On September 30 in Pace High School’s new Innovation Center, students from the Academy of Fine Arts Theater Program chatted over Skype with Broadway actress Lindsay Mendez.
Mendez is best known for playing Elphaba in the recent 10th anniversary production of “Wicked” on Broadway, as well as other starring roles in Broadway and off-Broadway productions such as “Dogfight.”
Two classes of Pace drama students video-chatted with Mendez in the Innovation Center, which allowed her to be projected on multiple TVs at once. All of the students, and even their Academy lead teacher Christina Pla-Guzman, were thrilled to be speaking with her. Students had an open forum discussion with Mendez, who was video-calling from New York City, with a focus on how life is like working in theater and on Broadway.
Mendez told the class that she became interested in theater when she was 4 and saw her older sister in a production of “Annie.” She acted in a “The Sound of Music” production just two years later at the age of 6. Afterwards, she took up singing and dancing lessons, did some shows in high school, and moved to New York City when she was 18.
One of the difficulties she encountered as a Latina woman in show business is when her manager at the time in New York told her that she should change her last name to Matthews. She ended up refusing and later changing managers.
“I feel really proud to be a Latina woman and have the chance to play so many roles,” she said.
In addition to questions about her start in theater, students also asked for advice on preparing for performances. When asked what she does to get into character, Mendez said, “When I’m first handed a script, I take the first two pages of the script and start writing on the back facts about [my character].”
This process just so happened to be identical to a character analysis assignment Pla-Guzman had recently given her students. For students who want to get into the business side of theatre, Mendez suggested that they start doing internships as soon as possible. She responded to a question about keeping her voice in shape by saying she still regularly takes voice lessons, she always stays aware of her vocal cords’ health and that vocal cords are “a muscle that needs to be exercised and rested.”
For her future projects, Mendez said that she not only wants to act in theater, but also focus on making her own plays. She was also auditioning for television roles, and she was actually planning to go to a TV audition directly after her video session with the classes.
Pla-Guzman said after the session that she wanted her students to see and chat with Mendez so that they could be inspired in their life and their work. Mendez seemed to have fulfilled that desire with her final piece of advice to future thespians.
“Don’t feel like it’s out of your reach,” said Mendez. “It’s really not. As long as you’re happy, fulfilled, and you’re doing what you love, then go for it.”