Playing Jean Val Jean in "Les Miserables" was a dream come true at the time. It became even better when I had the chance to play in such an iconic show in a iconic NJ theatre such as the Strand Theatre. This was my first role outside of a school production in 3 years so the stakes seemed very high. It's important to note that this was the school edition of the show, meaning some of the songs were cut a bit short (Soliloquy and Confrontation) which at the time was frustrating but also very helpful on my voice. With limited vocal training this was the hardest id ever had to push myself up to this point. My advice for this would be to make the music your own. There's plenty of inspiration to look at for this role such as Colm Wilkinson, Hugh Jackman, Ramin Karimloo, Alfie Boe, the list goes on. Personally, I prefer Nick Cartells and John-Owen Jones as both I took huge inspiration from. Valjean as a character is the defintion of a redemption arc. You're hopeless fugitive and all is lost in the beginning until he discovers his love and dedication to god. There is so many lessons to take in from this show, make it your own and capture its beauty.

Dallas Winston will forever be one of the greatest roles i've ever had the chance to play. Similar to my age at the time and such a compelling story to bring to life as well. Now it's easier to get into his character with the movie as well as the broadway soundtrack as at the time did not exist. Back then, I would look at playlists that would reflect on Dallys emotions and really get into who he was as a person, he's a boy who was forced to grow up too soon, he's seen as much as anyone can take in his lifetime and hes only 18! This is the most work I've done when getting into a character. My high school director would have me sit down and read his final monologue multiple times in different emotions, I've never been much of a method actor but would constantly find myself pacing backstage and getting into emotions to make myself explode. Dally is a natural hot head, it's easy to make him mad, but it's not easy to make him cry. Not only that but this is such a tight cast with only so many roles and being on stage with everyone at a time, getting close to your cast in this production is bound to happen. In the movie, book and broadway production it's seen and portrayed as a family. Even during the process of this show all of the emotion spilled out opening night and closing in front of the most live crowd i have had the experience to perform in front of. we had a very special guest named Leo to us after the show where he read his poem to us titled "why can't you see me?" where the whole cast broke into tears, I was fortunate enough to receive this beautiful drawing from Leo, an image he took from my final bow which is absolutely beautiful. the aura those nights were spectacular and the weight of these characters really came into our lives. Below I will show some images and videos that really mean a lot to me and just go to show how much this show meant, I will forever miss Dallas Winston.

Judas Iscariot is a tricky one as there is so many portrayals of this character. Not only that but it all depends on what Judas you're portraying as well. I have had the privilege of playing Judas in a production of both "Godspell Jr" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" in just under a year with both productions going up in March. Godspell of course you can have much more fun with songs like "All For The Best" and "Day by Day" but both shows have the similarity of the ending and the impossible decisions Judas must make. Godspell Jr was a weird mix just because there was no clear point of when Judas would turn on Jesus. In superstar however they make it very clear in "Blood Money" when Judas confirms jesus whereabouts and is paid for it. For Godspell Jr, I made it clear that i stopped agreeing with jesus and his teachings at the end of Act 1 since going into Act 2 you hear the Jesus and Judas duet "All for The Best". From there my intent was clear up to the crucifixion. Both roles were the most emotionally demanding as it's no easy story to tell. Judas in Superstar was undoubtedly the hardest role i've had the chance to play. My voice reaching points I wouldn't have dreamed of a year ago. My advice would be to take the events and story into consideration and feel free to dive into each song and what it means, both are beautiful in their own right as it is also great to form a good cast bond in this. Judas is seen as the narrator in Superstar, take advantage of that and tell the story. Godspell is such a tight cast, be sure to make it feel like a family.