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[0:06] Gordon Cox: Welcome to Stagecraft, Variety's Theater Podcast, bringing you backstage and behind the scenes with the Broadway talent showing up on your screens during the pandemic.

[0:15] Gordon Cox: I'm your host, Gordon Cox.

[0:17] Gordon Cox: On this episode of Stagecraft, I'm talking to Teyonah Parris. The actor was in the original cast of Slave Play during its off-Broadway premiere at New York Theater Workshop, where the play picked up the acclaim and attention that propelled it to Broadway and eventually earned it 12 Tony nominations.

[0:32] Gordon Cox: But Parris didn't follow the show to Broadway. And one of the reasons why just premiered on Disney Plus last week. The summer after Slave Play's off-Broadway run, Marvel announced that Parris was joining the Marvel universe of superheroes as one of its often overlooked trailblazing characters, Monica Rambeau.

[0:49] Gordon Cox: Parris makes her debut in the role in the Marvel series WandaVision, in which she appears opposite Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany and will reprise the part in the upcoming Captain Marvel 2. Parris is in the virtual studio with me to tell us about going from an off-Broadway buzzmagnet to one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood.

[1:07] Gordon Cox: Hey Teyonah, thanks for joining me.

[1:10] Teyonah Parris: Hi Gordon, thanks for having me.

[1:31] Gordon Cox: I just wonder if you could tell me a little bit about when you first started doing theater, when you first discovered it.

[1:38] Teyonah Parris: Theater is most definitely my creative outlet was the drama club.

[1:49] Gordon Cox: So what part of the country was that?

[1:52] Teyonah Parris: Yeah, I'm like in the country. Um not like the US country, but like the country, the south, uh Hopkins, South Carolina, is where I grew up. And um, and so uh, you know, it's like sports, or you're the theater kids, or or like um, you know, cheerleading and dance and things, and I kind of did actually a lot of everything. Um, I played softball, cheerleading for a bit, and then with drama club, that sort of became the thing that I just stuck with. I really enjoyed it. It was fun. We were, you know, making sets and um directing each other, making costumes. It was just fun. That was my cup of tea, and that's really where I got started in sixth grade uh drama class.

[2:42] Gordon Cox: Do you remember at what point you decided to uh try to pursue it professionally to like go to school for it and go for it?

[2:49] Teyonah Parris: Yeah, I remember going, you know, so I I was in drama class, drama club all the way through um from sixth grade to 10th grade, and in my 10th grade year, um my mom actually heard she was eavesdropping really, um, and heard a teacher and another parent talking about a school uh for the arts, and it was called the South Carolina Governor School for the Arts and Humanities. And so she started doing her little research, and then she was like, I heard about this school, you need to go, it's for acting, and the school actually is for um acting, creative writing, um musicians, ballet, and uh vocal arts, and so it was this amazing program that actually was still a public school so it was free to go but you know you had to pay for like um like your meal plan thing or or in housing I think some version of that but I had a scholarship so well yeah so I kind of jumped my own story I got in and then um got a scholarship and I was able to do my last two years of high school at this art school it was a boarding school so I lived there and did everything and so there is where I kind of figured out oh there's a craft to acting and that's where I deepened my understanding of the craft of it all and you know drama club is fun you just have to get it done the end result is the main thing what do the parents and faculty and friends see when it's up on the stage at this drama school um at the governor school um it became more about the process and um what it takes what it takes to get to the end result.

[4:47] Teyonah Parris: So that's where it started becoming um more serious I guess to me and from there um obviously you know you want to audition for the big schools and Juilliard was always on my radar since I was a little girl when my dad who was a huge fan of Robin Williams was like well Robin Williams went to Juilliard so if you want to be an actor not that my dad sounds anything like that but that's how my impression of him right now is he's like, if you want to be an actor, then I guess you better go there. So that was like a nine years old. Fast forward to the governor school. It's time for graduation and auditioning. And I I applied to 15 liberal arts schools and five conservatory schools for acting. I was like, no matter what, I am going to college.

I hope I can go for acting, but I better try. My uh guidance counselor was sick of me. Let me tell you. Um, so yeah, so I auditioned, I got into a couple of the liberal arts schools, and as far as the drama schools, Juilliard was the only one that took me. So I was really blessed in that way.

[6:00] Gordon Cox: Right. And so, as then you were starting to uh begin your career. How did you think about theater factoring into uh your work going forward? Because you're obviously also exploring, you know, lots of film and TV opportunities at the time, also.

[6:16] Teyonah Parris: Right. Um, when I by the time I graduated from Juilliard, film and TV was still this big mystery, this thing we've never really gotten to do, never really understood. And so I was really excited and drawn to the idea of exploring film and television. I've always wanted to maintain my relationship with the theater because it is so gratifying and you use such different muscles. And I do think I waited too long, if I'm honest, um, between graduating, between going being on stage. From when I graduated, I did a play right out of school called Free Man of Color with Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def, Nicole Beharie, and some other amazing actors. And then there was a I don't know, eight, seven year span before I got back on the stage.

And I think that it's too long. I would not do it that way again. Um, I think that muscle has to be used more regularly. Um, so just trying to figure out that process. Um, oof, that was rough. That was rough. But that actually leads me exactly into my next question, which was what the that experience was for you coming back to the stage for Slave Play, which is a you know, massive and sort of harrowing role. Um, how did you get involved with that? And what was that like for you after you'd spent so much time uh you know working in one medium or two other mediums and then uh coming back to this thing that you'd done so often before?

[7:50] Teyonah Parris: When I read the script for Slave Play, I was I couldn't believe it. Um I was like, what is this? Who wrote this? Oh my gosh, I need to be a part of this. Um, it's just so smart and it's so fresh. And I loved how um how Jeremy, the playwright was dealing with what it means and what it a different view, a different take on what it means to be black in a white space, particularly when you choose as a black person to be in a um to share space with a uh white body in in this kind in this um instance is because they're in a relationship. The play dealt with interracial relationships between black people and white people, um, and what that um experience can be for some and the trauma of our history as black Americans and what that brings into each relationship, right?

So reading it, I'm like, oh my gosh, he is crazy, he is crazy. Who is this guy? And then you meet Jeremy. I don't know if you've ever seen him or spoken to him, but he is a whole character in and of himself. I love him. Um, and so I auditioned like everybody else, you know, in the waiting room, like, oh my gosh, it was crazy. And um, and then I got it. And working with Robert was really a treat because I was a fan of his yeah, as a director, Robert O'Hara, yeah. Yeah, director Robert O'Hara. And um, I remember seeing Barbecue, we played Barbecue. I love that play. But um, obviously, he his work dates back before then. And um, so yeah, so I I wanted to be a part of this project. And then once you get into the specifics of what it took to bring actually bring Kenisha to life, it was very difficult, you know.

It was really for me, my personal experiences, obviously, Kanisha, if you've read the play, she's in a very fraught, delicate and also a bit volatile emotional space, trying to figure out who she is in this moment as she loves this man who is her husband, this white man, and this relationship, like just trying to like not midlife crisis, but it is a bit of a life crisis, a self-identity crisis, um, in a sense. And so when you choose as an actor to step into that mental psyche eight times a week, rain, sleep, snow, or shine, it is um it is a commitment, and I forgot what that can physically and mentally do to my instrument and to me as the human being who is I have to use my body as a vessel to tell Kenesha's story, and so there was that level of it.

Then there was the level of um trekking downtown. It's a New York City downtown theater, and it's cold, and I'm on the train, and you forget how the elements affect your your throat, your voice and your mind, and now my throat, my my nose is running, and I I you it was it's the thing you love, but I have waited so long to keep doing it to do it again that I I guess I got a little spoiled, you know, on film and television, you you drive, you go to the stage, you have a dressing room, an own private dressing room, and I and it was really those very technical things of having to re figure out like how do I stay grounded when I don't have full access to my instrument, like my voice is gone, I am sick.

[12:05] Teyonah Parris: If I take an ad bill, how like it literally would affect the performance, like, um, you know, the lights start doing a thing, and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm overheating, and you're thinking of all of these things, and still trying to tell the story, and that is what theater is like that. Like, there is no fucking cut, you have to figure it out in real time. How do I calibrate my instrument so that I can tell this woman's story? And I'd forgotten all of it. So it was a whole learning process to get back on, just to be back on a stage, and then couple that with the emotional intensity of Kanisha's individual story and that of the entire play. I really set myself up. And then on top of that, there was a, you know, a lot of opinions on the play, and you know, people really loved it or they really hated it.

And so I was being attacked online for things that I'm like, this is art, this is this woman's story. It is not fair, but I didn't even have the energy to engage with it. Like, you have to figure out how to keep moving forward. So there was a lot going on. There was a lot going on.

[13:23] Gordon Cox: Yeah, and at the same time, there was all the sort of in addition to the people, you know, who hated it, there were all the people who loved it, and all the people that are sort of industry was so excited. And that was, uh, what was your experience of that, like, you know, that time off Broadway as like everyone is starting to come see it and all the, like, you know, folks are like thinking about it going to Broadway and stuff. Did you, was there ever a time when you would have been able to go to Broadway with it? Was that something you wanted to do?

[13:50] Teyonah Parris: Um, they definitely, I mean, when we were in it, that was not the conversation again. Gordon, I was hanging on by, I was trying to get the story told with everything I had. Like by the time the curtain dropped on the last extension date, I hit the floor when we went backstage. There, no, I'm not even joking. I was crying full of tears. Like it took, it pushed me so far beyond what I knew I was even capable of. And you know, like we were backstage and my castmates are like we all huddled together and they're rubbing me and like we had to lift me up so we could go take our final bow but my body just was like, oh my God, oh my God because you're carrying Kenisha's weight. You're, I'm carrying my own personal weight of everything.

So, and you know, she, that character Kenisha really is like the metronome throughout the entire, she's like a slow, it's all bubbling and boiling for her throughout the whole thing and then it all, you know, kind of explodes for her. But, um, as far as Broadway, that came up later way after we had wrapped, um, as far as I can remember and by that time I was already committed to, um, to join Marvel.

[15:16] Teyonah Parris: So, you know, but my girlfriend Jakina, who I also went to school with, uh, she killed it in the Broadway. And she's also nominated for a Tony, a couple of them, so I'm really excited for them and yes, couldn't went to a better woman.

[15:36] Gordon Cox: I'll have more with Teyonah right after the break and now here's more with Teyonah Parris.

[15:48] Gordon Cox: Let's talk a little bit about Marvel and, uh, the what's coming up for you there. Um, when you're, I was curious, just first of all, when you were first auditioning or being considered, um, because it's such a franchise thing and so many characters end up showing up in multiple properties. Were you auditioning for the project WandaVision? Were you auditioning for the role that you were going to play in possibly multiple things? How did that, how'd that work?

[16:13] Teyonah Parris: I mean, as far as I know, let's just say that. I was auditioning for WandaVision.

[16:19] Gordon Cox: Okay.

[16:20] Teyonah Parris: Um, I had gotten dummy sides. And if you've seen the first couple of episodes, you know, it'll make okay. So the sides that weren't actually the real sides were sides to represent some of those first couple of episodes.

[16:37] Teyonah Parris: Okay, yeah. So it was in, you know, it was the different eras and periods. And I was just like, Shauna, my agent. Didn't you say this was for Marvel? She's like, Yeah. I'm like, I don't, I don't get it. What is happening here? She's like, I don't know. But they said, um, the note to the actors is it's okay to be over the top and do too much. I'm like, I don't get it, but okay. So I turned in what I was like, I don't know what this audition is gonna look like. Good luck to me and bye a tape. See you later. I can't, I can't even, I was so confused. I was so confused. And they don't give you any context. I didn't, they're, they were, I didn't know the character, it just said like lady, like okay. Um, so that's what I did, and I sent it off.

[17:28] Teyonah Parris: And, um, and I didn't hear about anything for a while.

[17:32] Gordon Cox: Yeah, yeah.

[17:33] Teyonah Parris: And, uh, by the time this, uh, episode airs, uh, our listeners will have seen the first two episodes. So like they'll have a sense of kind of what the tonal, like what, as you know, committed to secrecy as Marvel is, we can safely say that WandaVision is like a massive tonal shift for, uh, Marvel project. Like it's completely, uh, out of left field, uh, and, uh, looks super fun.

[17:57] Gordon Cox: Um, but I, and one thing that is clear from watching that first batch of episodes that I that I've been able to see was that like you guys seem to be having a really great time with it. Is that true? Like the cast just seem to be really enjoying getting into these like different eras. Um, is that, was that true for you?

[18:14] Teyonah Parris: Yeah, I loved it. And, and honestly, I mean, we had a lot of fun on that set. Lizzie and Paul, they are such great leaders, you know. Like this is their baby, their time to, um, I was really excited that WandaVision would have this space and opportunity, uh, or Lizzie and Paul would have the space and opportunity to really deepen WandaVision's relationship, and we get to see more of them. And just as human beings, they were just really nice and great leaders of the pack, you know. Like this is you, the people who are leading the show, they matter, like their attitudes, their personalities, and they were fun.

[18:56] Teyonah Parris: And so we really did have a great time. I mean, everything that could go wrong probably went wrong in trying to shoot this thing, and so it was like, okay, let's keep good spirits.

[19:10] Gordon Cox: Or what kind of, how well, I mean, I didn't, the pandemic happen at some point while you were shooting, but that would be one of them.

[19:17] Teyonah Parris: There, that's number five hundred and sixty-three. No, that's number one. But then I, I mean, I don't know. I guess it's just like it's Marvel's first time doing, um, Marvel Studios first time doing a sitcom, a show.

[19:35] Teyonah Parris: It's sitcom, right? And so I've always said like it did feel like we were making multiple movies. It didn't really feel like a show, per se. And so I think just logistically, there were things that it's also fucking epic, you know, it's like all so big. Like I don't know exactly how to put that so much as yeah, it was like it was a lot. And then we finally got to, okay, we fit like even like the weather, like there's supposed to be sunshine and clear skies, right? Or at least not rainy skies.

[20:13] Teyonah Parris: Like the last month in Atlanta was all rain, cold, freezing. Like I think we even might have had snow at one point. So we could not shoot, like you can't shoot, you can't fake sun and or not. You know, that's one thing movie magic can't really do. So it would just be like, all right, when are we gonna shoot? So then finally we finish in Atlanta. It's like, all right, we got a couple weeks' break and we're off to LA to finish maybe a month and we're done. Not happening because here comes coronavirus.

[20:49] Teyonah Parris: So it just became like, oh my gosh, are we ever going to finish? I really want people to see this, and um, so even with all that, I'm, I'm excited that um it's finally here. We did finish, and um, I'm proud of the work we did.

[21:09] Gordon Cox: Yeah. Did it's, it seemed one of the things that seemed like a lot of fun for you guys is the ability, because you guys changed sort of acting styles as the kind of, uh, style of each individual episode sort of shifts, right? Because like, you know, a person's acting style in like a 50s sitcom is totally different from a 70s or an 80s or a 90s. Was that fun for you guys to play with? Did you guys do, did you do research for that? Did you, you know, watch them all classes?

[21:35] Teyonah Parris: Absolutely. Yeah. Yes, we definitely had to shift with each era. Um, and we actually had a, um, sitcom boot camp with Matt Shachman, our director, where we watched a bunch of um, sitcoms. And like you said, it is, it is a difference. Like in the 50s, okay, you have a live audience, so that's a whole other character you add. When you move into like the 70s, you add a laugh track, or it might have come before then, but the element of a laugh track.

[22:09] Teyonah Parris: Oh, okay, so you say this thing and then you kind of have to take some space to let the laugh track do its thing and, and things like that and just physically how the, um, how the performance changes as the decades change as well. Um, is really fun to play with. It was really fun to play with.

[22:42] Gordon Cox: Do you have any connections to shoot superheroes? Or did it seem like a fun, a fun acting gig? Um, what was your connection to superheroes before all this?

[22:52] Teyonah Parris: Um, I have always wanted to be a superhero since I was little, just period point blank. Um, who doesn't want to fly and stuff? I did. The I was definitely like also just into characters that kick ass. So like the Ninja Turtles, that was my shit. That was my sheets. I had some draws, like, could not tell me I was not a ninja turtle. Um, I think I might even had a lunch box. Yeah. So I've always loved that kind of world about it, uh, that world. And then like in college is when Iron Man dropped. And I was obsessed. And then I that's where I became more specific of I want to be a Marvel superhero. Like I have said that for years. Um, so yeah, I mean, it's always been a thing, and I'm really excited to join the MCU as not just anybody, like Monica Rambo is legend in these streets in these comic book streets.

[23:56] Gordon Cox: Yeah, tell me, tell me about because she's one of the characters that I feel like either like the general population, like maybe doesn't know who she is. Like you either don't know who she is or you're kind of obsessed with her because she's super awesome. Um tell me a little bit about uh kind of when you learned about her and her history and what sort of research you did.

[24:14] Teyonah Parris: Yeah, so Monica Rambo, I learned about her specifically uh some years back on Twitter, because fans started fan casting me as her. And they would tag me in it. Yeah. This was at least six years ago, maybe a little longer now. And so I was like, well, who is Monica Rambo? Because y'all are really excited about this. So I looked her up and I'm like, oh wow, she's pretty cool. Just a real brief, like, let me just see what she looks like, what she did. Okay. And um, I was like, well, that's thanks, guys, but probably will never happen, you know, not gonna happen. Um, and that was my brief introduction to her until um then Captain Marvel came, MCU's Captain Marvel, and they had her as a little girl.

And then once I booked it, I was like, oh, oh, okay. Okay, so yeah, Monica Rambo in the comics actually was um the first female to lead the Avengers and first black female as well. Um maybe only black female. Uh let me not say that. I don't, yeah, I'm not sure either, but I guess it's I'm not sure. I'm gonna say first, but I know she is the first female to lead the Avengers, and um we'll have to check on the other thing. Yeah, we'll fact check that. Um, but yes, and so she's had a long history with um different characters in the um in the comics, and like for decades really, she's been around. And so when I started doing research, I was like, okay, well, where do I even start? So I started at the beginning, um, where her origin story is in Amazing Spider-Man.

If you want to check that out. Um, and so I just really had fun just learning about who she is and for this specific for this particular role for um what in WandaVision, I was like, okay, she has so much source material um where where do I start and how much do I need in order to tell this story so I'm still making my way through the comics you know she's been ultimate avengers the ultimates next wave like she's got a life in many places um and so it became okay what can I use right now and then having watched uh Kira Akbar's performance in Captain Marvel what can I pull from what she did uh with Monica as a young woman and even those relationships that um that my young Monica has with her mom Maria and um Carol Danvers Captain Marvel so it was just sort of trying to source it all together see put it in a place see what I could use now what I didn't need at this moment and then also talking to Matt and Jack and Mary Lavanos um about what what else do I not see that you know you guys might have been privy to that I need to maybe start incorporating in um and trying to craft who this woman is so that was a really fun process or is still going you know I mean yeah so and it's we already know that you're uh gonna be playing Monica in Captain Marvel too which is is that what you're working on right now?

[26:13] Teyonah Parris: No I am in Atlanta filming They Clone Tyrone with John Boyega and Jamie Foxx, um, a film directed by Juel Taylor. So it's really cool and exciting. Um it's like sci-fi meets Get Out sort of thing. Um it's pretty fun. It's pretty crazy. Um, so that's what I'm in Atlanta working on, but Captain Marvel 2 has been confirmed. Um, and so yeah, we'll see when that happens.

[28:26] Gordon Cox: Yeah. When one of the things that I always occurs to me is people get involved in something like Marvel, which is this like it's this amazing acting gig, but it also can be sort of a massive commitment in terms of like you're not just signing on for one thing, you're signing on for uh in many cases a lot of things, and that will um while great opportunities can sort of limit your um kind of freedom to for instance be in another play, like if it's like you know, conflicts with a shooting schedule. Was there any trepidation on your part um on that level as you were getting into this?

[28:59] Teyonah Parris: No, not at all. Um, I mean, maybe it's because I like I said, I've always wanted to be a Marvel superhero. Um, but I do love the other work that I've been able to do. And I I don't know, maybe you know, I know you're supposed to sign on for a long time, but I'm trying to think like I don't that wasn't really I don't know that it's really like it's not like they said, okay, you're gonna be doing this, this, and this, and this. And so I was like, had an even a moment to think about it. I signed up for WandaVision, and then you know there's the opportunity for it to maybe go further, but it was no real, I mean, I don't want to say this if it's not true, because maybe I was just like, yeah, I'll do it, but I'm I don't recall it being like, this is 15 years of your life, you know what to do.

So beware. It wasn't that sort of thing. It was like I wanted to do it. I understand how it works. Like I see that people who are in it can be here for a minute, but um, yeah, I don't know. I've I've I have time. I've already we're in it. I'm I have time to do other things. I'm doing this this movie. Um coronavirus hadn't happened, I would have had time to do something else. But um, yeah, I guess we'll see. I guess we'll see.

[30:13] Gordon Cox: Yeah, so you're working on uh this film now and you've got Captain Marvel 2 coming up. Is there anything else on your plate that we should know about?

[30:20] Teyonah Parris: Um, at some point, I think um Candyman might come out, maybe one day. Yeah, and that um that was pretty cool working with Yaya and um Nia DaCosta, who will also be working. I will also be working with her in Captain Marvel 2. She will be directing that. So um that's something that's coming out. Other than that, I don't know. I think that's it.

[30:48] Gordon Cox: When you said you wanted to try and get back to the stage more regularly. What do you what's the what's a good time? How how long can you do you want to go before you're uh you're back on stage?

[31:00] Teyonah Parris: Okay, so I finished Slave Play in I think 2018, which at this point that's like two and a half years ago, I think, which is crazy to me. So I had said like hopefully like every three years I could get back to the stage, but in general, we've all lost a year, right? So this time it might be like four, but um, you know, we'll see. We'll see. Um it has to be the right thing.

[31:34] Gordon Cox: Yeah, that was gonna be my next question, actually. Is what was the nice thing? Are you a new play person? Are you are there a sort of classic roles that you're interested in playing?

[31:42] Teyonah Parris: I mean the last the one I just did was a new play. I'm open. I mean, I like getting to know um new writers, and I um, you know, uh that process of um workshopping a play and being a part of creating who this character will be. I really do enjoy that. Um, so I'm I'm totally open to that possibility. And then I mean, as far as like something classic, there's there's beauty in that as well. I mean, I haven't really thought about if I wanted to be a classic or a a new work. Um, I think I'm open. I think I'm open. It just when you read it, how it strikes you. And again, can I do this mentally and emotionally for six months, a year, whatever it is, um, eight times a week.

[32:39] Gordon Cox: Um, well, we look forward to whatever it is that brings you uh back to the stage when we can all uh safely gather in a room together and uh we're very much looking forward to uh seeing how WandaVision plays out because just the first batch of episodes is wacky and I have no idea where it's going. I can't wait.

[32:56] Teyonah Parris: Thank you.

[32:59] Gordon Cox: Yeah, thanks so much, yeah. It was great to talk to you.

[33:01] Teyonah Parris: Same. Thank you, Gordon.

[33:06] Gordon Cox: That was Teyonah Parris, now appearing in WandaVision on Disney Plus. If you like what you're hearing on this and other episodes of Stagecraft, I'd really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. It really helps us grow our audience of folks who love theater just as much as you and I do. Or tell a friend. You can find past episodes of Stagecraft or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and on all the other pod places, including Spotify and on the Broadway Podcast Network, which is another great place to find more theater for your ears. I'll be back in two weeks with another new episode. Until then, find me on Twitter at GCoxVariety. Thanks for listening and see you soon.