the writers because where it’s spear-headed because talent comes in all shapes and sizes. If there aren’t roles that are there for the actors, there won’t be the color blind choices. I think right now on Broadway, it’s evolving slowly. It is evolving. It used to be that traditionally only one type of show made it on Broadway, but now you have a wide variety of shows on Broadway, so it’s evolving a lot. It’s evolved a lot from when I was a freshman, like you are now. And there’s much more opportunity now for several actors of color. I’m so sure there will be even more for actors of color.
Q: I have to ask. What did it feel like to win the Tony? You looked absolutely shocked on television!
A:It was very exciting. It was shocking. I didn’t expect to win. It was great. It’s nice to be validated for the work that you do. I felt very confident in my work as Celie. It was nice to see that the Tony voters agreed.
Q: My final question deals with keeping a show fresh. How do you know when it is time to leave a show? Is it because you feel that the audience doesn’t think you’re doing it right or because you mentally can’t do it anymore?
A: My decision to leave “The Color Purple” and other shows that i have left is not because the show isn’t fresh. I still think i could out there and make it fresh to the audience and it would be very exciting for me, but my journey with the show has been 2 1/2 years and physically it’s time to take a break. As an artist, you need other inspiration and need to flex other muscles. And maybe I’d like to do a comedy next, or something that is a little bit lighter and less weight than Celie and it’s just about needing new inspiration.
So that was the fabulous UArts gala!! Hooray
Everything else is pretty insane….I am looking forward to Thanksgiving because I have been working so hard here and my body does need a break. We got a master class with the guys from “The Producers” this week and I saw the show last night! I also recently saw 42nd Street at the Walnut Street Theater, Urinetown at UArts, the opera of Cinderella at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, and tonight I’m seeing The Bald Soprano, one of school of theater’s studio shows. I must emphasize how inexpensive these shows have been to see (UArts shows are free anyways)….but yeah, my goal is to stop spending money on food so that I can spend more on shows hahah!! That way I’ll be thin and culturally enriched hehe…
I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving. Where did the semester go?? Now if the weather could just stay warm!
