INTERVIEW WITH ACTOR CORBIN BLEU
Education Dramaturg Ted Sod spoke with Corbin Bleu about his work on Kiss Me, Kate.
Ted Sod: Where did you get your education and training? Corbin Bleu: I started my dance training when I was two. They gave me my first pair of tap shoes, and I just fell in love. I was a Ford model when I was three, and I was cast in my first off-Broadway production when I was six. A lot of my training has been through experience over the years. I’ve been able to work with so many incredible performers. I ended up going to Debbie Allen Dance Academy, where I studied every form of dance you can think of. Then I went to LA County High School of the Arts, and I was part of the theatre department there. My junior year of high school, I was accepted into Stanford University thinking I would study psychology, but that was the same year that I booked High School Musical. High School Musical just propelled my career to another level, and I found myself working a lot more.
TS: What kind of discipline or routine does it take to stay in shape as a musical theatre performer? CB: Sleep is key. Mondays are usually our dark days on Broadway, and I keep those sacred. I usually just stay in and I rest. I don’t talk. As it is, even when I’m not doing a show, I sleep a lot. As far as food goes, my wife and I cook 99% of our meals. I know what I’m putting in my body. I drink a lot of water. That’s pretty much all I drink all day long. And I have a green apple before every single show. I do that because they’re healthy for you, and it also helps me with my diction and energy.
TS: What made you want to play the role of Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me, Kate? CB: There are a lot of factors. First, I had the most marvelous time working with the Roundabout Theatre Company the last time I was here, doing Holiday Inn. When I found out Scott Ellis, whom I had worked with on Holiday Inn and I adore, was going to be directing, I knew I wanted to work with him. And Warren Carlyle is the choreographer. He is such a force in the tap world. For me, dance has always been number one, and knowing that I was going to be working under Warren’s choreography was a huge part of my decision. Also, the character of Bill is a dancer, and I get to perform one of the iconic dance numbers, and the thought of that just tickled me like nothing else. Kiss Me, Kate is one of the beautiful, classic, American musicals. That is a genre I love and I seem to work well in. After Holiday Inn, I ended up doing Singin’ in the Rain, and I’m currently playing Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, another Cole Porter musical, at the Arena Stage in D.C.
TS: What kind of preparation are you doing? CB: By the time I get back to New York, I will have done Anything Goes for three months, so I feel like this production has been a part of the preparation for getting into Kiss Me, Kate. I will watch the film version, and I absolutely will be diving into The Taming of the Shrew. When I was doing Holiday Inn, in the role originated by Fred Astaire, and Singin’ in the Rain, playing the role originated by Gene Kelly, I was constantly being asked questions like, “Aren’t those huge shoes to fill? What are you going to do to stand up to those guys?” And I always said the same thing: “I am not them. I am me.” I have learned that there is a specific essence that those iconic performers brought to their characters, and I will do my best to find out what that is. But at the end
10 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY Corbin Bleu
of the day, it’s going to be my interpretation of that character, and it’s going to be based on what we find in the rehearsal room. I’m looking forward to the discoveries we make and creating something new.
TS: Bill is a bit of a sketchy individual. Would you agree? And if so, how do you connect to this character? CB: I appreciate that you see me as a healthy person, and I am. I do my best to be. But I’ve gone through my own things and lived many lives, and there are aspects of me that I know will inform Bill Calhoun’s character. I think with the element of his gambling addiction, I am going to want to find what that dark side is within him, what compels him to do it. I know he has many redeeming qualities, too, especially with Lois. People like Bill have to be charming or they wouldn’t be able to get away unscathed with the things they do.
TS: What do you think is going on between Lois and Bill? Does he really love her? CB: I think he does love her “in his fashion,” but he might also not truly know what the meaning of love is. I think it is absolutely possible to love someone and not be able to treat them with love.
TS: Tell us a bit about what you look for from your collaboration with the director and choreographer? CB: I’m always really looking for specificity. I love when a choreographer is able to tell me exactly what it is that they want. I try to interpret that and give that to them as we collaborate and find it together. What drives me nuts is when we’re doing a tap move, say a toe/toe/heel/heel and I ask, “Do you want me to drop the right or the
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24
