Interview!!!

Hi guys!

Not much going one here. Maybe this is news to you! (Hope you don't know it yet.) I haven't finished reading it, but it sound interesting! It's from
http://www.musical-cats.de/
You can also find a german version there if you need one! So here it is:

Interview John Partridge ? Berlin, January 3rd

MC:Would you please be so kind and introduce yourself to the readers?

JP: Hi, I?m John Partridge and I play the Rum Tum Tugger!

MC:How did you join CATS? What was your motivation to participate in this musical?

JP:I joined the show in 1988 when I was 16 and I was asked to join the show.Somebody saw me perform and I was asked to come to do an audition.

MC: And which production was that?

JP: That was on the 1st UK Tour of the show which was in 1988, in England.

MC:You?ve also been in Hamburg, London and the Video. What?s the fascination with CATS? What is so special about it? What makes you always come back to the show?

JP: Well, there?s 2 stories to that... *laughs*. The first story is CATS is what we call my unemployment benefit. So when I?m not working, when I?m not doing another show, I always come back to CATS, that?s one theory. The other theory is I never stay with the show long enough to get bored. I only ever do short stints in the show, only ever do 6 months, maybe a year a maximum. So I always feel I can come back to the part because I haven?t exhausted myself. I think if you stay with the production for 3 years at one time, you probably burn out with the show, then it?s very difficult to maintain everything 8 times a week, full power if you sustain a long contract, if you sign again and sign again.So I tend to sign for 6 months ? I tend to get short contracts, like 4 months. So that?s the way I stay fresh. And also I stay fresh with the show because for me it?s a great part. Now the show is very much geared towards my interpretation of the role. In some ways, how the role was before and how the role is now, is probably different, and they ? the producers of the show ?allow me to play the role my way. And I?m very happy with that.

MC: Would you tell us a little bit about your role?

JP: My role... When you join the show ? when I joined the show ? Trevor Nunn gives you 3 words which sum up your character. And mine are ?vain?, ?perverse? and ?inconsequent?. So those were my 3 words! They are your basic guideline to your character. When you?re doing the show for a long period of time, sometimes those things get lost, people forget exactly what it is they should be doing. So I found, you should always come back to these 3 words from Trevor Nunn or from God... for want of a better phrase, you can?t really go wrong, so that?s how I stay focused within the character of my role.

MC: And what do you like about your character? What aspects do you dislike?

JP:I like about my character that you do very little and get a lot of praise! *laughs* That?s the best part, these are normally the best roles ? you come on, you do 5 minutes, then you go off ? and you are the one they remember the most. These are the roles that any actor wants to play really for a long period of time. And also, it?s not an indepth character, it?s not an emotionally draining role which is also good for a long sustained run, it?s not something that I need to absorb before I go on. It?s very much a tongue-in-cheek character, it?s very much a throwaway-part. Sometimes you play a part that is slightly heavier and it stays with you for the day or as I would call a method-actor, I tend to live my roles. I tend to not leave them at the end of the stage, they tend to become worthiness of my character. With this role, it?s quite good as it?s a light piece, as it?s a light part and a feel-good character and a feel-good factor of the show, so for my life that?s actually a good thing, too.

MC: So you identify yourself with the character you play?

JP: I identify with the character 100%, yeah.

MC: Do you have any favourite song or scene in CATS?

JP: I would say the opening is my favourite piece in the show because I think it?s the most exciting piece of the show and it?s also before anyone knows what?s going on, so that?s when you have the chance to set the scene for the rest of the piece ? so I would say the opening is my favourite part of the show.

MC:You are already an oldie on CATS, are you still nervous before the show?

JP:I?m never nervous before any show. I?m excited, I?m never nervous. I think nerves are for people that aren?t prepared ? nerves are for people that don?t prepare very well and I tend to prepare very well. I know that might sound quite egocentric but I think nerves are for the unknown and before I go on the stage, before I take on a role, I make my business to know everything that is to know about it, so I can just enjoy the unexcited nervous energy as suppose to: ?Oh my god ? is this? gonna work??

[(fan) call for John

MC: So you have a lot of fans, don?t you?

JP: Yeah, I tend to have a lot of fans, yes ? and I gear up to to them through the correct channels, not at stage doors.

MC: Is there a special role or character you would like to play, in any musical?

JP:I really wanted to play ?Roger? in Rent, that was a character that I really wanted to play and that was something that professionally was very satisfying for me to do. A very tiring role. I played the part for one year and it conceived a lot of my life. But it was a very satisfying role, as far as an actor is concerned. As far as other roles I would like to play... Yeah, there are a few roles that I still would like to play. Obviously, the older you get, the roles take on a different form. Currently, there are 2 roles I would like to play. One of them is ?Radames? in AIDA, which I had some experience with that company before. I would like to play that role. Another role I would like to play is ?Hedwig? [in Hedwig and the angry Inch, annotation of the translator] and I?ve had also some discussions about that, too.

MC:Is there some funny tale, a funny event that happened to you during a CATS show?

JP:I think there?s always a funny story! ? Something special...Let me think...Ok, we?ll come back to it.

MC:Could you describe a typical day for you as a CATS performer?

JP:As a CATS performer? A typical day, it?s kind of difficult to that because I have another business in the day, so basically my CATS time only starts as soon as I come into the building ? so I keep it relatively short, as far as that is concerned. So most of my preparation for the show is very small, I don?t really do any preparation for the show. I don?t extensively warm up before the show, I don?t do a heavy vocal warm up, I don?t do a heavy physical warm up ? I tend to get ready and get on. Well, I arrive at 6:30, I kind of have a coffee, I chat to my colleagues and I wait till the quarter hour call, then I put on my make up and I get dressed ? my showtime is showtime! I don?t really prepare, I?m not a big preparer.

MC:Is it like that in every show or maybe just only in CATS?

JP:No, in every show! Tends to be ? emotionals I do....A show is a job, it?s not my life. It?s what I do to make money and obviously I enjoy it, but it?s not something that conceives me so wholly that I need to take care of myself in the day, not go out in the evening ? I?m not one of those performers. The show is the show. Fortunately for me, I?m able just to do it, I?m able to not prepare, I?m able to go on, I don?t need to psych myself up for who I am anyway. So I don?t need to kind of prepare myself for myself, you know what I mean? This is who I am, this is how I do it and it?s very easy for me just to walk on. So, that?s what I do - lucky for me!

MC: So it?s some kind of dream job for you?

JP: It?s a dream job in the sense that I get to do what I want to do and in this day and age and in our economic climate it?s not something that not many people I think have the grace to be able to fully do what they want to do, and I?m lucky enough to be able to make a good living by doing what I want to do and that?s very special, I think.

MC: Could you please summarize some important stages of your career?

JP: Important stages of my career were probably going to Royal Ballet School, that was my first... If I hadn?t gone away to school at a young age then maybe I wouldn?t be doing what I?m doing now ? so I would say that was probably a milestone in setting me on my way to what I wanted to be. And then I would say getting my first gig, coming to the show the first time in the late introduced me to another way of life because I came from the classical background and musical theatre is very different to that. And then I would probably say meeting my first agent, my first manager who shaped the first part of my career and which is a man called Michael Somerton who helped me a lot in advising me what to do and what not to do because as good as an actor is, unless you have somebody behind you who has a bigger vision as equally as big as yours or you can?t do these things on your own. It?s not like you go to school and you learn to be an actor and then you become a star ? it doesn?t work like that, you need somebody else to shape your career, to tell you which of the shows to go for, which not to go for, which jobs to take, which jobs not to take My first agent in that respect educated me in what would be right for me and what wouldn?t be right for me.

After that I moved to Europe. When I moved to Europe in 97, a period which I thought may not go so well for me, but as far as growing into a man and growing professionally. I did quite a lot of that here I stayed here till the millennium and I think that was a very important part for me as far as emotional growth and as far as feeling that I could leave London, and could leave the West End and the world wasn?t flat and I wouldn?t come 10 min. off the plane and thought there is another life outside and that was very important for me, not worrying about leaving London. Then after that, I would say, I?m pretty much were I am right now. I?m in my thirties now and it all seems to take care of itself, so I guess I did something right somewhere along the line, everything now has an order to it. I have a great new manager, a great new agent who I owe everything to, right now he takes care of everything for me, completely everything. He dots the ?i?s? and crosses the ?t?s? and says YES and NO without even consulting me. So a lot of my decisions, my professional decisions now I don?t make, someone else makes them for me, which takes the pressure off me and I can just come in 10 min before the show ? I don?t have to worry about that now.

MC: Your first contact with CATS, did you see the show before you joined the cast?

JP: No, I hated musical theatre.

MC: You just slipped into it?

JP: I took a leap of faith, is the word I would use, somebody told me it would be a good thing for me to do, and I thought, okay, I?ve got nothing to lose. I was young and foolhearted ... *grins* No, I was young and went along with it and fortunately for me I did go along with it.

MC: So back to your funny story...

JP: Ok, funny story, funny story, think of a clean one... Funny story..ok... ? Oh, the photos!! [he points to the pictures in his wardrobe] These are calender photos, we did a naked calender. We did a naked calender, the proceeds will to go to charity. We did hear of this from the technique guys of the show. I made Mister December. I always wanted to be Mister December and now I am!

There?s always funny things I do in the show. There was one particular incident. When I go through the auditorium at the beginning of my number I always try to find a bald head before I come on. But I couldn?t find a bald head and I was like, ?There is no bald head here, mmmh...? And I thought, ?There might be a bald head under there, is there a bald head under there? I think there might be a bald head under there...?, so I went out and yes indeed, the guy had a toupet over it, and he must have been in his late 60?s. It probably wasn?t the most PC thing to do, but off came the toupet to a huge round of applause and needless to say he took it all very well. It was funny for me, probably not so funny for him, but ? you know ? *laughs*

MC: Finally would you like to say something personal to the people - maybe to your fans - that may read this interview?

JP: I?d like to say on a serious note, thank you to anyone who comes to a show, to supports the show because they love it, or because of me, maybe me, either one. Usually these shows are so successful because people will come back again and again and again ? and you know - and again and again *chuckles* And I?m very grateful for that, I mean we all are very grateful for that. Its not just the actors on stage, if you put on a show like CATS it involves a lot of people and without those people coming back there wouldn?t be so many of us in the job. So for that I?m very grateful, but that is something that should be said.

MC: Thank you very much!

JP: Thank YOU very much, very short and sweet.

Das Interview f?hrten Iris Sattler und Matthias Wolter