BWW Interviews: Q & A with THE BOOK OF MORMON Star Syesha Mercado

Syesha Mercado has captured Chicago's heart with her big voice and endearing performance as Nabulungi in "The Book of Mormon". Third place "American Idol" finalist, singer, songwriter, actress, and model, Syesha can do it all! Before she heads out of town with "The Book of Mormon" tour (last performance in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre is October 6th), we caught up with the charming and talented Syesha to chat about her time with "The Book of Mormon" and her multi-faceted career:

What's the run of "The Book of Mormon" in Chicago been like for you?

It's been an exciting experience! I love my cast members. I love the city of Chicago. It feels like home and the audiences have just been so welcoming to us.

Yes, we love having you here! You have one of the most endearing characters in the show. What's it like to play this kind of character in a show like "The Book of Mormon" that is so full of extreme characters? Was it difficult to find those sincere moments amid all the hilarity?

I love playing Nabulungi because she's so innocent, she's so humble, and she's just a breath of fresh air amidst all of the chaos and poverty and craziness. I really love going on that journey with her every night. She really is just a ball of light and I think she is the one character that they really don't make fun of in the show, so that makes me happy! But, it was a little difficult when I came into the show because I was a replacement, so I actually learned everything in two weeks. During tech rehearsal I learned the entire show, so the normal process that I do was completely different from what I did with this. I was just so concerned with learning my lines and learning everything that I think that more of the character work came later on during the run. I started finding new things: how to find the vulnerability and the honesty and what 'Sal Tlay Ka Siti' really means to me. I'm still learning a lot and I'm still growing in the role and it's just fun, but it's still a process for me, finding new things every night.

Had you seen the show before you cast? If you had, what was your impression? If you hadn't, what had you heard about it?

No, I never saw the show, but a lot of people told me, "Oh my gosh, you would be a great Nabulungi!" I'm like, "What? Book of Mormon? What is that about?" Like, I'd see these guys in white suits, I'm like, "I don't know what that's about! What is that about?" But, I was always excited to see the show and I still haven't seen a production, yet, but I hear the music every night and I watch "Hello!" offstage. And, sometimes the director comes in or the musical director comes in and we'll have rehearsal, so I try to catch bits and pieces of it. But, I've never seen the show!

What are some of the craziest reactions to the show you have received?

Certain people don't laugh on certain parts. I, honestly, think that this play is hilarious and Trey Parker and Matt Stone are comedic geniuses but some people, I understand, some people don't get the humor or they're just super religious and don't understand it. But, it's surprising sometimes. I look out and certain people aren't laughing, because we see the first row every night. We have our musical director directing and then right behind him we see the first row, maybe into the second row, and on certain parts jaws are dropped. Like, during 'Hasa Diga' they're either laughing hysterically or their jaws are dropped and they're like "What's going on?"

Have you found that there is one moment that is a for-sure laugh?

Wow, there's a lot of those. What I love about this production, from what I've heard, it's very unique because the way that our Elder Cunningham, Ben Platt, portrays his character. He brings something very special and unique to it. Every night there is this part where he sings "Man Up" and there is certain vocal thing that he does with his voice that is a guaranteed laugh every single night. Just little things to me, I just notice the little things.

So, you talked about coming in later to rehearsals. Did you find it hard to become integrated with the cast?

At the beginning, I really tried. I was like, "Well, one night I have to hang out with the cast!" So, I tried my best to integrate myself and get acclimated to the city and to the cast. It was really hard because I wanted to hang out and I wanted to relax and be like, "Oh, yeah, we're opening up in a couple of weeks, I got my lines down, everything's cool!" but, you know, I had to work really hard because I had to learn everything so fast. Now it's easier to hang out with them, but I still find myself on my days off just kind of just relaxing in bed and staying to myself, just to keep all my energy! To reserve all that energy because Nabulungi is young and she's really energetic and happy. It's not like I'm sad onstage all night and I'm just like standing there, you know, I really have to have a lot of energy. I really just pace myself through the week.

Has this role been challenging for you in any way, outside of coming into it late?

In the beginning I don't even think I was aware of how challenging it was to come into the production and have two weeks to learn your lines and break down the character and find what really works. But, now that we're far into it, I think it's become more challenging, which is weird, only because I'm doing my best to find new things. I just want it to be fresh and new for me and the more I think about things and try to analyze it the more I realize, "Oh my gosh! There's so much more! There's so much more to this. There's so much more to understand." And, I think, for me the challenging part is making it new and then holding onto the things that work and not forgetting those things, because those are the things that got me here.

How does this role compare to the past roles you've played?

It's very similar to a role that I played at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey under the direction of Tommy Kail (who, by the way, is an amazing director, so down to earth, so humble). The character is very similar to Ti Moune in "Once On This Island." They're both humble, they both fall in love with an idea of the way the world should be and finding hope and just a better life for themselves, so I think there's a lot of similarities between those roles. I took a lot of Ti Moune's characteristics and kind of sprinkled them on Nabulungi, and created something that was honest to me.

Is there an added pressure to be playing a role that the original actress won a Tony for?

Yes! It really is! I was a little intimidated at first because I did a ton of research before my first rehearsal and I was like, "Wow! Okay, she won a Tony. Okay, this production is huge! How many of these tours are going on right now?!" So, I just had to trust that what got me the part was good enough. You know, I think we sometimes, as actors, as performers, compare ourselves to people. But we just have to trust that what we have is very special and unique and there's no one in the world that has our DNA, that has our fingerprints, that can do what we do. So, I just had to remind myself that I may not be Nikki (M. James), but I can bring something fresh and new to the role.

Favorite moment in the show?

I like watching offstage! I like watching different things. "Turn it Off!" is so incredible, Pierce (Cassedy) is so fierce. I love my cast, they are so talented! Watching, of course, "Hello!" and then, for me, what I love performing is "Baptize Me" with Ben. It's so much fun!

You guys have great chemistry in that song. You play off each other so well!

Thank you!

What will you miss most when "The Book of Mormon" comes to a close in Chicago?

Well, this feels like a second home now. I mean, we've been here since November, so I feel like I'm leaving home. I'm gonna miss Chicago. There's just so much to do here and there's nothing like summertime in Chicago. It's really, really amazing here.

The city comes alive in the summer!

It does! So, I'm gonna miss the city life and I'm gonna miss the audiences. We're so blessed to have a packed audience every single night. And, they're so receptive. They really, really appreciate theatre here. I'm gonna miss the Chicago crowd.

You were on the national tour of "Dreamgirls" - which do you prefer: being on tour or staying in one city?

I like staying in a city! I mean, it was fun because "Dreamgirls" was my first tour and we went to Japan and I was like, "Oh my god! This is my first time in Japan!" But, I think the older you get, the more you realize it's better to just stay in one place because traveling can be really tiring. The way we did it was we were in a city for one week or two weeks and that's really tiring. And, it's hard to pack! Especially when you're a female! So, I prefer the sit-down tour. I really like that, I really enjoy it, because you really get time to experience the culture.

You're a singer, songwriter, actress, and model: in what ways do all of these aspects of your career influence each other?

Well, when I get tired of one thing, I can work on something else! (Laughs) I think they're all intertwined. I always say whatever comes first, you know? Sometimes I am working on an independent film or I'm doing musical theatre and it's all very similar and related but very different. Theatre can be very hectic, you know, the scheduling and going, going, going and with film you get to settle down. It's kind of like a hurry up and wait thing and you get time and then once you're done, you're done. But I think they all help each other. And, as an artist I think it's always good to be creating so whether it's onstage and you're creating and you're finding new things for the role or you're doing a film and you work really hard for three months and then you film, like, one scene in one day - no matter what it is it gives you the opportunity to create. I'm a performer and I love being at home, working on something, and then be able to show people what I've been working on. It just makes me happy, it's what I love to do, it's my passion.

I read your mom is also a singer. How has this influenced you as an artist?

Well, I grew up listening to my mother sing in church. She's a gospel singer. So I grew up listening to her sing in church and every family reunion we would, like, formulate a choir and sing and have solos. She's influenced me a lot as far as just following my heart, believing in myself, and trusting my vocal ability. She was actually the person that gave me my first vocal lesson. She's my biggest musical inspiration.

What would be the one thing you wish you had known about the entertainment industry before getting into it?

There will be times when you feel like you want to give up, but it's normal. I think with every job there's some level of difficulty, but you have to be persistent and determined and just keep going. Because that's just life, you know? And, there's always gonna be someone better than you, but I think what gives you a competitive edge is just your determination and your drive and how hard you work. That will always give you an advantage over someone else. One thing I wish someone would have told me is that people will always have opinions and if you're constantly listening to people and drilling that in your head, you'll lose yourself and your identity. I've learned that the most important opinion is the one that you have of yourself. Especially you have to remember that in this industry because you will be told that you're not good enough, you're not pretty enough, you're not tall enough, you're not short enough, you're not thin enough, you can't belt as good as this person, your head voice is not as good as this person. But as long as you know that you're a work in progress, and you can always improve yourself every day, it will take away from the stress. 'Cause this industry is extremely stressful and you have to remind yourself that you do it and you're good enough.

What is the biggest thing you learned from your time on "American Idol"?

You're on location, not vacation. Because sometimes people go into those competitions thinking, "Oh, you know, I can do whatever I want!" But it's really a job. So, you have to do your part, learn your song. It was like a boot camp for me. I had to learn so much information in such a short amount of time on top of all the press events and the personal appearances and learning the music. I learned how to balance. And, I'm not gonna say I'm perfect at it. Still, sometimes, I struggle with balancing my life: my personal life, my career. But, I learned a lot about balance and how important it is. I learned that you can do everything in one day, if you balance it.

Do you have any dream roles?

My dream role is a new role that I create with someone or that someone creates for me and it's particularly designed for me. All of my strengths that I possess will be in that character. I would love to have a role created for me, that would be great! Then I could perform it on Broadway and debut it and be like BAM! (Laughs)

What's next for you?

Well, of course, I am continuing with the tour which I'm really excited about, because I love my cast members, I love this production, and I'm so, so grateful. I'm grateful to be working with such an amazing creative team. And then once the tour is over I plan on focusing on my music career and really getting in the studio and producing and writing stuff for myself.

Any parting words?

Follow my journey with "The Book of Mormon," our tour, backstage pictures, and all that stuff on my twitter. It's twitter.com/Syesha. It's fun!

Check out Syesha in the "The Book of Mormon" in Chicago before it leaves on October 6th (information on how to buy tickets HERE) and then catch her as the tour continues traveling across the nation (information on how to buy tickets HERE). You can also follow Syesha on twitter.

Photo Credits: Albane Navizet and Joan Marcus