Strobl is the understudy for Brody Grant and Sky Lakota-Lynch in The Outsiders on Broadway.
How do Broadway understudies survive? The gig isn't easy! Understudies and swings are some of the hardest working performers on Broadway (and beyond), having to be ready to go on at a moment's notice, often for multiple tracks. Think you could swing it?
In this video, The Outsiders understudy extraordinaire Josh Strobl, who is usually onstage eight times a week in the ensemble, breaks down how he manages doing double understudy duty as Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade.
"It's important to be aware of everything, not just your tracks but the show as a whole. When I'm first learning these characters, I'm looking big picture at everything because when you go on at a moment's notice, you have to be listening to everything and eyes open to your surroundings," Josh explained. "In a show like The Outsiders, it's kinda dangerous! There's a lot of moving parts." Follow Josh's Declassified Understudy Survival Guide in this video.
Josh has also starred on Broadway in Dear Evan Hansen. Regional: Newsies. World Premiere: Invincible. Training: University Of Michigan. 2016 Jimmy Awards winner.