VOL. 2, NO. 3: WINTER 2016 NEW YORK + LOS ANGELES
MADELINE BREWER On her new movie and surviving a “bad boyfriend” industry
ALUMNI GIVE BACK
Grads perform to raise money and awareness for incredible causes
CRAFTING CONFLICT Modern violence through the ancient art of stage combat
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
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ith exciting new projects and performances under way, AMDA has a lot for which to be grateful. The past semester has been an explosion of activity, with the AMDA community continuing its proud tradition of giving back through service and outreach.
ON THE COVER:
Christopher Jackson and Anthony Ramos at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York City, December 2015. Photo by Jenny Anderson
VOL. 2, NO. 3: WINTER 2015/16 NEW YORK + LOS ANGELES
Over the past few months, alumni have performed for world peace, advocated animal rights in an international adoption campaign, supported local theatre programs and raised thousands of dollars for Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS (Alumni Give Back). MADELINE BREWER
This issue features AMDA alumni who currently star in Broadway’s hit musical Hamilton. Merging hip-hop with history, Hamilton paints America’s founding figures in a modern light, offering audiences a new perspective on the men and women who pioneered a nation. In complement, the other stories revolve around alumni and faculty whose unique perspectives are bettering the industry while shattering personal boundaries. From starring in their first feature-length film (Madeline Brewer) to world premieres on both coasts (Chandra Lee Schwartz; Caissie Levy), our alumni tell their personal stories of finding success in an industry with greater opportunities for artists than ever before. Wherever you are on your artistic journey, we hope you enjoy the stories in this issue as a snapshot of the AMDA family.
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ALUMNI GIVE BACK
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CRAFTING CONFLICT
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AMDA Magazine is published by
6305 Yucca St., Los Angeles, CA 90028 amda.edu Copyright ©2016 AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited. Submissions, Updates, Feedback Please send alumni and faculty updates, news tips, comments and suggestions to alumniservices@amda.edu. AMDA Department of Media and Communications Michael Lloyd, Director mlloyd@amda.edu 323-603-5989 Eric Almendral, Art Director ealmendral@amda.edu 323-603-5907 David Harris, Writer dharris2@amda.edu 323-603-3079 Tim Valentine, Contributing Manager Lauren Curtis, Alumni Services Coordinator
CHRIS JACKSON AND ANTHONY RAMOS: JENNY ANDERSON. MADELINE BREWER: DIMITRY LOISEAU. HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS: COLIN YOUNG-WOLFF. JESSE TYLER FERGUSON: CASEY RODGERS/INVISION FOR PURINA ONE. ANASTACIA MCCLESKY: JOHAN PERSSON.
CONTENTS Hamilton
Christopher Jackson and Anthony Ramos bring the Revolution to Broadway’s hottest show.
Mad Love
Madeline Brewer thrives in a “bad boyfriend” industry.
Alumni Give Back AMDA graduates put their fame and talents to work for worthy causes.
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Crafting Conflict The Stage Combat program trains students in the art of violence.
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Chandra Lee Schwartz The accomplished alumna discusses Café Society, auditions and teaching.
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Going Global Alumni shine in shows and performances on international stages.
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AMDA NEWS & UPDATES
GALLERY
Caissie Levy
From Fantine in Les Mis to Julie Nixon in First Daughter Suite
OPENING ACT
EVENTS & PERFORMANCES
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ALUMNI UPDATES
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OPENING ACT
AMDA NEWS & UPDATES
Tall Boots to Fill
Alums lead ‘Kinky Boots’ Broadway and National Tour casts The fab-in-drag musical sensation Kinky Boots has again added to its ever-growing list of starring AMDA alumni. After playing an Angel in Kinky Boots on Broadway, Kyle Taylor Parker (In The Heights) became the first to take on leading lady Lola at the beginning of the first national tour. He then returned to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre to replace Tony-winner Billy Porter as the lead on Broadway. Two AMDA alumni have taken over the Kinky Boots leads for the national tour’s second year: J. Harrison Ghee moves from his understudy/ ensemble role to fill Lola’s thigh-high, ruby boots. Alumna Tiffany Engen (Legally Blonde) joins him as lead love interest Lauren. Meanwhile, Hernando Umana is making his Broadway debut after performing in the ensemble of the national tour as a featured Angel.
J. Harrison Ghee Speaks: Taking the Lead in ‘Kinky’
J. Harrison Ghee as Lola in Kinky Boots
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On taking over the iconic role of Lola: “There were many days at AMDA that I imagined being the leading man in many productions, but never could I have fathomed being a part of such an amazing show, which carries a message of importance at this time in our society: accepting others for who they are and being willing to be the change you wish to see in the world.” On family and drag: “I have been doing drag as a side-gig since my first professional gig out of AMDA. Having grown up with a Southern Baptist pastor as a father, striving for his approval while remaining true to myself and my passions has been a journey. I’m glad to say that my family is utterly proud, supportive and understanding of everything that encompasses.” On working with Tony-winning predecessor Billy Porter: “One of the most fun weeks on tour was when Billy Porter came to be Lola in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. That I was able to sit and study the Tony Award winner and also share moments offstage with him will be time I cherish forever. I remember sitting in the AMDA library, listening to shows he was in, finding his At the Corner of Broadway and Soul album, and realizing there was someone in this business who was successful and does what I knew I was capable of.”
OPENING ACT
Stellar Style GQ and Saks Fifth Avenue feature ‘Empire’ star Trai Byers for fall fashion feature
“Empire” star Trai Byers took a break from his sibling rivalry as jealous intellectual Andre Lyon to pose for GQ Magazine and Saks Fifth Avenue, ushering in autumn fashion with sophisticated menswear. During its season two premiere in September, Fox’s “Empire” garnered
16.2 million viewers, the highest-rated series premiere for the network in six years. The show’s been breaking so many records that the media is having trouble keeping up. As Entertainment Weekly put it, “We’re starting to run out of ways to praise the ratings for Fox’s ‘Empire.’”
Four AMDA Grads Reunite for ‘Bullets Over Broadway’
Left to right: Bradley Allan Zarr, Jemma Jane, Michael LaMasa, Carissa Fiorillo
A trio of AMDA alumni are on the road with the touring production of Bullets Over Broadway, the hit musical by Woody Allen (original choreography and directing by Susan Stroman). Having opened in Cleveland on October 6, the production reflects the creativity of AMDA alumnus Michael LaMasa (Assistant Director) and features the performance talents of alumni Bradley Allan Zarr (Warner Purcell); Jemma Jane (Olive Neal); and Carissa Fiorillo (Ensemble). The AMDA connection has brought an increased sense of joy to the production, fostering a unique camaraderie among the four alumni. “Working with Bradley and working with Jemma and Carissa, it’s been really nice to continue that family feel,” says LaMasa. “I’ve always felt that AMDA provided me with such a great family and such a great sense of strength. Everywhere I go, I feel like I’m never alone.” Bullets Over Broadway will tour until July 2016, including a stop at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood from January 5–24. For more information, visit bulletsoverbroadwayontour.com.
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OPENING ACT
Tale as Old as Time
Around the world with ‘Disney’s Beauty and the Beast’ After a grueling audition process (requiring more than 10 auditions and callbacks over three months), AMDA alumnae are delighting audiences across the globe as they perform in the national and world tours of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Marking her first international tour, Julia Sammon replaces alumna Tiffany Rudi as Silly Girl/Enchanted Object. Jeanette Palmer is making her national tour debut also as Silly Girl/Enchanted Object, joining fellow alumna Melissa Jones (Babette). Julia Sammon (World Tour): “When I got the call that I had gotten the role, I was speechless. It was my first professional job since graduating AMDA, and I was so excited that it was one of my dream shows! I found out I would be in the international cast and that, as well as performing every night and doing what I love, I would also get to travel the world and have the experience of a lifetime!” Tiffany Rudi (World Tour): “I set a goal for myself at the top of 2014: to book a job that would allow me travel. … Finding out I’d be part of the first international cast, touring in cities like Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Milan, Singapore and Bangkok—I was beyond ecstatic.” Melissa Jones (National Tour): “Beauty has been an incredible adventure. This is my second year on the road as Babette, and after this season I will have been to every state in the continental U.S. because of it. That’s pretty exciting.” Jeanette Palmer (National Tour): “The show is breathtaking, both to watch and take part in. The musical score and story sweep me up into a fantasy of pure joy and magnificence. The best part is, it’s my job, and I am blessed to do it every day.”
“The experience of a lifetime”: Julia Sammon at the Great Pyramids (left) and in Taipei, Taiwan (right)
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Melissa Jones as Babette
OPENING ACT Dancing From Coast to Coast
Robert Palmer Watkins
Advancing his dancing career on both coasts, Ryan Ruiz (BFA in Dance Theatre) recently performed at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City’s renowned Lincoln Center for the world premiere of PEARL, a Chinese-American theatrical dance tribute inspired by the life of author Pearl S. Buck, the first woman to receive both the Nobel Prize in Literature and a Pulitzer Prize. Moving to the heart of Hollywood, Ruiz now dances professionally as a member of the L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, which recently presented its concert inspired by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Before graduating, Ruiz made his professional debut as a member of the Hart Pulse Dance Company: “It was time for me to go off into the ‘real’ world, which I was prepared to take on because of my training and education from AMDA.”
Robert Palmer Watkins Stars as Heartthrob Dillon Quartermaine in ‘General Hospital’ In his first major television role, Robert Palmer Watkins has signed a four-year contract to play humorous heartthrob Dillon Quartermaine in ABC’s award-winning, record-breaking soap opera “General Hospital.” Despite landing the coveted contract, Watkins acknowledges the toll pursuing a career in front of the camera takes: “To say this business is competitive is an understatement. If you are not willing to push yourself to be the best artist you can be, someone else will be happy to take your spot. … It was mentally, physically and emotionally draining, but it showed me that the work is worth it.” Having made his first appearance last June, Watkins replaces two-time Emmy winner Scott Clifton, who played the role from 2003 to 2007.
Ryan Ruiz (airborne) in the Lincoln Center premiere of PEARL
Alumnus Frank Licari Co-Produces Indie Biopic ‘Walt Before Mickey’
Frank Licari as Disney rival George Winkler
The multi-talented Frank Licari (actor, producer, voice artist, musician and screenwriter) wore a number of hats in the production of the indie biopic Walt Before Mickey, the tale of Walt Disney’s early years. The movie reveals the darker side of Disney’s rise to fame: bankruptcy, living on the streets and his familial struggles. Filming took place in 24 days with a $600,000 budget. Licari notes that production constraints made the film more rewarding to make: “When am I ever gonna get a chance to make a movie about Walt Disney’s life? … It was just one those opportunities that I couldn’t pass up.” In
addition to acting in the role of the villainous George Winkler, Licari took on the behindthe-scenes jobs of local casting director, co-producer and co-writer. Walt Before Mickey’s early success led to a private screening for President Obama, who watched the film in the White House’s private movie theatre. In the coming months, you can expect a lot from Licari: Aside from appearing in two major films—one of which, Mena, stars Tom Cruise—Licari wrote Bernini, a film based in part on his time at AMDA in New York. He’s also in discussions for buying the rights to a movie about hit show Blue Man Group.
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GALLERY
AMDA LOS ANGELES EVENTS
COLIN YOUNG-WOLFF
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
DAVID WOLFF
STAGE DOOR
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AMDA NEW YORK CITY EVENTS
GALLERY
CHRIS MACKE
SENIOR SHOWCASES
JACOB SMITH
DANCE WORKSHOP
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AMDA alumnus Christopher Jackson as George Washington in the hit Broadway musical Hamilton
PHOTO COURTESY JOAN MARCUS
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lexander Hamilton: 18th century politician, founding father, freestyle rapper. Surrounded by prominent figures of history— including Marquis de Lafayette, John Laurens and the notorious Aaron Burr—a young Hamilton aims to convince his peers to join him against British tyranny. Eyes ablaze, Hamilton steps before his listeners… and starts rapping, verses flying from the revolutionary’s mouth with furious passion: Are we a nation of states? What’s the state of our nation? I’m past patiently waitin’, I’m passionately Smashin’ every expectation Every action’s an act of creation I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow For the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow! Confused? Let’s back up. CONTINUED »
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iping the dust off American history books, Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights) created his new musical Hamilton, which transitioned from its sold-out Off-Broadway run to appear before Broadway audiences for the first time in August. With its hip-hop soundtrack and multiethnic cast, Hamilton challenges the canonical imagery of America’s founding fathers: Gone are the old men in powdered wigs, replaced with young revolutionaries mixing cabinet meetings with rap battles, historic speeches with modern slang. Months later, Hamilton has become a musical sensation. With cast interviews and articles appearing in every major news outlet across the nation, critics have lauded Hamilton as the “most exciting and significant musical of the decade” (Wall Street Journal) and the “best Broadway musical in years” (Billboard). Tickets are nearly sold out a year in advance, with past audience members including such luminaries as President Barack Obama, the Supreme Court justices, Sara Bareilles, Madonna and Bill Clinton. The production stars AMDA alumni Christopher Jackson (George Washington) and Anthony Ramos (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton), both of whom originated their roles in the world premiere at New York City’s Public Theater. While Hamilton marks Ramos’ Broadway debut, Emmywinning composer Jackson is a Broadway veteran, with such titles under his belt as The Lion King (Simba), Memphis (Delray), and his award-winning originating performance for In the Heights (Benny). When asked how it felt to perform for the president, Ramos responds: “I was just filled with electricity…You could feel the presence in the place. The atmosphere was just different. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt.” After seeing Hamilton with the first family, President Obama commented on the musical’s poignant relevance to modern audiences: “[Hamilton] speaks to this vibrancy of American democracy, but also the fact that it was made by these living, breathing, flawed individuals who were brilliant. It doesn’t feel distant. And it doesn’t feel set apart from the argument that we’re having today.” And that’s precisely the point.
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Hamilton is not here to redefine history or Broadway. Despite deviating from typical Broadway formula, hip-hop is hardly an unconventional genre, nor is Hamilton the first time rap has appeared before Broadway audiences. “Hip-hop’s just another form,” Jackson shrugged. “It’s one of the forms that Lin explores so, though it hasn’t been done in the Broadway canon as much, it certainly didn’t seem out of the ordinary.” And therein lies the magic of Hamilton: not what “sticks out” to the audience but rather what doesn’t. As viewers are drawn deeper and deeper into the allure of Miranda’s charismatic soundtrack, it seems perfectly natural for ethnic actors to play white characters, for George Washington to spit rhymes as the fate of America hangs in the balance. It is the law of realism in any medium or genre: That which is treated as ordinary, becomes so. The result? A musical that gives cross-racial performance the attention it deserves— that is to say, none, allowing audiences to absorb new perspectives and genres without prejudice. “There’s no color on that stage,” Ramos remarks. “You don’t even care about the fact that the cast is multiracial, ’cause everyone’s so good. When Washington walks out in the beginning, audiences think, ‘Oh, it’s an African-American dude wearing clothes that African-Americans didn’t wear back then.’ But once he opens his mouth, that’s it. You’re sucked in. It’s about the story—you don’t even care what anybody looks like, really.” In other words, quality over novelty: Miranda’s effortless transitions from heartbreaking ballads to spitfire rap battles received a perfect five-star rating from Billboard, which called the original cast recording “2015’s best rap album.”
JENNY ANDERSON
HAMILTON (CONTINUED) »
Anthony Ramos at the Richard Rodgers Theatre before a performance
“There’s no color on that stage. You don’t even care about the fact that the cast is multiracial.” — ANTHONY RAMOS The soundtrack also took home the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Jackson is no stranger to Miranda’s work: The two performed together in the improv hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme, and Miranda worked with Jackson in creating the role of Benny for In the Heights. “Lin certainly has been writing to my strengths for years,” Jackson says, adding that Miranda’s personal history with hip-hop and the inherent power of the genre led to Hamilton’s powerhouse soundtrack. “Hip-hop is such an incredible tool to use to tell history, because you can cram so much information all at once in a condensed amount of time,” notes Ramos. “I think that it’s a form that lends itself to storytelling, perhaps in a way that no other form of music does,” adds Jackson. “The very structure of it takes the elements of American song structure and turns it on its
“HAMILTON” COURTESY JOAN MARCUS; CHRISTOPHER JACKSON AND ANTHONY RAMOS: JENNY ANDERSON
Left to right: Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos and Lin-Manuel Miranda in a scene from Hamilton
ear, much in the same way that you listen to John Coltrane’s recording of ‘My Favorite Things.’ By rapping, you give yourself more latitude for cultural reference, musical reference, inflection in a way that singing a straight melodic turn doesn’t always afford you. It gives you more freedom.” Appropriate, then, that George Washington turns to rap when he has the greatest need for expression. “When Washington is at his most stressed points in Hamilton, he raps,” Jackson says. “The further along through the story and his lifetime as they arc through the show, the more he moves towards melodics and singing when the nation finds its way.” As Jackson points out, the founding fathers were merely that: fathers and sons with fears, dreams and everyday concerns. The power of Hamilton lies in the disinterest of its own novelty, bringing a defining moment of American history back down to earth. Miranda’s characters remind audiences that the founding fathers—often idolized to the point of deification—were at the end of the day flawed mortal men. “What’s the lesson versus the myth, how have we deified these people? A popular drawing after Washington’s death was him ascending to heaven carried by cherubs. That’s not real,” Jackson argues. “Washington was a great man: He was flawed, he was passionate, he wanted things, he made mistakes. He dealt with a tremendous amount of loss in his life. These are real people, but the further away we get from them walking this earth, the more we start trusting myth as fact.” “They were all just ambitious young kids,” Ramos reminds us. “They all had
Christopher Jackson and Anthony Ramos
“I don’t think we’re redefining history… we’re just telling it in a way that most people haven’t experienced.” — CHRISTOPHER JACKSON dreams and aspirations, and they all made mistakes and were far from perfect, but with each other they made something extraordinary happen.” The thought of America’s founding fathers as “young kids” may seem odd, but the point becomes all too poignant when Hamilton confesses early on in the show: “Only nineteen, but my mind is older/These New York City streets are getting colder”; and “I’d never thought I’d live past twenty/ Where I come from, some get half as many.” In fact, Alexander Hamilton’s story hits close to home for modern youths growing up in poor communities. “I come from a neighborhood where some of my friends didn’t make it past high school, or they just made it past high school and got shot, or are in jail,” Ramos explains. “When [Hamilton] says, ‘Scratch that—this is not a moment, it’s a movement,’ that’s a proclamation I related to. We could just live for the moment, but I have faith that we don’t have to live for just this moment—we can live for this moment and the moments to come. I think a lot of kids in the hood don’t grow up believing that.” In short, Hamilton is not here to reshape history—it’s here to reclaim it. “When you can step out of the classroom and see actual people living this out onstage, you get a glimpse into the lives of these people,” says Ramos. “Using people who look like our general public now and putting them on the stage, kids
can come to this and think, ‘I can actually envision this now. This doesn’t look like something distant to me.’” “It’s always been more about how much we tell, how much truth we speak when we say, ‘This is what happened,’ and you got it by 15 other accounts,” Jackson points out. “I don’t think we’re redefining history, I think we’re just telling it in a way that most people haven’t experienced. These events happened. These people lived.” As Hamilton continues to dazzle audiences for the foreseeable future (and with the way things are going, that may be a long time indeed), patrons should remember that Hamilton’s electrifying soundtrack and stellar performance offer homogenization, not revolution. The lines between cultures and genres have blurred, and audiences in the 21st century are reminded that the melting pot of the American dream may not be as ossified an ideal as many would assume. Hamilton does not cater to one subculture, and it is that universal approach that makes the musical’s message strangely pertinent for both founding fathers and modern audiences: “All these people came from all these places, yet they found a common ground and came together to make this one amazing, spectacular thing happen… which is now our country. You know what I’m saying? They existed,” Ramos says. “I think that’s the message: No dream is too small. Almost anything is possible.”
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CCLAIMED ACTOR AND RISING STAR MADELINE BREWER BEGAN HER CAREER TREMBLING LIKE JELL-O. Sitting in AMDA’s studio with iced coffee in hand, Brewer recounts her nerve-wracking audition for Netflix mega-series “Orange is the New Black”: “I auditioned with shaking hands, staring directly into the camera—it was crazy. I left and called my mom and sobbed for 20 minutes: ‘I’m never doing that again. That was the worst audition of my life. I’m not cut out for this TV thing… I’m not doing it.’” continued
PHOTOGRAPHY: DIMITRY LOISEAU HAIR & MAKE-UP: VALERIE NOBLE WARDROBE STYLING: NANCY CORRALES
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Madeline Brewer with cinematographer Phil Abraham on the set of “Orange is the New Black”
ERIC LEIBOWITZ/NETFLIX
MADELINE BREWER (CONTINUED) »
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ess than a week later, Brewer walked onto the set of “Orange is the New Black” as Tricia Miller, the cornrowed prison inmate struggling with drug addiction and an abusive past. “My agent called me and said, ‘You work on Friday.’ ... Okay—insane!” Ironically, Netflix had a different idea for Tricia’s character. The casting agency wanted a 26-year-old street tough with a New York accent. Fresh out of AMDA, Brewer was only 20, her small dancer’s build hardly giving off the “hardened criminal” vibe. “People at AMDA tell you all the time— whether it be film, TV, theatre, anything— they’re looking for you to be the answer, not to become what they want. … They didn’t know what they were looking for until I walked in and I showed them what I had, albeit I don’t why, ’cause I was shaking like a peeing Chihuahua,” Brewer jokes. Clearly, she did something right: Critics and fans praised Brewer’s performance throughout the entire “OITNB” season, expressing devastation at Tricia’s tragic death. Years later, Brewer has acquired TV credits on some of today’s hottest shows. Now, however, she faces an exciting new challenge: her first starring role in a feature film. Brewer came to AMDA New York from her two-square-mile town of Pitman in South Jersey. “Right off the bat, I had no regrets—I saw all my friends going to fouryear schools and just not getting the same kind of training that I was getting.” Brewer’s career took off after performing for invited casting directors, agents and managers at AMDA’s Industry Panel Event during her final semester. “Panel night worked out very well for me,” she recalls. “I ended up getting an agent who had seen me, and signed with them a couple months later.” Almost immediately, Brewer was cast as the lead role in the musical Liberty, working with director (and AMDA instructor) Igor Goldin for two months in Connecticut. “I couldn’t believe that I had booked something before I even graduated. I was like, how?” Since then, Brewer has landed several major television roles. In fact, the former
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“Tricia was such a vulnerable character that I just had to completely open myself up. She changed my life.” Miss Pitman, NJ—Brewer’s pageant title from her small hometown—has played a junkie prison inmate (Tricia, “OITNB”), a paranoid schizophrenic, a conflicted runaway nursing someone else’s child (Miranda Cates, “Hemlock Grove”), and a reptilian gang member hell-bent on dominance (Billie Trump, “Grimm”). Brewer was particularly excited about the “Grimm” role: “She’s one of the bad guys, and that’s fun to explore because she’s a little twisted. … She’s left her beautiful home and decided that she wants to be part of this anarchist group. She’s like me—she’s tough.” And tough Madeline Brewer has had to be. When asked what she’s learned about the industry, the young actor’s bubbly tone turns serious. “AMDA taught me that you have to be strong. You have to be strong and steady in the things that you believe because people can so easily manipulate you. People can so easily take a young artist’s mind and try to mold it into what they want it to be, or you can be manipulated and try to mold yourself into what you think you need to be. And that’s so wrong. It took me a really long time—and I’m still working on it—to be comfortable with myself and be strong with myself. Once I started looking at my life that way, boom! I booked two jobs.” “Strong and steady” has paid off: Brewer
recently landed the starring role in her first major movie, currently in production. “It’s called Hedgehog. We’re filming in Boston for a month. It’s my first film, and I’m the lead! I’m even taking a week off from the world to go home to Jersey to immerse myself in this world.” The actor is undaunted by her lack of film experience. She credits two AMDA instructors, Ray Virta and Dan Daily, for giving her the foundation she needed for studying camera work: “[The] smaller, nuanced things that you need for camera are things I really learned from those two teachers.” Despite her lack of experience, Brewer smiles at the challenge of beginning her film career in a starring role. “If I have the option to do something that’s gonna grow me and challenge me or keep me on the same level, I’m gonna take the thing that’s gonna challenge me. That’s why I’m so excited about this movie.” Immersing herself in the role, however, has taken its emotional toll. Brewer notes that her character in Hedgehog, Ali, is an exploration of relationships: our interactions with love, people, friendship and, most challenging, ourselves. As she describes Ali—a wannabe comedian struggling with anxiety—Brewer opens up about her own battles with depression. “I have generalized anxiety. It’s
SCOTT GREEN/NBC BROOKE PALMER FOR NETFLIX
something that’s very common, especially within artistic people, anxiety and depression—both of which are something that I’ve dealt with.” Ali’s self-sabotaging mantra is one that Brewer herself has fought to overcome in her own past: If you never try, you never fail. “I’ve wanted to quit a thousand times. I’ve told myself, ‘I’ll give myself one more month of auditions and, if this doesn’t work out, I’m going to go back to New Jersey and be a yoga teacher.’” After “Orange is the New Black,” Brewer spent eight months without work, moving from audition to audition without success. While on set, however, fellow “OITNB” star Kate Mulgrew (Galina “Red” Reznikov) gave her a single piece of advice: Don’t give up. “Kate Mulgrew took me aside one day and put her hands on my shoulders. She was just like, ‘Keep doing it.’ … [If] someone like Kate Mulgrew would tell me to keep going, why would I ever, ever bother quitting?” Determined to continue despite the lapse in work, Brewer drew strength from her experience as Tricia in “OITNB.” “I was a completely different person before Tricia. I was very closed off, not like a mean person, but I wasn’t open, and I wasn’t open to giving or receiving love as easily.” Raising her hand, Brewer reveals the ornate letter “T” tattooed on her arm. “Tricia was such a vulnerable character that I just had to completely open myself up. She changed my life. … She changed who I am at the core. I’m gonna cry!” The friends she found at AMDA provided the external support that kept her going.
“This industry is a bad boyfriend. … Sometimes you want to break up with it, but you gotta keep coming back because you love it…”
“If it weren’t for my friends and the friend group that I surrounded myself with at AMDA, I would have left. … In those few people, I found my soul mates, my people who will be with me through anything and have that extra understanding of this industry and of this world and of the type of person that I am.” Having faced down both the industry and her personal demons, Brewer acknowledges the struggles that have shaped her as both an artist and a person. “The more life experience you have, the more emotions you have gone through… the more things that you can pull from and bring and color a character so much more beautifully and accurately and give them those nuances that are so important. I learned that from my teachers.” Despite entertainment’s stereotype as a cutthroat industry, Brewer claims you can’t succeed as an actor without a deep sense of empathy and community: “I was not a good actress when I first came to AMDA. I’m okay with saying it. I learned so much as a person, as a performer. … AMDA was a place that I felt very at home, and I met some of my best friends in the entire world. “This industry is a bad boyfriend. It makes you feel bad about yourself. It gives you a little bit, and then it pushes you away for a couple months. Sometimes you want to break up with it, but you gotta keep
Brewer on her “Grimm” character Billie Trump: “She’s like me—she’s tough.”
coming back because you love it and deep down you know it’s a good thing.” So what’s Brewer’s advice for aspiring performers? Simple: “You can never work hard enough. … I know plenty of people in my AMDA graduating class who were not the best singers, or dancers, or actors, but they work constantly because they push, and they move, and they don’t stop going.” When you find someone you admire, she adds, aspire to their level: “I found those people at AMDA that I could go into a practice room with and show them my song and learn from them. … That’s working smart.” Taking a last sip from her now empty coffee, Brewer rises to catch her flight to New York, where she will be filming “Grimm.” Before leaving, however, she pauses to repeat her advice to AMDA students: “Work hard. Work very, very hard, and then keep working. Then take a nap. And then work hard again.”
Brewer (as Miranda Cates) with Bill Skarsgård in a scene from “Hemlock Grove”
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ALUMNI GIVE BACK SARAH STILES: PHOTO COURTESY OF BC/EFA
AMDA graduates put their fame and talents to work for worthy causes. JESSE TYLER FERGUSON: ONE Difference Campaign with Purina Purina ONE recently announced Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family,” Mitchell Pritchett) as the new face for the company’s ONE Difference campaign, a fundraiser bringing awareness to animal welfare, specifically dogs. Together with his husband, Justin Mikita, Ferguson recently adopted their second shelter dog, Fennel, a Maltese Poodle who now happily lives with their Maltese Yorkie, Leaf. As Ferguson said in a press release, “I’m happy to work on the ONE Difference campaign because I think it’s a great way to recognize the people out there who are dedicated to making a positive difference for dogs, whether it’s volunteering at a shelter or adopting a shelter dog.” The Purina ONE Difference campaign supports the Petfinder Foundation, which has donated over $20 million to help find homes for pets in animal shelters. Learn more about the campaign at PurinaONE.com/Shelter-Network.
CHRISTOPHER SIEBER AND SARAH STILES: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS This past September, Broadway superstars Christopher Sieber (Matilda the Musical, Shrek, Spamalot) and Sarah Stiles (Hand To God, Avenue Q) joined other Great White Way elite in the 29th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction. The event benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (the largest nonprofit AIDS organization in the theatrical arts) through auctions of autographs, photos and Broadway memorabilia. Over 60 Broadway actors from 22 shows contributed and participated in the cause. Founded in 1988, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $250 million for Americans with AIDS and other critical illnesses. It also awards annual grants to hundreds of AIDS and service organizations nationwide. Learn more at BroadwayCares.org.
ALBERT GUERZON: Artists for World Peace on Broadway Albert Guerzon (Honeymoon in Vegas, Mamma Mia!, Ghost) joined fellow Broadway performers in the fifth annual benefit concert Artists for World Peace on Broadway. Each actor walked onto the stage wearing the International Peace Belt, which has traveled across five continents and is adorned with coins and gems from 115 countries. Founded in 2003, Artists for World Peace is a nonprofit organization that provides food, housing, healthcare and education to underserved communities by supporting grassroots organizations around the world. Visit them at ArtistsForWorldPeace.org.
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Sarah Stiles volunteering for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
CHRISTOPHER JACKSON AND ANTHONY RAMOS: Ars Nova “Revolution” Taking a break from their extraordinary success in Broadway’s hit musical Hamilton (see page 8 for more), Christopher Jackson and Anthony Ramos took part in a benefit for nonprofit performing arts organization Ars Nova. The duo joined dozens of performers in a night of festivities at the Edison Ballroom to benefit artist community programs in New York City. The event raised money through silent auctions, performances and a dinner during which donors could host performers at their tables. Ars Nova aims to “give voice to a new generation of artists and audiences” through supporting and producing innovative theatre, music and comedy programs. Check out their latest projects at ArsNovaNYC.com.
TIM DOLAN: Dream Makers Performing Arts and Rosie’s Theatre Kids Programs When not performing Off-Broadway in Once Upon a Mattress, Tim Dolan (founder/owner of the successful tour company Broadway Up Close) volunteers as a musical theatre instructor for the charities Rosie O’Donnell’s Theatre Kids and Dream Makers Performing Arts. At Dream Makers, Dolan created a musical theatre program from scratch, and has devoted every Thursday for the past six years to teaching dance technique, singing and acting. Rosie O’Donnell’s Theatre Kids offers arts education to lowincome families across New York City. After teaching them musical theatre, singing and dancing, Dolan takes the kids to see a Broadway musical. “This is the first time most kids see anything artistic or musical or theatre related, and then we take them all to see a Broadway show,” Dolan notes. “For these city kids, Broadway is in their backyard, but they have no way of getting to Times Square to pay for their tickets.” With such a young audience, Dolan takes the kids to child-friendly Broadway, including Newsies, Cinderella and Matilda.
CASEY RODGERS/INVISION FOR PURINA ONE
Alumnus Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”) and his newly adopted shelter dog, Fennel
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CRAFTING CONFLICT
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raining a machine gun platoon in the heart of Australia, AMDA stage combat instructor Charles Currier found himself face-to-face with executive producer Tom Hanks, who wished to speak to the military tech team about his vision for HBO’s Emmy-winning miniseries “The Pacific.” “If this doesn’t look like documentary footage shot in HD from 1945,” Hanks said, “I’m sending you all home. Your job is to make it look flawless in terms of its integration of the time period.” An intimidating task, but Currier couldn’t have been happier. “I was a little scared, but I was also thrilled: I love to hear the commitment from an executive producer that they want truth.” Years later, Currier found himself on a set where “truth” seemed scarce: the zombie apocalypse movie Resident Evil: Extinction, where he trained lead Milla Jovovich to use kukri knives in a “truthful” way for slaying hordes of the undead. “I tried to figure out, what kills this kind of zombie? Is it only head trauma, is it cervical spine damage, and how do I exploit the principles of the kukri knife to render those kinds of things?” As AMDA’s stage combat instructors know, this is one of the greatest challenges an actor faces: bringing emotional and physical honesty to violence, no matter the setting. Instructor Tim Brown, who worked on such blockbusters as Marvel’s Thor and Liam Neeson’s mobster film Run All Night, described the acute challenge of training students to balance emotion with physicality in stage combat. “I’m playing a character who’s trying to kill you with Left to right: Tim Brown, Lacy Altwine, Charles Currier everything I have. Emotionally, I have to portray that honestly, and as a performer I have to play that dichotomy where my body language and my combat and rapier/dagger, with some students even receiving emotions are trying to kill you but I’m also keeping you safe. It’s recommendations from the SAFD for the seamless integration of one of the hardest things any actor ever has to do onstage.” combat into their acting. That hard work pays off. Today, AMDA offers one of the Lacy Altwine, the supervisor for AMDA Los Angeles’ combat finest stage combat training programs for college students in division, described a few course options AMDA’s students have: the country. Where most performing arts institutions offer one “Stage Combat I is unarmed combat, and Stage Combat II is single or two stage combat instructors, AMDA boasts a faculty of 13 rapier combat. ... If they decide to take Stage Combat III, they instructors between campuses, all of whom have professional get to take rapier/dagger and broadsword. After Stage Combat combat experience. Each spring, AMDA’s students have the III, we offer three advanced combat classes on a rotating basis: opportunity to get certified by the Society of American Fight Currently in the fall we offer Fight Choreography/Direction; Directors (SAFD) through a rigorous examination in hand-to-hand in the spring we offer the Skills Proficiency Test in unarmed
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JOE HUBBARD
AMDA’s combat program trains students in the art of violence on stage and screen.
[combat] and rapier/dagger; and in the summer we offer Environmental Combat.” The combat division is also thinking about creating a rotating specialty course, where students can train in specific fighting styles, including martial arts, knight warfare and katanas. Wielding a weapon, however, is only the beginning. The career of a stuntman can involve severe injury and, at times, death. In its stage combat program, AMDA thus takes great care to train its students on working safely in Hollywood’s most dangerous profession. “The school values the commitment to combat and what that provides each student in terms of actual self-protection, selfpreservation,” Currier said. “People get hurt, and unfortunately sometimes die on sets, which is ridiculous.” Yet nowadays, safety seems to be the last thing on the audience’s mind: From superhero movies to high-octane car chases, the demand for big-budget violence is greater than ever. As Brown notes, “The audience is faster, more sophisticated in terms of that stuff. So you have to work a little more to make sure you’re delivering that story in a way that they’re gonna buy into.” And therein lies the rub for actors: meeting the extraordinary demands of an audience inundated with Hollywood’s superhuman gods and explosive warfare. “It’s a little trickier to create believable works onstage,” Altwine added. “[Movies] can use the camera and camera tricks to make things look great, but you actually have to be pretty skilled to make it look good—really good—onstage. I think that’s where a lot of our students have an advantage, because they get that opportunity to learn that.” For this reason, AMDA focuses its stage combat training on evoking honesty and believability in its students. Despite this, film and television often push away from emotional honesty in combat. For action-heavy productions such as Marvel films, Star Wars and the Fast and the Furious, storytelling often falls to the sidelines in favor of 20-minute fight sequences with cataclysmic destruction in every frame. As Altwine remarked of the modern Star Wars trilogy (Episodes I, II and III), “It doesn’t seem like they’re attacking each other, it seems like they’re attacking each other’s blades. To me, that’s where it’s more about flash and bash than it is about story: just a lot of cool spinning lights.” “It’s not just about the 100-foot wall of fire,” Currier remarked. “It’s about decisions being made—well or badly—by an individual character.” AMDA’s stage combat instructors emphasize to their students that choreography is “physical dialogue” to be taken no less seriously than the spoken line. That critical foundation is why Brown believes shows such as “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones” are making a name for themselves in the face of superhero blockbusters: Audiences can’t emotionally connect to an invincible character. “I’m never
really worried that Thor is going to lose, or Iron Man is going to be defeated... But when you take a human, put them up against a supernatural force like zombies, and you only give them more rudimentary tools, you’re putting them at such a disadvantage that now it takes a heroic struggle to overcome that—and that’s a story that we as humans are more passionate about.” Successful action scripts share another secret for connecting to their audiences: environments with limited technology. From “Game of Thrones” and “The Walking Dead” to pretty much any blockbuster based on a young adult fantasy novel, Hollywood seems obsessed with pulling audiences into medieval or post-apocalyptic worlds. So why the trend? “No guns,” says Brown. “That’s the biggie. Without guns, the characters are forced to fight in a more visceral, immediate way. … If I can shoot the bad guy from here, that’s one thing, but if I have to go up and kill him with my bare hands or I have to get close for the zombie to almost get me, to actually save myself, that just ups the stakes. It’s more dramatic, it’s more immediate and visceral for the characters, and therefore more exciting for the audience.” While the violence may be staged, the fear is real, and that excitement keeps audiences coming. “It offers escapism in a sense, a sense of fantasy that they can escape through another world and live through the characters,” Altwine argues. Bearing this in mind, AMDA’s instructors caution students that great actors don’t turn to the latest fire-throwing superhero for inspiration: To find the real heroes, actors must turn to the world around them. “I’d rather write the zombie movie about the librarian and the accountant laying it on the line and fighting to preserve things than the ‘warrior’,” remarks Currier. “So if you’re coming into my class, I feel it’s my job to find a way to challenge you. Whether it’s in your personal perspective of who you are to be a warrior or not, I’m going to try to find the warrior spirit, to train it, honor it and get it strong.” At the end of the day, stage combat is not about flashing swords, exploding motorcycles or walls of fire. It’s an emotional challenge demanding actors to externalize their personal struggles into universal emotions for audiences to understand. “Frankly, I don’t think you choose to be an actor or performer of any kind without overcoming some struggle, emotional or social,” said Currier. “You decide to do this job, and you decide to come to AMDA and train and tell stories. And everybody wants to tell a big story.” AMDA’s stage combat program allows students to tell that story: Surrounded by the clash of ringing broadswords and lunging bodies, AMDA’s instructors push students through a rigorous program that trains students to confront their own emotions, bodies and fears. “If you’re doing something you’re not scared of, you’re not being brave,” says Brown. “It’s only when you’re faced with something you’re terrified of, and you do it anyway—now that’s courage.”
“…my body language and my emotions are trying to kill you but I’m also keeping you safe. It’s one of the hardest things any actor ever has to do onstage.” — Tim Brown
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CHANDRA LEE SCHWARTZ
The accomplished alumna talks about Café Society, auditioning, world premieres and teaching.
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llustrious AMDA alumna Chandra Lee Schwartz landed a starring role in a world premiere...again. Broadway veteran Schwartz recently took the stage at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles as the lead in Café Society. Written by Emmy Award winner Peter Lefcourt, the play is satirical glimpse at urban L.A. and the all-too-real characters who inhabit it. Schwartz played Kari Shaw, a Midwesterner looking to make it big—no matter what. “I’m playing an actress who lives in L.A. who’s trying to get work on television…so it’s a real stretch. [Laughs.] I don’t want to say she’s a caricature, but it definitely exploits the stereotypes that actors and actresses have. It’s a really, really fun role.” Schwartz is most renowned for her performance as one of Broadway’s most “popular” roles, Glinda, quirky lead in the Tonyand Grammy Award-winning musical Wicked. Oddly enough, Schwartz’s role as Kari in Café Society bore a striking resemblance to Glinda’s “blonde” demeanor and megalomania: “She’s very ambitious and will stop at nothing to get what she wants from her career. That’s very dissimilar to me—I’m very dedicated, I’m very professional, but I’m much more go with the flow with my career.” That may be why her character, Kari—the embodiment of the naïve, desperate actress moving from middle America to the big city, her phone a speed dial away from her agent at any given moment—initially posed such a problem for Schwartz to embrace. “As an actress playing an actress…it’s a little bit hard for me, because I’m not like Kari, and I don’t want to be like Kari—it’s my worst nightmare to be someone like that.” Schwartz notes that in her professional experience, actors who stop at nothing to land their career regardless of the cost tend to receive stigma rather than fame: “I’ve seen it, let’s just put it that way. At auditions you can feel it, that desperation.” So what’s the difference between starring in a world premiere versus an already famous production? According to Schwartz, not a thing. Despite being the first person to play Kari Shaw, Schwartz explains that she didn’t just walk in and create the character from the ground up: The idea of Kari existed long before Café Society reached the stage. “I didn’t create this character—I’ve been watching her my whole life at auditions. I’ve been picking pieces from everyone I’ve seen over the years…and parts of myself as well.” Just like the long-established role of Glinda, the character of Kari did not come without her own social history and expectations. It’s for this reason that Schwartz practices what she calls “protecting the actor”: the resistance to inundate her performance with how others performed or conceived of the character before her.
Schwartz reveals that, prior to being cast as Glinda for the first national tour of Wicked, she had only seen the show once— the night before her final audition, in fact. “Whenever I go into a show—Hairspray, Wicked—with these iconic characters, I am very mindful on my end as an actor to kind of protect [myself] from too much exposure to the role. … I don’t listen to the soundtrack, I don’t listen to cast albums, because I don’t want to be influenced by [them].” In short, Schwartz approaches a world premiere in the same way she would a revival or replacement role: as free as possible from the influence of that character’s history and expectations, making each role unique to her. Café Society proved no exception: “I had no blueprints for Kari…but I think that’s because I protected myself as an actor by not overexposing myself.” When it comes down to it, Schwartz’s mantra centers around honesty and integrity as an artist, values Schwartz ingrains in her students as an instructor at AMDA Los Angeles. Recently, Schwartz headed the musical theatre portion of the AMDA Summer Conservatory, leading alumni panels, teaching workshops and instructing high school students in audition preparation. “I could really help them make their audition work and their acting more honest and more real to who they are, to bring out their essence. And I love it. I truly love teaching.” Her key focus? Respecting yourself enough to be a sincere performer. “Whether I’m directing them, mentoring them, teaching them…I try to impart that you have to bring yourself to your audition, your role, whatever you’re doing. Because that’s what sets you apart from other people. I learned that through trial and error as I went along, and realized the reason I’m getting hired is because I have a real good sense of who I am, and I bring that to my work.” Schwartz teaches her AMDA students to fight the urge to tailor their audition to what they think a casting agent is looking for: “Walking into an audition thinking, ‘Okay, what do they want to see?’… [you’re] never going to accomplish good work. You don’t know what they want, and sometimes they don’t know what they want. If you can approach the material honestly from a real place…then you can have a successful audition and feel good about it, no matter if you book the job or not.” Speaking the day before opening night of Café Society, we couldn’t help but ask if Schwartz still got nervous. Her response: not at all. “There’s this moment that happens when you get onstage with an audience. For me, that is the moment when I feel at home. That is the moment when I feel completely comfortable. I walk out onstage, the lights come up and I’m like, cool. I got this.”
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JOHAN PERSSON
GOING GLOBAL
Alumni shine in shows and performances around the world. Broadway Veteran Anastacia McCleskey Takes Bacharach Review to London Accomplished Broadway performer Anastacia McCleskey (Book of Mormon, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Hair) is currently wowing London audiences on West End with her role in the musical revue Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined. The show, which premiered Off-Broadway under its original title What’s It All About, received rave reviews and features new interpretations of such Bacharach classics as “Walk on By,” “Always Something There to Remind Me,” and McCleskey’s showstopper “Don’t Make Me Over.” Critic Michael Roddy (Reuters) wrote that McCleskey has “the troupe’s strongest soul-Motown voice,” and “brings down the house with a searing version of Warwick’s ‘Don’t Make Me Over.’”
Wendell Simpkins Wins Two Italian Gospel Music Awards AMDA is thrilled to announce that New York graduate Wendell Simpkins has won in two of the three categories in which he was nominated at the Italian Gospel Music Awards! Simpkins took home the awards for Best Male Vocalist and Best Contemporary Artist, and was nominated for Best Live Performance Artist. In addition to his impressive victories, Simpkins performed at the awards ceremony, which took place in Padova, Italy before a crowd of internationally renowned artists. Simpkins has been touring Europe since 2011, when he attracted the attention of an agent while singing in Rome. Since then, he has been working on original music while performing alongside such performers as Jessica Simpson, Stephanie Mills, George Benson, Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin and up-andcoming jazz sensation Joyce Elaine Yuille. Audience reaction has been so positive that Wendell’s initial contract was recently extended for another four years. “It was AMDA that gave me the tools to sustain myself in my work,” says Simpkins. “They provided me with the tools to produce effective art to my audiences. AMDA taught me that a real artist exposes himself from the inside out....freely without regrets.”
Olivia Lucci Performs in Guam Alongside Tigers, Magicians and Disappearing Cars LA Dance Theatre Conservatory graduate Olivia Lucci is currently dancing in Dream, an innovative, Vegas-style dinner theatre in Guam which fuses Eastern and Western theatre traditions for a fascinating spectacle of magic and pageantry. In the show,
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Anastacia McClesky
two young girls fall asleep and are transported alongside other dreamers to a fantastical world populated by magicians, showgirls and live tigers. The show includes a dazzling array of illusions, including an entire car disappearing before the audience’s eyes. As a showgirl/magician’s assistant, Lucci will perform twice a day, six days a week, through May. Thus far, she has described the experience as “unreal” and “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Odette Villarreal Brought the Addams Family to Mexico with ‘Los Locos Addams’ Think you’ve never heard of the hit show The Crazy Addams? Think again. The Spanish version of the musical The Addams Family first made a splash on Broadway in 2010. While bringing the musical to Mexico City’s Teatro de los Insurgentes, producers Dontee Kiehn and Ben Whiteley found that the original TV show had aired there as “Los Locos Addams,” so they altered the musical’s title to avoid confusion. Alongside fellow AMDA alumna Estibalitz Ruiz, Odette Villarreal has made a name for herself both in Los Locos Addams as well as performances throughout Mexico. She can currently be seen alongside her sister Gilda in the musical group The V Sisters,
Olivia Lucci Wendell Simpkins
Natalia Saltiel
Odette Villarreal
Paloma Cordero
Gina Castellanos
Estibalitz Ruiz
who perform an opening act for a new production of The Black Dahlia. The future seems bright for Villarreal to join more families—Addams or otherwise.
Alumni Light Up Mexico City in ‘Annie’ The Spanish version of hit musical Annie, Mexico City’s Anita la Huerfanita (Annie the Little Orphan) opened on October 9 at the famed Teatro de los Insurgentes. The revival served as an AMDA reunion for several alumni: AMDA New York graduate Gina Castellanos (Swing) joined Paloma Cordero (Mrs. Pugh/ Understudy for Miss Hannigan); Estibalitz Ruiz (Ensemble/ Understudy for Grace); and Natalia Saltiel (Ensemble, Star To Be). Whether at AMDA or in their professional work, the performers had almost all worked together prior to Annie. “I met Paloma at AMDA,” recalls Castellanos. “I did Mamma Mia! with Estibalitz, and finally Natalia who is the youngest, did Mary Poppins with Paloma. But we all knew about each other somehow.” The reunion is fortuitous not just because it allows the grads to work together 2,600 miles from their original training at AMDA New York, but because theatrical opportunities of this magnitude can be sparse in Mexico City. “This is the first time that so many of us AMDA grads get to work together in our hometown,” explains Castellanos. “In Mexico, there are only two opportunities a year to make it on a big production.
And we are so happy to be performing together on the most famous theater in our city, which is Teatro de los Insurgentes.” The challenge, of course, was to make the original 1977 musical—based on the depression-era comic of the same name—feel relevant to a contemporary Mexico City audience. But Castellanos maintains that that Annie has lost nothing in translation. “It is essentially the same story, with the same score and libretto as the original production of Annie,” says Castellanos. “Nevertheless, it’s an original production. Keith A. Batten [Director], along with Brent Alan Huffman [Musical Director] and David Eggers [Choreographer] have done an incredible job creating a new production that feels fresh and still remains classical.” Fortunately, Castellanos and the other alumni found their training uniquely helpful both in securing a place in the production and in the performances themselves. “AMDA has definitely taught and showed us how to work in the business. Also how to be prepared, but more importantly how to create good professional connections based on our training and work ethic…It has been an exciting rollercoaster. Creating a new version of any show is always a challenge. But we have found a great deal of patience and a fun AMDA grad reunion. We like working together—we speak the same language!”
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CAISSIE LEVY
From Fantine in Les Mis to Julie Nixon in First Daughter Suite
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et’s face it: It’s good to be Caissie Levy. After 13 years of Broadway musicals, national tours and world premieres, the AMDA alumna has landed more dream roles than most actors score in a lifetime: She’s played Maureen (Rent), Penny Pingleton (Hairspray), Elphaba (Wicked), Sheila (Hair), Molly (Ghost the Musical), and Fantine in the Broadway revival of Les Misérables. When not performing some of the greatest female roles known to Broadway, Levy’s out teaching students at AMDA New York, doing voiceovers for countless commercials or performing songs in concert from her debut solo album With You. The Canadian-born actress shows no signs of slowing down. Off-Broadway, Levy joined an all-star female cast in the world premiere of First Daughter Suite (Tony-nominated composer Michael John LaChiusa). Featuring four interconnected vignettes, the musical confronts the often complex bond between mother and daughter, a relationship further complicated by the harsh pressures placed upon presidential first families. With the blaring of New York traffic still audible from her 24th-story apartment, Levy took a breather to chat on the phone with her alma mater before launching into tech week. You’re in the world premiere of First Daughter Suite! Can you tell us about the musical? It’s a really cool piece! It’s a show that explores the relationship between a mother and daughter in certain families. It’s all women—you never meet any of the presidents, but you hear about them quite a lot. Most of us are double cast, so in the first act I’m part of the Nixon vignette playing Julie Nixon, and in the second act I’m playing Patti Davis, the Reagan daughter. They’re very different roles. … It’s the first time I’m playing people that are real, so that’s been an interesting process to explore: I’ve never had that responsibility before.
What’s it like to go from playing Fantine in Les Mis to your roles in First Daughter Suite? It’s a giant switch. … Playing Fantine was absolutely a dream come true! It was the show that made me want to be an actor when I was a little kid. It was a really cool, full-circle moment. But it was dark. Not that this show isn’t, but after doing Ghost and Murder Ballad and Les Mis for three years or so, I said to my agent: “Whatever we do next, no crying and no dying.” I had to not go there for a little while, and I’ve been very grateful: Although there’s a hefty dose of darkness in First Daughter Suite, there’s also a lot of hope and humor, a lot of different colors I get to explore as an actor. That’s been really exciting. It’s been very fast, too: We only had three weeks of rehearsal,
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now we’re in tech, and start previews Tuesday. It’s fast and furious—faster than Broadway, where you’d have five weeks of rehearsal and two weeks of tech. Wait. You only had three weeks to master two roles? Yeah, it’s been a beast. “Master” is a lovely thing of you to say! [Laughs.] I’ve been drawing a lot from my coaching and teaching: just to go easy on yourself and give yourself a moment to take a deep breath, because it’s very daunting. Everybody wants to be perfect. But art isn’t perfect—interesting art isn’t, anyways. So I’m trying to release that expectation and show up every day to rehearsal, do my work, be present with it and not judge myself, not let the “actor brain” take over too much. You’ve starred in five Broadway musicals, and recorded your own album. How did music take such a large role in your life? It’s funny—growing up, I couldn’t really do a lot of musicals: There weren’t a ton being produced in my high school or community theatre. … When I got to AMDA, I really didn’t know that many musicals: I knew about five or six when I showed up. So that was a steep learning curve, ’cause everybody knew Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber and all these greats, and I knew basically Rent and Les Mis and Cats. What felt great about getting to AMDA was I got this rich musical theatre education that I wouldn’t have had if I pursued a straight theatre program, which is what I had auditioned for in Canada. Music’s always just been a huge part of my life. What made you apply to AMDA? I think the musical theatre education is very strong at AMDA—the teachers are really devoted, the library is exceptional, and the resources available to you as a student at AMDA are great. The main reason I came to AMDA in the first place was that it was in New York City—it’s really hard to compete with that, because when you move here and you’re in the city where Broadway happens, you innately get an education you won’t get somewhere else in a different state. You won’t have the typical college experience…but for me, that’s what I was looking for. I found that walking down the street and seeing the Broadway marquees, learning my way around the city before I graduated, was absolutely invaluable to becoming a successful working actress. I went to all the auditions: I treated them as free acting classes, and took notes on how I did in the audition room and started to get callbacks. I learned what works, and what doesn’t. Talent gets you super far, but you have to have the tenacity and drive to show up and wake up and give your best every day— that’s what gets you jobs.
JENNY ANDERSON JOAN MARCUS
Carly Tamer, Rachel Bay Jones, and Caissie Levy (foreground) in rehearsal for First Daughter Suite
Betsy Morgan, Barbara Walsh, and Caissie Levy in First Daughter Suite at The Public Theater
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ALUMNI UPDATES Whether starring on stage or screen, producing, directing, choreographing, composing, teaching, or pursuing their dreams in other ways, AMDA alumni and their work have a significant impact on the world around them. This list of recent performances and accomplishments is a small sample of their prolific achievements.
BROADWAY NINA ARIANDA Fool for Love (May) COLIN CUNLIFFE Finding Neverland (Ensemble) TYNE DALY It Shoulda Been You (Judy) JOHN EDWARDS Jersey Boys (Barry Belson/ Ensemble) SAVANNAH FRAZIER Amazing Grace (Sophie, Mary Catlett u/s) CHRISTOPHER JACKSON Hamilton (George Washington) BRENNYN LARK Les Misérables (Eponine) Q LIM The King and I (Ensemble) MICHAEL MINDLIN Aladdin (Swing/Dance Captain/Fight Captain) AUTUMN OGAWA The King and I (Ensemble) GENNY LIS PADILLA On Your Feet (Rebecca/ Ensemble) MAMIE PARRIS School of Rock (Patty) On the Twentieth Century (Agnes, Lily u/s) ANTHONY RAMOS Hamilton (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton) EMILIO RAMOS The King and I (Ensemble) GABRIELLE REID Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Swing) KYLE SCATLIFFE The Color Purple (Harpo) Les Misérables (Enjolras) ATSUHISA SHINOMIYA The King and I (Ensemble) CHRISTOPHER SIEBER Matilda (Miss Trunchbull) COCO SMITH Book of Mormon (Vacation Swing) CARLA STEWART The Color Purple (Olivia/ Ensemble) SARAH STILES Hand to God (Jessica) KYLE TAYLOR-PARKER Kinky Boots (Lola)
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HERNANDO UMANA Kinky Boots (Ensemble/Angel)
ROB OUETTE 42nd Street (Oscar)
KATIE MEBANE HARVEY Oh, Kay!
MINAMI YUSUI The King and I (Ensemble)
JEANETTE PALMER Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Silly Girl/Enchanted Object)
CHULSOON JANG Mr. Yoo, The Mortician (Chuck)
ON TOUR/CRUISE LYNN ANDREWS Annie (Miss Hannigan)
MATTHEW RENAUDO Disney’s Beauty and the Beast International Tour (LeFou)
BRIAN CHRISTOPHER BEACH Book of Mormon (Elder McKinley)
CASSIDY ROBERTSON AIDA Cruise Line (Lead Vocalist)
LAMONT BROWN 42nd Street (Andy Lee)
CARSON ROBERTSON Holland America Cruise Line (Dancer)
TAYLORE BURKE 42nd Street (Ensemble) KAHLIA DAVIS 42nd Street (Ensemble) EYAKNENO EKPO “Motor City,” “The Brits” (Carnival Cruise Line Fantasy) TIFFANY ENGEN Kinky Boots (Lauren) CARISSA FIORILLO Bullets Over Broadway (Ensemble) KYLE FREEMAN Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Judah) J. HARRISON GHEE Kinky Boots (Lola) JEMMA JANE Bullets Over Broadway (Olive Neal)
JADE ROSENBERG Disney Fantasy Cruiseline (Mainstage Singer) JULIA SAMMON Disney’s Beauty and the Beast International Tour (Silly Girl/ Enchanted Object) NICHOLE TURNER Book of Mormon (Ensemble) MATT WEINSTEIN Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Young Max) EVAN WITTSTOCK Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Burn the Floor (Norwegian Cruise Line) BRADLEY ALLAN ZARR Bullets Over Broadway (Warner Purcell)
OFF-BROADWAY
KRISTEN JETER Book of Mormon (Swing)
MARIA BRIGGS Oh, Kay! (Ensemble)
MELISSA JONES Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Babette)
HANNA BURKE Be Our Guest (Judith)
RICHARD LAFLEUR The Producers (Leo Bloom) DANIEL LECLAIRE Book of Mormon (Ensemble) MICHAEL LAMASA Bullets Over Broadway (Assistant Director) BEAR MANESCALCHI Disney Dream Cruise Line (Mainstage Singer) MARKESHA MCCOY Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Norwegian) VANESSA MITCHELL 42nd Street (Lorraine) GEORGINA MOORE 42nd Street (Ensemble) CARLOS MORALES 42nd Street (Mac, Doc, Thug)
CASEY COLGAN Oh, Kay! (Director) MELISSA CROY Bound for Broadway Cabaret (Featured Artist) Off-Broadway Industry Showcase (Featured Artist) ARIEL CRUZ EverScape (Female NPC 2)
PATRICK KELLY Be Our Guest (Uncle Hamish) ANTHONY LAGUARDIA Oh, Kay! CAISSIE LEVY First Daughter Suite (Patti Davis, Julie Nixon) NICK LOCILENTO Oh, Kay! (Shorty) ABIGAIL LUDROF Ghostlight the Musical (Molly Cook) JERRY RAGO Who’ll Save the Plowboy MEREDITH THERRIEN Be Our Guest (Kandi) NIC THOMPSON Oh, Kay! (Larry) La Cage Aux Folles (Cagelle) BOBBY TRAVERSA Be Our Guest (Director) DEVIN VOGEL Oh, Kay! (Stage Manager) JASON WISE Full House The Musical (Director/Choreographer)
REGIONAL/OTHER ISAIAH ALEXANDER West Side Story (Indio, Bernardo u/s) ANDREW ALLEN Rent (Ensemble) DEANNA CAROLYN BAKKER Thoroughly Modern Millie (Miss Dorothy Brown) JOHN PAUL BATISTA West Side Story (Pepe/Indio) Mary Poppins (Ensemble) Young Frankenstein ESSIE CANTY BERTAIN In the Heights (Nina)
DESIREE DAVAR Oh, Kay! (Ensemble)
JUAN CABALLER West Side Story (Bernardo) Singin’ in the Rain
ALEXA DE BARR Trip of Love (Dancer)
CARLY CANNATA West Side Story (Consuelo)
ANIE DELGADO Molasses in January (Lori)
FRANCESCA CAPETTA 1920 Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic
SAM GERSHMAN Oh, Kay!
EDWARD CARIGNAN A Little Night Music (Quintet)
ELIANA GONZALEZ A Spanish Harlem Story
ADANTE CARTER Carrie the Musical (Dale “Stokes” Ullman)
ALUMNI UPDATES
Richard Lafleur (left) and Jessica Ernest in the National Tour of The Producers
Brennyn Lark as Eponine in Les Misérables
CATHERINE LEE CHRISTIE My Fair Lady
JOSH KENNEY The Full Monty (Ethan Girard)
HOLLY ROSE Boeing Boeing (Gabriella)
BRYCE COFIELD The Addams Family (Director)
AMANDA KLOOTS Spamalot (Ensemble)
ARIEL SAMUELS Singin’ in the Rain
TOMMIE LEE CRUTCHER Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies (Swing)
BRANDI LACY Singin’ in the Rain
CHANDRA LEE SCHWARTZ Café Society
JEREMY LAGUNAS Peter and the Starcatcher (Peter/The Boy) 9 to 5: The Musical Spamalot (Patsy)
AMY SEGAL Carrie the Musical (Ruth Gogan, Carrie cover)
VALERIE ROSE CURIEL Carrie the Musical (Chris Hargensen) DESIREE DAVAR Peter Pan (Liza/Tiger Lily) KARLI DINARDO West Side Story (Anita) MICHAEL DIROMA Smokey Joe’s Café (ensemble) Anything Goes (Billy Crocker) The Full Monty (Jerry) JESSE TYLER FERGUSON Spamalot (Sir Robin) ROY FLORES West Side Story (Chino) RAMIRO GARCIA JR. Damn Yankees (Ensemble) LAURA HODOS “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” Cabaret JENNY HOFFMAN Damn Yankees (Ensemble) CARMEN JACKSON Rent (Ensemble) STEVE JUN Wombat Man: The Cereal Murders (The Sidekick to be Named Later) LOGAN JUNKINS Cats (Rum Tum Tugger)
TRAVIS LELAND Damn Yankees (Joe Hardy) NICK LINGNOFSKI A Little Night Music (Carl Magnus) MATTHEW MALECKI My Fair Lady (Freddy) J. ELAINE MARCOS Waterfall (Pasadena Playhouse; Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theatre) BREIGHANNA MINNEMA Nice Work If You Can Get It (Eileen Evergreen) KATIE MOYA Cinderella (Cinderella) The Golden Mickeys, Hong Kong Disneyland (Belle) THERESA MURRAY Singin’ in the Rain GABRIEL NAVARRO Singin’ in the Rain EMILY PADGETT Seaplane LINDSAY ROGINSKI ShowStoppers, Las Vegas (Principal Singer)
ROBERT SERRANO Hairspray (Link Larkin) JENNIFER SIMPSON West Side Story (Graziella/ Dance Captain) Singin’ in the Rain HANNAH SLOAT Shakespeare’s Henry IV (Prince Hal) STEPHANIE TORNS Waitress the Musical (Ensemble) KRISTIN TOWERS-ROWLES “Scenie” Award: LA Musical Theater Star of the Year A Lovely Lineage (Creator/ Performer) Private Eyes (Lisa) A Class Act (Mona) RODRIGO VARANDAS West Side Story (Pepe) Singin’ in the Rain CHRYSSIE WHITEHEAD Grease (Choreographer) JUSTIN MICHAEL WILCOX Singin’ in the Rain (Cosmo Brown) Disney’s Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular (Iago, Disneyland)
TV/FILM NINA ARIANDA “Hannibal” (Molly Graham) ANNA ATWATER Kensho at the Bedfellow TRAI BYERS “Empire” (Andre Lyon) MADELINE BREWER “Grimm” (Skalengeck) “Hemlock Grove” (Miranda Cates) “Orange is the New Black” (Tricia Miller) VICTORIA CARTAGENA “Gotham” (Renee Montoya) MATTHEW CHIZEVER Bennett Auto Supply (spokesperson, national commercials) “Bloodline” “Graceland” “Miles” BRETT DAVERN “Awkward” (Jake Rosati) BAILEY DE YOUNG “Faking It” (Lauren Cooper) ADAM DINGEMAN “Amazing Race” (Contestant) NATALIA IVANA ESCOBAR “Latiner” (Malena): won Best Film at the Official Latino Short Film Festival JESSE TYLER FERGUSON “Modern Family” (Mitchell Pritchard) RAY FISHER Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (Victor Stone/ Cyborg)
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ALUMNI UPDATES
Douglas Nyback (right) and Trenna Keating on SyFy’s “Defiance”
Natalia Ivana Escobar
VESTA GREENE Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes commercial “Meghan Trainor and Bruno Mars Mash-up” Music Video Release MARIANNE HAGGAR Where the Boys Are, Finalist in La Femme Film Festival KYLE MATTHEW HAMILTON Kensho at the Bedfellow FRANK LICARI Walt Before Mickey (co-producer, co-writer, actor) LARISSA LAUREL “Alternativo” EDEN MALYN “Orange is the New Black” (CO Sikowitz) RIZWAN MANJI “Schitt’s Creek” (Ray Butani) AMY MATTHEWS “Renovation Raiders” (Host) GRETCHEN MOL “Mozart in the Jungle” (Nina Robertson)
PAUL SORVINO Sicilian Vampire (Jimmy Scambino) Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival (God)
DANCE
LEE TERGESEN “Defiance” (General Rahm Tak) “Outcast” (Blake Morrow)
ROSEANNA BELL “GIG with Jenna Nicholls”
ROBERT PALMER WATKINS “General Hospital” (Dillon Quartermaine) CHLOE WEBSTER “Indian Summers” MARISSA JARET WINOKUR “#whatshesaid” (cast member) “Playing House” (Candy) NATALIE ZEA “The Detour” (Robin)
MUSIC ELI BUDWILL Released new single “Small Town Getaway” with newly formed country band Northern Heights in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada
DOUGLAS NYBACK “Defiance” (Sgt. Poole)
JASON DERULO Released new album Everything is 4 on Google Play
OLIVIA PALAK “The Real O’Neals” (Olivia Paige)
TIPHANIE DOUCET Released “Shut Up and Dance” cover video
BRYCE PYPER Key and Peele’s “Teaching Center” (Max)
MYRIAM PHIRO Released new album Voyages at Iridium Jazz Club
CALEB RUMINER “Finding Carter” (Cameron “Crash” Mason)
NICOLE RAVIV Debuted Equal Forces album at Iridium Jazz Club
NATHAN SHAW “Bluffside Drive” “City of Dogs”
WENDELL SIMPKINS Winner of Best Male Vocalist and Best Contemporary Artist at the Gospel Music Awards Italy, 2015
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YANELIS FRANCESCA BERAS Dancer on tour with new artist Kehlani
KRISTINA DESJARDINS “GIG with Jenna Nicholls” VESTA GREENE Los Angeles Choreographer’s Ball MATTIE KING Helped break Guinness World Record for World’s Largest Street Dance on NBC’s “Today Show” with PMT dance company CORLEY LOVETT Bolshoi Ballet’s study program in Russia OLIVIA LUCCI SandCastle Dinner Theater’s DREAM in Guam RYAN RUIZ Pearl the Show at Lincoln Center GINA VIDALES Featured dancer for Nick Jonas’ “Levels” at MTV Video Music Awards
OTHER UPDATES TRAI BYERS Featured by Saks Fifth Avenue and GQ Magazine for fall fashion MARTI GOULD CUMMINGS Hosts “Stage Fright” at Therapy Lounge in NYC
YAJAIRA CUSTODIO Started Vision Latino Theatre Company to tell the stories of Latino artists in Chicago TIPHANIE DOUCET Performed in Times Square for Best of France to promote tourism in France NATALIA IVANA ESCOBAR Won Best Actress for “San Salvador Despues del Eclipse” at the Dominican Commissioner’s Hispanic Theater in NY STEPHEN KRAMER GLICKMAN Hosts stand-up comedy show “The Night Time Show with Stephen Kramer Glickman” at the Lyric Theatre KORA HYDE Pursuing Master’s Degree in Classical Acting for the Professional Theatre at the London Academy of Musical and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) CASEY KEENAN Accepted into the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop for musical theatre composing KATIE MCGHIE Debuted new Off-Broadway musical Devil and the Deep, co-composed with writing partner, Graham Russel (Air Supply) JARED PIXLER DAVID STOLWORTHY Won two awards at Hollywood Fringe 2015 for their show “The Video Games”