Daniel Welch Welcome to this artistic life. On this podcast we sit down with professional artists of all disciplines to talk about their journeys, what inspires them and their unique perspectives from life off the beaten path Brought to you in part by artists relief tree, a relief fund for artists affected by cancellations due to covid 19. I'm your host, Daniel Welch. This week's guest is an Dyess and as an actor has been a staff performer at the Metropolitan Opera for over 10 years. This episode was recorded outdoors at Lincoln Center, adhering to strict COVID-19 protocols, including social distancing. So please pardon the ambient sound. Daniel Welch Well, thank you for taking the time to be on this artistic life podcast. We've been trying to line up Hopkins episode for a year, at least something like that, at least right? It took COVID to make it happen. Anne Dyas Yeah. Well, the like, I think the second time we tried to coordinate I had a baby. And so that kind of I mean, it's Daniel Welch a reasonable excuse. Yeah, I would say Anne Dyas she came really early. So it wasn't like, you know, there was a surprise, surprise, surprise factor. Yeah. Oh, by the way, I can't make it. Yeah. By the way, Daniel Welch I now have a child. Kind of an important factor in your life. Yes. A little bit. Anne Dyas I'm in the hospital. But Daniel Welch for good reasons. Yeah. Good reasons. So you have a very unique job at the Metropolitan Opera, a job that has been going on for a decade. Anne Dyas And we'll talk a little bit more than that. Yeah, I think when they started being on contract, oh, gosh, let me think, before my time, but only but only by like, a couple years. Yeah. Daniel Welch So you're considered to be a contract performer. That's the official title. Anne Dyas Yeah, I'm a contract. We're called staff performers. That performer that's the Daniel Welch phrase. Yeah, Anne Dyas there's can only be nine of us on contract. Currently, we have eight actually, because somebody left the mat and moved home to Texas. And that was before COVID. So we haven't replaced that person guy. Right now. It's seven guys. And me. And you. Daniel Welch Yeah. And the super unique part about this is the fact that you work at the Met and you make zero sound on stage. Anne Dyas Most of the time, yeah, yeah. Every once in a while we do the odd, you know, can everybody shout Italian phrases, right? Or which I like to really name pastas, if possible. Nice, you know, Daniel Welch really well. Listen for that next time, like group yelling. I'm gonna look listen for pastas. Anne Dyas I've had to do lines in Russian and different things. When we did the nose, we had lines that we had to learn. And you were the only one on stage saying them. So you know. Nice. Yeah. Daniel Welch So let's back way up. And talk about how you ended up here. But let's talk a little bit about your background as an actor as a performer, etc. Where did that where did it start with you? Were you always were you the kid putting on plays at home? Oh, yeah. And Anne Dyas costuming them and setting up a proscenium with the garage. Daniel Welch So, yes, it Anne Dyas was Yes. There was a lot here. Oh, yeah. And lots of neighborhood kids. I would, you know, I would make popcorn, I would sell tickets. I would write programs I was doing. Daniel Welch You were born to be a producer. Yeah, Anne Dyas I'm pretty sure I gave people lighting readings. You say it like this. Daniel Welch That sounds right. With more Anne Dyas feeling. You know, Daniel Welch come on, Jennifer, because that's what every seven year old wants to be told it. Yeah. More feeling. Anne Dyas I mean, I I think as a kid, I was all about, like, putting on costumes and doing little shows. And I think when I was like three or four, at the Christmas Pageant in our preschool, I was the only kid I think, who knew the words to whatever was the song we were singing and so they just put the mic in front of me. Well, we have the three year olds were just you know, Daniel Welch that's what started Anne Dyas fiddling with whatever. And I was like, I think I think legend has it that I took the mic off of the stand and held it. And it was just became, you know, a one woman show. Daniel Welch Yeah, you were doomed to be a performer. Anne Dyas I think so doomed is probably Yeah, right. Daniel Welch There's no escaping it. Some people just can't escape it and it will happen no matter what. And if they aren't paid for it. They're gonna do it anyway. Yeah. So did you do a lot of performing in school, then? Yeah, I Anne Dyas for a really long time. I thought I was going to be an Olympic swimmer. That's what I was, like, stoked about. I swam starting kindergarten year round until I was like 16. And I had dislocated my knee playing softball at school, in middle school, and then really with that pain, oh, gosh, it's Yeah, yeah. It's it's like I think about right now and it's like all your sphincters kind of off. Yep, everything tighten. so uncomfortable. I had to do that. Physical Therapy and I was in like this big straight brace and crutches for a long time. And swimming is one of those sports that like you miss a little bit, and you've set yourself back weeks and months. You know, if you don't you don't, it doesn't stay up with you for whatever reason. And anyway, so when I went back to swimming, and I was like, you know, sad and bored and sitting at school, and I was in a brace at school, and the theater teacher was like, do you should come be in my play? I was like, I'm an athlete. I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm an athlete. And so like, I don't do that. And she had me come in and audition for you know, our Gosh, we're doing this melodrama called tied to the tracks. That's what was called like a guy with a mustache. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you know, old timey. Oh, old timey. And I really wanted to play this one character who comes on and she says, the famous Lady Macbeth out damn spot because I thought, Oh, this will be fun. I'm going to curse at school. The dream I'm going to be I'm going to be bad. And I got cast as the lead to much to my disappointment. And had to you know, sing and act and were really sad hoop skirt that I think was probably made from a hula hoop. Um, you know, and I just never looked back. Daniel Welch So did it. Did you chase it in college? Anne Dyas Oh, yeah, I am. I have a BFA in acting from Texas State. And I think, you know, by the time I got to high school, I just kind of knew that's what I wanted to do. I was always in like, lots of activities, and did ROTC and choir and like all the clubs, and but theater was really a thing I wanted to focus on. Yeah, yeah. And then got to school. And it was like, that was it. I just knew. Daniel Welch Yeah. So predominantly, straight acting. Anne Dyas I did musical theater for a long time. But I have a huge problem with nerves. And it got to the point where, like, you know, like, it's, like crying in an audition doesn't get you work. Daniel Welch Unless you can cry, like, you know, I mean, again, it's intentional, yes, but let's say that if Anne Dyas I after, after college, I moved to New York, and I went to the Circle in the Square. And I was like, I'm gonna, you know, I was doing voice lessons every day and singing all the time. And I was gonna be, you know, on Broadway. And I had a audition for Les Mis, that I went in for I was stoked. It was pouring rain. And I went in and I was absolutely, like, dripping wet. I start to sing. And, and suddenly, I notice that tears are coming out of my butt, like over here in the in the, like, Thought Bubble place where like, I'm disconnected, you know? And I was singing and I was all of a sudden, I was distracted by the fact that I was crying. And so I stopped. And I said, I was like, I'm, I'm so sorry, I, I don't know what's happening. But can I start over? They were so nice. They were like, yeah, of course, no problem. And I'm sure they felt sorry for me. So I begin again, and I just it was like, the words were gone. I don't know. I was totally disconnected. And I was just like, hot tears running down my cheeks. So I basically, you know, didn't book it. And I said to I sent to them as I left you know, see a call backs. Unknown Speaker Sure. Yeah. They Anne Dyas laughed, and I thought maybe that would save me. But ya know, and then I ended abruptly ended my singing career. Daniel Welch But the speaking you have no problem with? Anne Dyas No, I mean, I get really nervous. But for some reason, it doesn't have the same effect. Daniel Welch impromptu tears. Yeah, thing. Yeah. speaking roles. Interesting. Interesting. I, I find for myself, I always got less nervous singing. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Anne Dyas Yeah. I don't know why it's weird to have that kind of like connection to it. I I don't know what how that started or how that happened. And I didn't always feel that way. But, you know, Daniel Welch it was your, you know, your psyche telling you. We're going this way. Now. Your career is going in this trajectory over here instead, you'll be happier. Yeah. So how did the Met end up on your radar? Anne Dyas Um, so when I went to circle I had bH Barry as a fight teacher for cheer for two years, okay. And he has choreographed a lot of the fight work at the mat. And he used to do all the soap operas like when all the soap operas were being filmed in New York, he was the guy who was like, you know, teaching people how to smack each other and, you know, yeah, have little fights and stuff. Go drink some people. Exactly. And throw someone over a table or whatever they were doing. And he did the choreography for the old Franco Zeffirelli Carmen. Oh, okay. From the beginning. Yeah. So we, you know, there's like that epic girl fight. Yeah. Which is so fun. And he was able to cast whoever he wanted. Nice, which I think makes sense because it's, it's choreography. And choreography has a language to it, and different directors and teachers and you have your students, especially if you have them for two years, you have kind of a language you use. And with most things, especially opera, you know, rehearsals are so short. Yeah. When it's coming back, and it's being remounted I mean, you may only have like, you know, two weeks or something, and you just fill in the holes of the people who are gone and, you know, put it up. So, he happened to be a year where they lost like a bunch of people. So we brought in a whole big group of girls do that show that year? Um, and I got to do that. And then I mean, I'd never never in my life thought about being here. Yeah. No, never once Daniel Welch was one of those positions that until you see it on stage, you forget it exists. Yeah. And honestly, most smaller companies tend not to have a whole lot of supers because either they don't have the budget for it or casting is limited size isn't limited. But with the scope of the productions at the Met. You could stack a whole bunch of people on that stage. Oh, yeah. Their job is to be active background characters. There was I think they were present characters. How many times you carry luggage for people walking on stage? A lot in a handmaiden. Yeah, everything. Anne Dyas I'd be saying you name it here. I've given people haircuts on stage like, oh, Lana, I had to cut her hair at the end. So you know, it's out of the way of her neck before she gets her head cut off. Yeah, we had that we had this. Like, you had to have a dedicated wig just to cut we did. It was rigged. And I had to have these like hair cutting rehearsals so that I wouldn't accidentally cut the wrong place. Right. You know, and there, we had to have real scissors, right? You know, these wigs aren't cheap and somebody's singing and I'm like, Hi, I'm, I've got this pointy thing right here. Don't mind me. You could Daniel Welch accidentally make your juggler, Anne Dyas you know, and and like, cut the hair. And then like, you know, gather this hair up. We did it with Sondra Radvanovsky, and she was she was me. She's the best sport ever. Yeah, Anne Dyas she was like, Yeah, let's do it. I've worked with her so many times. I think she's like, I'm not worried. You got Daniel Welch that? Yeah, that that could be a little nerve wracking for somebody that hasn't worked with the person that's cutting Anne Dyas it. I feel like here, you know, I've been here for so long. And I feel like so many people know me. That, you know, I can't imagine there'd be many soloists who would be like, can you get another person to do this thing with me? Yeah, yeah. You know, just because it's like you everybody feels better when you see the same people all the time. faces. Yeah, I think that's why at the Met, we have staff, because we I think that we're sort of like the, like collective memory of the Met. You know, you have short rehearsal times, we remember things that other people don't remember. Yeah, we do. bolam. And it's like, Who remembers what this person does? And they go to the cheese shop, and they sell this and they have that and it's like, the people who've been doing that show, you know, for like 30 years are the people that remember what happened, right? It's not written down anywhere. Like the the Daniel Welch the guy who plays the artist. Yeah, the white beard doesn't What does this what's been a couple different guys, but you're probably thinking Joel. Yeah. Up until up until relatively, I'd always seen him every. He was always the artist. Anne Dyas Now. He's been doing it from the beginning. You know, these people are like, I went to an audition. And Franco Zeffirelli said to me, you're going to be the artist and you're gonna be the prostitute and you're gonna sell the wine and you have the flags. And Daniel Welch you know, that instance, what if you do it again with a new director? Do they basically just say, Okay, do what you know you're supposed to do? Or do they actually know, the signing stuff? I mean, I mean, that's how many people are on stage for that. My gosh, you see, Anne Dyas I don't I couldn't even tell you, with everybody. The chorus, the children's chorus, the Supers, in the band, orchestra and your band. That's right, the band and soloist that comes out because the marching band comes through a donkey and a horse. Unknown Speaker Partridge and Anne Dyas I don't know how many people it is, I don't know. But I Daniel Welch mean, I'm thinking from a director's perspective. Like, that's just a ton of direction. And you will be like, you guys have done this before. Anne Dyas You know what you're doing, help the person next to you if they're new. I mean, that is what happens. I really believe that the Supers at the Met or the collective memory for all of our productions. Daniel Welch Yeah, it makes total sense. Anne Dyas And we are able to have that kind of responsibility, because we're not singing. You know, it's like you I mean, I've had I've had shows where someone has been thrown on the last minute. There was this one night in Carmen where a cover went on. And I can't imagine that she had any rehearsal on stage, because sometimes you just don't know if you're coming into the middle of the run. And she didn't know everywhere she was supposed to be. She just didn't, how could she you know, and of course, you're nervous, and, you know, you're wearing a costume you've never been in outside of a fitting and it looks different. Everything looks different on stage than it does in a rehearsal room. And so, you know, we just sort of like, okay, we're your cigarette girls, we're your friends, you know, us, we make cigarettes together. And, you know, let me just, like, take you by the arm and walk with you to this place you're supposed to be, because it's, you know, you're not supposed to be right here. Your job is to just make it look normal. Like it's really happening. And we really know each other and have a relationship and like here, come over here and go talk to these fellas who you're supposed to be singing to. Daniel Welch And I'm willing to bet that soloist Wrangler was not in the job description Anne Dyas when it's not, but it probably is part of like what I do, yeah. You know, in a good way, in a good way. Not in like a, you know, because people just genuinely need Daniel Welch Yeah, well, one of my friends went on to sing. She was in barber in Italy. And she was called into sub for the Rosina. Last minute. Yeah. And when I said last minute, she didn't get to walk the stage before she went on. And so she leaned on the, the cast, the Supers, and the crew be like, what door? Do I go in? Where do I like, once I'm on stage, most of it's going to be fine. We can work it out. But like, I need to know my way around Anne Dyas here. I just don't know what's gonna happen. Yeah, we were doing the old ring. And, you know, at the very end, it's the world's supposed to go up in flames. But the torch that was supposed to be used had gone out, hopefully, no one can go out and start it. Right, you know, am I gonna like Bill and pull later out of, you know, my weird, whatever costumes, you know, that obviously doesn't have pockets and light this torch for you. And I was, um, you had this huge platform at the back. And I was kind of at the edge. And there was, the guys were like, you know, building the pyre. And I thought I could hear someone saying my name, just but like quietly. And I was just like, so I'm trying to be casual with my torch. I'm turn over to stage left, but not be like what's going on? You know, because we're supposed to be focused on this one thing. And that's one of the things best too is like, where our attention is, is where the audience Yeah, you know, we're directing the audience where to look and what's important. So I'm kind of in cash. And I'm Ray was like, and over in the corner, and I was like, so I kind of like get my part of my body just off stage. So I can like, turn my ear and hear him but keep facing the swipe. And he tells me that this torch is out. This is also closing Night of the season. Lovely. He's like this torches out. Because I guess they were like, on the wall. She supposed to go over the wall and grab it. I who I think it was, I think it was Debbie Voigt. I think it was Debbie white that night. I'm trying to remember this. This was a while ago. And so he's like, George is out. You need to get her your torch. And then thinking, How do I make that look normal? Right. So I like where were you in? I was on stage and she's like, way down stage. So he can like, casually, you know, like what's happening and oh, would and like holding my torch and trying to make my way downstage to her because she has no idea that this has happened. She's led the torches out. It's important is a major plot point. Yes. Daniel Welch Yeah. So literally can't have that scene without. Anne Dyas So I'm like standing there. And I get over to where the torches out that she's gonna take off the wall. And I'm like standing there with mine. And she turns around, you know, dramatically and she looks up at it. And she looks at me and I'm just like, I'm trying to not be like, Here, take this. But I'm also like, Here, take the torch. And so she finally like realizes, you know, this will happen in a matter of seconds. But she's like, it takes my torch from me. And then I have to like figure out a way to like, go back upstage because I have to die up here. Because if I don't die up here, I might really die when all this stuff starts falling. Yeah, Daniel Welch that's a stage life right there. Anne Dyas I mean, like, I feel like that's kind of it like, I'm starting fires, putting out fires. Hmm. Daniel Welch I like what you said about basically playing in a sense tour guide for the audience because that's, that's again, that's something that you tend to think about. But if there's a group of individuals looking a certain way, people sometimes We'll follow their gaze. Yeah, see what's going on. That's why the random asides work well in rested, or in an aria? Because if all the chorus members and all the Supers just start going around doing their own thing, we automatically go, Okay, well, this is not to anybody in particular, this is I'm thinking out loud, right? And it works. But that's something that as an audience member, you don't think about until you have this dialogue. Anne Dyas And you shouldn't have to think about it. I feel like that's part of like, what the job is to make it to where, I mean, sometimes, like, I'm doing something that is important, and people need to see it. Daniel Welch Yeah. And Anne Dyas for a moment, I might be the focus for a moment. But that's, you know, knowing when like that's happening and knowing when it's like I'm just the other your carrier over here. Daniel Welch Right? You have to either be really visible and very important or invisible. Yeah. And just a set peace. Yeah, that's a that's a fine line to walk. I have done some amount of background acting in TV shows. And so it goes on. Sneaky Pete. Season Two and the more last year, season two of the path now that I've done that job, I have a tendency to watch background actors. Yeah. Which is brutal, because background actors like can be people with zero acting experience whatsoever. And then there there are people that make Careers Out of acting, and I know a few of those people. But when the background people are distracting, it can kill a scene check for if they spiked the camera, or you know, stuff like that. Oh, good Daniel Welch god. Daniel Welch There's a you know, this is a non non sag individual that's never been on set before. And yes, it can ruin so much. It's like, This will be fun. And if you had just strolled down stage with that torch and handed it to her. That whole scene would like yeah, the whole audience been like, what the hell is happening here? Yeah, especially for the people that have either seen it before. Because we know like, there are plenty of ring nuts out there. Yeah. Not Not to be confused with the token ring nuts. The other ones, the other ones, the Wagner crazies who I love dearly, because it's a passion. But they would have been like, this is not normal. Anne Dyas Right? And then the person who'd never seen it would been like, wait, who's this girl looking through the program? She's important, Daniel Welch and then waiting for you to say, yes. I think just throwaway. Anne Dyas Sometimes I feel like people are waiting for me to sing like, I'm out there. And I Daniel Welch do productions right. expected you to say yeah, knowing that there wasn't any part for you. But like, you're so prevalent and like, she's got to have like a piece somewhere in here. Mm hmm. Part of a recipe or anything at all? Yes. Yeah. What are run us through some of the some of the kind of the standard characters that you play, that are consistent that are kind of like always there? Yeah. And then some of the weirder ones. Unknown Speaker So I Anne Dyas okay, I play kind of like three main things. I think regularly. maids? Unknown Speaker nuns? Yep. prostitutes. Yeah. Daniel Welch Basically, women hanging? Yeah. Unknown Speaker And sometimes it's not. Anne Dyas A may a maid could also be like, a handmaiden who is royal. Or it could just be luggage carrier. Like. Yeah, I mean, that's, those are sort of the spectrum, I think for women. Yeah. Um, and, and that's Yeah, you know, for better for worse, kind of the spectrum for soloist females as well. True. I think that you kind of, you know, it's that whole, like, you're either very virtuous, or you are very not virtuous. Daniel Welch We can have a sliding scale, no. Book option. two ends of the spectrum, Anne Dyas you know, but I think, yeah, that kind of, I've done some weird. I mean, like we did, um, frow. And we wore these weird costumes where we look like, conehead. sperms that were like arduously crawling across the mirrored set. And then, like, off the back and onto the, I mean, like, weird stuff. weird stuff. I mean, and then there's all like, the fighting stuff I've done to, you know, those kinds of roles are specific. You know, you either I Well, no, that's I would say those are the not only damsel in distress, that I get to fight on stage. It's usually like, I've got a purpose. Yeah, somebody's pissing me off. Yeah, I'm gonna do something about it. Daniel Welch I always loved fight choreography. It's a it's a great time. Unknown Speaker It's so much fun. Daniel Welch It's so much fun to beat somebody up in a controlled environment. Anne Dyas Yes. And the trick is, is that when you're doing something like that, when it's done really well and very safe, the audience isn't nervous for you. totally true. Yeah. When it's getting a little out of control, and then the audience actually has to say I'm worried about this person on stage. Yep. Now This character, then you know, you're not doing it right. Yeah. Yeah, Daniel Welch I did. When I used to fence, one of my private instructors also taught a fair amount of stage combat at most of the local, I should say, local colleges in the tri state area. Yeah. And he, when you find out I sing opera, and he's like, Is this why you want to take fencing? I was like, Yeah, he's like, you realize that like, traditional fencing and the way you would fight with a real structural rapier is totally different. I was like, Yeah, but I want at least understand the emotions behind it and that kind stuff. He's like, Do you own a blade? And I said, Yeah, I do. So I own a tournament level 18th century blade? And he's like, bring it in. Let me see it. So brought it in. It's like, Yeah, do you want to rotate traditional fencing one week, and then Western martial combat? The next week? Yeah, we'll go back and forth. He's like, I can teach you how to really fight with the rapier, like, for real? And then because you're gonna use it on stage, I can teach you what to change for legitimate stage combat. Sure. So you look like you know what you're doing. But you're also not actually going to kill anyone. Like he was the one that taught me that when you stab somebody with the blade, there's always there are there are two impacts, the impact would be apparel, the clothing, the costume, and then in real life, the blade going through it? Yeah. And so there are two reactions that if you're getting stabbed on stage, you need to have basically like, there's a series of motions, not just, Oh, I got stabbed. Yeah, I'm hitting the ground. Like, it was really, really wild to look at that. And then to actually implement that, when I got to play Giovanni was Anne Dyas a blast. Totally. And it's knowing the beats Yeah. And that there are beats, it's not like I swing my sword and I hit you and you fall like I swing it, you watch it, I watch it, I hit you, then it goes further. And then you you know, you have to have each one of those steps. There's Daniel Welch a reason they use the word choreography. Yeah. has to be mapped and planned. And, Anne Dyas yeah, Ph always had counts. Yeah, everything would have counts. Yeah, to the music. I mean, we would know exactly where we were, at all times. And that's also how you could have like, six distinct groups fighting at the same time, and one and not worry about one group bleeding into the other group. Yeah, unless it was choreographed that way. Because, you know, I would have to take somebody over my shoulders, throw them down, and at the same time, somebody would have to be watching to jump over. You know, it's like you and you have it down. Daniel Welch Yeah. And, you know, what happens if somebody misses a beat? Or hits somebody with? I mean, yeah, I've been punched accidentally on stage. You know, I have bruises from incidents where, you know, either in rehearsal or actually in a performance. Yeah. I mean, you know, stuff happens. I'm Unknown Speaker not part of like, Daniel Welch live theater. Fine. But that's, that's always something that that part always gave me a rush when I was on stage. Yeah. When I was doing stuff that involved acting physicality that was extra special that we had to go out of our way to train for specific, because all the other stuff. I mean, it's it's really exotic to everybody else that is not an actor who doesn't perform for a living. But we look at it as Okay, yet another rehearsal, I guess. But another how many hours here, sitting here doing nothing until I'm called the other guy. But when you get to do the extra special stuff, like it's a rush, it's a blight Anne Dyas call? Yeah, like a dance call. Daniel Welch The dance calls that I really enjoyed. waltzing on stage always drove me crazy. Anne Dyas Oh, really. Daniel Welch I mean, I was fine. at it. And for bigger dude was always lighter on my feet that people expected but like, I'd rather fight on stage and dance on stage any day. Anne Dyas But it's the same, like, you know, Daniel Welch the mentality behind it is absolutely the same. Anne Dyas different goals. Right. But the same? Daniel Welch Yeah, you know, it's, it's, I was just talking to a friend of mine who is on a stars show that's shooting here in New York. And one of the first scenes that they shot was one of the love scenes for his character. And he's engaged in the show. And so we had to do this and do it Unknown Speaker in the deep end, right. Daniel Welch Like, I barely met this person, I have to dive straight into stars network. So it's like, they don't Yeah, a lot of punches. And he was talking about the the intimacy coach is the same thing. And you know, all of that is explicitly explicitly directed. And there's a choreography to an intimacy scene, and Hollywood does that. Yeah. But that's something that lacks a lot of stages, right? And it's something that we need to push more for. Because I've seen some pretty inappropriate stuff happened on stage that you know, wasn't staged, Anne Dyas yes, that there has been moments where you're like, um, but stuff Daniel Welch on stage that is outside of your normal, right? Definitely should be choreographed very explicitly. Anne Dyas And if those are the exceptions, like I feel like most people are really good about saying, okay, Hi. Nice to meet you. Is it okay if I, you know, touch you here. Yep. If I you know, when we did um, The old Otello Huh, I was the Bianca and Michael Fabiano and I had to kiss and it was like, he was so gracious and you know, did I didn't feel awkward. He didn't make it weird. It was like we just stood around talked and he was like, okay, so if I do this, I'm going to put my hand here, like on your waist or whatever. So that, you know, we had choreographed what we were going to do, right? Like I knew we were going to kiss from here from this point to this point. And the music not just whenever somebody felt like it. Daniel Welch I was always used that concept when I've talked to significant others that I was with if I ever had to do like a stage case or stage. See, one of one of my exes was not a huge fan of that concept. And I was like, What's going through your head in this scenario is we kiss on this beat. Something grabs my attention, and we pull away on this Bs and then there's this cue and then I have guessing that's what's going through my head while trying to act. Like it's legitimately. Anne Dyas Like I'm like, I'm enjoying this as a character because like, our characters really want to kiss and like each other. And yeah, you know, it is you're you're thinking about so many other things while it's happening. Daniel Welch Well, I can't hear the orchestra. Was that my beat? Was I supposed to say to you, yeah, Anne Dyas I'll try not to cover your ears while I hold your face. Since you have to sing. Daniel Welch Yeah, important parts. Who's facing Where? Anne Dyas Right You know, Tony Blake, he saw you to see the the prompter but the the not the prompter. The monitor monitor? Yeah, you know, you're thinking about a bajillion other things? Yes. Daniel Welch Yeah. And there's that much going on, especially in the productions here. Anne Dyas And I'm trying to like get let my costume get stuck on your costume or Daniel Welch who Yeah, yep. had those happen? Those are always fun. Have you ever had like major costume mishaps? Um, here, anywhere? Anne Dyas I had a major costume has happened college. Yeah, we're doing her tooth. And I had this. They were doing it in sort of this like, you know, Civil War south, instead of in France. Yeah, it was like a carpetbagger asked her to, and this huge hoop skirt. That somehow was the hoop skirt. Oh, my gosh, the hoops. skirts somehow came, like the little hook and eye closure. I don't know if the hook bent. I don't know how anyway, came on done. Oh, and so when you also have an address that's meant for hoop skirt, it is really long to take out all that to have all that Oh, you. So anyway, my, in this big monologue, my I could start to feel something kind of moving down my waist, and like down my rear. And I was just like, Oh, my hoop skirt came off and like just puddles down at my feet in the middle of this. And it's just this whole monologue where I was playing Maryann, and she's saying her father. You know, if he wants her to marry her, too, she's in love with somebody else. And she's like, you can give them all my money. I don't want an inheritance if you just can't let me not, you know, marry the person I want to marry. And so there's this some line where she's like, you know, give him your property. And if that's not enough, take mine from me. And so I picked up my hoop skirt and chucked it across the stage. Nice at him. But that's the kind of thing you just like, you know, you're a real person. Unknown Speaker Yeah, Anne Dyas the thing a real person would do. Yeah, you know, it's pretty easy if you can just not panic. Right? Well, that's Daniel Welch exactly it's the it's the Don't panic. Act normal. Like the the performances that bugged me are the ones that are too pristine. Yeah, like life is messy. Like, I remember I saw the dress rehearsal for the new production of Traviata. Yeah. And at one point in time when when Juan Diego Flores puts on his boots, is like couldn't get his boots on. Because they're like they're real boots. They don't have the zipper down the side and not elastic, like it's legit period of peril. And he couldn't get the boot on but he's supposed to. He's downstage left. He's supposed to cross upstage, right at that moment and go over to Viola and like you can't get the boot on. So he, he played it up, like yeah, this is what happened. So he got up and moved while the boot wasn't all the way on and like kind of like stomped it on. And it was humorous, but so natural share and real in the moment, Anne Dyas we have to do, like, dress someone on stage or put someone's wig on or you have to do a costume change on stage. I mean, it's when we were doing audrianna and I immediately had to dress Ana Netrebko with that in that opening bit. I had to really dress her. I had to really help her get undressed and really dress her with an entire course it and she had this wig that was you know, like, Daniel Welch the downspouts Anne Dyas and the pennies and everything. I mean, it was like and we had to be we had to move there was not a Daniel Welch budget that time. Anne Dyas Yeah, you know, and she's she's a champ, I mean, like nothing fazes her, it's kind of amazing. I have seen her on stage when like, catastrophe happens, and she just, you know, she's she's a duck, it's like, I'm sure her legs are going like this, but on the on the surface, it's just utterly Unknown Speaker smooth. Anne Dyas Like, you know, I'm had to fasten this whole course it, you know, on the front. And she's she was just like whatever, like you're just being an own person who would have to do this I've been in, you know, I've performed with her 100 times she knows me well enough and was like, we got this. Yeah, I'm not worried, man, if it took a little bit longer one night than it did the night before. Somehow neither of us ever panicked. Yeah, you know, but but again, that's the whole thing. Like, that's my job. I'm here to help facilitate something for a singer that they can't do for themselves on stage. Right? Daniel Welch So do you have a character process? backstory? And yeah, creating an attachment to the character and you know, letting the story come forth and unnatural? Do you do that with your super characters? Or with some of them? and not other ones? Probably most of them? Anne Dyas Yeah, we do that. And even if we have a lot of directors who are really great that will do that with us, who will help give us some more information? Yeah. David McVicker is always like, here's what your name is, you have a name. And this is how you know these people. And here's who you're related to. And you've been here for this amount of time. And if you don't, if he doesn't tell you and you don't know, you ask him he has an answer. He's thought of all of that. So while it's, it's really amazing, he knows he knows everything. Everybody that's Daniel Welch on stage, everything they're doing Anne Dyas all the time, like all the time he has it all figured out. And then if then if you have somebody that maybe doesn't give you that much to go on, you know, you get to work for yourself, I think I think I mean, I'm sure supering has come a long way everywhere, but especially at the Met I mean, the the people that work here, no one's a volunteer, like everyone is treating it as a job. Even if maybe be you know, a lot of people here are professional actors and went to Harvard, and this is what they do while they're doing other things. And then there's people who, you know, there's a guy who's an architect who just like, wants to be in an opera, but he takes it seriously. Yeah, you know, he's been in some show for, you know, 15 years or whatever, every time it comes back. But I think that that's, that's part of the difference is like, this is a group of people who were making choices onstage. Yeah, you're making choices. Before we get to the performance and during the performance, yeah. And when things aren't specific. It shows Yeah, you know, you you have unspecific choreography, you get very unspecific results. Yeah, that's just how that works. One Daniel Welch of the things I've always enjoyed about watching you on stage is that, like you said, these are people that are making choices, I always feel like everything that you're doing on stage, whether it's carrying luggage, or dressing, any human being is done with a distinct purpose. And it's the choice to do it. It's not filling up space. It's the antithesis of that. It is creating a world that exists. And we may often be there to be the singers, but without what you do. That world wouldn't exist. Unknown Speaker Yeah. You know, Anne Dyas I think that's, I think that is like what my job is. I think that's part of why I got this job. Because I think when I saw the audition process to be a staff performer is the most involved audition I've ever met in my life in my life. I mean, it was super, super, super involved. And a big part of it was an interview about Yeah, oh, I think I had an interview for about an hour. Wow. Um, about my experience and my experience on stage, outside of the mat at the mat, because I've been in I've only been in a few things before I auditioned. And I think knowing understanding like what the real purpose of being a super is. makes it an important job. Yeah. If you don't really understand like, what the point is, then of course it seems, you know, yeah. superfluous. Daniel Welch Yeah, absolutely. You came into in a very specific way for somebody that is interested in doing this kind of work, whether it's the Met or anywhere else was the process like to go ahead a cold if you don't have the connections? Anne Dyas No, I I'm not super sure a lot of people who have worked at the Met you know, they they put audition notices up, if they're looking for a certain group of people or a certain type, you know, backstage or whatever people look up, you know, casting networks, it's on things you know, we're looking for tall guys or whatever the thing is, we're looking for jugglers. Yeah. You know, we do not and I think people Also don't realize that everybody that's on stage that's not singing. And isn't a child is a super is a super? Yeah, every single I mean, every single person. Yep. You know, Kathleen Turner was a super her role she was hired by the super department. Yeah, you know, she's every, that's what everybody is. So it's a really big broad group of people. So I think there's lots of different ways to find out about it. I think knowing somebody definitely helps like having a friend that's like, I'm going to show Oh, you want to be in a show? Great. Here, send your headshot and resume to the department. And you know, they'll put you in when they can fit you in. Unknown Speaker Yeah, yeah. Daniel Welch What is something about life behind the curtain at the Met, that you would only know if you worked here? What do you have? Do you have anything specific? I Anne Dyas mean, there's so many things, I think how silly everybody is, yeah. Hopper is so serious. You know, but we have such a good time. All the time. Yeah. People know when to like, work. And I think people also know when to like, cut up and be silly. Yeah, the super spend a lot of time with the soloists. All of the rehearsals that we have, especially with the new production, it's just us in the room. Chorus always gets added later, right. orchestra gets added later. So it's kind of like this small group of you know, the soloists accompany us directors, and we get to have such a good time together. Daniel Welch Yeah. Well, you're interacting with them in a totally different way than anybody else. Oh, yeah. Unknown Speaker I mean, like, you're where I'm, Daniel Welch like, if you're gonna be dressing on stage, then Anne Dyas yeah, I'm, I'm the person that gets spit on accidentally, accidentally, you know, I'm the person that's that close. Or, like, wow, I have all of your sweat on my body. And that's fine. People sweat like it doesn't I'm not worried or freaked out about it. Because also, I feel like I'm playing a character who probably would just have a normal reaction to that. Yeah. based on whatever relationship we have on stage. Yeah. You know, I mean, I I have I think the poop on stage that's probably something people may not know about. poem. You know, we've got animals on stage. Yep. They have no concept of like, Where appropriate exits are to evacuated their bowels. And so you can't really tell a horse to just hold that, like, just get off a minute and a half, like, you know, just have one cross. And we were doing for Bo lamb and we're in the cafe. And it was a lot of a lot of a lot of poop. I was one of the horses. It wasn't from Gabe Gabe wood. Gabe knows better than to give her the donkey sir Gabriel the donkey sir Gabriel is the best donkey on the world is a professional and would never poop on stage. Daniel Welch But I've met people who have come to visit that donkey. He when he's in productions, Anne Dyas he knows me. You feed him carrots and barber. He, like now like he, he remembers me. And so I try really hard to not pet him a lot when I see him because like I'm teasing him. Unknown Speaker Yeah, yeah. Because Anne Dyas he's like, you're the carrot lady. And I don't have one to give you right now. So I try to but yeah, we're close. Daniel Welch Sergei, Mr. Gabriel was he granted this name once he started working here? Was that his name before he came to the Met? Anne Dyas No, I think I think it was a title he was born into. Hmm. I think I believe. Yes. Daniel Welch He was knighted. aplicable. Yeah. Anne Dyas His father was you know, also a sir. Daniel Welch It's very regal. Donkey is Unknown Speaker very noble creature. But yeah, Daniel Welch that's definitely something you don't really just want that poop to hang out on stage. Anne Dyas So we're like, it's it's sort of right in the area. I know that everybody is going to be and not like, trample through it once, but like track it everywhere. Unknown Speaker And I mean, Daniel Welch it would be like, like the fake snow that gets everywhere. Anne Dyas It's everywhere. You go upstairs, you shake it out of your dress. It's inside your shoes. You go home and you're like, why is there snow on my carpet? Daniel Welch randomly? Do you guys use shave potato for that? No, no, it's paper. It's paper. Anne Dyas It's paper, a little tiny, little tiny paper. Daniel Welch I've done it. I've done that show with like dehydrated. Potato Shavers seen that. It's really interesting. Anne Dyas Probably really hard to clean up. Daniel Welch I mean, it's, it acts kind of like a fuzzy Anne Dyas object that like the mashed potatoes in the box. I know you like shake it out and it's like, constantly. Okay, Daniel Welch then I'd want to sweep it up and then reconstitute it for any. I mean, technically, it's a starch Unknown Speaker right? I suppose you could. Yeah. Daniel Welch I'm gonna need to find I'm gonna need to find a production manager who's dealt with that and we have no snow. We have no snow. Unknown Speaker What I went to the gourmet garage Should Unknown Speaker I have 40 boxes of flaked potato? Unknown Speaker Oh, good. God, Anne Dyas whatever happens. I want to be the guy who's like up there like shaking potatoes on. Yeah, I want that to be my job. And then Daniel Welch like you drop a whole potato, just because, Unknown Speaker yes, that'd be awesome. Daniel Welch Have you wait to the siren. Anne Dyas But I did pick up the poop. That was Oh, that was the whole thing. So with what? I'm Unknown Speaker so glad to be Daniel Welch there. Like a menu from the cafe or something. Anne Dyas I don't want to say that it's because I'm from Texas. But I have spent some time around livestock, and I see the poo. And I was like, This is gonna be bad. This is gonna get really really bad. So I have on gloves like sheer gloves. Love you. Well, yeah, I but I took one for the team. Sometimes you just have to opera is a team sport. And I dirties for Oh my God, I Oh, it's a team sport. But you said so I, you know, and this is the thing is like, how do I casually swoop up poo, right. So I, you know, it's the old it's the old trick where it's like, oh, is my shoelace untied. So I like the group, like all comes down at some point. And I was like, Okay, I'm kind of camouflaged by people. And I just like knelt down, pretend like I was buckling my, you know, my heel, and I scooped up some poo had to gather a little bit because it rolls off sometimes. Galaxy poo. I went over and I put it in one of the napkins in the cafe. And I like, like, twisted it up. So I held on to it because I thought somebody's gonna sit down and use that napkin. So I held on to the poop napkin and gave it to props when the show ended to let them know. They said, because the thing is, I didn't know if they were going to count them and be like, oh, we're short napkins, right? Because I do laundry. And it's it's prompt somebody like me getting in trouble because napkins missing and like I you know anyway, so I just let the guys know, I was like this has poop in it. Do you want it? Or do you want me to just throw it out? To rich, they were like, We have a lot of napkins you can do. I feel like that's probably a conversation you never expected to have with props. No, but I feel like so many weird conversations about props all the time. Yeah, that's true. Like I had to pour that bucket of water on someone and elzear and I would make sure and go and put my hand and see if it was slightly more because otherwise it was like you're freezing and it's cold. It's cold on stage. And I just like dumped this like ice bucket water all over this singer. You know. You learned that in high school. Check your own props. Daniel Welch Absolutely. Yes. Anne Dyas We can have a severed head. That's like when you walk past the Toronto table and it's like severed head sitting there is pretty awesome. And it looks exactly like Sasha, the guy who plays the Prince of Persia. Yes, they melted after. It looks just like him. Creepy. Yeah. Awesome. It's awesome. Creepy. Nice. Yeah. Daniel Welch So what is your favorite character that you've played? It doesn't even have to be at the Met. Anne Dyas Okay, well, I think I think I've got like two actually kind of two. I was in barefoot in the park. Okay. And I loved playing coy Brodeur. Hmm. I feel like as a an 18 year old I didn't do her the justice that I could now as a grown up as a real live grown up. But I love that show. It's so much fun. And it's small and it's it's prop heavy. But it's like, it's just it's beautifully simplistic. And you know, in New York, Daniel Welch it's new. Anne Dyas Yeah, definitely quintessential New York. And I think I was in Paris Lee's playing Diane Isaiah. And now it was really fun because I was evil. I don't get to play evil very often. It's not it's not in the spectrum. It's not in you know, I don't get to do like evil and prostitute or evil and none. Daniel Welch I just get to be evil and people get to know and done. But it Anne Dyas was really fun. And coincidentally, I had Berkeley who is you know, a guy in opera. I was he taught a Shakespeare class. He is knows everything about Shakespeare and he directed it I love it. I'm so have so much fun Shakespeare is actually what I did the most stuff before I was Daniel Welch Yes. I've always loved Shakespeare. Unknown Speaker It's my jam. Yeah. Yeah. Daniel Welch It's, it's not everybody's cup of tea. But like when it clicks with you, it clicks with you. Yeah. Anne Dyas Yeah. And it's like, I think most people who, if it's not clicking, but you try to, you'll have a moment where all of a sudden you're like, Oh, my gosh, they're not speaking another language. Suddenly, it just, you know, yeah. But I feel like, you know, it's it's like, it's, it's like opera, you may not understand all the words, but you still are able to grasp the deep sentiment and, yeah, feel something Unknown Speaker for sure. Daniel Welch So do you have any advice for anybody kind of coming up in the ranks? Who wants to do this sort of thing? Whether it's whether it's super work or, or theater acting? Or, you know, because you Well, you exist in, in opera land, I think of you as an actor. Anne Dyas Right. Right. I think of myself as an actor. Yeah, Daniel Welch I think I think not just us all, I think super is an act great role, a fader acting role. Anne Dyas And that's what it is. Anything, anybody who works with us closely? knows that, yeah, whether the audience is able to recognize that, but we're not who they come for. Right. So that's okay. Yeah. But, um, I mean, I think one of the things I've really learned by being at the mat and performing here is, you can, you can actually still do things really small, even though there's, you know, almost 4000 seats, like it doesn't have to like, like, the bigger the house doesn't denote. Yeah, you know, how large you have to make your actions? Yeah. Doesn't have to be that way. And I think, just really figuring out how to be like, a normal person on stage. Like, what what I do, that's been huge. And I say that to people all the time. Like, I'm like, just do what you would do. Like, what would you do if this happened? Yeah. Even though the things that are happening on stage are not the things that are happening in your real life. If they were, what would you do? Yeah, how would you react be a human being normal person who does normal things. And by normal, I mean, whatever that scope is, of, you know, of you. Yeah. And just just live there in that place. I also really like to know people like to tell new supers that, um, just find something to do in a scene and keep doing it until somebody tells you to stop. Because chances are, if you're like, over there being the person who's like, you know, I'm the bartender on stage, and I'm making drinks, you're gonna, like, do something different one night, because you're like, I'm just gonna, like, you know, go rogue and like, shake a different drink a different way or whatever. And then the directors like you stop doing the thing you're doing. Yep. Because people are paying attention and they're watching you. And and, Daniel Welch yeah, if somebody Anne Dyas doesn't tell you give you a note to not do something. Yeah, you know, I just tell people keep doing it. Unknown Speaker Keep doing it. Anne Dyas I was I'm playing spin the bottle in Ernani. And I did it from the very first day, we had all these bottles, and we're like, you know, we're coming out and we're pouring wine for the guys on the hillside and, and then like, I had my little group and we thought it'd be really funny if we just like, you know, spin the bottle. And so then leader when the HDX came out, I was approached by somebody who said, and I, it was it was Eric Einhorn who I love and I think he will appreciate this. And he was like, were you always doing Unknown Speaker not? Anne Dyas And I said, every single time, every rehearsal every show, and he was like, okay, and I said, I said, I am pretty sure that as long as bottles have existed, people played this game. I think that's probably I don't think it's anachronistic at all. Daniel Welch The other thing that's great about that, too, is that there were so many opportunities for somebody to tell you don't do that. Yeah. Get a note to change it. Anne Dyas But also like and this is again, like I'm just over here living my life. I am this I'm me as this real person who has a bottle and is playing a game. And and obviously it wasn't distracting. Yeah, because it hadn't been brought. Anne Dyas But I was also like when I first started at the mat, and it was like, You know what, I think it's important to make things fun for yourself. make so much fun. Well, I'm Daniel Welch looking forward to you getting back to work. Yeah. For as an audience member. Yeah, cuz you guys do a lot of fun to watch and experience on stage. So thanks again for for taking the time and I'm glad that we finally actually were no Sit down. No one was having a baby. It was having a baby and we broke the mold and we did this socially distance outside. Also, Daniel Welch if you're interested in contributing to artists relief treat to help artists struggling with COVID 19 shutdowns, please visit artists relief tree.com This has been an episode of this artistic life. Find us on your favorite podcast apps and subscribe. Follow this artistic life on Instagram at this artistic life and on Twitter at artistic vitta. For more information on today's guests, visit our website this artistic podcast.com Transcribed by https://otter.ai