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[0:00] Anna Altide: Hey, listeners. Just wanted to share a quick thanks to our Patreon members, who help us bring to you podcast episodes like the one you're about to listen to right now. You can join supporters like Kat Hicks, Linda Lee, Phoebe Stewart, Christian Ranke, and Emily Chen for between $5 and $20 a month. Find out how at patreon.com slash theensemblist.

[0:25] Anna Altide: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Anna Altide.

[0:46] Anna Altide: Over the years, The Ensemblist has had the sublime opportunity to speak with four performers from a variety of Hamilton companies, each with their own unique memories and takeaways from the experience. First up, an interview with cast member Antuan Magic Raimone. For nearly four years, Antuan has been a universal swing in four different companies, requiring him to embody an astounding 16 male ensemble tracks. Read by our own Jackson Klein, here is Antuan's take on the unpredictability, challenges, and rewards of covering so many tracks.

[1:33] Jackson Klein: Hamilton's Secret Weapon by Angela Tricarico. A unique feature of the ensembles each company of Hamilton employs is the presence of a universal swing. For almost four years, Antuan Magic Raimone has been one of these. He's responsible for knowing and being able to jump into 16 male ensemble tracks across four companies at any given moment. The companies range from the Broadway company in New York to various tour stops across the country, including the Chicago sit-down before that was converted into the third national tour. There are a lot of moving parts that come with the job of being a universal swing. For starters, it's one of the more unpredictable roles to be in. Raimone says that company management tries to give him a 24-hour notice before he has to jump in with a new company.

[2:22] Antuan Magic Raimone: The shortest notice I've been given was about 32 hours. I once got a text on a Thursday night that I'd have to fly out that Saturday morning.

[2:31] Jackson Klein: Raimone says that he's lucky enough to have the kind of mind that retains incredibly detailed information quickly, and that he's able to call upon it without difficulty. He doesn't have a written or digital paper trail with detailed breakdowns for all his tracks, but refers to archival company footage when he needs to refresh. Other times he'll simply ask another ensemble member questions if he has them.

[2:53] Jackson Klein: The ensemble tracks Raimone covers vary by production, and he noted that joining his third company in January 2020 challenged what he was already used to in terms of the ensemble tracks he plays. He had settled into a comfortable routine, with the knowledge that jumping into either the New York or Chicago productions wouldn't be an issue because the tracks were nearly identical. Upon joining the Angelica tour, that sense of predictability and assuredness was shattered. Some of his tracks were swapped for others, and he could no longer rely on the muscle memory of the tracks he'd been performing for over three years.

[3:28] Antuan Magic Raimone: It's an extraordinary challenge to fight my physical instincts to go where I'd known to go while being present in the story and with everyone else on stage. Even the backstage traffic can be different than what I'd ever done with props in places I'd never known, costume changes in different places to accommodate a traveling production, and with faces I don't know. I was given rehearsal time, but any performer knows that what happens on stage is so different than a rehearsal room.

[3:57] Jackson Klein: To prepare for joining a new company or performing a track, Raimone's first priority is to have all of the information he needs in order to do his job to the best of his ability and feel safe while doing it. This includes watching performances, rehearsing with dance partners and company dance captains, and shadowing company members backstage to understand flow of traffic offstage. He says that once all of that happens, everything else falls into place.

[4:24] Jackson Klein: After four years of universal swinging, Raimone says that one of the biggest challenges has been having to spend significant time away from home. It's something he's used to as a veteran performer who's taken jobs all over the country, but since joining Hamilton, he moved into a new apartment. He estimates he hasn't spent a full year in it since moving in 2017. The company Raimone is performing with determines his living situation. While performing with the Chicago company, he was put up in a furnished apartment. However, on tour, he's often staying in hotels. As someone who can be called upon to leave or travel to another company at any given moment, renting an Airbnb like other touring company members do isn't the best option for him financially.

[5:07] Antuan Magic Raimone: I'm a nester, so being comfortable in a space is how I find peace at the end of the day. When I'm on the road and living in hotel rooms for weeks at a time, I don't have that same sense of peace.

[5:22] Jackson Klein: Despite the challenges, being a universal swing has developed more of an understanding of himself and an appreciation for being in his own company.

[5:31] Antuan Magic Raimone: Whether it's the first time or the sixth, each time I go to a company, there can be new people I've never met before. Each cast will have its own dynamic, both on and off stage, and it takes time to find how I fit into that dynamic.

[5:46] Jackson Klein: Raimone says that being a part of Hamilton, specifically in the universal role, has led to other opportunities, including becoming a TEDx speaker and focusing on being able to champion light, love, and joy for other people outside of performing. Even with the difficulty and unpredictability of the job, Raimone has taken advantage of all it's had to offer, personally and professionally.

[6:10] Antuan Magic Raimone: Being with this show has a way of elevating what you can do in your life. I've been able to create things that I had never imagined.

[6:20] Jackson Klein: Thanks, Antuan. In the case of landing a coveted ensemble role in Hamilton, many performers are no stranger in having to wait for it. In her own words, Alexia Sky takes us along her audition journey, from her first Equity Chorus call, to Hamilton Boot Camp, to finally landing a role in the show.

[6:42] Alexia Sky: This is my very first dual, they don't exactly cover this subject in boarding school. Did your friends attempt to negotiate a peace? I recently found a journal entry from just after my first audition for Hamilton. I was fairly new to New York and had never been to an Equity Chorus call before. I was not part of the union and had heard what an ordeal the day can be for non-union dancers. Since all Equity dancers must be seen before non-union performers, dancers who aren't in the union begin lining up to sign up hours before the actual call starts. I arrived around 8am and fortunately had a friend that signed me in. There were what seemed like hundreds of dancers on that list, but he had placed my name there so I was in the 70s. Sitting in the waiting room, watching Equity member roll in hour after hour, a lot of doubt started to creep into my mind.

I wondered if I would ever get the chance to audition that day. However, I was determined. I was willing to wait for it. At 6pm, casting announced they only had time to see the first 20 people on the non-Equity list. As I left the waiting room without getting the chance to audition, I felt discouraged and frustrated. Months later, I got the chance to audition again through an agency call. Luckily, this meant that I knew I'd get the chance to be seen by the creative team. From that audition, I was called back twice for the show, but wasn't offered a role. It wasn't until a year later I was called in again, which led me to join a Hamilton boot camp. Like a few other Broadway musicals with multiple companies, the Hamilton creative team offers some auditioners the chance to participate in a boot camp.

This extended audition is a week of learning and performing material from the show. My opportunity to attend boot camp was at the same time as I was performing in On Your Feet on Broadway. It was an exhausting but exciting time, and I could taste the sweet victory of my next journey. However, boot camp ended and I did not hear anything at all from the Hamilton team. Shortly after, On Your Feet closed, and I was back in the audition rooms. I had an opportunity to work in some pre-pros for an upcoming project with a creative team member from Hamilton. This is where my lesson of time, patience, trust, and hard work truly set in. I was asked back into the room where it happens, to audition for Hamilton.

This time, I was offered a role in the show. Yes, that audition that changed my life, but it happened in part because of all the work I had put in over months and years beforehand. Now that I'm performing in Hamilton, one of my favorite lyrics I hear every day is, I'm not standing still, I am lying in wait. Just as Bird tells the audience, I've found that the journey is just as important as the destination. Soak it in, be present, be grateful. Opportunity is all around. Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now. Look around, look around.

[9:50] Anna Altide: Thank you, Alexia. Coming up, Rebecca Covington Webber recalls her unique opportunity to perform alongside husband Donald Webber Jr. in the show's touring production. In her own words, here is Rebecca's perspective on going from supportive spouse to fellow castmate.

[10:07] Rebecca Covington Webber: Donald and I met while doing a reading of Motown the Musical in 2011 and then we both made our Broadway debuts when the show opened in 2013. We started dating later that year and got married in 2015. When we were building Motown we weren't dating so it was a very different experience for the two of us. Working together this time feels like a dream because we've spent a lot of time apart due to our work schedules. So to be together at work and at home is such a blessing. I also get to now watch Donald's work process which I find to be extremely inspiring as a fellow artist and, well, hot as his wife. We also get to support each other at work, set boundaries for work, set boundaries for home, and actively decide when work is work and when fun is fun.

It's truly an exciting added dimension to our marriage. Going from a Hamilton in-law to a Hamilton cast member has been such a seamless transition. So many of the Broadway cast members reached out right away. For me personally it was such a trip to be on the other side of the turntable. I had seen the show so many times so it was almost surreal to start to dig my artistic self into the material. What has been most surprising is feeling like I knew the show so well from seeing it multiple times to learning it now and realizing what an onion of a show it is. It has so many layers and nuances that I never saw or heard as an audience member. And let's keep it real, there's nothing easy about walking off that turntable while it's moving.

I most definitely look nuts every time I do it and I'm really hoping that that improves as we do it more often. Most of all, I'm excited and thankful for this new adventure with this show and my incredible husband.

[12:16] Anna Altide: Thanks Rebecca. In our final story, ensemblist Kim Taylor shares her journey of embracing her unexpected pregnancy only seven months into fulfilling her lifelong Broadway dream. Once again, in her own words, Kim candidly details the rewarding experience of balancing both motherhood and performing.

[12:43] Kim Taylor Cox: Life throws you some amazing curveballs. I feel very grateful to be able to continue to live my dream as a dancer on Broadway as well as be a mom to a gorgeous little girl, Matilda. It is not often that family can blossom with a performing career but I'm happy I get to experience it all. I am an Australian who had been living in Los Angeles for four years with my lovely husband. I had submerged myself in the non-union regional theatre world out there and I loved the experiences and shows I got to be involved in, mostly. I did meet some of the most supportive people in these shows who helped me further my career in many ways but it's almost impossible to survive on non-union wages. Performers are a resilient and hard-working breed.

We do whatever jobs we can to continue working for our dream. The day I got the phone call from my agent about Hamilton, I was just about to walk into my waitressing job at Islands, a very unglamorous burger joint. I had auditioned for the first national tour of Hamilton in Los Angeles. After being on hold for three months, my agent finally called and told me, you didn't get the tour. Well crap, I thought to myself, all that waiting and hoping for nothing. No, my agent said, they want you to replace someone on Broadway. I was dumbfounded. That option was nowhere on my radar. Tears streamed down my face. I was going to get to live my dream.

[14:21] Kim Taylor Cox: The next couple of months were crazy. We moved our lives to New York, well my husband was bi-coastal, but packing your life into two and a half suitcases for an unknown time frame can be daunting. After the next few weeks, life came pretty fast as I dove into rehearsals for this mammoth show. Hamilton pushed me both physically and mentally. I second-guessed myself each day, but I had to get on that stage to prove to myself I was meant to be there. Finally, the day arrived. This Aussie made her Broadway debut as the Woman 2 ensemble track in Hamilton. It was the most exhilarating, nerve-wracking, exhausting and fulfilling experience of my life so far. Little did I know what lay ahead. I had been living my life in the show for about seven months.

Just to throw a spinner in the works, my husband and I found out that we were unexpectedly expecting. My initial reaction was probably not the most endearing. I mean, I was shocked and upset. I wasn't prepared for this part of life to open up to me just yet. I had just reached my dream job and I still wanted to live it. I hated the thought that this may be it for me, that I may not be given an opportunity to come back to the show after giving birth, and I didn't know if I would physically be able to.

[15:49] Kim Taylor Cox: I left the show at five months pregnant. I couldn't have pushed my body any further. I felt like Superwoman to have made it that long in such a physically demanding show. Crazy to think that my little girl was growing in my belly and getting her own Broadway debut listening to the songs of Hamilton. Our baby Matilda was born three and a half weeks early, healthy, happy and beautiful. We became parents, the actual most exhilarating, nerve-wracking, exhausting and fulfilling experience of our lives. The Hamilton company and cast were more supportive than I could have ever hoped for. They showered us with love throughout the pregnancy and birth of Matilda. In addition, they ensured me that my track in the show was waiting for me when I was ready to return.

I found the transition to motherhood very difficult. It is a whole other foreign world that you really don't understand until you become a parent. It has definitely made me appreciate all the parents out there and so admire parents in this crazy industry. The lifestyle of a performer usually involves many late nights. We are expected to be free at a drop of a hat for an audition or rehearsal or class or gig. It's a forever changing, busy, selfish lifestyle and the introduction of a baby completely turns it upside down. You now have someone who completely and utterly depends on you. Someone that you want to be able to give your all to in every moment you get to spend together.

[17:22] Kim Taylor Cox: I'm just newly back in the show and I can already tell there are going to be many ups and downs in the coming months and years. Whether it's juggling schedules, babysitters and feeling that mother's guilt from not always being there. But as a performer I feel like I need both a career and a family to be the best mum I can be. It feels exhilarating to be back in the cast of Hamilton. I was nervous for the few rush-up rehearsals I had but being back on the stage feels like I am where I'm meant to be. Like I never left and that I have an old piece of me back again. However with parenthood and a Broadway schedule comes a whole new level of exhaustion. The lack of sleep, breastfeeding and getting my body back into show shape is definitely waning on me.

But being able to continue working on Broadway and raising a gorgeous girl is more than I could ever have hoped for. I could not be doing this without the support of my husband who is the best dad Matilda could ask for. As a performer you have that one goal you always hope to reach. It's a little ambitious and a distant possibility but we always like to think that it may happen one day. For me that goal was Broadway. I still thank my lucky stars. Somehow they all aligned and I get to perform in one of the most influential musicals of all time with the added miracle of a gorgeous girl and family to share it with.

[18:48] ♪ Musical number: "Someday" — performed by Kim Taylor Cox ♪

[19:05] Anna Altide: Special thanks extend to performers Antuan Magic Raimone, Alexia Sky, Rebecca Covington Webber, and Kim Taylor for recalling their experiences with us. The ensemble was produced today by Mo Brady, Jackson Klein, and me, Anna Altide. There are two great ways you can help The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. The other is by becoming a Patreon member which you can do at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow us wherever you listen to podcasts whether that be on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or at our home on Broadway Podcast Network at bpn.fm. You can also follow us on Instagram where we share all of our latest episodes. Stay safe and thanks for listening. Until next time.