Get to know Mister Showtime!

 

1. What drew you to the Old Hollywood style of the Rat Pack, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, and similar artists?

 

I’ve always been drawn to both the genuine showmanship of these artists and their inherent respect for both the music and their audience, especially in live performances. You can see the way they presented themselves onstage— they wore tuxedos and displayed a gentlemanly respect for their audience, and a desire to show them a good time. It’s kind of an old fashioned notion now, but the underlying attitude was one of a gracious, playful host helping a hardworking audience forget their troubles for an hour and a half or so. It’s something all the great performers of that era had in common. 

 

And musically, there’s a lot going on there. With Sinatra, sure there’s that cocksure swagger, but there’s also always a deep sense of aching vulnerability. With Bobby Darin, there’s an electric, youthful vitality and a playful gleam in the eye. With Tony Bennett, you can hear his warm smile in the voice that signifies an abiding appreciation for life. With Mel Torme, you get this lilting, mellifluous tone that’s like liquid gold that can take any shape. There’s also a certain bit of self-revelation going on; through song, these performers are showing you who they really are. (By the way, I don’t think I sound anywhere near as good as any of those guys, but by the end of the show, I’ll have shown you who I am.)

 

I fell in love with this music because of my grandparents, specifically my grandfather, who would whistle many of these unforgettable tunes while driving this big clunky, pea-soup-green jeep around town. Later, when I discovered my own singing voice and got into musical theatre, I became aware of the crossover between the Broadway catalog and the Great American Songbook. I found out these songs fit my voice and my whole vibe, and a few years later, the tuxedo became my work uniform. I absolutely love it, and if someone makes an effort to come out and see me perform, I owe them my very best.

 

2.  If you could go back and experience Old Hollywood in real time, what would you do?

 

I would probably try to go see some of those crooners in concert and also be sure to catch Sammy Davis, Jr. and Jerry Lewis. Also Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, and Vic Damone. I’d try to see the Count Basie band; I’d try to be a fly on the wall listening to George Burns and Jack Benny hang out at Nate 'n Al’s Deli. I’d also try to meet Humphrey Bogart and shake his hand. 

 

For the sake of the thought experiment: If I were stuck in the past with no way back to the 21st century, I suppose I’d maybe try to get cast in a minor role on a television show and work on a nightclub act in the evenings. Who knows? If I went back far enough, maybe I’d end up singing at a USO dance and serenading my grandparents shortly after they met. That’s a wonderful thought.

 

3. What is the first thing you do to research and approach a role?

 

Definitely read the play or script thoroughly and then just drill the heck out of the lines until I know ‘em cold. I also try to get a sense of how to make the characters come alive, pay attention to how they appear in my imagination, and try to get close to that. If it’s a historical character, then I definitely devour videos or other reference material. But at a certain point, after you’ve done all of your homework, you have to let go of all of it, hit your mark, be alive at the moment, listen, and react. My wife, Eva, says it best: “Confidence is the result of over-preparation.”

 

 

4. Do you prefer to perform in front of a live audience or on a TV/movie set?

 

Nothing compares to performing before a live audience. The relationship is immediate and there’s a unique bond that forms during a live show, and no two audiences are alike. Live performance is just great. It’s my favorite thing in the world. It is crackling, electric, and exciting. Being on set is a little different and it requires a certain regulation of one’s energy throughout the course of a long day of shooting. 

 

However, there is one similarity between live performance and on-camera performance. The audience and the camera are similar in that they can both detect BS (if you’ll pardon the phrase.) and they’ll let you know it. Deal directly and honestly with both of them and you’ll stay in their good graces. Try to hide who you are or fake it or pull one over on either one of them and the results are often less than satisfying for both the performer and the audience.

 

5. Who or what influenced you to become a performer?

 

I suppose I was always destined to do this because I was a pretty expressive kid with a big imagination and a ton of energy. I was raised by 70s and 80s sitcoms, Sunday afternoon Godzilla movies, Warner Brothers cartoons, annual Jerry Lewis Telethons, Broadway Cast Recordings, and the Doctor Demento Radio Show. 

 

In terms of the people who inspire me the most, I have to point to people like John Lithgow, who for years has moved seamlessly between genres to absolutely crush a variety of roles in legit plays, Shakespeare, Broadway musicals, film, television, and everything in-between. 

 

For me, he’s the very definition of what it means to be an actor. He’s also an artist and a tremendous writer. In fact, I listened to the audiobook version of his autobiography “Drama: An Actor’s Education,” twice, back-to-back. I just started it again and drove around for like two months with it on repeat. What a great book. The story about his father in the preface is pure magic, and it really underscores why storytelling is so tremendously vital to the human experience. In fact, you need to stop reading this interview immediately and download it and go find a place to just listen to the preface by yourself. I promise you, you’ll want to pause it and call your parents as soon as that preface is over. 

 

I also take great inspiration from Billy Crystal, who is not only one of the funniest people who ever lived, but also someone who is deeply rooted in his own life experience, and really celebrates the things he loves. Both his solo show “700 Sundays” and his Broadway Musical “Mr. Saturday Night” celebrate showbiz toughness, family, baseball, music comedy, connection, and all the good stuff that’s out there in life. Like all great performers, both of those guys just get up there onstage and show you who they are. We’re all richer for it.

 

6. How do you prepare for a performance on stage? Do you still get nervous? If so, how do you handle the pre-show jitters?

 

I do get jitters, but it’s more like a mixture of anticipation and excitement rather than dread or fear. It’s a good, positive, electric hypervigilance. For me, it’s a constant double-checking of lyrics and jokes and setlists – I’m always filled with earnest, coiled-spring energy. I pace. I smile. I look in the mirror and imagine doing the best I can. I joke with the band. I try to decide whether or not I need to use the men’s room one last time (Not always easy!!) I text my wife and she gives me pep talks. Ultimately, I try to just appreciate the opportunity to do what I love most, stay present, and not try to control everything, which is a skill I haven’t yet mastered in real life, but I’m working on it.

 

7. What do you feel is the most important skill a singer or actor should have? 

I think the most important skill, and in some ways, the most difficult is learning to let go and drop the mask, be vulnerable, and let the audience know who you are. To have a real sense of oneself. I think it’s a natural byproduct of growing up; for a performer, it develops over time. 

 

As young performers, we want to be like those we emulate, and maybe we give ourselves short shrift because we think “Oh, I could never be that dynamic, that interesting, that engaging, etc.” When the truth is, how we are right now is so interesting, so engaging, so magnetic – we just have to drop the pretense and let our own unique selves shine through and tell the story how we are meant to tell it; Dance the way we were meant to, sing the song the way we are meant to sing it. Some unique and gifted souls already have that innate sense, and God bless ‘em for having it figured out. For me, it’s been a journey… and hopefully one that’s far from over.

 

Get your tickets to see Scott Wichmann: Mister Showtime on Friday, February 23 & Saturday,  February 24 at 8pm!