- Never have I ever sabotaged another actor
competing for the same role.
- Ooh.
Maybe a little.
(upbeat jazz music)
- Hi, I'm Tommy, I've been a drama teacher
for 15 years.
- Hi, I'm Mary, and I've been a drama teacher
for 13 years.
- Hey, I'm Erik, and I've been teaching drama
for, like, 10 years.
- Hi, I'm Jona, and I've been a drama teacher
for four years, and this is Never Have I Ever.
- Ooh, I have.
- I probably have, too.
- Never have I ever regretted my casting decision
on a show.
- Yeah, yeah, probably.
- I have.
I have had people that have underachieved
and overachieved.
- I don't think I've regretted a single
lead casting decision.
But, you know, over time, there have been
the occasional kind of medium sized roles
where there's a kid who doesn't quite
have as much interest.
- I have not regretted any casting decisions,
I feel like.
- I'm not gonna get specific,
because I don't wanna hurt people's feelings.
- That's a hard yes, that's what I hear.
It was Janie, wasn't it. - But,
basically how it works is
there's such a fast audition process,
and sometimes kids need more time to open up.
So, sometimes, it's never like,
oh, I casted this person in the wrong part.
It's like, I wish I gave you more.
- Never have I ever sabotaged another actor
competing for the same role.
- Ooh.
Maybe a little.
- No, never.
I feel like that, like, compromises my integrity
as a person.
Like, I really just wanna be kind to everyone
and be really nice.
- I've not, like, gone out of my way to sabotage.
- Right, I mean, sabotage is a bendable word, right?
- But I have been in an audition, maybe,
and like someone was missing a side
or maybe they didn't get their character right.
And I could've been like, it's like this,
but actually we're still in competition, so no.
- Right.
- Let's just keep it at I have.
- Okay.
Never have I ever forgotten a line while onstage.
I have, this is recent.
In the musical I was in last semester,
I literally was like going,
I was laughing at something that was happening
in the audience, and I went to like sing my line,
and I was just like, and then I like picked it up
in the middle.
No one noticed it, because it was very brief.
- I'm horrible at memorizing lines.
I'm so bad at getting it.
- No?
- No, it's always been my biggest fear,
and I fear it and I fear it and I fear it,
but it never ends up happening.
I've never forgotten a line onstage,
because I work well under pressure.
Never have I ever had anything go wrong during a show.
Ooh, I have.
- Yeah, I mean, (chuckles) it wouldn't be theater
without something going
wrong, right? - Yeah, that's true.
- In terms of directing, every show with the kids,
something goes wrong.
- I also had someone, once, have a nosebleed onstage.
- Really? - Yeah,
and she was coming off stage - That'd be pretty cool
- and I was like. - depending on the part
and/or character.
- It didn't fit.
- Okay. - It didn't fit.
- Never have I ever already knew
who I wanted to cast before auditions.
Yeah.
Yeah, I have.
- We have an idea.
- Wait, no, I have to think about this.
- You've never had been like, oh, Tiffany's definitely
gonna get the lead. - Oh, no, no, no this is true.
The thought is there, but of course, like
everyone has to audition and you
have to give everyone a fair - Well, it's also like.
- chance. - It's the responsibility
factor, too, you know what I mean?
Like, if this is the only responsible kiddo
who can learn this many lines,
you're the only one - That's a good one.
- who I can cast as this.
- I think for me, it's a not really,
because I really enjoy the audition process,
so I come in with such a clear mind.
- Never have I ever recited Macbeth onstage
and had something bad happen.
Still not. (laughs)
- Never have I ever recited the Scottish play onstage
and had something bad happen.
I just want it noticed that it doesn't say
Scottish play on this, I added that,
because you can't trick me into saying it.
I won't say it, because I don't say it, so.
- Are you talking about Macbeth?
- Never have I ever been jealous
of another actor's talent.
- Yeah.
What?
- No, I'm the best.
- I'm sorry, I guess you haven't seen me perform.
- I'm very flip floppy, because of course,
like people get insecure.
It's such a, like, judgemental practice.
You're literally judging people
and your performance, and how you are
is what's at stake here, kind of like,
what you're providing is what's at stake.
But, at the same time, I'm great.
- I don't think any actor is perfect
in every single way, right?
- We're all different.
- Except, maybe, Meryl Streep, and
it's some of the moments - True, very true.
- where I say, okay well I - Very true.
- feel great about this, this, this.
And that's enough for me to be a great actor,
but wouldn't it be cool if I also had,
you know, a little bit of cumin on my spice rack,
and they've got cumin in spades, right?
And like, oh, wouldn't that be cool?
- But they don't have something else you might have.
- Right, they don't have my nutmeg.
- There you go.
- So, there's that, it's true.
- Never have I ever thought about giving up theater.
- No, never.
If anything, I gave up other things to be in theater.
This is really sad.
- You have?
- We're so different.
I have.
I gave up theater for three years
and went and did a business degree,
because I got scared with how uncertain it is,
because it can be.
But then I went back to it.
Sure, but are you defining giving up theater as--
- I stopped doing it.
- Stopped, right.
- Yeah, I stopped pursuing, I stopped doing,
I stopped doing classes, I stopped teaching, everything.
Even if you go do something else,
a part of you's always gonna be like,
oh, I really wanna do theater again.
- Right.
- There are points in my life
when I was definitely like,
I'm focusing on other things, other creative
aspects of my life I really wanna focus on.
But I've always come back to theater, that's the thing.
Like, I can definitely sit here and be like,
oh, I don't need this right now,
maybe I'll never come back to it,
but I always have come back to it.
So, as much push-back, like refocusing
goes on in my life, I feel like theater,
performance, it's home.
- That was a fun game.
To me, it's fun to just sort of think
about your history as a performer
and a drama teacher.
- It's so funny to learn how different we are, too.
- Yeah.
- Theater is really fun, and theater is really complicated.
In a good way.
And, you know, maybe give us a little bit
more street cred.
(upbeat jazz music)