June 25, 2025 • 39 mins
He's a Yankee Doodle Dandy, he's Blake McIver Ewing!! You know him as Derek from Full House and Waldo from The Little Rascals, but that's just the tip of the iceberg for Blake... He's a director, vocal coach, personal trainer, and "recovering child actor" (which Jodie and Andrea can relate to)! This is a Full House reunion you definitely don't want to miss, and it's all right here on How Rude, Tanneritos!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:19):
Hey there, fan Ritos, Welcome back to a brand new
episode of How Rude Tanner Ritos. Today, we have a
guest that we are so excited to talk to. You
know him as Derek from Full House or Waldo from
The Little Rascals. It's Blake mcgiver ewing. Blake isn't just
a talented actor. He's a director, a composer, a singer,
(00:41):
a vocal coach, a personal trainer. I mean, the list
just goes on and on, and we can't wait to
catch up with him and talk about Full House and
everything beyond. So let's welcome Blake.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yayyay, Hey, Hello.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
We were just admired in your headshot on your profile picture.
You'll great, yes, yes, Oh my gosh, it's so good
to see you.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So good to see both of you. My goodness.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
I know it's been a few years. We saw you
briefly on Fuller House, which is great to have you
back on the show.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
That was so fun, so fun.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
But were you back for the wet Was it the
wedding episode that very last episode? Yeah, yeah, yeah, the
wedding Okay, the wedding episode, yeah yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Know, yeah, I know. We got to have a lot
of people come back for that one. That was really fun.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Danny was trying to find a minister, I think, and
so you were like auditioning with jazz hands.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Right, that's right. Yeah, yeah, he was doing the Yankee
Doodle moment.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yes, and I came in with tap shoes like I
would of course, darn y.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Yeah, they were like, could you tell you like, I'll
bring the tap shoes. Yeah, I got it, I got
it handled.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Do fans ask you to do the Yankee Doodle Boys
song or any any of those things when you're out.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
In about absolutely, yes, I get requests for it. Also,
it's like, you know, this is this is the time
of year where I like start to hunker down like
like a cold war b you know, my fourth is
coming this season. Yeah, the memes start coming, the.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Memes yeah yeah, yeah, you can't the whole yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
The hat, the suit, the whole business, all of it.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
I mean, it was fabulous.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
It was so great. But yes, we understand is former
child actors what that is like when that follows you around.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
For the host, like, yeah, it takes there's like the
the in between period of like oh no, not again,
and then you're.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Like you know there's a meme of me.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
It's a mean people know what it is like, people
are like, yep, I know what that means.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yeah, yeah, Yeah. Honestly, it as an honor and I'm
glad that it still brings people joy.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Right, it absolutely does.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Now, speaking of uh, Andrew sort of said it too
on your Instagram bio. It states you're a recovering child actor,
which I know we can all relate to.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yes, I might steal that.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
That's fantastic, right.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, absolutely please steal it. Yeah, I feel like we're
all in recovery always. We're not. Yea, it's a lots
but yeah, but you know, people ask me about it
all the time and I'm like, no, it's not a
negative thing. It's just like there's a constant process of recovery.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I was lucky that I wanted to do it. My
parents didn't push me.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Into it, and you know, we all you were one
of those kids you're kind of like me. You know
that you came out and you were like, let's go.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah, very that And since both my parents were in
show business, they didn't care at all. They were like, well,
if you're going to do it, just don't embarrass you know,
just just do it, yeah, do it well, well be
good at least be good at it. But it's so
funny because you become a teenager, you become a you know,
an adolescent, and it doesn't matter. There is still there
(03:54):
is still a life learning curve and so that it's
really it's more about that. It's like we recover in
our own way.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, and I think, you know, sort of the.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You have to there's a whole extra layer of getting
through that, that thing of being known as something for
a child, most people don't have to like shake off,
you know, a career at thirteen, you know, and be
like who am I now? You know, so like it
(04:27):
And it's at a time I always said it like,
it's at the time when you're really trying to figure
out who you are anyway, and now you're be pretending
to be somebody else, but other people think you're this.
You know, it's just a it does create I think
some layers of like self identity that take a little
bit more to get through.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Really absolutely, it's it's it is an identity crisis of
a sort. And I always try to explain to people,
you know, when you have your mid career crisis at
like eighteen, right, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I would call it my quarter life.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Crisis because I'm like, I was about, like, I don't know, fourteen, fifteen.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Years and I was like, what is my life?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
What am I doing?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Right?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
And anytime you anytime you run into another former child
actor from the nineties, it's like you have this like
your own language and it's like one big fraternity sorority
where it's like, oh yeah, I can relate to that too.
Oh yeah, I can relate to that.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Too, absolutely. And I feel like we were so lucky,
you know I did. I did a lot of like
episodic work on other shows at the time, and every
time I did another show, I was like, oh my god,
our set is so we are so lucky. I just
always felt that way special place.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Yeah, it really, it really was a special place. Everyone
that has come on the show and has done interviews
have been like that was just it wasn't like any
place else to work, And yeah, it just wasn't. We
were very an Emisodic can be a grind, like it's
a long days, and sitcom is kind of a well
oiled machine that you just you know, jump on the
treadmill for a week and then hop off for a
(05:55):
couple of days.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, right, and dropping into somebody else's rhythm is so
so difficult.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Yes, yeah, especially as a kid.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
But you know, you and Taj and Journey Smallett when
she came out, you know, you guys did such a
great job with it, you know, just kind of like
adapting and fitting right in and becoming part of the
you know, part of the kid crew.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, it was such a delight.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Michelle really did have outstanding friends, Like just looking did
Nico Hughes like you said, like, yeah, all of yourself? Wow, dang,
she had some really talented friends.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah, heavy hitters from the start yep, straight out of
the room. Right, So speaking straight out of the room,
when did you know you wanted to be an actor?
I imagined probably pretty soon after that, as was for
some of us.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yes, yeah, I knew. I knew pretty pretty early on.
I started, you know, seeing around the house dancing at
the TV, and my mom was like, it sounds like
a little better than just you know, kid humming, So
maybe I should explore this. And my mom coming from
a variety TV back she was on The Dean Martin Show,
so she came to LA in the sixties and danced
for Dean Martin for his entire variety show. So a
(07:07):
huge career and so hilariously. She was like, she thought, well,
since since she came from dance, She's like, if I
put him in dance first, he might lose interest because
it takes so much discipline, so much well the dance.
The only dance teacher she knew here in LA was
a former teacher of hers from Houston that had a
studio out in See Me Valley whose name was Patsy Swayze.
That Swayze like literally Patrick's mom whow And so Patrick's
(07:32):
mom taught me to dance essentially amazing And the very first,
the very first time I ever did like a patriotic thing,
like any The very first incarnation of Yankee Doodle was
a dance competition that was at the Beverly Garland.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Hotel Dance Competition, right.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
And I was too young to compete, So she had
me do this little dance routine for the audience while
the judges were tabulating between act Yes, and that was
the first time I sang Yankee Doodle Dandy. And the
director of Star Search was one of the judges, and
he approached my parents right after and said, will your
son audition for the next season of Star Search? And
that's how Yankee Doodle got from the ballroom.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
To Oh my gosh severly Garland through Stars Star Search.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And then it was the Full House producers seeing me
do it on Star Search that wrote the episode about
the patriotic show. And then I came in an audition
cold because they didn't know if I could act or
talk or.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
You're great Yankee doo o.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
We don't know about the kids sing on TV.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I remember that's important.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
So it was a really quick I mean not quick
because it was years, but but it felt like a
really fast trajectory on this one song brought me.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
Well, I mean, let's be fair, you were what eight,
So I.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Mean it really wasn't years, It wasn't relatively fast.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, it was pretty fast.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Yeah. So, so was Full House your first acting job
then or how did that go from? Did you do
anything between Star Search and Full House?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I did? I did one. I was I was in
a movie called Calendar Girl with Jason Priestley Jerry O'Connell. Yeah,
and I played young Jerry O'Connell. In the flashback. Oh
my god, it's just all yeah, yeah, right, so I
did I had done that and that was so that
was kind of the first time on a film set.
(09:22):
And then but yeah, first sitcom experience was was full house.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Man, Oh, your parents must have been so proud.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
That so great? And how old were you were you? What?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Seven?
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Eight?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I think I was seven when I that first that Yankee.
Do I believe I was seven? Yeah, because I think
I was on the show seven eight nine.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Yeah, And you said you auditioned cold, Like, do you
remember the process of auditioning or was it.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
One of those things where you're like, I don't know.
It just kind of blends into other auditions that I did, but.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
That one blends in. What I do remember is how
quickly I went from my last like reading with producers
to the table because like the episode was already going,
oh yeah. And so what I do remember is walking
into the table because of course I watched the show,
So walking into the room with all of you sitting there,
I was like, oh, this is legit, Like, this is
(10:13):
it I have I have arrived at this conference table
and there they all are, and I'm like, I just
don't mess it up.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Oh you couldn't not anymore than we were always messing up.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Have you seen the show at that point? Were you
a fan? Did you watch the huge?
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Yeah? I was already watching it every week.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Okay, so that was because this was like season five,
so this was this was the height.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Of Yeah, you guys were at the peak.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
We were well established by that point.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Oh yes, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Yeah, how intimidating to walk into that table read and be.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Like, there's right literally and you do.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
I mean, do you remember what your first day on
set was?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Like?
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Do you remember coming to set?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I do I remember coming set? I remember sort of
hilariously reconnecting with Mary Kate Nashley because one of my
best childhood friends went to preschool with them. Oh okay, yeah,
that little preschool on Colfax right down the way. And
so we had been to like some birthday parties together
and like socialized, you know, very you know, as briefly
(11:22):
as you do when you're a.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Kid, but still you're like, oh, I know you.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
But yeah, it's like I've met you before. This is
not weird. And then yeah, and then just uh, realizing
how quickly because I had done a bunch of on
stage work and so realized. I was so nervous the
first couple of days, but realizing how much a camera
blocking rehearsal was just just like a rehearsal, the same
as doing a play, and I was like, great, cool, Yes, the.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Move from like live theater to sitcom is kind of
their sort of cousins.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, they totally are. And joel's Wick was the director
of the first episode, that Yankee Doodle episode, and so
it was great. It was just like, oh, I know
this guy, this guy, I knows me. We get it,
Like it was just immediately easy. He made it so
fun and casual.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Yeah, Joe really did. And he was so great at
working with kids, Like as crazy as he was in
like his little you know, just running around, you know what,
but like he just he was there was such love
about him that you were like whatever, you know what
I mean, Like he just wanted things done, and he
wanted his brain moves nine thousand miles an hour.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
And he knew what he wants. He knows exactly what
he wants and.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That was the thing that made it so easy jumping
in because it was like there was no margin for confusion.
It was like no, no, no, here are the parameters, here's
what he wants, here's what we're trying to get to.
So it was like there was no fear. It was
just kind of like just everybody's diving in together, which
felt really cool.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Yeah, yeah for sure.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Now you you guys had kind of a little crew
in Michelle's classroom. It was like you, Miko, Journey, and Taj.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Right, uh huh, and.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
You guys were all.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Like in the same class that's all in the.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Amazing Did you hang out when you weren't on stage
or were you just in school the whole time or
what was that dynamic?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
We we did our school hours altogether in that in
those rooms up.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Behind Ashley, Mary Kate had their own because they were
like five years younger than us, So we were like
I was upper elementary and you were like early high
school and then the younger kids were yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, so we all did our school hours together every day,
even though we were all at different schools.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Right, so much fun. Yeah, the school room is like
the place of bonding.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, yeah, that's so. Who was was well it wasn't Adria.
Who was this? Do you remember your studio teacher?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Because Adrian was there. I definitely remember remember Adrian was there, I.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Think still working with Ashley Mary Kate, but I don't
think she was the teacher at that point.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
I don't know. Was it Rhonda's sister she take over
as their teacher at one point?
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Remember who had over for the little kids? I can
only remember MiNet.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Throw some fan rito it out there is like I
have the entire production casting crew list for a season.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I can tell you.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Someone started and stopped right yeah, and what car they
got to drive on everything. Do you have any favorite
memories from like full House working with all the kids
and having fun like or do you just sort of
remember getting to come to work and it being a
good place to work.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
It was always yeah, I mean the overall was it
was always a great place to work. It was always
a relief I was. I was basically in regular school
throughout my working life, so it was always coming in
and out, and I just remember feeling so relieved when
I'd get you know, that Monday would just be like ah,
you know, showing up at work was just like, oh great,
I know what, I know how this is going to go.
I know how fun this is going to be. I
(14:45):
love these people. I love laughing with these people. You know,
we we have a goal. I'm a very goal oriented person.
I loved that. I loved that final producer run because
it really felt like a show with high stage, you know,
like we had to we had to prove that those
jokes were worth it. Yeah, exactly, And that was so
fun and exciting. And then tape day always just felt
(15:06):
like a you know, a big party. It is.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
It's like a weird circus and you're like, but also,
this is my job, but there's like a circus going on.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
There's a full yeah, but there's also a show happening.
And it was very it was very weird and in
a cool way at getting to do some some cool things,
like when we did that soccer episode and we were
out at the polo field out at were Rogers. Yeah
yeah yeah. And just like being the goalie and being bad,
like getting to be bad at sports on purpose was
so fantastic for me. Every every year at Pride, I
(15:37):
post the screen cap of me holding the rainbow goalie.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
My face is like, oh yes, classic, I love that.
Oh man, I love it.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Oh god, I forgot about that soccer episode.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
We're not there yet, We're still we just started. Yeah, yeah,
so we're not quite there yet.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
We haven't met your character yet but soon.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Derek hasn't come, but did just.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Meet Teddy, so it's not not long, not far.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Were you like Derek as a little kid, was or
was he vastly different than than your own person.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
I think there were a lot of similarities. You know.
I was very, very precocious and very you know, able
to speak my mind and think, well, why shouldn't things
just be like that? You know. I feel like he
was always just kind of telling Michelle, like, well, why
don't you just do it like? You know? And I was.
I was kind of a bossy kid, nice and so yeah,
it was. It was very close. It was not until
(16:45):
I did some other roles where I really became the villain,
became the battie, and that was like, that was further
away from the truth. But you know, they were all
they were all kind of precocious and in their own way.
But yeah, Derek, Derek and I always feel I always
think when we were doing Fuller House, so I was
always thinking about, like, oh, where is Derek, Like I
hope he's teaching high school theater in San Francisco.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I was gonna say, he hasn't left San Francisco.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
No, no, no, no, he is.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
He's well connected in the community, yes, and yeah he's teaching. Yeah,
he's definitely teaching theater at some like kind of like
avant garde Conservatory San Francisco, so.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Aggressive, like yeah, feeds into a art like yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
See, this is such a missed opportunity not having Michelle
come back for fuller, Like we could have had so
many backstories with Derek and Teddy and all of them.
It would have been so great to see where it
would have.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Been fun to see. Yeah, where are they now of
that great.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Chi That's what We'll just do the spinoff with Michelle,
and we'll just do the spinoff of Michelle's Friends.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
It'll be in the same in the same universe.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Full of Michelle's friends without Michelle, full of Michelle's right
apartment next door, full of Michelle's friends.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Right single camera, very gritty Francis. Yeah, yeah, totally different.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Yeah, it's like referent Yeah. Now, you were nine when
you did The Little Rascals, and actually Mary Kate were
also in.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
The Little Rascals, So what was that like when you guys.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Got to all work together on a movie which is
such a different vibe.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
That was the biggest blessing that they said yes to
that cameo, because that was one of the reasons why
I was allowed to do the movie, because I was
under contract with full House.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
But they would let them go to do it yes.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
And they absolutely could have refused, like but by the
way the contract went, they could have said absolutely not
when I got cast in Little Rascals, but they had
offered this cameo for the slumber party scene with Darla
to Mary Kate Nashley. And because they said yes, they
were like, oh, well, this is just great for the show.
Like We're all like these are these are the kids
that are like working right now, and great, this looks great.
(18:50):
And I remember there were two episodes that would would
conflict that that were already scripted that Derek was already
meant to be in, and one was one was the
Talent Show at the Smash Club, and one was the
Go was a Go Kart Race, And I was like, well,
there's also a go kart race and a talent show
(19:11):
in this movie. I'm like, so I'm gonna stick with
the talent show. I'm gonna keep singing on full House
because I'm gonna get to do the go kart.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Like what do I want?
Speaker 3 (19:19):
What's my special skill and where do I want to
put it?
Speaker 2 (19:22):
And that was when Catherine Zaremba, the Redhead girl that
was also in our that came later like after the
taj Journey, you know, era, but still with us all.
She came one season later. We that's when we sang
don't go Break in My Heart in.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
The that is classic one of my fa good So.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yeah. So it was like the gamble and I was like, yeah,
I'm gonna I'm going to pass up on the full
house go go kart race? Do the movie one love it? Did?
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Wait? Did we do a full house go cart race?
Speaker 2 (19:50):
There was a go kart episode.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
It was Michelle's storyline, so we were yeah, yeah, it's hysterical. Yeah,
I remember you and that little redhead up there. You
were just like little adults, like miniature adults.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
It was like it was like Captain and to Neil
shutdown totally, yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Totally, And Dave had on those Elton John glasses and
it was great.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
It was wonderful, classic full house moment. Oh I love it.
That's so funny.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Oh man, and you do a lot of voice acting too, right, Like,
that's kind of something that you've been continuing doing.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
What what what? Where would we recognize your voice?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
I got to do quite a bit in those years
following Full House and Little Rascals, I did. I was
on the Disney series Recess for many many season actually
the whole the whole show. And then I did the
last few seasons of Hey Arnold. I was the final
I was the final voice of Eugene, the one with
the like the hair that looks like yeah, which and
(20:47):
we did a hilarious musical episode of of that.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Oh amazing, like it was the show.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
And then a ton of you know, a ton of
in between, you know, quick quick things. I did random
boy is in Tarzan, I did random voices in Anastasia,
you know, through.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Throughout some fun Disney.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Stuff, fun Disney stuff, Yeah, some really really cool UH
did some Warner Brothers stuff. Got to do the Animaniacs
and Pinky in the Brain. And there was a history
recap show called Hysteria that we did with Chrese Summer,
who's just such an icon of yeah and so like.
To get to work with her was like.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
The pinnacle I've worked with her brother. Oh okay, Rainbow, oh.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Amazing, who was in an one of the movies I
did for Hallmark.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
So yeah, again like how cool.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah, so we're in Canada like and he was like,
oh yeah, I think my sister.
Speaker 4 (21:43):
Yeah, you know, it's always small interesting.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, yeah, less less than six degrees of separation, always
sure for.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Those of us that worked in that period and are
still where we're like, we're we're dragging ourselves through it.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
You know, we're doing it. We're doing it.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
Which do you.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Like voice acting and like singing or on stage on camera?
Which what is your favorite, uh sort of way to perform?
Speaker 4 (22:10):
Do you like live theater or I think I always.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Go back to live theater because it's where I started,
and it's for me. It's that it's it's been there
at every point of my career and it's kind of
what informs all of the different work that I do.
I started directing a lot of musical theater after college,
and that's kind of been that's kind of been what's
kept me in my artistic passions in between amazing the
(22:37):
bigger projects or the you know, the more commercial projects,
and so that's that's been I will always go back
to it. There is something so divine to me about
the exchange, the energetic exchange with an audience and performance.
And I love so many types of theater. I just
spent two weeks in London and saw everything from like
the most heart wrenching, you know, experimental type theater to
(22:59):
like clueless the goal and enjoyed it all, you know,
like I really do. I am such a fan of
the work. I'm a fan of theater and I love
doing it, I love supporting it, and it is always
going to be my heart and soul.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
What were some of your favorite productions that you directed?
Can you pick a favorite?
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Gosh, it's it's it's hard to pick a favorite. But recently,
right after the right after we started theater again after
the pandemic, I got asked to be an associate professor
at the University of Mississippi. Of all places, in their
Opera department, you direct a production of The Light in
the Piazza, which I don't know if you know the show,
but it's a very intimate, small show and we were
(23:39):
doing it in this giant performing arts hall that they
have at the university. I mean it's literally where one
of the presidential debates happened.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
It's like it's a giant, right, and it's like.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And this is like a you know, a cast of ten.
But it was so incredible and I love the piece
so much. And when the hoser, Adam Gettle, heard about
what we were doing with it, and he was very
excited that this you know, southern kind of you know,
historically conservative area was putting on this this fully color
(24:12):
blind cast of his very Italian, very nineteen fifties piece.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Right.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
He came down and we got to spend a week
with him, and he that's amazing, and he got to
see you know, we got to talk about like why
I loved the show and my take on it and
all of that, and it was just it was such
a beautiful, special kind of thing for a show that
he doesn't get done very often. You know, it's it's
fairly niche, but it's just such a brilliant piece of theater.
(24:39):
And to get to do it in that way and
presented it to an area of the country that definitely
didn't see the national tour right, right, you know, it
was really cool.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Oh, I love that.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Did you have any connection to that area.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Or you I do I have some family family there.
I have some family that lived down in Oxford, where
the town where the universe he is, that have connections
to the university. So I didn't completely come out of nowhere,
but it was a really really neat, really really neat experience.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
So, speaking of opera, like, do you do operatic vocal
coaching or is it like I mean just I mean
vocal coaching sort of is all sorts.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
But is that like a specialty of yours or do
you do a lot of opera singing?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
It is? I don't do it. I don't personally do
a lot of opera singing. It is it is. I
was trained after kind of funny enough I did. I
did this in reverse, so like after Full House and
after Star Search and all of the singing on TV
and movies. Then when my voice changed, I went to
really study, Like I studied MARQUEESI, I studied Belconto, and
I studied Belconto and yeah, and did all the little
quirks and so sort of like learn learned all of that,
(25:49):
then studied with a teacher that taught me how to
teach the methods. Yeah, yeah, it became very important to
me I fell into I fell into coaching backwards. I
was helping friends get ready for their college auditions for
conservatory programs. Okay, yeah, And because I had done so
many musical theater auditions, it was very easy for me
to be like, what do you got, I'll cut it
to sixteen thirty two bars? Do this, do this, do that.
(26:10):
And one of my friends one day said, you know,
you should like do this, and I'm like, I'm I'm eighteen.
Nobody's going to pay me to like coach them, and They're.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Like, right, they might, they might.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, And so yeah, I've had a roster of vocal
students ever since.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
That's that's impressive.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I always loved I always loved going to uh singing lessons. Well,
I loved going to singing lessons. That is the practicing
in between as a teenager. And I was like, oh yeaheah.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
The in between could be a drag.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
But now of course I'm like, why didn't you listen
to your mother? You should have practiced more every day?
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Right, yeah, thank of what you could have done? And
you you composed music as well? I do, Yeah, yeah,
do your renaissance man. You do a lot of things.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Very proud of you.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
I thank you. I you know, I I just like
to I love to create and whatever avenue, you know.
I just I found that in our very weird and
tumultuous business, the best thing that we can do as
creatives is to just keep creating, whether it's for a
large audience, small audience. You know, I feel so grateful
that I had these crazy, you know, opportunities as a
(27:18):
kid that we're seen by so many people. But I
try to take the work that I do now that
I know is not as not as big, not as huge,
not as commercial widely commercial, but take the same amount
of care in what I put out, even if it's
just personal things. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Absolutely, it's you know, I find sometimes when like again,
the more commercial work or whatever slows, You're like, Okay,
I just have to throw myself into creating something, comedy,
writing this, whatever it is. Just I have to do something.
You're like, I don't even care if anybody sees it.
I don't care of it, Like I just I have
to do it otherwise I'm gonna go crazy. Yep.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
And I think you know, as you both know, when
when we into the sometimes into the throes of our business,
and it becomes so much more about the other stuff
and not the art itself, and we get so bogged
down in that. I think, just constantly creating, at least
for me, it keeps me so much more optimistic and
it keeps me, yes, for sure, it keeps me in
a positive headspace. It keeps me in a grateful headspace
(28:18):
and not in a just like oh, what's the next thing.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
I just always feel like it. It just keeps.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
The momentum going if you're you know what I mean, Like,
it's that the Newtonian principle like a.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
Body, you know, a body of rest will stay.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Arrest, but a body emotion will continue emotion. So it's
like if I'm just working those creative muscles and doing
and be and also like going and doing a friends
show or doing whatever, like you said, you never know
when you're going to do a show and someone's.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
There and it's like.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Hey, would you want to do star search? You know whatever,
like and things happen. So it's like it's kind of
that weird little uh thing about being creative and creating
work is that you sometimes literally created out of thin air.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
I still teach once a week a dance class for
a small group of people here and just right here
in the valley. And it's like, my youngest student is nineteen,
my eldest student is eighty three, and it's just a
Broadway cardio class and it's literally just for an hour,
like easy, easy, easy routines, yea, and just for an hour,
we just enjoy the music and like the love of
(29:28):
musical theater. And it's not about getting the steps right.
It's not about it being hard, it's not about it.
It's literally just about the love of it. Ah.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
I love great idea. Wow, that's fantastic.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
I love that. I remember brought what we used to
do because I did musical theater.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
If I went to Osha and did musical theater, and
I remember that was always one of my favorite dance
like sort of sections was when.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
We did a lot of the like Broadway character work.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
It was just so fun to you know, it was
just such a differ way to like dance, you.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Know, oh yeah, oh yeah, it's my favorite. It's all
all that character driven work, all that fossy stuff, all
that Michael Bennett stuff. It's yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
And an eight year old. Your hats off to the
eighty three year old. It's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yeah, we get, we get it's it really is. When
I opened it up, I was like, I want this
to be all ages, and then it really has become
all ages.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
That's amazing. I love it. I just want to be
that eighty three year old lady still dancing around.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Yeah, okay, what I mean you've been again, Like you said,
you've been in this business. We kind of touched on it,
but what do you think would be the one piece
of advice that you would give someone who maybe started
young in this business and like wants to keep going.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
For me, I always go back to when you know,
when people ask me about like what do you You've
done various things in various corners of the business, and
what what would you suggest, I always go, You've got
to look back inside and find whatever that initial spark is,
you know, whatever that passion thing, whatever, that very first
thing that made you feel like, you know, it's a
(31:09):
little different for all of us, but for me, it
was like what it made me feel like, I've got
to perform, I've got to be on stage, I've got
to sing, i have to dance. I have to act,
you know, whatever that little thing is, and it it
could be, it could be less specific than that. But
if you can find that and replicate that feeling, or
at least try to replicate that feeling, that will keep
(31:30):
that momentum going. Like you've got to keep that fire burning.
It's like when that fire goes out, then then all
the chaos comes in.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
We always have to go back to, Okay, what what
is this gift that needs to be shared for it
to resonate and to give back to others. And that's
because that's what we do. You know, we hold it,
we reflect exactly, and so finding the joy and the
love in that and what what is the passion moment
that made you start that in the first place? Always
(31:59):
going back to that, and I've had I mean, huh,
there have been times where I have lost Like, there have.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Definitely been times when you're like, I just don't I
don't know what I need to do right now, but
I think it might be just a little nothing and
we were going to figure this out.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Yeah. Yeah. This last fall, I was up in Rochester,
New York, in a two hundred and fifty seat theater
and I did a month run of the show The
Boy from Oz and I. It was one of those
dream roles that you thought that I thought, like, I'm
never going to get to do this, like it's such
a nobody does it. It's like so like it's like
that's it was like Hugh Jackman and then no one
(32:33):
like you know, and this this regional theater company up
there asked me to come do it, and I was like, yes,
I'm saying yes. I've never even been to Rochester, am
I right, I'm saying yes. And I went up and
had like the most soul fulfilling, one of the most
soul fulfilling artistic experiences of my life with that cast
up there.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
And it was just brilliant being able to tell that
story for a month, you know, a magical month of
and I was like, oh right, And that was one
of those moments for me. I was like, oh right,
this is why I do this, right. You know, when
you're when you're in the throes of the story and
you start to hear the sniffles and you start to
see the tissues come out, and I'm like, oh, this
is this is the divine moment.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
You know, this is when you feel that impact, You're like, oh,
it's the grind of the auditioning and the social media
and the thing.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
You're like, oh, this is I can't do.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
But you know, somebody goes, hey, do you want to
come tap dance on the stage, and You're like, oh
my god do I Yes?
Speaker 2 (33:24):
On my way right now? Right?
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Is there a dream role that you've never been able
to play but have always wanted to play?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
That's a great question. I there there are a few.
This the the one that like that just like stays
with me always hilariously and I'm almost aging into the
right to the right era for it. But I've been
joking with my my friends that I'm trying to enter
my valgeon period. I really, I just really want to
do the le Miss somewhere some way, somehow like that
(33:58):
is that is a bucket list Okay for me? Okay's
manifest So I'm like, I'm in the sweet spot now.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Okay, we'll manifest it right here?
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Right?
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Yeah, that's it? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Oh cool?
Speaker 4 (34:12):
I love Well.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Do you have any other amazing projects or shows or
anything that you want to plug while you're here to
let people know where they can find your amazing performances.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
That's very kind of you. I post pretty much right now.
I'm just posting on Instagram, so you'll see. That's kind
of where that's kind of my central hub, so you
can follow me there for all of the all of
the updates. I am working on something that sadly I
can't talk too specifically about, but I am. I am
in production, in pre production for an immersive musical here
(34:41):
in Los Angeles that will hopefully expand to other cities.
It's a very interesting project and it's it's really cool
and there's some historical fiction involved, and there's audience interaction,
and it's it's a type of show, type of look
at a show that's never been done before in this way.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
So we're there. I'm a history nerd.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
I mean, yes, yeah, please let us know, let us
know when you can, when you can talk about it,
please les.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
So that's that's that's on the horizon. So that's that's
going to be My summer is just Oh, I love it.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
I love what's your Instagram handle for people that don't.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Know, it's at Blake McIvor. My first and middle name
B L A K E M.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
C I V E R got it's so cool.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Ya Well, Blake, this has been so much fun to
have you on the show.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
I am so glad that we got to talk to you.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
I mean, you're you're just you've always been an incredibly
talented human. I mean when you were a kid, you
kind of blew everyone away with just how like great
and theatrical and.
Speaker 4 (35:43):
Amazing you were.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
And I'm just it's really awesome to see that you
have continued it and that it is something that you're
so passionate about and love so much. Because that, you know,
some people walk away go, yeah, I don't want that
was the thing I did when I was a kid,
and then there's those of us that are like, this
is what I do, this is who I am.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Wanted to do this.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Yeah, well, thank you both so much. It's this has
made my heart so full and happy to get to
see your faces and talk to you and catch up.
This has just been a delight.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Well, keep us posted on the The Vague Project because
because that's seriously, it.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Sounds really fascinating.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
And I love live theater and I love interesting different
live theater, so that.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Sounds funny interaction like yes.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Right, yes, I'll tell you about it as soon as
I can.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
Okay, it sounds good. Thank you so much for joining
us US today.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
We really appreciate it, every one.
Speaker 4 (36:39):
Oh that was so great.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Sam, Like I knew we had talked to him during
that season of Fuller, but.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
He's just the best.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
He's just the really is exactly so Derek would grow
up to be, you know.
Speaker 4 (36:52):
Exactly if you have the same hair. He does have
the same hair. And I mean that in the best right,
Like just got you great follow you thick hair.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Yeah, got hair envy for sure, good hair, yep.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
But so great to see him and so amazing and
wonderful to see like how much he loves what he does.
Speaker 4 (37:11):
Still it's contagious.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
And his excitement for you know, musical theater, the business,
in creativity in general, it's it's infectious. It's really kind
of like, yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 4 (37:22):
You know.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
And and I think, yeah, there's the there's a lot
of us that got into this business and people like
do your parents want you to do it? And you're
like no, I we came out and we were like
I have I just want to do with like a performance,
you know, And and yeah, he is just one of
those people, and I never knew his mom did the
Dean Moon.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
I had no idea.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
I mean, it makes sense, you know, the apple doesn't
fall far from the tree, but I didn't.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
I do remember her.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
I remember her in the stands when he would do
Yankee Doodle Bori interviews dancing, she would be dancing along,
yes and yeah, which blessed you know what I mean?
She I mean she probably choreographed it, right, you know.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
Yeah, at first I thought, oh, she's just being a
stage bomb, but no, she's.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Actually she's like, no, this is my number that I choreographed.
Don't screw it up. Yeah that's so great. But yeah, yeah,
the apple did not fall far from the tree in
that one. Love What a what a great interview that is.
Uh yeah, that's going to wrap up our interview with
Blake mcgivory.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
You and you guys.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Blake is such an incredible human being and we were
so excited to have him on the podcast.
Speaker 4 (38:22):
It was just really really great.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
So go check out his instagram, make sure that you
follow him, and also make sure that you're following the
podcast on whatever platform you're listening to it.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
Follow us on Instagram at Howard Podcast.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Uh and You can also send us an email at
howarud Tanner Ritos at gmail dot com. Uh and yeah,
we'd love to hear your comments, your thoughts, your questions.
We might do another fan Question episode one of these days,
so we'll get more at those. And yeah, also visit
our merch store Howard Meerch dot com. We've got some fun.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Shirts up there. We're uh, I think we're coming up
with a new design for something.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
Yes, we did.
Speaker 4 (39:00):
We still have the special do we still have the
special T shirt from the Well, yeah, it's pre order
so you can oh, that's right.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
It is crull ship in a few weeks after you
order it.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
Okay, got it, So yeah, you can still do that
but Howard Merch dot com. And in the meantime, we
plan on seeing you guys next time because we love
you fan Arritos. So remember the world is small, but
the house is full of tap shoes, so many tap shoes.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
That was that was my That was me so great,
that's me tap dancing. Okay,
Hey there, fan Ritos, Welcome back to a brand new
episode of How Rude Tanner Ritos. Today, we have a
guest that we are so excited to talk to. You
know him as Derek from Full House or Waldo from
The Little Rascals. It's Blake mcgiver ewing. Blake isn't just
a talented actor. He's a director, a composer, a singer,
(00:41):
a vocal coach, a personal trainer. I mean, the list
just goes on and on, and we can't wait to
catch up with him and talk about Full House and
everything beyond. So let's welcome Blake.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yayyay, Hey, Hello.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
We were just admired in your headshot on your profile picture.
You'll great, yes, yes, Oh my gosh, it's so good
to see you.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So good to see both of you. My goodness.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
I know it's been a few years. We saw you
briefly on Fuller House, which is great to have you
back on the show.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
That was so fun, so fun.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
But were you back for the wet Was it the
wedding episode that very last episode? Yeah, yeah, yeah, the
wedding Okay, the wedding episode, yeah yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Know, yeah, I know. We got to have a lot
of people come back for that one. That was really fun.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Danny was trying to find a minister, I think, and
so you were like auditioning with jazz hands.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Right, that's right. Yeah, yeah, he was doing the Yankee
Doodle moment.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yes, and I came in with tap shoes like I
would of course, darn y.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Yeah, they were like, could you tell you like, I'll
bring the tap shoes. Yeah, I got it, I got
it handled.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Do fans ask you to do the Yankee Doodle Boys
song or any any of those things when you're out.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
In about absolutely, yes, I get requests for it. Also,
it's like, you know, this is this is the time
of year where I like start to hunker down like
like a cold war b you know, my fourth is
coming this season. Yeah, the memes start coming, the.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Memes yeah yeah, yeah, you can't the whole yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
The hat, the suit, the whole business, all of it.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
I mean, it was fabulous.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
It was so great. But yes, we understand is former
child actors what that is like when that follows you around.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
For the host, like, yeah, it takes there's like the
the in between period of like oh no, not again,
and then you're.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Like you know there's a meme of me.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
It's a mean people know what it is like, people
are like, yep, I know what that means.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yeah, yeah, Yeah. Honestly, it as an honor and I'm
glad that it still brings people joy.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Right, it absolutely does.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Now, speaking of uh, Andrew sort of said it too
on your Instagram bio. It states you're a recovering child actor,
which I know we can all relate to.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yes, I might steal that.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
That's fantastic, right.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, absolutely please steal it. Yeah, I feel like we're
all in recovery always. We're not. Yea, it's a lots
but yeah, but you know, people ask me about it
all the time and I'm like, no, it's not a
negative thing. It's just like there's a constant process of recovery.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I was lucky that I wanted to do it. My
parents didn't push me.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Into it, and you know, we all you were one
of those kids you're kind of like me. You know
that you came out and you were like, let's go.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah, very that And since both my parents were in
show business, they didn't care at all. They were like, well,
if you're going to do it, just don't embarrass you know,
just just do it, yeah, do it well, well be
good at least be good at it. But it's so
funny because you become a teenager, you become a you know,
an adolescent, and it doesn't matter. There is still there
(03:54):
is still a life learning curve and so that it's
really it's more about that. It's like we recover in
our own way.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, and I think, you know, sort of the.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You have to there's a whole extra layer of getting
through that, that thing of being known as something for
a child, most people don't have to like shake off,
you know, a career at thirteen, you know, and be
like who am I now? You know, so like it
(04:27):
And it's at a time I always said it like,
it's at the time when you're really trying to figure
out who you are anyway, and now you're be pretending
to be somebody else, but other people think you're this.
You know, it's just a it does create I think
some layers of like self identity that take a little
bit more to get through.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Really absolutely, it's it's it is an identity crisis of
a sort. And I always try to explain to people,
you know, when you have your mid career crisis at
like eighteen, right, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I would call it my quarter life.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Crisis because I'm like, I was about, like, I don't know, fourteen, fifteen.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Years and I was like, what is my life?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
What am I doing?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Right?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
And anytime you anytime you run into another former child
actor from the nineties, it's like you have this like
your own language and it's like one big fraternity sorority
where it's like, oh yeah, I can relate to that too.
Oh yeah, I can relate to that.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Too, absolutely. And I feel like we were so lucky,
you know I did. I did a lot of like
episodic work on other shows at the time, and every
time I did another show, I was like, oh my god,
our set is so we are so lucky. I just
always felt that way special place.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Yeah, it really, it really was a special place. Everyone
that has come on the show and has done interviews
have been like that was just it wasn't like any
place else to work, And yeah, it just wasn't. We
were very an Emisodic can be a grind, like it's
a long days, and sitcom is kind of a well
oiled machine that you just you know, jump on the
treadmill for a week and then hop off for a
(05:55):
couple of days.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, right, and dropping into somebody else's rhythm is so
so difficult.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Yes, yeah, especially as a kid.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
But you know, you and Taj and Journey Smallett when
she came out, you know, you guys did such a
great job with it, you know, just kind of like
adapting and fitting right in and becoming part of the
you know, part of the kid crew.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, it was such a delight.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Michelle really did have outstanding friends, Like just looking did
Nico Hughes like you said, like, yeah, all of yourself? Wow, dang,
she had some really talented friends.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah, heavy hitters from the start yep, straight out of
the room. Right, So speaking straight out of the room,
when did you know you wanted to be an actor?
I imagined probably pretty soon after that, as was for
some of us.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yes, yeah, I knew. I knew pretty pretty early on.
I started, you know, seeing around the house dancing at
the TV, and my mom was like, it sounds like
a little better than just you know, kid humming, So
maybe I should explore this. And my mom coming from
a variety TV back she was on The Dean Martin Show,
so she came to LA in the sixties and danced
for Dean Martin for his entire variety show. So a
(07:07):
huge career and so hilariously. She was like, she thought, well,
since since she came from dance, She's like, if I
put him in dance first, he might lose interest because
it takes so much discipline, so much well the dance.
The only dance teacher she knew here in LA was
a former teacher of hers from Houston that had a
studio out in See Me Valley whose name was Patsy Swayze.
That Swayze like literally Patrick's mom whow And so Patrick's
(07:32):
mom taught me to dance essentially amazing And the very first,
the very first time I ever did like a patriotic thing,
like any The very first incarnation of Yankee Doodle was
a dance competition that was at the Beverly Garland.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Hotel Dance Competition, right.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
And I was too young to compete, So she had
me do this little dance routine for the audience while
the judges were tabulating between act Yes, and that was
the first time I sang Yankee Doodle Dandy. And the
director of Star Search was one of the judges, and
he approached my parents right after and said, will your
son audition for the next season of Star Search? And
that's how Yankee Doodle got from the ballroom.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
To Oh my gosh severly Garland through Stars Star Search.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And then it was the Full House producers seeing me
do it on Star Search that wrote the episode about
the patriotic show. And then I came in an audition
cold because they didn't know if I could act or
talk or.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
You're great Yankee doo o.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
We don't know about the kids sing on TV.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I remember that's important.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
So it was a really quick I mean not quick
because it was years, but but it felt like a
really fast trajectory on this one song brought me.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
Well, I mean, let's be fair, you were what eight,
So I.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Mean it really wasn't years, It wasn't relatively fast.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, it was pretty fast.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Yeah. So, so was Full House your first acting job
then or how did that go from? Did you do
anything between Star Search and Full House?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I did? I did one. I was I was in
a movie called Calendar Girl with Jason Priestley Jerry O'Connell. Yeah,
and I played young Jerry O'Connell. In the flashback. Oh
my god, it's just all yeah, yeah, right, so I
did I had done that and that was so that
was kind of the first time on a film set.
(09:22):
And then but yeah, first sitcom experience was was full house.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Man, Oh, your parents must have been so proud.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
That so great? And how old were you were you? What?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Seven?
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Eight?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I think I was seven when I that first that Yankee.
Do I believe I was seven? Yeah, because I think
I was on the show seven eight nine.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Yeah, And you said you auditioned cold, Like, do you
remember the process of auditioning or was it.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
One of those things where you're like, I don't know.
It just kind of blends into other auditions that I did, but.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
That one blends in. What I do remember is how
quickly I went from my last like reading with producers
to the table because like the episode was already going,
oh yeah. And so what I do remember is walking
into the table because of course I watched the show,
So walking into the room with all of you sitting there,
I was like, oh, this is legit, Like, this is
(10:13):
it I have I have arrived at this conference table
and there they all are, and I'm like, I just
don't mess it up.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Oh you couldn't not anymore than we were always messing up.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Have you seen the show at that point? Were you
a fan? Did you watch the huge?
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Yeah? I was already watching it every week.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Okay, so that was because this was like season five,
so this was this was the height.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Of Yeah, you guys were at the peak.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
We were well established by that point.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Oh yes, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Yeah, how intimidating to walk into that table read and be.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Like, there's right literally and you do.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
I mean, do you remember what your first day on
set was?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Like?
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Do you remember coming to set?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I do I remember coming set? I remember sort of
hilariously reconnecting with Mary Kate Nashley because one of my
best childhood friends went to preschool with them. Oh okay, yeah,
that little preschool on Colfax right down the way. And
so we had been to like some birthday parties together
and like socialized, you know, very you know, as briefly
(11:22):
as you do when you're a.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Kid, but still you're like, oh, I know you.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
But yeah, it's like I've met you before. This is
not weird. And then yeah, and then just uh, realizing
how quickly because I had done a bunch of on
stage work and so realized. I was so nervous the
first couple of days, but realizing how much a camera
blocking rehearsal was just just like a rehearsal, the same
as doing a play, and I was like, great, cool, Yes, the.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Move from like live theater to sitcom is kind of
their sort of cousins.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, they totally are. And joel's Wick was the director
of the first episode, that Yankee Doodle episode, and so
it was great. It was just like, oh, I know
this guy, this guy, I knows me. We get it,
Like it was just immediately easy. He made it so
fun and casual.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Yeah, Joe really did. And he was so great at
working with kids, Like as crazy as he was in
like his little you know, just running around, you know what,
but like he just he was there was such love
about him that you were like whatever, you know what
I mean, Like he just wanted things done, and he
wanted his brain moves nine thousand miles an hour.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
And he knew what he wants. He knows exactly what
he wants and.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That was the thing that made it so easy jumping
in because it was like there was no margin for confusion.
It was like no, no, no, here are the parameters, here's
what he wants, here's what we're trying to get to.
So it was like there was no fear. It was
just kind of like just everybody's diving in together, which
felt really cool.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Yeah, yeah for sure.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Now you you guys had kind of a little crew
in Michelle's classroom. It was like you, Miko, Journey, and Taj.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Right, uh huh, and.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
You guys were all.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Like in the same class that's all in the.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Amazing Did you hang out when you weren't on stage
or were you just in school the whole time or
what was that dynamic?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
We we did our school hours altogether in that in
those rooms up.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Behind Ashley, Mary Kate had their own because they were
like five years younger than us, So we were like
I was upper elementary and you were like early high
school and then the younger kids were yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, so we all did our school hours together every day,
even though we were all at different schools.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Right, so much fun. Yeah, the school room is like
the place of bonding.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, yeah, that's so. Who was was well it wasn't Adria.
Who was this? Do you remember your studio teacher?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Because Adrian was there. I definitely remember remember Adrian was there, I.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Think still working with Ashley Mary Kate, but I don't
think she was the teacher at that point.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
I don't know. Was it Rhonda's sister she take over
as their teacher at one point?
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Remember who had over for the little kids? I can
only remember MiNet.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Throw some fan rito it out there is like I
have the entire production casting crew list for a season.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I can tell you.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Someone started and stopped right yeah, and what car they
got to drive on everything. Do you have any favorite
memories from like full House working with all the kids
and having fun like or do you just sort of
remember getting to come to work and it being a
good place to work.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
It was always yeah, I mean the overall was it
was always a great place to work. It was always
a relief I was. I was basically in regular school
throughout my working life, so it was always coming in
and out, and I just remember feeling so relieved when
I'd get you know, that Monday would just be like ah,
you know, showing up at work was just like, oh great,
I know what, I know how this is going to go.
I know how fun this is going to be. I
(14:45):
love these people. I love laughing with these people. You know,
we we have a goal. I'm a very goal oriented person.
I loved that. I loved that final producer run because
it really felt like a show with high stage, you know,
like we had to we had to prove that those
jokes were worth it. Yeah, exactly, And that was so
fun and exciting. And then tape day always just felt
(15:06):
like a you know, a big party. It is.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
It's like a weird circus and you're like, but also,
this is my job, but there's like a circus going on.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
There's a full yeah, but there's also a show happening.
And it was very it was very weird and in
a cool way at getting to do some some cool things,
like when we did that soccer episode and we were
out at the polo field out at were Rogers. Yeah
yeah yeah. And just like being the goalie and being bad,
like getting to be bad at sports on purpose was
so fantastic for me. Every every year at Pride, I
(15:37):
post the screen cap of me holding the rainbow goalie.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
My face is like, oh yes, classic, I love that.
Oh man, I love it.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Oh god, I forgot about that soccer episode.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
We're not there yet, We're still we just started. Yeah, yeah,
so we're not quite there yet.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
We haven't met your character yet but soon.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Derek hasn't come, but did just.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Meet Teddy, so it's not not long, not far.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Were you like Derek as a little kid, was or
was he vastly different than than your own person.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
I think there were a lot of similarities. You know.
I was very, very precocious and very you know, able
to speak my mind and think, well, why shouldn't things
just be like that? You know. I feel like he
was always just kind of telling Michelle, like, well, why
don't you just do it like? You know? And I was.
I was kind of a bossy kid, nice and so yeah,
it was. It was very close. It was not until
(16:45):
I did some other roles where I really became the villain,
became the battie, and that was like, that was further
away from the truth. But you know, they were all
they were all kind of precocious and in their own way.
But yeah, Derek, Derek and I always feel I always
think when we were doing Fuller House, so I was
always thinking about, like, oh, where is Derek, Like I
hope he's teaching high school theater in San Francisco.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I was gonna say, he hasn't left San Francisco.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
No, no, no, no, he is.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
He's well connected in the community, yes, and yeah he's teaching. Yeah,
he's definitely teaching theater at some like kind of like
avant garde Conservatory San Francisco, so.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Aggressive, like yeah, feeds into a art like yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
See, this is such a missed opportunity not having Michelle
come back for fuller, Like we could have had so
many backstories with Derek and Teddy and all of them.
It would have been so great to see where it
would have.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Been fun to see. Yeah, where are they now of
that great.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Chi That's what We'll just do the spinoff with Michelle,
and we'll just do the spinoff of Michelle's Friends.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
It'll be in the same in the same universe.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Full of Michelle's friends without Michelle, full of Michelle's right
apartment next door, full of Michelle's friends.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Right single camera, very gritty Francis. Yeah, yeah, totally different.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Yeah, it's like referent Yeah. Now, you were nine when
you did The Little Rascals, and actually Mary Kate were
also in.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
The Little Rascals, So what was that like when you guys.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Got to all work together on a movie which is
such a different vibe.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
That was the biggest blessing that they said yes to
that cameo, because that was one of the reasons why
I was allowed to do the movie, because I was
under contract with full House.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
But they would let them go to do it yes.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
And they absolutely could have refused, like but by the
way the contract went, they could have said absolutely not
when I got cast in Little Rascals, but they had
offered this cameo for the slumber party scene with Darla
to Mary Kate Nashley. And because they said yes, they
were like, oh, well, this is just great for the show.
Like We're all like these are these are the kids
that are like working right now, and great, this looks great.
(18:50):
And I remember there were two episodes that would would
conflict that that were already scripted that Derek was already
meant to be in, and one was one was the
Talent Show at the Smash Club, and one was the
Go was a Go Kart Race, And I was like, well,
there's also a go kart race and a talent show
(19:11):
in this movie. I'm like, so I'm gonna stick with
the talent show. I'm gonna keep singing on full House
because I'm gonna get to do the go kart.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Like what do I want?
Speaker 3 (19:19):
What's my special skill and where do I want to
put it?
Speaker 2 (19:22):
And that was when Catherine Zaremba, the Redhead girl that
was also in our that came later like after the
taj Journey, you know, era, but still with us all.
She came one season later. We that's when we sang
don't go Break in My Heart in.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
The that is classic one of my fa good So.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yeah. So it was like the gamble and I was like, yeah,
I'm gonna I'm going to pass up on the full
house go go kart race? Do the movie one love it? Did?
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Wait? Did we do a full house go cart race?
Speaker 2 (19:50):
There was a go kart episode.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
It was Michelle's storyline, so we were yeah, yeah, it's hysterical. Yeah,
I remember you and that little redhead up there. You
were just like little adults, like miniature adults.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
It was like it was like Captain and to Neil
shutdown totally, yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Totally, And Dave had on those Elton John glasses and
it was great.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
It was wonderful, classic full house moment. Oh I love it.
That's so funny.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Oh man, and you do a lot of voice acting too, right, Like,
that's kind of something that you've been continuing doing.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
What what what? Where would we recognize your voice?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
I got to do quite a bit in those years
following Full House and Little Rascals, I did. I was
on the Disney series Recess for many many season actually
the whole the whole show. And then I did the
last few seasons of Hey Arnold. I was the final
I was the final voice of Eugene, the one with
the like the hair that looks like yeah, which and
(20:47):
we did a hilarious musical episode of of that.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Oh amazing, like it was the show.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
And then a ton of you know, a ton of
in between, you know, quick quick things. I did random
boy is in Tarzan, I did random voices in Anastasia,
you know, through.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Throughout some fun Disney.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Stuff, fun Disney stuff, Yeah, some really really cool UH
did some Warner Brothers stuff. Got to do the Animaniacs
and Pinky in the Brain. And there was a history
recap show called Hysteria that we did with Chrese Summer,
who's just such an icon of yeah and so like.
To get to work with her was like.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
The pinnacle I've worked with her brother. Oh okay, Rainbow, oh.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Amazing, who was in an one of the movies I
did for Hallmark.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
So yeah, again like how cool.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah, so we're in Canada like and he was like,
oh yeah, I think my sister.
Speaker 4 (21:43):
Yeah, you know, it's always small interesting.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, yeah, less less than six degrees of separation, always
sure for.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Those of us that worked in that period and are
still where we're like, we're we're dragging ourselves through it.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
You know, we're doing it. We're doing it.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
Which do you.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Like voice acting and like singing or on stage on camera?
Which what is your favorite, uh sort of way to perform?
Speaker 4 (22:10):
Do you like live theater or I think I always.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Go back to live theater because it's where I started,
and it's for me. It's that it's it's been there
at every point of my career and it's kind of
what informs all of the different work that I do.
I started directing a lot of musical theater after college,
and that's kind of been that's kind of been what's
kept me in my artistic passions in between amazing the
(22:37):
bigger projects or the you know, the more commercial projects,
and so that's that's been I will always go back
to it. There is something so divine to me about
the exchange, the energetic exchange with an audience and performance.
And I love so many types of theater. I just
spent two weeks in London and saw everything from like
the most heart wrenching, you know, experimental type theater to
(22:59):
like clueless the goal and enjoyed it all, you know,
like I really do. I am such a fan of
the work. I'm a fan of theater and I love
doing it, I love supporting it, and it is always
going to be my heart and soul.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
What were some of your favorite productions that you directed?
Can you pick a favorite?
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Gosh, it's it's it's hard to pick a favorite. But recently,
right after the right after we started theater again after
the pandemic, I got asked to be an associate professor
at the University of Mississippi. Of all places, in their
Opera department, you direct a production of The Light in
the Piazza, which I don't know if you know the show,
but it's a very intimate, small show and we were
(23:39):
doing it in this giant performing arts hall that they
have at the university. I mean it's literally where one
of the presidential debates happened.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
It's like it's a giant, right, and it's like.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And this is like a you know, a cast of ten.
But it was so incredible and I love the piece
so much. And when the hoser, Adam Gettle, heard about
what we were doing with it, and he was very
excited that this you know, southern kind of you know,
historically conservative area was putting on this this fully color
(24:12):
blind cast of his very Italian, very nineteen fifties piece.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Right.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
He came down and we got to spend a week
with him, and he that's amazing, and he got to
see you know, we got to talk about like why
I loved the show and my take on it and
all of that, and it was just it was such
a beautiful, special kind of thing for a show that
he doesn't get done very often. You know, it's it's
fairly niche, but it's just such a brilliant piece of theater.
(24:39):
And to get to do it in that way and
presented it to an area of the country that definitely
didn't see the national tour right, right, you know, it
was really cool.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Oh, I love that.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Did you have any connection to that area.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Or you I do I have some family family there.
I have some family that lived down in Oxford, where
the town where the universe he is, that have connections
to the university. So I didn't completely come out of nowhere,
but it was a really really neat, really really neat experience.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
So, speaking of opera, like, do you do operatic vocal
coaching or is it like I mean just I mean
vocal coaching sort of is all sorts.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
But is that like a specialty of yours or do
you do a lot of opera singing?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
It is? I don't do it. I don't personally do
a lot of opera singing. It is it is. I
was trained after kind of funny enough I did. I
did this in reverse, so like after Full House and
after Star Search and all of the singing on TV
and movies. Then when my voice changed, I went to
really study, Like I studied MARQUEESI, I studied Belconto, and
I studied Belconto and yeah, and did all the little
quirks and so sort of like learn learned all of that,
(25:49):
then studied with a teacher that taught me how to
teach the methods. Yeah, yeah, it became very important to
me I fell into I fell into coaching backwards. I
was helping friends get ready for their college auditions for
conservatory programs. Okay, yeah, And because I had done so
many musical theater auditions, it was very easy for me
to be like, what do you got, I'll cut it
to sixteen thirty two bars? Do this, do this, do that.
(26:10):
And one of my friends one day said, you know,
you should like do this, and I'm like, I'm I'm eighteen.
Nobody's going to pay me to like coach them, and They're.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Like, right, they might, they might.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, And so yeah, I've had a roster of vocal
students ever since.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
That's that's impressive.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I always loved I always loved going to uh singing lessons. Well,
I loved going to singing lessons. That is the practicing
in between as a teenager. And I was like, oh yeaheah.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
The in between could be a drag.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
But now of course I'm like, why didn't you listen
to your mother? You should have practiced more every day?
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Right, yeah, thank of what you could have done? And
you you composed music as well? I do, Yeah, yeah,
do your renaissance man. You do a lot of things.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Very proud of you.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
I thank you. I you know, I I just like
to I love to create and whatever avenue, you know.
I just I found that in our very weird and
tumultuous business, the best thing that we can do as
creatives is to just keep creating, whether it's for a
large audience, small audience. You know, I feel so grateful
that I had these crazy, you know, opportunities as a
(27:18):
kid that we're seen by so many people. But I
try to take the work that I do now that
I know is not as not as big, not as huge,
not as commercial widely commercial, but take the same amount
of care in what I put out, even if it's
just personal things. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Absolutely, it's you know, I find sometimes when like again,
the more commercial work or whatever slows, You're like, Okay,
I just have to throw myself into creating something, comedy,
writing this, whatever it is. Just I have to do something.
You're like, I don't even care if anybody sees it.
I don't care of it, Like I just I have
to do it otherwise I'm gonna go crazy. Yep.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
And I think you know, as you both know, when
when we into the sometimes into the throes of our business,
and it becomes so much more about the other stuff
and not the art itself, and we get so bogged
down in that. I think, just constantly creating, at least
for me, it keeps me so much more optimistic and
it keeps me, yes, for sure, it keeps me in
a positive headspace. It keeps me in a grateful headspace
(28:18):
and not in a just like oh, what's the next thing.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
I just always feel like it. It just keeps.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
The momentum going if you're you know what I mean, Like,
it's that the Newtonian principle like a.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
Body, you know, a body of rest will stay.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Arrest, but a body emotion will continue emotion. So it's
like if I'm just working those creative muscles and doing
and be and also like going and doing a friends
show or doing whatever, like you said, you never know
when you're going to do a show and someone's.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
There and it's like.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Hey, would you want to do star search? You know whatever,
like and things happen. So it's like it's kind of
that weird little uh thing about being creative and creating
work is that you sometimes literally created out of thin air.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
I still teach once a week a dance class for
a small group of people here and just right here
in the valley. And it's like, my youngest student is nineteen,
my eldest student is eighty three, and it's just a
Broadway cardio class and it's literally just for an hour,
like easy, easy, easy routines, yea, and just for an hour,
we just enjoy the music and like the love of
(29:28):
musical theater. And it's not about getting the steps right.
It's not about it being hard, it's not about it.
It's literally just about the love of it. Ah.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
I love great idea. Wow, that's fantastic.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
I love that. I remember brought what we used to
do because I did musical theater.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
If I went to Osha and did musical theater, and
I remember that was always one of my favorite dance
like sort of sections was when.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
We did a lot of the like Broadway character work.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
It was just so fun to you know, it was
just such a differ way to like dance, you.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Know, oh yeah, oh yeah, it's my favorite. It's all
all that character driven work, all that fossy stuff, all
that Michael Bennett stuff. It's yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
And an eight year old. Your hats off to the
eighty three year old. It's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yeah, we get, we get it's it really is. When
I opened it up, I was like, I want this
to be all ages, and then it really has become
all ages.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
That's amazing. I love it. I just want to be
that eighty three year old lady still dancing around.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Yeah, okay, what I mean you've been again, Like you said,
you've been in this business. We kind of touched on it,
but what do you think would be the one piece
of advice that you would give someone who maybe started
young in this business and like wants to keep going.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
For me, I always go back to when you know,
when people ask me about like what do you You've
done various things in various corners of the business, and
what what would you suggest, I always go, You've got
to look back inside and find whatever that initial spark is,
you know, whatever that passion thing, whatever, that very first
thing that made you feel like, you know, it's a
(31:09):
little different for all of us, but for me, it
was like what it made me feel like, I've got
to perform, I've got to be on stage, I've got
to sing, i have to dance. I have to act,
you know, whatever that little thing is, and it it
could be, it could be less specific than that. But
if you can find that and replicate that feeling, or
at least try to replicate that feeling, that will keep
(31:30):
that momentum going. Like you've got to keep that fire burning.
It's like when that fire goes out, then then all
the chaos comes in.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
We always have to go back to, Okay, what what
is this gift that needs to be shared for it
to resonate and to give back to others. And that's
because that's what we do. You know, we hold it,
we reflect exactly, and so finding the joy and the
love in that and what what is the passion moment
that made you start that in the first place? Always
(31:59):
going back to that, and I've had I mean, huh,
there have been times where I have lost Like, there have.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Definitely been times when you're like, I just don't I
don't know what I need to do right now, but
I think it might be just a little nothing and
we were going to figure this out.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Yeah. Yeah. This last fall, I was up in Rochester,
New York, in a two hundred and fifty seat theater
and I did a month run of the show The
Boy from Oz and I. It was one of those
dream roles that you thought that I thought, like, I'm
never going to get to do this, like it's such
a nobody does it. It's like so like it's like
that's it was like Hugh Jackman and then no one
(32:33):
like you know, and this this regional theater company up
there asked me to come do it, and I was like, yes,
I'm saying yes. I've never even been to Rochester, am
I right, I'm saying yes. And I went up and
had like the most soul fulfilling, one of the most
soul fulfilling artistic experiences of my life with that cast
up there.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
And it was just brilliant being able to tell that
story for a month, you know, a magical month of
and I was like, oh right, And that was one
of those moments for me. I was like, oh right,
this is why I do this, right. You know, when
you're when you're in the throes of the story and
you start to hear the sniffles and you start to
see the tissues come out, and I'm like, oh, this
is this is the divine moment.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
You know, this is when you feel that impact, You're like, oh,
it's the grind of the auditioning and the social media
and the thing.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
You're like, oh, this is I can't do.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
But you know, somebody goes, hey, do you want to
come tap dance on the stage, and You're like, oh
my god do I Yes?
Speaker 2 (33:24):
On my way right now? Right?
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Is there a dream role that you've never been able
to play but have always wanted to play?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
That's a great question. I there there are a few.
This the the one that like that just like stays
with me always hilariously and I'm almost aging into the
right to the right era for it. But I've been
joking with my my friends that I'm trying to enter
my valgeon period. I really, I just really want to
do the le Miss somewhere some way, somehow like that
(33:58):
is that is a bucket list Okay for me? Okay's
manifest So I'm like, I'm in the sweet spot now.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Okay, we'll manifest it right here?
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Right?
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Yeah, that's it? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Oh cool?
Speaker 4 (34:12):
I love Well.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Do you have any other amazing projects or shows or
anything that you want to plug while you're here to
let people know where they can find your amazing performances.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
That's very kind of you. I post pretty much right now.
I'm just posting on Instagram, so you'll see. That's kind
of where that's kind of my central hub, so you
can follow me there for all of the all of
the updates. I am working on something that sadly I
can't talk too specifically about, but I am. I am
in production, in pre production for an immersive musical here
(34:41):
in Los Angeles that will hopefully expand to other cities.
It's a very interesting project and it's it's really cool
and there's some historical fiction involved, and there's audience interaction,
and it's it's a type of show, type of look
at a show that's never been done before in this way.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
So we're there. I'm a history nerd.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
I mean, yes, yeah, please let us know, let us
know when you can, when you can talk about it,
please les.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
So that's that's that's on the horizon. So that's that's
going to be My summer is just Oh, I love it.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
I love what's your Instagram handle for people that don't.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Know, it's at Blake McIvor. My first and middle name
B L A K E M.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
C I V E R got it's so cool.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Ya Well, Blake, this has been so much fun to
have you on the show.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
I am so glad that we got to talk to you.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
I mean, you're you're just you've always been an incredibly
talented human. I mean when you were a kid, you
kind of blew everyone away with just how like great
and theatrical and.
Speaker 4 (35:43):
Amazing you were.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
And I'm just it's really awesome to see that you
have continued it and that it is something that you're
so passionate about and love so much. Because that, you know,
some people walk away go, yeah, I don't want that
was the thing I did when I was a kid,
and then there's those of us that are like, this
is what I do, this is who I am.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Wanted to do this.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Yeah, well, thank you both so much. It's this has
made my heart so full and happy to get to
see your faces and talk to you and catch up.
This has just been a delight.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Well, keep us posted on the The Vague Project because
because that's seriously, it.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Sounds really fascinating.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
And I love live theater and I love interesting different
live theater, so that.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Sounds funny interaction like yes.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Right, yes, I'll tell you about it as soon as
I can.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
Okay, it sounds good. Thank you so much for joining
us US today.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
We really appreciate it, every one.
Speaker 4 (36:39):
Oh that was so great.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Sam, Like I knew we had talked to him during
that season of Fuller, but.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
He's just the best.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
He's just the really is exactly so Derek would grow
up to be, you know.
Speaker 4 (36:52):
Exactly if you have the same hair. He does have
the same hair. And I mean that in the best right,
Like just got you great follow you thick hair.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Yeah, got hair envy for sure, good hair, yep.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
But so great to see him and so amazing and
wonderful to see like how much he loves what he does.
Speaker 4 (37:11):
Still it's contagious.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
And his excitement for you know, musical theater, the business,
in creativity in general, it's it's infectious. It's really kind
of like, yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 4 (37:22):
You know.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
And and I think, yeah, there's the there's a lot
of us that got into this business and people like
do your parents want you to do it? And you're
like no, I we came out and we were like
I have I just want to do with like a performance,
you know, And and yeah, he is just one of
those people, and I never knew his mom did the
Dean Moon.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
I had no idea.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
I mean, it makes sense, you know, the apple doesn't
fall far from the tree, but I didn't.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
I do remember her.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
I remember her in the stands when he would do
Yankee Doodle Bori interviews dancing, she would be dancing along,
yes and yeah, which blessed you know what I mean?
She I mean she probably choreographed it, right, you know.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
Yeah, at first I thought, oh, she's just being a
stage bomb, but no, she's.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Actually she's like, no, this is my number that I choreographed.
Don't screw it up. Yeah that's so great. But yeah, yeah,
the apple did not fall far from the tree in
that one. Love What a what a great interview that is.
Uh yeah, that's going to wrap up our interview with
Blake mcgivory.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
You and you guys.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Blake is such an incredible human being and we were
so excited to have him on the podcast.
Speaker 4 (38:22):
It was just really really great.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
So go check out his instagram, make sure that you
follow him, and also make sure that you're following the
podcast on whatever platform you're listening to it.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
Follow us on Instagram at Howard Podcast.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Uh and You can also send us an email at
howarud Tanner Ritos at gmail dot com. Uh and yeah,
we'd love to hear your comments, your thoughts, your questions.
We might do another fan Question episode one of these days,
so we'll get more at those. And yeah, also visit
our merch store Howard Meerch dot com. We've got some fun.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Shirts up there. We're uh, I think we're coming up
with a new design for something.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
Yes, we did.
Speaker 4 (39:00):
We still have the special do we still have the
special T shirt from the Well, yeah, it's pre order
so you can oh, that's right.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
It is crull ship in a few weeks after you
order it.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
Okay, got it, So yeah, you can still do that
but Howard Merch dot com. And in the meantime, we
plan on seeing you guys next time because we love
you fan Arritos. So remember the world is small, but
the house is full of tap shoes, so many tap shoes.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
That was that was my That was me so great,
that's me tap dancing. Okay,
Hosts And Creators
Andrea Barber
Jodie Sweetin
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