Ask A Pro

1. What is your "dream role" besides Elphaba?

Hmmmm my dream role.....I would say I always dream to do good work and I love to work on new work but I wouldn't rule out a fantastic revival! I love the excitement of not knowing what's around the corner but, always hoping for something great so I guess we will see!

2. I am a Mexican American actress. I live in a predominantly hispanic community.  I teach mostly caucasian kids but I have a few hispanic students. I have found it difficult getting cast in shows unless they make me look really old. You do not look as hispanic as I do.  Have you found it difficult getting cast in shows because of your look? What can I tell my more ethnic looking students who want to pursue theater? Today one of my half hispanic/caucasian student auditioned with "Breathe".  She is soo passionate about playing Nina someday! "In The Heights" has inspired me so much, I hope more shows featuring the Latino Community keep coming! You are Amazing! You really are inspiring more Latinas to pursue the life of theater!!

Thank you so much for your kind words and thank you so much for all you do as a teacher. You know, when I was first starting people would tell me to change my name because another name might open more doors for me. To me no other name felt right. My family had gone through tremendous strides and I was proud to have the last name of Gonzalez. I learned it's not about your name and what you look like that is going to open the door for you, I learned I had to open those doors for myself. I think it is important for any student to realize that with hard work they can do Anything. It's all about the work.

3. I have a student who is currently a high school senior searching for colleges with strong musical theatre departments. Do you have any suggestions ? She will attend the Unified auditions in NY in February. She has a strong belt with a pretty wide vocal range. Can you also suggest - ballad and uptempo and monologues? She is also an excellent actress but her weak point is dance.

I have many friends that went to a variety of schools currently working on Broadway. I feel whatever program feels right to the student is the one. I think college is about so many things. The academic and social aspects are just as important. I tell people to concentrate on learning about things other than theater as well. That just makes you a more well rounded person and in the end a better actress.

4. (These are all from one school!) -
A. Do you get nervous before a show?
B. How do you feel about playing an unpopular character?
C. What did you have to do for your audition?What inspired you to start singing?
D.What is your vocal training, when you were in middle school what ensembles were you in ?

E.What is the average pay for a Broadway performer?
F. Does it ever get boring to perform the same show over and over again?
G. How many rehearsals does it take to put the show together?
H. Do you have a favorite song from the musical WICKED, if so what is it?

A. I always feel a sense of adrenalin before a show that I love!
B. I'm having a blast!
C.When I was a kid I was always singing. My Grandma used to sing me song and I would imitate her and memorize the songs. She was the one to put me into lessons when I was a kid. She also signed me up for a fantastic performing group that I would take classes with on the weekend. I have always loved it!
D.I have been training with different teachers since I was 7 years old so I have a wide variety of training and my middle school didn't have choir but, I did Drama in High School.
E. I don't really know the average, I will check with Equity.
F. No, I really love what I do and it is never the same show. It's always a little different and the audience reaction is always different so it keeps it fresh.
G. With a new show you get about a month to put the show together before you start previews and then you have a month to make changes before you open. As a replacement you can get anywhere from 2-4 weeks of rehearsal before you begin performances.
H. I love all of them.

5. As a music theatre and voice teacher at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, I have found one of the biggest challenges to my young students, is getting them to understand the importance of good vocal health and being responsible for your "instrument".   They think they are "invincible"!  Could you tell me what your approach is to your own vocal health and what you need to do as a performer on Broadway to continue to be able to perform 8 shows a week and beyond?

Well, I like that students have a confidence in what they do. That is very important. It's good to have both confidence and discipline. Discipline is very important to me. I treat myself the same way an athlete might. I work out, I eat right and I stay quiet at nights after the show.

6. My acting students would like to know:
A. How do you start your show day? What is a typical daily routine? Do you go to classes, workshops or lessons during the day?
B. Are you able to walk around NYC unnoticed or do people recognize you?
C.Do you have any onstage tips for young actors?

A. A typical day is regular stuff like going to the gym, walking the dog, I try to stay pretty mellow during the day.
B. I love NYC because you can always be anonymous.
C. Make sure you really love it and then do the work.

7. Thank you for taking time to do this.  I teach in a high school in Oregon.  I am the choir and theatre teacher.  With limited time and resources what would you suggest I make a top priority in advising students who really want to pursue musical theatre in regards to where they invest their time beyond doing shows and taking acting and choir classes?  Very few can afford private voice or dance.

I would encourage them to read novels, plays, biographies anything they can get their hands on to stretch their imagination.

8. I am sure you are wonderful as Elphaba.  I saw "Wicked" twice in San Francisco and both times I saw it with the understudy for Elphaba.  Everyone who went to see it seemed see it with the same understudy. We had the regular actress for Glinda.  I seems that both parts are arduous, but does your role have you performing less often than the actress playing Glinda?  If they are getting someone to take over the role full time, will they have them warm up as an understudy?It must be such a cool ride up on the cherry picker at the end of Act One, you must have such an awesome perspective.  Keep having fun.

I am so happy you enjoyed the show so much.

9. I'm a high school Theatre Arts teacher in Maryland, encouraging the talent of the next generation!!  May I ask, how did you "break through" into the Broadway Theatre Industry?  What were your steps/schools/challenges/successes that brought you to star in Wicked on Broadway?

How did I break through? Hmmmm...well I think with anyone that moves to NYC to pursue theater you have to have a lot of drive. I moved here and hit every open call I could sometimes waiting for hours just to sing 10 bars. One of those auditions clicked and I booked my first job here called "Eli's Comin'". That show put me on the map and I even won an OBIE Award for my performance. That's how it started.