GRUMPY MAGAZINE - Emmy Raver-Lampman (Solo Edition)

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ABOUT Grumpy Magazine is an international digital and print publication founded and curated by Jasmine Perrier. Selfpublished from France since 2016, we aim at covering the cultural landscape across the world and sharing a genuine vision of life to get you out of your grumpy mood. More than just a magazine, we are interested in aesthetically pleasing a modern take on traditional staples and thus offering a unique book capturing thoughtful stories and stimulating sceneries.

This standalone feature is taken from Grumpy Magazine’s IN CONVERSATION series and exclusively available as a solo story featuring one talent and 20+ pages of interview and photos.

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TEAM & CONTRIBUTORS Jasmine Perrier at Studio J•T•P Publisher | Editor-in-chief | Producer | Writer | Designer Contributors Genesis Rodriguez | Emily Sandifer | Jennifer Austin | ShaDara Holmes | Coree Moreno | TJ Dalrymple

SPECIAL THANKS BACK COVER | Emmy Raver-Lampman wears Rocky Star dress and jacket | Divine Individual necklace and bracelet | Schutz shoes

The Lede Company | Authentic Talent & Literary Management DePaz Management | Exclusive Artists | A-Frame Agency | Netflix

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mmy Raver-Lampman THROUGH GENESIS RODRIGUEZ’S EYES

Emmy Raver-Lampman and Genesis Rodriguez have a post-Umbrella Academy catch-up and open up about their effortless friendship.

INTERVIEW BY Genesis Rodriguez PHOTOGRAPHY BY Emily Sandifer STYLING BY Jennifer Austin at Opus Beauty MAKEUP BY ShaDara Holmes for Exclusive Artists using Dior Beauty HAIR BY Coree Moreno at A-Frame Agency PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT TJ Dalrymple PRODUCTION BY Jasmine Perrier at Studio J•T•P

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IN CONVERSATION WITH

Emmy Raver-Lampman 06

W

hen you cross Emmy Raver-Lampman’s path, you sense that she has a strong aura. The versatile artist taps into that energy to break down the

barriers and pave the way forward. She stood out early on in her life, landing her first job in New York when she was still in college, before making her mark on Broadway with performances in shows such as Hair, Wicked, and Hamilton.

She worked her way up to become a leading lady and eventually made the leap to Hollywood — one of her first-ever self-tapes coming with a series regular role on a widely popular superhero show. One person who is very familiar with Emmy’s talents and lively nature is her Umbrella Academy co-star turned real-life best friend, Genesis Rodriguez, and she wanted the world to know about it. The pair instantly clicked while filming the third beautifully emotional season of Netflix’s show in Toronto, bonding over peaks and valleys.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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‘‘

I didn’t see myself in a lot of performing arts spaces growing up. With every project that I do, I’m trying to open that doorway for more diversity and inclusion in this industry.

’’ GENESIS RODRIGUEZ: My babes! First off, why did you choose me to interview you?

incredible actor. I love your talent and you inspire me. Let us begin. Do you like it?

EMMY RAVER-LAMPMAN: You are one of my best friends, so that was an excuse to force you to get on a Zoom with me [laughs]. You and I met for the first time at the beginning of season three when we were up in Toronto doing Zoom dance rehearsals for the iconic ‘‘Footloose’’ dance sequence. Then, we were inseparable.

ERL: It’s a lot of compliments, so keep going [laughs].

GR: What is your origin story as an artist and when did you get that bug?

ERL: I was a really active child — I was on seven different sports teams, I was a girl scout, and I was always the ringleader of all the kids in the neighborhood. And I grew up in a very musical house. When I wouldn’t get out of bed, my dad would go downstairs and start playing music. Every time my parents would have a dinner party or friends over, I’d get up on the coffee table in the living room at some point and start putting on a show. I got to the point where my parents were like, ‘‘Maybe we should get this kid in theater.’’ My music teacher in elementary school told them that I was potentially musically inclined, so they put me in a family theater group called the Hurrah Players in North Virginia. Then, when it was time to start applying for colleges, I knew I had to go to New York City. I feel like that was the moment my mom regretted putting me in theater, when she realized I wanted to go to a really expensive private college on the Upper East Side [laughs].

GR: We just met each other and it happened.

ERL: And we bonded over the fact that our significant others were both away and working in Vancouver. Filming at the height of Covid was really hard and Canada had closed its provincial borders at the time.

GR: I know. I can say that I could have not gotten through that season without you.

ERL: If we weren’t working, we were hanging out, just sitting on each other’s couches and doing the most mundane things. After spending so much time in isolation, it felt nice to be with someone.

GR: People can never imagine how amazing you are as a person. I’m so honored to have you as a friend. But you are also an

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GR: Bless them!

GR: From here, what was your next big job?

ERL: I’m grateful to have the most supportive parents and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

ERL: When I went back to school, we had an audition prep masterclass with Broadway director Jeff Calhoun. After class, he approached me and said, ‘‘We have final callbacks tomorrow for Jekyll & Hyde and we are looking for one more ensemble member that would also be Deborah [Cox]’s understudy.’’ That night, I was given four songs and all these scenes to do, and I went to the final callbacks, having to act opposite Constantine [Maroulis]. It was essentially a chemistry read with all new material less than 24 hours later. I stayed up all night and ended up booking that. I graduated knowing that I had a job which was insane.

Then, I went on tour with Wicked — I was the Elphaba standby for a year and a half which was incredible because that role is so iconic. When the tour closed, I went back to New York and was looking for the next job.

My agents called me one day and talked about Hamilton [by Lin-Manuel Miranda] that was down at the Public [Theater]. They thought it would be a great opportunity for me. When they explained it was a rap/hiphop opera about the first Secretary of the Treasury, I was like, ‘‘That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard. I’m not auditioning for that.’’

[Laughs] An hour later, they were like, ‘‘You have to audition for this.’’

GR: They are amazing and I love them.

ERL: They love you [laughs]. I wasn’t able to go to our Umbrella season three premiere, but my parents did and they were live texting me, ‘‘Genesis’s just arrived, she is so pretty and so good in the show.’’

GR: You studied in New York. How was that?

ERL: It was amazing. After going to a performing arts high school, I wanted to go to a liberal arts college where I was allowed to audition and grow relationships outside of school. Marymount Manhattan College was the perfect place to foster that. I took a year and a half off of school in my sophomore year — we did a musical called Bright Lights, Big City [directed by] Tom Wojtunik who told me he was directing a production of Children of Eden. I got the role of Eve & Mama Noah and spent this amazing summer working in Queens. The choreographer of that, Christine O’Grady, was the associate choreographer for the Broadway production of Hair with Gavin Creel and Caissie Levy.

She said, ‘‘It’s going on tour, you should audition for it.’’ I was like, ‘‘I don’t know, I’m in school, I can’t really leave.’’ And she was like, ‘‘Wasn’t it why you came to school in New York and you picked Marymount?’’ So, I ended up getting my first national tour experience. Because of that show, I got my Equity card and it went back to Broadway, so I got my Broadway debut all in one job.

GR: How much time did you have to prepare?

ERL: Two days.

GR: Oh my goodness, the anxiety!

ERL: So, I crammed [a lot], but I have a really amazing short-term memory.

GR: How do you manage the anxiety when you have so much on your plate and you have to put yourself out there?

GR: That’s surreal.

ERL: That was one of the biggest learning experiences for me.

ERL: I feel like I get into a fight-or-flight mode and thrive under pressure. So, I went in and did all the material on Alex Lacamoire, who is the music director and unbelievable composer alongside Lin who was there. I don’t remember what happened in the room, but I do remember I sang a few songs from the show, and then, Alex asked, ‘‘What kind of contemporary pop song do you have in your book?’’

GR: I bet that starting off so young helped.

ERL: I was running around on stage all night singing, dancing, and playing a dirty hippie, but then, during the day, I was taking my insanely hard biology, science, and chemistry classes, writing these ridiculous 12-page papers on HIV, AIDS, and other deadly viruses. It was nuts.

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GR: What did you sing?

down, run on stage, walk out as Angelica, and yell at Alexander Hamilton [Michael Luwoye] for cheating on my sister, but my eyes were all teary, my face was all red, and my body was in complete shock inside.

ERL: I sang ‘‘So Emotional’’ by the one and only Whitney Houston. Then, I didn’t hear anything over the weekend. I found out [I booked the job] on Monday, and thus began the craziest experience.

GR: Probably the happiest news you could ever get.

GR: After doing 800 shows of Hamilton, how did you make that next step?

ERL: But then, I was immediately terrified because I was like, ‘‘I don’t know how to act on camera.’’

ERL: I did [Hamilton] on Broadway for nine months, and I left to go and do another musical in Chicago. While I was there, they asked if I wanted to open the Chicago Company of Hamilton with the whole new cast and they were starting to roll out the national tour. I emailed the creative team and said, ‘‘If it ever becomes part of the conversation, I’d love the opportunity to play the part of Angelica and throw my hat in the ring.’’ Next thing I know, they were so excited at the idea of me being Angelica for the first national tour. Going from the ensemble to the lead role was a huge shift. When we came to LA, I met my manager and that was the beginning of those conversations about auditioning for TV and film more. I’d never been in front of a camera, so it intimidated the hell out of me. One of the first self-tapes I did was The Umbrella Academy.

GR: You fooled everybody. You were natural and captivating.

ERL: I couldn’t have gotten through that season without Tom [Hopper] and Elliot [Page] because I spent the majority of my scenes with the two of them, and they were so kind and supportive. I was surrounded by people who have been doing this for so long.

It’s such a learning curve and I’m so hungry to grow more as a person and as an artist because I’m so excited by this industry.

GR: Speaking of growth, in this season of Umbrella, Allison’s arc was incredible. How did you prepare for it?

ERL: In conversation with Steve Blackman, our showrunner, it was really important to me that we dive into Allison’s grief and trauma after having made this impossible decision of leaving Ray to find Claire, and finding herself in the sixties, in the segregated south in Dallas, Texas, in the middle of Jim Crow [Laws]. I wanted to dig into her not being able to keep it together anymore. I knew it was going to be a lot, but I was excited by that opportunity because I’ve not really had a chance to take on a role like that as an actor, that’s so profoundly traumatic, sad, emotional, and someone who is not making the best choices.

GR: Stop!

ERL: But it was crazy because four months of in-person auditions, generals with casting directors, and more self-tapes went by before I heard anything.

GR: You completely forgot about it.

ERL: When they called to have me come to do a camera test for The Umbrella Academy, I didn’t even remember for what show it was.

GR: I truly believe that’s the perfect way of auditioning, when you do not care, just send it out into the universe, and forget about it.

GR: It was like a delicate descent, it was so beautiful. It’s a testament to how good of an actor you are. You also left it at work. Then, you were your beautiful and bubbly self.

ERL: I was doing [Hamilton] when my manager called and told me that I booked The Umbrella Academy. It was in the middle of Act II — I was backstage in my little dressing area with Amber Iman and Solea Pfeiffer who were playing the other sisters. As the show was going on, I had to put the phone

ERL: This season, I learned to find the balance of doing what I need to do to get where I need to get while I’m at work, but then, to find myself again when the camera is not rolling.

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GR: I feel like finding the balance is part of everybody’s journey. It’s hard when you are dealing with tough subjects like trauma.

GR: Isn’t it fun and liberating to voice act?

ERL: I’m obsessed with it. It feels so much like theater because we get to explore, goof around, and experiment. Central Park is also not just an animated series. I get to sing and record original songs written for the show by all these amazing artists. I also get to do it in my pajamas.

ERL: It was a really emotional season for a lot of our characters. For my own mental health, I was like, ‘‘If I try to bring work home, I don’t know if there’s gonna be enough therapy in the world.’’ [Laughs] GR: How much of yourself would you say is in Allison and vice versa?

GR: We love working in our pajamas when it’s possible. Are there any dreams or life goals you want to manifest with me today?

ERL: I hope there is a healthy amount.

I think you become your character and your character becomes you. [Allison] is extremely loyal, strong-willed, opinionated, brave, and bold. Over the years, I’ve learned from her how to speak my mind, to stand up for what I believe in, and to prioritize people that are the most important to me when it’s needed. I hope at the end of this experience, whenever that is, to walk away feeling like I’m a stronger and more empowered woman because I think that she is.

ERL: I’m interested in creating content and telling diverse stories through the opportunities that I have right now. I think I also want to work with diverse people, more female directors, and more directors of color. I’m always broad with these answers because when you get really specific, then you miss unexpected opportunities.

GR: That’s true.

ERL: There are directors I want to work with and big-budget blockbuster movies that I want to do, but I also want to create my own content and to help my friends create their projects. Some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had are in films that have like a budget of three dollars. I’m gravitating towards projects and ideas that excite me, challenge the way people think, challenge me as an artist, and provide a potential opportunity to grow in a way that I haven’t before. I’m still so new and grateful for the experiences that I’ve had so far.

GR: I can’t wait to see what happens next in Allison’s world. People don’t know that we were shooting for nine months in Toronto.

That’s become like a second home now.

ERL: I love Toronto. It has so much culture, it reminds me of a beautiful hybrid between New York and Chicago. It is a bustling city but it also has cute Brooklyn-y neighborhoods.

I love watching sports and there are the Blue Jays, the Raptors... It’s also one of the best food cities. I remember having Matty’s Patty’s with you.

GR: What effect do you want your work to have on others?

GR: Too many [laughs].

ERL: I feel grateful to be shooting in Toronto because it does feel like a second home, even if it gets really cold and quite miserable at moments in the winter, especially if we are shooting outside. I left New York because I was done with the snow, and immediately booked a show that shoots in Toronto [laughs]. I’m hoping for another season because I’m happy to go back.

ERL: When I’m doing press for Central Park, I get asked a lot, ‘‘What is your favorite animated character? What is your favorite Disney princess?’’ I don’t have a traditional answer for those because I didn’t see myself in a lot of performing arts spaces growing up. I do feel like it’s changing and that’s really exciting. With every project that I do, I’m trying to open that doorway for more diversity and inclusion in this industry.

Another thing that is important to me is that I work really hard to be someone that people want to work with, show up to work in a good mood, get to know everybody’s

GR: You have Central Park next.

ERL: Yes, season three coming out September 9th on Apple TV+ — very exciting.

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GR: Beach or cabin?

name and make everybody feel seen the way that they see me. The best work is done when a healthy and safe work environment is true.

ERL: Beach!

GR: Stay in or go out?

GR: I can attest to that, you’re a pleasure to work with and to be around.

ERL: I wish I could say go out, but definitely stay in [laughs]. It makes going out more fun when you don’t do it as much.

ERL: It goes both ways.

GR: What is your favorite mood lifter?

GR: What helps you stay grounded when you are not working and what keeps you going?

ERL: I love a quick workout when I feel like today is not the day.

ERL: Genesis, you kept me going this past season. I’m grateful for this Umbrella cast and work family. It was such a breath of fresh air to have all the Sparrows this past season. Personally, I’m so blessed to have an amazing family and partner who support me and lift me up when I’m struggling to do that for myself sometimes. There are a ton of moments where I lean on therapy because life of an actor is unpredictable and it can get emotional. I’m also learning to take time for myself which is something I’m not good at. It’s a blessing and a curse that what I love to do is also the thing that pays my bills [laughs]. But I’m learning that self-care is so important.

GR: You also like to go out for walks, get a little bit of sunshine, and window-shop. I know you have a thing for bags and shoes. If you had to only pick one, what would it be?

ERL: That’s like asking me to pick a favorite child. I’m going to say shoes.

GR: You have an amazing shoe collection.

ERL: Someone told me a billion years ago that your body will change size your whole life, but shoes and purses will always fit.

GR: My Emmy, this is the last question. Is there any message you would like to share with anyone reading this interview?

GR: It’s beautiful that you shared that about mental health. I want the world to know a few of your little happy things. What is your favorite karaoke song?

ERL: I remember there was a time in my life where I lost my gut instinct. I would constantly make decisions in opposition to what my gut was telling me to do, and since I started letting my gut and my heart do the things that guide me, I’ve never looked back.

It might lead you on a path that feels scary and unpredictable, but the most exciting stuff happens when you push the boundary, step outside the box, and put yourself in situations that intimidate you and force you to grow. That applies to anyone.

ERL: ‘‘So Emotional’’ was my favorite karaoke song for so long. But I love a moody Adele song and Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia album is starting to make it into my playlist.

GR: What is your favorite brunch item?

ERL: A mimosa [laughs].

GR: You always smell amazing. What is your favorite scent?

GR: Thank you, we all need that reminder.

ERL: I think my favorite scent is amber.

ERL: All interviews should be done like this.

You nailed it, you’re the best interviewer.

GR: It has all the notes. For your curl-up on the couch — comedy or drama?

GR: I hope the world can see you how I see you. You are amazing.

ERL: We love a ’90s rom-com.

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY IS NOW STREAMING ON NETFLIX

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‘‘

I’m gravitating towards projects and ideas that excite me, challenge the way people think, challenge me as an artist, and provide a potential opportunity to grow in a way that I haven’t before. I’m really open to a lot of things because like I said, I’m still so new and grateful for the experiences that I’ve had so far.

’’

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