Message from 'Billy Elliot' Cast Member

Hello ASU Gammage!

My name is Katie Micha. I'm 16 years old, and I have never been on tour, so being a part of Billy Elliot The Musical and being able to see the United States is pretty amazing! I have never been to Tempe, Arizona before. I must say, I'm really excited to get there and scope out the place. Although I spend most of my time in tutoring or on stage, I would love to sight see and maybe check out some tourist attractions. Being able to travel the U.S. at the age of 16 is such a privilege, and I try to take advantage of that. I would absolutely love to see the Grand Canyon, or maybe even go to the zoo. Although this is a job, it's important to explore your surroundings and try to take in all of the wonderful things around you.

Being a part of Billy Elliot The Musical is a dream come true. It's such an inspiring show, and to be able to say that I have a part in that inspiration is an incredible feeling. I play Tina Harmer, who is one of the Ballet Girls, in the show. She is the best dancer in the class and pretty much thinks everyone else is terrible. Although she's not the nicest in the bunch, she is tons of fun to play.

I have been on Broadway before, and it is SO different than being on tour. It's basically impossible to get bored while traveling because it's a constant change in scenery. I have to say my favorite part of being on tour is being able to perform in so many different states and cities. The audiences are always different and the feedback changes too. It’s interesting to see how people all have different perspectives and different outlooks on Billy Elliot. As a performer, it's an honor to know that our show has moved at least one person in that audience.

My absolute favorite part of the show would have to be "The Angry Dance." It is so passionate and gives me chills every time I watch it. Every Billy is different and gives a different portrayal, but that’s what makes it so special.

Being in the cast is like having a second family. Although we fight and get on each others nerves, we are all like brothers and sisters. We always have each others’ backs and have grown super close in past 5 months. We basically live together considering we usually stay in the same hotels, so you can imagine we see a lot of each other. Anyway to get back to my point, I can honestly say that this show has changed me for the better. Billy Elliot is a part of my life. It is my life. And I am loving every minute of it!

Message from 'Billy Elliot' Cast Member Rebecca Marlowe

ASU Gammage -

Let me just start out by saying hi! My name is Rebecca Marlowe and I am 12 years old. I am from New York and I am so happy to be a part of Billy Elliot the Musical.

It is amazing to be a part of Billy Elliot. The whole cast is so supportive and really helps if we have any questions (which is a lot of the time.) The cast has become like a family. We have brothers, sisters and even dogs. But just like brothers and sisters, we sometimes fight. They say that we have Mondays off to hang out and be normal kids but most of the time the kids need a break from the rest of the kids. But somehow we still end up putting on the show at the end of the night.

In this cast of Billy Elliot, I play the medium swing. I cover three of the nine ballet girls but I have to be ready to go on for any of them. Basically, I am here in case someone falls, or gets sick, or wants to go to Disney World with their family. Let’s just say, the swings are never bored. There have been times when I have had to go on in the middle of a show on such short notice that the audience knew before I did. But being a swing we have a very “special” relationship with the company managers. I have fed them jelly beans, made jokes with them, and even just ran up and down the hallways with them. Even with all of the joking, we always need to be professional and ready.

My favorite part of being on tour is traveling around the United States with my Billy Elliot family. We have really become so close and to be able to travel with them has made the trip that much better. Meeting Mickey Mouse in Disney with my Billy family was an experience that I will remember forever.

Next we are going to Tempe, Arizona. I like to call this city the Roadrunner city. I hear that Tempe is cactus, then rock, cactus, then rock and that’s basically it. But when I go to Tempe I would like to visit the Grand Canyon.

My favorite part of Billy Elliot the Musical is “Expressing Yourself”. This is my favorite part of Billy Elliot because of how much fun the number is and I love how the dancing dresses tap in the number. I also love “Born to Boogie” because I love watching how Billy goes through the transformation; you can really start to see how much he loves to dance.

When I started dance class at age two I never could have imagined that those classes would lead me to being in Billy Elliot. Who knows what my future holds? Maybe next I will be playing the lead in Dora the Explorer.

- Rebecca Marlowe, Swing in 'Billy Elliot the Musical'

Message from Sarah Levitt of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange

Hello, ASU Gammage, from snowy Montclair, NJ! We’re here on a 10-day residency to get “The Matter of Origins” back on its feet after premiering the piece in September at the University of Maryland. We spent time in intensive rehearsal periods for three years leading up to the premiere, did two performances, and then walked away from the piece until January, when we went back to rehearsal and began refining and changing the piece to prepare for our spring performances.

As a dancer in the work who has been part of the creative process since rehearsals began in 2008, stepping away from “Origins” for the past few months has been extremely fruitful. It always surprises me: there are times when rehearsing is as useful as not rehearsing. The quiet discoveries that go on in our minds and bodies in a period away from a piece suddenly emerge in rehearsal, loudly. Movement phrases that were challenging in September are second-nature now and movement that could be accomplished with ease last fall now seems uncomfortable and complex and requires a different energy, intention, and physicality.

The idea of measurement and how we measure plays a large part in “Origins,” and it comes up a lot during our individual negotiation with movement in rehearsals. There is measurement on a gross physical scale (“Is my leg here or here?”), measurement of energy level (“I am going to mark the lifts”), measurement of nuance (“Watch the outside edge of Keith’s hand”), measurement of the personal (“I miss my family”), measurement of the other dancers (“That duet is getting better and better”), measurement of individual improvement (“The ‘Fanfare’ section feels much easier now”), measurement of physical state (“I will not make it through tomorrow without a hot bath tonight"). Of course the technique, training and effort are present in a performance, but so are the vagaries of the human body in motion under stress.

And this is the fun part, for me. Getting to come back to a piece that feels at once familiar and mysterious, discover details I didn’t see in September, and navigate the moments that have changed because all of us have changed since we started making this piece.

All of us in the cast and production team are looking forward to bringing “The Matter of Origins” to ASU Gammage on April 11, 2011. See you soon!

- Sarah Levitt (Liz Lerman Dance Exchange)

For more information on “The Matter of Origins”, please visit www.danceexchange.org.


Sarah Levitt is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher based in the Washington, DC area. She received her BA in Dance from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2007, where she held a Creative and Performing Arts Scholarship in Dance and was awarded the Dorothy Madden Emerging Artist Award upon graduation. Sarah has danced in the work of Robert Battle, Liz Lerman, Gesel Mason, Cassie Meador, Tzveta Kassabova, PearsonWidrig DanceTheater, and Keith Thompson. Sarah began working with the Dance Exchange in 2007, and became a full-time company member in 2010. She has performed and taught with the company at theatres, universities, senior centers and in community settings across the US and abroad. Sarah’s work has been presented by Dance Place, McDonogh School, and Artomatic, and she is the recipient of Individual Artist Awards from the Maryland State Arts Council in Choreography (2009) and Solo Performance (2010).

Message from 'Billy Elliot' Cast Member

My name is Griffin Birney and I play Michael in the Billy
Elliot National Tour. The character of Michael is Billy
Elliot’s best friend. When Billy is faced with the hard
decision of pursuing his passion of dance or pleasing
his father by not dancing, he looks to Michael for advice.
Michael helps him realize that it’s okay to express
yourself as long as you’re happy.  

Griffin Birney and Olivia Wang in Tampa at the beach.

It’s hard to pick my favorite part of Billy Elliot the
Musical, there are so many. One of them is the finale,
it’s the one time the entire cast is on stage together,
I can feel the energy and excitement. Another favorite
scene of mine would be The Letter, because it is
beautifully written and touching, no matter how many
times I hear it from backstage, I never get tired of it.

Being a part of the Billy Elliot cast is like being in school.
I get to see all these veteran actors perform every day,
I watch and I learn from them.  Everyone is very nice,
it’s like having a second family, we get to travel together
and see the country. So far we have been in several
cities, but I can’t wait to get to Tempe, Arizona! There
is so much to see there! We only get Mondays off, so we
have to plan our trips carefully. First on my list is The Grand
Canyon, I want to go all the way down to the bottom and
see the Havasu Falls. I would love to see the Petrified
Forestand hike the Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona. On
my lastMonday I’d like to go to Big Surf and play at
the water park.

I feel like I’m the luckiest kid alive, I get paid to do what I
love and see the country with amazing people.

See you soon, ASU Gammage! 

- Griffin Birney