BWW Interviews: Devon-Elise Johnson, Wendla In Frankfurt SPRING AWAKENING

First of all - were you a fan of the show before you were cast in it?

Absolutely!! I had the original Broadway cast CD before it even had come over to London, so I already knew ALL of the songs and always sang along to them in the car, haha!

Did you see the London production?

Yeah, I did see the London production actually, but only when it was at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith! I knew everyone in the show from the workshop that we all did together - it was awesome to see it all come together!

And did you know Wedekind's original play?

Until the musical came out I didn't even know it was a play, but yes, I ended up finding the play and reading it. It's very powerful and I can see why maybe during that period they didn't like what he wrote. However, it's amazing that it has been brought back to life in the form of a rock musical.

From a modern standpoint, Wendla's incredibly naive - how do you go about putting yourself in her place and characterising her?

Wendla is a really complex character, and characterising her was pretty hard to begin with because it's so easy to just stereotype a "naive child" because she's so much more than just that. She's also extremely inquisitive, sensitive, caring among many more things.

I watched a film called "The White Ribbon", which is based around the same period, also in Germany, which is where Spring Awakening is set, and studied how the children behaved and the mannerisms that they showed. I then built Wendla's character based around that and other little bits of information that I found from that period.

We are also very close in age [Devon-Elise is 18] and its not that hard for me to go back to being 14 and remembering what it was like. From what I can remember it was a very confusing time - even in this day and age.

I've seen a few productions of the show and they all interpret Wendla and Melchior's relationship differently with different power dynamics - how are you portraying it in your show?

Melchior is extremely hypnotising to Wendla. He knows exactly what to say to make her, if you like, become attracted to him! Also, Wendla sees in Melchior a chance to "feel" something and she also works out how to work him and to get him to do as she likes - a power that most women possess! Haha!

And how do you feel about doing the scene in the barn?!

Oh, that scene! If I'm honest it doesn't phase me at all any more! I think you can get yourself so worked up over silly things like that, but when it comes down to it, it's not as big a deal as you thought. I am really lucky because I feel really comfortable with Craig (Melchior) and we can have a giggle about it. It's only acting...

Spring Awakening's teenagers are all rebelling against something, or at least trying to - were you a rebellious child when you were at school?

Haha! No! I was actually a bit of a geek at school and I just really wanted to learn, apart from when it got to year 11 and I got bored of learning! I was a little bit naughty then and just didn't want to do any of my homework, but then again what kid does?!

What are your plans after this run finishes?

Now there's a thought - I don't really know! Hopefully get myself back out there and keep going! Either that or I was hoping to go to a big college up in London and further my training, but another job would be amazing...

Devon-Elise Johnson plays Wendla Bergman in Spring Awakening for the English Theatre of Frankfurt from the 12th November

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