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[0:20] Patrick Oliver Jones: Well, hello and welcome back to Why I'll Never Make It. I'm your host, Patrick Oliver Jones. And as I mentioned in my previous conversation with Cecy Treviño, this episode is going to be a bunch of different interviews with some of the members of Broadway Mania. That's the group that she founded in 2018 to give artists a chance to perform and hone their skills in a virtual online musical theater company. The artists you're about to hear from were actually part of a pre-show interview for Broadway Mania's holiday special, which came out right after Thanksgiving. I not only talked to Cecy, but also the director of the event as well as singers and writers of the show. And mixed in with some of these interviews, I've also included little snippets of the music from the holiday special.

Just wanted to give you a little taste of how good these singers sound. You can find a YouTube link to that video in the show notes. So without further ado, here is the virtual red carpet to the BroadwayMania's Holiday Special.

[1:35] Patrick Oliver Jones: Hello and welcome to the BroadwayMania's Holiday Special. This is the virtual red carpet where you will meet the stars of tonight's presentation. It's been just a wild and crazy year where we're all just trying to make it and get by through theater and the types of performing that we love to do, and finding a way to do that. And that's exactly what Broadway Mania has brought a way for artists to connect and for us to find a venue in order for us to do the craft and do the art that we love to do. And so let's get it started off. This is Amanda Varelakis.

[2:09] Amanda Varelakis: Hi.

[2:11] Patrick Oliver Jones: Hi.

[2:12] Amanda Varelakis: Hello.

[2:13] Patrick Oliver Jones: Hi, Patrick.

[2:14] Amanda Varelakis: How are you?

[2:15] Patrick Oliver Jones: I am good. So you're actually making your directing debut with this presentation. How does it feel to put this all together?

[2:25] Amanda Varelakis: Well, it's uh it's it's been a trip. Um, you know, I say co-director, and honestly, I feel like I feel more like an apprentice. Um, you know, Cecy is just incredible. And um, you know, since I joined Broadway Mania, honestly, it's one of the things that I've always been kind of um stunned over, is just her ability to um to produce an amazing production. So it's been an honor actually to kind of work under her and learn. And I hope I've helped a little bit. Um, but it's really exciting, actually.

[2:59] Patrick Oliver Jones: And I imagine this has been an enjoyable process for you putting all this together and working with these artists.

[3:05] Amanda Varelakis: Absolutely, absolutely. On Broadway Mania, we have uh what we refer to as BM culture, and it's just a great group of people. We're supportive of each other, uh, we cheer each other on, and you know, it's it's like a family, really.

[3:19] Patrick Oliver Jones: And by day, you are actually a licensed attorney. So have you found any similarities between the law that you practice and the theater?

[3:28] Amanda Varelakis: Guilty. Uh yeah, um, yes, you know, there's there's uh there's many similarities. I'm always asked, how did you make the jump from you know, actress, singer, dancer, performer to an attorney? And I gotta be honest with you, there's there's a lot of similarities. You have to be able to read people, you have to connect with people. I'm great in the courtroom. Um, I actually am not practicing anymore right now, actually. I'm singing. Um, but uh, you know, I kind of go back and forth in my life, and it's it's very interesting. I'm very happy to be able to do both things in my life.

[3:58] Patrick Oliver Jones: Well, this has, as I was saying, this has certainly been a wild ride for us. And so I want to ask you, and I'll be asking all of the uh the interviews tonight. What has been your your best memory? It's been a crazy year, but what's been your best memory? What what kind of silver lining can you pull from 2020?

[4:16] Amanda Varelakis: It has been a crazy year. I think what I can pull from 2020, first of all, we got a new puppy, and that was exciting. Um now we have two at home. I won't go into that story. I'm not quite sure how that happened. Um, I probably should take the blame for it. But um, yes, I got a new puppy. But I think um, you know, being in quarantine and and uh I have two small children who I was homeschooling at the time. Um, and you know, the parents working from home. Uh I I do think it gave us a chance to um it gave me a chance to really connect with my children and actually understand what exactly it is that we do all day in school. It gave me that appreciation for the curriculum so that I could help them better. So as a parent, although it was not fun at all, um, I learned a lot. I learned a lot, and it will um help me be a better parent for them.

[5:02] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, because you were really going to school with your children for a moment.

[5:06] Amanda Varelakis: I was.

[5:07] Patrick Oliver Jones: There's a whole new math out there.

[5:10] Amanda Varelakis: Well, thank you so much, Amanda.

[5:12] Amanda Varelakis: Thank you, Patrick.

[5:14] Patrick Oliver Jones: The whole sweet house of Holly, on the mama, the season to be Charlie, on the mama, the only and from Providence, Rhode Island, we have Sean Milas joining us.

[5:31] Sean Milas: Hi, hi Sean.

[5:33] Patrick Oliver Jones: How are you doing?

[5:34] Sean Milas: I'm good. Now you have been with Broadway Mania since June of this summer, 2020. And during your college years, I understand that you performed uh one of your summer gigs, was performing nine shows in 11 weeks, which just sounds exhausting.

[5:51] Sean Milas: Yeah, it definitely was, but it was such a fantastic experience. Um it was with a company called College Light Opera Company, and it was in um New England. And so who knew that I would end up in New England again so many years later. Um, and what happened was uh the first show we learned in the first two weeks, and then the third week put that on, but during the day um we actually learned the following week's show. So we were learning one show and performing another at the same time. So it was quite the exercise.

[6:18] Patrick Oliver Jones: Did did you ever mix up lines or cues with one show to the other?

[6:23] Sean Milas: Surprisingly, no. Um, the the entire company was just so fantastic. Um, it was it was pretty awesome.

[6:31] Patrick Oliver Jones: And do you have a favorite show from that summer since you did nine in a row?

[6:36] Sean Milas: Um there were so many that were fantastic. Um I got to play um the lead in 42nd Street, so I thought that that was pretty awesome. Um I would have to probably choose that.

[6:47] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, yeah, that's a great show. And musical theater is not your only singing. You've also been with the Columbus Symphony Choir and the Lexington Chamber Chorale. So are you more comfortable or classical is just kind of where you more lean?

[7:01] Sean Milas: So I originally auditioned for musical theater as I was going to college, but I didn't have much in that my background at the time and got accepted as a classical student. So I actually grew to love classical music. Uh so really both are hold a special place in my heart for very different reasons.

[7:19] Patrick Oliver Jones: Right. And so while you got that uh bachelor's in vocal performance, what other jobs or hobbies do you find you're passionate about?

[7:27] Sean Milas: So I used to love to go to movies and theaters, but you know, in the current climate, uh that's not quite the option. So um, you know, really anything in the arts or media, I I tend to try to surround myself with. Um, you know, I think in the the home quarantine, more games, you know. I I grew up enjoying board games and card games, and um, you know, spending that with my family now, I think is is a nice full circle moment, if you will. Um, but yeah, really anything in the arts, I I try to take in and explore and do what I can there.

[8:00] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, and games have certainly been on the resurgence. Uh I remember at the the height of the the summer, you know, when we everyone was was shut down, jigsaw puzzles were impossible to find because that's what everyone wanted to do. Did you find jigsaw puzzles as well?

[8:14] Sean Milas: We actually found, and I I wish I could remember the company at the moment, but there are puzzles where um the it's actually the shape of an animal and all of the pieces relate to that that animal. So there's a lion and a jungle pieces, so none of them are you know your standard puzzle pieces um and really follow any of the normal rules. So that was quite the experience. Um Lego, of course, has been a lifesaver.

[8:41] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yep, exactly. And so for you, obviously the the games and spending time with family, but do you have any other highlights or best memories of 2020?

[8:50] Sean Milas: Yeah, so my husband and I bought our first house this year, which is um something that was not on the radar at all, but I think all the time at home just uh was the catalyst, I guess. Um so we we just moved in a few weeks ago. It's been quite uh a busy couple months uh trying to get the house ready and moving in. Um so despite some not great things that are happening or have happened this year, it actually was a pretty good year as well. So it's weird to say that.

[9:19] Patrick Oliver Jones: Were you in an apartment beforehand?

[9:22] Sean Milas: Yeah, so we were in we were in an apartment um, and uh actually the house next door went up for sale. So that's the one that we bought. Um, you know, I think it was that must have been an easy move.

[9:34] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah.

[9:35] Sean Milas: Yes, but uh, you know, three flights of stairs down uh was challenging to get all the stuff down.

[9:42] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, and even though it's next door, you still have to move every single item from here to there. It doesn't matter how far the distance.

[9:48] Sean Milas: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[9:50] Patrick Oliver Jones: Well, good to meet you, Sean.

[9:52] Sean Milas: Thank you, you as well.

[9:53] Patrick Oliver Jones: And now we have coming to us from Knoxville, Tennessee, Amber Dixon.

[9:58] Amber Dixon: Hi, Pat.

[9:58] Patrick Oliver Jones: Hi Amber, welcome.

[10:01] Amber Dixon: Hello.

[10:02] Patrick Oliver Jones: Now you have been with Broadway Mania since August of 2019, but your career actually started way back at the young age of three, right? You were you were dancing at a very young age.

[10:14] Amber Dixon: Yes, my mother threw me into dancing. Um, and being, you know, a child that loved the stage. I wanted to do only solo acts. I didn't want to be in groups. So I got thrown on stage by myself as a three year old. So but it was a lot of fun and it taught me a lot for sure.

[10:31] Patrick Oliver Jones: And and what did you love about dancing as a child or performing in general?

[10:36] Amber Dixon: You know, I think it was the attention. Um one of my favorite uh acts and my family's favorite acts is I did a pink Cadillac routine, and they put a pink Cadillac on the front of a big wheel, and I drove up on the stage and you know, put my glasses down and winked, you know, and um I you know I was a child of the stage for sure.

[10:58] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, and now you have a child of your own. Does she have any dancing or performing dreams?

[11:04] Amber Dixon: She does, you know, she does um singing, and she's in a rock band and they do singing, and she has really learned um a lot about kind of old school music, which is nice. And um, she really really does love to sing. Not much into dancing, but she does love to sing.

[11:22] Patrick Oliver Jones: Now, when did singing come along for you? That dancing was first, but when did the singing and then acting come along?

[11:28] Amber Dixon: Yeah, you know, as a kind of pre-teen, uh, I kind of realized that I really uh liked singing a lot and started to get into theater. Um, so my local theater companies um did a few musicals and then kind of transitioned into kind of a choir choral um instead of dancing. So um it's definitely what I love the most. It may be what I'm um I get the most nervous about, but I think it's just because I love it so much.

[11:56] Patrick Oliver Jones: And while you do love singing, your survival job, so to speak, is being in advertising. So are you able to use your creativity in that field?

[12:06] Amber Dixon: Yeah, so I'm on the account side, so I do a lot of just managing everybody, including creatives, but they let me um definitely use my creative juices from time to time and have done a little bit of voiceover work from time to time for them. So that's always fun.

[12:22] Patrick Oliver Jones: And for you with this year, 2020, what has been your best memory? What's your silver lining?

[12:28] Amber Dixon: Yeah, you know, uh, similar to what Amanda said, you know, I have a daughter at home, and for the first time, I'm able to get her off the bus at the end of the day. You know, I've always been at the office, and and someone else picks her up, or there's a babysitter. And this year I can actually get her off the bus and make her a snack and kind of experience that right after school um conversation. And um, that's been a that's been a real blessing for sure.

[12:57] Toby Blackwell: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. Thank you, Patrick.

[13:10] Toby Blackwell: He saw. And next up, we have Toby Blackwell coming from New York City.

[13:17] Toby Blackwell: Hello, how are you?

[13:19] Toby Blackwell: I'm good. Now, Toby, you and I go way back. We go back 20 years back.

[13:24] Toby Blackwell: We performed together at Tokyo Disney C, the opening cast of that.

[13:29] Toby Blackwell: Yes, at the, uh, what was our show called? Encore, the broader review show?

[13:32] Toby Blackwell: The most non-Disney thing ever at Disney.

[13:35] Toby Blackwell: Yeah, yeah. Within that show, there was one Disney song from Beauty and the Beast. The rest of it was all just old-time musical songs and everything.

[13:43] Toby Blackwell: Yeah, so it's been a long time. Since then, you've gotten to work in other regional theaters. You did a Broadway tour. What was that like?

[13:50] Toby Blackwell: Uh, it's been amazing. I sort of kept going for a while, uh, you know, doing, uh, improving it. I worked again for Disney at Hong Kong Disneyland. I opened, uh, Festival The Lion King there. Um, and but then I finally got to do the national tour or international tour of Rent, which was, uh, very exciting, and I got to perform with the two original guys, uh, that were, you know, from Anthony and Adam that were in the original cast and just work with some really great people. It was such an amazing experience.

[14:15] Toby Blackwell: And then since then I haven't really done so much. I've sort of stepped away, uh, from performing and have been, uh, tutoring, uh, kids and adults taking standardized tests. So it's very different, but still use some of the same skills.

[14:26] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, you're using that other part of your brain now to teach them.

[14:31] Patrick Oliver Jones: Now, your education, uh, is Harvard University, which is of course a very prestigious and demanding college. Did you find it difficult and challenging while you were there?

[14:42] Toby Blackwell: Um, sort of. I mean, it was difficult in the way, you know, school was always easy for me as a kid, you know. So it was difficult, and then I wasn't getting straight A's, you know, and I had to actually put in work and I had to get up early, which actually was not that fun. Um, I also had a, uh, I was doing ROTC, so I had a whole military side, I had extra stuff I had to do. Um, then theater, doing theater and acapella at that same time. It was just a lot of things going on. Um, and so, you know, jumping into that after coming from high school and doing like one club at a time or something was just a little different for me. Uh, but I loved it. I wouldn't, I would not trade it for other world experience.

[15:18] Patrick Oliver Jones: And that ROTC, that was with the Navy, correct?

[15:21] Toby Blackwell: Right. I was in the Navy for four years.

[15:23] Patrick Oliver Jones: And what was your position or what did you get to learn, uh, with the Navy?

[15:29] Toby Blackwell: Um, I learned, uh, I was in supply, so I was in charge of food service one year and then payroll and sales. So I wanted, it was kind of business-y, so it had some practical applications to the outside world, but really what I learned about was people and how to manage and deal with all sorts of people from all walks of life, um, you know, that have to work together. And, uh, I did very well. Um, I was good at people, and that's, it's kind of the same skills we use in performing. So it really helped.

[15:53] Patrick Oliver Jones: And you've been part of the creative team in putting this show together. You actually rewrote the lyrics to 12 Days of Christmas. So did writing come naturally?

[16:01] Toby Blackwell: Yeah, I've been a parody writer for a long time, actually since college. And so this was only the fourth time that other people have performed my parodies. I think you actually performed a parody show.

[16:14] Patrick Oliver Jones: I did a parody show at Tokyo Disney C. I think all the signatures were in it. Were you in that?

[16:18] Toby Blackwell: Yes.

[16:19] Toby Blackwell: Yeah. So that was the second time that so before my stuff. So yeah, I'm still doing it, same stuff, Patrick. 20 years later, same shit.

[16:26] Patrick Oliver Jones: Right, right, right. It's just a different day.

[16:28] Toby Blackwell: Yeah, just as now it's virtual.

[16:31] Patrick Oliver Jones: I love it. Well, for you, what has been your best memory of 2020?

[16:37] Toby Blackwell: I have two, really, I think. Um, in August, I got to perform, uh, a Motown show, a Motown concert with two other people outdoors, one of these outdoor things where people drove in and they sat in their cars and it was very socially distant and, um, and it was amazing. Uh, you know, I didn't think I'd be, I hadn't performed a lot for live in a long time, and I didn't think that I would do that in the middle of a pandemic. Like that never occurred to me. And you know, just that I was able to do that, and we rehearsed, you know, uh, like mostly virtually, but with some, uh, socially distant rehearsals, you know, we had choreography and stuff, and it really came together and was really appreciated. And that was really, uh, a great moment for me.

[17:12] Toby Blackwell: And then the other was staying 10 weeks with my boyfriend at, uh, when we sheltered in place and, um, you know, kind of living that life and, you know, just knowing it just, it really deepened our relationship and just, you know, gave us a glimpse of something on the, you know, on the other side. So, uh, I think there's some good things to be taken from this quarantine, which has mostly meant not been so cute.

[17:32] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, right, right. I mean, if there is one silver lining, it seems like it's bringing us closer together with those that matter most to us.

[17:39] Toby Blackwell: Yeah, yeah, really. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Toby. It is good to see you again.

[17:42] Toby Blackwell: Good to see you.

[17:45] Toby Blackwell: On the day of Christmas, Corona gave to me a lot.

[17:53] Toby Blackwell: Four kids at home. Two spotless hands. The year when everything went crazy.

[18:01] Patrick Oliver Jones: And next up we have coming to us from Portland, Maine, Sadie McCurry.

[18:06] Sadie McCurry: Hi, Sadie.

[18:07] Sadie McCurry: Hi, how are you?

[18:09] Sadie McCurry: I'm good. You joined Broadway Mania back in May of 2020. But this obviously wasn't your first introduction to singing. What got you into singing and musical theater?

[18:21] Sadie McCurry: Um, well, I always sang in choir. I went to a couple choral camps. So I was always singing in school, and I did a couple extracurricular choirs outside of school. But I credit my love of musicals to my parents who always rented old movies for me to watch. I remember going out to dinner on the weekends, and we'd go to the video store after. Don't exist anymore, the video stores, but remember those, right?

[18:45] Sadie McCurry: Yeah. Uh, we'd go there after, and I got to pick an old movie and a musical. And it's funny because actually in the last few months I've been talking to my parents a lot about it, and neither of them seem to like musicals very much. So I'm always wondering why did you rent me all these musicals and get me into them when you don't really like musicals? So I found that out recently, which was really interesting, but I credit it to them, even if it was inadvertent.

[19:10] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, so what would be one of your favorites that you got to watch back then?

[19:15] Sadie McCurry: Oh, I love The Music Man. Um, My Fair Lady. I'm sure I'm gonna forget more later. But yeah, those classic, those classic movie musicals from, yeah, that's really what I was my introduction to it as well because I did like church musicals and that kind of thing, but it was those movie musicals that really got me into that Broadway mindset. Jim Kelly and all that.

[19:37] Sadie McCurry: Oh, yeah, yeah, Gene Kelly, all of those. And for you, you've also done more pop singing. You had, you've been a part of a band, right? And you've actually gotten to release some albums. So tell us about your band.

[19:51] Sadie McCurry: Yeah, so I'm in a local band in Portland here. We're called Sunset Hearts. It's actually my brother's band. He's the singer, the lead singer, and he writes all of the music. Um, and then I sing back up and usually play samples on an iPad, and that's the extent of my, yes, exactly. That's the extent of my instrument playing. It's just hitting the buttons on there. But, um, yeah, we did a couple kind of mini tours. We've played in New York and Vermont and Massachusetts, and we were able to release two albums and an EP, and, um, he actually did most of the mixing and mastering for those, which was really interesting. It was really cool to be able to do like all of the recording ourselves.

[20:36] Sadie McCurry: Um, so I've learned a little bit about recording. I've certainly had to exercise that now in Broadway Mania. Um, yeah, that's one thing that all of us are having to learn in this virtual world, whether we're doing self tapes or recordings of, we're having to kind of become our own technicians.

[20:52] Patrick Oliver Jones: So you've gained another skill through the band as well.

[20:55] Sadie McCurry: Yes, exactly. And so for you, what has been a highlight of 2020?

[21:03] Sadie McCurry: Um, so I know we all have in common that probably that Broadway Mania has been a huge part. So I definitely want to say that because it was my, um, my first production with Broadway Mania was one of my favorite shows there, a pop opera. So I just wanted to plug that because it really meant a lot to me. Um, but I was actually laid off because of COVID from my job, um, right before I joined Broadway Mania, and I'm in Maine. So summer in Maine is the most beautiful time of year, and it's very short. So that would be my other silver lining. Is that I actually was able, aside from job hunting, to be off for the summer. And since we could go outdoors and like hike and kind of socially distance and those types of outdoor activities, I'm really grateful to have had a real summer vacation.

[21:51] Patrick Oliver Jones: Well, not the most normal summer vacation, but I at least had the chance.

[21:56] Sadie McCurry: Right, right. Yeah, I haven't been to Maine, but I hear it's beautiful up there.

[22:00] Sadie McCurry: It's really beautiful. The winter is a little too long for me, but the summer can't be matched.

[22:06] Patrick Oliver Jones: That's wonderful. Well, good to see you, Sadie.

[22:08] Sadie McCurry: Yeah, you too. Thank you.

[22:20] Patrick Oliver Jones: And next up we have Scott Polovitch Davis coming to us from Seattle, Washington.

[22:26] Patrick Oliver Jones: Hi, Scott. Welcome to the virtual red carpet.

[22:29] Scott Polovitch Davis: Thank you very much.

[22:31] Patrick Oliver Jones: Now you have been with Broadway Mania since August of 2019, but your introduction to music was as an instrumentalist, right? So how many instruments exactly did you study or did you learn to play?

[22:45] Scott Polovitch Davis: Well, I started on clarinet and then switched to bassoon in about seventh grade. And I played bassoon all the way through high school and college and a little bit afterwards. Um, and did quite a bit there. I decided I didn't want to be an instrumentalist professionally. So I decided I wanted to do some musical theater. So after college, so I auditioned for my first show.

[23:06] Patrick Oliver Jones: You just got tired of being in the orchestra pit and wanted to be on stage, is that it?

[23:10] Scott Polovitch Davis: That's it exactly. I did a couple of musicals in the pit and thought, oh, they're having way too much fun up there. Uh, I need to, I need to get out of the pit and get on stage.

[23:21] Patrick Oliver Jones: And I also hear that you have a love of karaoke. And I believe we are in the presence of a silver medalist, correct?

[23:31] Scott Polovitch Davis: Well, uh, national, 2018, yes. Um, yeah, it was kind of a fluke. I did, I have not done a lot of karaoke singing, and, uh, a couple years ago I was out, uh, with some friends, and the KJ said, hey, you know, we've got this competition coming up, you should think about doing it. And I'm like, well, sure, whatever. Um, and I did, and I progressed through the, um, the particular venue that I was at and made it to the state competition. Um, and at the state competition I met someone who then, um, invited me to be her duet partner. So she and I entered the national competition, uh, scene as duet partners, and then I also, um, continued on and was one of the, um, contestants as a soloist as well.

[24:19] Scott Polovitch Davis: And we met in, um, Las Vegas and had amazing competition with people from all around the states, and then, uh, silver medal in our duets, uh, and then the gold medalist got to go to, um, uh, Iceland, but that was not in the cards for me. But that, but still, I mean getting a silver medal in karaoke, and how is that different from, would you say, other, uh, vocalist competitions?

[24:47] Scott Polovitch Davis: Oh, it's very different. I primarily sing musical theater, and, um, not many other people do, so I was already kind of an odd duck there. Uh, and there are amazing, amazing singers out there. Singing karaoke is very different from, I have a lot of background on stage in musicals. Uh, very different singing to a backing track, having to deal with acting, but not totally as a character because when you're in competition, it's a different, it's a different kind of presentation.

[25:19] Scott Polovitch Davis: And getting used to holding a microphone. That's something I had not ever done before. Uh, so getting a few years.

[25:25] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, that's right, because we're normally clipping it to our hair or something else, yeah.

[25:29] Scott Polovitch Davis: Exactly. So I have a, I have a pretty loud, loud voice, and, uh, really had to learn how to dial that back in and control that, very much like, uh, doing the Broadway media, uh, SMUL singing that I do.

[25:57] Scott Polovitch Davis: Well, it's kind of a hard one, I guess. Uh so I I'm the deputy director at a small swim and recreation club, and we of course closed down in March, but we were able to keep a few lifeguards and swim instructors on staff as we did a bunch of work on the facility. So I felt really good about being able to keep people employed. Um, and it was it was dicey. I mean, we had we had members supporting us throughout, but um, so I was I was really proud of that, and I learned a ton, and I keep learning a ton because now being in HR and finance, especially the HR part right now, um, with new COVID regulations, new things to learn, helping guide my co-workers through unemployment and all that things I'd never done before. So I personally learned a lot having helped a lot of other people keep employed as much as we could.

[26:54] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, yeah, being employed, but also that unemployment that's been a lifeline to a lot of people this year.

[27:00] Scott Polovitch Davis: Yeah, and hard to figure out.

[27:03] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, yeah, because each state, you know, they all have their own rules about trying to figure that out. So uh thank you for helping us out and helping people get that.

[27:11] Scott Polovitch Davis: Well, it's good to meet you, Scott.

[27:13] Scott Polovitch Davis: Great to meet you, thank you so much.

[27:15] Patrick Oliver Jones: And now coming to us from Palo Alto, California, Gray Norton.

[27:20] Gray Norton: Hi, Patrick.

[27:21] Patrick Oliver Jones: Hi, hi Gray. Now you've been with the Broadway Mania for about a year now, since October of 2019, and you and I actually have something in common.

[27:31] Patrick Oliver Jones: Both of us were boy sopranos growing up, and so were you a part of a musical family as well?

[27:39] Gray Norton: Yeah, absolutely. My dad actually is a classically trained tenor and a college music professor, choral director, and so I grew up exposed to music constantly of all different kinds, spent much of my childhood bouncing from one performance to another, and eventually I of course ended up on stage. My dad actually had me sing the boy solo to Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms when I was I think eight, and I was rewarded for my performance with a new baseball mitt. Um, but that was sort of the beginning for me.

[28:15] Patrick Oliver Jones: There you go. There you go. It's the arts and the sports all in one. That's great.

[28:19] Gray Norton: Exactly. And as you got into college, I heard that a cappella choirs and a cappella groups that became a big part of your singing.

[28:29] Gray Norton: Yeah, you might say that I majored in a cappella. I did eventually graduate with an appropriate degree, but I definitely spent a lot of time in the group called the Stanford Fleet Street Singers. And actually to this day, you know, many of my closest friends are people who I met having that experience. And so, you know, a cappella was a big deal for me in college, and I actually went on and sang in some a cappella groups after college as well.

[28:59] Patrick Oliver Jones: And were you able to be part of like competitions and travel around the country in this group?

[29:04] Gray Norton: So this group we this was actually just before competitions in college a cappella became the thing. So we actually did we won at the time that I was in the group, there was a group called the Contemporary Acapella Society of America.

[29:24] Gray Norton: It was actually, you know, a couple of guys who were drumming up enthusiasm around a cappella, and they started giving annual awards a few years before I started singing a cappella. Anyway, my junior year, you know, our group won a ton of awards, including best album and best song and stuff in the collegiate a cappella category. And so that was the closest to a competition.

[29:51] Patrick Oliver Jones: I remember growing up with groups like Take Six and that, because in the 80s, they really launched a resurgence in a cappella and interest and stuff like that. And I really love that kind of music. It's so intricate. Did it take you a while to learn your parts or did it come really naturally to you?

[30:08] Gray Norton: I mean, there's definitely hard work involved in not only learning the parts which are very intricate, but also just the amount of rehearsal that's necessary. I mean, if you listen to a group like Take Six or anyone even approaching that caliber, just the amount of work that goes into obviously blend and really nailing pitch so that the chords lock and ring, but I mean just really synchronizing in terms of entrances and cutoffs and just all the subtle little dynamic things you do. I mean, these are things that I think there's similar things for folks acting on stage in that you definitely get a give and take and a lot of real in-person synergy going on when you're acting, but from a pure musical standpoint, the just the level of synchronization of singers is something that you know I think it's a little less true on stage than it is in some of these really serious a cappella groups where that's really what it's all about.

[31:16] Patrick Oliver Jones: But singing isn't all you do, you're actually working technology there in Silicon Valley. What exactly do you do?

[31:22] Gray Norton: Yeah, I manage a small team of software engineers working on web-related stuff at Google.

[31:30] Patrick Oliver Jones: Oh, very cool. Very cool. Well, believe me, your job's not going anywhere anytime soon.

[31:36] Gray Norton: No. Well, nobody's going anywhere anytime soon, but no, yes, I do feel fortunate to be in the field that I am in.

[31:43] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all gotten to know our computers just a little bit better over the last several months, that's for sure.

[31:43] Gray Norton: For sure.

[31:49] Patrick Oliver Jones: And so for you, what has been a best moment to take away from 2020?

[31:54] Gray Norton: Yeah, I think echoing what a lot of the other folks have said, for me, it's mainly been around a chance to connect with family and really be together in a way that our busy normal lives you know don't always allow. So I have a 17-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter, and my wife and I have really enjoyed both of us being around and in the house and with them. And I mean, for example, you know, we're taking family walks every evening. I'm actually not taking one now that I would be taking to do this interview. But it's been amazing. I mean, instead of spending, you know, two to three hours, you know, commuting on the train to my job in San Francisco, I'm spending those hours at home, and I'm running into my family when I go grab lunch in the middle of the day. And it's a gift really to be able to spend as much time together and be together as much as we have this year.

[32:49] Patrick Oliver Jones: That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Well, good to see you.

[32:52] Gray Norton: Yeah, good to meet you, Pat.

[33:02] Patrick Oliver Jones: And finally, we have from Monterey Mexico, director and founder of Broadway Mania, Cecy Treviño.

[33:09] Cecy Treviño: Hi.

[33:09] Patrick Oliver Jones: Hello, Cecy, so good to see you again.

[33:12] Cecy Treviño: Yeah, good to see you again. Now, what has Broadway Mania meant to you personally? Obviously, it's involved a lot of people. We've talked to a lot of them tonight, but for you personally, what has Broadway Mania meant to you as it's grown, as you've been producing these virtual musical experiences?

[33:30] Cecy Treviño: Well, first of all, it was a connection back again with the music. Because I wasn't doing anything related to musical theater or music at all. So Broadway Mania was just a connection with that and that part of my life that I really miss it. And then I think I have always wanted and dreamed to do this, what I'm doing now, directing and producing or just like looking to do a full-scale musical. And I never thought that it was going to be possible because my career didn't let me do that. And right now, Broadway Mania is just basically giving us that opportunity or giving me that opportunity. And it's just unbelievable.

[34:11] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, and how have you seen it affect the lives of your the members of Broadway Mania?

[34:17] Cecy Treviño: I think that's when I realized that this was more just than a hobby because I knew since the beginning that Broadway Mania was like my motivation and what made me like really happy when I was doing something about that. But when I realized that for people, it meant a lot as well. And just giving them the chance as well, either to connect with that part of themselves with musical theater, or for people that they don't have a chance to, I don't know, maybe perform certain roles. Maybe they are doing theater in live theater, of course, not now, but they are able to do things that they are not able to do there in here. And that's what I like, like giving opportunities.

[34:55] Patrick Oliver Jones: Yeah, and certainly we spoke to Amanda first, and you were able to delegate some of that directing responsibility to her and kind of bring her under your wing in that respect.

[35:05] Cecy Treviño: Amanda, she has been amazing in Broadway Mania, and she has been on the leadership team. We have something that we call leadership team. We are some of our leaders, but besides she has been an ensemble leader also in Broadway Mania. So those are the ensemble leaders are the ones who are like the score readers, and they always help me like musically to guide everyone in a production. Without them, this wouldn't happen. So now she's part of that director. And it's just amazing because she was mostly putting emphasis on that on the music part, and I was on the video, and it was just a great thing.

[35:42] Patrick Oliver Jones: Absolutely. And so for you, what has been a highlight or a best moment of 2020?

[35:48] Cecy Treviño: Um it might sound like that I'm just saying it because, but really like Broadway Mania has been just a huge highlight. I think personally, it just gave me opportunity to keep on training, something that I didn't know that it was possible on the side of like, for example, I was able to do it, take some business trainings and just like transform this idea into something like into a plan, and just let's make this happen. So that was one of the greatest highlights, and of course, like having time to spend with my family and everything, and it's just like I cannot say that it has been all bad 2020.

[36:32] Patrick Oliver Jones: And certainly this pandemic has put us all in front of our screens more than we would normally, which really played into Broadway Mania's strength, which is we've had people from all over coming together virtually and performing and really using their craft. And so this pandemic in some way has really helped bring more visibility to Broadway Mania, right?

[36:54] Cecy Treviño: Yeah, um I mean, we have people from Norway as well, and UK, Australia, and it just has been a great way to connect. It wasn't easy. Like you might think, like, okay, well, you have been doing this for a while, so then the pandemic starts, everyone is doing virtual theater, and for you, it's like super easy. We had our times to record and everything. Like we were used to be like, I know at this time I can record at my home, and no one is going to be there. There's not gonna be noise, and obviously, when you have someone else and you know that they are hearing you, like you are like more timid to go for those high notes. So it just was a change. It really was challenging. Um, but I think it's just made us better. So that's one of the greatest things.

[37:40] Patrick Oliver Jones: And so tonight is really going to be a treat. So tell us what we have in store for us tonight.

[37:46] Cecy Treviño: Um very excited for tonight. It just began an idea, like it was going to be a holiday album. It's just going to be some songs that we were going to release, and it just turned out into this massive collaboration. I love that we had the chance to collaborate with other companies with you and meet more people, and I think that's what is great. And I think everyone is just gonna have a good night. Like we all know these songs, Christmas songs. Um, we are really, really excited about this.

[38:19] Patrick Oliver Jones: Well, that does it for our virtual red carpet. Thank you so much for joining me and all the wonderful guests that we've had on. It is so wonderful. This group of Broadway Mania stars. They really are stars, and each of them have brought so much to this group, and I'm so glad that you've been with us to join and kind of find out a little bit more about the people behind Broadway Mania.