| The following are questions submitted by site visitors, answered by Sutton Foster. I hope everyone gets something from the Q & A. Enjoy! QUESTION ONE - Theatre people love hearing about hilarious mishaps on stage. A few site visitors wanted to know if you had any funny mishaps (from Millie) that you would like to share. SUTTON RESPONDS - Okey dokey. Now I'm proud of this... but one time in Millie - I guess it was over the summer - during the final "Restaurant Scene" with Jimmy, Graydon and Millie... we all just lost it. I mean LOST IT... I am usually the rock in that scene. Gavin and Marc will get little twinkles in their eyes and I just try to keep us all together. But something made me laugh that night. I started to giggle and then it was over. The audience noticed that we were laughing and started laughing and then we couldn't stop laughing. I remember bowing my head and staring at my lap with uncontrollable laughter and not believing that this was happening. Oh, and one time in La Jolla, my underwear "tap pants" fell off after the opening number. I hit my final pose and SWOOSH... they fell around my ankles. I tried to discreetly step out of them and then shoved them under my armpit. QUESTION TWO - Eight shows a week... WOW! That's a pretty tough schedule for anyone, much less a performer who has to utilize every muscle in their body to give the audience a great performance. How do you stay motivated eight times a week? Additionally, how do you keep the show fresh each night? SUTTON RESPONDS - Doing eight shows a week is a challenge, but also the reason that I love what I do. I truly feel like I can explore the show and my character each night... The show has changed and morphed, subtly, each night since we started performances... I feel like the show is better now than it has ever been. And I truly feel like there is so much more to explore... so each night I treat it as an exploration and as a journey... it's like a ride... I get on and see where it takes me. Sometimes it's hard... if I'm under the weather or tired... but I am surrounded by an incredible group of people that love what they do... and the trill of performing and entertaining people... making people laugh... it's just awesome. And there is always someone in that audience... a little kid who has never seen a Broadway show before... and you do it for them! QUESTION THREE - Some say that the music a person listens to defines them. What is in your cd player right now? Additionally, what music tended to inspire you as you grew up? SUTTON RESPONDS - Right now, the new Beck CD... and Joni Mitchell... and Billy Joel... and Diana Krall... when I was growing up I listened to a lot of pop stuff as a teenager... but when I was younger - John Denver! :) Pretty much anything that is mellow. QUESTION FOUR - So you have done the tour thing, been cast in a Broadway show, and won a Tony Award. What more could you ask for? What goals have you set for yourself, in the here and now, that inspire you to wake up each morning and anticipate tomorrow? SUTTON RESPONDS - I have no idea what is in store for me next. So far, I have just trusted my instincts and let the universe guide me... so I am trusting that. I really don't want to limit myself one way or the other. My heart truly belongs to the stage and performing live. But I would love to check out all mediums of performing. We'll see! I just want to keep growing as an artist... QUESTION FIVE - For those voice people out there... Each performance, you are the "front woman" of an amazing cast. Your voice must always be top-notch. What kind of technique do you use? Additionally, do you have any tricks of the trade for warming up and keeping your voice in shape? And what exactly does peanut butter do? (In an interview, Sutton mentioned that she ate a lot of peanut butter in the beginning of the run of MILLIE.) SUTTON RESPONDS - I study with an amazing voice teacher who has really taught me how to keep my voice healthy. When my voice feels good... I feel good. Millie is unbelievably vocally demanding. I am still figuring out how to do 8 shows a week. It took me a long time within this run to learn how to conserve... and to pull back when I could, throughout the show... I am a big fan of the Grether's Pastilles... these black currant glycerin suckie things. I get them at my local health food store... In between every scene I have one in my mouth. They are really expensive though... I usually cut them in half. :) I also drink about four liters of water per show... and about 8 each day... If my voice feels tired, I sometimes steam. I have a personal steamer. I'll come home after the show and sit in front of the TV with my steamer... it really helps to just relax everything. Also Ginger Tea... I LOVE THAT. And I just try to stay as relaxed as possible. I have the same warm up that I do every night... I get to the theatre an hour before every show... turn the lights down in my dressing room... and play some nice calm music... stretch and do my warm up tape. I know that if my warm up goes well, the show will too. And the peanut butter... well... that really has nothing to do with my voice. But during previews I was losing quite a bit of weight. Nerves and all... and the only thing I was hungry for was peanut butter... so each night I'd have a piece of toast with a big slap of peanut butter on it to try and keep my weight on. QUESTION SIX - Some say that challenges really make the workplace more interesting. What is the most challenging thing about being on Broadway and how do you prevent it from catching up with you? SUTTON RESPONDS - Well the biggest challenge that I find with playing the role of Millie is the physical, emotional and vocal challenge of it. I have never had the honor of playing such a challenging role. And playing her eight times a week is definitely a huge undertaking. Lately I have really been trying to remove my work from my life. I feel so passionate about my job... that it lives with me throughout every minute... even when I am away from the theatre... which is not necessarily a good thing. I am trying to leave Millie at the Marquis and not worry so much... I want to do my best every night... And I am my worst critic. I'm trying to not be so critical of my work and trying to enjoy this experience to its fullest. Plus, I sleep A LOT... and play a lot of video games... totally chills me out. :) QUESTION SEVEN - We have all read about your amazing success in the business. You have been incredibly fortunate to find work and maintain the status of "working actor". When you decided to leave college and hit the "big time", how reluctant were you? Do you think you would be a different performer had you stayed? SUTTON RESPONDS - When I left college I was actually going to 'give up'... I didn't know if being an actor was what I really wanted to do. I moved home with my parents... worked at a local children's theatre, waited tables and contemplated my life. I was even looking at local schools... I wanted to go back to school, but not into theatre. When I was at school, I wasn't ready to learn anything. I was too young and too stubborn. I wish I could go back now and study theatre because I think I would learn so much. I would definitely be a different performer if I had stayed in college... but I might not be where I am now. Everything happens for a reason. I truly think everyone's path is different... QUESTION EIGHT - You have a lot of costume changes in the show. How do you manage those changes? The costume change that has really drawn a lot of attention is the change from the gingham dress to the new yellow modern dress. It is obviously choreographed in sync with the orchestra. Would you share with us how you manage these changes? SUTTON RESPONDS - The first quick change is 30 seconds. In La Jolla, it was about 15 seconds... which was CRAZY! I exit through the revolving door... put my luggage down... and get to work. I have four dressers there and a hairdresser. My long wig gets taken off first and then my gingham dress has snaps on it and I take that off and it goes down... At the same time, I am putting the new yellow dress over while my old shoes are being taken off and I am slipping the new ones on. My dresser is zipping up the back of my yellow dress while I am putting on the new modern wig, while another dresser holds a mirror so I can see. Lastly, I put on my hat, take a sip of water and then dash through the revolving door again to sing "This is 1922." And then I do the rest of the opening number. It's crazy... but kind of exhilarating! QUESTION NINE - It is hard for those who have never performed on Broadway to get an idea of what you see when you step on stage. There is an audience full of people who are there to see you. Their eyes are fixed on your face and it is your job to entertain. Would you describe how performing Broadway (the experience in general) differs from any other performance experience? SUTTON RESPONDS - Being on Broadway and performing in New York City fulfills my lifelong dream. When I was a kid, I grew up listening to Broadway cast recordings and watching the Tony Awards... and thought, "That would be amazing to be there someday. But it just won't happen." To enter that stage door every night and know that I am a working actor on Broadway is a thrill. But I have to say, honestly, that no matter where I am performing... San Diego, Pittsburgh, or any stage across the country... it is always a thrill. Being on stage is what I truly love and what I want to do. QUESTION TEN - Many of your fans were curious as to how you got your start in the business. How did you manage to get your foot in the door? Additionally, what kind of advice would you give to young actors who have stars in their eyes? SUTTON RESPONDS - When I was a kid, I took dance lessons. And theatre really blossomed from there. I fell in love with being on stage and just started doing as much as I could and getting as much experience as I could. I did lots of community theatre, high school theatre and continued with dance lessons. I got my 'big break' by responding to an ad in our local Detroit newspaper for auditions for "The Will Rogers Follies". I was 17. I went to the open call and got a call back... was flown to New York and got cast in the First National Tour of the show. Since then I have just taken as many opportunities as I could... I would have never gotten a job had it not been for the one I had done before and the people that I had met along the way. "Making it" in this business is an extreme challenge though... you have to be tenacious, and you cannot give up... and if you truly believe that there is nothing else in the world you would rather do... then go for it. But it isn't easy. There is heartache, disappointment... and if you are looking to be a star or for success to fulfill you - then you are barking up the wrong tree. Success should be a byproduct of being an actor... because attention and fame will not fulfill a person. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUBMITTED QUESTIONS! A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE LOVELY SUTTON FOSTER FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT OF HER BUSY SCHEDULE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS! |
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| Sutton Answers Your Questions ASK SUTTON FROM DECEMBER 2002 |