Video: A Declassified Understudy Survival Guide with Hannah Florence

I turned to like whatever dresser and stage manager is there

And I'm like, these aren't on my shoes. And everyone's looking to me like, uh, can you wear them

I'm like, I can, but they're going to be a little snobby stomped. Kristen told me I looked going up those stairs

They didn't even know why I was walking like that, but they were like, I noticed you really walking up those stairs

So I guess it looked good. I found out, I found out, I was

I booked Cabaret on Broadway from my manager. She called me pretty shortly after the audition process

and told me I had the offer of a swing and understudy for the role of Frawling Cost

The rehearsal process for me covering multiple tracks was intense, but, you know, to be expected

This wasn't my first rodeo, but of course I'd never done this production before

which is in the round, if you've seen it. So our stage is literally a circle

which is pretty different for most of us, you know, live theater performers out here

I've only performed on a proscenium stage. So, and swinging that and understudying that

It was a pretty, you know, for me, I really had to get my notes together and really do a lot of visualizing myself in the space because I didn always get to rehearse on the circle stage itself But when I did I took big advantage of it and just really tried to get my lay of the land like physically get it really in my body

And, yeah, it just kind of came together. Essential understudy skills, man, I think the biggest friend you have as an understudy is honestly just like sheer courage

you just you're going to get nervous you're going to have adrenaline you might be physically shaking

you know but you have to remember who you are why you're here plug yourself into the scene when

I'm nervous as an understudy I just remind myself when I'm in the wing before I go out like

what is my character doing in the scene what is my goal what do I want what am I focused on and

if you really plug into that I think that's the best thing you can do and try to

trust yourself, hopefully everything else just like falls in. But over the years, I've understudied on other things too

And I think just like you have to double down energetically. That's what I try to do

Oh man, routine is a great question. Honestly, from my experience with Broadway and touring all of it, it's all about routine

Routine is everything, you know. And I think more and more these days with all the behind the scenes access we now have because of social media you can follow performers along their whole day I think we becoming more and more aware of how much the routine and the schedule is a huge part of it

Like some people might think, oh, you go to work tonight. You don't have to work till 7 p.m

No, my whole day is revolved around what I'm going to execute on the stage that night

And it's physical, it's mental, it's emotional. It's a whole mind, body, spirit

And my routine is I am doing Pilates or a ballet class, usually, to physically get on my body in my leg so I can balance on the circle stage, specifically, any stage

But Wicked has that rake stage. Same thing. I'm doing that for school warm up. I'm trying to eat a healthy meal. I'm trying to do protein, trying to do vegetables. I'm trying to have color. We're hydrating like crazy. Every Broadway performer is hydrating like nuts

And vocal warm up, you know, vocal warm up. And then I try to do some, like, spiritual work as well to just be in tune with myself

so that I'm not losing myself in all of it, because that can happen too

So the very last thing I'm doing before I enter the space, the stage, the audience, everything

is in the wings. I'm in my costume. I have to put one hand on my heart, one hand on my stomach, solar plexes, and I breathe

I press into my chest I remind myself who I am what I doing here and just how excited I am and how fun it is to give this audience a show So the craziest time I went on I think it was a last minute call and for the last

second-to-last entrance I do in Act 1, I put it on my costume, change in my costume. It's kind of

quick change, and I put these shoes on, and I'm like, I'm like, these don't feel like my

shoes, but I thought it was crazy at first because I am crazy. So I'm like, maybe I'm just

you know, white rooming or whatever. And then I'm like, staying around, I'm like, no

these shoes don't feel right. So I have checked them out and they don't have a name in them at all

but I turned to like whatever dresser and stage manager is there, and I'm like, these aren't

on my shoes. And everyone's looking to me like, uh, can you wear them? I'm like, I can, but

they're going to be a little snobby stump. So I have to go on the stage and I was literally like, I picked up my stress and I was like walking like this so I could like, I was gripping with

my talon feet, the inside of the shoes, and stepping up like this, but trying to really serve

face and body. And then I just sat down really carefully and just really, really careful. And I

exited stage that same way. And Christian in the cast told me that I looked, I don't know if I

can say this work. Can I say that? Christian told me I looked going up those stairs. They didn't even

know why I was walking like that, but they were like, I noticed you really walking up those stairs

So I guess it looked good