September 12, 2024 • 16 mins
Join Tony Award-winning Actor, Santino Fontana, and DMPA President and CEO, Jeff Chelesvig, as they discuss Santino’s impressive career. From his award-winning performance leading Tootsie on Broadway to voicing the villainous Prince Hans in the Academy Award-winning Disney film Frozen, Fontana shares insights from his life as a performer and how he found success in the entertainment industry. Santino will perform with the Des Moines Symphony for a special collaborative concert on October 5.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of DMPA Conversations.
I'm Jeff Chellsbig President and CEO of Doin Performing Arts.
Today I'm joined by Tony Award winner Santino Fontana, who
will perform on the Civic Center Stage with Dwayne Symphony
as part of our special collaboration in our Willis Broadway
series on Saturday, October fifth. These podcasts are designed to
(00:28):
give you an insider's perspective on the fantastic performances headed
to DMPA stages. Thank you again for joining us. And
now here is my conversation with Santino Fantana.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So I want to start with just how can you
tell us.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
A little bit about your background, where you grew up,
where you went to.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
School, things like that.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Sure, I'm from I was born in the Central Valley
of California, Stockton, California, a family in the Bay Area,
but then we moved to Washington and then I went
to college in Minneapolis at the Guthrie Theater, and I
also went to interlock In Arts Camp for a summer,
and then I moved to New York in two thousand
(01:13):
and six. So I've spent a lot of time in
the Midwest. Yes, yes, a lot.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
We're about four hours away from Minneapolis, and we like
to have a friendly rivalry with sometimes with them. But
there's so much great theater and the like. So you
studied at the Guthrie, right, I did.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
I was in the first class of the actor training
program there that Ken Washington started and Joe Dowling was
the artistic director.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
And after graduating, I.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Was in I was a company member for two years
and did a bunch of different plays in music. Well now,
no musicals, actually just plays before moving to New York.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah. Great, Well you have a.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
You have a career that spans a lot of mediums theater, television, anime, film.
Tell us how you broke into the I mean, after
your studying and after the Guthrie Theater you moved to
New York. How did you break into.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
All of this? Oh? God, let's see.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I you know, just didn't leave, didn't give up, just kept,
you know, annoying people until they would finally give me
a job.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I guess I was doing.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
I was doing Hamlet at the Guthrie in two thousand
and six, right.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Before I moved.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
And the composer of the like incidental music for it
Mel Marvin, who currently runs a program at NYU.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
He asked if.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
I wanted to sing, because he knew I had sung
in the past, and I said, I want a job.
I don't want to be a waiter. That's the goal
and nothing there's anything wrong with that, but that was
my goal, was.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Like not to have to.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
And he got me an audition for The Fantastics, which
was having a revival that Tom Jones.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Who wrote it as well, was going to direct.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
And that was one of my first auditions in the
city and I lucked out and got it, and so
I started pretty quickly after I got.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
To New York. I was very lucky. Yeah, and it
was in the Fantastics.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
And what was your first Broadway role?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Stunning the Park with George which was I think was
the first revival, the one with the British the British
Transport with Jenna Russell and Daniel Evans who now runs.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
The RSC right.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, in Jessica Mulaski and Alexander Jeminiani and Brune O'Malley.
It was an amazing group of people at the Roundabout
in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
I think a lot of people know you from some
of your video work, most notably Frozen. I don't have
any children, but I happened to own a copy of Frozen.
Somebody gave it to me, and I've watched it, and
I think a lot of people will be drawn to
the fact that you played prominent role in that.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
I was lucky enough to play the romantic hero of
the first half, and some would say the villain the
second half, although.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
That is up for debate.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I was in Cinderella on Broadway at the time, Rogers
and Hammerstein Cinderella, and I got an audition for a
movie which they asked for a song and a very
kind of vague description of a character because now I
knew now I know that they were, you know, still
writing it. But yeah, it was in one of those
(04:35):
insane experiences of getting to be a part of something
that you know has taken the world by storms. It
is bizarre, and I'm sure I will talk about this
in the show, that it is bizarre to constantly be surrounded.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
By it and keep it a secret.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
I have this huge secret on everybody.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
You know. I fly on an airplane.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I bet when I fly to Iowa next month, I'll
be sitting next to a kid watching it right, or
you know Halloween trigger treat ding Dong.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
There is Anna and Elsa and I'm like, here's your candy.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
You know, it's it's insane, it's really and it's also
it was So I've said this before, but getting to
be both a Disney prince and a Disney villain at
the same time is pretty great.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So I'm very lucky. I'm very thankful. Great.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Well, I remember, you know, Rogers Hammerstein and Cinderella really
love that production. We've had a long association in an
odd way with Rogers and Hammerstein. As many years ago
we opened the pre Broadway tour of State Fair, which
was kind of the second to the last musical that
(05:48):
that made it to Broadway from Rogers and Hammerstein, with
Cinderella being the last one. Really, yeah, tell us a
little bit about that experience with Cinderella. I really liked
the show. When we presented the national tour were here,
it was it was terrific.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I loved being a part of that. I had been
in a play off Broadway and the I had had
the same producer, and it's actually similar to what we
were saying earlier. It was a straight play. No singing
and very It was funny, but it was also dark
and serious and emotional. And she said, do you want
to do something light and fun next? And Robin Goodman
(06:25):
the producer. And I was like, it depends.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And she was like, it's a Cinderella and I was like, Cinderella, oh,
the ten minutes ago. And she was like, yes, do
you want to play the Prince? And I was like,
I'm not going to play the prince. No one wants
me to be the Prince. I wouldn't cast me as
the prince. And also we know nothing about the prince.
He's just there. So and she said, wait a minute,
wait a minute. Read the script. She sent me the
(06:48):
script and the very first page of the script, the Prince,
you know, falls a giant with a sword, stands on
the giant and says, I just wish I was doing
something important with my life.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And I was.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Hooked and I said, you know what, You're right, I
do want to do this.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
And Douglas Carter Beanho wrote the book, and Mark Brokaw
and Victoria Clark and Laura Austness and Harriet Harris and
Greg Hildreth and Herata and Marlon mindel.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
We had a great time.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
I loved I did it for a year, you know,
and I really really loved it. And then my wife
ended up going into Cinderella shortly after as a Cinderella
alternate as well into the company. So it meant a
lot to me in my life, in my career but
also my life.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
That's fantastic. Well, before we talk about TUTSI, I want
to just compliment you were in a play that I
loved which was right after Cinderella, I believe, and that
was Act one at Lincoln Center and you played Moss
Heart in that, which was fantastic, And I just wanted
(08:03):
to compliment you. You as an actor in a play terrific.
I've seen you in several plays and you're fantastic.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
So that's thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I had Tony Shaloub. I just did something with Tony.
It's on PBS, I think too. I think you can
find it online for people that want to. But it
was a like a three hour, yeah, straight play that
I did right after Cinderella, and I remember when it
was being filmed. I was very nervous about it being
(08:34):
filmed because you know, theater and television and film are
very different animals, and I was.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Afraid that it was going to look crazy.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
I still have not watched it because I can't, but
I've been told it's very good, and I've been told
it comes off very well on screen, so I'm going
to choose to believe that. But I just did something
with Tony actually, an audio play slash podcast kind of
piece that I I don't know how much I can
(09:03):
talk about it, but it'll be coming out soon. So
and then I got to work with him again on
Marvelous Missus masl you know, years later, fantastic.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well you won the Tony Award for your role in Tutsie.
Congratulations and you that had to be a lot of
fun and a lot of work.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Right, yeah, yeah, also about a year. You know, it
was great.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
I loved that cast. I mean, I've loved Cinderella similarly. Actually,
two really really, really great groups of people that are
still very much in my life today. And you know,
we did nine readings and workshops of it over got
(09:48):
three years, maybe with Robert Horne, who wrote the book,
who also wanted Tony for the book, and David Yasbeck
wrote the score, and Scott Ellis was directing it. Yeah,
it was a real you know, it sounds cliche, but
it really was like a love fest. And it was
a lot of work but also a great challenge. It
was how many balls could I juggle at once? How
(10:09):
many plates could I keep spinning and doing it while
you know, in heels and in a courset and then
out of it, and then in this and then in
that wig and then that, you know, all of those
things which I knew when Scott called me and asked
me if I would do the reading of it, regardless
of whether it was any good or not. At that
(10:30):
point I remembered thinking, these kinds of parts just don't
come along that often, and that's very much, you know,
it's very true.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
But it was a blast. It was so fun and funny.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
So you're going to be performing here with a big band,
the Duine Symphony, which is our biggest band in town,
and they are great partners they with us. We are
the performance home for them, and we're thrilled that Joseph
Chint is going to be conducting. Who is the music
director and tell us a little bit about what we
(11:03):
should expect.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
All right, I am very excited about this.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
There are a number of arrangements and orchestrations, some of
which have never been performed live. Some of them have
only been performed once. And that alongside other songs from
you know, whether it's theater music, Broadway music from movies,
(11:28):
from TV shows, songs that have entered the you know, canon,
the American Songbook standards. Three friends of mine, Charlie Rosen,
Brian Carter, and Stephen Fife Key. They orchestrated and arranged
a concert I did at Lincoln Center several years ago
(11:48):
at the American Songbook Series and they've all since gone
on to win Grammys or Tony's or both, actually I
think some of them. Anyway, Joseph saw them and was like,
these are great?
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Can we do these?
Speaker 3 (12:02):
And I said absolutely, why not. So I'm very excited
to get to bring those there. And every song that
I'm singing, you know, has a great story to it,
and I'm excited. You know, I was in Iowa. I
was I was at Dennis and Iowa for the Donna
Reed Festival right when I was eighteen, Okay, with Aya Cash.
(12:23):
It was a classmate of mine ended up being a
classmate of mine at the guth three people would recognize
her from the FX TV show You're the Worst, as
well as the Boys, and I haven't been back since
I don't think, so I'm very excited to come back
and with such a great selection of songs that myself
(12:44):
as well as Joseph have come up with.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
So I want to talk a little bit about We
are proud that we're part of the Jimmy Awards program
that you're I'm sure you're aware of, and we are
one of the theater regional programs and how to be
the largest program We had last year one hundred and
two schools that participated statewide. So we have lots and
(13:07):
lots of young people that we work with on a
variety of things, including a big showcase performance here at
the Civic Center. But I'm curious if you have some
advice to some of our high school kids that may
be listening in about how to break into this business.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
You have to follow the thing that brings you joy
in the doing of it. It can't be about where
you want to end up. It can't be about the destination.
It really does have to be about what feeds you
in the doing of it. Because everything you've heard, everything
(13:46):
that is said about how hard it is is absolutely true,
and it also never ends.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Even people who are.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Far more successful or more season than I have said
the same thing that they still wonder am I ever
going to work again? Did I make the right choice
that that nagging part of the business doesn't go away?
But what you know supersedes all of that is the
passion of getting to tell a story to a group
(14:18):
of strangers and hopefully bringing them together in the process
and highlighting something about humanity and what we all have
in common that is worthy and something you can continue
to pursue regardless of what a gatekeeper allows you to
do or not.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
So that's what I would say beatifully. I'd also say, also,
if you want to be a lawyer.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Do it. If you have any instinct to be a doctor, go,
you know, like it is. I remember hating when people
would say, like, if you can do anything else.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
I was like, well, of course I can do anything else.
I can do other things.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I don't think i'd be a happy right And I
can also always go and do those things later.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
But I also know that I'm lucky.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
I'm one of the lucky people, and I have often
I have survivors guilt because I know many, many, many
talented people who have not been as lucky as me.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So well, you're a great talent, and you're a humble person,
and you're easy to work with. You've intersected with a
lot of our team members and have been gracious and
easy to work with. So we are so looking forward
to having you here in Des Moines.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
I'm so excited to be there, I cannot wait.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
We appreciate you joining us for this special conversation. The
DMPA Conversations podcast is produced by Andrew Downs. To our
donors and season ticket holders, thank you for providing the
foundation for great performances and educational opportunities at De Moin
Performing Arts. Visit DMPA dot org or where wherever you
(16:00):
get your podcasts for future conversations like this one. Thank
you again for listening.
Thank you for joining us for this episode of DMPA Conversations.
I'm Jeff Chellsbig President and CEO of Doin Performing Arts.
Today I'm joined by Tony Award winner Santino Fontana, who
will perform on the Civic Center Stage with Dwayne Symphony
as part of our special collaboration in our Willis Broadway
series on Saturday, October fifth. These podcasts are designed to
(00:28):
give you an insider's perspective on the fantastic performances headed
to DMPA stages. Thank you again for joining us. And
now here is my conversation with Santino Fantana.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So I want to start with just how can you
tell us.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
A little bit about your background, where you grew up,
where you went to.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
School, things like that.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Sure, I'm from I was born in the Central Valley
of California, Stockton, California, a family in the Bay Area,
but then we moved to Washington and then I went
to college in Minneapolis at the Guthrie Theater, and I
also went to interlock In Arts Camp for a summer,
and then I moved to New York in two thousand
(01:13):
and six. So I've spent a lot of time in
the Midwest. Yes, yes, a lot.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
We're about four hours away from Minneapolis, and we like
to have a friendly rivalry with sometimes with them. But
there's so much great theater and the like. So you
studied at the Guthrie, right, I did.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
I was in the first class of the actor training
program there that Ken Washington started and Joe Dowling was
the artistic director.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
And after graduating, I.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Was in I was a company member for two years
and did a bunch of different plays in music. Well now,
no musicals, actually just plays before moving to New York.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah. Great, Well you have a.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
You have a career that spans a lot of mediums theater, television, anime, film.
Tell us how you broke into the I mean, after
your studying and after the Guthrie Theater you moved to
New York. How did you break into.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
All of this? Oh? God, let's see.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I you know, just didn't leave, didn't give up, just kept,
you know, annoying people until they would finally give me
a job.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I guess I was doing.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
I was doing Hamlet at the Guthrie in two thousand
and six, right.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Before I moved.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
And the composer of the like incidental music for it
Mel Marvin, who currently runs a program at NYU.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
He asked if.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
I wanted to sing, because he knew I had sung
in the past, and I said, I want a job.
I don't want to be a waiter. That's the goal
and nothing there's anything wrong with that, but that was
my goal, was.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Like not to have to.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
And he got me an audition for The Fantastics, which
was having a revival that Tom Jones.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Who wrote it as well, was going to direct.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
And that was one of my first auditions in the
city and I lucked out and got it, and so
I started pretty quickly after I got.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
To New York. I was very lucky. Yeah, and it
was in the Fantastics.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
And what was your first Broadway role?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Stunning the Park with George which was I think was
the first revival, the one with the British the British
Transport with Jenna Russell and Daniel Evans who now runs.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
The RSC right.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, in Jessica Mulaski and Alexander Jeminiani and Brune O'Malley.
It was an amazing group of people at the Roundabout
in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
I think a lot of people know you from some
of your video work, most notably Frozen. I don't have
any children, but I happened to own a copy of Frozen.
Somebody gave it to me, and I've watched it, and
I think a lot of people will be drawn to
the fact that you played prominent role in that.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
I was lucky enough to play the romantic hero of
the first half, and some would say the villain the
second half, although.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
That is up for debate.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I was in Cinderella on Broadway at the time, Rogers
and Hammerstein Cinderella, and I got an audition for a
movie which they asked for a song and a very
kind of vague description of a character because now I
knew now I know that they were, you know, still
writing it. But yeah, it was in one of those
(04:35):
insane experiences of getting to be a part of something
that you know has taken the world by storms. It
is bizarre, and I'm sure I will talk about this
in the show, that it is bizarre to constantly be surrounded.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
By it and keep it a secret.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
I have this huge secret on everybody.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
You know. I fly on an airplane.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I bet when I fly to Iowa next month, I'll
be sitting next to a kid watching it right, or
you know Halloween trigger treat ding Dong.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
There is Anna and Elsa and I'm like, here's your candy.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
You know, it's it's insane, it's really and it's also
it was So I've said this before, but getting to
be both a Disney prince and a Disney villain at
the same time is pretty great.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So I'm very lucky. I'm very thankful. Great.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Well, I remember, you know, Rogers Hammerstein and Cinderella really
love that production. We've had a long association in an
odd way with Rogers and Hammerstein. As many years ago
we opened the pre Broadway tour of State Fair, which
was kind of the second to the last musical that
(05:48):
that made it to Broadway from Rogers and Hammerstein, with
Cinderella being the last one. Really, yeah, tell us a
little bit about that experience with Cinderella. I really liked
the show. When we presented the national tour were here,
it was it was terrific.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I loved being a part of that. I had been
in a play off Broadway and the I had had
the same producer, and it's actually similar to what we
were saying earlier. It was a straight play. No singing
and very It was funny, but it was also dark
and serious and emotional. And she said, do you want
to do something light and fun next? And Robin Goodman
(06:25):
the producer. And I was like, it depends.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And she was like, it's a Cinderella and I was like, Cinderella, oh,
the ten minutes ago. And she was like, yes, do
you want to play the Prince? And I was like,
I'm not going to play the prince. No one wants
me to be the Prince. I wouldn't cast me as
the prince. And also we know nothing about the prince.
He's just there. So and she said, wait a minute,
wait a minute. Read the script. She sent me the
(06:48):
script and the very first page of the script, the Prince,
you know, falls a giant with a sword, stands on
the giant and says, I just wish I was doing
something important with my life.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And I was.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Hooked and I said, you know what, You're right, I
do want to do this.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
And Douglas Carter Beanho wrote the book, and Mark Brokaw
and Victoria Clark and Laura Austness and Harriet Harris and
Greg Hildreth and Herata and Marlon mindel.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
We had a great time.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
I loved I did it for a year, you know,
and I really really loved it. And then my wife
ended up going into Cinderella shortly after as a Cinderella
alternate as well into the company. So it meant a
lot to me in my life, in my career but
also my life.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
That's fantastic. Well, before we talk about TUTSI, I want
to just compliment you were in a play that I
loved which was right after Cinderella, I believe, and that
was Act one at Lincoln Center and you played Moss
Heart in that, which was fantastic, And I just wanted
(08:03):
to compliment you. You as an actor in a play terrific.
I've seen you in several plays and you're fantastic.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
So that's thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I had Tony Shaloub. I just did something with Tony.
It's on PBS, I think too. I think you can
find it online for people that want to. But it
was a like a three hour, yeah, straight play that
I did right after Cinderella, and I remember when it
was being filmed. I was very nervous about it being
(08:34):
filmed because you know, theater and television and film are
very different animals, and I was.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Afraid that it was going to look crazy.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
I still have not watched it because I can't, but
I've been told it's very good, and I've been told
it comes off very well on screen, so I'm going
to choose to believe that. But I just did something
with Tony actually, an audio play slash podcast kind of
piece that I I don't know how much I can
(09:03):
talk about it, but it'll be coming out soon. So
and then I got to work with him again on
Marvelous Missus masl you know, years later, fantastic.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well you won the Tony Award for your role in Tutsie.
Congratulations and you that had to be a lot of
fun and a lot of work.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Right, yeah, yeah, also about a year. You know, it
was great.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
I loved that cast. I mean, I've loved Cinderella similarly. Actually,
two really really, really great groups of people that are
still very much in my life today. And you know,
we did nine readings and workshops of it over got
(09:48):
three years, maybe with Robert Horne, who wrote the book,
who also wanted Tony for the book, and David Yasbeck
wrote the score, and Scott Ellis was directing it. Yeah,
it was a real you know, it sounds cliche, but
it really was like a love fest. And it was
a lot of work but also a great challenge. It
was how many balls could I juggle at once? How
(10:09):
many plates could I keep spinning and doing it while
you know, in heels and in a courset and then
out of it, and then in this and then in
that wig and then that, you know, all of those
things which I knew when Scott called me and asked
me if I would do the reading of it, regardless
of whether it was any good or not. At that
(10:30):
point I remembered thinking, these kinds of parts just don't
come along that often, and that's very much, you know,
it's very true.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
But it was a blast. It was so fun and funny.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
So you're going to be performing here with a big band,
the Duine Symphony, which is our biggest band in town,
and they are great partners they with us. We are
the performance home for them, and we're thrilled that Joseph
Chint is going to be conducting. Who is the music
director and tell us a little bit about what we
(11:03):
should expect.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
All right, I am very excited about this.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
There are a number of arrangements and orchestrations, some of
which have never been performed live. Some of them have
only been performed once. And that alongside other songs from
you know, whether it's theater music, Broadway music from movies,
(11:28):
from TV shows, songs that have entered the you know, canon,
the American Songbook standards. Three friends of mine, Charlie Rosen,
Brian Carter, and Stephen Fife Key. They orchestrated and arranged
a concert I did at Lincoln Center several years ago
(11:48):
at the American Songbook Series and they've all since gone
on to win Grammys or Tony's or both, actually I
think some of them. Anyway, Joseph saw them and was like,
these are great?
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Can we do these?
Speaker 3 (12:02):
And I said absolutely, why not. So I'm very excited
to get to bring those there. And every song that
I'm singing, you know, has a great story to it,
and I'm excited. You know, I was in Iowa. I
was I was at Dennis and Iowa for the Donna
Reed Festival right when I was eighteen, Okay, with Aya Cash.
(12:23):
It was a classmate of mine ended up being a
classmate of mine at the guth three people would recognize
her from the FX TV show You're the Worst, as
well as the Boys, and I haven't been back since
I don't think, so I'm very excited to come back
and with such a great selection of songs that myself
(12:44):
as well as Joseph have come up with.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
So I want to talk a little bit about We
are proud that we're part of the Jimmy Awards program
that you're I'm sure you're aware of, and we are
one of the theater regional programs and how to be
the largest program We had last year one hundred and
two schools that participated statewide. So we have lots and
(13:07):
lots of young people that we work with on a
variety of things, including a big showcase performance here at
the Civic Center. But I'm curious if you have some
advice to some of our high school kids that may
be listening in about how to break into this business.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
You have to follow the thing that brings you joy
in the doing of it. It can't be about where
you want to end up. It can't be about the destination.
It really does have to be about what feeds you
in the doing of it. Because everything you've heard, everything
(13:46):
that is said about how hard it is is absolutely true,
and it also never ends.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Even people who are.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Far more successful or more season than I have said
the same thing that they still wonder am I ever
going to work again? Did I make the right choice
that that nagging part of the business doesn't go away?
But what you know supersedes all of that is the
passion of getting to tell a story to a group
(14:18):
of strangers and hopefully bringing them together in the process
and highlighting something about humanity and what we all have
in common that is worthy and something you can continue
to pursue regardless of what a gatekeeper allows you to
do or not.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
So that's what I would say beatifully. I'd also say, also,
if you want to be a lawyer.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Do it. If you have any instinct to be a doctor, go,
you know, like it is. I remember hating when people
would say, like, if you can do anything else.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
I was like, well, of course I can do anything else.
I can do other things.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I don't think i'd be a happy right And I
can also always go and do those things later.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
But I also know that I'm lucky.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
I'm one of the lucky people, and I have often
I have survivors guilt because I know many, many, many
talented people who have not been as lucky as me.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So well, you're a great talent, and you're a humble person,
and you're easy to work with. You've intersected with a
lot of our team members and have been gracious and
easy to work with. So we are so looking forward
to having you here in Des Moines.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
I'm so excited to be there, I cannot wait.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
We appreciate you joining us for this special conversation. The
DMPA Conversations podcast is produced by Andrew Downs. To our
donors and season ticket holders, thank you for providing the
foundation for great performances and educational opportunities at De Moin
Performing Arts. Visit DMPA dot org or where wherever you
(16:00):
get your podcasts for future conversations like this one. Thank
you again for listening.
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