Ryan J. MacConnell and I first met when he was a high school student at Chittenango High School, and attending classes at Syracuse Children’s Theatre.
Now, at 23 years years old, with a BFA from Ithaca College in his back pocket (musical theater), MacConnell is currently on his first professional tour, playing Andy Harris in Flashdance the Musical, as well as other roles in the ensemble. He is also an understudy for Nick Hurley, Alex’s love interest in the musical, and Jimmy, the supporting comedic role. This tour is directed and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo (Memphis, Jersey Boys).
As Flashdance the Musical makes its way through Syracuse Feb. 16 – 18 at the Mulroy Civic Center, MacConnell took a moment to answer some questions for the Syracuse New Times.
When and where did you audition for this role?
Last May, I submitted myself through Actors’ Access for the national tour of Anything Goes. Dale Brown, a casting director from Duncan Stewart & Co., called me in to read/sing from sides at Pearl Studios (one of the main venues in midtown Manhattan used for auditions and rehearsals). Two weeks later I heard back from Dale, but it was to come in for Flashdance, instead, another show he had been casting at the time. My series of callbacks, in which I had to learn several songs, scenes, and movement combos from the show, lasted a span of about two weeks.
How did it feel when you were told you got the part?
Within a couple days of my final callback in front of the creative team (director, associate director and choreographer, music supervisor, playwright, composers, executive producer, and casting director), I got the “offer” to be in Flashdance. Dale Brown, the casting director, and one of the most sincere people I’ve met in the business, was the one to call me. I was very giddy and, after being in suspense waiting to hear, could finally breathe again.
Describe what the rehearsal process was like.
We started rehearsals in September 2014. We had about 3 weeks of all-day rehearsals in NYC and then we flew to Yakima, Washington for our week of tech and previews. We didn’t actually “open” until October 21 in Boise, Idaho.
There had already been a first National Equity Tour production of Flashdance on the road, so during rehearsals we were working a lot with our Associate Choreographer, Natalie Caruncho, who had been the Dance Captain/Swing for that first production. She knows the show inside and out, and with the assistance of Kristin Piro (another swing from that tour), they basically restaged the show for our new cast.
There were always 3 rooms of rehearsals going on – often choreography in one, music in another, and scene work in the last. With only a few weeks of rehearsals, we were on a tight schedule (staged the whole first act in a few days!). We were also working with Brad Rouse (Associate Director) and Stephen Santa (Assistant to the AD) who worked extensively on the book scenes and fleshing out the characters overall, along with both very skilled Jason Howland (Music Supervisor) and Nate Patten (Music Director).
Once we had the blueprint of our show in place, Sergio came into rehearsals and added his magic flare and perspective to the piece.
One of the most exciting parts of the rehearsal process was working with the creative team of Flashdance. Tom Hedley, who wrote the original 1983 screenplay, was with us nearly every day in the rehearsal room. Also there to coach and make edits were composers, Robbie Roth and Robert Cary, and our fearlessly fierce producer, Dani Davis. We were making changes to the script and music right up until opening night. In fact, we still are lucky enough to have the creatives visit us occasionally on the road and see how it can be made even better. Our show is constantly evolving and I’m grateful to be working with a team that cares about it to that level.
How long is the tour scheduled for? When does the tour end?
We started touring in October 2014 and ended the first leg on December 1. Then we had a month layoff period over the holidays and resumed the second leg in the beginning of January. The tour is scheduled to end in April 19, 2015, our last few weeks being in Niagara Falls, Ontario. If I counted correctly, we stop in 48 different cities to perform. Many are one-nighters, some are 2-3 nights, and occasionally we get the beautiful one week sit-downs.
What has been your favorite city/stop so far on the tour? And why?
One of my favorite stops on the tour, so far, was Tucson, Arizona back in early November. We had beautiful weather, we were there for a week, and I hadn’t seen palm trees in a long time. We did have cockroaches in our hotel rooms though, which was apparently a ‘normal’ thing out there. The fact that I still loved Tucson, even with those terrifying things squirming around, says something. I loved the area because it had a hip, eccentric, university town feel with so many restaurants and places to check out. We also got rental cars while we were there, which made us feel like real people cruising around. It happened to be homecoming weekend too, so you can imagine the energetic and vocal audiences we had while playing the University of Arizona’s Centennial Hall. It all felt like a mini vacation.
What is like to live out of a hotel for an extended period of time and what do you do to “feel like home?”
This may be my least favorite part of touring, but you figure out how to make it work. We stay in all kinds of hotels on this tour – some very nice, some not nice at all. We’ve experienced the fluffiest of beds with access to saunas and deluxe breakfast, and we’ve also slept with bed bugs and cockroaches.
Everyone has their own system, but I may be a little more particular. I do not sleep with any of the hotel pillows or comforters. You can ask my roommate, as soon as I walk into the room, I rip off everything from the bed, with the exception of the fitted sheet, and throw it all into the closet. Then I do a thorough bed bug check around the mattress because sometimes you’ll find stuff and will want to move rooms before you settle down. Once we’re clear, I take out my own tempur-pedic pillow and large fleece blanket that I travel with, and make it into my own cozy bed. That blanket was the best idea I ever had. Over our holiday layoff period I got two large pieces of fleece from the craft store and made one of those tie-blankets. I made it big enough to fit these large beds, and it keeps me so toasty. Also, right away, we set up our luggage on luggage racks (off the floors) and get everything situated so we feel moved in, even if it’s temporary.
To get the rooms to feel like our home we’ve tried glade plug-ins so that we always had a consistent, nice smell no matter where we were. My roommate and I also automatically choose the same beds in the layout, too. It’s kind of nice to feel some sort of consistency even though everything else is changing.
What is the best part of having this tour stop in your hometown?
The best part (of having Flashdance stop in Syracuse) is that this was always one of my day-dreams as a kid: “What if I came back one day and got to perform like them on this stage?”
I grew up in the Civic Center building- seeing various tours come through, while I was part of Syracuse Children’s Theatre summer camps, Syracuse Civic Theatre productions and even my high school graduation. I was involved with many companies in the Syracuse Theater Community (The Talent Company, Wit’s End Players, Rarely Done Productions, Simply New Theatre) and made a second family out of it. Those were my first mentors in the arts and I feel grateful to be able to come back and perform for everybody, as a sort of thank you for having a part in getting me this far.
Name one show you’ve appeared in while you lived in Syracuse that will forever stay in your memory.
All of the Syracuse shows I participated in have specific memories that will always stay with me, but Cats with Syracuse Civic Theatre was one of my fondest. It was the first opportunity I was given to really use my abilities in the spotlight at a professional venue. I was only in 9th grade at the time and they had put a lot of faith in me to perform a lead role along other talented adults. It was one of the first glimpses I had of seeing myself in a professional theater career- and how great it felt combining acting, singing, and dancing to tell a story.
What do you think about the Syracuse theater community, in general?
I love the Syracuse theater community. Without them, I wouldn’t have had as smooth a time navigating through those teen years as I did. Alongside friends, that became a sort of second family for me, I felt very supported as I was figuring out who I was and what I wanted to do with my life.
WATCH: Flashdance the Musical Montage/NAC Entertainment
In the studio.
(Photo: Natalie Caruncho)
Ryan MacConnell at the stage door of Centennial Hall in Tucson, Arizona.
(Photo: Ryan MacConnell Facebook Page)
Ryan J. MacConnell
Photo by Andrés Acosta
