Interview: Jennifer Blood of MATILDA at Winspear Opera House

Earlier this week, I spoke with Jennifer Blood from Denver, where she's currently performing with the first national touring company of MATILDA. Jennifer recently appeared on Broadway with the cast of A GENTLEMEN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, and even served as Sutton Foster's standby as the title character in VIOLET. Not only does she have a local Texas connection, having performed at Casa Manana in their 2008 production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS, she also participated in early workshops of MOONSHINE, the new musical currently running at Dallas Theatre Center.

Name: Jennifer Blood

Hometown: "New Jersey, right outside New York City...so I essentially grew up in New York. Now, I live in Brooklyn with my husband."

Current Role: Miss Honey in the national tour of MATILDA THE MUSICAL

Kyle Christopher West: Growing up, what first inspired you to perform?

Jennifer Blood: My parents did community theatre, and my grandparent's had actually been involved in a theatre they started in the 30's. My family kind of grew up keeping that theatre alive in the town. I would do the shows in town, and when it came time to go to college, it just seemed like the choice.

Kyle: Is their theatre still in operation?

Jennifer: It is! It's called the Players Guild of New Jersey. They're getting close to 100 years [old]; they've been around for a while!

Kyle: Before taking MATILDA on tour, what have been some of your favorite experiences onstage?

Jennifer: I love to work on new pieces and things that are in development. For a period of about six years, I got to do several workshops and productions of a show called THE FLOOD by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel, where I played a young, autistic girl: that was one of my favorite things that I've done. Also, I got to do THE SOUND OF MUSIC in Chicago, playing Maria, and that was similar to this in a way. I love kids!

Kyle: Then MATILDA is the perfect show for you!

Jennifer: Yeah [laughs].

Kyle: People often say to never work with animals or children onstage, yet you're traveling the country with a dozen children. What has life on the road with this company been like?

Jennifer: It's so great getting to watch these kids who are so young and so talented! They seem to have this limitless supply of energy. It's incredible to me, the fact that they are in school now during the day, and then they do the show. The kids in the ensemble get swung out about once a week, I think, and we travel with three Matildas, so they either do two or three shows a week. It's thrilling to experience it through them because they're so young. And, while so many of them have credits and have done this for a long time (which is amazing when they are ten), to feel their excitement and to remember your own [excitement], to watch them grow and find more truth [in the show] is so moving!

Kyle: Can you tell me about your character and the role she plays in the story of MATILDA?

Jennifer: Miss Honey is a teacher in a school that teaches children "not well." She doesn't consider herself brave, and she tries to keep the kids safe, but she's probably never gone against the system (up until we meet her in the show). She meets Matilda, and she is finally inspired to take a stand. I would say that Matilda makes her grow.

Kyle: You mention her not being very brave: is it a challenge to find her vulnerability seven times a week?

Jennifer: I'd say what's challenging for me is finding the balance for my body, actually. To be someone who's tense and scared...to find the balance of how to stay vulnerable and soft and not work my body into such a state that I need massages all the time [laughs].

Kyle: If you had to pick a favorite moment in the show, what would it be?

Jennifer: I love to watch "School Song;" it's just an incredible number. I'm not in it, but I make one of my first entrances right after it. I love to come down early and watch. It's incredible to watch this group of people come together; everything has to be SO precise. I won't say too much, but it's awesome!

Kyle: In all of your experience, can you remember any onstage mishaps or mistakes?

Jennifer: [Laughs] Oh gosh, there have been some moments [on tour with MATILDA] when the automation can cause some trouble, but it's been pretty reliable. Early in my career, if something went wrong, I would always laugh. Now, I see the kids laugh, and that makes me laugh! From another show, I once had this very fast change, where I had to change into my "bride gear": makeup, shoes, dress, hair. One night, I went on only having changed one of my shoes, and I didn't realize one of them was a heel and one of them was a flat. I didn't realize it until I bowed. Someone in the audience yelled, "We thought you knew!" [laughs].

Kyle: How long are you contracted for MATILDA, and what are you looking forward to next?

Jennifer: I'm just getting to the point where I could use some more creative projects while I'm on the road, but I'm with the show through May. [After MATILDA], I look forward to getting back to New York and my husband, and I'd like to get back to developing new pieces...maybe a play, maybe a comedy.

Catch Jennifer Blood and the cast of MATILDA at Winspear Opera House from September 23 - October 4, 2015. For tickets and more information, visit www.attpac.org.

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