joining us come in a little quick and then everybody yeah he did say he was
going to come in 2016 and he is the great comet of a team
yeah I did see a good I went to the tent with that it's very hard
Are you guys ready for Ali Stroker? Are you ready, I'm ready. Ali come on down
This is so cool. I've only ever done Periscope one time before. This is amazing! Hi!
I'm so glad your here, thank you for coming Thank you so much for having me Now we all know you're in Spring Awakening
I love it so much Tell me about making your Broadway debut and we're going to answer their questions
We can see what everyone is saying Everyone just wants to talk to you. Hello from England
How fun This is so cool. Ok, this has been the best 4 months of my life
Um, you know I found out this summer that I was going to be making my Broadway debut
What did you do when you found out? Scream?
I screamed and cried I was in South Africa teaching and I got an email and I tried to figure out a way to call my parents
I had a friend there and I was like you won't believe what just happened! and so we cried and hugged
It still like sometimes I leave the theater at night and I'm like did that just happen?
Am I really doing this on Broadway? am I really on Broadway?
Yeah this is the big time. And of course you were on Glee and The Glee Project and there is a Glee/Spring Awakening vibe that happens
because of the original cast Oh wait, everyone is saying Watched you on Glee Project Can't believe you're here You're an inspiration
Thank you, very much To be singing and dancing on Broadway it's amazing And this is a special production
because obviously it's the Deaf West production so also had to learn some ASL How did that go?
Like a whole new language It was one of the hardest rehearsal processes I've ever been a part of
It was a first for me and when we got into rehearsal I sort of learned the ASL like it was choreography
and then slowly as I got to know my fellow cast members who are deaf I so badly wanted to get to know them and talk with them
So I started learning ASL and we would go out after rehearsal So slowly You got a little more fluent
Now it's so fun to have a year of experience to go out to the stage door and talk to some of the fans that are deaf
Do you have an ASL sign for your name? I do! it's this it's an A on your shoulder then you go like that
I like that. Which means This means model but it's an A You're given your sign language name
Right. It's not something you make up yourself. It's like a nickname. You don't make up your own nickname that would be weird
And they made the theater more accessible for you right? Yes they did You know Broadway's not that accessible
No backstage is not accessible really hardly at all Not that I have tons of experience in other theaters
You're just dragging them into the present Exactly exactly but it was amazing when the show was transferring
I was like oh god do I need to have conversations with people? It was taken care of That's amazing
our producers and the Nederlanders and Michael Arden They were just so on top of it and made my dressing room
accessible and made sure there was an accessible entrance in and out of the theater
and it was set it was ready to go when I came in
We are going to take some questions One person asks What is it like to navigate NYC in a wheelchair
Whoo it's an obstacle course is what it is I went to college in New York at NYU
So I had some experience and you know the curves and getting through people and the crowds is tough
When I moved back here from LA I have to say I think my shoulders and my arms got twice as big
because its a workout but there's something very exciting and empowering to get yourself from point A to point B
and to be rolling I'm excited I have this new contraption called a SmartDrive and you attach to the back of your wheelchair
it's a wheel that pushes the chair for you So you give it a push and it picks up whatever speed you want to go
and you wear this sort of wrist thing and you tap it and that will stop it I haven't mastered it yet but I'll let you guys know how it goes
People are asking so many questions the Kardashians? Oh yeah You just want to be sexy? If you want to be sexy you want to be sexy
Yeah and I actually am really excited that all of this is happening because I think it's creating more conversations about disability and sexuality
Which is something that I don't feel like has been talked about For people who don't know let's clue them in What is this?
So Kylie Jenner did an Interview Magazine shoot where she posed in a gold wheelchair and at first I was like Hey girl I have a gold wheelchair
To be honest my first reaction was I laughed I was like I can't believe this. It just gets crazier
And then I started to think about how I wanted to respond to it I'm really I'm doing a shoot You are doing it? Yeah I'm doing a shoot this week
about my take on sexuality about being in a chair having a disability and then I'm going to do an interview with it
because I can't change what she did but I can respond and hopefully create forward movement that is positive
to what happened That's amazing I love it Because I know a lot of people were offended I wasn't personally offended but I do think
stuff comes up in the media when it needs to be addressed and so I think this is just an opportunity
to get this conversation going and to ask more questions about how people with disabilities are represented in the media
I think more than anything it's important that we are represented in an authentic way That people with disabilities are representing themselves
That feels really right to me It is amazing to me you are the first person in a wheelchair to be on Broadway
There are a lot of characters in wheelchairs on Broadway but not with people who are actually in wheelchairs It's amazing that it's taken this long
Me too Its crazy but I'm so glad you're doing it This is not a character thats in a wheelchair originally in the original production
It's just you happen to be in it The choreography you do is so beautiful you all are just flowing together when you're doing an ensemble move
and I think its beautiful Spencer Liff did an amazing job Thank you he's amazing Oh my gosh you have so many questions
What are you doing after Spring Awakening closes in January? I'm going on a trip and then Where are you going? We're not going to follow you
Just give us a general area I'm going to Florida I'm going somewhere warm But I have some really exciting speaking gigs set up in 2016
Which I'm really excited about and I have a friend who has recently written something new with the lead role for me
and I'm so excited about working on a new project and then pilot season lots of auditioning and I'll be in LA for a few weeks so
exciting cool stuff Would you come back to Broadway? Oh my gosh of course! Good, one dressing room at a time I love
that's the memoir The Ali Stroker Story: One Dressing Room at a time
What would be your dream role? My dream role is to play an original role to create something new You know it would be amazing to play
Glinda They love you they want you to come back Oh thank you It would be amazing to play Glinda
And this is a conversation I've had with fans and friends and maybe one day that would be a possibility
Again it's like the Kylie Jenner thing do I recreate this shoot or do I have my own response do I do my own thing?
Because when you're doing your own thing then you have a little more say I think I'm sort of excited about speaking my truth
You can controlling your own conversation Yeah exactly That's amazing Well lets answer some more questions then we're gonna get out of here
This person is auditioning for Cinderella and needs advice For callbacks? Everyone also loves your dressing roommate Krysta Rodriguez
Of course She's the best You can do a little bit Elphaba and Glinda with her We could totally do it
Please give this Cinderella person advice Advice for callbacks make some specific unique choices to the character you're called back for
And be yourself and don't try to be something that you're not What better advice is that?
Are you tired about people mentioning Glee? No never That's how we met you some of us Exactly and Glee was a game changer for me
Glee was a world I didn't have to recreate that fit into and so that was an opportunity that gave me
A platform to now you never know did this lead to this and whatever but Glee really gave me the opportunity to really introduce myself
The Glee Project and Glee so no I'm never sick of talking about Glee
Ok let's sign off what's your favorite audition song? My favorite audition song of late is "Ain't it Fun" by Paramore
I've been doing that for like pop-rock auditions You're favorite show? Urinetown Oh that was an unexpected answer
I like it I love Urinetown, edgy and funny Very funny and we're going to sign off let's do your sign again so I can learn it
It's an A on your shoulder and just Yes sparkle a little Well thank you guys Thank you for coming, Ali Yeah thank you so much
Thanks guys! Go see Ali in Spring Awakening!