Jackie Burns

I Survived Theatre School

We talk to Wicked's own Elphaba, Jackie Burns!
FULL TRANSCRIPT (unedited):
0 (2s):
Hello? Hello. Hello survivors. How I've missed you. I've missed talking to you boss. And I took quite a number of weeks off. Well, I did. She, she actually continued to record for at least one week while I was gone. And she's got a great interview. We've got a great interview coming up. She talked to Jackie burns, little Jackie burns on Broadway, wicked playing Elphaba. No big deal. Actually. She has a big deal and she's great. And so were all of you. I am heartened because even though we've taken all this time off, we've continued to grow our listenership.

0 (47s):
So thank you to you for listening, for continuing to listen for being a first-time listener. If you are thank you for being here, it's a privilege actually, to be able to have a platform to speak one's mind is truly a privilege. And one, I hope we do right by. We're going to be right back into the swing of things with interviews, regular weekly interviews in the fall. So stay tuned for that. And in the meantime, please enjoy this interview with Jackie burns and I'm Gina Kalichi

3 (1m 34s):
To theater school together. We survived it, but we didn't quite understand.

0 (1m 38s):
20 years later, we're digging deep talking to our guests about their experiences and trying to make sense of it all.

3 (1m 43s):
We survived theater school and you will too. Are we famous yet?

2 (1m 56s):
Here's the thing. Jackie burns. Congratulations. You survived theater school and you also survived this hellish trying to get you on. So squad quest squad cast, which we usually use is totally wonky this morning. And I was like, no, I, because I'm obsessed with you because I'd been researching you. I'm not a musical theater person, but I am one of these musical theater lovers that has so much reverie. And I think it is a sacred thing to sing and I don't really do it. And so I'm obsessed and you and I have the same birthday, October 4, 10, 4, buddy, ten four. So You're a little younger than me, five years, but that's okay.

2 (2m 41s):
I'm still, I'm super obsessed. And I also like I, when I watch, so I'm known for like going to high schools and middle schools and watching musical theater of people I'd have no connection to in what I was at when I was in Chicago, because I adore the art form and I don't do it, but I'm obsessed. So anyway, start, start from the beginning. You grew up in Connecticut. How, and then obviously you're a Broadway star. Are you back working in on Broadway? What's happening with you right now?

5 (3m 13s):
Oh my God. What is happening?

2 (3m 15s):
Yeah. I looked at your, I looked at all your profiles, but I want to hear it from you. Where are you post sort of pandemic. What is happening with your career? Tell us,

5 (3m 27s):
Oh God. Well like every musical theater theater,

2 (3m 31s):
Just say star, just say star, you are a star. You're a musical theater star. Like I understand for someone like I write for TV and I act sometimes, but like I musical theater people when I see them on stage, I'm like, I, the, the, the amount of brilliance it takes and dedication to, I have trouble on set, just moving my body and say, and you sing and move and dance and all the things. Okay. Okay. So what's happening with your career?

5 (4m 2s):
Oh my God. Well, first of all, Jen, I'm obsessed with you because I wish the rest of the world felt the same way about musical theater people because all of I'm most TV and film people are like, oh, you're not a real actor because you,

2 (4m 13s):
No, I would love to cast, listen, listen, what I mean? I would love to catch you and all your cohort when I do, because here's the thing. The body spatial awareness of musical theater folks, to know where they are in space translates onto set. So everyone listening, the 10,000 people that have downloaded this podcast that will continue to hire musical theater folks on television and film because they know bodies and bodies. It's not just a head people. So anyway, okay, go ahead. Sorry. I keep interrupting. I'm just like,

5 (4m 46s):
Nope. I love you. You're like making me feel so good about myself. But as every theater person, all we want to do is get on TV and film.

2 (4m 55s):
Oh, right. It's that's holds true for musical theater folks too. I assume that's where the dough is. Is that

5 (5m 1s):
That's where that money is. Because if you think about it, like once the theater show closes, we don't get a back end of it. So like, that's it. Your paycheck's done.

2 (5m 9s):
There's no residuals.

5 (5m 10s):
There's no residual.

2 (5m 12s):
Yeah. Okay. So, okay. So tell me what is happening now? You said you got your insurance back, which is

5 (5m 17s):
Paula that's hope. It's always helpful. I just did a new musical called a walk on the moon. That was based off the movie. No,

2 (5m 27s):
No,

5 (5m 29s):
No. I'll walk in the cloud. Like very similar. No,

2 (5m 33s):
She's dope. I like to

5 (5m 34s):
Have her with like Viggo, Mortensen, Schreiber. And when it was like back in the day, it's a good movie. Tony, Tony Goldwyn, like directed it and stuff. And he actually came and saw the musical. Did

2 (5m 47s):
He give you a compliment?

5 (5m 49s):
Yes, he was very nice. It was also like super handsome. You're like, hi,

2 (5m 52s):
I have heard. Yes.

5 (5m 54s):
You're just like, hello? Oh, you're married Ella and there's no, no, no, no, no. And my boyfriend's gonna listen to be like,

2 (6m 6s):
No, no, no. That's okay. That's okay.

5 (6m 8s):
No, he knows. He knows that I'm just joking. I'm just stroking on there. No. And then Pam gray wrote it. Who wrote the, who wrote the script as well? Yeah. And it's really good. And we just closed and they're hoping to bring it to Broadway. So fingers crossed. But the problem is, is that Broadway because it was closed for two years. All these shows have been trying to get theater. So that were like low man on the total whole cause it's like two years worth of shows trying to get to Broadway.

2 (6m 37s):
Correct.

5 (6m 37s):
So it's, and we're just like a little show rather than like a big show, so

2 (6m 43s):
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. But still worked. You have worked post pandemic, which is a huge thing. Okay. So tell me, were you a kid? Who did you grow up? You grew up in Connecticut. I'm assuming, were you a kid? Like you were five and you were like, just ho like you knew you could sing or what, how did that go? How does that, how do you discover that you can freaking sing?

5 (7m 6s):
You're so cute. I'm going to like put your pocket. Your energy is like seven. I'm going to be a best friend now.

2 (7m 13s):
And we'll together. We'll try to, we'll try to have a television show. That's like, I know they did it kind of with glee, but like Glebe, like less sassy and more earnest.

5 (7m 23s):
Yes. I am interested Jen, get

2 (7m 26s):
And throwing some murders because I, I write a lot of murder. Yeah.

5 (7m 29s):
Oh, I love that. That's what

2 (7m 31s):
Musical murders. Great. Okay. So you, you were a kid and how did this happen? That you were like, dude, I can be on stage and sing.

5 (7m 38s):
I just like always was obsessed with it. Like, so I started dancing when I was three and then, but like I used to get on like the little like Hutch, you know, like the fireplace such as my stage and sing, sing to like Michael Jackson's thriller. And I just like, yeah. And I used to, when I used to go to dance, like as I got older, we drove like 45 minutes. My mom drove me very sweet to dance class. And I used to sin...