Hamilton, Shuffle Along and Other Tony Award Nominees Reveal True Sources of Their Passion

“When I was a kid, one of the first plays I saw was Waiting for Godot. It was a community theater production at an elementary school in their playground outside. I was very young and I'm fairly certain that I didn’t understand most of it. But it was one of the most awe-inspiring things I had ever seen in my life. I had never seen people having that much fun doing something. And it was so much fun to watch them do it. I thought, that’s the essence of life.”

"I first knew that I had to be a performer when I was about six years-old. I was a ham and a spaz. I loved entertaining people and making them laugh and smile. I knew deep down in me I wanted to do this forever. And then I discovered theater at a young age. I found there was a structured place where you can do that. Then I found out that this could be your job. I thought that’s what I’m supposed to do. I feel so blessed that I’ve been able to do it."

"I'm a very shy person. It’s easy when I'm talking to one person. But being in a group is difficult for me. I love people. I love being in groups of people, I'm just awkward. As a kid, when I sort of accidented into performing, it gave me a reason to be in a room. When you're playing a character, when you're on stage, you get to be in a room with lots of people. I don’t have to be nervous or scared about it. I have a function. I know what I'm doing. I'm here to do this. I know what to do with my hands. Many, many years ago, I saw {National Poetry Slam champion} Marc Bamuthi Joseph do a solo show called Word Becomes Flesh. Marc would later become my mentor. I was in college about to stop being a theater major because I didn’t really enjoy the major there. Then I saw that show and it made me realize that there was not only a place for me, but a place to create work that was specific to the kinds of stories I wanted to tell. That changed everything."

"I came into this world as a Broadway baby. This is where I wanted to be. My mother will say that when I was 3 three years-old, I told her. I remember being one of the 30 orphans in Oliver Twist in the first or second grade. That was my first show. In our school at Christ Episcopal school in Rockville Maryland everyone was in the production. They put up risers on the side of the stage. And I was running around singing 'Food….'"

Lynne Meadow, producer of the Father (with the Manhattan Theatre Club) "I remember walking into the basement of Mishkan Israel Synagogue in New Haven Connecticut where my mother was doing a musical downstairs. I looked at the stage and it must have been two feet high. But I made the decision that I had to work in the theater. I must have been five years old." Barry Grove, producer of the Father (with the Manhattan Theatre Club) "I grew up about about 20 miles away {from Lynne Meadow} in a little town called Madison Connecticut and my mother loved the arts. I was her date from an early age. We used to go to the Shubert Theater in New Haven. Then I went off to Dartmouth thinking I was going to be a pre-engineering major. And freshman week, I walked into the theater and changed my major to do what I wanted to do."

“I have always loved the theater, but it was never my plan to be costume designer. It happened by chance. I am a fashion designer. And my friend Julianna Margulies came to my office one day and said, “I’m doing a play can you help me with the clothes? That’s how it started. Then I was doing a dress for Cynthia Nixon for the Emmys and her manager who was with her for the fitting said, 'I saw a play with Julianna Margulies and loved the costumes and thought this is something you might be good at.' She intruded me to director Scott Elliott who gave me {the play} Hurlyburly. She also introduced me to director Scott Ellis. I think they see my love of fashion and fashion history. It's really about directors being open minded to working with a fashion designer.”

"I’ve always assumed that I would perform. I remember being very young and seeing a production of the Tempest in a small 15 seat theater in Chicago. I was so in awe of the magic of the world that I was transported to."

"I didn’t start doing theater until I was 21. I was introduced to it my junior year in college and thought maybe there was a place for me. I was working on a student production of a play called Hamletmachine and felt included and heard. I felt like I had an ability to put groups of people together who could work in harmony and with confidence."