By Matthew Blank
31 Jul 2012

When you first realized you could sing:	I sang when I was a young boy in these music classes but when I hit puberty I couldn’t sing anymore. So for about 4 years I didn't sing one note until my senior year in high school when my friends convinced me to audition for Magaldi in the school’s production of Evita. And all of a sudden this big voice came out!
First stage kiss:	Summer stock in Santa Rosa, CA in The Grapes of Wrath. I was playing Al Joad and the girl playing my girlfriend and I just decided to put some kissing in throughout the play for fun. We were young.
Favorite or most memorable onstage role as a child/teenager:	Jesus in JC Superstar and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.
Moment you knew you wanted to perform for a living:	After a couple years at school I realized I wasn’t taking any thing except theatre classes.
How you got your Equity card:	The first show I booked when I moved to NY was Senor Discretion Himself by Frank Loesser at Arena Stage.
Favorite pre-/post- show meal:	Pre-show: steak I cook myself at home with a Caesar salad. My wife and I make a killer dressing. Post show: vodka.
Favorite liquid refreshment:	A good margarita with fresh lime juice or a really good California Cabernet.
Pre-show rituals or warm-ups:	The usual vocal noises, some push-ups and stretches, and now that I have children, a nap.
Most vocally challenging role you have ever played:	Playing Dr. Zhivago in Zhivago The Musical. I was onstage all the time! And Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare is just so difficult.
Worst job you ever had:	I've had plenty of them. And they all involved waiting tables.
Worst costume ever:	Wearing tights in Camelot.
If you could trade roles with anyone in the cast for a week, who would it be?	This may be weird but I would love to trade with Donna and play the Witch! She has the best songs.
Favorite Sondheim tunes from other shows:	"Finishing the Hat" from Sunday, the "Johanna" reprise Sweeney sings in Act 2 of Sweeney Todd, "Everybody’s Got the Right" from Assassins, "Me and My Town" from Anyone Can Whistle, "The Road You Didn’t Take," "In Buddy’s Eyes," "The Right Girl" and "Take Me to the World"
Some Sondheim roles you'd love to play at some point in your life:	George and Sweeney
Leading man role you've been dying to play:	Che
Leading lady role you wish you could play:	Besides the Witch, maybe Dot in Sunday
Something you are incredibly proud of:	Being a father
Something you're embarrassed to admit:	I cry when I watch movies, all the time.
Career you would want if not a performer:	Soccer player or rock star
Three things you can't live without:	Coffee, meat, vodka
Words of advice for aspiring performers:	If this is what you really want then just keep trying, keep working at it. Also have a life outside of it. Friends, family, hobbies... whatever it is so that you can keep things in perspective.