Interview: Tyler Meredith of THE ATTIC at Goodman Theatre

I interviewed Chicago actor Tyler Meredith, who has the principal role in Goodman Theatre’s season opening production The Attic. The 7 Fingers co-founder Shana Carroll wrote, directed, and choreographed The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying On My Back. Notably, Meredith portrays the role of Carroll in the show — alongside a company of circus artists. Not only does Meredith play the lead, but the role also requires her to sing, dance...and perform acrobatics and lifts onstage. Meredith shared all the details about her rehearsal process, training at acrobat bootcamp with The 7 Fingers in Montreal, and what it was like collaborating with Carroll to develop the role. 

Tell me about your preparation and rehearsal process for The Attic, and, obviously, I need to hear about acrobat boot camp in Canada. So give me it all! 

I think my callback was at the beginning of April, and then I was cast like mid-April. I headed to Canada the first week of June. And we rehearsed for 3 months with a sensible 3 week interval, which felt very European to me — but mostly had to do with scheduling stuff. 

I had no idea what kind of circus I'd be doing. The only thing I was asked in a callback that related to circus was like, oh, my dance background. I was like, “Yeah, I'm happy to talk about that. I used to cheer. Whatever.” 

And they said, “Are you comfortable being lifted?” And I was like, “For sure.” 

I love Pilates. I was like let me get back in my dance class. And then I got there, and [it was] so much more circus than I had anticipated, but I was thrilled about it because when in my life am I going to learn how to do trapeze from one of the most preeminent trapeze artists of all time? When am I going to learn how to stand in a three high on top of two people in the Albert? It felt like once in a lifetime. 

We improvised for a couple of weeks, and also did some acting exercises for the acrobats, which was so fun. I mean, it felt like being in school. They would teach me a lift or teach me trapeze. Shana Carroll gave me a ton of lessons, which I'm so grateful for. My biggest trick in the show is a three high. And so I first got comfortable standing in a two high, just on one person's shoulders. And then was put in a harness, and then I would go into three. [In the show], I don't use a harness...I ride the trapeze up and then I get set on top of their shoulders. And then I let go...I've never felt safer in my life, like, truly.

I think what was so exciting about training with them is that they're Olympic-level athletes. They're the best at what they do. There's no one better to learn from.

I know you said you sing in this show as well. Tell me about what that preparation process has been like. 

I get to do circus, I get to dance in the show, which I so rarely get to do. I have sung in some shows very tertiarily. I think my attitude about the whole thing was why don't we go as hard as possible? Why don't I challenge myself in every aspect because it felt so unique? I sang for my initial audition and callback, and I thought there was going to be one song, and then now there are four original songs...That made me nervous since I don't do a ton of musical theater in the city, and to be able to sing in the Albert, it was certainly not on my bingo card, ever, probably. 

I got myself back into voice lessons, which I took in high school and college, and they found me an incredible vocal coach up in Canada who I just love. She gives Celine Dion, and I'm obsessed with her.  I was taking vocal lessons twice a week. She would come over from Quebec City..I take my vocal health very seriously doing shows anyways, but this is a completely different level, especially since I speak for the majority of the two hours. So the attention and care I have to pay is very different. 

Tell me more about what  you’re doing both from a self-care perspective, but also in terms of needing to maintain a certain level of physical fitness and no longer being in circus training. What’s the routine?

I love lifting weights and doing Pilates, so that worked out great in my favor for this contract. I work out six days a week, and I'll do Pilates four days a week, and then lift two days a week...We do a show call two and a half hours before curtain... I love being here two hours before curtain [for a typical show]. I love having time to myself. Now that just gets pushed even earlier.

I get here three hours before curtain, do vocal warm up for 30 minutes, physical warm up for 30 minutes, and then we run all of the acrobatics in the show. I also do a sound check within that time. So there are people doing back tucks and front walkovers, and two highs and three highs right next to me as I'm singing through all my songs....It'll never happen again. And it's so unique.

Self-care wise, it's about trying to give as much sleep as possible and drink far too much water, um, and so it's mostly relying on that. And then not overworking my voice throughout the day, and actually taking that seriously. As someone who loves to yap, that can be very hard. Also getting massages, making sure I'm going to PT, um, and taking care of any other extraneous tension so it's not reflected in my voice... It's like all the tricks I've stolen from musical theater performers in my life. I feel so lucky. 

You portray Shana in the show. What has that been like working with the writer and director and knowing that you are her telling her story? How do you navigate the fact that you're obviously portraying a living person that you're talking to every day, but also you’re bringing Tyler Meredith to the role? How do you reconcile those things? 

Once in a lifetime, I never would have thought that this would have happened. I worked with our good friend Will Allan [a fellow Chicago actor] on his play [Campaigns, Inc.] that he wrote that was really my only other [experience similar to this] [Interview’s Note: She didn’t, alas, portray Will Allan himself in that play.] 

When I went in for the callback, I knew, I knew that she had written the show. I knew she was directing it, and I think my brain, to protect itself, either chose not to fully understand that it was about her or just filed that information far in the recesses of my brain, because otherwise it would have freaked me out too much. And then afterwards, of course, I realized it was completely about her. I went through waves of imposter syndrome, and I think Shana is so unique for so many reasons, but she is so accessible. She's such a collaborator, so she and I really spoke the same language, and I think she was so, so excited by the parts of me that I was bringing to the table. And then there are tiny little Shanaisms that I sprinkle throughout. 

We both have very buoyant personalities, so I think that meshes really well. But she also really wanted me to bring myself to the role, which I think is so exciting. The show has these amazing moments of improv...but it was incredibly intimidating. especially knowing her journey and her prognosis, and obviously how much it means to her. When we did our final presentation in Montreal, her husband was there. And her son has been able to see the show as well throughout the process... Knowing the people who love her the most, and obviously are so affected by what she's going through right now, will get to see this, I think, instead of choosing to be intimidated by it, I chose to take it on as a huge which it really is. It always makes me emotional,  and I'm just so grateful that she has really seen me as a partner in this. and that we're creating a role together. 

What do you hope that people take away from The Attic when they see it? 

Respect for circus performers. It is extraordinary to see... I had never seen a circus performance until I was in Montreal and saw a Cirque du Soleil performance. To see their ability and Shana's absolutely insane ability to create storytelling through movement, and specifically through circus, I think it's thrilling. 

The idea that the risk that is involved in circus is so applicable to the risk that we take in life. We have this structure that I love throughout the show, where I give different lessons on trapeze, like different things about the trapeze. And a theme that keeps coming back throughout all of them is the idea of falling. Learning how to fall and accepting that you're gonna fall. And if you haven't fallen yet, you're going to fall at some point. And how do you do that safely? And then also, how do you hold on, but also let go? 

And that is actually the trick to so much of what they do. Someone in rehearsal, when we were working on the three high, just said the word “surrender” to me as I was going up one day, and it changed everything. I was like, “Oh, I actually have to surrender.” And how we can do that in our own lives.

Also, I think paired with the idea that, in circus, you do have a safety net of humans to catch you. And who are those people in our own lives? And what have you seen while you've been lying on your back? It's really inspired. 

I think about it all the time now...what ultimately we hope we see at the end when it is the last time we're lying on our backs. And hopefully that's the safety net and the humans that we've gotten to love. 

See Tyler Meredith perform in The 7 Fingers' The Attic at Goodman Theatre through October 4, 2026. 

Responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

Headshot courtesy of Goodman Theatre

Need more Chicago Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...