5 Questions with THE BAND'S VISIT's Bligh Voth!
Kevin Ray Johnson
I would like you to meet the talented Bligh Voth. Bligh is Standby in The North American Tour of The Tony Award-Winning Musical The Band's Visit. Ms. Voth has performed all over the country will well-respected theatre companies such as Atlantic Theatre Company, Primary Stages, Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theatre, Signature Theatre (VA), Studio Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Ogunquit Playhouse, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. I first heard about Bligh when I was coming up int the DC Theatre Scene over ten years ago and it is so cool and inspiring to see where she is now. It was such a privilege to have the chance to interview such a talented artist.
1). How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a performer?
I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a singer, didn’t want to be singing in front of guests at my parents’ parties, demanding applause and starting encores without any insistence from my audience. I’m also not very good at anything else so this was sort of it!
2). Where did you study? Are there any mentors that truly helped make you the performer you are today?
I started at The Catholic University where I had a teacher named Jane Pesci-Townsend who influenced the way I perform to this day. She was hard on me. And I deserved it because I was lazy and entitled. I thought my shit didn’t stink. She challenged me to stop hiding behind tricks and to treat musical theatre with a level of realism that hadn’t been asked of me before. But now it’s my little magic trick. A lot of people sing high and loud but not a lot of people care about the lyrics, about their meaning, about the sound of the words, the chewiness of a consonant or a luscious vowel.
Then I transferred to The Boston Conservatory a year later and finished my training there. BOCO was a different challenge because there were too damn many of us in one class. Nothing felt personalized or cushy. But in the long run, I’m grateful for that because it gave me thick skin. Nothin’ like three other women who look just like you and sound just like you to remind you that the profession you’ve chosen is inundated with talented humans. It’s going to be hard, you are not always going to get what you want, no matter how prepared you are. The earlier you can figure that out and come to terms with it and find ways to preserve your spirit the better.
3). Congratulations on The Band's Visit! Such a beautiful show! How has your time been on the road in such an amazing piece of theatre.
I love this show so much and feel honored to be part of it. My husband was in the original cast on Broadway and I never thought for a single second that I would one day be in it as well. I saw the show in New York at least five or six times but I was never watching thinking, “Oh, this show is so me, I need to be in this” which was a real gift. I think it’s easy to see shows and compare yourself to the actors who were cast. That’s not good for me, it makes it difficult to take in the show as a whole, to appreciate it in its entirety.
Tour life for me has been a damn blast! I’m lucky to be traveling the country with my husband (playing Itzik) and the true love of my life, my dog (daughter) Karen. Having my family here keeps touring less lonely, we drive from city to city and make it a priority to see the oddest/biggest roadside attractions we can along the way. America is weird y’all. You wanna know where the World’s Largest Chest of Drawers is? I’m gonna tell you. High Point, North Carolina.
4). Are there any other shows that you have done in your career that will always be near and dear to your heart?
Right before we started rehearsals in New York for The Band’s Visit I closed a production of Bright Star at the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. I could sing that score and play complicated Alice Murphy for the rest of my life. Bluegrass music makes my heart happy. And it was the first time in my career that I was the lead (not just the female lead) of a show. Often the female lead in a musical means you are the romantic counterpart to a male. You probably sing two to three songs. The first song introduces your character. The second song tells us you're in love with your male counterpart but he can’t know about it yet because there’s a problem (War! Mother doesn’t approve!) And then the third song is actually a duet. You do all of this in a corset and a petticoat. But Alice was not this woman, she ran the show. I’m forever grateful to my dear friend Michael Baron and everyone at Lyric for believing in me with that one.
5). What advice would you give young performers who want a career in this business?
If you are really very serious about studying acting and music as your career do not waste your time at college. It’s too expensive and, unlike other career paths, going to a great college does not guarantee that you work right away. It can help open doors, but so can creating your own college/learning experience. There are incredible acting studios in New York and dance studios and interesting people and places and cultures to learn from. You can take classes at City College or online to keep your brain alive/appease your parents;) The act of bravery in moving to the city and making your own school (if you can commit to being diligent) is going to make you a better actor. Also- there is no rush. If you hated not going to college, if you needed that structure, you can always go back! I’m pretty tired of people in this business saying things like “Oh well if I don’t make it on Broadway by (insert age you think is scary old) I’m basically washed up…that’s it.” That’s it? Nope. You get to be washed up when you damn well decide to be washed up. Nobody else gets to tell you you’re too old, you should've done this or that at this or that age to set yourself up better for this or that. That’s their shit.
Travel the world, read books, eat good food, learn how to open a beer bottle with your teeth. And love what you do, stay passionate about art and theatre and music and learning more and more every day.
To learn more about the North American Tour of The Band's Visit please make sure to visit -https://thebandsvisitmusical.com and to learn more about Bligh please visit - http://www.blighvoth.com/