Interview: Dominique Scott Talks ROCK OF AGES

Dominique Scott is coming to Blumenthal Performing Arts Belk Theater, February 21-23. Five time Tony award nominated ROCK OF AGES features 28 classic rock tunes including Don't Stop Believin', We Built This City, The Final Countdown, Wanted Dead or Alive, Here I Go Again, Harden My Heart, Can't Fight this Feeling, Renegade and I Want to Know What Love Is. Tickets are on sale now at BlumenthalArts.org, 704-372-1000, or by visiting Belk Theater Box Office at 130 N. Tryon Street.

Dominique Scott who plays Drew in ROCK OF AGES was all business about music and performing when I spoke to him mid-morning.

LAW: Where are you now?

DS: Gainesville, Florida. We're re-teching the show with new cast members and a new crew. It opens again this week.

LAW: Tell me about your childhood. Where were you born?

DS: I was born in Miami, Florida. I was a normal hyperactive kid, like most who get into entertainment. I started playing piano at 10.

LAW: What got you into music?

DS: Well my dad [Jean-Claude] was the lead guitarist. He toured a lot in Europe. He encouraged me to play classical piano. At the time, I resented it, classical sh#!. In the long run, it was good for me, but, I'd hear Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith and say, I can do that!

LAW: What got you into singing?

DS: I did all the musical theater stuff as a kid, children's theater, summer camps, musical theater. My voice was good at 16, but I wasn't getting accepted into the best performing colleges. I found a voice teacher, Aaron Hagan. He is the smartest man I know. He helped my voice. In college, I started a band, we called ourselves Domin8trx, a play on my name. I didn't like it. I wanted to change it, but we started performing, we got a following and the name stuck.

LAW: What was your first professional job?

DS: I was 12 years old. It was musical theater.

LAW: What was your most memorable experience in your profession?

DS: I'm thinking, there were many. ROCK OF AGES has been really good to me. I meet lots of people and I get really sweet letters. I got a letter from a kid who was thinking about being a stage manager and seeing the play reaffirmed his dream. That's special to me. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I wrote a letter to Billy Porter [Kinky Boots] about my aspirations.

LAW: Tell me how ROCK OF AGES came to be?

DS: It was the little show that could.... It was started as a "bro. show". It grew. It opened in Los Angeles. Then it went to [Las] Vegas and New York and now it's on tour.

LAW: How did you get the role?

DS: I heard from a friend that they were having an open Equity [Actors Equity Association Union] call. I got there and there were 300 guys auditioning. I sang and they cut me from the group. I was upset. When I got home, I made a video audition for the casting director and I sent it to him. I got the role.

LAW: Wow, you wouldn't take no for an answer, that's great.

DS: Well, I knew I could sing notes that not all other performers could sing.

LAW: In ROCK OF AGES, you play Drew. Tell me about Drew.

DS: Drew is 23, wide-eyed and new in the big city. He's shy and awkward. He meets a girl, gets hurt and transforms to a man; a rock star. This show is amazing, smart and well written. Go to find your dreams, and dreams can change.

LAW: Does Drew play an instrument?

DS: He plays a guitar.

LAW: What's been the worst experience during this tour?

DS: Worst experience.... The time I was sick, but I was singing through it. I had been doing 8 shows a week for a year. I was so sick and I had no voice. My understudy was sick too. I went out and my voice kept cracking. I take pride in the quality of my performance. That was embarrassing, but I went back out to finish the show. I took a few days off after that. That was the worst.

LAW: What are your hopes for the future after you leave ROCK OF AGES?

DS: I love ROCK OF AGES. It saddens me to think of its end. While I'm touring, I'm writing music and working on my next solo album. I'll continue to record and perform.

LAW: What will audiences take away from ROCK OF AGES?

DS: It's a great night out, a fun time with a touching story. It's a blast, be ready to party and smile.

LAW: I have to ask, there are pictures with your hair long and short. Are those hair extensions?

DS: (Laughs) No, it's a wig.

To find out more about Dominique "Dom" Scott visit www.DomScott.com.

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