Interview: Etai Benshlomo Talks About WICKED, San Diego, and More!

By: Nov. 21, 2014
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Etai Benshlomo, who is in San Diego as Boq with the musical spectacular that is WICKED, is no stranger to San Diego. While he is currently here with his production at the Civic Theatre through December 7th, he was here once before at The Old Globe Theatre with A ROOM WITH THE VIEW . So why was very excited to come back to our town? Because he thinks (and I happen to agree) that San Diego is a great theatre town.

"The audiences are really smart and really crave good theater. Between La Jolla and The Old Globe especially, San Diego is one of those cities that is important to the development of new shows. The audiences are used to a certain level of quality and creativity and I really like that. The audiences really love seeing something new and want to be part of that and contribute, and be part of the conversation of a new piece of work and help it evolve. I think that makes San Diego one of the more important cities as far as fostering new theatre."

So clearly, Etai is not just talented, but incredibly smart as well. So what first spraked his interest in acting?

"I always loved acting and I've been a movie freak since I can remember. I loved movies since I was a little kid and my parents introduced me to really good cinema at a really young age. So growing up I was obsessed with movies. My friends and I would make these short films in the backyard or the garage and we would shoot it, direct it and act in it," He says with a laugh. " One year I got as a birthday gift an editing machine that I hooked up to my VCR to add titles, and transitions, and all that. For a while I thought I would be a filmmaker."

Coincidentally, it was THE WIZARD OF OZ that brought Etai from the world of film to the stage, but not without some trepidation about what might be required.

"In my 14 year old brain I thought that musicals were really lame. And I thought 'I want to be a serious actor' so I was above musicals. But secretly I think I was just terrified of singing in front of people. My friend knew that I liked acting and dragged me kicking and screaming to THE WIZARD OF OZ. As fate would have it, I was cast as the Tin Man in my first show. And that's when I really caught the bug. I loved it. I loved the live experience of theatre and the audience and it was a really exciting experience. So I started doing it more and more. My high school had an amazing drama department, then I started going to Stage Door Manor, which is a Performing Arts Camp in upstate New York. That's where I decided that I was going to try to do this as a career."

Which brings us to his current role as Boq, the munchkin turned (spoiler alert) ......like I'll tell you - if you don't know go see WICKED.

"It is a blockbuster, that's the word for it. It's thrilling and it's also challenging. It's thrilling because everyone knows Wicked and it's really exciting when people ask you and you tell them you're performing with Wicked and everyone knows it. People get really excited when you say you're in it.

What's hard about it, in performing such a huge show, and performing it so often, (8 times a week) the most challenging thing I've had to do as an actor is to keep that fresh. Because it's such a big name and a big brand name, people come to it with an expectation. They want that opening night feeling when they come see the show. And it's our show as actors to deliver that even if it is our 900th, or 1000th show. Even just 8 shows a week it's our job to deliver that huge blockbuster experience that people are expecting from Wicked. And that's amazing too. Because it is so popular, it's sold out every night, audiences are jumping to their feet, they're screaming, they're laughing and the love it so much. That makes it easier that we get such a great response from the audience. It makes it more exciting."

But it's that very audience reaction that Etai enjoys about the theatrical experience.

"Theatre is a conversation between the actors and the audience completely. I've done WICKED in NY, in SF, and now on tour. I lost count at some point but I think I've done over 1000 performances. Which is a lot and can be really hard, but luckily the conversation between the audience and the actors is so vibrant and so alive."

Want to be a part of that amazing conversation as an audience member? Then go to www.Broadwaysd.com and get your tickets to see WICKED, playing at the Civic Theatre through December 7th.

Want to hear more from Etai? Then check out the second article on WICKED and Stephen Schwartz and his advice to young actors!

Photo Credit: Wicked National Tour



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