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[0:00] Joshua Kobak: Sensor, stage manager. We need you on stage tonight. Go to dressing room 1 for costumes and lights.

[0:10] Katy Pfaffl: Super Swing Swing.

[0:18] Joshua Kobak: If you can understand me speaking now, as well as anyone can in real life, you've set a good volume. Thank you for riding with Rialto.

[0:26] Joshua Kobak: Super Swing Swing.

[0:31] Joshua Kobak: Hey, be advised, sounds are coming from all around.

[0:36] Joshua Kobak: Super Swing Swing.

[0:41] Joshua Kobak: There you are. Welcome to Rialto. Follow me, the show's about to start.

[0:47] Joshua Kobak: Keep your headphones on for the most immersive experience.

[0:50] Joshua Kobak: Super Swing Swing in the South.

[0:56] Katy Pfaffl: Hi, I'm your host Katy Pfaffl.

[0:58] Joshua Kobak: And I'm your co-host, Joshua Kobak.

[1:00] Katy Pfaffl: We're grateful that you're here with us to learn more about what makes a swing super.

[1:05] Joshua Kobak: So, we're very, very excited to be here with, would you like to tell us your name?

[1:10] Nicole Benoit: Nicole Benoit.

[1:11] Katy Pfaffl: And Nicole, can you tell us what you are currently doing as a super swing right now?

[1:16] Nicole Benoit: Yes, so I am currently the vacation swing for Chicago musical. But as many folks who are in the industry know, vacation swings are essentially being used a lot like an ever-present extra person. Someone on call. All the time, all the time. So, I'm quite frequently going into Chicago at the Ambassador Theater.

[1:40] Joshua Kobak: So wait, is that, are you contracted as a vacation swing? So it just happens whenever you call?

[1:43] Nicole Benoit: Yep. Could be day of, could be day before. You just kind of never know.

[1:48] Joshua Kobak: So they might be calling in a few minutes?

[1:51] Nicole Benoit: I was actually wondering if it would happen this weekend, truly. And I was like, at least we have this between us.

[1:57] Katy Pfaffl: Right, right, right. No, well so, and this is not a new gig for you, correct?

[2:02] Nicole Benoit: No, it's not.

[2:03] Katy Pfaffl: Yeah, so tell us how long you've been working with Chicago.

[2:07] Nicole Benoit: Yeah, so Chicago has been a part of my life where I've, we often say we're part of the Chicago family. It's been on and off for 13 years.

[2:14] Katy Pfaffl: Wow.

[2:17] Nicole Benoit: So since 2012 was the first time that I was cast with the company. And I was doing everything international and national for a long, long time. And then the pandemic hit and obviously there were a lot of shifts. And I was brought in almost a month after everything opened.

[2:37] Katy Pfaffl: Okay.

[2:39] Nicole Benoit: It was October of 21. And I have been in and out of the building ever since.

[2:45] Joshua Kobak: Wow. Well, so you've really seen the change and the dynamic of, as my students say, BC before COVID.

[2:53] Nicole Benoit: Yes.

[2:54] Joshua Kobak: It was a different world for swings.

[2:55] Nicole Benoit: Totally.

[2:56] Joshua Kobak: And for vacation swings. And now the climate is they need coverage.

[2:59] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[3:00] Joshua Kobak: Because people are still getting sick all the time.

[3:02] Nicole Benoit: All the time.

[3:03] Joshua Kobak: Yeah. Or injured or all the things, right?

[3:05] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[3:06] Katy Pfaffl: I have so many questions for you as far as like 13 years spanning one show.

[3:10] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[3:11] Katy Pfaffl: So how, over that time, how many different tracks have you done?

[3:14] Nicole Benoit: I started out as Roxy.

[3:15] Joshua Kobak: Okay.

[3:16] Nicole Benoit: As Roxy.

[3:17] Joshua Kobak: As Roxy.

[3:18] Nicole Benoit: Yep. And that was going around the great seas of the Caribbean ocean. So that was back when they had just put Chicago onto the cruise ship.

[3:25] Joshua Kobak: Oh, okay.

[3:26] Nicole Benoit: At the time it was the largest cruise ship in the world.

[3:28] Joshua Kobak: Which cruise line?

[3:29] Nicole Benoit: And this was Royal Caribbean.

[3:31] Joshua Kobak: Okay.

[3:32] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. So they had that contract for a number of years and they would have the auditions here at the time I was on equity. So I was like, oh my gosh, I am getting to work with the actual Broadway company for this.

[3:42] Joshua Kobak: Right.

[3:43] Nicole Benoit: And that, you know, created this like now 13-year relationship with the casting director for Chicago. I went in as everything was a surprise, which is a 13-year, I guess, mantra. Motif with the shows. Like everything's a surprise. It feels like all the time, but I went in as just regular ensemble audition.

[4:04] Katy Pfaffl: Yeah.

[4:05] Nicole Benoit: And I kept getting called back for Velma. And then I got my contract or my offer letter as Roxy and I, I just want to make sure that you're correct. I never read for this.

[4:15] Joshua Kobak: Thank you.

[4:19] Nicole Benoit: I'm ready to sign on the dotted line, but I want to make sure you didn't like flip flop it.

[4:24] Joshua Kobak: Right.

[4:25] Nicole Benoit: So that's how it all started. So I started as Roxy. Then I joined the national tour, which for me, I joined it when they were going to Tokyo. And so that at that time I was cast as Kitty, which is always a split swing track and then covering Roxy.

[4:45] Nicole Benoit: So this is where it all really started to develop. So Kitty typically swings in when there's like almost an entire cut show. So it's like, you're just there edging towards a cut show. And she comes in and does the cell block tango when one of the gals is out and then goes and does the rest of the show as Kitty. So I was kind of dabbling in Chicago as a split swing since then.

[5:12] Joshua Kobak: So that's.

[5:14] Nicole Benoit: 15 or so. And then the following year, I assumed the role of, was still covering Roxy. So somewhere, Phil was just like a poof in the past, I guess. And then when everything reopened after the pandemic, I was asked to come in to do Liz, which is a track that I had covered just sublet tango, but I had never physically done. I had four days to put it together.

[5:39] Nicole Benoit: And as everyone knows during the pandemic, no one was performing really. So I was like, is this. Can I actually do this show? I did. I did Liz. And I did it. I did Liz during the pandemic and everything. So I was like this. Okay. Hoping a prayer.

[5:57] Joshua Kobak: Right.

[5:58] Nicole Benoit: It's so strange to just step in. So, so at that point then I did Liz. And then it was just the steam roll of COVID and people obviously being in and out and making sure that they were out for the correct amount of time. And it was within not even four months that I'd done almost every track. At this point I've done all the tracks, even the last cover version of the tracks that I do. I've done those multiple times and we're just, we're still going.

[6:27] Katy Pfaffl: Well, and so does it feel like breathing? After 13 years.

[6:31] Nicole Benoit: It's such a great question. I have never gotten sick of this show.

[6:35] Katy Pfaffl: That's amazing.

[6:36] Nicole Benoit: I think there's, there's something. And I've had plenty of time sitting on the side of the stage and we sit in these aisles during the performance and we watch the interactions between the leads during scenes.

[6:48] Joshua Kobak: You sit in the aisles?

[6:49] Nicole Benoit: Let me clarify for our audience. So Chicago is unique in that we have our orchestra on stage. Clearly visible, clearly in element. Their bandstand is, you know, where we get to pop out in the middle of performances, do announcements or big entrances. It's part of the razzle dazzle of the show. And there's space on either side of the stage. So imagine the bandstand is like a postage stamp in the middle of the stage, kind of set back. And then you have these two, what we call aisles. So it's our entrances, almost like wings that go from backstage to the stage. Each side is aligned with chairs that become our props in certain scenes.

[7:29] Nicole Benoit: And when we're not on stage, so I'd say 90% of the show, most everyone is on the stage at the same time, regardless of whether you're in the scene.

[7:37] Joshua Kobak: Oh wow.

[7:38] Nicole Benoit: So that's a fun element. But when we're saying coming down the aisles, that's, that's what I meant. You're actually sitting in these chairs that are visible to the audience and you may or may not be on. If you're not on, can you, you can sit in them and still watch the show and study?

[7:55] Joshua Kobak: It's part of the walking.

[7:56] Nicole Benoit: Are you in character?

[7:57] Joshua Kobak: How cool.

[7:58] Nicole Benoit: While you're sitting there? So you're still in character?

[7:59] Nicole Benoit: So yes, yes. And no. Since most ensemble in the production doesn't have a name that's prominent as a through line, we get to be these just like amoebic versions of cool people on looking, but we're still in the essence of the show, you know, can't get like, you know, sit back and, you know, like, you know, just like flip through your phone or whatever, you know, you can't check out. And while we're not supposed to draw attention, there has to be this unusual magnetic tension that still needs to exist, even when we're sitting in our alleys.

[8:36] Joshua Kobak: That's at the core of each one of you, that danger.

[8:39] Nicole Benoit: So that presence has to be there without drawing attention. There is thoughtfulness in how we are there, even if we're just sort of lurking in the corner.

[8:50] Joshua Kobak: So you played all of the people sitting in all of these different spaces on the stage. So musical chairs. When you get called in last minute, do you still have that anxiety of like, Oh God, who am I? Like, what is this?

[9:00] Nicole Benoit: Yes. Yes. You know, there is something after doing the show for so long, I've never gotten bored of it. And it's it definitely is part of the core of my body, the fiber of my body now. So yeah, I, I understand it from this sort of like helicopter level, even if I don't know exactly what numbers I'm on, exactly who my partner is going to be for a particular number. Ahead of time, there's something that's like, okay, I know that my body will engage enough to go to the general vicinity. And I don't have to think about that. It's just fine tuning like beforehand. So there, there are, if I haven't done a particular track in a while, I'm like, Ooh, I don't remember which chair I'm sitting in. I need to figure that out.

And I'll just, you know, show up with love like I'm like, am I here or am I here? I don't, you know, you know, so it's, the nervousness is almost more about the things that the audience wouldn't pay attention to as much less about like the big prominent things, which feels kind of paradoxical. Right.

[10:02] Nicole Benoit: I feel very confident going in for cell block tango and doing whatever monologue, like that just feels like that's always in me, no matter who it is.

[10:11] Joshua Kobak: Cause you've really learned to be able to do lines, to be able to sing solos, all that stuff.

[10:18] Nicole Benoit: Yes. Solo dance moments. You have to know that. Yes. Right. Yeah. That's, that's a different type of practice. That makes a lot of sense.

[10:23] Joshua Kobak: That theater. So the Ambassador Theater is one of the smaller theaters for Broadway, which means that the stage is also small. So the things that can be nerve wracking as a swing is really the traffic in and out of numbers. Cause you, you know where you're going with your person, you know, once you've reviewed your notes, hopefully your notes are correct and up to date. It's, it's the things that happen out of that, that can get chaotic and can be dangerous, especially if you have chairs that people are sitting on.

[10:54] Nicole Benoit: Right.

[10:57] Joshua Kobak: Right. Right. Those things I get a little more nervous about and I get apologetic about especially, you know, if I nudge into someone, I'm like, Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I was definitely, I was supposed to be on stage. Once we get back to our seats, I'm like, Hey, sorry about that.

[11:18] Nicole Benoit: You still do that.

[11:19] Joshua Kobak: So good on the audio engineers that are muting your mics.

[11:24] Nicole Benoit: I mean, that show has been running for so long. Although we did recently when I went in, something happened. This is probably the most chaotic day I've ever had.

[11:36] Joshua Kobak: The ambassador is a swing. Tell us.

[11:38] Nicole Benoit: I think they just forgot who I was and I might as well have forgotten who I was as well. Cause it was last minute changes. I was not contracted to come on for a particular role for that weekend. And lo and behold, people went down during the first show back of this short term fill. And they're like, um, so we need you to be this and this, which was neither of the tracks I was supposed to do.

[12:04] Joshua Kobak: Oh my gosh.

[12:04] Nicole Benoit: So I think that that may or may not have been communicated to the sound engineer. So unfortunately I was the first person to go up Liz who is pop and self octane girl. She's the first to go up and my mic was not at all.

[12:20] Joshua Kobak: That is the only time I've ever had, you know, some sort of not so well-oiled show for that.

[12:26] Nicole Benoit: How quick were they in the cover? Did they get it quick? Or was it like enough time to be uncomfortable?

[12:29] Nicole Benoit: It was enough to, I mean, when you're speaking in a musical, on a Broadway stage with the band behind you, you have like, I mean, they're bowling over with that in the best way possible. But I, if I recall, I was trying to speak over it. I was like, now I'm going to play. But I think I got halfway through the monologue, which for me feels like an eternity. Of course. Yeah. Again, thank God it's a smaller theater is so, I mean, it was to my benefit. It was probably at least like 10 seconds. It felt like I got through a solid half of that monologue before I finally forward myself back.

[13:12] Joshua Kobak: Who is she? We're freaking you out.

[13:17] Nicole Benoit: No one can help you at that point. You're like, excuse me. I am. I was also in the wrong costume for that role. So that probably also threw me off. And when I say it was circusy, like this whole, that whole weekend was just wild.

[13:30] Joshua Kobak: Were you doing that all weekend? Just jumping into people that you were not supposed to be?

[13:35] Nicole Benoit: In the wrong costumes too? In the wrong costumes. Well, so this, I ended up shifting into the split swing.

[13:43] Joshua Kobak: Oh gosh.

[13:46] Nicole Benoit: So I was, yeah.

[13:49] Joshua Kobak: They're so lucky to have you that you can do that because you've been there for so long, because the typical vacation swing isn't going to know all those jobs to be able to do that. That's really.

[14:09] Nicole Benoit: So at this point it's seven. How do you manage these last minute situations?

[14:15] Nicole Benoit: I will say I Chicago, I feel like when it comes to swinging, you cover fewer tracks than I think a lot of other Broadway shows. I know of many swings. And I mean, you, you could tell me this, how many covers? The most I ever did was 10. The most, the most I've been like before both hands. Well, that was nine ensemble one lead. Okay. And then the other shows that I was a swing was four ensemble and two leads.

[14:40] Joshua Kobak: Okay. So not too bad. Not too bad. Yeah. I mean like what, when you start getting into those double digits, I mean even, even just seven, I don't think.

[14:49] Nicole Benoit: But it's wild. With Chicago, luckily, because it has had such a legacy. And because, God bless her, you know, American King is no longer around, it is pretty dang set in stone. So there's not that many surprises where you come in, you're like, oh, that's brand new. That has happened. Here's a quick story regarding that. We had a refresher, like, maybe like six months ago. Gary Criss. Love him. Absolutely incredible. He came in and we've had a lot of turnover in the company, obviously over the course of its iconic 28-year run, but especially since COVID. So certain things have had to shift for all the partnering that we do. I was contracted at the time and it overlapped with this rehearsal with Gary.

And so we made some adjustments and I was able to, in real time, adjust them in my swing booklets. So I have seven different little mini booklets. Like they almost look like mini binders and they have a different color. So if I'm really in a rush, I'm like, okay, purple is Kitty. Pink is Liz. Cause she's popped with bubble gum. You know, it's like, I can just go for, I'm very, very color conscious. You know, that helps me a lot.

[16:06] Katy Pfaffl: Are these in your dressing room or at home?

[16:10] Nicole Benoit: So I learned the hard way. I need to keep them at the theater. Has there been a time where you had to call it?

[16:18] Nicole Benoit: Yes. So that story happened also recently. I have a full-time day job and I was at my desk and it's like, this is one of the shortest turnarounds I've ever had. I got this call at about three o'clock on like a Monday. And I'm at my desk. I'm normally at my desk until between six and 7 PM. And it's like, it's 911 Nicole, are you available tonight? And I love the show. Of course. So I'm like, Ooh, perform tonight. You know, great. It's a track that I have done many, many times. I was like, okay, if it's going to be any track that I have to just like dart into, at least it's this one. And I realized I don't have any of my notes with me because they're all, all my binders are at home. So I keep some written notes on my phone, not all of them, but those are not updated regularly.

And I have from the scratch tape, I have some videos that I can refer to. They may or may not be up to date, but at least I can be like, okay, she goes stage left for this and dungeon when she's doing architecture, when she's doing domestic, she's doing like all these things. I'm like, okay, these are all terms for very specific sections. I'm like, okay. Stage right, stage left, upstaged on the stage, mid scene. So I just watched the videos and I realized I didn't have any makeup with me either. None. So I was like, and it's not at the show and it's not at the show. Okay.

[17:39] Katy Pfaffl: Yeah. You don't have your own station there.

[17:43] Nicole Benoit: I don't have my own station. Right. Yeah. So as a vacation swing, yeah. Yeah. I'm just, where do you go just in whoever's not there? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Tiny theater, tiny stage, tiny backstage. Everything is just tiny, tiny and mighty. And so I ordered makeup online for pickup at Ulta on the way. And I show up, I put the costume on and I asked a couple of questions that I need to, I say, I need to meet this person is from this person for the list that we have just to review them, make sure that we're good. And then we went on stage. So no notes, no makeup. And I still showed up at two hours later, for half hour, that was a little insane. Yeah. But there's something that is the adrenaline rush.

[18:29] Katy Pfaffl: Yeah. Right. You're like, yeah, for sure.

[18:36] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. There is an adrenaline rush with that. Oh my gosh. And so when you were doing the lifts, did, is that like at seven 30 at so it, for us, it's that you just musicians call stage. Yeah. So it's like five minutes before the show.

[18:47] Katy Pfaffl: Yeah. Explain that. There's different call times for different things.

[18:52] Nicole Benoit: So typically when is fight called usually, or, or certain choreographs, it's different in every show, but it's, it's, you know, it's usually before the house opens. Yeah. So musicians call because musicians are on stage for the whole show. They, we have a musician's call to head to the stage. They're welcome to Rob. So we have a drop main curtain that is in front of them. So that they can be on stage if they need to, you know, but still not be visible. So that means you can get up into the space you need to be in rehearse.

[19:21] Katy Pfaffl: Yes. Just rehearse or do you talk them through, uh, you know, depends on the person.

[19:27] Nicole Benoit: If it's someone who's been there for quite some time, it's easier for me to say, Hey, do you want to go over this? How you doing? Because during the time that as vacation swing, I don't know if I'll be back at the theater in three weeks, three months. Especially with a long running show, you know, you have people that have been there for many, many years and you sustain injuries over the course of that time. So I will check in, especially with people that I know very well. And I've developed a relationship with, I'll be like, do you want to do this? And they're like, Oh, can we do plan B my shoulders hurting a little bit? So we have all these alternate versions as well. And it's easier to speak through that.

Sometimes we don't need to run it, but in general, if it's someone that I really have not done either that track with or they're just brand new, then I'll be like, can I just take two seconds? I mean, yeah, but that doesn't mean things can't go wrong. Right. You know? Sure. Anytime your feet come off the ground.

[20:24] Katy Pfaffl: Yeah. Whether, even if it's a jump, something can go wrong.

[20:30] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. So musicians calls about five minutes before, and then we have our places call after that. So it's really just like a two or three minute window to get all those lists.

[20:43] Katy Pfaffl: Yeah. Cause it's such a dance heavy show. Do you get to go up on the stage and stretch before the show?

[20:48] Nicole Benoit: So before, before the main comes in. Yeah. Nice. Cause that's probably the only space in the theater to do it. Right. Correct. Yeah. Most Broadway stages are like that. No space backstage. Yeah. So otherwise, if you haven't warmed up on stage beforehand, then you'll see people just lined up in those, those alleys.

[21:05] Katy Pfaffl: Oh, okay. Messing around, sitting on chairs and using it to stretch, you know?

[21:10] Nicole Benoit: That's also where if I'm going in rather last minute, I will try to pick up a chair. So each, each woman in the cell block tango has a different way that they lift their chair and then set up for their shenanigans to go into, you know, this whole tango part. Right. But you don't get to turn around and prep your chair, you know, right before you go. It's just like know where your hands have to go, go and lift and run. So I will oftentimes also use it for just putting hands on props if I need to, which is challenging in a small space, you know, but did you learn that the hard way in Chicago, the chairs, the notepads and pens by far and away, the notepads and pens are the most unruly, you know, inanimate objects that we could have.

[22:01] Nicole Benoit: I mean, yeah, I mean, just a pen on a stage and we're like going up and down. So we're lifting very quickly these pens to like pose a question and then go immediately down into these notebooks and you get caught on one random thing. There it goes. Goodbye. I've gotten it stuck in someone's hair before. Like it's just, but it is also so, so funny because this all happens in both reach for the gun. So it's this very staccato, right? They're coming from, and you're doing motions that pause for just like a freeze, you know, a second. So if something goes wrong, you better just hold it. And it's typically in the dead space that you hear the, or it's like, if it's just there in the middle of the stage, you know, you're like, that's where it is.

Yeah. That's where it is. But someone's got to get it. We're moving so much that, you know, you'll see someone just like dip down and pick it up. And then, you know, someone will tap them on a shoulder. They're like, Oh, that must be yours. You know? So, I mean, it's a community effort for sure.

[23:12] Katy Pfaffl: Um, yeah, but that's something to look out for too. Cause it's dangerous. Cause yet again, they're black. Why is everything?

[23:18] Nicole Benoit: Well, you know, that's one of the things I love about being in a show and I don't think we talk about that enough is that while you are on stage and you're going through this experience, you are also clocking all of these things all the time. Every single cast member on stage is clocking that. Like everybody knows that pen fell. So everybody's going, who's closest to it? Can I get it? How do I get it back? Everybody's heads are going while they're performing. And that's like one of the amazing things I think about being performers is that you can have that awareness, but also still be in the moment. I think that's one of the most beautiful things that people who aren't in theater might not know is happening every time you see a Broadway show, any show, any time.

That's also one of the really awesome things about being a performer and being on stage with each other is cultivating, you know, having each other's back and trusting people. It's just really a good thing to point out.

[24:09] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. Well, I mean, that happens with injury too. When I was in War Horse, we had during one of the most scary scenes in our whole show where there's like a huge horse puppet that's like fighting a tank, right? And so people are puppeting a tank, people are puppeting this horse puppet, galloping around. There's people who are puppeting barbed wire. The whole stage is revolving. Everything is going on. There's like 30 people on stage. There's flashing, there's gunfire. And one of our swings had a stroke and he was a very, very tall, big dude who just went down. Nobody knew he went down and he was in the midst of all of that. I have like goosebumps. Big dude from the crew saw and came and grabbed him and like pulled him on stage. Right. So that he wouldn't get trampled. And then like one by one, everybody sort of clued into what was going on and people were checking in and just, you know, trying to do what they could. Right. Because the show was going on.

[25:15] Katy Pfaffl: Because the show was going on, right?

[25:19] Nicole Benoit: You know, and we had a couple of our cast members who stayed with him to the paramedics camp, like all this stuff. Oh, bless. He's fine now. He's fine. Great. But you know, one of those things where it's like, you can't anticipate.

[25:23] Katy Pfaffl: Well, people don't realize that this business is like, you know, not easy on your body.

[25:27] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. No, definitely not. Yeah. I mean, after all the years, do you feel Chicago in your bones?

[25:32] Nicole Benoit: Oh, yes. Yes. Oh yes. I mean, I think it's also just the nature of being a dancer. I mean, I would consider myself a triple threat, but I think that the most innocent core part of me always associates being a dancer first.

[25:49] Katy Pfaffl: Explain to us what a triple threat is and why you.

[25:55] Nicole Benoit: Oh, yeah. Yes. Yes. Okay. So triple threat within the entertainment community, or at least for musical theater, usually typically means that any musical always has three major elements, right? You have musical part of it, the music part of it, the singing. You have acting to tell a story, and then you have your dancing. And so those three are the three pillars of what we've always historically called a triple threat. And one of the things with a triple threat, a lot of times people will do all three things, but they'll be like, I'm dancing first, right? I'm a singer first, I'm an actor first. So when you're typically called a triple threat, it's that you're pretty equal at all three. And so when we think of somebody like that, it's someone who's like very, very strong across the board.

[26:50] Nicole Benoit: Where did you go? I grew up in a tiny little apple orchard town in Washington state. And did you start taking dance class when you were young? Where did you start? My journey is interesting because it's not your typical for, I guess, what you would think that people coming to Broadway and being successful. But I should say I grew up in a household of two public music educators. So music was amazing. Always, always in the household. And I started taking gymnastics as a kid, just because gymnastics, swimming as a little kid, you just, and I thought that was so much fun flying and darting around. And I had some friends that were, they were taking dance classes. And my mom was like, oh, you know, we'll put her in.

Dance was fun, I guess, but it was very recreational. And then this really tragic event happened that affected the studio. And it affected me in a way that as I see as an adult later, it has, it changed the entire trajectory of my life. And I went from doing five years of just jazz to suddenly doing like six different classes. I'm mentioning Adrienne Pratt. I would not be at Broadway without Adrienne. So she, she was at the studio and a teacher and, and she goes, I need to work with this girl. And being in a household of public teachers, they're like, we can't really afford to do all these classes. She goes, it doesn't matter to me. I will teach her personally. So she took me under her wing and really let me just push every boundary of my body and help curate my creativity through, through dance. So, didn't matter. You were 12.

[28:42] Nicole Benoit: I was 12 here. Okay. 12. So I started late at that point. I still hadn't taken a ballet class ever, ever. I started taking lyrical at 13 because we used to have lyrical classes, children to get back to, do I feel it? It's, I mean, it's 30, 30 years of nonstop wear and tear. I wouldn't give it up for the world. I will get emotional. I like I'm fighting tooth and nail. Like so many of us are to just keep that as much range because there's so much joy in that range, which is why when Broadway calls, even with two hours notice, I say yes. But I definitely am your typical dancer in this era of her life where the maintenance is a daily thing. It's one of the first things that I do in the morning is to assess how my body's doing today. Is there something that I need to modify for the track that I'm going into?

[29:36] Nicole Benoit: Pre-COVID or like pre-2010, or last century even, that things were very different.

[29:45] Joshua Kobak: Oh, yeah.

[29:46] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[29:47] Joshua Kobak: Oh, yes.

[29:48] Nicole Benoit: Well, yeah, there's a whole... If you can't come in and do the exact show, then you can't come in.

[29:52] Joshua Kobak: That's how so many of us got hurt, because there was an expectation of like, well, this is your job.

[29:57] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[29:58] Joshua Kobak: And so we don't care that your body is compromised, because you need to come in here and do the job.

[30:02] Nicole Benoit: I think it's such a different climate now.

[30:04] Joshua Kobak: Yes.

[30:05] Nicole Benoit: They can't get away with being like that anymore.

[30:06] Joshua Kobak: Correct.

[30:07] Nicole Benoit: For many reasons.

[30:08] Joshua Kobak: Thank God.

[30:09] Nicole Benoit: There's a song that I wrote a long time ago. And one of the lines is, I know how to run when my body says stop. Literally, the run stop comes from working in factories and having to push the button that says run or stop. And so that is just how I did it. I just go.

[30:23] Joshua Kobak: Well, and I think that's the wisdom of age, is it?

[30:27] Nicole Benoit: Yes.

[30:28] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[30:29] Nicole Benoit: Because we start to go like, if I do this, the consequence is then I'm out longer.

[30:33] Joshua Kobak: Right.

[30:34] Nicole Benoit: And I'm not going to be able to do the thing that I love to do for a longer amount of time.

[30:37] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[30:38] Nicole Benoit: One of the things I want to go back to is, I love that you had a teacher who took you... I'm the co-founder of a nonprofit organization called Broadway for Arts Education. One of the things we always find as we step into this community, this Broadway community, is so many of us have this story of this one teacher. The reason I play piano is my piano teacher was like, she's something. And so I went and she just taught me for free. And I went to her. While she taught other lessons, I would play piano for like six, seven hours and just practice and compete and practice and compete on her beautiful piano because I didn't even have a nice one.

[31:16] Joshua Kobak: It's incredible.

[31:17] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. And the reason I exist is that.

[31:19] Joshua Kobak: I also was playing piano as a kid. So this is wonderful to hear. I love to hear stories about teachers like that. And I just think if any teachers are listening or if any people like, that makes such a huge difference in young people's lives. That gets people on Broadway. That leads us to here.

[31:33] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. You know, so were you singing that whole time that you were dancing too?

[31:37] Joshua Kobak: Yes.

[31:38] Nicole Benoit: So I, in much, much reflection in my life, I feel like I have been a swing since I was 12 years old in my life because I get something out of this, this event just pushed me into thinking in a very, very mature philosophical way, very, very young and thinking truly about fulfilling the greatest potential that I have the ability within me that I see, but then also honoring the time that I have and honoring those that have fueled into me. I remembered really thinking a lot about shame during this time. And I remember at one point, one phrase being like, is shame worse than death for me? So I just went full blown with everything. So I was the child that walked around singing, making up songs. I wrote a lot as a kid.

I was playing piano and I was dancing as much as I could. I started assisting classes so that I could help pay for classes. I started, you know, subbing in for my brother's paper route so I could pay for classes. I started doing like pulling weeds, you know, for my piano teacher who, Diane, also a reason why I am where I am. I was doing all the things, whatever was needed, wherever it was needed. And I'm still doing that, but I'm just doing it for Broadway shows.

[33:08] Joshua Kobak: Right.

[33:09] Nicole Benoit: And there's a name for that. And there's a name. I'm just swinging everything. And so I have always been playing this crazy juggling game. When we're young, one of the beautiful things about young people is they don't, all they do is, I want to do that thing.

[33:22] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[33:23] Nicole Benoit: That looks really fun. I want to do that. And it's not about, am I going to be good at it? It's not about, are people going to like me for it? It's not even about how do I learn usually. It's like, I just want to do it. This is an interesting sort of full circle. I think about how I find myself then back as a swing on Broadway, especially with Last Minute, because with so many different characters, I have, and not the guarantee that it has to be the same every night. I get to play and I can come in for a show and sort of this, you know, like ask for forgiveness later. You know, I'm like, I'm going to give this person like a Long Island accent and just see what happens, just to see if it lands in a different way.

And also be okay with saying, oh, it didn't land or like, shoot, I totally mixed up which number I was supposed to be on. I thought I was Annie, but I was in the kiddie track. Like, you know, so it's also being curious and surrendering to, there will be things that don't land well along the way and you just keep trying to do the thing.

[34:28] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[34:29] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[34:30] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[34:31] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. And is it just sort of open-ended with you at this point?

[34:39] Joshua Kobak: Yeah. At this point, I'm the only vacation swing for the women that I have available. So stakes are high.

[34:50] Nicole Benoit: On average, how often are you going in, in a month, like?

[34:53] Joshua Kobak: You know, that, that is a great question. You're like, if only there was an on average.

[35:00] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[35:01] Joshua Kobak: If I look at my history just from 2024, I started the year right off the bat, knowing that I would go in for two weeks to fill while someone was away. And then I was gone for five days and they're like, we need you for another week. It's totally unpredictable. This past January, I told myself as an adult to go, 2025, January, it's going to be great. I know I have one weekend coming up, just four shows that I'm going to do. And then I ended up doing the entire rest of the month, you know, so I, I, I never know. And it's not like I'm sitting around doing nothing, you know, I think that that sometimes can be very lost with production companies that, you know, they have us in the back corner, but you're not just sitting around waiting for them to call. I'm not going to pay it on my days off.

[35:51] Nicole Benoit: Right.

[35:52] Joshua Kobak: Yeah. It's all a crapshoot of vacations bringing. Is it still the same way? Like if you get that call two hours before the show and you have to go in, it used to be that if you, if that even happened, they had to pay you for a whole week.

[36:07] Nicole Benoit: So this is different now. And there, there is a, a lot of feathers that are being ruffled, ruffled. And I mean, I'm ready to pluck a couple of them. You know, it's that there's a lot of swings at a recent town hall that really spoke up and saying this short term contract that was created in the era of returning to Broadway and COVID, you could be contracted for a minimum of three shows. You would still receive a full week for your health benefits, but you could come in for just three shows and only be paid for three. On one hand, it means that a swings can be utilized far, far more often for, you know, really last minute things. Like someone has a family emergency that, or, or something, who knows what they get like 24 hour flu, whatever.

Great. They have coverage for that. But there has been some unfortunate abuse where they will contract for the short term and hoping that they don't need to extend you for longer upfront. So then it becomes this like random stacking effect, which is really interesting. We just had a swing, Jordan Chin, who's in The Outsiders, who's, this is his first time swinging and this new generation advocates for themselves in such a different way.

[37:33] Joshua Kobak: Totally different.

[37:34] Nicole Benoit: And it's really beautiful how they're like, we're people. And no, you know, and it's, it's a really cool sort of, he's like, I never let anybody make me feel like I'm less than I would never allow that. And so that's how I, I negotiate myself. And I think that's like so exciting to see this new generation standing in and up against it. And I think, but that's a huge thing to say, no, yeah, we're allowed to say no.

[38:01] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[38:02] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[38:16] Joshua Kobak: You've been in this show for 13 years. There has been so many different Roxies and Velmas over those time periods, especially in Billy's like, those three roles have been rotating so many times they get, you know, they get celebrities in. So you still cover Roxy?

[38:33] Nicole Benoit: Yes, I do. So how is that? How many Roxies, I wonder, have you covered?

[38:38] Joshua Kobak: They're all so different. I mean, you have, I mean, you have the goddess herself, Charlotte D'Amboise, who's obviously been Roxy with the show for a long time. I was on tour a lot with Annie's protégé, D'Alyce, who I'm just masterclass also on stage. But then you also have like Brandy. And, you know, we have Erika Jayne that just finished her second go-around. And wasn't Pamela Anderson there too?

[38:59] Nicole Benoit: And Pam also, you know, so, but I think that this is part of why this show is just not slowing down is that it leaves room for whoever the Roxy is or whoever the Billy is, whoever the Velma is, to truly bring their own essence to it. And the narrative goes on no matter what, whether you can bevel, whether you can belt, it does not matter because the story is there. That opens up a whole new realm to how I find my Roxy. And for sure, the Roxy that I am now is way different from the Roxy of 13 years ago.

[39:43] Joshua Kobak: Oh yeah.

[39:44] Nicole Benoit: Way different. And that's been cool to be like, oh, I didn't think of that back then. I mean, how could I have? But it also, the advantage of having seen so many Roxys is that, you know, you can pick little things, you know, from each of them, but then also be like, I don't know why no one's ever done this before. You know? I'm like, oh, that's mine. I'm ready for that.

[40:04] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[40:05] Nicole Benoit: Yeah.

[40:06] Joshua Kobak: You'll appreciate this. I was asked to, as many people were for the longer running shows, after the pandemic, we came in and some of us had to re-audition.

[40:15] Nicole Benoit: Interesting.

[40:20] Joshua Kobak: Wow. Yep. Very interesting. And I, being a pianist, there's this moment that I've always had in the back of my head, but I never got to actually do it, you know, so many years ago. And I'm thinking of everyone listening, like, don't steal my trick. We're in a trademark rage right now. But historically, most of the Roxys during their monologue, they'll go up on the bandstand and take the baton from the conductor and do a little thing with the guys. You know, it's fun. It's interactive. It gives even more attention to the band that's performing right along with us. And then she goes back to doing her big old seven minute monologue. And there are two pianos right next to the conductor. And I'm like, I just, I just want to go sit down and play the piano with the pianist.

So I went in and during the monologue, just in the middle of it, I went and sat down and started playing the Roxy vamp. And then just doing my monologue, you know, and even Barry, the head honcho of them all, the Weisslers, who produced the show, even he like stood up because he couldn't see me behind the piano. He stood up and it was just like, they'd never seen it before. And I felt so satisfied, so satisfied. And then, so then I gave it back to the pianist, but it's just that little extra bit of that's a little part of me that you haven't seen. And you get to do that in something like Roxy, a little part of me that's uniquely me. How can I bring and how can I play with that a little bit more, you know?

And it's also that that monologue, it's really just about fun scheming and excitement. And that means something so different to everyone, right? And it shows up in different ways, you know, it can show up as like, you know, this, you know, like a frenzy, it could also be something more internalized that you're like, really thinking through. So there's just 1000 different ways that you could play Roxy and have that be so uniquely yours.

[42:25] Joshua Kobak: Yeah, a lot of people in a long running show will stay in a show for a couple years, yeah, as leads, you know, sometimes people will stay for longer. But a lot of times it is a rotating thing, because people want to try something new for their career. You know, so it's rare when somebody is actually with a show for a long time, as a lead as a lead. So yeah, I've actually been with this show longer than most people, you know, it is interesting to think. I have thought sometimes about how when I come in as a swing, and I might make a mistake. Not everyone is very forgiving, right? Everyone is in cast or crew or crew on stage, on stage, cast, in general, it's like, Oh, welcome back, but there's, there's always in every cast, some people that are could care less that you're there.

Or maybe not happy that you're there, you know, because that means that it's a different show. So they have to actually maybe think about the show. But it is interesting to come in and, and have this idea that an idea, but the fact that I know that I've been a part of the family longer than some of these people that are already checked out, even though they've been, maybe they've been with the company for five, six years straight now that that is definitely its own beast for sure. And that I don't know anything about, but I'm like, don't you try to come at me about anything? Because a I cover more tracks than you've ever done with the show. And I've been with this family longer, I have, I don't get to ever say that to them.

But it's like, it's that like, yeah, feeling of like, hey, I matter. I know I'm a part of this. You're welcome. You know, that is one of the, that part of the plight of a swing, because you have that, you can't kind of deliver that to the people.

[44:24] Nicole Benoit: I need to hear it because it's just going to cause more issues. So you have this like little thing and I remember like Joanna when we were talking about being a swing and being the protectors of the show, I was getting this image of a shield. But then as we continue to talk about this with a myriad of swings, that we also need shields for our own heart. Because we have to protect ourselves. People will kick you in the gut. They get the chance.

[44:51] Joshua Kobak: Yeah. I like that you're talking about protector shields because we had to see tragedies there for millions of years. And he really fought for me in terms of understanding that I am a human, which novel idea, but I'm a human coming in. So that should be considered in terms of how much time or how little time I get, what track I'm going for, how long I'm going to go on for. And I love going into that theater. So I always walk in and say, hey to everyone. Hey, you know, dressers or wardrobe. I'm always just generally perky. And I come to the top of the stairs just one time. He goes, it's not fighter pilot. I've never heard that. He goes, no, you just like there's war. Right. And you just, you swoop in when you need to. I'm like, Oh, I like that.

[45:52] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, well, I would love to ask you a question that we've asked a lot of our swings, which is if there was something that you would like to change for swings to help make the swinging experience a better experience for the generations to come, having been a swing for so long, is there anything that you can think of that you would love to kind of have change?

[46:07] Nicole Benoit: Oh my gosh. I know. Let's just go through my, through the backs of my eyelids. I guess my response would be two different parts of this. There's the culture of swinging in terms of us being a commodity is one thing, but then also how to be a great swing and how to pass that along. I did not learn in college what a swing was. And we were in school for musical theater.

[46:36] Joshua Kobak: Yeah, exactly.

[46:36] Nicole Benoit: Okay. My first gig, when I moved to New York, I was a swing. I had no clue.

[46:44] Joshua Kobak: Him too. But I mean, you didn't know what it was when you got in.

[46:50] Nicole Benoit: No, no. I had people that were like, Oh, they're probably just like, Oh, literally she's fresh off the college boat. They could probably see it in my eyes. She's, she's so, so ready, but she has no idea what she's doing. So I had people that were like, okay, I do this and I do that. So that's one side. But I think that in terms of like us as the essential workers of a show, it's also easy because we float in and out so, so quickly. So hopefully easily that there is more understanding of the toll that that takes, especially if you're covering a bunch of tracks and you're in a show where people go down often.

[47:29] Nicole Benoit: I think there was one, one time where I did five tracks in about six days.

[47:41] Joshua Kobak: Wow.

[47:41] Nicole Benoit: And that for the brain, it's not even just the body. It's, it's the mental acuity, much focus. Yeah. There's not extra like concessions for that or anything. I don't know if there's something in there to be discussed for the future. Obviously regarding how many people you cover, but how often you can go on how, how many you can do in certain days. And that, that might vary so much for person to person.

[48:13] Joshua Kobak: But I hear right. And acknowledgement that that is not normal. That is a thing. That's a thing. That's an extraordinary thing that a person is doing. And that that's not just your average person that can do that. It feels like the swing should almost be like, not, not a dance captain, but there's something that is very in tandem with having to work so closely with the dance captain and make sure that like things are precisely where they need to be. If there are small changes that happen with a regular onstage company member, that should be delivered to you in a very concise way. And there's not, there's not an infrastructure for that right now.

[48:52] Nicole Benoit: I think that's a great point, you know, when, when a show, when a show like Chicago or wicked, or, you know, I'm trying to think like something like come from away that is just lots of moving parts, lots of people, lots of very specific movement, whether it's big movement or not, it's incredibly choreographed down to the finger, you know, when, when that's not communicated, it can throw not just a wrench in that specific area, but it becomes a domino effect in a catastrophic way.

[49:27] Joshua Kobak: So for it not to be communicated when things change, um, right. Did this happen where you, something small wasn't communicated and something happened and then there was a domino effect?

[49:35] Nicole Benoit: Yes. Here's a fun story. There, there is in Razzle Dazzle, the famous song, uh, that Billy sings in the end of the second act, it's all of us doing very individual tracks and occasionally coming in for partnering and then stepping away. So it's almost sort of like, like an octopus, like, like tentacles going out and coming in and that, you know, so it's like, you don't know which arm is moving and which like, we have this particular section that involves a lift that, uh, it's two people balancing on one person and we do this big reveal.

[50:18] Nicole Benoit: So it almost looks like that, like Hindu, like, um, multi-armed thing, but then only one person is actually supporting everyone. Wow. So it's a lot of, a lot of coordination and that's, that's been in the show forever. Well, I was away and apparently because of X, Y, or Z, they were not doing that. So that meant that you have an extra body then they, they reduced it down to two people doing something entirely different. So it's like a B version that is like never done, right? Like rarely, really rarely.

[50:50] Nicole Benoit: And, uh, again, second act. So I go through the first part of the show, little things here, there, and then just in casual conversation backstage, well, you know, this, you know, they changed the monster and I said, what? Oh my God. What, what are we doing? What are we doing? Oh, we're doing, and I'm like, my swing brain went to a version from like 2016. I'm like, I'm wondering what is this? And then I saw, so I went blank. And then this, this cast member went blank. Cause she realized exactly what I was thinking that I don't know what you're supposed to do, where I'm going. Right. It's brand new.

[51:32] Nicole Benoit: So she was like, but you go, you do that. And I said, I got to go downstairs. So I went downstairs. This is like, this is Mitchell. So this, this is at intermission. We're two minutes until second act starts. Remember we sit on stage, right? So I have, I can't like just be backstage, you know, erasing things. I can't, I can't. So I go down the stairs and I find the dance captain. I was like, what's happening with monster. It's not there. What's going on.

[52:08] Nicole Benoit: So as this is happening, you can hear this heightened, um, elevated speech, not, not angry, but just like, um, okay, well we gotta do it. It's like, everything's just like suddenly like pattern and the stage manager's office is right at the base of the stairs. Um, so the stage manager pops out and he's like, Oh, do you, do you hold the chart? I think so. Yeah. So then the three of us, we go into the alley and they're like, well, it's on this timing.

[52:35] Nicole Benoit: So the entire section around it had completely changed. It wasn't just like, Oh, this person's going to be in this spot. And we just shipped you back. Oh geez. Timing that I've done for 12 years. Oh my God. We come up with a certain motion and then we wait for a certain word. Then we do this reveal. And then we all do this. None of the timing was the same at all. And like just enough, like by like two, like two beats, just enough that like, it's like rewiring the brain completely. My body does not want to do this.

[53:04] Nicole Benoit: Um, but that's what we did. So we halted the show because the vacation swing didn't have the updated notes so that we could go into our lifts after that.

[53:18] Joshua Kobak: Oh my God. Were you terrified?

[53:23] Nicole Benoit: I don't know. I, you go, you go into that and you're just like, okay, this is what it is. Okay, great, great, great. I might ask you about that later. Okay. Can you go over me here? Let me hear the rhythm one more time. Okay, great. You know? Um, so it's just like, it's just trying to sponge in as much as possible.

[53:38] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[53:38] Nicole Benoit: And while that felt somewhat terrifying, it was also the moment where the stage manager was watching me literally learn a brand new part on the spot and then be like, okay, let's go and be walking away being like, and that's why you have me. Yeah. Cause you know what? 90% of people can't do that.

[53:57] Joshua Kobak: Right. Like for real, just freak out.

[54:01] Nicole Benoit: Oh, that's a panic. So wait, how did you, and did you execute and how did you feel afterwards?

[54:07] Nicole Benoit: I felt great. Yeah. It's, it was also, this is part of the community feel right. The breathing together. So obviously it had been communicated somehow in that time while I'm on the stage that I didn't know it and that hadn't been passed down. So yet again, this infrastructure has not been built for that.

[54:21] Nicole Benoit: Um, so, so I just, it, it did feel like, and we have a couple of people that I always love dancing with them and when they're in the show and I get to partner with them, they have just a certain way of just connecting energetically and like even just sometimes just like a little press against like the side of the leg or a little like, you know, it's like the essence of being a great partner.

[54:43] Nicole Benoit: Um, and they, they were right there for that. And as soon as we got through it, then I could just release a little bit, but I don't know if you felt this in all of your, your time swinging where you get through the really hard part and then maybe yet again at the end of the, the number you're like, wait, where do I go again now?

[55:05] Nicole Benoit: I just focused so hard on that one part that now like I just brain fart where I am all of a sudden. And it's like, and you get to laugh about it now. Like I, I had, I had this, that something like that happened where I was literally on the opposite side of the stage. I walk up to this clump and everyone turns around. I was like, I'm not supposed to be here. I said, well, can't change it now.

[55:41] Joshua Kobak: Again, it's just like grace has to be abounding, you know, the show's not ruined. No, you know, I'm not. I, and I have to, I had to teach myself to not use certain words to be like, God, Nicole, like so dumb, you know, don't say, you know, no, because you're doing an extraordinary thing and you have to get, you have to, that has to be base level, which is like, I didn't die. I just did something in front of a whole stage of people who paid for this and everything's fine. Everything's fine.

[56:08] Joshua Kobak: Yeah. It's fine.

[56:08] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. And it's also the, the dance captain sometimes like this, it'll happen to him because he's been in the show for so long as well. I will sometimes have versions from years ago that this company and New York has never done. And I'll just randomly do a particular arm and I'll walk off stage and I'll be like, where'd that come from? It's like, I think that's like 2017. I was like, why did that part of me want to speak up so loudly today? You know?

[56:36] Nicole Benoit: So it's like, it's all, all the different versions in our head, but especially how we speak about those versions and how they play out in practice, definitely getting better at, can't say that I've ridded that entirely, you know, that, that negative talk or just like not being perfect, but yeah, it's important. Words carry a lot. And you're the first person to hear them coming from your own mouth or from your own mind. And they are literally programming the future for you.

[57:05] Joshua Kobak: Yeah.

[57:05] Nicole Benoit: Well, there's, they're the beginning of a story. Yeah. If you start to tell that, that story, you can tell that story real well, but maybe we don't want to tell that story, right? Because that story is not a story that's ever going to get better. It's not going to serve you. It's not going to grow anything except for more of the same.

[57:18] Joshua Kobak: Right.

[57:18] Nicole Benoit: But it's, it's those moments I think, where we have to just also realize that like, yes, you're on stage and yes, this is the thing, but we're still just like playing on stage and acting and singing and dancing. And it's like a fun thing. It's not that deep. Like life will go on. You know, you didn't like, it's okay. You'll get to do it tomorrow or tonight again.

[57:39] Joshua Kobak: It's been so fun hanging out with you. Thank you so much for doing this with us. We would love for people to know how to find you.

[57:45] Nicole Benoit: Yeah. I'm on Instagram and I have a website that, you know, if people want to chit chat, send anything to me, they can use the form there. What's your Instagram handle?

[57:56] Nicole Benoit: Nicole Benoit online. Awesome. And watch out. There might be a rebranding in the coming months. So get it on early, but you can find me Nicole Benoit online, which is also my website, Nicole Benoit online. Um, so you can investigate what I've done, but then also the opportunity to collaborate and work with me.

[58:20] Joshua Kobak: Wonderful. Well, thank you so much. This has been so great. Thank you.

[58:26] Nicole Benoit: Is there any way that people can find out when you go on?

[58:33] Nicole Benoit: No, I barely know. So I will say if you, if you follow me on Instagram, I usually try to put my guaranteed dates when they do arise. Um, that that's the easiest, fastest way for me to let the masses know.

[58:45] Joshua Kobak: Well, so we can find that out.

[58:49] Joshua Kobak: Thanks so much for staying with us all the way to the end of the episode. Make sure to tune into our next episode coming out in a few weeks. Check us out on Instagram at super swings, Broadway. And if there's any super swings out there that you think we should interview, please drop into our DMs and let us know. And we will reach out to them because we want to have as many super swings out there in the spotlight. Super swing, same in the show.