Wonder what it's like to be an actor on Hairspray? Sean-Maurice Lynch takes you backstage for a day!
GREETINGS! It’s Sean-Maurice Lynch aka Shamoe, or SM! I play the role of Thad (ensemble) in Signature Theatre’s production of Hairspray (Now thru Jan 29th)! Today is an exciting day because it is the first day of understudy rehearsal here at the “'Spray”! I have the honor of being the understudy for the role of Seaweed J. Stubbs. So here’s a day in the life of me!
GREETINGS! It’s Sean-Maurice Lynch aka Shamoe, or SM! I play the role of Thad (ensemble) in Signature Theatre’s production of Hairspray (Now thru Jan 29th)! Today is an exciting day because it is the first day of understudy rehearsal here at the “'Spray”! I have the honor of being the understudy for the role of Seaweed J. Stubbs. So here’s a day in the life of me!
10:00 am: Wake up call with Zoey! Breakfast, tea, & facebook!
A few of us Hairspray cast mates travel a distance to get to Signature Theatre. My travels include car, train, & bus or taxi...depending on the day/time.
12:20pm: Travels continue on the Metro. Pentagon City here I come!
12:28 pm: Today I’ve decided to catch a taxi from Pentagon City...I sure do hope that the taxi driver isn’t Hildy Esterhazy! BAH DA DUM CHING!....anyone?....no?....ON THE TOWN?...Lenny?....okay, never mind.
1:00pm: Time for understudy rehearsal #1! All the actors meet up in the Green Room before heading into the vestibule (the space between the lobby and theatre) for vocal rehearsal with Jenny Cartney our Hairspray Conductor!
(Jenny at the Piano in the vestibule)
1:20pm: While learning music for her u/s track of Tracy ,Kirstin Riegler aka Brenda presentedTHE QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This Tracy is gonna option everything DOWN!” Kirstin is our resident Funny Girl!
During this first u/s rehearsal, it was important for all of us to learn the many vocal ins and outs of the characters that we are all understudying. For most of us, this was an interesting experience because we don’t get to actually always see our u/s track perform because we are either backstage doing singing, or we are actually on stage performing ourselves. The four swings in our show are; Gannon O’Brien, Shaunte Tabb, Jobari Paker Namdar, & Briana Marcantoni. These four actors have a total of 14 roles that they are understudying for our production of Hairspray!
3:15pm: Matt Conner (Male Authority Figure/Wilbur Turnblad u/s) & Kathryn Fuller (Edna Turnbald/Matron/Gym Teacher u/s) join u/s rehearsal just time to sing a little You’re Timeless To Me!
(The fabulous one and only Matt Conner!)
(The oh so beautiful Kathy Fuller!)
3:30pm: COFFEE BREAK!!! “Well it’s about time!”....BAH DA DUM CHING!....anyone?....no?....
(Kirstin (Tracy u/s), Jennifer (Penny u/s), & Jamie (Amber u/s) enjoy some Throat Coat tea and snacks during break!)
3:45pm: During our break I was snatched away by Margo Beirne the wardrobe supervisor here at Signature Theatre and her trusty sidekick Mr. Darcy for a costume fitting! As an understudy, it’s quite important that not only are you prepared to go on at a moments notice, but that your costumes are too! Lucky for me and Margo, I could oddly enough fit all of Jame's Seaweed costumes with minimal alternations needed! Huzzah for that!
(Margo also helps Jamie try on her Amber u/s Wig!)
4:20pm: YOU CAN’T STOP THE BEAT spacing onstage! AAAAHHH I have no idea where James is spaced in this number! LOL! Fortunately our Stage Manager Kerry Epstein has a nifty chart/diagram character placement thingy to help guide the way! Huzzah for that!
5:00pm: “Dinner time come and get it!”: Now that u/s rehearsal is done, us actors have a couple of hours to grab a meal before we must be back at the theatre for call before our Wednesday performance! Lucky for us, Shirlington (Shirley Vegas as we dearly call it) has a plethora of eateries to pick from! Which one did we choose (drum roll please.......)
(LUNA, Grill & Diner! Luna probably has the most variety of foods, which is essential when you are eating with a pack of “Bizarre, fixed and cold” artist. Of course I’m referring to myself only. Crispy Onion Au Poivre Burger...here I come!
6:30pm: Time to sign in for the show. This is one of my most favorite things to do as an actor! As weird as it may seem, there’s something about the action of signing my initials that always reminds me how blessed and lucky I am to be doing what I do 8 times out of the week! One of my favorite things to do for sure.
6:35pm: Lets meet Tracy! Carolyn Cole's dressing room is right across from the sign in sheet, thus her dressing room is the hot spot of Hairspray!
7:00pm: More preparations for showtime with fellow cast mates!
(Matthew Wojtal (Brad) & Parker Drown (Fender) prepare their hair)
(Erin Driscoll (Amber Von Tussle) has her wig placed oh so perfectly by Wig Crew member Haley Raines)
7:10pm: I had to the hallway to have my mic placed so I can finish putting on the rest of the my costume. “How’s that feelin’ for ya Sean? Everything feelin’ okay?” -Heath Guyette our Hairspray Radio Frequency Technician.
(Heath places my mic on for me)
Although Hairspray is performed in the intimate Max Theatre, the use of mics is quite important to create a balance acoustic experience for the audience.
7:30pm: Showtime!
9:15pm: It’s intermission here at the Hairspray! Act one is always a race to the finish, as most of the big ensemble numbers happen during that time. Now all I have to do is wait to cry
(Nova always gets me in I KNOW WHERE I’VE BEEN) & then dance my tail off in YOU CAN’T STOP THE BEAT!....And it doesn’t stop if any of you are pondering!
(hanging out with Nova (Motormouth Maybelle) during intermission)
9:30pm: Act 2 opens up with all the ladies onstage and most of the gentlemen (minus 3) backstage for a few extra minutes of downtime before back on stage. But that doesn’t mean that we’re not still performing!
Sometime after 10:30pm:
I hope you enjoyed “a day in the life of little ol’ me”! Hairspray is such a great show to be a part of! Every night I get to see people smile and hear them laugh at the magic that is happening at Signature Theatre!
***Sean-Maurice Lynch
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