Speaker 1: Pushkin doing it is simple like may that good? All right?
Speaker 1: So let's start with that man running your arms? Loosen
Speaker 1: up your body. That's me warming up with Vanessa Hutchins.
Speaker 1: She's a singer and actress and a Broadway star. We've
Speaker 1: been working together since her high school musical days. That
Speaker 1: was quite a while ago. She's come a long way
Speaker 1: from then. You might also know her from her solo albums,
Speaker 1: her Broadway running Jiji or when she did Grease Live
Speaker 1: on television and also Rent Live. We Do one where
Speaker 1: we just go we we we we we wee wee.
Speaker 1: Vanessa has been in movies from Thirteen and Beastly to
Speaker 1: Spring Breakers. In The Princess Switch. Her newest film, Tictic Boom,
Speaker 1: as also lin Manuel Miranda's directorial film debut. She co
Speaker 1: stars with Andrew Garfield. Today, we're going to talk about
Speaker 1: all of that and more. This is Backstage Pass with
Speaker 1: Eric Vitro, and I'm Eric Vitro. On this show, I
Speaker 1: talked to some of the most talented and famous singers
Speaker 1: working today about their lives, their craft, and what it
Speaker 1: takes to make it. We're really big. I happen to
Speaker 1: be their voice teacher and their vocal coach, so our
Speaker 1: conversations are uniquely different from their usual interviews. Vanessa has
Speaker 1: a wide range of talents and voices, from Marine and
Speaker 1: Rent to Rizzo and Greece, or even voicing Sunny Star
Speaker 1: Scout and My Little Pony, and she works all of
Speaker 1: that energy and enthusiasm into her speaking voice. You know,
Speaker 1: my voice is my voice, and I love it because
Speaker 1: it's hella versatile and I feel like I'm just leaning
Speaker 1: into all the different sides of my voice. I've been
Speaker 1: doing voiceovers recently, which is very new for me, and
Speaker 1: I've always wanted to do it, so just kind of
Speaker 1: playing with my voice and seeing where I can take it,
Speaker 1: and then seeing that put into like these characters. Oh
Speaker 1: my cat, I love it. It's so fun. Like in
Speaker 1: this next clip, Vanessa got to experiment with accents cast
Speaker 1: as both characters you're about to hear and the Princess
Speaker 1: switch Who are you, Lady, Margadelico, Duchess Montanaro, Stacy Janovo.
Speaker 1: I think we were destined to run into each other.
Speaker 1: I think that my relationship with my voice has been
Speaker 1: like a long one because I feel like when I
Speaker 1: was younger, I used to hate how high my voice was,
Speaker 1: and so then I would like consciously try to lower it.
Speaker 1: But then because I was doing that, then I became
Speaker 1: really aware of my voice, my speaking voice, and then
Speaker 1: started incorporating that into my work. Your voice, one of
Speaker 1: the things I think is unique about it is it
Speaker 1: always sounds so natural. You never sound like you're straining
Speaker 1: when you saying. It always sounds so easy and well.
Speaker 1: I mean like a lot of that is thanks to you.
Speaker 1: You helped me make sure that things aren't easy and
Speaker 1: not strained. And when they are strained, You're like, why
Speaker 1: are you lifting your chin up? And I'm like, I
Speaker 1: don't know, then I don't. Yeah, I love that. I
Speaker 1: love that about your voice because I always feel very
Speaker 1: relaxed listening. Oh you know, I don't worry about it. Yeah. So,
Speaker 1: speaking of voices and voice lessons, is there an exercise
Speaker 1: vocal exercise that you really love, Like, is your favorite?
Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like I have a couple. When
Speaker 1: I was younger and was not putting in as much
Speaker 1: work as I possible we could, I wouldn't do my
Speaker 1: full warmups. I would literally just do like slides, okay,
Speaker 1: and then I'd like, go on this cage. I'm so bad.
Speaker 1: But my favorite that I have of your warmups is
Speaker 1: your warm down because we're getting ready for me to
Speaker 1: go to Broadway and you're like, what's very important is
Speaker 1: to cool your voice down because it's an exercides with
Speaker 1: your body. You exercise and then you stretch and on
Speaker 1: the tape you go, hmmm, me, mem may may come
Speaker 1: in m hm, sit down. And I would do that
Speaker 1: after every show to myself And then did you continue
Speaker 1: speaking like that? Yeah? And then everything was very light
Speaker 1: and my voice is going to be okay because I'm
Speaker 1: speaking in a very soft place. Hmmm. Well that makes
Speaker 1: me really really happy to hear. The most recent thing
Speaker 1: we worked on together was the Kennedy Center Honors. Were
Speaker 1: You Saying Fame? The iconic song Fame, which a very
Speaker 1: good friend of mine wrote the lyric too for the
Speaker 1: Debbie Allen tribute? What was that like? Was that fun?
Speaker 1: Did you enjoy? Amazing? Yeah? I mean I feel like
Speaker 1: I remember sitting down with you and being like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I gotta really learn this song, make sure I actually
Speaker 1: know the notes i'ms meant to be doing. And I
Speaker 1: was just like, it's in a couple of days, but
Speaker 1: we'll figure it. Out, I'll figure it out. It'll be fine.
Speaker 1: That's funny you say you told me in a couple
Speaker 1: of days, because my normal instinct if anyone else said
Speaker 1: that would be oh no, this is insane, Like is
Speaker 1: she crazy? And I think I said to you that day.
Speaker 1: Normally i'd be really nervous about this a couple of
Speaker 1: days before you're kidding me. But with you, I'm like, well,
Speaker 1: it always does work out. And that's kind of always
Speaker 1: been your motto, Yeah, because you always say that just
Speaker 1: calm down, lacks it always works out. Yeah, because I'm
Speaker 1: just like, there's no point on stressing something that you
Speaker 1: can't change. So end of day, I'm like, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: do my best. I'm gonna give it all that I
Speaker 1: can and have faith that, like it will be fine
Speaker 1: because I've been performing my entire life and I love
Speaker 1: doing it, so I always know that, like, even if
Speaker 1: I mess up, it will be okay because I think
Speaker 1: my passion and love for it shines. Yeah. I totally
Speaker 1: totally agree. And then the other thing in the present
Speaker 1: is you have a great, big, wonderful, exciting movie coming
Speaker 1: out directed by lin Manuel Miranda, the Great lin Manuel Miranda.
Speaker 1: I have to say, right, what was that like working
Speaker 1: with him? I mean, he's incredible. Well, he is phenomenal.
Speaker 1: I remember my first time meeting him was I think
Speaker 1: it was right after we did Greece. He was still
Speaker 1: doing Hamilton. We went backstage with Tommy kr director on Grace,
Speaker 1: and he had gotten Lynn the t Birds motorcycle jacket,
Speaker 1: the leather coat. So we got up there and he
Speaker 1: was wearing it, and I was just like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: what could you go? And he was just so sweet
Speaker 1: and complimentary, and I was just like obsessed obviously with
Speaker 1: Hamilton as well. And then I worked on in the
Speaker 1: Heights at the Kennedy Center where he would come by
Speaker 1: and like hang out with us. And to be able
Speaker 1: to be in his directorial debut film is so special.
Speaker 1: It really feels like such a tight knit family theater
Speaker 1: and to be a part of his crossovers really cool. Now,
Speaker 1: in case you don't know, Tic Tic Boom was originally
Speaker 1: a one man show written and performed by Jonathan Larson,
Speaker 1: the creator of the hit musical Rent. The twenty twenty
Speaker 1: one film Vanessa's In is an adaptation. It's really great.
Speaker 1: I think that like it really takes you back to
Speaker 1: the time and what it looked like for Jonathan Larson
Speaker 1: living in the Lower East Side in the nineties during
Speaker 1: the AIG's pandemic, like everybody was scared, but like living
Speaker 1: and creating and doing their best. Oh, the buzz is amazing.
Speaker 1: I can't wait through the final It's so good. I'm
Speaker 1: so excited. Well, and then when we worked on it,
Speaker 1: you and I just going through the music before, Yeah,
Speaker 1: you did it. Your voice just sounded so great on
Speaker 1: those songs, especially because a lot of what I got
Speaker 1: to do and Tick take Boom is like harmonies and
Speaker 1: like backup vocals, because that's what my character did. She
Speaker 1: did Jonathan's backup vocals in his show along with Joshua Henry,
Speaker 1: who is another phenomenal voice and human. But singing with
Speaker 1: him and harmonizing with him, Oh my gosh, it just
Speaker 1: gave me so much joy every day that, like during
Speaker 1: our breaks, we would just sing together and harmonize with
Speaker 1: each other because it was so fun and we sound
Speaker 1: so good together, and all that work paid off. Listen
Speaker 1: to their harmonies here in this clip from the movie
Speaker 1: Tick Tick Boom. So now I'm going to rewinder all
Speaker 1: the way back time travel. I remember our first working experience.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if you remember it, but it was during,
Speaker 1: of course, the iconic high school musicals, and I remember
Speaker 1: us being in a studio in Santa Monica and you
Speaker 1: had that same quality where you like, all right, this
Speaker 1: is gonna be really fun tonight. And I was like,
Speaker 1: who is this girl who was so relaxed? Like where
Speaker 1: does that come from? Is that because you did start
Speaker 1: so young? I think so? Yeah. I mean I used
Speaker 1: to be really shy. I was a very very very shy,
Speaker 1: timid child. I did not like socialize. I just wanted
Speaker 1: to hide or like play in the grass and the dirt,
Speaker 1: like people scared me. I think that what took me
Speaker 1: out of my shell was doing theater. I mean I
Speaker 1: think I did my first play when I was seven
Speaker 1: and where was that or six? Envisted us like by
Speaker 1: San Diego at this little community theater and I was terrified.
Speaker 1: I think I was playing ensemble parts in the beginning,
Speaker 1: because that's what you do, and every now and then
Speaker 1: there would be like an improv part of the day,
Speaker 1: and my god, I would make myself as small as
Speaker 1: humanly possible so that they wouldn't take me because I
Speaker 1: was terrified but you know, when you're forced to go
Speaker 1: outside of your comfort zones, it pushes you and you
Speaker 1: evolve and you grow and you adapt. So I think
Speaker 1: that really helped me come out of my shell. And
Speaker 1: then as well, having a character to hide behind, having
Speaker 1: one else's words to say, you know, I can bring
Speaker 1: that life, but someone's already written down what I meant
Speaker 1: to say. So I think that really gave me comfort
Speaker 1: to just be okay in my own skin and in
Speaker 1: my own space. And then I fell in love with
Speaker 1: all of it. So because though you were terrified and nervous,
Speaker 1: did you go through with it because someone were your
Speaker 1: parents kind of pushing it? Or did you know? It
Speaker 1: was just like I loved performing ever since I was
Speaker 1: really young. I loved being on the stage. I loved musicals.
Speaker 1: It was just something that I adored. And while it
Speaker 1: was uncomfortable, the payoff was worth it every time, right, Right,
Speaker 1: were your parents performers? No, they're like, you want to
Speaker 1: do that, okay? And they weren't in the business at all,
Speaker 1: Oh not at all. Like my dad was a firefighter
Speaker 1: and my mom like had various jobs and we were
Speaker 1: moving around a lot. And I think that God was
Speaker 1: like Hey, you're going to be a performer kid, I've
Speaker 1: been like okay ever since. Yeah, So I think that
Speaker 1: probably is one reason you're so comfortable, although some people
Speaker 1: start young and aren't comfortable and stay nervous or anxious.
Speaker 1: For me, and I think that it's a choice as well, nerves, Like,
Speaker 1: how you label it is such a big thing. Words
Speaker 1: are so powerful because you can take that feeling and
Speaker 1: be like, oh my gosh, I feel like I'm gonna
Speaker 1: throw up. My stomach is so anxious. I'm so nervous.
Speaker 1: I'm terrified. Or you can be like whoa, my stomach
Speaker 1: feels crazy. It's like there's butterflies in there. I am
Speaker 1: so excited. You know, it's just how you label it.
Speaker 1: I think it helps. That is a great way to
Speaker 1: put it, and that does sum up you as now
Speaker 1: spring through my head. Everything I've seen you. We've been
Speaker 1: in the recording studio numerous times, storge and projects or
Speaker 1: backstage before, and that is you always you always label
Speaker 1: it as positive. Yeah, because you have a choice. Why
Speaker 1: choose some negat and like, yeah, I might take a
Speaker 1: little work, and after a while that becomes a habit,
Speaker 1: and that starts to become just you. Was there a
Speaker 1: moment you remember back in those early days when you
Speaker 1: were like, this is it for me, this is what
Speaker 1: I'm gonna do. No, No, It kind of was and
Speaker 1: still is just something that I love doing. I can't
Speaker 1: imagine doing anything else. I mean, like the grind was continuous.
Speaker 1: I didn't really stop. I was doing community theater, and
Speaker 1: then I moved on to doing a show at the
Speaker 1: Old Globe with Jack O'Brien, who is an icon. And
Speaker 1: I was doing like extra work in commercials and then
Speaker 1: would book the national commercials. So then did that, and
Speaker 1: then started doing extra work on TV shows, and then
Speaker 1: booked guest spots on TV shows, and then did my
Speaker 1: first couple movies. I did A thirteen was my first spoovie,
Speaker 1: and then Thunderbirds was my second, and then High School
Speaker 1: Musical I think was my third. But yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: I was chugging along the entire time, going on optitions
Speaker 1: and like committed to the grind. You performed in Washington
Speaker 1: right around I think High School Musical three was after it.
Speaker 1: But I remember you had to sing up Christmas Medley
Speaker 1: in Washington. Remember that, And I remember it's the same thing.
Speaker 1: You came in and you said Okay, here's the music,
Speaker 1: and I was like what it was like, like, oh
Speaker 1: my god. I was like, this is insane. When is it.
Speaker 1: You're like, I've got a few days. I leave tomorrow
Speaker 1: and I was like no, You're like, why are you
Speaker 1: doing this to me? And once again you were like, Oh,
Speaker 1: don't worry about it, It'll be fine, I'll learn it,
Speaker 1: and you did. I mean, I think we worked on
Speaker 1: it for two hours and by the end of it
Speaker 1: you knew the whole thing. Yeah. I mean, looking back
Speaker 1: at that, I'm like, I wish I would have taken
Speaker 1: a little bit more time, but but I think you
Speaker 1: had a million other things going on. Yeah, busy girl, Now,
Speaker 1: don't go anywhere. Backstage passed with me, Eric Vitro and
Speaker 1: my guest Vanessa Hutchins will be right back just after this.
Speaker 1: Welcome back. Here's the rest of backstage Pass with me,
Speaker 1: Eric Vitro and the lovely Vanessa Hutchins. What was that
Speaker 1: like for you being in New York, a California girl
Speaker 1: on Broadway. I remember making friends with someone in him
Speaker 1: being like you seem like such a New Yorker, Like
Speaker 1: I feel like you belong in New York and I
Speaker 1: was like, that's crazy, like me from California thinking of
Speaker 1: myself as like just your classic California girl, which I am.
Speaker 1: But it's so funny because the older that I've gotten,
Speaker 1: I now have a place in New York, and I
Speaker 1: am such a New Yorker. When I go to New
Speaker 1: York and come back to LA I'm like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: people are so slow. What are they doing? Like my
Speaker 1: whole vibe changes. But I love it. It's just a
Speaker 1: special place, especially being in those theaters. We were at
Speaker 1: the Neil Simon Vanessa's talking about her first Broadway show, Gigi, Like,
Speaker 1: I just remember walking in the first time we got
Speaker 1: into the theater and they put the Marquee up and
Speaker 1: there was a picture of Audrey Hepbron standing in front
Speaker 1: of her Marquy when she did Gigi, which was her
Speaker 1: first Broadway show, And I walked into the theater and
Speaker 1: just looked around and just took it in, just thought
Speaker 1: about like all the performers that were there before me,
Speaker 1: and it was just really special. And that was such
Speaker 1: a fun show too. I mean, the music was great,
Speaker 1: the costumes were magnificent. I had some of the most
Speaker 1: insane costume quick changes ever it was thrilling. Yeah. I
Speaker 1: remember those gorgeous pictures of you when they released those.
Speaker 1: They were unbelievable. The costume changes in a Broadway show
Speaker 1: can be really really fast and really difficult, but trust me,
Speaker 1: they're so worth it. I still remember sitting in my
Speaker 1: seat watching Vanessa on stage and those elegant gowns, the
Speaker 1: sleek opera gloves and the feather boas. Oh and can
Speaker 1: we talk about the dressing room for a minute. Gosh, well,
Speaker 1: I had to dick out my dressing on my first
Speaker 1: broad Way to dressing room. Yeah. No, I went for it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you totally. And I painted it pink. All the flowers
Speaker 1: that I would get, I would hang them upside down
Speaker 1: and dry them. Oh. I put up like a tapestry.
Speaker 1: I put up like a Paris wall paper. Right, I was.
Speaker 1: I was doing the most. And then I was lucky
Speaker 1: enough to be there when you did that recording session
Speaker 1: for the cast album, and I remember, once again you
Speaker 1: were excited about it. I was waiting for you on
Speaker 1: the street. Your car pulled up, you got out and
Speaker 1: went all right, this is gonna be fun. And I
Speaker 1: was like, oh my god, She's always so excited and happy.
Speaker 1: About these things and then you went in and just
Speaker 1: nailed it so fast. Is that because you really just
Speaker 1: had been doing it on Broadway so you felt like, oh,
Speaker 1: I really know it and I'm confident, or did you
Speaker 1: like really prep in your mind, all right, I'm recording today,
Speaker 1: I'm going to go in Like no, I mean I
Speaker 1: think that, like because I had been doing it so
Speaker 1: many times from rehearsals to then previews, and like, because
Speaker 1: it's live theater, there's no auto tune or anything, so
Speaker 1: you do your best to make sure that you are
Speaker 1: itch and that your placement is right every night. Yeah,
Speaker 1: So it was just kind of like it became habitual
Speaker 1: those songs. That is the thing about those live television musicals.
Speaker 1: There is no fixing them like that is live. There's
Speaker 1: no auto tune, there's no you know anything. You can't
Speaker 1: go back if you make a mistake, if you crack,
Speaker 1: if you forget a lyric. So you did it with
Speaker 1: so much confidence. Do you think being on Broadway helped
Speaker 1: you or is it just all the years leading up
Speaker 1: to it. I mean, probably definitely helped. It's such a
Speaker 1: high level of performers on Broadway that you want to
Speaker 1: be up there with them, like you want to make
Speaker 1: sure that you're performing at a level that is worthy
Speaker 1: of gracing Broadway stages. But I think professionalism has always
Speaker 1: been something that's very important to me, and it's something
Speaker 1: that I pride myself on, So it's not something that
Speaker 1: I take lightly, like that is my job and I'm
Speaker 1: going to go and do the best job I can.
Speaker 1: What would you say, Because you've obviously now done movie
Speaker 1: musicals you did it live. Is there one that you
Speaker 1: enjoy more? I think doing the live musicals to television
Speaker 1: might be my favorite because it is the most exhilarating, challenging,
Speaker 1: thrilling thing I think you can possibly do. Because I
Speaker 1: love doing Broadway obviously, but it lives there and then
Speaker 1: once the show's over, it's over. Like you can go
Speaker 1: to the library to go see it, but that's it,
Speaker 1: you know. And with the televised ones, like the world
Speaker 1: gets to see it, which is so cool, and it
Speaker 1: can bring families together and it's like an experience and
Speaker 1: you can watch it back and see it but know
Speaker 1: that it was actually your performance that you gave because
Speaker 1: with movies and stuff, you lose that connection of performer
Speaker 1: to audience and with the live to TV ones that
Speaker 1: remains right. It's really cool and it's the craziest thing ever.
Speaker 1: Like I remember doing Greece and running off the stage
Speaker 1: into a golf cart, going over to another stage, running
Speaker 1: onto that stage, throwing all my clothes off, putting on
Speaker 1: new clothes on, running out, doing a scene, and then
Speaker 1: like continuing the running like it was just madness. The
Speaker 1: fact that that came together the way that it did
Speaker 1: is such a miracle. But Rent too, like there's so
Speaker 1: many moving pieces, it's crazy. And for Grease, remember it
Speaker 1: started raining a little bit earlier in the day and
Speaker 1: then I remember the wind was I think it blew
Speaker 1: something down and it felt like a disaster. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: guys were troopers. You just involve, you adapt when you
Speaker 1: do get to watch, because you can't really see yourself
Speaker 1: on Broadway. You can, like you said, if people with
Speaker 1: library and see one taped version. But like, have you
Speaker 1: watched live, Grease or Rent? Yeah, of course I feel
Speaker 1: like I watched them both, like right afterwards, And what
Speaker 1: do you feel when you watch it? What's that experience? Like,
Speaker 1: it's fun, it's exciting. I mean, like with both of those,
Speaker 1: I'm really proud with what I did. And I don't
Speaker 1: have a hard time watching myself, Like I can enjoy
Speaker 1: my performance and everyone else's performances, and like we worked
Speaker 1: so hard on them that it's such a labor of
Speaker 1: love to see it all come together, Like I get
Speaker 1: to enjoy it as an audience member as well. Greece
Speaker 1: was great, and like, I don't know if you want
Speaker 1: to talk about this or not, but what was pretty
Speaker 1: amazing in Greece is that some people might not know
Speaker 1: your dad passed away the day before, the night before,
Speaker 1: the night before. I was like, he was battling cancer.
Speaker 1: But I so many times was just like, please God,
Speaker 1: not the night before. That's all I kept saying. But
Speaker 1: like now as I say that, I'm like, but you
Speaker 1: were sticking all your energy into night before, night before,
Speaker 1: so like, yeah, of course it would happen the night before,
Speaker 1: but yeah it was. It was brutal, but I think that, like,
Speaker 1: my dad was one of my bigger supporters and fans.
Speaker 1: He would have wanted me to do what I did,
Speaker 1: you know. And then our producer Mark dedicated it to
Speaker 1: him at the end, which was so beautiful, right, wow, yeah,
Speaker 1: by Mark, you mean Mark Platt. Amazing. Mark Platt's phenomenal,
Speaker 1: one of the best. And my mom was there, my
Speaker 1: sisters was there, and it was just like a really
Speaker 1: beautiful kind of way to remember him by us all
Speaker 1: being together and like me performing and doing what I
Speaker 1: love and what he spent so much of his time
Speaker 1: working towards from to help me. Yeah, I remember in
Speaker 1: the dressing room. I wasn't sure when we warmed up
Speaker 1: how it was going to go, because you said, I'm okay,
Speaker 1: I'm going to deal with this later, let's not talk
Speaker 1: about it, let's not dwell on it. I'm going to
Speaker 1: compartmentalize it. But you had such a look in your eyes.
Speaker 1: I thought, Wow, I don't know how this is gonna go.
Speaker 1: And then if anybody didn't know that happened, they would
Speaker 1: have never never known. I mean, you were just you
Speaker 1: got out there and you soared well, Like playing Rizzo
Speaker 1: as well is so much fun. It's so much fun.
Speaker 1: She's just spunky and she's sassy and she like knows
Speaker 1: how to capture guy's attention. And I was like, we're
Speaker 1: gonna channel that bitch and like be as her as
Speaker 1: we possibly can be. You can hear that sassy tone
Speaker 1: in this clip of Vanessa as Rizzo in Grease Live.
Speaker 1: Look at me, I'm Sandra, Dee Claus Virginity. Won't go
Speaker 1: to betsylam legally what I cant I'm Sandra. I really
Speaker 1: did have a great time. I think that, like compartmentalizing
Speaker 1: is so real and something that you kind of have
Speaker 1: to do sometimes to push through. But I really did
Speaker 1: still enjoy that. Wow, that's so great, and that's what
Speaker 1: he would have wanted, Like he said, he worked hard
Speaker 1: to get you. Help you there. Yeah, well both of them.
Speaker 1: Grease was great. Rent. Once again, Rent, we sat in
Speaker 1: your trailer, remember you had the trailer and the first
Speaker 1: hour before Maureen makes her fantastic entrance, you were just
Speaker 1: having the best time watching everybody, And I thought that
Speaker 1: was really endearing to me that you were really cheering
Speaker 1: on everybody, all your castmates, watching them for the first hour.
Speaker 1: Like some people get no, I don't want to watch it, No,
Speaker 1: I don't want to be distracted. You were like cheering
Speaker 1: for them and dancing around the room, and well, I
Speaker 1: mean that's what Maureen would have been doing. So I
Speaker 1: think there's definitely a subconscious piece of that. Me. Yeah,
Speaker 1: was not intentional. What I was doing was enjoying the show.
Speaker 1: Like I am a massive theater lover and gigantic Jonathan
Speaker 1: Larson fan, So like watching my friends do a show
Speaker 1: that I love and sing the music that I adore, Like,
Speaker 1: it's just the best time. I got to like sit
Speaker 1: front row and cheer on my friends. Yeah, no, that
Speaker 1: was that was great. And then you left me in
Speaker 1: the trailer and went all right, I'm gonna go have
Speaker 1: a good time, and I just sat there watching and
Speaker 1: it was great, and I was so proud of you.
Speaker 1: Those reviews were unbelievable. They were so great of you.
Speaker 1: I remember when we were in the trailer four rent,
Speaker 1: you said, I love this so much, I'm going to
Speaker 1: make sure I do something musical every single year. Yes,
Speaker 1: I know, And since then I have you have. Yeah,
Speaker 1: every year I've done at least one musical thing. Yeah.
Speaker 1: It's medicine from my heart, and I feel that's what
Speaker 1: I've seen over the years. You can see it in
Speaker 1: all of Vanessa's performances, whether she's singing on stage or
Speaker 1: acting on screen. Vanessa always as fun. I've seen you
Speaker 1: kind of grow and grow up and have a lot
Speaker 1: of life experiences, career experiences, but the truth is your
Speaker 1: essence is always the same, Like you keep evolving and
Speaker 1: getting better, but who you really are as a person
Speaker 1: has not changed. So happy at all. That makes me
Speaker 1: so happy. Well, it's like a great quality. It's a
Speaker 1: really great quality. Yeah, you know, you just trying to
Speaker 1: stay true. Yeah, well you have, and I really mean that.
Speaker 1: It's that positive thinking that always helps her find her
Speaker 1: way while still celebrating exactly who she is. And isn't
Speaker 1: that something we all should be striving for while we're
Speaker 1: trying to make our way in the world. I think
Speaker 1: it's important to remember two things. To work hard, but
Speaker 1: to also have patience, because, as Miles Davis said, man,
Speaker 1: sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself.
Speaker 1: Stay tuned. After the break, we'll go over this week's
Speaker 1: vocal tips and Vanessa's favorite exercise, the cooldowns. Welcome back,
Speaker 1: It's time for our weekly backstage pass vocal tip. Hopefully
Speaker 1: you're feeling inspired to sing yourself. Why just let the
Speaker 1: stars have all the fun. Come on, let's get you
Speaker 1: working your own voice now. I know sometimes the hardest
Speaker 1: part of vocal training can be finding the time and
Speaker 1: the inspiration to practice every day. Just ask Vanessa when
Speaker 1: we don't work together for a while, and then I
Speaker 1: get a job or something where I'm singing. You're like, so,
Speaker 1: how have you been Have you been singing? You always ask,
Speaker 1: and I'm always like, no, no, not really. Have you
Speaker 1: been doing your Vogue warmups? You ask? I'm like, then
Speaker 1: I put on my poker face. Okay, yeah, And I mean,
Speaker 1: like when it's time to like focus in, like I
Speaker 1: do do it every day, but I feel like consistency
Speaker 1: is the hardest thing, like just continuing to do it
Speaker 1: because it is a muscle, and like it doesn't stay
Speaker 1: strong forever, like you have to keep it strong and
Speaker 1: strengthening it. So that's I think always been my downfall, right,
Speaker 1: I don't think it's a downfall. It's just it's your
Speaker 1: process and it's working for you. So I think you
Speaker 1: have to think of it like that. Really, the whole experience,
Speaker 1: I feel like it is just so therapeutic, like seeing
Speaker 1: you and talking and doing the exercises and moving around
Speaker 1: the room and like being silly and like just enjoying
Speaker 1: the process and then working on something with you and
Speaker 1: seeing how the little tricks are things that you may
Speaker 1: give me make such a big difference. And then like
Speaker 1: the relief of knowing that I have those in my
Speaker 1: back pocket going forward is just wonderful. It's like winning
Speaker 1: all around. Oh, I love that. I love that you
Speaker 1: said that. Thank you for the vocal tip this week,
Speaker 1: inspired by Vanessa. Let's talk about developing your lower notes
Speaker 1: and how to cool down your voice. Let's start working
Speaker 1: on developing those lower notes to widen your range. They
Speaker 1: should feel as easy as speaking. First, say m MEMI.
Speaker 1: Try to speak the Mimi and your natural speaking voice,
Speaker 1: but with just a little bit more for replacement than usual,
Speaker 1: a little bit of a nasal sound. Me me, then
Speaker 1: try m may May. Then try singing five notes and
Speaker 1: a descending order like you heard Vanessa doing at the
Speaker 1: beginning of our episode. You can try it on Mimi
Speaker 1: or may may me me me, me, me, me, me
Speaker 1: me me. Basses, baritones, and tenors. Start on a G
Speaker 1: below middle C like this. Keep singing this five note pattern,
Speaker 1: continually transposing it down by half steps, in other words,
Speaker 1: changing the keys by half steps like this. Keep going
Speaker 1: until you reach the lowest note you can sing comfortably.
Speaker 1: You can always use a piano or a keyboard downloaded
Speaker 1: onto your phone or your tablet to give you the
Speaker 1: starting notes of each pattern sopranos and eelto start on
Speaker 1: a G above mettle C. Remember, keep the vibrations forward
Speaker 1: on the roof of your mouth. Just keep transposing, changing
Speaker 1: the keys down by half steps until you reach your
Speaker 1: lowest note. Go as low as you can comfortably. Now,
Speaker 1: let's try a little cooling down. If you've ever watched
Speaker 1: a marathon runner, you saw that they kept walking and
Speaker 1: moving after the race, so the leg muscles didn't cramp up.
Speaker 1: They never just stopped short. The same principle applies to
Speaker 1: a singer after a major singing event like a concert,
Speaker 1: or a long recording session or a big rehearsal. My
Speaker 1: students always tell me that when they do a short cooldown,
Speaker 1: or some people prefer to call it a warm down,
Speaker 1: they wake up the next day feeling much better and stronger.
Speaker 1: I break my cooldowns into two parts. Today we're going
Speaker 1: to focus on the speaking part of the cooldown, which
Speaker 1: is to have you focus keeping your speaking voice forward
Speaker 1: in your mouth after you've been doing a big sing First,
Speaker 1: say mmm hello, Now say hmm please come in. Do
Speaker 1: you feel how the m really propels your voice nice
Speaker 1: and forward in your mouth. That's a really healthy place
Speaker 1: to speak from after you've been doing a big sing
Speaker 1: Try it again, M, hello, M, thank you for coming
Speaker 1: to the show. All right. I know this is probably
Speaker 1: feeling very unnatural, but you only have to do it
Speaker 1: in this exaggerated way for about fifteen minutes after that
Speaker 1: big singing event, just to make sure you're keeping your
Speaker 1: speaking voice and a forward, healthy range that's going to
Speaker 1: really save your voice. After that, you can keep it forward,
Speaker 1: but relax it so you sound more like you. If
Speaker 1: you want to share how you're developing your low notes
Speaker 1: or doing a cool down, I'd love to hear you.
Speaker 1: Use the hashtag Backstage Pass pod on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok,
Speaker 1: or wherever you like to post. I can't wait to
Speaker 1: see your videos. I'll see you next week maybe maybe
Speaker 1: me may. Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro is written and
Speaker 1: hosted by me Eric Vitro and produced by Morgan Jaffee.
Speaker 1: Katherine Girardeaux is our showrunner. Emily Rosstek is our associate producer.
Speaker 1: Mixed and mastered by Ben Tolliday. Additional engineering help is
Speaker 1: from Jacob Gorski. Mia Lobell is our executive producer. Our
Speaker 1: development team Poltallmull and Justine Lange helped create the show.
Speaker 1: Thanks also to Jacob Weisberg, Heather Fame, John Schnars, Carli Migliori,
Speaker 1: Christina Sullivan, Eric Sandler, Maggie Taylor, Nicolemarano, Daniella Lucan and
Speaker 1: Royston Deserve. Original theme music is by Jacob and Sita
Speaker 1: Steele for Premier Music Group. We record it Resonate Studios.
Speaker 1: Fred Taluksen does our videography and the photography is by
Speaker 1: Ken Sawyer. A very special thanks to Michael Lewis for
Speaker 1: his inspiration and the best guidance anyone could ask for.
Speaker 1: Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro is a production of Pushkin Industries,
Speaker 1: and if you like the show, please remember to share,
Speaker 1: rate and review. I mean that really share it, rate
Speaker 1: it and review it. If you love this show and
Speaker 1: others from Pushkin Industries, consider subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Pushkin
Speaker 1: Plus is a podcast subscription that offers bonus content and
Speaker 1: uninterrupted listening for four ninety nine a month. Look for
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Speaker 1: listen to the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to podcasts,