BWW Interviews: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Tour Starring Jillian Butterfield as Belle

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has been entertaining audiences all over the world with the wonderful costumes, stages and music. In order for this show to get out on the road, it takes a very talented performer to portray Belle in this beloved Disney classic. Jillian Butterfield has recently been cast as Belle in the new tour that recently got underway visiting many cities in the United States. I caught up with Jillian as she prepared to embark on the tour with this new cast.

How did you get started in theater?

I got started at a pretty young age. Kind of a funny story. I was a figure skater for five and a half years. I was very determined to go to the Olympics. However, one day I had collision with another figure skater during practice so I had to stay off the ice awhile. But, my mom saw a musical poster at my middle school and encouraged me to go try out just for the thrill of it and I ended up getting the lead part and I fell in love. I continued to do theater and I put figure skating aside. I went to school for it and now I'm here. I went to Wagner College on Staten Island.

How did you get the role of Belle in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST?

I was taking a little time off from auditions but the place that I worked at, one of my co-workers mentioned to me, "Hey, are you going to go in for the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST audition tomorrow?" And I said I didn't even know about it. I ended up going to the open call and I was called back five times. Then at the end, their very last callback, I was offered the job. I was so excited. It was a dream come true because I've wanted to be in this show for a very long time.

What is it like working with the new cast?

Everybody is so nice. Everybody's down to earth. Everybody is so personable. There's not one person that I can't sit down with. I can have a full conversation with. Everybody's so talented and I love working with all the principles especially Ryan, who's our Beast. He's so easy to work off of. It's a blast. I'm having such a fun time with them.

If you had not gotten into theater, what would you have pursued? Do you think you would have gone back to figure skating?

I really do like sports. I feel like I would have either continued on with ice skating or I would have found a love of another sport. In high school, I always set aside a semester for sports. I just wanted to round myself and not just solely focus on theater because I thought that doing other things would help. So, I think I would have picked a sport. I did basketball. I did water polo. I also like to teach so I feel as if I might have gone into teaching.

What advice do you have for anyone thinking about getting into theater?

I would say be fearless and try new things and try new ideas. I know that it's so hard for somebody to get on a stage and perform in front of everybody but I think it's a good thing to try not to worry about what other people think. Go onstage and be creative because it's really a rewarding experience to perform on a stage. It's something that's so much bigger than yourself.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will play in Austin from October 7-12, 2014. You can get tickets by going to the Texas Performing Arts website. Be our guest.

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