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December 24, 2009
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Stilts and dalmatians Garett Hawe, 23, got early theater, dance and voice training in the Nashua area. Now he’s part of the cast of the national tour of 101 Dalmatians, which stops at the Wang Center in Boston for shows Dec. 23 through Dec. 27 (www.the101dalmatiansmusical.com). Hawe performed with Peacock Players and Actorsingers in Nashua, and the Palace Theatre and Acting Loft in Manchester. In Nashua he also danced at Northern Ballet Theatre and studied voice with Michele Henderson. After moving from Pepperell, Mass., to Hollis at age 14, Hawe attended Hollis-Brookline High but switched to home schooling, then joined a national tour at 18. Hawe spoke to The Hippo from Dallas, where 101 Dalmatians played for three weeks in December. Have you performed in a national tour in Boston before? Can you tell me a little about what attracted you to musical theater? I did sports when I was little. I enjoy it, but I wasn’t amazing at it. It didn’t really feel right. Did you have any influences when you were growing up in Pepperell, Hollis and Nashua? People you worked with or shows that you saw? When I was little, I would watch old MGM movies and I wanted to be Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Those song-and-dance-man-type characters is something I’m hoping to step into when I’m older. Can you tell me about your role in 101 Dalmatians? ...[O]ne of the interesting things about the show is that it’s told through the dogs’ point of view. So all the humans in the show are on 15-inch stilts. So it’s larger than life — the sets are larger than life, the costumes, and we dance on stilts, which is definitely a challenge but it’s also really fun. Is that something you’ve done before or did you have to train for that? You actually work with real dogs? It’s really cool because the show uses these Dalmatians — their shortcomings — as their advantage. Like if a dog likes to bark a lot, then the dog will come on stage and bark in the show. So it’s really cool in that these dogs came from shelters and may have had not a great life before, and now they are treated really well and have a really great life. Do you like dogs? Would you mind talking about what it was like to switch to home schooling so you could focus on theater? I didn’t want to give anything up. So we decided to kind of make my own training program and my own schedule. I became home schooled so that I could take dance classes during the day. I would go into Boston to take dance class. And I also started to do more professional regional theater that rehearsed during the day. Being home schooled allowed me to do that. ... I was also able to go to New York on weekends and take dance classes and see shows, and I think that’s really important. To be exposed to that from a young age. You went on a national tour, and then went to college? And while I was on the road, I realized how young I was and how much time I do have, and that’s when I decided that I did want to go to school, go to a college and get more education and more training. So then I decided to go to college. Cincinnati, that’s quite a good school for music, correct? It’s great — the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. I got a BFA in musical theater. So many of the graduates are working in Broadway and on television and national tours. I feel very lucky to have gone there. A lot of connections then, too? And you actually worked at North Shore. How do you feel about North Shore closing down? It was so devastating when that happened. Because it was one of the only regional theaters in New England and it’s in the round, and it’s so unique. But I did hear that someone bought it and that they are trying to reopen it. So I really hope that that happens. Can you just mention what that means to an actor, to have an Equity card? What advice would you give to other young people who might want to follow a path like this? You’ve packed a lot into 23 years, haven’t you? Do you know what you want to work on next, or are there any shows that you would really love to be able to do someday? This process has been amazing, to be part of original musical and a new show. It’s kind of every actor’s dream. I feel lucky to be doing that now at such a young age. ...There’s definitely a lot of other shows I would love to be a part of.... My goal is just to be consistently working in this business because especially in this economy, it’s so tough to even have a job. I want to keep working and doing work that I love. —Heidi Masek
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12/10/2009 YTP at the Hunt
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