Ashley Wool

12/11/23 • 72 min

The Art of Not Making It: with Tiffany Springle

Today's guest is Ashley Wool!
This has to be one of my favorite interviews so far on The Art of Not Making It. Honest and pure, Ashley and I get into what it's like when you finally reach Broadway. Once there, you are not only experiencing your Broadway debut, but originating a lead in a new, ground-breaking musical. How do you handle the pressure, excitement, and unknown?
Ashley and I met 11 years ago at an audition and instantly hit it off. We've stayed in touch and it's been so lovely to follow her career as it brings her to this moment.
After years of hard work and living authentically, Ashley is making her Broadway debut as Jessica in How To Dance In Ohio.
Here's a bit about the show (as quoted from their website):
Based on the award-winning HBO documentary, How to Dance in Ohio is a heart-filled new musical exploring the need to connect and the courage it takes to step out into the world. At a group counseling center in Columbus, Ohio, seven autistic young adults prepare for a spring formal dance—a rite of passage that breaks open their routines and sets off hilarious and heartbreaking encounters with love, stress, excitement, and independence. How to Dance in Ohio is a story about people standing on the cusp of the next phase of their lives, facing their hopes and fears, ready to make a very big first move...and dance.

Reviews have been gushing...
...take a look:
"Groundbreaking. Thoughtful and poetic. This feel-good show is a milestone. "
-The New York Times
"Broadway’s most original new musical. It will stay with you."-The Daily Beast
"Groundbreaking and big-hearted. A Broadway first."-Variety
"How to Dance in Ohio makes me believe in Broadway once again."-Theatrely
Book & Lyrics by Jacob Yandura, Music by Lily Ling, Musical Direction by Mayte Natalio, Choreography by Sammi Cannold, and Directed by Harold Prince.
In a Broadway first, seven actors on the autistic spectrum play the autistic leads. Finally.
But it doesn't just stop with the casting. You can feel the thoughtful choices made in all aspects of the show, from the team compiled (with close to 50 members involved on and off stage making their Broadway debuts), to the resources tab on their website which answers commonly asked questions and misconceptions.
This is a monumental, historical piece of Broadway history, and I'm so excited for Ashley to impact so many people with her art.
You can catch How to Dance in Ohio at the Belasco Theater, and more details can be found on their website at:
https://howtodanceinohiomusical.com/
Here it is. The Art of Not Making It.

Previous Episode

Michael Rupert

Hello friends!
Today's episode is pretty special. They say don't meet your heroes. That is, unless they are Michael Rupert. Then you are in for a real treat. It was such a pleasure having Michael on, and he shares some invaluable insight on sustaining a lifelong career in this industry.
Michael John Rupert is an American actor, singer, director and composer. In 1968, he made his Broadway debut in The Happy Time as Bibi Bonnard for which he received a Tony Award nomination and the Theater World Award. He originated the role of "Marvin" in the William Finn musicals March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland. Rupert has been the nominee and recipient of several Tony and Drama Desk awards.
Theater Credits Include:

The Happy Time - Bibi Bonnar (Original Broadway Cast)
Pippin - Pippin (replacement)
Shakespeare's Cabaret - Michael
March of the Falsettos - Marvin (Original Cast)
Sweet Charity - Oscar (revival)
Mail - Alex
City of Angels - Stine (replacement)
Falsettoland - Marvin (Original Cast)
Falsettos - Marvin (Original Cast)
Ragtime - Tateh (replacement)
Elegies: A Song Cycle - Original Performer
Legally Blonde - Professor Callahan (Original Broadway Cast)
Monarch - Kenneth Sharpe
On The Town - Judge Pitkin (revival)
Directing

In 1997, Rupert directed an Off-Broadway production of The Lunch Anxieties by Larry Kunofsky at the Harold Clurman Theatre.
He directed J. Arlington Meyrelles III's musical, The Stars In Your Eyes, in an Equity workshop production in 1998.
Rupert directed Thrill Me: Leopold & Loeb Story (2005) at the York Theatre.

Composing

Rupert composed the music, with book and lyrics by Jerry Colker, to the 1985 Off-Broadway music 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down, which won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book and was nominated for Outstanding Music.
The score for Mail (1988) was also written by Rupert with Colker once again writing the book and lyrics.
Rupert wrote the score to Strange Vacation (1998) and collaborated with Allan Heinberg.
He composed the score and co-wrote the book and lyrics with Matthew Riopelle for the musical Streets of America (2007).
On August 18, 2008 the number "Racing to the Moon" was released Footlight Label as a single featuring three different performances: one by Rupert, another by actor Sebastian Arcelus, and an instrumental version by the guitarist David Timmons.
His debut single, "Racing to the Moon" was released on August 18, 2008 on the Footlight label.

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Here it is. The Art of Not Making It.