BWW Interviews: Alexandra Ncube of THE BOOK OF MORMON at Winspear Opera House

Returning to Dallas' Winspear Opera House this February is Broadway's 2011 mega hit "Best Musical," The Book of Mormon. Written by South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez (who is responsible for Broadway's Avenue Q and Disney's Frozen), this hilariously offensive masterpiece makes its way back to The Big D for 15 performances only (February 10th through February 22nd, 2015). Tickets are available at www.bookofmormonbroadway.com.

This morning, I spoke with The Book of Mormon's Alexandra Ncube, whose positivity is simply infectious. Originally from Tempe, Arizona, Ms. Ncube joined the tour one year ago, playing the female lead, Nabulungi. Before The Book of Mormon, she starred in the Childsplay national tour of Rock The Presidents as well as various regional theatre productions, including: Spring Awakening (Marta), RENT (Mimi), Evil Dead (Shelly), and The Who's Tommy (Acid Queen). Along with her fiancé, singer/actor Sean Mullany, Alexandra has performed with two bands: bROCKway and The Instant Classics. She is also a 2012 graduate of Arizona State University.

Kyle Christopher West: What was the first stage performance you remember seeing?

Alexandra Ncube: I remember being very young and my grandparents and my mom took me to see The Phantom of the Opera [the national tour at the Gammage Memorial Auditorium]. We had been listening to the soundtrack, and the overture always scared me, so I was really nervous to see the show. It was SO good! From then on, I was definitely in love with theatre.

Kyle: What stage experience did you have before joining The Book of Mormon on tour?

Alexandra: I had been doing summer camps and school pageants, but I didn't start getting serious until I did youth theatre when I was a teen. Desert Stages Theatre was my first adult theatre experience when I was seventeen [and] I decided I wanted to major in [theatre] in college. It definitely became a deeper love and a more serious study then!

Kyle: In all of your experience, can you recall any onstage mishaps, missed cues, or mistakes?

Alexandra: I've had so many (laughs). It always happens when the stage manager tells me they are filming: that's just a recipe for disaster! I did Spring Awakening, which was a co-production with Phoenix Theatre and Nearly Naked Theatre. When they were filming it, I remember tying my shoes before the show and thinking, "I could probably trip, but I think I'll be fine." During "Mama Who Bore Me," I had a big downstage cross, and I just completely face-planted. I was so ashamed, shocked and embarrassed, but I had to keep going. I didn't have a chance to go offstage until after "Touch Me" and then I just started crying. Now, having performed The Book of Mormon for a year, [I've learned] you can't let yourself really care too much about something like that. It's the least of your worries; no one will notice.

Kyle: Can you tell me about the audition experience for The Book of Mormon?

Alexandra: [My first audition] was actually a video submission! I was on tour with Rock the Presidents, [and] The Book of Mormon was coming through Arizona, and I wasn't in town. My friend was so adamant about me posting a YouTube video. I thought no one was going to look at a video, but I decided, "What do I have to lose?" I got the sides and did a webcam video in my hotel room. I sent it in, and a couple days later the casting director responded. [He asked me to film] another video, and I never heard from him again. I [soon] got a new job with my band, The Instant Classics. A year later, I got an email from The Book of Mormon. I thought they were trying to sell me tickets, but it was an email from the casting office. I was in a sound check (with my now-fiancé) and I screamed. I had to resubmit a video within three days, and then they wanted me to fly to Los Angeles. I had a callback with a bunch of girls there: that was a really great experience. [Later], I was sitting at a bus stop with a friend in LA and I got an email that they wanted to fly me to New York City to work with one of the associate directors. I was coast-to-coast in one week! [They then hired me], gave me a week to get my life together and get to North Carolina [to join the show].

Kyle: Are there any challenges performing on tour that you didn't anticipate?

Alexandra: The rehearsal process was the most stressful thing for me-I only had six days. In a normal rehearsal process back home, we had three weeks plus tech rehearsal. With The Book of Mormon, I had six days with just the stage manager and dance captain, and no other bodies until my put-in rehearsal. Jumping into a tour to replace to a lead role within two weeks was really stressful. The hardest part of touring is finding a balance between recharging, hanging out with people and making sure you don't isolate yourself. You have to be very conscious of staying healthy; it's all about find a balance. It's definitely a different life, but it's still a life. I've learned a lot about myself. It's been challenging, but also very rewarding. I have a lot of great family [on tour] here now!

Kyle: When you aren't onstage, how do you spend your free time while traveling?

Alexandra: I love spending time in my hotel room after a show; I cherish that sacred unwinding time. I grant Sunday nights as my time to go out and hang out with the cast. [During the week], I am so tired after the show that I like to take that time to recharge.

Kyle: How have different parts of the country responded to the show?

Alexandra: Our audiences vary so much, and sometimes it's not what you'd expect. We were in Toronto for almost three months. The audiences there were great, but they were really polite. They clapped for everything, but weren't uproarious. When we got to Montreal, it was like a rock concert. Then, in Des Moines, the heart of the Midwest, it was zero degrees and no one was outside. I was thinking, "I don't know if anyone's going to laugh at this." They were like a rock concert, as well. [I've learned] to not have any expectations of how the audience will react!

Kyle: Do you have a favorite city that the tour has visited so far?

Alexandra: Oh yes! We spent about seven weeks in Philadelphia, and that's my favorite city right now. It was summertime and the theatre was great; the location where we were living was perfect. It was an awesome time. We could take the train to New York because it was so close. I'm also really excited to live in San Francisco soon, too. [The Book of Mormon visits San Francisco April 15th-June 7th, 2015]

Kyle: Do you have any warm-ups or rituals to get you get ready to go onstage?

Alexandra: I do. It changes week-to-week, depending on how my body feels. Sometimes my voice will be really warm already, and I'll just need to do little hums or trills to get everything moving. I'll do some sun salutations to warm my body up. Sometimes, for a matinee on Sunday, I'll go to the theatre earlier and really do a full warm-up: warm up my breathing and do a full vocal warm-up. We all know our bodies, and sometimes we don't need a full warm-up because we don't want to be too warm. That's something I learned from being out here. I always steam every night, though, before I go to bed!

Kyle: Once you are finished with The Book of Mormon on tour, what do you hope to do next?

Alexandra: I am really excited and open to infinite possibilities. I would love to end up in New York. I think it would be such a great experience to venture into that audition world, or to get a chance to work with the company in New York. I am also going to be married this year and I am SO excited (she giggles) to have a husband by October: he is just a wonderful person. [I'm looking forward to] growing together, and in our careers. There's so much positivity, I know there is, waiting for me. There's positivity in the present: I am happy where I am, and I'm excited for where I'm going.

Kyle: What is something not listed in your bio that people may not know about you?

Alexandra: Oh gosh! Our bios have to be really short, but I wish I could have written more about how grateful I am. I've been doing this for a year and I have to pinch myself sometimes. I can't lie and say I don't get sore or tired, but I am still so grateful to be here and I am still starstruck by my castmates. I wish I could have had 500 words [in my bio] to say that!

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