BWW Exclusive: Preview of INSIDE ACT: HOW TEN ACTORS MADE IT AND HOW YOU CAN TOO- with Krysta Rodriguez!

Why do some actors make it and others don't? Ken Womble sets out to find the answer to this question, one that has fascinated and tormented him for years, in his new book, INSIDE ACT: How Ten Actors Made it and How You Can Too (Hansen Publishing Group, 373 pages, $24.99). To celebrate the release, BroadwayWorld will be featuring chapter previews from the new book. Today, hear from Krysta Rodriguez!

INSIDE ACT: How Ten Actors Made it and How You Can Too identifies what sets successful actors apart. For Womble it's about the inner choices, the inside acts of working actors acts that have propelled them to thriving careers in one of the most competitive professions on the planet.

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KRYSTA RODRIGUEZ

Krysta Rodriguez was born and raised in Southern California and was most recently seen on television as Ana Vargas in the second and final season of the NBC musical drama, Smash. After the second season of Smash concluded, Krysta returned to her theater roots to star in the Broadway musical comedy First Date, opposite Zachary Levi.

Krysta made her Broadway debut in the musical Good Vibrations and continued to perform on Broadway in the original casts of Spring Awakening and In the Heights, and the revival of A Chorus Line. Krysta later went on to originate the role of Wednesday Addams in the Broadway production of The Addams Family, with Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane. Other theater credits include the Encores! production of Bye Bye Birdie, the national tour of The Boyfriend, directed by Julie Andrews, and the title role in the musical Gidget, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Krysta has also seen on television in Gossip Girl and on film in The Virginity Hit.

All Kinds of Self-Preparation, All the Time

[The following is an excerpt from the Krysta Rodriguez chapter in Ken Womble's INSIDE ACT: How Ten Actors Made It-And How You Can Too. It is available as a paperback and as an ebook. The entire Krysta Rodriguez chapter is available as a separate ebook .]

Ken Womble: So from OCHSA [Orange County High School of the Arts] you moved to New York and attended NYU. Was that difficult to go from the west coast to the east coast?

Krysta Rodriguez: I went to New York with my family when I was six, and we saw Fiddler on the Roof-that was my first Broadway show. And I loved it, and I loved the city. So from that point on it was very focused that I was going to go to New York.

And then after Gidget happened I got a lot of press for it. And I was approached by a lot of agents, and I started to kind of drift into that film and television world. We were driving up every day [to Los Angeles], my mother and I, changing in the car, doing my homework on the way home. And it wasn't going as well as I wanted it to and it wasn't feeling as satisfying.

So I auditioned for NYU, UCLA, Boston Conservatory and USC. I got in everywhere, but the two that I wanted to go to were NYU and UCLA. So that was the moment where it was like, "I've always thought that I was going to go to New York and now this new opportunity has presented itself. Do I stay in LA and try and do TV/film or do I make that leap?" By that point I was a little burned out on the LA scene, and I was ready to go to New York.

KW: So you started at NYU, and were going back and forth between NYU classes and professional auditions?

KR: Not a lot of professional auditions. They don't let you audition for school projects when you're a freshman. I did meet with the New York office [of KSR Talent], auditioned for them, and they said they would sign me on. And I auditioned for Bye Bye Birdie and got it-in the ensemble. It was really cool because there aren't a lot of shows with a bunch of young people in them.

KW: But you seemed to have found all the shows that do have young people in them-five Broadway shows.

KR: Well that's another timing thing, you know. I mean there are so many things that worked out well for me when I was out there, the young shows, the pop rock.

KW: It seems that so many of the things that you're talking about have to do with timing, and some people might call it luck. Is it luck, or being in the right place at the right time, or did you sort of create that?

KR: I wouldn't say luck as much as I would say right place at the right time. I am never sitting waiting for opportunities to arise. I am working until the opportunities make themselves available. It's me making sure that I know how to sing pop rock when all of a sudden they say it's time to sing pop rock and know that I can still work on my legit voice so that's ready when someone needs it too. You know, it's all kinds of self-preparation all the time until another force comes in and opens up an opportunity for me.

KW: So, you left NYU and they didn't accept you back or you agreed to disagree?

KR: No, it wasn't like a terrible parting. It was a leave of absence. I kept deferring my enrollment, and they even gave me an extra fifth semester in good faith. Then I got Spring Awakening and couldn't go back.

KW: Was Spring Awakening a turning point, the moment that you said, "Okay, career starts here in full tilt."

KR: I guess so. I mean I had already done Good Vibrations, so I had already been on Broadway at that point, which did not feel like a career arrival.

KW: Why not?

KR: Because it was a flop, because it closed after four months. And I was a swing so I barely got to perform on stage. So that kind of felt like the opposite of arrival, it felt like, "Is this really what I wanted to be dipping my toe in?"

So then I got the tour of The Boyfriend, which was really rejuvenating. I loved that experience. I met my best friends in the world. I got to travel with Julie Andrews. I got to come and perform in my hometown. It really refreshed me in a lot of ways and kind of made me feel like "Okay, this is what I get to do." We toured for nine months and did two hundred forty-two performances, and I never missed a show because I was ravenous, I was hungry for performance.

So that's when I came back to New York, I went back to school, finished the summer semester there to try and get my degree and then started my fall semester.

I saw Spring Awakening Off Broadway, and I called my mom and said, "I'm going to be in this show. I know it's going to Broadway, and I'm going to be in it." And she was like, "Do you want to swing again?" I was like, "I don't care. I will mop the floors if they let me in the building."

And then I got Spring Awakening. I think it was kind of the career igniter, but also it was an eraser. It kind of replaced, redid my Broadway debut in Good Vibrations.

This was the one time that I wanted something so badly, and it ended up being the thing that was supposed to happen. Because so many times the thing that you want so badly, you're just so blinded by it, that you can't realize it's not the right thing for you, that there's a better opportunity for you. And this happened to be both of those things converging and it was really magical.

Meg Mortimer: Manager

Ken Womble: What was your first impression of Krysta?

Meg Mortimer: I first saw her in The Addams Family workshop. I was there because my client, Kevin Chamberlain, played Fester. Krysta comes out as Wednesday, and I am just like, "Who is this girl?" I mean immediately she grabbed my attention. And it was her poise and her confidence and then, of course, her singing and acting talent.

So I asked Kevin, "Did you enjoy working with her?" He says, "Oh yes, she's marvelous." And I said, "Well, would you mind passing along my information to her and see if she's interested in talking to me?"

We hit it off immediately. I was just bowled over by her the minute I saw her.

KW: In performance what are some of her best qualities?

MM: Krysta has a gorgeous voice. But she acts the song. She inhabits it. She inhabits the character.

I saw her go on in In the Heights-it's so funny because she's playing this Hispanic character and she really isn't Hispanic, she's got some Spanish in her, but it's not like she's Puerto Rican. But I believed her. I thought she was amazing. And she says to me, "I'm not a great dancer." She was terrific!

KW: Krysta was in Spring Awakening and then A Chorus Line and then In The Heights in quick succession-and all this before The Addams Family. What was she doing right that got her all this work?

MM: I think Krysta is just special. She works really hard. She's very committed. And she stands out, you know. She has a great look and she presents herself so well.

KW: How important a role has type played for Krysta and does she have a clear idea of her type?

MM: Krysta and I have had conversations about that, and she's very wise about where she fits in. She makes very strong choices when she goes into an audition, understanding who she is. So she's not trying to act like something else. She's giving it her spin and if that's what they want, they're going to go with it. And if they don't want that, then they're not. But I think that's why she gets such excellent feedback all the time.

Lori Swift: Agent

Ken Womble: What kind of feedback do you get from casting directors and directors about her auditions?

Lori Swift: She makes quite an impression in a room, and she's a serious contender for just about any role. If a role doesn't go her way, it could be a matter of her type, or she doesn't fit in with the rest of the team's idea of what they want the show to be. It's not because she didn't go in and do a great job. She makes strong choices and connects with her audience. You know, she really is magnetic in an audition room.

KW: How much does talent play in that for Krysta?

LS: A big, big part. There's a quality in Krysta that I would equate with talent that has to do with an awareness of herself in space, how she naturally moves, and what kind of charisma that produces. It's kind of uncanny. The way she is able to embrace her talent, channel and share it is uniquely her own.

KW: It seems to me that she kind of does that naturally. She doesn't have to effort those things that you're talking about.

LS: That's right, it's effortless for her. It's fluid. There are girls who are working too hard trying to do what just comes naturally for her, and I really think that's a gift that she has. And what she does with it is a big part of her talent-her natural ability to channel these qualities and just make it look effortless.

KW: If you could cite three actions, skills or beliefs that have made Krysta successful, what would they be?

LS: I think three big ones would be having a vision, setting goals and applying herself to meet those goals. Like "Okay, I'm going to get these credits, but I'm also going to finish school while I'm auditioning and performing. And my aim is to get a lead on Broadway." And she accomplished that.

We talked a lot about auditioning and performing and her talent and her craft, her work ethic. And all of that is great, but I think that this ability to fulfill the big picture for herself is a real skill. And it requires focus and tenacity and an ability to just get it all done, and a belief in herself to do it.

I think that she comes from a great, solid upbringing and had a lot of love in her life that helps her put things into perspective. And so long as she continues to have the drive and focus and wants to be telling stories and wants to continue to grow as an artist, I think that she's really in a great place.

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Ken Womble interviews actors Debra Monk, Eric Ladin, Krysta Rodriguez, Tony Yazbeck, James Earl, Gary Beach, John Tartaglia, Robert Clohessy, Jose Llana and Richard Portnow about their inside acts, the important choices of their acting careers. The interviews explore the intriguing journeys that have led these actors to successful careers, and to Tony, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards, the most prestigious acting awards in theater and television.

Actor interviews are followed by interviews with two of each actor's success team, the agents, managers, directors and coaches who know them well. Womble then identifies the actor's most frequently used actions, skills and beliefs the keys to each actor's success.

INSIDE ACT is available as a paperback and as an ebook. Each actor chapter is also available as individual ebooks. Click here to purchase now!