- Are we live - You're live
- We are live.
MJ Rodriguez
- Hey all!
- I'm Paul Wontorek
Thank you so much for being here look at you,
MJ Rodriguez just stopped by.
- Just chillin'
- Stopped by the Broadway.com offices and I said,
"well we need to, we need to call everybody".
- I love this man right y'all,
y'all don't understand this man is an amazing person.
- Oh, thank you, it's gonna be about me?
No it's gonna be about you.
- Oh okay, okay.
- Because let's talk about this,
you are my summer obsession.
I am so obsessed with Pose, the Ryan Murphy show.
You are the star, you are Blanca.
- Blanca.
- Oh my god.
Last nights, there was a new episode last night,
there's only on more of the season.
- There's one more, so make sure y'all tune in
for the eighth episode, finale.
- I hope you guys are watching this fantastic show
and even if you aren't you still can.
And actually it's quite bingy,
like if you watch the episode in a row.
- It's true, yeah, cause I've done the same thing,
I've watch one, two, three, four, five and six
at least about three, four times.
- Are you just watching yourself over and over?
- Well, I don't see myself up there, it's kinda crazy.
Really believe it or not, I don't see myself.
I was just talking to my mom yesterday about this.
I watch with her, I watch with her sometimes,
I watch with some of the cast,
also I watch by myself, and I talked to,
I talked to the TV screen.
- And say what?
- And I'm like, "girl, why'd you do that girl?"
or like yesterday when me and my mom
were downstairs watching it.
My mom was like talking about Little Papi and she was like,
"I don't know why he do that" and I was like
"I don't know why he do that either,
Blanca told him not to do it".
(laughing)
And he comes in the house and does it anyway.
So it's like I don't, it's weird I see MJ--
- You're involved as a viewer, you're removed from it.
- Yeah.
- So you filmed it and you know what's actually happening.
And then you're actually watching it as a viewer
and experiencing it in the way we are.
- Exactly. - That's crazy.
- I do purposely because I do...
Y'all these nails are pop off.
(laughing)
I do that purposely because I want to experience it
just like any of the audience people would experience it.
I don't know if that sounds weird but I like to.
- I love that, I think that's amazing.
I am so up in it.
- I, child listen I'm up in it too.
- Now I have been on pins and needles for weeks,
because I was terrified
that there would not be a season two for pose,
but we just found out last week you got renewed.
(clapping)
It is coming back!
Back for more.
- Yes, some people are--
- The category is second season realness.
- I wasn't gonna do that...
- Oh my god.
- Second season realness.
- Okay, now did you ever see, like Paris Is Burying?
- I did, I saw--
- Like, did you see it before?
- I saw it before I saw--
- It's a documentary about the ball scene.
- About the ball scene,
it's like a glimpse into the ballroom scene.
And like it shows the documentary about
these lives of people who are of the LGBT community of color
and how they move through the world .
- And the houses. - Right.
- Yeah, they really started with the image of the backstory.
I actually went to one of those balls back then,
back in that time, yeah I did.
And it's, I love how Ryan Murphy is a genius first of all,
for even thinking of this idea,
and exploring this world,
I think because it's just so right
with so much to talk about.
But he's so good at like,
showing, making it feel authentic to the period
but also making it feel really fresh and hot and like,
those scenes in the ball, those ball scenes.
Is it fun?
- Did you see--
- Is it fun to film?
- It was fun to film, I loved every single aspect of it,
and there's a topic or there's always like a subtitle,
or there's always a title or theme to the ball so like.
- Yeah.
- Every single episode you're gonna see a different ball.
- Yeah. - You know what I mean,
some different type of aspect to the ballroom culture.
- And you're gonna see Billy Porter as Pray Tell.
- Yes, yes, yes, yes.
The commentary, the chancellor,
the one who makes it all come alive.
- Pose!
(laughing)
- Pose!
Work, live, pose!
- Now this, aside from it being
just a fantastic television show,
with great drama and great characters and me crying,
and sharing and everything, it's not all sad,
there's a lot of really, really good drama to latch on to.
It's also an amazing milestone for visibility,
for trans actors, for gay actors, for I mean it's just--
- All, just all, I mean obviously
it's specifically, you know, there's stories on there
that are very tied into the trans movement
and especially transgender woman with color.
But it's also inclusive to everyone,
obviously you see Evan Peters on this show and you see like,
Kate Mara, and the list goes on.
It's inclusive to everyone, I mean,
but it's telling a different story from different aspects
but we want the world, I'm gonna speak for myself,
I think we want the world to see how we move through life
as just human beings and how we found comfort
in the ballroom scene and how we found that place,
that, that that place was our place of refuge.
And outside we had to fend for ourselves most of the time,
whereas if we were in the ballroom scene
we had a group of family members
that were apart of the LGBQ community told too.
- That's all about building a family,
and so many things are about that,
it's all about finding your own family and houses
and you're a mother, you're a mother of the house.
I love it.
- And I love it, I can't complain.
It's funny, so a little personal background check by me,
I've always waned to be a mom.
Always wanted to have a husband and the kids and everything.
I mean, I'm still young but, also I'm getting older
and I was like "okay, when is it going to happen"
and then out of nowhere this show came
and I gained so many children outside of just like,
speaking biologically but like outside just like kids
who come to me and like "hey, mother" and I'm like.
- Wow.
- And they're young, they're 14.
- Fans of the show?
- Fans of the show.
- Wow.
- 14, 15, 16, you know,
I got some people a little older
but it's good to know that now I'm a mother
to all the people, versus just you know.
- Yeah, you got some older people too.
- Oh stop it. (laughing)
- So what's it been to you,
you have, you came out as trans a few years ago.
- Yes.
- And you've been sort of, on the scene,
you've been very, you know,
I follow you on social media, and even before Pose came out
I feel like you were very out there.
- Yeah.
- You were very like, out there with people,
sort of talking about you're journey as an actress
and like, what kind of roles you're going in for.
I like when you sing live sometimes on Facebook,
I used to like that, I'd be like "oh MJ's singing"!
- I still do it y'all, I still do it from time to time.
I mean a little busy now but like you know.
- And you sang on Pose too.
- I did.
- Yeah, we get that episode seven I believe.
- Six.
- Oh my god, sorry. (laughing)
Six, six, I love that you know that all by heart.
- Cause I be watching it y'all.
(laughing)
How amazing.
- So what has it been like being out there on the scene
looking for work and then what was it like
finding out this show was happening
and when you found out the show was happening were you like
"Hello, Mr, Murphy, MJ, MJ, hi".
Like what was it like going in for this,
I don't know this must've been like the,
it must've felt like such a dream opportunity.
- Yeah it was.
I mean in the beginning it was a fluster for everything
because like you said I had come out
as like medically transitioning,
I mean, we talked about this in interviews before
that I've always known I was a girl, I've always known that
but as far as protection goes
and as far as all these other things,
as far as what I felt the world would do to me
if I would live authentically,
I thought that I wasn't going to be able to live,
I thought I was gonna be gone before I even got this chance,
but as we all know time and a place for everything.
And I planned out my timing on how I wanted
people to know how I was medically transitioning
and that was due, that was happening.
That was like the purpose of everything
when I wanted people to know, and then--
(mumbles)
I did.
And then, down the line,
I just started living unapologetically.
I moved out of my way and I just was patient and I waited
and waited and praying and waiting on everything.
And spoke a lot of things into the universe
and so when this opportunity came,
you're right it was like a dream,
it was like everything had fallen into place
like how it needed to fall into place.
I got out of my way, I started living for me,
and I also started doing what I love
and doing it as the person I am,
and it was most beautiful way of just like receiving,
this is a gift that I've always asked for
and I'm glad that I have it in my hands.
So there's a responsibility too.
You know, just to be apart of something like this,
so it was a dream, it was a wild dream.
And I'm riding that thing like a stallion baby.
(laughing)
- You're a good person, you deserve that.
- Thank you. - You deserve that.
And honestly it shows when people who watch the show,
people who don't know you, who I'm friends with,
have fallen in love with you
and your character because of that warmth,
it just comes out of Blanca,
I mean you need that in that role.
- Yeah, and you have to have I mean, like I said--
- She's kind of an innocent in the world.
- She's kind of. - You know what I mean,
there's something about like,
I was even thinking about the ball scenes,
she's not always the most fabulous one in the room.
- No no. - You know what I mean,
there's a lot going on with her.
So there's a lot of thing to play there.
- And I think that's the best part,
I think I love how Ryan would give inputs
when he was directing and say things like
"you know, you guys are playing the underdogs
and the people who have to come up and you have to rise up"
and I love that because in my life, I was the underdog,
I was an underdog, I was bullied and I,
you know, I got beat up, you know from time to time
so being able to tap into that,
it felt good to be able to be in that space
and like tap in and pull from your personal life.
And also as an actor
you pull from other experiences as well.
It was great.
- Yeah, awesome.
You wanna do more stage work?
(laughing)
- Do I wanna do more stage work?
- Can we talk about how many trans performers
are on Broadway or coming to Broadway?
- Yes, everything.
Peppermint, that's my sister, I love her.
- Peppermint, Head Over Heels.
- She's in Head Over Heels.
And there are many others...
Oh oh, Anish, I don't know if you've heard of her
but she's an amazing actress I worked with her before.
She's in, white men, Straight White Men.
- Yeah. - Yes.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah and Kate Bornstein
- And Kate Bornstein.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, and anyway it's amazing
how the theater industry has really sort of,
I feel like they are kind of,
"Well we're gonna step up and you know, we're gonna,"
so we need you back in the stage.
- I hope so, that would be nice.
- I'd be into that.
- That would be nice, and I would love
to sing my fans down just one more time on that (mumbles)
(laughing)
- But you got a lot of posing to do,
cause I don't know when season two is gonna film
but that's gonna be, you're busy.
- Yeah, yeah, I got a lot of things
that I haven't mentioned for something
shh shh, hush hush, that's gonna be coming out and so,
I'm just gonna say look book.
- Okay, then look for it.
- So be on the look out y'all.
- Yeah, totally.
Is there.. .
- [Camerawoman] Questions?
- Yeah. - We have so many questions.
- Yes! - Can I see your notes?
- [Camerawoman] Yes if you can read my handwriting.
- Okay I can read your notes.
- [Camerawoman] All right.
- I can't read your notes.
- [Camerawoman] Okay.
(laughing)
All right Caroline wants to know,
do you have any advice for people that wanna be performing?
- Okay, so this is what I would say as far as like
the technical aspect of it and when you first get into it.
And first thing first is get some head shots,
start writing up that resume
and then just going out and auditioning as much as possible.
And then when you start going into (coughs) excuse me,
you go into the audition process,
make sure you are yourself, don't try to be anyone else,
be yourself within the character, if that makes sense.
Cause people want to see you,
they want you to bring you to the table.
And most of the time they already want you anyway so.
- [Camerawoman] All right another great question is,
how did you start singing on stage?
- Oh my god, okay so, can I just tell you,
I, my mom was getting me into programs, and this is when
I was living in Jackson, New Jersey at the time.
And she put me in this program at the age of seven,
I can't remember cause (mumbles)
my memory slipped just a little bit.
- Starts to come.
- But it was the greatest love of all
and that was the first time, I didn't sing solo
but it was with a group of kids,
and I was nervous as all hell,
but as soon as the music hit me, and it flew through me.
I was like that's the moment,
what I always wanted to do and it feels great,
so that was the first time I ever sang,
when I was seven years old,
in a program, a young kid program.
- [Camerawoman] I love that, Joanna asks,
says that she hasn't started watching Pose yet
but who do suggest she watch it with?
(laughing)
- Okay, I like that question, Joanna has a question.
Okay so I would suggest, we have a lot
of our LGBT community members watching it already,
that's something that is just like a given for them,
they're like, "we want more of our stories being told.
What I would suggest, and what we would like to tag along
is possibly if you have people who don't understand
the community that well and even if they're not willing,
try to influence them to see if they wanna learn about it
and the people who do wanna learn about it,
tag along, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
So people who don't understand, tag them along.
- It really does, it really explores a lot of things
about trans lives, especially at that time,
in the late eighties.
- Right.
- And really explores you know what they're going through
at such a, in such a real way, and a relatable way.
- Yeah.
- And, and...
- It's funny because you got, so to tie in Paris is Burning.
Paris is Burning is obviously very, very different from Pose
but it was a glimpse, it was a glimpse into our lives
in 1988, it was a glimpse into out lives
and what we went through
but there wasn't any aspect of it afterward
because whatever we did, we don't know.
But now that Pose is here,
it's shedding light on the lives outside the ballroom scene,
and the real, like the realness of how anyone would live,
living proud, renting a house,
getting an apartment, having kids,
you know, it's opening that door
to showing how normal we live as well.
- [Camerawoman] Yup, a bunch of people asked,
do you have any tips for remembering lines?
- Y'all, okay so--
(laughing)
You have got to go over your...
Once you get your lines,
and you have got to go over them
for at least about a week, before you--
- How far in advance did you get your scripts
for Pose before you had to film?
- We got our, we got our scripts
like about a month in advance
- Okay.
- Sometimes we got a month in advance,
maybe even three weeks in advance.
- Okay.
- You know, and I read through my script about two times,
and then afterwards that's when I did the work
I was just hammering it, hammering it, hammering it
so that I could get,
especially with all the lines (mumbles)
but I live for it.
But you have to, like you have make sure you go over them,
you know you have a due date to study,
I mean, you have a due date to film,
make sure you study all the way up until that day
so you just let have, and there won't be any intermissions
about what you have to do, have everything planned out.
- Did you have any favorite Blanca looks or outfits?
- I sure did.
(laughing)
I had a lot of looks that I lived for!
- Yes!
- I have a lot of looks that other characters had too.
Like, okay, so, for me (mumbles)
I love that blue, that the blue like black Elsa outfit,
you know, very Frozen, and it was the fifth episode,
Mother's Day or fourth episode...
Mother's, fifth episode.
- Oh Mother's Day, oh my god that episode killed me.
- Yeah, it was the blue like, the blue dress.
And then, I wanna tell y'all another one of my favorite one
but I can't tell you yet,
cause you're gonna see it in the finale.
- Oh next week?
It's next's weeks.
- It's next weeks, so get ready.
- Yes the final episode of season is next Sunday night.
- Yes. - What are you gonna be doing?
- Oh me, what I'm gonna be doing?
I'm gonna be watching the show.
- Again. (laughing)
and then all summer, you're gonna watch the show.
- I'm gonna watch the show. (laughing)
Listen y'all I really like,
and it's not because I'm in the show,
it's like, I'm not a cocky person at all but like...
(laughing)
- I've watched Ryan Murphy shows throughout my life,
I've watched Glee, I've watched Nip/Tuck,
I've watched American Horror Story.
- Yeah.
- I love his work, and I've always wanted to work with him.
When Glee came out, that was like,
I was in high school at the time,
I'm talking a lie aren't I?
When I was in high school, Glee had come out
so I'm 14 or 15 and I was trying to, I was in an art school,
wait for vocal and I was trained in classical music
for four years in that school.
And I was like "oh God, I love classical music,
but can we have you know,
some show choir up in this please?"
(laughing)
And I went to my teacher, Doctor, I love him, and I was like
"Doc, can we do this?" and at that time when you're a kid,
you don't know how to organize nothing.
And he was like "No MJ, I don't think we can do it"
and I was like, "Gosh dammit".
And I was so upset and you know, sad.
But the reason why I wanted to do it,
cause I lived for the work of Ryan Murphy
so like, I love watching this show because it's him,
(mumbles)
- Yep, I love it too.
- But I'll be watching it on Sunday y'all so.
Imma give you all a hint, canary bird.
- Oh. - That's all I'm gonna say.
- Big bird, tweety bird, big bird?
- Oh no not big bird, nor tweety bird,
maybe like phoenix bird but like canaries.
(laughing)
- Thank you so much,
we have other things to do with this one
so we're gonna wrap this up.
Thank you guys for watching
and check out Pose if you haven't seen it yet,
just know, it's okay, we're not judging but get into it now.
Because now season two is coming, so.
By the time season two comes out next year,
you're gonna be really wrapped up in it, trust me.
Thank you so much MJ.
- Thank you.
- Bye guys.
- Bye y'all.