Interview: Seniors MiKayla Phillips & Taylor Wright Talk REEFER MADNESS, First Loves, & Graduation

Remember the time you had your first crush? How about when a classmate or friend peer pressured you into something you didn't want to do? Lastly, remember being a senior in college and everyone asking you that infamous question: "What's next?"

BroadwayWorld's Danielle Ashley got those answers and more from the leads of Annie Russel Theatre's REEFER MADNESS, opening tomorrow, September 25th. Seniors MiKayla Phillips and Taylor Wright know what it's like to balance rehearsals, homework, and preparing for what is next. They are definitely not as naive as their characters Mary and Jimmy who find themselves lured by a gnarly crew of marijuana pushers in the musical satire. Check out the interview below to find out more!

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Tell me a little about yourself and your characters.

MiKayla Phillips: I'm a senior at Rollins College and should be graduating in the spring, which is exciting yet terrifying. I am a music major as well as being a theatre performance major, which is fun! Ive been pretty heavily involved with the campus; I worked in two offices on campus: the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement and the Residential Life Office as an RA. Mary is a very innocent high school girl who sees the good in everyone and tries to see the good in every situation. And later on she is so easily tricked by one of the other characters because she believes that she was doing the right thing instead of smoking marijuana.

Taylor Wright: I'm a senior with a music major and a theatre minor, differing from MiKayla. I've been on the swim team for four years now! My character, Jimmy, is this clean-cut, 1930s all-American boy in high school who's pretty naïve.

I'm a little unfamiliar with this show. Can you give me a brief summary of the plot?

TW: It's a parody of the 1930's show of the same name which was used to demonize marijuana, which I guess had a big influence. But the musical itself is centered around the lives of Mary and Jimmy whose lives are going swimmingly. They are studying ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare, and they are just so naïve. They haven't read the end of the play yet and they think that Romeo and Juliet will fall in love together, so they equate their love and relationship to them; they want to be like Romeo and Juliet. And everything is going according to plan until Jimmy gets coped into smoking marijuana for the first time. And that's where everything, for lack of a better term, goes to sh*t. Jimmy ends up hanging with a bad crowd, he stops going to church, people end up dying. It's just like anything terrible that could happen that's connected to this drug, it happens in this show as a satirical depiction of what could happen when you smoke marijuana. The music makes it a rock/pop musical which is fun!

What were you like in high school? Did you ever have to deal with any peer pressure like your character?

MP: Well, Taylor and I actually went to the same middle school and high school, so we've known each other for a long time! I was very involved in high school; I did sports (soccer, track and field, cheerleading) I was also involved in theatre taking drama, guitar, and choir classes, and I was involved in student council. So I was very spread out across the board. As far as temptations or peer pressure goes, I fortunately had a lot of really good friends that never really pressured me into anything. The one funny story I like to tell is that we had to sign up to get voter cards when we were seniors, and I didn't want to do it. I didn't because I knew that if I got the voter card at my age, I would end up voting for somebody in the next election who I didn't know anything about; I didn't want to vote blindly. But my friends got really upset with me! And they ended up peer pressuring me into getting a voter card; which isn't a terrible thing, I would have done it eventually. But I was so young and I didn't want to vote on someone who I'm uneducated about and I know that I would if I got it now. And my friends were like, "How can you do that? This is your right!" It was really intense. [Laughs]

TW: I mean, we all go through that. In high school I was a little similar to Jimmy, however you're perfect cardboard cutout of the all-American guy only occurs on the stage. In high school I was involved in the drama program and was a swimmer, so not much has changed! As far as peer pressure situations, I guess you could say my experience was a little more realistic. In the show, the peer pressure is very dramatic, whereas in real life I went to my first party and just wanted to fit in. And I don't think Jimmy did it to fit in, I think he was just naïve enough to put himself in the situation and couldn't handle it.

Can you tell me about your first "puppy love" like Mary and Jimmy? Was that in high school or college?

MP: I feel like there have been little crushes that I can remember from middle school, that were based solely on what they looked like. And that is so cliché, but it was a part of my life. And then I would talk about "him" to my friends like, "Oh my gosh, he and I walked past each other in the hallways but he had no idea who I am." That's not how I equate Mary and Jimmy's love, but that's the first instance that I can remember. The thing is with Mary and Jimmy is that their love is very sweet and innocent, which reminds me of little middle school crushes.

TW: I have a terrible problem of becoming quickly infatuated with someone I just met and projecting this whole "romantic affair" about this stranger I don't even know. But I'm actually gay, and I had my first serious relationship this past spring. I was head-over-heels for this guy, and it was great. We had a nice six-month relationship and I learned a lot. And it wasn't ROMEO AND JULIET at all, none of us died at the end, but it was great. It was nice to be able to learn about myself and how I interact and I'm really thankful for him and that relationship.

What has the rehearsal process been like, especially with having to balance the show and college courses? How have your studies help you prepare for this?

MP: It has been nuts! On our 11th rehearsal we had blocked the entire show. I mean, we had long rehearsals, but it's been fun. I really like the entire cast; I had a lot of friends in this cast, there are also some new people, and the energy of the group is just really good and entertaining to be around. To amplify that, I enjoy singing and acting, so going to rehearsals is never really a bad thing. But balancing academia with rehearsals has been very tough because being a senior there is a lot of stuff you have to get ready for. And for some reason I am taking all of the classes trying to get me ready for the real world this semester which is requiring me to write papers and find songs and monologues, and I just don't have a lot of time. There are not enough hours in the day! However, being a music major, my schedule has always been crazy. So the good thing is, I am very used to this, even in high school as well, and I'm good at working under pressure. I work best when I have a limited amount of time, and have learned to use my time wisely in order to get everything done.

What are your dreams/plans after graduation? Any dream roles you hope to play in the future?

MP: One of the things I always tell people when they ask this is that I want to be happy. And right now, I find happiness and I find passion through performance! and to find happiness I hope to go on and continue to perform. I think the big thing is Broadway and professional theatre companies, but honestly I want to be having fun everyday and find the joy and happiness in what I'm doing. So that could be living in a small city performing in a theater and making a living off of it, and that'd be wonderful. As far as dream roles go, I would love to be The Witch in INTO THE WOODS, Elle Woods in LEGALLY BLONDE, or in THE DROWSY CHAPERONE either the Chaperone or Janet. Those characters are just so fun and interesting and the music is hard and challenging. The main goal isn't to be rich or famous, just to be happy with what I'm doing.

TW: Oh my gosh, the biggest and scariest question! What I tell people is whatever I can do with music or performing that doesn't have me on the streets. I'm looking at M.F.A. programs here and abroad, thinking about auditioning for theatre companies, and get as much exposure as I possibly can in this last year while I'm still learning and growing. And then I guess I'll take whatever option is available. For dream roles, I like older musicals very much, which meshes well with the classical technique I've learned as a music major. I think it would be really fun to play Lt. Cable in SOUTH PACIFIC! It's not the epitome of a dream role, but it's one I think would be really fun to play.

What do you hope audiences will take away from this production?

MP: My hope is that they'll find enjoyment out of it! I hope they'll see the satire and silliness that we can be as a nation taking something like marijuana and blowing it up to this out-of-proportion travesty that will destroy the world. I want people to be able to find the humor and be able to leave smiling and think that it was completely ridiculous but worth it.

TW: I hope that they're not going to take it too seriously. We're not trying to demonize weed in the same way that the 1930's film was. I think THE DROWSY CHAPERONE says it best that "a musical is like an escape." As actors and performers it's our job to help the audiences escape into that world for an hour or so. More so than anything, I want them to have fun and laugh and walk away with the tunes in their heads.

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REEFER MADNESS opens on September 25th and runs through October 3rd. Tickets are $20, with discounts available for students and seniors. A ticket to opening night includes admission to a reception immediately following the show - butlered champagne service, live music, and themed treats from Paris Bistro on Park Avenue. More information on the Annie Russell Theatre's upcoming production of REEFER MADNESS may be found at www.rollins.edu/annierussell. For more information on the Department of Theatre and Dance at Rollins College, please visit www.rollins.edu/theatredance.