Hello Beautiful People,
I’m so pleased to introduce you to the next actress in the Actors & Actresses Q&A Series, Amy Justman. Amy is a beautifully talented singer, actress, an instructor at Yale, and an absolute delight to talk to! We sat at Green Symphony and chatted over tea about Broadway, theater, music, life, and education. In the time I spent with Amy, I learned a great deal, and I know you all will too.
Ladies and Gents, meet Amy Justman…
TWT: Did you always want to be a performer?
AJ: I knew pretty early on. I started playing piano when I was four, and around fifth grade, my elementary school chorus teachers realized I had a voice. Other people seemed to think I was good at this, so I thought, “Okay, I guess this is what I should do!” My parents were not thrilled at first, but they are extremely supportive now. I’ve never a moment when this didn’t seem like the right option.
TWT: You have a B.A. in music from Yale University. Can you describe to our readers a little bit about your time spent at such a prestigious university?
AJ: In high school, I wanted to apply to both Ivy League schools and music conservatories. I applied to Yale early, and I got in, so that actually ended up being the only place I applied to. I went to Port Jefferson High School (Earl L. Vandermeulen), and I sometimes felt ostracized for getting good grades. I wanted to be in an environment where everyone had gotten good grades, so other things about you become more important. I learned so much about being a singer and a performer there. I had moments of wishing I had gotten a BFA in Musical Theatre when I first moved to New York, but now I’m glad I still have that liberal arts education. I’m grateful for that. I teach voice lessons there now, which is an awesome experience.
TWT: If you were not an actress & singer what career would you choose?
AJ: I don’t know. In college and high school, I did quite a bit of musical directing, playing for shows, and conducting shows. If I had to pick something completely outside of the field, I would love to write a blog about finding good, cheap, quality, vegetarian food in NYC.
TWT: Of all the roles you have played, is there one in particular that is most memorable?
AJ: The first thing that comes to mind is Of Thee I Sing at the Bard SummerScape Festival. I played Mary Turner. It was my first time doing a role of that size professionally, and I learned so much from the experience, and especially from my co-star, John Bolton. Another memorable moment for me was from a concert that I was in, Leonard Berstein’s MASS. The other performers had both classical and Broadway experiences as well, and the conductor, Marin Alsop, was fantastic to work with.
TWT: What advice would you give to performers just starting out?
AJ: I wish I had known earlier that it is so important to know who YOU are, and what YOU bring to the table. Casting directors hear great voices walking in the door every day, but the story you bring to the table is what really matters. Also, even your faults can be a good thing in the right situation. For myself, I know I can be anxious and serious, so even though that’s something that I try to improve, it might be a positive for a character that requires that quality.
TWT: Just for fun, what sound do you hate?
AJ: Subway screeching. I used to take the 4,5,6 train out of Union Square, and every time you stood on a platform, it was a nightmare.
TWT: Just for fun, what sound do you love?
AJ: My students being able to hit a note that they haven’t before.
TWT: Just for fun, what are your five favorite books?
AJ: Making it on Broadway, by Jodie Langel and David Wienir; A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan; Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld; The End of Overeating, by David Kessler; Power Performance for Singers, by Shirlee Emmons and Alma Thomas.
TWT: Just for fun, what are you top five favorite movies?
AJ: Metropolitan; Waiting for Guffman; Lost in Translation; Sex, Lies, and Videotape; Bring it On.
TWT: Currently you are involved with the new Passion production at the Classic Stage Theater Company. Can you describe to our readers what this current rehearsal process is like for you?
AJ: I’m in rehearsals for Passion, which is a Sondheim musical that was originally on Broadway a little less than twenty years ago; this is the first major revival that they’re doing in New York. I am an offstage understudy for the only two women in the show. I was originally committed to doing some concerts in Germany this spring, and then I got the call about this in December, and I said yes, of course! Anytime you get the opportunity to do a Sondheim show professionally, especially in New York, you do it. The director is John Doyle, whom I worked with on Company, and the musical director is Rob Berman whom I’ve worked with on White Christmas and several other projects. The two women that I’m understudying (Judy Kuhn and Melissa Errico) are both amazing. I’ve learned so much from watching them the past couple of weeks. A lot of people are surprised that I’m covering both roles, because they’re pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum, but I was flattered that they thought I was somewhere in the middle. The show involves a love triangle between Giorgio, a soldier, and the two women. Clara, his lover, is beautiful, warm and romantic, the embodiment of light and beauty, And then you have Fosca, this other woman who comes into his life, who is ugly and sickly and obsessive, and he actually ends up leaving Clara for Fosca. I think it’s going to be a really great production, and open people’s minds to the piece a little bit more.
TWT: In today’s economy arts programs are being cut. What reasons would you give to a politician for preserving the arts programs in schools?
AJ: You have to think outside the box. It falls into the same line of thinking where people say if we give kids more tests and teach to the test, kids will be smarter, which is ridiculous, and that then leads people to eliminate arts programs. The whole purpose of education is not really to learn a bunch of facts. I mean there is that aspect of it, you want a child to come out of high school and be able to do at least simple addition and that sort of thing. But education is about learning about how to learn, so you can learn for the rest of your life. In teaching kids music, and theater, and art, it’s learning another way of how to come at something, and I would think that it would be unbelievably useful in all fields, even the more clinical ones. You also want to give people an appreciation of the arts, even if it doesn’t end up your career.
TWT: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
AJ: I’m going to have to say my husband, because he’s the person that I’m the most real with. He gets to see the most sides of me, and I think that I’ve been able to put that into my work. For better or worse, he’ll give me feedback about all of the different aspects of myself and when you’re with a person for eight years, you end up learning a whole lot about what they are! I’ve had a lot of wonderful teachers when it comes to singing
Live, Love, Learn,