This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:30] Jackson Klein: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Jackson Klein.

[0:45] Jackson Klein: On today's episode, we're celebrating the 33rd anniversary of Broadway's longest-running show, The Phantom of the Opera. Although the Majestic Theatre remains dark because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we've dug deep into our archives to revisit some of our favorite stories from Phantom ensemblists. First, we'll hear from Jacob Keith Watson about performing in three Broadway shows over the course of one season. Then, Polly Baird will chat about joining the show as a replacement, and later putting replacements into the show herself as dance captain. Finally, I'll read a 2018 interview with long-running cast members Satomi Hofmann and Janet Saia. Enjoy!

[1:26] Jacob Keith Watson: This past season, I was fortunate enough to have joined the Broadway cast of Hello, Dolly!, The Phantom of the Opera, and Carousel, as well as take over my first principal role on Broadway. This is as good a time as any to look back and process what this year has truly meant for me as a student of theater, an artist, and as a human.

[1:56] Jacob Keith Watson: In the spring of 2017, I was performing in the Broadway production of Omni at the Walter Kerr, sitting backstage with fellow ensemblists Destiny Ray, Trey Ellett, and Emily Afton. The announcement of the Broadway revival of Carousel was released on Playbill. I remember telling them Carousel was going to be the next show for me. There was something about it that just felt right, and Enoch Snow had always been a dream role of mine. I wanted it so badly that I told myself I have to go to the ECC, because if I wasn't able to get an audition for the show, I would be kicking myself.

[2:32] Jacob Keith Watson: While the ECC came, I attended and performed 32 bars of my go-to legit song, Lonely House, cut to a couple of weeks down the road, and a voice lesson with my voice teacher, Mike Ruckels. We were chatting about the upcoming Carousel revival, and I asked if he knew anyone involved. He did. He told me to hold on for a minute, send a couple of text messages, and we got back to our voice lesson. I checked back in with him later to see if he had heard anything, and he mentioned that a Carousel appointment was already in the works before his text, but that there may be something else on its way.

[3:05] Jacob Keith Watson: Next thing I know, I got a self-tape request from my agent to be a vacation swing in Hello, Dolly! So my wife and I set up our makeshift self-tape studio in the living room of our apartment and went to work. We sent the tape in on Friday. The offer came in on Monday. Unfortunately, the dates conflicted with the dates I had already verbally agreed to perform at The Phantom of the Opera. My agents and I chatted and decided to just ask the wonderful people at Phantom if this could be worked out. The worst they could say is no, and I still have a job on Broadway. However, graciously, Phantom released me from my agreement and even asked for my Dolly schedule to see if I could join them when I wasn't with Dolly.

[3:46] Jacob Keith Watson: In the midst of all this back and forth, I was going through my final rounds of auditions for Carousel. The offer comes in for Carousel, which includes a workshop in that fall, which landed in the middle of my time with Dolly and Phantom. It was just one more exciting challenge to undertake. Moving out of the excitement of actually receiving these offers, then working out all the kinks of the scheduling and moving into the rehearsal processes was an entirely new challenge. The year before, I had my first go at the infamous and awesome double duty while performing Phantom at night and rehearsing for the out-of-town tryout of Amelie. It turned out to be only a small taste of what was to come for the fall of 2017.

[4:27] Jacob Keith Watson: Rehearsals began for my first track in Hello, Dolly! on a Wednesday. There was a mini spacing put-in rehearsal with the full ensemble on Friday, and my first performance was the next Tuesday. The Thursday of my first week with Dolly, I started learning the other tracks I would be performing down the road throughout the fall. I was in and out with Dolly for a few weeks, then the workshop of Carousel begins. There was luckily only a couple of weeks where I was performing with Dolly during the Carousel workshop. However, I needed to find a time to learn a new track over at Phantom because I was set to begin performances on the Monday after our workshop of Carousel finished.

[5:10] Jacob Keith Watson: Thankfully, the stage management found some time at night after the workshop rehearsals to teach me the new role with the dance captain over at Ripley Greer. Carousel rehearsals went on hiatus at this point until official rehearsals began in January, and this is where my back and forth with Dolly and Phantom really took off. For a month and a half, I performed a couple of weeks with Phantom, went back for a week at Dolly, then back to Phantom, etc. My contract with Dolly finished, and I was full-time with Phantom only at that point. However, on one Sunday, which is Phantom's day off, I was walking out of church with my wife, and I received a text message from Dolly's stage management saying something along the lines of, hey, any way you could be at the theater by 1:30, and I'll see you at the theater.

[5:55] Jacob Keith Watson: So, I hopped on the subway and performed what was my final performance, as well as my only split track with Hello, Dolly! From there, I was with Phantom throughout the holidays and the first two weeks of rehearsals for Carousel. The craziness of my brain processing multiple shows had been replaced with the creative process of creating a new production of Carousel.

[6:21] Jacob Keith Watson: Looking back, it truly was an incredible time in my career, not only for my resume, but largely because of the things I learned and the magical people I met. You never know what you are capable of until you push yourself to the limits. However, in times like these, you learn to really need people. This wasn't about me. It was about all of the people along the way who showed me grace, flexibility, support, and strength. The lessons I learned directly reflect the people I met and have in my life.

[6:56] Jacob Keith Watson: There were a lot of skills I considered strengths that were tested, as well as skills I considered weaknesses that grew exponentially. Time management, being able to shift my focus and creative abilities quickly from one project or character to another, attention to detail, learning to give yourself over to the moment rather than a pursuit of perfection. These are all things that were tested and grew during the season. Some areas of my life that caused growing pains were self-care, being present in my life outside of performances, patience. When you are moving so fast between projects, it becomes incredibly difficult to take a day off. Any time I had at home, I was working. It preyed on the workaholic in me. Days off never felt like days off.

[7:33] Jacob Keith Watson: Thankfully, my incredible superstar of a wife and human, Elizabeth, showed me more grace and patience than anyone along the way. She was my rock during this incredible and challenging time, and we have, over time, worked together to find our ways of turning off from these busy work weeks. Days off have now become sacred to us.

[7:58] Jacob Keith Watson: As I write this, the answer to the question, how to become Broadway's busiest chorus boy without being a ballerina, seems to have answered itself. It requires hard work, diligence, and foot forwardness. However, there is so much more than that. First and foremost, you have to surround yourself with the right people. The kind of people who will tell you the forever true clichés of, you've got this, and even you have to slow down, it's a marathon, not a sprint. People who will stick their necks out for you because they believe wholeheartedly in you. Those people make you who you are.

[8:30] Jacob Keith Watson: Secondly, you have to understand that 99% of what we do in this business is out of our control. The only thing you can do is show up with a strong work ethic, the abilities you have available in that moment, and try to learn as much as you can along the way. Finally, learning to be grateful. When things get tough, when you are exhausted from multiple rehearsals in one day, or even simply doing eight shows in one week, you have to remain grateful. It really is the key to pushing through those times where you feel overwhelmed or insecure. Stop and sit in that gratefulness for what has been and for what's to come.

[9:09] Jacob Keith Watson: Ultimately, I'm still not sure I really know what I did to deserve such a special moment in my career, but I do know that I will cherish this past season forever. And by the way, I'm totally a ballerina.

[9:22] Polly Baird: Hi, my name is Polly Baird. I grew up and still live on the Upper West Side. I came to the Phantom audition. My mom was in the business and she was temping at her old agency and she said, there's this audition for this show and it says you're supposed to look 16. And I thought, well, I have nothing to lose, I'll go. And I danced and then they cut and then we danced again and then they asked a few of us to stay and sing. And I immediately went out into the hallway and packed my bag and decided there was no way I was going to sing. And just as I was exiting out, the equity monitor said, where are you going? My mother said, oh, she's afraid to sing. Had it not been for this equity monitor, I would never have done Phantom.

She said, well, you have nothing to lose, just go in. And I went in and sang and they literally said to me, we have no idea what to do with you, you're so young, but come back next year. And so I did. I came back the next year and that's when I was offered the tour. I was initially offered to be in the tour company of Phantom of the Opera. However, I was 16 at the time, so I had to call back and tell my now boss, I'm sorry, I'm sure you've never heard this before, but my mom says I can't go out on tour. So I said, but I live in New York City and if anything ever comes up in New York, I'm here, I'm a junior in high school and I would love to do the show here. And so it was probably about six months later that then I joined in the ensemble here in the New York company.

[10:54] Polly Baird: So joining as an ensemble member, I had one week of rehearsal where I would rehearse with the dance captain from one to five and then have a dinner break and come back and watch the show every night. And then the last two nights I would trail, I would follow the girl that I was replacing. And then the following week I had my put in and started that night. Since she is the dance captain and a swing, Polly has a unique perspective because she has been on both sides of the rehearsal table at the Phantom of the Opera. She gave us some insight on her process putting performers on stage at the Palais Garnier, which is super different from how we thought a long running show like Phantom worked.

[11:39] Polly Baird: As a replacement, something that's interesting about our show is the stage is not numbered. So we do not teach the show saying as a dancer, okay, your right foot is on 16 here and then you're going to move over three numbers as many shows do. So we go for just an overall picture idea and there's a skeletal system that you have to match. But within that, we're pretty flexible. It's not run as much of a machine as I think many other long running shows are, which is both frustrating and interesting as a new person because people that have been in the show for a long time get used to something being done a certain way and yet we can't tell a new person, well, sort of stand here-ish because it's not that specific.

So when I start teaching the show, I'll start with a specific scene and say, this is the relationship we're looking for. You need to be upstage of this actor during this line. You then need to look downstage when you give this line and move down to stage left. And I don't really link together how you get there emotionally as an actor or physically. You sort of have to put that together on your own. So the first week is literally just point A, point B, point C, point D, not how you get from point A to point B. Whether or not it feels right to you, what works is that if you cross slowly here from stage left to stage right, it looks much more threatening in our 1600 seat theater than if you cross quickly.

[12:59] Polly Baird: So if it doesn't feel as natural to you, we just over the years have seen 16 people do this and we can say, this is kind of what works. So the goal is, here's what the structure is. How can we make it work for you? We do actually encourage some interpretation within the boundary of safety and a skeletal structure, I would say. The reality is that in Phantom, we have so much turnover that we try to condense it and do multiple people at the same time. I enjoy working one-on-one and being able to just follow your track. This is what you're doing. This is where you're going. This is how it works and just be able to really have that more intimate process. But I appreciate when we combine it and put multiple people into the same process because it saves me time.

[13:44] Polly Baird: I actually felt when I started in the show, I was a bit confused because I felt that there was more attention paid to what I was doing backstage than what I was doing on stage. The offstage tracking is completely non-negotiable. There's just a tremendous number of people working in a theater that was built for vaudeville acts. And now you have this massive show that was built in the 80s. The entire backstage area is painted a reflective black paint. So it's very dark. So the backstage traffic is non-negotiable for safety and because there is just nowhere to stand. And many quick changes happen in the wings because we don't have gondolas. We don't have backstage areas. Many of the dressing rooms are seven flights upstairs.

So that is completely specific. I think the important thing about being a replacement is that every person in the show serves a really critical purpose to the show or they wouldn't be there. The reality is if it was a cabaret act with just one guy singing music of the night, I don't think it would have lasted 28 years. So the majority of the show is held up and maintained by the ensemble.

[15:04] Jackson Klein: Since The Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway on January 26th, 1988, millions of audience members have strolled through the doors of the Majestic Theater. In addition to the Broadway production, The Phantom of the Opera has been produced worldwide on six continents and in many different languages. There are few icons as recognizable as The Phantom's white mask. Over 350 ensemblists have performed in the Broadway production, with countless others performing in tours and sit-down productions throughout the country and around the world. Many of these ensemblists have chosen to stick around and enjoy lengthy bouts of employment at the opera. Of the show's current ensemblists and swings, over two-thirds made their debut in the show over five years ago.

Several have stayed ever since, while others have taken leaves of absence and then returned. What perks does a long run provide for an ensemblist other than financial stability in a business filled with uncertainty? The simple joy of having a regular opportunity to perform for a living is not lost on swing Janet Sia, even sixteen years into her run in the show.

[16:12] Janet Sia: "Truly it is the thrill of being able to do what I love ever since childhood. Be in the theater and entertain people with great music and art," says Janet. "'Give people a fantasy, an escape from the mundane, a memory to cherish. Give myself a feeling of accomplishment and a job well done.'"

[16:31] Satomi Hoffman: But how does one remain creatively fulfilled after doing the same show eight times a week for years on end? Many actors in long runs discover that maintaining a long run does require immense creativity, just a different type than one uses when stepping into a show for the first time. "'Each actor has to figure out what it is that makes the show fresh every night for them," says ensemblist Satomi Hoffman. "'What excites me changes from day to day, but it ranges from exploring new acting choices to working on vocal technique, from allowing myself to see the show with new eyes to something as simple as interacting with my friends. This can be a challenging endeavor, but 100% worthwhile. As an actor I do my utmost to remain present throughout the show, but nobody's perfect,' says Satomi.

'If you're having a distracted night, you need to find something that brings you back to the moment. Because, after all, you're there for those people in the seats, striving to give them an amazing experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.'"

[17:33] Jackson Klein: Thirty years after opening, The Phantom of the Opera continues to give audiences unforgettable experiences night after night, largely thanks to the contributions of the show's passionate, long-running ensemblists.

[17:53] Jackson Klein: Special thanks to Polly Baird, Satomi Hoffman, Janet Sia, and Jacob Keith Watson for allowing us to re-share their stories today. The Ensemblist was produced today by Mo Brady and me, Jackson Klein. Please rate and review The Ensemblist wherever you listen to podcasts, whether that's on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or at bpn.fm, our home of Broadway Podcast Network. Our Patreon members have on-demand access to our full archive, including full conversations with our guides and early access to episodes. You can support us for between $5 and $20 a month at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Thanks for listening. Stay safe. Until next time!