BWW Interviews: Luke Smith Talks Disney's PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, His Career, and Awning

After winning prestigious awards both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, Disney's Peter and the Starcatcher, a magical prequel to Peter Pan, is headed for Houston. The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is the First National Tour production's third stop on their expansive route. The tour cast kicked off the show on August 15, 2013 in Denver and are currently playing to audiences in Dallas. Recently, Luke Smith, who plays Smee, took time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about Peter and the Starcatcher, his career on stage, and his band Awning (click link to discover more).

BWW: How did you get started in theatre?

Luke Smith: Well, I actually started because of my younger brother. When I was growing up I was always a musician. I would play my mom's guitar when I was three years old. I wouldn't play it very well, obviously, but I always wanted to play it. My brother on the other hand was a song and dance man. My parents found this performing arts camp called French Woods [Festival], it's just on the border of Pennsylvania and New York. They were interested in sending Sam, my bother, there. It was a musical theatre camp, but when I saw the paper [I noticed] they also had a rock band section of the camp. That provoked my interest in it. I went there to play rock music with kids, but all the cool kids at the camp were in music theatre. I thought, "Well, I'll give it shot." I kind of bit the bug that way.

I remember seeing a production of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, and it absolutely killed me; I loved it. So, I think it started there. Then, I did musicals going through middle school and high school. I ended up going to University of North Carolina School for the Arts for acting, graduated a couple of years ago, was in the city for two years, and here I am doing this. So, that's kind of it in a nutshell. (Laughs)

BWW: I saw in your bio that you haven't given up the rock band bug either. You're still writing music for an electronic folk band called Awning.

Luke Smith: Yes, Awning is a partnership between my closest friend, Jon Sheldrick, and me. Before I went to North Carolina, I went to NYU for two years, pursuing a Bachelor's of music in singing for music theatre. Jon and I met in Jazz Choir, and we started writing music while we were in college. I even continued to write when I was going to school in North Carolina, and he stayed in New York. When I came back, we formed this band. It's pretty much him and me. Some friends play with us from time to time.

For me, music and theatre have kind of always been equal passions, and I think they both kind of serve me equally. Sometimes one takes the focus, and then it goes to the other. I think they both serve me in a very important way, especially with Awning. Songwriting is a creative outlet when theater-the career-cannot always be the way I want it to be because a lot of things are out of my control. It's been nice to have that a creative outlet that is in my control. Well, Jon's and my control collectively.

BWW: How did you come to be involved in the National Tour of Peter and the Starcatcher?

Luke Smith: I had an audition for Jillian Cimini. It was a pre-screen. I was actually auditioning for the role of Prentiss, and did up until my final callback. That was, I guess, about four auditions in. I went in for Alex [Timbers] and Roger [Rees], the directors, and Greg [Schaffert], Nancy [Nagel Gibbs], and Eva [Price], some of the producers, and Wayne [Barker], the composer. I went in there, did my thing, and sang my song. They were like, "Alright, great! Hang out for a second." I went out the door, and then Jillian comes out and says, "We'd like you to try out Smee." I had the side [short audition piece from the play] for about half an hour. I went in, did whatever my intuition told me to do (Laughs), and I got the job. Now, I'm playing Smee in the national tour, and I couldn't be more excited about it.

BWW: You're playing the beloved sidekick to Captain Hook, Smee. As this is a prequel to Peter Pan, what differences can audiences expect between your Smee and the Smee we already know?

Luke Smith: I would say that the characters are a bit similar. If anything, this Smee might just be a little younger (Laughs) and hopefully a little more slender than the one we are used to. (Laughs) But, my motivation remains the same, and that's pretty much to please the Captain at all costs. I've often said that a good life motto for Smee would be "Anything the Captain likes, Smee loves. Anything the Captain dislikes, Smee hates with a passion." (Laughs) That's, I think, pretty similar to what people know and love about him.

BWW: How did you prepare for this version of Smee?

Luke Smith: Well, a lot of it was a bit collaborative. John Sanders, who plays Black Stache, was a great asset in that he was involved in the Broadway production. I had my own preparations and intuitions about who Smee was, but a lot of it kind of depended on the partnership between those two characters. It's definitely a duo, you know. I kind of have to set up the jokes for Black Stache, who is Captain Hook before he becomes Captain Hook basically. A lot of it was kind of feeding off his energy in rehearsal, and it was also very collaborative with Roger [Rees] in the room in terms of who this character is as well. There was a good amount of trial and error, but I think we've got a good solid footing on it now. And, it continues to grow with each performance, which is exciting.

BWW: Imagination and Peter Pan go hand-in-hand. What is the role of imagination in this production?

Luke Smith: Well, it's very central. It's the cornerstone of this production, I would say, because a lot of the design elements are based on kind of our own imagination. The center of the design element is that we're taking recycled elements and using them to be something that they aren't. A plunger is a sword. We use a rope to define a ship or just a room within a ship. It kind of is a throw back to what a lot of us in the company probably did when were kids, taking found elements in a home and using them to kind of serve our imagination and whatever made up world we were in. Of course, that plays well within what Peter Pan is all about: the ever-lasting kid in all of us. So, it's a huge part of the show and a huge part of the design element. I think that's what audiences are drawn to when they see it.

BWW: Peter and the Starcatcher, as you have mentioned, uses a much more simplistic approach to theatre than modern audiences are typically used to. In your opinion, how does this affect the performance?

Luke Smith: I think it makes it all the more exciting. We're all on stage the entire time. So, one moment I'll be playing Smee, but another moment I'm going to be essentially part of the set. It just flies by. I mean we're on just a complete rollercoaster from beginning to end. I think part of the design element is to kind of bring the audience along on the ride with us. I think that it's great for theatre that this kind of thing is popular. While it is simplistic in design, it is not necessarily simplistic in creativity. I think Alex [Timbers] and Roger [Rees] developed something that is very unique and very immersive for both the actors and the audience. When we were working on it in rehearsal, Rick Elice, the playwright, would say, "We pretty much have made a show that's really fun for actors to do. That was one of the primary purposes for it." So, I really think that they did something wonderful, both for the actors doing it and for the audiences experiencing it for the first time.

BWW: Peter and the Starcatcher's National Tour, like the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, utilizes movement direction by Steven Hoggett in addition to direction by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers. What can you tell me about movement in the show?

Luke Smith: It's just integral. When you're working with Alex, Roger, and Rick [Elice], in terms of using creativity to define something abstract or maybe using an abstract idea to define something, a lot of the movement we do is telling the story; for example, the ship leaning one way or the other way or how we're building sails based on just using movement in space. We don't necessarily have all the sets and props to define that. We're defining that ourselves. So, again, along with the rest of the creative team, the movement is central to that.

BWW: The production is touted as a "grownup prequel," but it is still family friendly. What makes the show grownup, and what makes it safe for young audiences too?

Luke Smith: Well, I think the magical element is something that both kids and adults equally can relate to. If anything, sometimes there's definitely a Monty Python kind of humor to it. (Laughs) It makes me think of the first time I saw Holy Grail when I was probably in middle school or something. I remember watching it and laughing at it because it was silly, but then 10 years later I watched the thing and thought, "Oh, those are jokes that I totally did not understand when I was thirteen years old, but now I do when I'm 23." So, it's very similar in that way. The characters are very animated and silly in a way that maybe a 10 to 13 year old can appreciate. But, sometimes, the jokes we land may fly over their heads a little bit. I think it's good for definitely for the middle school age and up. We've had audiences with kids younger than that, and I have heard them laughing. (Laughs) I suppose the Peter Pan story is still something people really relate to, even at a young age.

BWW: Why should Houston audiences be excited to see the show?

Luke Smith: It's going to be something that they've probably never really seen before. It's the kind of storytelling that doesn't really require all the bells and whistles of a typical Broadway show, and they're [the audience] still going to be falling over their faces with laughter, I would say. By the second act, I mean, if everyone isn't crying from just absolutely laughing out of control, then we haven't done our job. So far, I think we're doing ok.

BWW: What advice do you offer to other aspiring actors?

Luke Smith: Oh boy. (Pauses) Well, I think, for me, in the two years that I've been out of school, there's been plenty of room for doubt. I think that's kind of the nature of the thing, and I'd encourage any aspiring actor or actor to silence that voice as much as possible because it doesn't really help. If it's something that you really want to do, if there's nothing else that will make you happy, then there's absolutely no reason not to pursue it. The universe is only given one version of say Luke Smith, David Clarke, or whoever it may be; therefore, the universe really wants to hear that voice. I think that's important to remember. That's what has helped me.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, presented by Broadway Across American- Houston, plays the Sarofim Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby Street, Houston, 77002, from October 15-20, 2013. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday evening at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday evening at 8:00pm, and Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm. For tickets and more information, please visit http://houston.broadway.com or call (800) 952-6560.

Photo by Jenny Anderson. Photo courtesy of Broadway Across America-Houston.