Interview: Jordan Cole, Tyler Patrick Hennessy, Ben Krieger, Colin Wheeler of - The Life of Touring Child Actors!

Based on the Academy Award-winning movie of the same name, FINDING NEVERLAND is the Broadway musical that tells the captivating story of how Peter became Pan. The North American Tour is currently flying across the country with six young boys on a rotating schedule covering the four Llewelyn Davies brothers, George, Peter, Jack, and Michael. Four of the boys took time out of their busy schedules to sit down and answer some questions about life as a child on the road!

Jordan Cole (Michael), Tyler Patrick Hennessy (Michael, Jack), Ben Krieger (Peter, George), Colin Wheeler (George, Jack, Peter)

How long have you been performing?

Jordan: I started in school plays when I was 4, then local and regional theater at 7 and 8 years old.

Tyler: I have been performing for about 5 years. I did a lot of local shows with my sisters

Ben: I have been performing for 3 years!

Colin: I was in 1st grade when I did my first show, Willy Wonka, but I have been performing in my living room since I was about 3!

Do you enjoy traveling? Who travels with you and how does that all work?

Jordan: I love traveling. My mom travels with me. I have always loved staying at hotels and now I get to live in them! It's hard because I miss my dad and my older sister but they come to visit us on tour whenever they can. We either take a bus or a plane from each city on a Monday and it's fun traveling with the cast.

Ben: I love traveling! I love seeing all the different cities and what each city brings that's different from the last. I have 2 other siblings and my parents have jobs, so it's easier for my parents to hire a chaperone. Usually my chaperone is my summer camp counselor.

You all play a very close group of brothers in the show. What's that dynamic like? Are you all close in real life?

Jordan: It's so much fun playing brothers! Since I don't have any brothers in real life I feel like I have brothers now. We all spend a lot of time together between school and the show and just hanging out parks on our breaks.

Tyler: We have a lot of fun and it's really cool to have brothers in the show. I have 3 sisters in real life!

Colin: It is cool to play roles with other boys close to my age! In real life I don't have any brothers, so getting to have them on stage is awesome! We are all pretty close and we like to hang out together when we are not on stage.

How do you guys prepare for a show?

Jordan: We get to the theater about 40 to 30 min before the show and have vocal warm ups with the music director. Some boys may have "dog call" where they practice with our dogs in the show Sammy and Bailey (they play Porthos). Then we put on our costumes and go!

What has been your favorite part about tour?

Jordan: My favorite part about tour is that I get to perform on a stage every night and do what I love to do, living my dream. I also love the cast and crew because they treat us like we're their family. It's nice to know that everyone will be there for you. I also love seeing the country. I am able to explore so many cities I have never been to! It's all really cool.

Tyler: I like seeing the different cities and how each place reacts differently to the show.

Ben: My favorite part about tour is being able to travel with such amazing people, see new things every day, and do what I love every night!

Colin: I love that I get to learn new roles and play different characters each week. It is fun to travel to all of these places that I have never been to. I am really excited about going to Japan! Most of all I love that I get to go on stage and perform each week with all of the amazing actors in the show! I get to learn so much from working with them.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniel