EP 132: A Backstage Pass To When I Did “The Sound Of Music” With My Daughter

When my daughter Gracelyn nudged me into the world of musical theatre, little did I know that at 37, I'd be twirling through the highs and lows of "The Sound of Music." Tune in as we share our heartfelt and often hilarious journey from the audition room filled with sprightly youngsters to the personal revelations that graced our time on the stage. From mastering the choreography to embracing the radiant Baroness Elsa Schrader, our episode is a testament to the joy of taking on new challenges and the unbreakable bond of family.

JUMP RIGHT TO IT:

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0:00 Auditioning for Sound of Music

10:55 Acting and Rejection

18:45 Musical Improv and Behind-the-Scenes Stories

30:19 Finding Fun and Embracing the Spotlight

Wild Interest

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:22

Hello and welcome back to the Imperfectly Empowered podcast. I am your host, anna Fulmer, but this episode is really special. I have my daughter here, gracelyn Fulmer. Hi, we are squeezed in here to my studio, sharing a chair A little tight. Sorry if the sound is weird, but we are going to give you a backstage pass. So when I did the sound of music my first ever musical at the age of 37, with my daughter and it was a really fun, it was a really cool story. We did the show back in December was when it was.

Speaker 2: 0:57

We started rehearsals in at the beginning, at the beginning of October, and at December we started the shows.

Speaker 1: 1:05

Yeah. So the way that this worked initially was November of 2022. Kvob performing arts, the center that Gracie is involved at, released their 2023 show schedule and she said Mom, they're doing sound of music. Do you want to audition for it? And I said, maybe one of them? No, yeah, one of the greatest challenges is time, of course, a hashtag mom life, and also I'd never done a musical before. I've done plenty of concerts, I've done a lot of singing, but I've never actually acted or done any type of musical performance. So, needless to say, my child made a fantastic cheerleader. She was very much like Mom, please do it. And then she would tell people I was doing it. When you were in the Lion King as Rafiki, she started telling people hey, my mom might audition for sound of music, she might audition for the Baronettes. And then people would come. The director came up to me. He's like hey, I hear you, you might be auditioning for sound of music. Like, um, you were telling people.

Speaker 2: 2:11

Yeah, I was telling, I think at the very end of Lion King. At the very end of Lion King, I can guarantee you the whole entire cast knew that my mom was auditioning for sound of music.

Speaker 1: 2:23

So apparently they knew before I did. One of the other fun things that I remember from the audition process was initially the dance audition. So the way that it works is you, you do your monologue and then you do your song, and then was the dance audition. Was right after that, right?

Speaker 2: 2:44

No, the dance audition was a call. It happens during callbacks when you get called back for a specific role that they want you to see. Before you do any of that, you have like a dance audition and you see that you can let the you see if you can dance.

Speaker 1: 3:02

Okay, I couldn't remember when it was. So yeah, it was. So I actually got called back for the role, which was already a surprise, and then Gracie tried out for Bagueta, or audition for Bagueta. So I'm in this dance audition with how many kids do you think? Like 30 kids, maybe. There was like a ton of kids, it's more than that, actually. I think it was five kids called. It was like 35 kids, and I'm standing on the stage learning this choreography and I have Gracie and some of her other little friends, these nine and 10 year old girls, being like on other foot, other foot or turn this way. It was so cute, they were such great cheerleaders. So, anyway, I'm back there dancing in between a whole bunch of teens and queens, preteens, but it was really cute, they were great, great cheerleaders. But I do have a funny story from my callback.

Speaker 1: 4:00

I to prepare for the role of Bairness, watched YouTube's version of I think it was ITV. I don't even know what that stands for, but it was like the British live stage version of the sound of music, the musical. Because something I've learned as Gracie has been super involved in performing arts and musical theater, is that you cannot rely on the movies. They are not the same as the Broadway shows and so I did know this. I knew that at least, and it's a really good thing I did, because the movie is actually very different, very different than musical, and actually my character specifically was significantly different. So, anyway, I watched this YouTube version of the musical, and the Bairness has two big musical numbers Elsa Schrader is her name, and so I watched them. I thought I was really prepared for my callback and I go into the callback and the song that they wanted us to sing was the last, maybe 32 measures.

Speaker 1: 5:08

The last page of her second song called no Way to Stop it, and I'm looking at the sheet music. You get it as soon as you walk in. So I'm there with the other women called back, as well as the actors called back for the role of Max and the captain. And I'm looking at the sheet music and I see that the last eight measures are for anyone who's familiar with notes or musical notes it was G-A-G-A-G-A-B. It was eight measures of a high G-A, where she goes back and forth between the two and then ends on a high B. Now I'm an alto, one mezzo-soprano, and I thought her highest note was an F and I was like, oh, no problem, she has eight measures where she holds out and then the musical director says I'd like you to do it in one breath. Anyway, I was literally like I'm sorry, what? So here's the lesson in this.

Speaker 1: 6:13

Apparently, the YouTube version that I watched this song I don't know if the actress who did it couldn't hit these notes I have no idea but they did not even end of the song with. This whole page was missing. So, needless to say, I went into the music audition a little shocked and was screeching out Bs. I mean, it obviously didn't sound terrible because I ended up getting the part, which was surprising. But, needless to say, the lesson in this is make sure that you actually watch or listen to the original Broadway version, because I did not come in fully prepared and, amazingly, I still got the part.

Speaker 1: 6:53

And the funny story of it is I actually ended up singing soprano one throughout the entire show, which was really great. It really stretched my range. I actually enjoyed it. I kind of miss singing those notes now. So, anyway, youtube is not trustworthy. That is the bottom line. And then one of my favorite moments. We're going to show you this clip actually because it was so sweet was when we got the email after our callbacks to find out whether or not we got the part, and we'll click play the clip here.

Speaker 2: 7:29

Yeah, we got it.

Speaker 3: 7:33

I'm so happy I'm so happy.

Speaker 1: 7:37

What in the world I got it? Who?

Speaker 2: 7:39

do? I think I am. We got it. Oh, you're going to make me cry, is she crying? Yeah, when you're so happy, sometimes you cry, that's right.

Speaker 1: 8:02

It'll be so special.

Speaker 2: 8:06

So, as you can see, I just got back from dance, so that's why I was dressed strangely. But I come back and in previous shows that I've done, you get your role, like maybe a day or two after. So I was kind of expecting it that night, I didn't really know. And I come back and I was going to get dinner and I was going to like just kind of chill and my mom says Gracie, come here. And I go uh-oh, we have the emails and I walk over and I see my part and I got Brigitte and I was like, yeah, I was very happy, but I was more nervous than I was happy because I didn't know if my mom had gotten the role and she'd switch his emails. And she got the bareness and I started crying into her shoulder because I was so happy.

Speaker 1: 9:03

And one of my favorite lines from that my husband was recording it. I actually didn't even realize he was recording it, but it was when my youngest daughter, Lily, who's sick, she says when you're so happy, sometimes you cry. Oh, it was so sweet because it's so true. Sometimes you cry because you're just so happy. So the audition process was eventful, To say the least. It was a great experience for me, and I had this conversation recently with somebody.

Speaker 1: 9:34

Auditioning is an art form in and of itself, but this is true in sports, this is true in job interviews. One of the things that is really poignant about auditioning for performing arts is you have to practice the art of being rejected and not taking it personally that somehow your worth is tied to whether or not you get a part, whether or not you make the team, whether or not you make the job and this is something that you know. Gracie has had to practice very early in life and maybe you don't get the part that you wanted. Grace, tell us a little bit about how you have learned from auditioning and what it feels like to not get a role or not get the role that you wanted or not get accepted. How do you deal with rejection and not let it crush you.

Speaker 2: 10:35

So me personally, I have never been rejected from a show. I have never been like. I have never been said to like. You're not in the show, Anyways, Not yet.

Speaker 2: 10:49

Not yet not yet, but like being able to audition. Like when I was in a show there was one part that I was really looking for and I was seeing really cool things in it. And when it comes back, I didn't get it. But I did get another lead role and I was like, oh okay, I'll roll with it and by the end of the show process it was one of my favorite shows, of any show that I did. My role was great, my friends were great.

Speaker 1: 11:25

It was Lion King, right? Yes, it was Lion.

Speaker 2: 11:26

King, lion King Jr. I got offered the part of Rafiki when I wanted young Simba, but I was very, I was very excited Rafiki is throughout the whole show.

Speaker 1: 11:38

To that trial and what do you learn from it? And give you the motivation to work harder for next time and to grow. And maybe sometimes you have to pivot whether you have to pivot to a different part or you pivot to a different sport or you pivot to a different job. Yeah, it's learning the art of rejection and somebody saying no and recognizing that it's not a reflection on your worth or your value, but it's just not the right thing for this season. But it's hard, it's really. It's an art form but it's a really good thing to practice. So that's been, I think, a good thing for her to experience at a young age and I was really blessed to get the part, but it was really something that I had even practiced. Like, okay, I'm gonna go into it and if I don't get the part, fine, that's totally okay. So we get these parts. She gets Brigida, I get the bareness, and it was really a fun experience to start rehearsals. I have certainly sat in many rehearsals with her doing her shows, like you know, working in the back or whatever, but it was really fun to take part of the rehearsals myself. It was such a challenging yet rewarding experience to embody a character that the director like characterized in a very different way than how I knew. So the Elsa Schrader in the movie that we're all very familiar with is very one-dimensional. She's very haughty and wealthy and entitled. And so I came into the show thinking that that's how I was going to play her. And we get to the first rehearsal for my character and I'm sitting there with the guy that's playing the captain, the guy that's playing Max and the girl that's playing Maria, and we're talking through our characters and who are these characters? Who are these people, some of their backstory, and I thought I had a pretty good idea of mine.

Speaker 1: 13:53

And then the director shares her vision for the show and what she actually wanted to portray which is true in the musical is this very multi-dimensional, complex character that is the Baroness, and she creates this really challenging dynamic in this love triangle between Maria, the Baroness and the captain. And she actually wanted the audience to feel for the Baroness and to feel the tension of actually liking her. And so when I read through the script in the musical, it really was true. The musical does not portray her as just like one-dimensional haughty. She's actually rather likable. The kids don't hate her. She doesn't say off to boarding school with you and she really seems to be moved by the children especially. So it was really challenging and this really rewarding experience.

Speaker 1: 14:52

She was so complex in the musical and I really had to dismantle this one-dimensional version of her I knew from the movie, but her story and songs create the tension that we feel daily, as we realize the impact of our choices is not limited to the good or bad, but undeniably includes better and best, and so the director's vision for this was wanting to bring the audience along, using the Baroness sort of as like this tension point for the character's stories to ask this question will you stoop a little and compromise to stay comfortable, or will you climb that mountain with courage, placing your confidence in the one who leads the way? So it was truly the sound of music like I had never seen it or heard it before and I asked the director she didn't answer this question, which was probably a good thing Like how nervous were you to cast? To cast somebody as the bare-nose who had never acted before? She just kind of chuckled. I'm pretty sure that she took a little convincing, but it was really rewarding at the end just to see her response to the character and even just the audience. The most rewarding experience for me, I think, was the second to last, the couple last shows.

Speaker 1: 16:21

We had eight shows and somebody came up to me several people came up to me towards the end of the run and said they said I know that Maria needed to win, but you walked off and I was about to cry because I was like man, I kind of want her to be it and I just felt so good because I was like, oh, I've never acted before, but I did it. I did it. That was the goal. So it was just really, it was really cool. But it was an unbelievably challenging process over the eight weeks and one of the things that I had learned I'll let Gracie talk here again in a second was actually from an interview with an acting coach.

Speaker 1: 17:01

Her name's Billie Shepherd. Recording was a podcast episode, but what she did is she became a speaking coach for businessmen and women and moved from this acting coach position in LA to a speaking coach and she taught me, as the first I learned, about the idea of intention in acting and that means like you read the lines in a scene but you try to dig a little deeper than that and say okay, what is the intention Meaning, what is the emotion that I'm trying to convey, what is the thought in this character's mind that we are trying to portray? And it's really a skill. And the guy that I was acting opposite from, who played the captain, his name was Sean and I used to joke with him because the first couple weeks it took me at least a couple of weeks to catch up to some of our scenes because early on in the process he would act mad in a scene and I'm thinking why is he acting mad right now? Or in the song, and a couple of weeks later it was like oh, that's why we're mad Right. Oh, this is why I should be acting irritated with him. So it took me several weeks to catch up to that, but I really really enjoyed learning from the people that I was acting across from and honestly, I learned a lot from this one. She helped me a lot as going through lines, going through the music, because you have to act through the music, and that was something that I was not super familiar with, and so she helped me a lot, like what do I do with my hands here? How do I position my body to convey this emotion as she's just a natural.

Speaker 1: 18:46

So sometimes in the process of musical rehearsals or productions, when it's actually showtime, actors improvise. When it's in rehearsals, the director has a chance to actually yay it or nay it, and when it's showtime, obviously you just hope that it didn't totally flop. But you and some of your co-stars, the Von Trapp children, did come up with some improv that the director did like it was in one of the very commonly known scenes. So it's when the whistle's blowing and all the kids come marching in and they get in there perfectly ordered, line by height, and then they step forward and introduce themselves I'm Gretel, I'm Marta, I'm Brigida, and in that they step forward and run their lines and you and your buddy.

Speaker 2: 20:06

Grayson.

Speaker 1: 20:07

Grayson and your other cast the kids were double cast came up with a cute little improv there. That was fun. What'd you guys do?

Speaker 2: 20:19

So at one point Brigida's telling Maria on how much she hates her dress and Kurt goes Brigida, why did you say that? And like I go, well, don't you think it's ugly? And Kurt says, well, if I did think so, I wouldn't say so. And we thought it would be really funny if at that time, before I stepped back, if I would step on his foot and if he kind of like made a reaction and Brigida's sassy, brigida's very sassy. And so we tried it and the director loved it. So we kind of just kept that going and that was a very memorable moment, yeah.

Speaker 1: 21:03

So the other cast did it. First Thumbs up from the director. So then Gracie and her co-star did it as well. What made me laugh is her co-star did not want Gracie to fake stepping on his foot. I was there for the conversation. I was like Gracie don't actually hurt his foot, and he said no, I want her to really step on my foot because I want the reaction to be natural. So, bless his heart, he was probably bruised by the end of the show run because Gracie would stomp on his foot, but it was really. It was impressive to watch these little Cuties making up the stuff. Little cuties are like preteens, but still it was really a fun cast. Pain is gain.

Speaker 1: 21:48

This is one of the other things that I've learned from being in performing arts. From one show and it's not even like I had an extensive hair and makeup process but I love behind-the-scene footage. You know whether it be the Lord of the Rings and all 200 million hours of the behind-the-scenes footage. I've watched all of it. I almost love behind-the-scenes more than I do the actual shows themselves. So let me give you a little behind-the-scenes of my own hair and makeup.

Speaker 1: 22:14

I had a massive hair piece. I have very fine hair. I don't have a lot of it and the style that they wanted. I was like it's not happening with my God-given hair, so you're going to have to whip out something not natural. So they got this hair piece and it really was beautiful, but it was unbelievably heavy. We named her Hilda and you're going to meet Hilda here, but she was a character in and of herself. She was an experience. This is Hilda the Hairpiece. Okay, I am backstage here with our makeup and hair, but this is worth noting. So if you saw the takeover last weekend, you noticed and met Hilda the Hairpiece. We had a whole interview with her. This is the Baroness's hairpiece. As I mentioned, I am not the Baroness tonight A list of my understudies but look how nice she looks. She looks fantastic.

Speaker 2: 23:07

She was struggling last weekend.

Speaker 1: 23:08

She really was. Hilda was worn out. She was worn out. Yeah, she's not easy to wear, she's heavy and I mean that in the loveliest way. She's very robust. So that was Hilda.

Speaker 1: 23:20

It really gave me some perspective when, I mean, I think about Lord of the Rings, for example, and many, many movies Of when actors and actresses sit in a chair for two hours to get their makeup and costumes on, and just the extensive discomfort that a lot of characters require in order to accurately portray them. And I just had a hairpiece. It was incredibly uncomfortable and I was usually in a lot of pain by the end of the show, like my scalp. But that was just my scalp, anyway. It was just a very like oh my word, I have a lot of respect because it is, you know, when you're in the show, when you're in that costume hour after hour. I can only imagine what some of these actors and actresses have disciplined themselves to act through.

Speaker 1: 24:10

There's also another element of our costuming. I call it the dress that wore me. There are outfits that make you look good and then there are pieces that simply wear you, and that was one of my scenes. It was the red dress. They wanted the bareness to be represented by red right, red lipstick, red dresses to classify this bold, elegant personality that was also Schrader, and the costuming department just specifically came up with this gorgeous, time period appropriate dress and it was really, really beautiful and timeless. We're going to show you, let's actually bring up the image of the red dress. This is, I think, the only picture that I have of me in it. Like I said you guys, it's basically wearing me. The dress is its own piece there. This is when she walks into the ball scene and she's making an entrance and she surely does in that dress.

Speaker 1: 25:18

But something that was so fascinating to me is the timelessness of the big classic dress. I got so many compliments from young preteens to my grandfather who the first thing that he said was that dress. He said you were beautiful. He just couldn't get over me stepping out in that dress and it was so fascinating to me because our style has changed and like I would not step out in real life in that dress. That's not my style. But what's interesting is how there's like a timeless last to that style, just like the big dress. I mean, it's probably why our wedding dresses are so big and princessy.

Speaker 1: 26:08

It just was really fascinating to me how many compliments I got in that dress when I wouldn't wear it in real life. It's like in real life we wear less, but like that dress wasn't even ultra flattering, like it really wasn't. It was actually kind of baggy, like I had to fit my mic pack under it and stuff. But there's just something about the elegance and the timelessness of elegance and across the board, how many people, despite the decades in between, were like, oh it was so beautiful. Anyway, food for thought, it's just so interesting. There's there really is sort of a timeless understanding of what's beautiful, which is fascinating. But what do you think of the dress?

Speaker 2: 26:52

It was something. It was something. There you go. I could definitely tell that from when you first got in that dress that you did not like it. It was definitely not her style.

Speaker 1: 27:06

Well, hold on Time out Clarification. I loved it for the role.

Speaker 2: 27:11

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 27:11

It was beautiful for the role. No, I wouldn't wear it in like real life, but it certainly looked right in the show. Well, actually, one of the other things about the dress I'll tell you what I didn't like about the dress was there were sequins that ran down the side and my gloves kept sticking to it. So I had to literally walk with my elbows sticking out, which was also not inappropriate for the dress, but, like, the gloves kept sticking. So if I kept my arms down at my side, they would stick to the sequence and it would literally be, like Jack, my arm up to get it, to get it off.

Speaker 1: 27:46

So yeah, Grace, what you're saying was not your, you wouldn't wear it.

Speaker 2: 27:50

Yeah, I would definitely not wear it and I don't think she would either in life, but it was like she said in the time period. It was definitely a very pretty dress and she was very beautiful.

Speaker 1: 28:05

Well, thank you, it was a fun scene. It was the only scene that we were all as a cast I think everyone except for Mother Abbas was in that scene, which was yeah. Yeah, the ball scene was a really neat was a really neat scene. One of the most fun memories that I have from the show was there was a small scene between Maria and I where we sat at a table on the terrace and I'll show you the clip here. We actually interviewed Hailey, who played Maria, and we talk a little bit about her role and also our favorite scene. Here's a little fun clip. Last but certainly not least of the show is the Maria aka Hailey Swanson. Hailey works at Sight and Sound Conservatory. She does, I'm sure, all kinds of amazing things over there. She's a fantastic Maria. She adds a very different character to Maria. She's a lighthearted and, I think, tomboyish. I think that's the fun.

Speaker 3: 29:08

That was actually taken from. I was tasked with reading the actual Maria's biography before the show began. She was very much that way. She got in all kinds of trouble. She would break dishes so frequently at the nunnery that she would have to for her penance, hold up what she broke in front of everybody and then lie on the floor with it. This girl and she had a temper. Of the two her husband and her she claimed she was more. Yeah, she had a bigger temper.

Speaker 1: 29:38

Which she plays very well. She throws things in the show, I throw his things. She does, but one of my favorite scenes actually. That made me laugh. So last weekend we had this one little dress where we sit at a table and she just won this battle at the show.

Speaker 1: 29:50

Basically, I'm stress eating Maria's stress eating and the bear nest. She's helping herself add the bear nest to the seat on the terrace and there's this little plate of cookies. I put three out and Hayley somehow manages in our dialogue to eat at least two of them. She like stuffs her face and she's like spewing cookies, and then the bear nest responds appropriately, as the bear nest would. But Sunday Hayley decides to go for a third. I told them Wait.

Speaker 3: 30:18

I think we're going to eat it. That's my job.

Speaker 1: 30:21

I like, take the plate away from her, as the bear nest to my side and Hayley, before she leaves the scene, literally reaches around the teapot, the wine glasses, everything and grabs the third cookie and Give me the mic.

Speaker 3: 30:34

Give me the mic. They're really good. They're like these little almond flavored things.

Speaker 1: 30:38

They look just disgusting, they're delicious, they're delicious.

Speaker 1: 30:41

There was literally just crumbs chewing out of her mouth. Anyways, it was fantastic. I had a very hard time not laughing. I think we pulled it off. I think we did. I did a lot of really fun interviews. I was given access to Kavad's Instagram account and I did a takeover for them, the one show that my understudy played, the bear nest. I did this Instagram takeover and I interviewed a bunch of the cast, which was really really fun, and one of the obviously the most memorable aspects was doing it with Gracie. It was really special.

Speaker 1: 31:16

I've mentioned this before in other episodes. It's just the idea of when is it ever a good time to have fun? Right, like, sometimes life gets so busy and once you're at this stage in life, it was really special and I'm grateful that she pushed me to do something that there was no end goal. It's not like I have any intention of becoming a performer on stage or musical theater, but just simply to do something for fun with my daughter. Where there's intention in the busyness. Interestingly, I found that I was actually more relaxed, oddly, and my husband was like, well, yeah, because you were doing something fun, just fun. That's a takeaway from this is just do something fun in the chaos, as moms are so easy to lose Fun. It's like everything. There has to be some sort of end goal. Have fun, bring a little spark, do something with your kids. In the end, I realize, age is just a number and it's never too late to embrace and embrace the spotlight. Chase your dreams, even if it means doing so in the company of little pint-sized performers.

Speaker 2: 32:33

Pint-sized.

Speaker 1: 32:34

Oh yeah, You're pretty little. You're pretty little. Gracie was really special. I loved doing it with you.

Speaker 2: 32:39

I loved doing it with you too. I love doing it with you too. I love doing it with you too. I love doing it with you too.