[The two articles below, both from “Datebook” in the San Francisco Chronicle, are about understudies in the theater. I’ve posted on understudies before, in “'The Unique Experience of a Professional Broadway Understudy’” by Steve Adubato (published on Rick On Theater on 22 August 2018) and “Swings” (9 March 2016), a collection of pieces from Equity News.
[As Backstage, the theater industry trade newspaper, puts it, “an understudy is a performer cast in the ensemble of a musical (or a minor role in a play) who is responsible for covering a supporting or lead role” (“Swing, Standby, Understudy: What You Need to Know” [Swing, Standby, Understudy: What's the Difference? | Backstage], 22 March 2022). ‘Covering’ in this usage means, of course, ‘replacing temporarily.’
[A “swing,” as which some of the performers featured below served, is a kind of understudy, common in musicals, who “is an off-stage performer responsible for covering any number of ensemble tracks, sometimes as many as 12 or more.” A third type of understudy is the “standby,” “an off-stage performer whose sole responsibility is to cover the lead (usually a star) in a production.”
[Backstage expanded its definitions: “An understudy is in fact in the cast of a show for every performance, generally in an ensemble track or less sizable principal role. However, they also understudy a larger role and their track will be filled by a swing if and when they are called upon to play that larger part.”
[“A swing is responsible for learning a number of tracks—ensemble and principal—so they’re able to step in at a moment’s notice if anyone in the cast calls out. In most cases, a swing will step into a member of the ensemble’s role when that person has stepped into the more principal role they understudied. Most nights, a swing is not actually on stage—and yet, the role is largely considered to be one of the most challenging gigs in theater.”
[“A standby is similar to a swing in that they rarely actually perform. Standbys are granted only the heftiest roles in theater and are there to do exactly that: standby in the event that the actor is unable to perform. . . . They cover just one role and must be ready to tackle it at any time.”
[In addition to swings and understudies, I’ve posted articles on ROT that define, describe, or explain the efforts of theater workers about whom most non-theater people (whom one of my teachers dubbed “civilians”) know little—or even nothing at all. On 7 September 2010, for instance, my friend Kirk Woodward posted an article on being a Broadway investor in “Broadway Angel.”
[Then, on 14 January 2014, I posted “Stage Hands,” a description of the work of stage managers and dance captains; in “Two (Back) Stage Pros” (30 June 2014). I ran articles that profiled set designer Eugene Lee and wig-designer Paul Huntley and on 28 November 2015, I posted “Broadway’s Anonymous Stars,” an article about actors who replace original stars on stage.
[I followed those posts with articles on theatrical intimacy coordinators (26 May 2019, plus follow-ups) and a theater photographer and another dance captain (6 May 2020), reviewers (6 July 2020), and theater boards (11 November 2022).
[I have also run several series of articles from American Theatre magazine on theater artists such as lighting designers (24 October-11 November 2018] and sound designers (25 March-9 April 2021), among others, and even pros on the business side of theater like arts administrators (2-17 December 2020).]
“BAY AREA ACTORS
ON UNDERSTUDYING DURING OMICRON,
by Lily Janiak
[This report appeared in “Datebook” online on 18 January 2022 (updated: 19 January 2022). “Datebook” is the art and entertainment guide for in the San Francisco Bay Area—books, theater, music, pop culture, and more—in the SFChronicle.]
Theater always depends on understudies, but never more so than in the omicron [a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19] winter.
In late December on Broadway, “The Music Man” lead actor Hugh Jackman gave a moving curtain-call tribute to the industry’s unsung heroes after understudy Kathy Voytko filled in for Sutton Foster.
[Jackman made his remarks after the fourth preview performance on 23 December 2021, the night Voytko stepped in for Foster, who had tested positive for COVID.]
“I’m emotional because it humbles me — the courage, the brilliance, the dedication, the talent,” Jackman said in the widely circulated speech. “The swings, the understudies — they are the bedrock of Broadway.”
At around the same time, though, Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin made comments (for which she later apologized) in a Hollywood Reporter interview theorizing that one reason some shows were closing was that some understudies “aren’t as efficient in delivering the role as the lead is” or weren’t as experienced.
[St. Martin’s comments appeared in “Broadway Boss Reveals Industry Plan Amid Omicron: ‘We’re Not Closing’” by Abby White, 20 December 2021. St. Martin retired as Broadway League president in February 2024.]
These two incidents span extremes of the understudy experience. Understudies are hailed as saviors; they’re overlooked or disparaged as makeshifts.
For understudies in the Bay Area right now, as the variant makes them more in demand than ever, the reality is even more complicated.
For musicals at large companies and on Broadway, there’s an elaborate taxonomy for understudying. An umbrella term is “covering.” An “understudy” will usually already be performing an unnamed part in the ensemble but be prepared to cover for a named character. A “standby” waits offstage but is also prepared to cover a lead character. A “swing” can cover any track in the ensemble. At smaller companies, “understudy” might cover all these roles.
“Your job as the understudy is to keep the show open so that the work that all these other performers did can still happen,” said San Francisco actor Nic A. Sommerfeld, who’s understudied locally five times, including stepping up four times in Marin Theatre Company’s “Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley” this winter.
“There can be the stress of whether you match up, whether you’re quote-unquote ‘as good,’” Sommerfeld added, “and I don’t think that attitude is as helpful as just remembering that what you’re doing is making the show have another performance.”
That doesn’t mean that understudying isn’t artistic, noted Vishal Vaidya, who’s currently understudying for John Gallagher Jr. in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s “Swept Away” while also serving as an ensemble member.
“Someone like John Gallagher is a magical actor,” he said. “I can’t re-create that magic; I have to find my own magic.”
“Understudying is a blend,” he went on. “You don’t want the audience or the other actors to really feel like so much is different, because you have to honor the show that was built, but in order to honor the truth of the acting, you have to give it your flavor.”
Sommerfeld, who uses plural pronouns, found themself delving deeper into craft as they kept covering for principal actor Zahan F. Mehta, who had a back injury.
“The first show was just about making it happen. It was honestly a blur to me,” they said.
Their character happened to be a nervous person, so they were able to draw on their own in-the-moment feelings. “But by the fourth time I did the show, I found myself almost wishing I was getting notes,” they recalled. “I was starting to lean into certain moments and, other than audience reaction, didn’t really know what worked.”
San Francisco freelance casting director and Casting Collective founding member Laura Espino, who this season is casting San Francisco Playhouse’s shows, said that understudying demands a special kind of artist.
“You have to be satisfied with just playing the part in front of your closet mirror in your bedroom — and do it just as well,” she said.
Understudies have to deal with at least as much stress for a fraction of the glory and usually less pay. Self-motivation is key.
“You are the rehearsal process,” Espino said. “You are your director.”
Still, there can be great joy in it. San Francisco actor Michael Phillis recalled going on as understudy in his favorite role in his favorite play — Prior Walter in “Angels in America” — at Berkeley Rep in 2018.
“Your whole career flashes before your eyes,” he said. “You’re about to prove what all that money and study and struggle to be an actor was for.”
But there can also be deep concern for a lead actor who’s hurt or sick. Actor Kenny Toll, who’s now based in New York, remembered filling in for Joe Estlack, who had a back injury, during two technical rehearsals for “Bonnie & Clyde” at Shotgun Players, with the possibility that he might have to perform as well. He was ready to help — it was his job — but Toll and everyone else’s concern for Estlack, who soon recovered, cast a pall.
“Understudying is not as glorious or wonderful as it’s often portrayed,” Toll said. “It was a really awful thing. (The show) was Joe’s piece. That piece of theater was built for his body.”
Understudying demands extraordinary memory. San Francisco actor Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. has worked in various understudy capacities in several Broadway shows and tours — “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations,” “Motown: The Musical,” “The Book of Mormon” and, most recently, “A Christmas Carol” at BroadwaySF’s Golden Gate Theatre. In “Ain’t Too Proud,” he had to know all five harmonies of the five Temptations; he also had to memorize separate choreographies — who entered on beats one, three, five and so on.
“I’ve got to have the mental capacity and gymnastics to switch between them,” he said.
Jacob Keith Watson, another “Swept Away” ensemble member and understudy, says that his many years of understudying and swinging have given him an odd skill.
“I call it ‘swing brain,’ where you accidentally know other people’s stuff,” he said. It comes from having to learn where and how to enter and exit, to grab and deposit every prop, all by watching from afar instead of doing it himself.
“Randomly, someone will be like, ‘I don’t remember where I come in,’ and out of nowhere, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, you come in stage left. Couldn’t tell you why I know that. I just saw it once, and it stuck in my brain.’ ”
That skill comes somewhat in handy right now in rehearsal, when his ensemble role in “Swept Away” requires him to be asleep and keep his eyes closed for a long stretch — time when in an ideal world he’d be simultaneously observing Wayne Duvall, the actor he’s understudying. “I can kind of hear that he’s stage right,” Watson said.
Right now, Espino said, the bulk of her work at the Casting Collective — a small, new local outfit — is finding understudies, as a result of concerns about the omicron variant. The increased likelihood that an understudy will go on, she added, is tantamount to having to cast a role twice.
At Berkeley Rep, Vaidya, Watson and other understudies don’t go anywhere besides their hotel or the theater. They know that if they took risks, they’d risk everyone else’s health too. They’re also aware that these gigs, with a greater chance that at some point they’ll have to perform, could mean exposing themselves to contagion. Yet union actors don’t qualify for health insurance unless they work a certain number of weeks per year, which complicates the calculus for any job opportunity.
Still, Vaidya spoke with calm pragmatism about the possibility of filling in: “I’m ready, but I’m still going to feel like I’m shot out of a cannon.”
[Lily Janiak is the San Francisco Chronicle’s theater reviewer.]
* *
* *
“‘ASTONISHMENT,
HORROR AND GLEE’:
by Lily Janiak
[The second article from “Datebook” was also posted to the SFChronicle’s website on 18 January 2022. It continues the conversation about understudying with actors in the Bay Area. Below this article is a list of the theaters and shows mentioned in the two Chronicle articles.]
Everyone loves an understudy story — when the drama behind the scenes rivals and perhaps heightens what’s onstage, when the art form reveals how the sausage is made, when routine evaporates and every gesture, glance and line crackles with danger and life.
This winter, as the omicron variant makes the industry rely on understudies as never before, The Chronicle solicited Bay Area performers (or those with local ties) for their all-time favorite understudy memories. Here are a few, including one where actor Vinh G. Nguyen understudied in two different shows in one day:
Name: Valerie Weak
Understudy role: Viola in TheatreWorks’ “Twelfth Night,” 2007
“I had a dream where I had to go on last minute. It was terrifying, and in the dream there was a problem with me fitting into the costume. I woke up before I had to deliver any lines. I realized it had only been a dream. Then I realized it was June. The show had run the previous December and had been closed for six months. Understudying is an exercise in anxiety!”
Name: Alex Moggridge
Understudy role: Shakespeare in ACT’s “The Beard of Avon,” 2002
“At the end of the first act, Shakespeare has a gorgeous speech where he suddenly shows his amazing poetic side for the first time, impressing the hell out of the Earl of Oxford, played by Marco Barricelli. On my first performance, I completely biffed that speech. Like, it was gone. I have no idea what I said, but it was not what (playwright) Amy Freed wrote, and it was definitely not poetic.
I’ll always remember the look Marco — who I kind of worshiped and badly wanted to impress — gave me when he delivered his line in response. The line was ‘That’s not bad.’ And it was so bad. It was so, so bad. Marco’s look was a beautiful combination of astonishment, horror and glee. He almost winked at me.”
Name: Laura Domingo
Understudy role: Maria in Fairfield Civic Theatre’s “Lend me a Tenor,” 2013
“I played Maria in ‘Lend Me a Tenor’ originally with Ross Valley Players in the fall of 2012. Then in late January, now-defunct Fairfield Civic Theatre was about to open their own production when their Maria got a really bad case of the flu during tech week. It hadn’t been that long since I’d played the role, so the lines definitely came back quickly.
I think every actor has that period after a show has closed and you’ve had some space from it where you sit and think of all the things you would have done differently with the character, if you could do it all over again. And this was my opportunity to make some of those adjustments!”
Name: Benjamin Ismail
Understudy role: Damis in Berkeley Rep’s “Tartuffe,” 2015
“As soon as the cast arrived for Berkeley rehearsals, I was tapped that I’d potentially be going on for almost an entire week of performances.
[Berkeley Rep’s Tartuffe was a co-production with Costa Mesa, California’s South Coast Repertory and Washington, D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre Company following the Berkeley mounting. The cast of the production was drawn from all three regions and assembled in each city for each presentation.]
I immediately drove down from Sacramento, learned the lines and blocking in (stage manager) Michael Suenkel’s office and was thrown onstage after watching one run. It was the fastest I think my brain has ever worked: trying to synthesize everything I was seeing and convert the actor’s choices into my versions of the same moments, do intricate blocking and — oh, yeah — say things. I was terrified and electrified.
Apparently they liked what I did because that led to a lovely relationship with Berkeley Rep and several more roles, including Louis Ironson in ‘Angels in America,’ an experience which will probably live in the most special corner of my heart for the rest of my life. And it all really ‘started’ with my shot as an understudy.”
Name: Mark Jackson
Understudy role: Characters in Shotgun Players’ “The Death of Meyerhold,” 2004
“I wrote and directed but did not perform — until one night an actor got sick, and the next night with 30 minutes notice I went on. Harrowing.
With 80 characters for the cast of 12 to play, and scenic changes also being actor-driven, the offstage show was as tightly choreographed as the onstage show. Moments of ‘break’ were rare. I have memories of seeing actors standing in the wings, beautifully lit by ambient light from onstage, closing their eyes for a precious few-seconds-long meditation before then leaping out into action. I already admired that cast for the depth of commitment and enthusiasm they brought to that piece (but) seeing their backstage ‘show’ up close, and especially the various ways in which they helped fold me into it on the fly, to keep me and the piece on track, only heightened my appreciation for what they had accomplished.
The next night when the actor returned, I was never so happy to see another human being in my life!”
Name: Vinh G. Nguyen
Understudy roles: Hilarion in Bay Area Children’s Theatre’s “Gold: The Midas Musical” and a male ensemble track in Palo Alto Players’ “Flower Drum Song,” 2019
“On one particular Saturday, I went on for two performances for ‘Gold’ in the morning and afternoon. One of the actors knew he was going to be out. I did my homework, came in, and they did a put-in rehearsal, which was nice.
I drove to ‘Flower Drum,’ and we knew that one of my castmates had injured himself the performance before, but we didn’t know how bad it was until the next day. I got a call. I ended up covering for him, along with my track. Luckily, my other track didn’t have to be onstage for the book scenes, so I just learned it really quick and hopped on. It was crazy, crazy, crazy.
As human beings we are so adaptable. I think we give ourselves less credit than we deserve. As a director, one of the things I’m very proud of is I’m very decisive. I can make a decision on the spot and back up my artistic decision and articulate that very clearly. I think some of that had to do with my experience as an actor and the times when I was swinging and had to direct myself and see what is the best course of action that will benefit the show and the bigger picture.”
Name: Lauri Smith
Understudy role: Becky in Berkeley Rep’s “Becky Nurse of Salem,” 2019
“My now-fiance and I were hosting a football-watching party. The 49ers were playing the Seattle Seahawks. We had a bunch of people arriving at our house at 5 p.m. At around 5:15, somebody noticed that I wasn’t having anything to drink. I looked at my watch, and I said, ‘I have to wait until 6:35 for a 7 o’clock show, just on the off-chance that something happens.’ I swear to you, my phone rang when I finished that sentence. I saw the name on the phone, and it said Michael Suenkel. Michael said, ‘I really wish I was making this call in a couple of weeks.’
We had had one understudy rehearsal but hadn’t even finished it. They didn’t have clothes for me, so he started naming, ‘Can you bring a pair of shoes? Can you bring a pair of jeans? Can you bring a shirt of your own?’ I had to drive to the theater in the pouring rain, and, rapid-fire, the lines were going through my head.
I wear a necklace around my neck most days that has a charm that says ‘Believe,’ a penguin charm, and then the third charm is an infinity symbol with my mother’s ashes in it. I took it off and laid it in my spot in front of the mirror. ‘Becky Nurse’ was so much about magic. It was sort of like I was tapping into my mother and my ancestors and their power to help give me a little extra something. I even remember thinking of Pamela (Reed, the lead actor) several blocks away. She had said something about being the channel for the role to speak through her. It was almost like I was like, ‘OK, Pamela, if you could direct some energy a couple of blocks this way so that I could be the channel tonight?’
During the first monologue, there was a moment in the middle where I finished a sentence, and I had no idea what came next. I inhaled. A thought came to me. I knew it wasn’t the next line, but it popped into my head and I just kept going.
Afterward, I had so much adrenaline going through me. I felt like I was going to be up until 4 in the morning. I wanted to do it again.”
Name: Mary Lins
Understudy role: The Baker’s Wife in Berkeley Playhouse’s “Into the Woods,” 2021
“On Thursday, at around 5 o’clock, we made the final call. That started my clock. I left all of my managing director duties and had about 26, 27 hours before curtain.
I have a background in performing — I went to school for it — but it had been 20 years. It’s a big role, and it’s Sondheim. With the timing of his death, for me there was an element of truly wanting to honor that work. As a staff member at the theater, there’s also a piece of, ‘I still have to show up for work on Monday.’
I was already off book. It was basically like auditing a class. I had sat through a lot of rehearsals, but I had not been on my feet. It was like reading and memorizing an entire textbook on how to ride a bike but never actually having hopped on a bike.
I had to make this choice to trust, and it paid off in this really human way, especially after having a couple of years where we’re separated from others.
Every time I walked backstage with the other cast members, it was like the wildest pep rally of my life. I felt like I had gotten to crowd surf through the show.
The challenge and the joy of theater really is a practice of people coming corporately together and making it happen. As a managing director, I’m looking at rights and royalties, contact lists and budgets. But to actually have the honor of embodying the thing that I’m usually managing was such a gift.”
[Below are lists of the Bay Area theaters and productions named in the two SFChronicle articles above. I’ve listed them in the order of the reports; if I could find a web address for the theater, I’ve included it in the information noted.]
BROADWAY PRODUCTIONS
The Music Man: Winter Garden Theatre, 10 February 2022-15 January 2023
Ain’t Too Proud: Imperial Theatre, 21 March 2019-16 January 2022
Motown: Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 14 April 2013-18 January 2015
Book of Momon: Eugene O’Neill Theatre, 24 March 2011-Present
BAY AREA THEATERS
Marin Theatre Company (https://www.marintheatre.org/) – 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941-2885; (415) 388-5200; e-mail: info@marintheatre.org
Berkeley Repertory Theatre (aka: Berkeley Rep; https://www.berkeleyrep.org/) – Admin Offices: 999 Harrison Street, Berkeley CA 94710; (510) 647-2900; e-mail: customerservice@berkeleyrep.org
San Francisco Playhouse (https://www.sfplayhouse.org) – 450 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94102; (415) 677-9596; e-mail: info@sfplayhouse.org
Shotgun Players (https://shotgunplayers.org/) – 1901 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94703; (510) 841-6500, ext. 303; e-mail: boxoffice@shotgunplayers.org
BroadwaySF Golden Gate Theatre (aka: Golden Gate Theatre; https://www:broadwaysf.com) – 1 Taylor Street, San Francisco, CA 94102; booking house, no resident company; (888) 746-1799; e-mail: feedback@broadwaysf.com
TheatreWorks (aka: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley; https://theatreworks.org/) – Admin Offices: 350 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 127, Redwood City, San Mateo County, CA 94065; (877) 662- 8978; e-mail: boxoffice@theatreworks.org
American Conservatory Theatre (aka: ACT; https://www.act-sf.org/) – 415 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102; Box Office: (415) 749-2228; e-mail: tickets@act-sf.org
Fairfield Civic Theatre – community theater in Fairfield, Solano County, California; now defunct (before 2021)
Ross Valley Players (http://www.rossvalleyplayers.com/) – 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross, Marin County, CA 94957; Admin Office (415) 456-9555 ext. 3
Bay Area Children’s Theatre – closed in 2023; formerly located in Oakland, California
Palo Alto Players (https://paplayers.org/) – Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301; (650) 329-0891; e-mail: info@paplayers.org
Berkeley Playhouse (https://berkeleyplayhouse.org/) – 2640 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704; Main Office (510) 845-8542; boxoffice@berkeleyplayhouse.org
BAY AREA PRODUCTIONS
Georgiana and Kitty: by Lauren M. Gunderson and Margot Melcon; Marin Theatre Company; 18 November-19 December 2021 (world première)
Swept Away: book by John Logan, music and lyrics by The Avett Brothers; Berkeley Rep; 9 January-13 March 2022
Angels in America: by Tony Kushner; Berkeley Rep; 17 April-22 July 2018
Bonnie & Clyde: by Adam Peck; Shotgun Players; 17 August-19 September 2013
Christmas Carol: by Jack Thorne; Golden Gate Theatre; 26 November-26 December 2021
Twelfth Night: by William Shakespeare (et al.); TheatreWorks Silicon Valley (@ Lucie Stern Theatre, Palo Alto); 28 November-23 December 2007
The Beard of Avon: by Amy Freed; ACT; 10 January-10 February 2002
Lend Me a Tenor: by Ken Ludwig; Fairfield Civic Theatre; January 2013 (I could find no detailed record of this show by the now-defunct theater troupe; it was named in an article on the production and coverage of local theater awards, the Arty Awards of Solano and Napa Counties, but its performance dates weren’t reported)
Ross Valley Players; 11 September-12 October 2012
Tartuffe: by Molière; Berkeley Rep (co-production with South Coast Repertory [9 May-8 June 2015] of Costa Mesa, California, and Shakespeare Theatre Company [2 June-5 July 2015] of Washington, D.C.; I can’t reconcile the overlap of the dates of the closing at SCR and the opening at STC); 13 March-12 April 2015
The Death of Meyerhold: by Mark Jackson; Shotgun Players; 11-28 December 2003/7-25 January 2004 (world première)
Gold: The Midas Musical: book, music, and lyrics by Min Kahng; Bay Area Children’s Theatre; 23 February-12 May 2019 (world première)
Flower Drum Song: book by Oscar Hammerstein II, music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers; Palo Alto Players; 26 April-12 May 2019
Becky Nurse of Salem: by Sarah Ruhl; Berkeley Rep; 19 December 2019-26 January 2020 (world première)
Into the Woods: book by James Lapine, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Berkeley Playhouse; 19 November-23 December 2021
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