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[0:00] Martín Acuña: Hi, everyone. I am Martín Acuña, and you are listening to Backstage Talk.

[0:15] Martín Acuña: Hello, and welcome back today. I am in the company of a performer that rose to stardom during the pandemic, if I may say. And he's been working his butt off as a digital content creator for the last year. I am here with JJ Niemann. Hey, JJ, how are you?

[0:45] JJ Niemann: Hi, thank you for having me. I'm doing well. How are you?

[0:49] Martín Acuña: I'm really good. I'm excited for this chat. I've been looking forward to this conversation for a long time, and the stars aligned, and I could make it, and we both could make it today. So I'm really excited.

[1:05] JJ Niemann: Yay, me too. I am going to let you introduce yourself a bit before I start with all the Ratatouille questions I have today.

[1:14] JJ Niemann: Yes, yes, we love Ratatouille. Well, hi, my name is JJ. I am a Broadway actor in New York City. I'm currently in North Carolina with my family, but I'll be back in New York soon. It's been a weird year not being in the city all the time because it's expensive. And also, I didn't have an apartment, so that's why I haven't been up there. But anyway, so yeah, I graduated from college in 2017. I went to Elon University in North Carolina, which has one of the best music theater programs in the country, if I do say so. I love my alma mater. I'm very proud to have gone there. And then yeah, I graduated and joined Book of Mormon a few days after graduating college. It was like a very one of those Cinderella story whirlwind experiences.

I was a swing, so I covered seven roles in that. And I performed in Book of Mormon for two and a half years on Broadway. So during that time, also working on, you know, started teaching dance classes in the city, started working with the Broadway Collective, who I still coach with, and also was doing development and readings and workshops of a new musical called Bliss, which I most recently, that's the most recent live performance I got to do, which was at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle. We did our world premiere and pre-Broadway tryout, hoping to come to New York when things open back up and if they get a theater. But yeah, so that was the last thing I did last January and February of 2020. And then ever since then, I, you know, been in quarantine and content creating, like you said, was in Ratatouille, teaching, all those kinds of things.

[3:01] Martín Acuña: I just gotta say, what is it with you guys from Elon that right after graduation are taking a plane to New York? Like a couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Jake David Smith and he had the same story. Like, I was having, like, my Italian literature finals and got a callback for Mean Girls, but then also Disney Theatricals wanted me on an audition and basically they moved my debut because I had graduation. Like, what the hell is going on with you guys at Elon?

[3:37] JJ Niemann: Wait, okay, wait. How do you know Jake? Did you know him before having him on the podcast?

[3:42] Martín Acuña: Uh, no. I actually do a lot of networking through Instagram and LinkedIn and Facebook, so I basically contacted him through Instagram. I was like, hey, you're a Disney Prince. I want you on my podcast.

[3:58] JJ Niemann: Yes, that is so crazy that you had him. So Jake and I went to school together for two years. He's two years below me and you want to know the gag is, I was in his callback, I think his final callback for Frozen. I was in for the tour at the same time for a track that was going to be covering Olaf. Disclaimer, I am so glad I didn't get it because I had to do, I made it all the way to the final, like, three and I had to do a puppeteering session, like, literally was in Olaf puppet in a studio. The carpal tunnel that I would have gotten, the arthritis in my wrists and hands, I literally was so sore for, like, days. I was like, there's no way that I could have done this. There's no way. The puppeteering, I have mad, mad respect for anyone who does that, but it was amazing because it was Jake's, one of his first callbacks in New York and I got to be there with him.

I think it was his first dance callback and I'm a dancer first and so I was, like, helping him out in the callback and I was like, I got you, I got you, we're going to work on this and, like, he freaking booked it and then started, yeah, pretty shortly after. It's like one of those wonderful, I love that, like, network and community, but yeah, he had a very similar thing happen to him that I did.

[5:06] Martín Acuña: I just love it, like, I mean, I looked up for Elon when I was looking for colleges, but, and I really envy, like, deep, bad envy feeling for everyone that went to Elon.

[5:23] JJ Niemann: It's a really special place, for sure. I'm really fortunate and it's only, like, three hours from where my family is, so that's kind of, like, how I heard about it was through other North Carolinians, not realizing the caliber of a program it is, but yeah, it's wonderful.

[5:37] Martín Acuña: All right, so how did you start in musical theater?

[5:42] JJ Niemann: So I kind of started, I mean, I always, literally, if you ask anybody, like, anyone in my family, I was singing and dancing gibberish before I could walk or talk. I was somehow dancing before I could walk, like, it was one of those kinds of kids that you're like, that's got to be a performer and I kind of have a lineage of it. Like, my grandparents and, oddly enough, my grandma, so my dad's mom, made him promise her that she would never let, that he would never let one of his kids go into show business because I think her grandma was, like, a Broadway dancer and had some rough experiences and she was like, don't let any of your kids do it, it's a crazy industry. And so I came along and he was like, ooh, I don't know, I guess, you know.

And so, basically, my parents actually ran their own children's theater company back when I was, like, in diapers and I have three older sisters, they're six, eight, ten years older than me, and so they were all doing shows and I was in the playpen with a babysitter, you know, at the rehearsals. And they only did that theater company for a few years, but I was always surrounded by music and dance and they encouraged all of us to do shows. And so as soon as I was old enough, you had to be eight years old, back where we lived in Annapolis, Maryland at the time, that's where I was born and grew up for the first ten years of my life, and you had to be eight years old to do the children's theater shows there.

So as soon as I turned eight, I auditioned for the show, I played, I got cast as Avery, the bratty little brother in Charlotte's Web, and did that show, and then we moved to North Carolina. And once we moved here, there were tons of community theaters. Obviously, the schools do shows and stuff, so I literally was doing theater year-round. I didn't really train that much. Like, a lot of people go to camps or intensives. I didn't do any of that. I literally just did shows year-round and that's kind of how I learned my skills until I went to college.

[7:43] Martín Acuña: That is awesome. I'm not going to ask you how you got to Broadway, because you just said that your story is very similar to Jake's.

[7:51] JJ Niemann: Yeah.

[7:52] Martín Acuña: I mean, it was Elon.

[7:54] JJ Niemann: And we have the same agent, too, actually. We're signed by the same agent.

[7:58] Martín Acuña: CGS.

[7:59] JJ Niemann: I love them. I don't know anyone there, but I love them. Like, they represent the best people in the business.

[8:06] Martín Acuña: Yeah, yeah. So, you went to Elon, then you jumped directly to Book of Mormon as a swing.

[8:14] JJ Niemann: Mm-hmm.

[8:16] Martín Acuña: What are the pros and cons of being a swing? Because I find that understudies or swings are the most difficult thing you can do in a show.

[8:25] JJ Niemann: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

[8:31] Martín Acuña: That's it. Like, memorizing 7 to 13 tracks, it's just mind-blowing for me.

[8:40] JJ Niemann: It's crazy.

[8:41] Martín Acuña: I can barely do it with mine.

[8:45] JJ Niemann: Right. And there's shows like Six, the musical, that all of the swings or alternates, whatever you want to call them, offstage covers, they play all the leads. They play all of them.

[8:58] JJ Niemann: Um, yeah, people often say that swings are like the MVPs of a show or are the unsung heroes. And a lot of times, honestly, not to toot my own horn as a swing, but a lot of times are the most talented people in the cast because they can play everything. And that's not to discount, a lot of times the kind of type and skill set and everything it takes to play a lead eight shows a week is its own skill set. And those kinds of people thrive. Like the people like I think of, of course, another Yolanda Lum, Wilbert Weed, she is not the most versatile performer. She is incredible, but she is going to get the roles that are absolutely perfect for her. And that's her, that is who she is. And she's made, carved a path for herself and rules for herself in the industry that no one else really can play and can touch.

Um, like Veronica and Heather's and Janice and Mean Girls, like she, those rules are her. You can't take her out of those roles. And so swings, we are kind of more malleable. And that's something I've always kind of, uh, like prided myself in being, is being someone who kind of can do everything. And people are always like, are you a stronger singer or a stronger dancer? And I'm like, I genuinely feel like I'm equal across the board. And so while there might not be a ton of place for me in movie musicals, because the dancers are lip syncing and the singers are not dancing and they're in the recording studios, that that's where it gets a little tricky. And I have a little saltiness about it, but on Broadway, that's where the triple threat, like you have to be one to be a swing.

And a lot of times being an ensemble member, cause they're usually covering leads too. So the, um, the pros and cons, I would say the pro is that it's incredibly satisfying and a gratifying thing to do. And it keeps it really fresh because when you're in a show for two and a half years, mama, woo, you need it to be spiced up. You need to get to go on for different roles. And like, it really does keep it so fun. You interact with different people. You're interacting with different dressers, doing different quick changes and features, singing different harmonies for someone like me who loves that kind of a challenge. I loved that. The con is some days you don't want a challenge. Some days you're like, let me just step on stage and do my thing and like, be comfortable and get to like, not check out, never, never check out.

But sometimes it's nice to just go on stage and know exactly what you're doing and not have to freak out. And you're just like, you get to feel like you're just one of everyone else. And so you get a taste of that as a swing, when you're sometimes on for a role for one week or two weeks at a time and you have, cause someone's on vacation and you're like, I know I'm getting to do this role for a whole week. It's the best feeling because you're like, oh, I get to just like, chill and like, have fun and like, do my thing. So yeah.

[11:48] Martín Acuña: I love it. Talk to us a little bit about your experience as a swing in the Book of Mormon.

[11:54] JJ Niemann: Well, being in a show that had been running for years at that point, I think it had been running for five years, five and a half years by the time I joined. So it was a well-oiled machine, which made it so easy to learn everything because the people, you know, the dance captain and the music director and everyone was so good at like teaching us everything. And it was very much like, this is what it is. And you just kind of fit into it. And I love clear guidelines. I love that. I also love being creative, but I love when someone's just like, this is exactly what you have to do. And there's no question about like, what do I do here? Which creating new shows, swings who have to be in the room when you're creating a new show and everything's changing every day, that's harder, I think.

But yeah, I mean, being in the Book of Mormon was so fun. And also because I had been running for so long, they were really lenient with giving people personal days, vacations, sick days. And there were pros and cons to that because sometimes people have been in the show for years. So they were like, sometimes just call in sick, like, you know, half an hour before the show and you're like, can you not do that? Because I would love to have a little more notice, please. But also at the same time, it was great because I literally barely ever, ever, ever a week went by a full eight show week went by where I wasn't on that probably only happened like two weeks out of like the two and a half years I was there.

[13:21] Martín Acuña: That is on every week. Yeah.

[13:24] JJ Niemann: That is awesome. I mean, and besides all the thrill of covering things, you just get to be on stage. And as you said, having a clear guideline about how to do things.

[13:38] JJ Niemann: Oh yeah. And it was also really nice also, because sometimes, you know, you get paid pretty much the same, just sit backstage. So some days, I mean, I got through every season of Drag Race during my time there. I started from season one. I went all the way through and that became like, you know, and it's really fun because, you know, there's a lot of standbys and swings and stuff. So certain shows, we would all go to the standbys room and they had a projector there and we would stream like do drag race viewings or watch movies or play card games like it's really fun once you learn everything and you feel really comfortable that you could jump on at a moment's notice. It's really fun to get to like hang out with people backstage.

[14:17] Martín Acuña: Awesome. So you know, changing question right now. Have you developed any new show since Book of Mormon?

[14:29] JJ Niemann: Yeah, so Bliss was the only one really, I mean, kind of Ratatouille. I was a part of that, but Bliss was the most because I, yeah, I did a month-long development lab back in October of 2018 and then I did a reading of it in the following May and then got asked to do the out of town. So that was really fun because the choreographer of that, a lot of it was a little bit more contemporary style and he does more classic Broadway. So he kind of relied on some of us who have a little bit more experience with hip hop and contemporary dance to fill in the blanks, honestly. And so that was really fun because a lot of my pieces of choreography that I worked on and us boys, we'd just be like, okay, let's go to the side and like learn a little eight count and we'd show it to them and they'd be like, great. So a lot of my choreo is in the show, actually.

[15:20] Martín Acuña: Awesome. That is great. So Ratatouille, you kind of originated a role in there, but let's get at the top of it. How did you end up in Ratatouille?

[15:34] JJ Niemann: So I was one of the people who definitely was like seeing the trend happening. I made a few videos, like as soon as I heard that the whole chorale arrangement of the, you know, the one that Dan Mertzluff, the arranger, did for TikTok. As soon as I saw his video, I was like, oh my God, I have to use this and make a video imagining rehearsing Ratatouille, the musical on Broadway. Because I had made similar ones with like a version of WAP by Cardi B that was like a chorale one. And same with the, like, I love that TikTok just finds these sounds and they're like, make whole trends out of it. That doesn't make any sense. But yeah, so I made some videos, became friends with Dan on social media because of that.

And then when I saw that it was announced that it was being turned into a whole concert, you know, a whole benefit, I literally messaged him and I was like, hey, I would love to be a part of this. Let me know if you need any singers. And he was like, yes, we'd love to have you. Let me connect you with the music director. Boom, connected. And so to anyone listening, always ask for what you want and always never be afraid of that. As long as you're not being like cringy or it's out of place. Don't be afraid to just say, hey, I'm available if you need anything, because you never know when they'll be like, yeah, we do. And at the same time, actually, I was reached out to by the choreographer, Eleanor Scott.

She slid into my DMs on Instagram and she's a TikTok creator as well. She had seen my videos. I actually auditioned for her several times in New York and I've always loved her and her work. And so, yeah, she reached out to me and I was like, yeah, I would love to be a part of this. So that's how it happened and kind of how it came to be.

[17:25] Martín Acuña: That is great. And how was that like process on how you were rehearsing online with people distancing, like everyone in their own home?

[17:43] JJ Niemann: Yeah. Oh, it was chaos. To be perfectly honest, I was like, are y'all sure y'all want to do this? And they said that the day we're like January 1st, it's going to be streaming. And I was like, are y'all sure you want to, like, who decided this? Because not only, so they, a lot of it like was like a trickle down effect because when, you know, they only have four weeks total to put it together, but like two of those weeks were spent completely arranging and orchestrating. Then they had to get together the orchestra, put all of that together, write the script, then send us all of the information. So we were sent all the information on like the Sunday or Monday before Christmas. So it was like the 21st. We had, I had two Zoom rehearsals.

So I had one with the music team. They sent us the sheet music and they said, okay, so cut off on three here, cut off on four here, JJ, you take 10 or one, you know, you take 10 or two, like divvied up the solos. They were like, you take this solo, you take the solo. And we kind of like, we were sent tracks kind of, but we had to like plunk out our notes. So thank God I kind of know how to sight read. And I was like plunking out my harmonies. I was like, I hope that I'm cutting off on the right time. And we literally recorded with our own mics on our own into like garage band, just like raw audio. And that was it. I mean, like that's basically, you know, and then we also had to film videos of us lip syncing and we had to send everything in.

We had two days to send everything in. So it was due on the 23rd of December. And yeah, a lot of times we had to record multiple vocal parts. So it was really weird because there was no way to like rehearse together. So we didn't know how it would sound us all together. And then for the choreo, I had a Zoom rehearsal with the choreographer. They taught us everything in like an hour and a half. And then we had two days to send in all of our videos. They sent us the rat ears and chef's hats and they were like, all right, send me the videos. And we had to like, it was just very much like we were sending our own raw vocals and videos out into the ether and had no idea how it would come together, what it would look like.

I mean, we were just like, I was like crossing my fingers and praying. I was like so nervous. When the debut night happened, I was like, my heart was racing. I was like, I hope that this is good. Like, I don't even know. And it ended up being really, really wonderful. My whole family, we watched it together. Yeah, it was great.

[20:09] Martín Acuña: So that's when they gave you that amazing belt solo. It wasn't in the opening number or the closing number? It was the vows, the mega mix at the end.

[20:16] JJ Niemann: Yeah, I loved it. I remember streaming it too. And I enjoyed it a lot. And it was really fun because I didn't expect you being there. And I remember watching it and was like, hey, I've seen this dude over in my Instagram. I don't know his name. And I don't know, right at this particular moment, I don't know who he is, but I've seen him somewhere. And then, yeah, well, Instagram exploded with all the Ratatouille posts.

[20:48] JJ Niemann: That is awesome. I mean, it is a one in a life experience being part of the first streaming we had since COVID hit in the middle of a pandemic. And the stars aligned for it to be a revolutionary, I think revolutionary, show made out of social media.

[21:15] JJ Niemann: Oh, yeah. And the fact that it was the first crowdsourced musical ever, it really just, the moral of the story, anyone can cook, literally applies to this. It's literally anyone can write a musical. Why not try? You can try. And there were people around the country working on this. There were people, 17-year-olds and people who don't have degrees in music, writing amazing, that somehow was cohesive, somehow ended up being a cohesive work. That's better than some of the stuff I hear in New York, no cap. There is some crunchy, crunchy old people's stuff happening in New York. Not that old people can't write musicals, but a lot of it is dated. It's just, they don't take risks on new artists and new writers.

And also, we're seeing also during this time, a whole lot of awareness with Broadway for racial justice. And we see white American theater. And there is a race issue. As wonderful as theater is, and as wonderful as Broadway is, there is a race issue. There are not enough opportunities given to marginalized voices and just diverse voices so that you have people working on your shows. And so, I think that was amazing. All around, there were risks being taken in every corner with new, up-and-coming artists all around the world. And it was just so cool. And I hope that it inspires people to be a little bit more creative moving forward and take chances on new people, and also make theater more accessible to people who can't come to New York. I think we're going to see a lot more of that. So, I'm so proud that I got to be part of a small snippet in that that I think moving forward will make a big impact.

[22:55] JJ Niemann: But trust me, I think that Ratatouille being a TikTok musical is a landmark, and it made a mark in musical theater history.

[23:10] Martín Acuña: Yeah. Not only because we're in the middle of a pandemic, but because of the things you just said.

[23:18] JJ Niemann: Yeah. And people will look back to it like this was the start of a trend.

[23:24] Martín Acuña: Yeah, yeah. And I think it's kind of something that might not be able to be replicated. I feel like people are going to try to replicate how it came to be, but you can't force a trend. It just has to happen, and somehow this trend happened. So, I can't wait to see what the next one is, though. Bridgerton, obviously, is in its own realm because it's specific writers working on it, but seeing how that's taken off is so cool, too.

[23:49] JJ Niemann: Yeah, yeah. And what I'm intrigued about is how will this change when we are back in the theater? Like, when we can go physically to a theater, how will this social media stuff will impact new shows?

[24:08] JJ Niemann: I hope that it kind of works in tandem. I think they can both coexist because, like I said, a lot of people don't live in New York or have the means to go to New York every single year and see shows. So, I think shows will be smart moving forward to incorporate social media more. We obviously saw TikTok strongly boosted the popularity of Six the Musical and Beetlejuice and truly changed the game. And I think we're seeing that, and now it can blow up a song like Driver's License by Olivia Rodrigo and blow up her song to being the number one stream song of the year because it was a TikTok trend. It's just really cool to see that. So, I think if shows don't utilize that, they're dumb. But also, they have to do it in a smart way.

And I, of course, hope as a content creator online and a Broadway actor that I'm able to somehow make it work that I can find a way to marry the two because I would love to help shows, you know, help boost shows and especially ones that I'm in. And, you know, I've talked to some friends of mine who are also creators online, and we're like, that's something that you'll need to get written into a contract because if people are coming to see a Broadway show because you have a million followers on TikTok, that is a selling point and that should be worked into your contract in some way. It's influencer marketing in the end.

[25:35] Martín Acuña: I want to move a little bit into JJ the teacher. How long have you been teaching dance or musical theater?

[25:43] JJ Niemann: Well, I really started while I was at Elon. We do a lot of student showcases, student cabarets. Every year we have collage and grand night, which are completely student directed, music directed, choreographed, arranged, everything. And we put on like an hour and a half show of just various musical theater numbers and all of it. It's like the best night of the year. It literally just happened the other night and they did a streaming one this year, of course, but it was so good. But I choreographed numbers for that, at least like one to three numbers for that every single year. So I knew that I loved running rehearsals, loved choreographing, teaching kind of in that realm. And I got to dip my toes into that in like the summers between my semesters because I would work at like a children's theater here and there and teach a week long camp or things like that.

And then once I got to New York, started teaching my own dance classes. And that was really just to be like getting my friends into the studio with me and just being like, hey, I choreographed this piece and I want to like work on it and have everyone learn it. And I started doing those like once a month, once every other month. And I called them jazzing with JJ. So I can't wait to do that again, like in person. And yeah, and then I started working with Broadway Collective. I just saw that they were accepting applications for feedback coaches. And Broadway Collective operates mostly online, actually. So it was actually set up for success already before the pandemic happened. And I started kind of slowly working with them, just dance coaching here and there.

Then I started mentoring and working for their summer camps and basically having 10 students or so a week that I was accountable for. And they were like my students to always check in with and mentor them. Then I started working with their pre-screen program and working with students that were auditioning for colleges. And we were helping them professionally film and prepare for college auditions. So I was their dance coach and I've done that two years in a row now. So now I'm like pretty much I'm not full time employed with them because it definitely, you know, it's just it depends. It's like a week at a time sometimes, but I'm really, really thankful to be consistently employed with them. I think they're a wonderful business.

And because of kind of me having this platform on social media, Ratatouille kind of in a weird way, bolstered that even more because people kind of recognize me from something too, if they hadn't seen me in a show before. And now I like I'm reached out to by all of these online virtual classes or programs. And I'm teaching my own, you know, students through Broadway Plus and Artists and Beyond. There's all of these platforms through the pandemic that have come about that you can coach one on one virtually. I'm teaching master classes every single week of my own choreography or choreography that I've learned in New York and different Broadway shows. I'm literally teaching a Ratatouille tap workshop tomorrow. Like, yeah, there's always something every week that I'm doing. And it literally fills me with so much joy. And I'm working with students all over the world. Like literally, I taught a class this...

[28:57] JJ Niemann: What's the best and the worst of being a teacher? Oh, the best part, I mean, connecting with students and that just brings me so much joy. And the worst part, I mean, honestly, I don't really have a worst part of teaching in general. It takes a lot of energy for sure, but I think the hardest thing is doing online. It's sometimes with a dance class, it's just like you need to be with people in a dance studio being like hyping each other up and being like, yes, yes. And it is really hard to give specific dance corrections and adjustments over Zoom. It's just not the same thing. So that has been an adjustment. And there's like I said, there's pros and cons to it. Awesome. I ought to move on into JJ as the content creator. So when the pandemic hit, you basically moved a little bit into content creation over social media. What's your creative process?

[30:29] JJ Niemann: My creative process is sometimes improv. Honestly, I keep a notes app on my phone of all of the ideas because sometimes you will wake up at like 6 a.m. to go to the bathroom. You're like, wait, I have this amazing idea where like I had a dream about this and I didn't need to write it down. And I think all artists are like that in some way. And so, yeah, I mean, that's kind of to be honest, I was making videos when I was really young, like literally when I was in like fifth grade and I started YouTube channels. They were really crunchy videos, but I was making them. I was just like my sisters would buy me wigs and we would play dress up all the time and they would buy me wigs so that I could make my videos and I would just make random skits and really silly things.

And I stopped doing it kind of my junior year of high school because I just thought it was cringy. I was getting cyber bullied a little bit like people do. The Internet can be brutal. And I was just not prepared for it. I was so closeted. I was at a private Christian high school. I was like, let me just take a step back. And I got really busy. And when you're in college, musical theater, mama, you have no time. So I really was like, just I didn't have time anymore, but I forgot how much I loved it. And I had learned all those editing skills and everything back then. And so once this pandemic happened and I started seeing TikTok and what the platform was, and I was like, this is really fun and really funny.

And it just kind of like blossomed into like, I realized how much of a theater community there was on there. And I was like, maybe I should just start making videos and like, see what happens. Like I found my old wigs in my closet when I was cleaning out my room. I was back in my childhood bedroom. I was like, what's the worst thing that could happen? And then it kind of just slowly turned into what it is now. And yeah, I mean, it really started taking off when I started doing those Broadway mic on off videos, those POV Broadway actor videos back in like August or September of last year.

[32:34] JJ Niemann: And I love them. They're so funny. Like, I mean, I love your dancing videos, but your Broadway POV videos are just hilarious. Thank you. I think a lot of people also relate to them because it kind of like, it peels back the curtain a little bit of the elusive elite to like Broadway. And it's like, no, we're a bunch of goofballs or at least like the good ones are. Some people take themselves too seriously, but I don't have time for that. And I like to have fun and kiki and like how, you know, also for anyone who's done one show, even in their life at a school, you can still relate to that feeling of being backstage or on stage and like the kind of chaos that ensues. So I love making those. I love them. Um, tricky question. Do you follow trends or start new ones?

[33:33] JJ Niemann: Because you just said that with Ratatouille, you saw the trend starting and you jumped on it. Oh, fully, fully. I think you need to kind of continue using the app and watching things to keep up with it because sometimes like something like a trend happens and you see it and you're like, wait, I know the perfect thing to do to this and to put a spin on it. That makes it, I think that's the important thing. If you're only following trends and not putting your own uniqueness and spin on it, your video will not do well. I mean, maybe, maybe it will cause it's a fluke, but in my experience, the things that do well are when you put your own creative, unique spin on it, that's kind of a twist and people are like, oh my God, that's brilliant.

Um, and so sometimes those things are hard to come by, but just continue brainstorming and just putting it out there. Um, but yeah, I think with, with some of the things I do start the trends and the Broadway POV videos, I think I was the first person to really do anything like that.

[34:31] JJ Niemann: Awesome. So for you, what is creativity and how do you boost it and more in the, in the pandemic craziness in which like we felt that creativity has been cut short? Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of people like myself, like went through some, you know, depressing times and, uh, it still is hard. Like there are some really hard days where you're just like, what am I doing? Like, where's my industry? And also why are people going to thousands of people are going to stadiums to watch football with no masks on, but I can't freaking do what I do for a living. And it's just as like, the support for the arts has kind of been like a little non-existent when in a time where everyone is turning to artists, that's all we're doing is watching things and listening to music.

And anyway, I can go on about that. I don't need to, cause I know you get it. And everyone listening probably gets it too. Um, but creativity, I mean, it's different for everyone. And I think, um, you, I mean, for me, creativity is like creating things out of joy. You can also create things out of hardship too, and out of pain. That's also where we get like Adele and her albums, you know, like a lot of the great musicians, their, their creativity comes out of pain too. So in a pandemic in really hard times, it's forcing us to look elsewhere or create our own joy, create our own, you know, create what that is for ourselves. Um, and I think, you know, uh, trying to, uh, hold yourself back or hide your light under a bushel because you're worried about it being cringy, or you're worried about someone not thinking it's funny or not good enough is the antithesis of what you should be doing.

Because I spent so much of my life doing that and trying to cultivate an image for myself of like, this is who I am and like, okay, well, I might be gay, but I'm not super, I'm not super feminine. Or I might be like, I might like theater, but I don't want to be too outward liking theater because I don't want people to think I'm a nerd or a geek for liking that. No mama, no, cut that out. And I've been trying to teach myself that because the more that I put myself out there, I'm seeing that people respond well to authenticity and to what you think is funny and what you, what brings you joy. And you don't need to worry about the people who don't get it or the people who won't like it or won't think it's funny.

There are a lot of people who won't understand my theater content and won't think it's funny. And that's not my business because it's not for them. Then they just won't follow me and it's fine. But there are a lot of people who will really, and we'll think it's funny. So don't bog yourself down and let the, let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And don't let, um, that fear prevent you from creating something and putting yourself out there because you never know what's going to happen and who's going to see it and respond to it.

[37:28] JJ Niemann: I love it. That's the best advice. That was my next question. My next question. And you just answered it. So what's coming next for you as a creator? Well, um, there are some like somewhat fun things, um, in the works I actually ended up, uh, during this time through social media, uh, signing with a manager in LA. So that is really exciting that I'm working with someone who's helping me with brand content and all those things. And also starting to get me some TV and film, uh, auditions. So I would love to, you know, live in LA at some point in my life. Um, I got a choreography gig this summer, so I'm going to be choreographing my first full musical, um, in Montana. So, uh, that's exciting as well.

Um, and yeah, I'm kind of just continuing to put myself out there and see what kind of happens, um, and continuing doing my teaching. Uh, I really would love to be back in New York though, and, and kind of in, in a studio creating again with people. So I'm excited at least this summer that I'm going to get four or five weeks of getting to teach and choreograph and safely be with other humans. Um, yeah, I'm really excited for that.

[38:38] Martín Acuña: I love it. I love it. And I'm, I'm a bit envious about it because you're, I mean, you're, you have a lot of jobs and you have a lot of work in front of you. So that's great. And I love it. Um, thank you. So before we go, where can people find you find more about you, look at your content or book a class or just get in touch with you?

[39:05] JJ Niemann: Totally. Um, well, yeah, so my social media is at JJ Neiman N I E M A N N. Um, that's my, uh, Tik TOK and Instagram on my link tree on those, uh, socials. You can find the links to book one-on-one sessions or coachings with me. And I'm pretty good at posting on my Instagram stories whenever I'm doing, uh, masterclasses or workshops. Um, and then, yeah, you can, uh, find my website is my name as well. JJ Neiman.com. And you can contact me on a form there. If you are interested in anything or just want some advice, um, I'm always available and I try to be good about responding to DMS and responding to questions. So yeah, that's that. I love it.

[39:47] Martín Acuña: Okay. Surprise questions before we go. Okay. Okay. First one. Ballet tap or jazz?

[39:56] JJ Niemann: Jazz.

[39:57] Martín Acuña: Okay. Yeah, of course. Jazz with JJ. Um, Stephen Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber?

[40:11] JJ Niemann: You can say neither.

[40:14] JJ Niemann: God, am I going to get butchered if I say neither? I know people are obsessed with both of them and I just am not, I am like, give me a newsies, give me hairspray. I am not like Sondheim's musicals are a little too patter song, singer, actor, storyteller for me, but I would have to say Sondheim. I do prefer his works better probably. So you're more a contemporary guy than a classic guy.

[40:37] JJ Niemann: I am. That is true. Yeah. And, and Andrew Lloyd Webber has some weird things out there. I'm sorry. He did cats. So I can't say Andrew Lloyd Webber. My friend is wacky. He's a genius, but a wacky genius. I agree with you. I totally agree. Okay. Last question. Top five favorite musical theater shows.

[40:57] JJ Niemann: Ooh, top five. Okay. I have to say Hairspray is my favorite. Newsies is, is one of the ones I saw that was like, I saw it. I was like, I have to do musical theater. Hamilton, I think is a perfect show. It's a masterpiece. Oh gosh. I try to not go towards like the heavy ones. I just like, I don't know. I'm an escapist kind of person. But I love, I really loved the prom and the prom movie. So I would say that even though it has its flaws, love that. And in the Heights, in the Heights for sure. I cannot wait for the movie. Oh my God. It is such an underrated musical. It is so good. I love it. I love it. And I'm really excited about the movie coming on June this year. So yeah, I cried watching the trailer. So I was like, game over, game over.

[42:28] JJ Niemann: Same. And what I love is that like the original Broadway cast recording has the traditional, traditional quote unquote, um, Broadway sound with hip hop and loud music. But on the trailers, you can listen to like a revamped pop sound of the, of the, of the, um, of the score. And I like it. It's like, this is going to be a hit.

[42:47] JJ Niemann: Oh, I'm excited. People are also like, so many people do not know the show well, just because like it was on Broadway like nine years ago or so. Um, and it was before Lin-Manuel had the name he has now. So I think people are going to be so shook and not know what to expect. And I'm so excited.

[43:07] Martín Acuña: Yeah, I love it. Well, JJ, thank you so much for being here. It's been a pleasure.

[43:12] JJ Niemann: Thank you so much for having me and for some wonderful questions. You are so sweet. And, um, this has been such a blast. See ya.

[43:22] Martín Acuña: Thanks everyone for listening to this new episode of Backstage Talk. Remember to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Backstage Talk Podcast.