BWW Interviews: Straight-shooting Krysta Rodriguez Talks Straight From New York Masterclasses

For your viewing pleasure, I had a conversation with Broadway actress and singer Krysta Rodriguez about her upcoming masterclasses with Straight From New York. Without even seeming to try, she gave an illuminating, dare I say, instructive interview. Besides that, she just has a really good energy about her. She's been through the Twitter/blog/critic trial by fire and came out on the other side, if not unscathed, her trueness proven. She is a strong, self-confident woman who's not afraid to be straight to the point or honest. Now that's the kind of teacher I want to have.

BWW: What are your plans for the Straight From New York masterclass?

Krysta Rodriguez: I really have a passion for vocal performance. I really enjoy unpacking songs, analyzing the text and music, seeing what the composers and lyricists have put in the song for us to use, and finding different avenues and doors to get into the meaning of the song. So, usually when I teach, it's not necessarily about what you would do for an audition or how you would perform it for the show. It's really about empowering yourself and finding out that there are so many ways and techniques to get surprising choices that are not just what's on the page or what anyone else would think when they were doing a song. Sometimes we're running around with bags in our hands. Sometimes we're having pillow fights. And sometimes we're just really talking to each other. It just adds a whole level.

And, anytime I teach, I enjoy this age group. They're so talented and they really have a grasp on their instrument and their craft. It's exciting. But (usually) there is a missing element. There is a need to focus on communication and stripping away performance. That's the part that I like to focus on.

BWW: How long have you been teaching?

Krysta Rodriguez: It's been about four or five years now. It's not by any means my main focus, but if anyone ever asks me to do it, I say yes. I incorporate it into my life because I really enjoy it and find it rewarding and it helps me solidify what I believe. Right now, I'm directing high school kids. That's been a whole new challenge and experience.

BWW: How do you think working in addition to teaching helps your students and yourself?

Krysta Rodriguez: I think I bring a lot of life experience to them, because I was their age when I first starting working on Broadway. I was 19. I can see where they are, and that it's possible

that within a year they're going to be starting their professional career. So, I bring a lot of practical knowledge that no one tells you in school. [I Laugh] I went to school too, and I learned a lot, but there is a lot that doesn't get told. It's no one's fault. It's just that the things you need to be ready for change rapidly. The temperature of auditions and the things you need to be ready for and the way that you need to prepare is changing all the time. I really try to nail that. I also try to really hit home that this is a job. I think that, especially at that age, it's very fun and the idea of it being a career seems like a dream come true. I agree with that, but I also want to prepare them for the professionalism they'll need as well. It's not just fun all the time. It's an actual job. Like your parents go to work, you go to work. [We Laugh] I try to instill that in them pretty early. No surprises.

BWW: I've heard that from many of the teachers I've talked to. A lot of them try to impress upon their students the difficulty of the career they've embarked upon.

Krysta Rodriguez: Yeah.

BWW: What is the realest lesson you've learned from working (as opposed to being a student)?

Krysta Rodriguez: There's a different muscle you have to use for stamina. That's a thing you don't realize until you're in it. When you're in high school, your shows are three times then you're done and everyone cries at the cast party because you think you're never going to see each other again. There's that. Then there is the real world where you're doing 500, 1,000, 2,000 performances of a show, and you never want to see these people again. [We Laugh] But you will, because this is the smallest business ever. Keeping up your emotional stamina, your physical stamina, and the way you hold relationships in a show. Those are things that I've learned.

I remember the first time I did a long running show. After I went through the first weekend I thought, "I can't do this anymore. There's no way I can do more of these shows." But you've got to flip into a different mindset, and just do it. It's why I like to teach different angles and different avenues, because you're going to need them 6 months into a run. You're going to have to find a new way to get into this character, because you're going to feel like you've exhausted it. But you've got to keep doing it.

BWW: What projects have taught you the most?

Krysta Rodriguez: My first Broadway show was a flop. I was also a swing, which I really didn't know what that was, so that experience taught me a lot about what was really going on behind the curtain. It also taught me that there's no point in not enjoying yourself. I learned about trying to thrive in a non-ideal situation. I was in a role I didn't understand, in a show I didn't understand and that was not doing well. There was immediate backlash. Although, oddly, the backlash that I got for GOOD VIBRATIONS was less than any backlash I ever got for SMASH or THE ADDAMS FAMILY.

BWW: What does that mean?

Krysta Rodriguez: GOOD VIBRATIONS started in 2004 in a time where there wasn't any social media. There were message boards, but you didn't have to listen to them, and bad reviews. But if I'm being honest, nobody thought we were in a blockbuster hit show and I was offstage as a swing, so the reviews didn't really affect me.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY was a highly anticipated, very hyped show that everyone decided to throw darts at as soon as we came in. SMASH was the same thing - highly anticipated and very watched. Everybody was paying attention and waiting, and ready to jump on it at any chance. For sure, the temperature has changed. Nowadays, it's much harder. Everybody now has an opinion and it's all on an equal playing field. It can all be thrown in your face. And there's no way to get around it. I guess I would say a lot of the jobs I've had have prepped me for negativity, which is unfortunate.

I learned a lot from FIRST DATE. That experience was really wonderful and life-changing in an unexpected way. It was the first time I was actually leading a show. I learned a lot about what that entails. I learned that I enjoy it. That's not always the case for some people. But it was hard. It was very hard. I thought I knew how hard it would be. I had no idea. But when I came out the other side, I was like, "Yeah, I did that." I know what it takes now and what I need to do next time if it ever comes up again. [Pauses] I just enjoyed it. It was a really pleasant and wonderful experience for everyone involved.

BWW: What did you have to do as the lead?

Krysta Rodriguez: Not talk. [I Laugh] I'd go home after our Sunday night show at 8:30 and I wouldn't speak again until 7 o'clock on Tuesday. It was really taxing vocally. I was surprised because it was an hour and a half show, and I only sang two duets and a solo, which is a totally different ball game from playing Eva Peron in EVITA. I would imagine that's even more difficult than what I did. But I was on stage the whole time. The emotional and mental toll that takes on you is unexpected. When you're stepping out there it's like jumping out of an airplane. I know that once I go out there, I can't go back. There were no scenes either! The show was one long scene. And you can't even signal to the other person. We're talking to each other the whole time, but we can't actually communicate. One time Zachary Levi's mic went out and he had to get up and leave in the middle of the show. I'm sitting on stage, and I don't even know why he left. [I Laugh]

Fortunately, Zach and I valued the same things as far as work, comedy and the show that we wanted to portray. So we were very much a team in that and could help each other along.

BWW: You mentioned intense character analysis and preparation you need to keep a character fresh after a million performances. What are some other techniques you use to combat the difficulties in the business?

Krysta Rodriguez: It's hard to say. As much as I feel I have learned a lot, I also feel there's a lot to learn. I can say that you learn as you go on that you want to pick projects that speak to you. It's more fulfilling to do things that you care about rather than taking things that are making money, because the money comes and goes always. It's never consistent. Don't try to chase it. It won't fulfill you. Also, having other interests. I don't mean to say having other interests, because I don't actually have that many other interests. [Laughs] But knowing there's other perspectives out there and having a strong sense of self outside of what people are telling you. Your identity has to be strong and not up for negotiation. You have to really know who you are regardless of what a casting director tells you, a blogger or review says about you or what that one performance where you messed up says about you. You have to really have a strong sense of personal forgiveness and self-confidence.

BWW: That's really good advice. Do you have any more advice for performers that we don't have to pay you for and can print in this interview for free?

Krysta Rodriguez: [Laughs] I have two pieces of advice. They're both cliche, but they're both true. If you feel like this is what you need to do, don't give up. Keep going. My whole personal story is about persistence. It's about never getting the role the first time. Never getting what I wanted when I wanted it. I've been very blessed. I've had a very good career. But it's come with tons of pitfalls and doors shut that make you feel like you must be in the wrong place. You have to listen to your gut that says, "You are in the right place." If it says that, you go forward no matter what. On the flip side of that, if there is any spark of wanting to be a kindergarten teacher or web designer, please, please do it. It won't be worth it for you if it's not the thing that wakes you up in the morning.

You can always perform on the side. I once read an interview with Lucy Prebble, the playwright. She was working in a bank while being a playwright, and she wrote one show that kind of became a hit but it wasn't enough for her to give up her day job. So she's still working in the bank and she wrote another show that became a very big hit. So she quit her job and now she's a full-time playwright living the dream. Somebody asks her, "How is it now?" She says, "Well, I gotta be honest with you, I feel like I married my mistress."* The thing that you use to escape from reality now becomes the thing you wake up to everyday.

*Prebble says, "It was like having a mistress, whereas now it's like my wife ..."

If you like peforming enough to put a ring on it, visit http://www.straightfromnewyork.com/ for more info.

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