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[0:00] Mo Brady: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Mo Brady.

[0:18] Mo Brady: Watching this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was so thrilling, in part because it felt so normal. For the first time in many, many months, it felt like theater fans and our theater family got together and we all got to celebrate each other, the art form, the performances that we've been missing. It was a truly heartwarming experience for the first time in many, many months.

[0:45] Mo Brady: One of the shows that had the opportunity to perform on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was Jagged Little Pill. So this week I spoke to cast member Ezra Menas about performing on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, how they found out about the opportunity, the rehearsal and the precautions that took place, and the feeling of being back with their theater family for the first time since March. Here's our conversation.

[1:08] Mo Brady: Will you introduce yourself and tell us where you're calling from today?

[1:30] Ezra Menas: Yes, I'm Ezra, pronouns they, he, and I'm calling from Brooklyn, New York.

[1:36] Mo Brady: And we got to see you this week on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade after a long hiatus of getting to see any of our Broadway friends perform. It was such a gift. Take me back, you're sitting in your Brooklyn apartment, unemployed, and the phone rings, you get an email. What is the first inkling that you may have this opportunity? When did it come? And how did it come?

[2:01] Ezra Menas: So I was not in my Brooklyn apartment. I was actually walking to the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. On Halloween, we got an email about performing on Thanksgiving Day Parade. And I was like, the sun was shining. It was like after a long stretch of rainy days and the sun was shining. And it was like the perfect day. I don't know if you remember Halloween, like climate, but it was so nice. Whoa, I did not think it just came out of left field. You know, I was like, I did not think that this would be a thing. And I was honestly nervous. Like I felt nervous from the jump. I was like, Oh my gosh, it's been it's been so long. And what am I gonna feel when I see everyone? Am I gonna like burst into tears?

Or am I gonna, you know, like, what's the day gonna be like? And obviously with like COVID and stuff, just like being in person now we all feel kind of like hesitant to do that. So I was just really interested in like what the process was going to be. Was the email like save the date more details to come? Or was it like a full offer from the jump? I think it was like as much detail as they could provide because we needed to get testing moving and all of that and take all the necessary precautions. We had as much detail from the jump.

[3:11] Mo Brady: And what were those safety precautions prior to the day of? Was it like a quarantine? Was it just tests?

[3:17] Ezra Menas: What we did get asked to limit our exposure as much as possible. It's like not going many places not seeing people which I was already doing. So it wasn't that big of a jump for me to do that, as well as getting a mandatory test the week before. And we got temperature checks every time we went in and out of any like NBC building, like on the way to the test and at the rehearsal process as well. Whenever we left and came back, we got temperature checks, and then just obviously monitored our own symptoms. And we also stayed six feet apart, like pretty much the whole time from everyone. We wore masks and people also from like the crew and the makeup team and all of that. Everybody was like mask and face shield.

[4:07] Mo Brady: How much rehearsal because this is like a number you know, and yet it's a number you haven't done for eight months and yet it's camera blocking for like, what was the rehearsal process?

[4:16] Ezra Menas: Different. So we ended up rehearsing on Saturday, and it was from 1:30 to six. We had to pack in rehearsal for two events. So the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as well as the one night only that we're going to be doing on December 10, I believe. So it was like a lot, it was cramming a lot into one day. And because we had different size stages for each number, we had to do like different versions of certain numbers. So like what we did for the parade was like, obviously, we were down many ensemble members because of COVID regulation, they could only have so many people. So we had six ensemble members, Kay and I took on two extra eight counts. So it was not the same as the show necessarily, like we definitely had to learn four new eight counts of choreography.

And I also had like different vocal parts that I was singing. So it was kind of like a, you know, like a variation on the theme, as opposed to like, I'm doing exactly what I do in the show, which was kind of cool. And also like it did, like the parts that were the same as the show, most of us have all been performing this show together, like different variations of it for three years, over three years now. So it always feels like breathing, you know, when we come back together.

[5:32] Mo Brady: Who was helping you stage it? I mean, is it the whole original creative team? Was it associates? Like who's in the room with you?

[5:39] Ezra Menas: CD Larbi, obviously is living in a different country in Belgium. So we couldn't have Larbi, but we have the next best thing, which is Mark Kimmelman and Abby, the two dance choreographer associates, which they're both wonderful. And then we had Diane, the director with us, and Ira, our stage manager. And that was it from the creatives.

[6:01] Mo Brady: That like you said, that's a lot to pack in for a 1:30 to six, like, I'm imagining just like kind of the emotional overwhelming feeling of like, being in a rehearsal room and seeing this family that you haven't probably seen in person, at least in this big of a group. To me, that would probably take like two, three hours. Like, how much did you really get to sort of like run the thing? And how much was it just like, learning logistics of this new experience that you were gonna have?

[6:32] Ezra Menas: Yeah, we were pretty focused. I mean, when we came to rehearsal, we came to work, and we all wanted to do the thing where we were like, what's been going on with you for the last eight months? Like, for me, personally, I was sick the week before COVID hit. So I was out of the show, the Tuesday and Wednesday, I think it was a Thursday that we got told, right. So I actually didn't get to see anyone before, you know, we were like, we're done for who knows how long. Like, it was a shock to the system to be like, I really haven't seen you on I didn't really get to say like, okay, we're leaving this space. And we don't know when the next time we're going to come back together is like, because I was already home and not in the show.

So we definitely all like felt the energy of like, wanting to dive in and be like, how are you? Like, what's been going on? How what's your process been like? Are you healthy, just all those things. And we definitely got to do that on the day of the taping, because we had a morning taping and an evening taping. So the time between we had a little bit of time to catch up, which was nice.

[7:40] Mo Brady: One question more question about the Saturday rehearsal. Are you wearing masks the whole time?

[7:45] Ezra Menas: Yeah, we wore masks the entire Saturday rehearsal, we were inside. And you know, obviously, we couldn't distance six feet apart when we were rehearsing the staging. So we definitely wore masks. But we sat six feet apart during the whole music rehearsal, we were singing with the masks on. And let me tell you, there's nothing quite like doing for eight counts of like big body movements, wearing a mask, I was like, and I, I pride myself on like having a good cardiovascular system. I'm like, I work out very consistently, like I love to move. And that I was like,

[8:23] Ezra Menas: Like Kay and I, you could just see our masks like sucking in and out, in and out at the very end of the number, and we're like trying to sing and dance at the same time. It was just like, whoa, this is a lot. So I guess it was kind of like the Olympic training where they train at different elevations. It kind of felt like that. So I was like, oh, tomorrow this will feel so easy when we have no masks on. And then the next day, for people who don't kind of know where the filming took place, where did you guys film?

[8:46] Ezra Menas: So we were on 46th Street. They decorated the whole street to look very festive for Christmas and themed like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade theme. And basically, we were held in the room that morning. The room was in the Marriott Marquis. Yeah, we all had like assigned rooms that we were held in and that we rehearsed in. So we were waiting while the Hamilton cast was going on. And what was cool is we tried to keep up the spirit. I mean, this was my very first Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I was told that the spirit of like that morning when you're filming so, so early, you know, like I have a show tonight, is like cheering everyone on once they leave the set. So we were able to catch the Hamilton cast and in passing were able to like cheer them on and celebrate them for doing a great job.

And then we were able to go on. So when we went on, it was pretty much like anything that was potentially, you know, going to be hazardous, we like checked out the scene for anything potentially hazardous. There was like a little sidewalk, so we were like, okay, just watch out for that when you're like running down to do the choreography. We basically had like a very, very short spacing on set. And then as soon as we got on set, they were like, let's go. And we were told that it was going to be like, you know, they'll be taping everything pretty much as soon as we step on set. So we'll just run it and run it and run it as many times as they need. And I think we did about four or five takes full out from top to bottom just to be sure they could get all the aerial view and the different shots coming across.

And you know, the camera people are learning the spacing on set as you're right there. So it gives them an opportunity to see what different passes they can make with the cameras and what different angles they can get. So it was really, it was fast, but it was cool. It felt like when we were there, you know, Diane was talking directly to the camera crew and was like, okay, so there's gonna be this and there's gonna be this. They're so quick, you know, like they see it once and they're like, got it, we know what we're gonna do. You know, like they're used to that fast-paced life. So like four or five takes in 30 minutes in, because that's a lot also to run a number over and over when you have not been doing a show for so long.

[11:06] Ezra Menas: Absolutely. I was definitely sore like the day after rehearsal. Like we had rehearsal that day. We were obviously doing a full out because I'm like, you know, I gotta get it back in my body now because we're doing it tomorrow. So I was like, I'm sore. Nothing quite gets you sore like dancing, let me tell you. It gets all those little muscles that you're like, wow, haven't used that in a while. And definitely like being conditioned to sing and dance at the same time, you're like, I was doing this and it felt kind of, it felt hard, but it felt like more of a breeze than it did on that day for sure. So singing and dancing at the same time, yeah, I was like, let's see. I feel like it's like a five-minute number, so if we did it four times, that's 20 minutes, and we had like a little bit of time in between each take.

So yeah, probably like 30 minutes total we were out there. I mean, all concept of time was flying, to quote Alanis. There's so many moving parts and you're so overstimulated. I'm like, I've been in my Brooklyn apartment for eight months, and now I'm like thrown into the, you know, like I'm around lots of people. I'm in the middle of Midtown. It's like, it was a lot to take in. But it was, again, it's like when I'm with those people, I'm performing Alanis's stuff and Diablo's stuff, it's like it just feels like breathing because we've been doing it for so long.

[12:43] Ezra Menas: It's funny. I mean, so many phrases like we're on a pause or it's only intermission. There's so much waiting that's happening right now. That is a moment in which you, I would presume, you weren't waiting. You were just being. And like to have gone from so much waiting time to like just being so present must have been thrilling.

[12:55] Ezra Menas: It was so nice. It felt very purposeful and very intentional. And yeah, like you're saying, in this waiting period, we expend a lot of energy like on the waiting and just like wondering and the uncertainty with so many aspects of what's going on in the world and in our country right now. And so to put that energy somewhere that I feel like is empowering social change and we're delivering that message, or that's the hope, it felt meaningful and purposeful. And I mean, I would be remiss if I didn't mention getting to dance with Kay, like as two non-binary people, like being able to flow together and move together and feel each other's energy in real life, not on Zoom, and sing with people and breathe with people. I mean, that is the magic of theater, of live theater. And to be able to have that even just for two short days, you know, it felt so fast. It felt like it flew by. It was so meaningful and so powerful.

[13:36] Ezra Menas: I think in there's a moment in which you and Kay sort of like do like a back attitude and make eye contact with each other, and you are facing downstage. We see your face, I think, more than we see Kay's. And the feeling of watching you watch Kay.

[13:56] Ezra Menas: Thank you for saying that. That really means a lot because, you know, Kay and I talked about it. We had a chance to talk about it and to connect that like as two non-binary people, like we're having this moment of connection. And you know, like physical movement for the two of us is so present, like in our lives. And it's been such an active part of my life, movement and connecting through movement and feeling people's energy and radiating my own energy. And what it means, just all of those things combined. So that look was definitely not just acting. You definitely saw something that was coming from the depths of me and of us.

[14:36] Ezra Menas: I do want to ask you about putting your face on 46th Street. So in the choreography, like one of the first things you do is like this handstand, headstand, where your face gets very close to the street. I do have to say that watching it, I was like, oh my gosh, Ezra's face is on in New York City. Like what is the mental process like? How did you sort of like prepare yourself for placing your face on a New York City street?

[14:59] Ezra Menas: I'm not even gonna lie to you. I didn't even really think about it. I was just like, okay, I mean, I'm doing this for sure, no doubt. And I just did it on a carpet upstairs in the Marriott in like a conference room. Who knows what's going on in there and how many footsteps have been on that, you know? So it was like, yeah, I'm just gonna do it. And there goes my face on the ground. And I didn't really think too much about it because I was like, this is just what has to be done. It wasn't really until after where everyone, like even my stage manager reached out, was like, everyone has been so concerned specifically about your face and hands on the street. And I'm like, wow, I didn't know this would be such a topic of conversation after the fact because it was like not even a thing in the moment.

I feel like I've built up an immunity to like New York City sidewalks and streets and subway, like the actual structure of the subway. So thankfully, I didn't get any kind of illness from it. So here we are.

[16:01] Mo Brady: Well, we appreciate your bravery in sharing your art with us. Thank you.

[16:08] Mo Brady: Special thanks to Ezra Menas for sharing their story with us. The Ensemblist was produced today by Jackson Klein and me, Mo Brady. There are two great ways you can be helping The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and the second is by becoming a Patreon member, which you can do at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow The Ensemblist wherever you listen to podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at bpn.fm, the home of Broadway Podcast Network. You can also follow us on Instagram. Thanks for listening. Until next time.