And That's what You Really Missed with Jenna and Kevin an iHeartRadio podcast.
Welcome to You and That's what You Really miss Podcast, The Guest Edition.
We have a very very very special guest today. We have the assistant choreographer who then became the choreographer on Glee, Brook Lifton, half of the choreography team with Zach Woodley, mom of dad, mom and dad brother's sister. The choreography department of two. For most of it really was sort of like I don't know, extended family, yes, only we were so close to them and we talked to Brooke and you're going to hear just how Brooke and Zach were a part of every single aspect of the show.
And it's fascinating because they're sort of like the unsung heroes. I think, oh total Glee and people don't realize how much they had to do.
And without them, we wouldn't we wouldn't have Glee. So get ready, buckle up, we get into it. This is Brook Lipton, Part one. Brook Lipton, Everyone, Hi you guys.
I run and Zach choreographed Glee for forever from the very beginning.
I'm actually one of twelve, only one of twelve who actually made it from the beginning to the end, there was like there was like an award that like, you know, when it was like always trying to find silly things to do, it was like, yeah, because from the pilots of the last episode, because also people take breaks, they came back, they were off, they had an episode off, whatever, it was, right, Yeah.
I was there even when Zach left, you were you were there.
I was there. I was there top to bottom, which I love every second.
If people don't know, Brooke is one of the most incredible dancers on the face of the earth.
Thank you. Everybody lie it's a lie, but thank you it's not. I'll take everyone has to also realized my said like I'm so dry and sarcastic that I'm very negative too. But I really love you guys so much so when I keep putting myself down, you know, it's just that's that's my that's my natural defense.
The same family.
Great, Okay, so along having danced in Hollywood and in LA for such a long time, you've worked with literally everybody. I particularly know you as the Brittany dancer. But yes, you also served as the assistant choreographer on for all how many.
Episodes we do episodes, I don't know, like music number count. I used to think it was seven forty nine, That's why I told everyone, but then Andrew said it was seven forty one, So I don't know if it s in the state. We were in this same boat. Yeah, I started as an assistant, and then I moved up
to the associate. Then I went to choreographer, then co choreographer, so my title changed time well, but honestly, mostly we were department of two, like it was me and Zach, you know, and then eventually it was like, oh, we need maybe a little help, or then it was like, oh my gosh, more help is like it was help, but it also there's only so many things you could do, it's crazy. So yeah, we were probably the biggest, smallest department that's right.
Ever that sounds, and you had a completely like your relationship the show and then to us was also unique in that way, like we had a completely the crew. The rest of the crew saw us and you all on set like the hundreds of people, but you had to put up with us other time.
No, No, okay, it's like I mean, okay, so I've been listening since show Man's and stuff. It's like and I just every time I listen, I'm like, does anyone get it? Like I know there's people out there and they're listening, and they're like, now they're getting this inside scoop And then they're listening to you know, Ryan and Brian, Ryan and Brian who Brad and I it like they
just should have just be one big name. But basically, like as everyone's still telling these stories, I'm like, you weren't you weren't there, You weren't there, Like it's so still hard to explain to everybody what it really means. And it's so I feel like we were the biggest
apartment that was so invested into the production side. Like there's very departments that were in those concept meetings, you know, so when it comes out and then because sometimes the scripts used to say and they danced, yes, you know, and then all of a sudden that's like you know a page is a line is like you know you know it by a minute. And also like there's this little squares like and they and they danced joyfully or whatever,
like at the beginning, we didn't know how things were. So, you know, Zach being in all those meetings, like we were in that whole side of a lot of the development and trying to make something out of it. But then so with you guys, with the actors, and then totally and with the production of the guy, you know, sitting there from when they're building the sets and trying things out, Like we were just so hands on with all departments.
It's like.
We were we were in the mix of everything. I feel like we got we got to deal with all that stuff, so we got to do with some of the fun stuff like the performance, and we went on I mean describe it as fun, I don't know, but like the flashy, the knowing on tour, making a movie, going to the White House, going to Europe, you know,
like all the crazy, insane stuff. But then also still trying to you know, decide how those ramps were going to work when we were wheeling down those or how you're going to dance in water or with fire, or do you remember the pool? Do you remember that we couldn't touch the bottom of the floor of the pool. And so we went and they rented out the YMC and we're like, our tims are like this.
I forgot that part that it was really.
Really just I mean, so I think my next question is should I just come on the show every week and just break down all those numbers with you guys every week and tell you it reminds you of the insane stories of.
Guys were like for lack of a better analogy or metaphor, like the grout, like you filled all the gaps between all the different departments that managing us were like without the two of you, nothing, there would be nothing to shoot well waits numbers.
Without the amazing like we had an incredible crew and that was that was the thing that was so cool is that you know, we would get there would be a script with this idea or a piece of paper and then usually Zach would be like okay, like and and you know what was really important, you know, especially
to him, was like we never repeated things. It was always brand new, even when we did even when we did stuff, and it was like supposed to be Madonna or Brittany, and like obviously I knew all the Brittany choreography. We didn't just take it. I mean obviously there was moments in time where it was iconic and it was like we need this step, We needed this move because if we're trying to dance like a certain artist, everybody knew this in the music video, you wanted whatever, that
one step was to reference things. But it was you know, that's a really big thing in the in the choreography in the world right now about stealing and taking and cobby, right, which huge breakthrough, you know. But but that was also in the front of our mind constantly as things were
always going. You know, that was really important that it wasn't just oh, copy and paste, but we had these departments that like everybody knew how important it was to make this project, make it make We all wanted to make Ryan happy, you know, we always wanted to get that result that and because it was it was just
a sparkle, it's like, how do we get this? And it's like, so you're working with Lou, You're working with you know, all the set like the set deck, coming into our rooms at five a clock, setting up steel deck, trying to you know, we're trying to get everybody together because everybody wanted their parts to be important and to
help and to get that final project. And so yeah, we were probably the most invested and we were the clowns like we had to make everybody happy, and like, you know, the dance was actually the most exciting thing that happened. It was the break of whether you're.
Shooting or that it was of the show.
Yeah, I mean you were sitting in the choir room with okay, quiet on set, the air conditioning goes off, and you're just like trying to get through the scene work. It was like music's on, we can dance, we can play. Have you guys even talked about my platform? No, you guys remember how big my platform was that they used to build that I would do the dances in front of you for like the first season.
The first season, there was so much trial and error of figuring out what the hell we were doing. How did this like come to you in the first place? Like, how did it all start?
I had I auditioned to be in vocal adrenaline. Do you know.
That's my job on the floor.
So okay, So let's go way back. So Zach and I have known each other since I was fifteen, dance competitions things like that. We used to teach together. He was my He was my pretend husband when we would travel on planes because I would travel with my babies and so he'd be like, we have to get bored first. So we forever did this. I went and I auditioned for Vocal Adrenaline. He called me I think that afternoon
and was like, I love you. But Ryan is one hundred percent is high school, so this is not television high school, so you can't be I was twenty eight at the time. He's like, you can't play high school, like you're old, and I was like, yeah, I know, but but you know, like so like my sister who's five years younger than me, like she was in Vocal Adrenaline. So he was like, but would you like to assist me? So it's like do you want to work for three
days or do you want to work for six? And I was like six, of course, and he was like okay, great, let's meet at Starbucks. We got to talk about the main group and I was like cool and.
He was like so because so excited to hear because this is sid like we don't know about.
Oh, I have so many stories. You don't know about the tin shed could talk.
Oh glad it doesn't. I'm glad it doesn't. Okay, you meet at Starbucks.
So we meet at Starbucks and he's like, so he's explaining the show and talking about you guys, and he's like, I got yeah, he was probably rehearsals for with what a week with you guys before I joined maybe or so, yeah, are you sure?
I don't know if we have that much time without you, maybe maybe.
You might have done They might have done Twila before me, Like, I don't know, you I was. I was there for Tila.
We're definitely there for Twila, but you were definitely we might have had that first week when we were first Remember when.
You were just getting into the wheelchair, Zach was helping you and I remember Brooke not.
No, I was. I definitely. I definitely missed a week or so. And so he.
Comes in and he is not too much in that first week.
No, we have We held hands and we walked in straight lines. I tried to that on the beats. You guys talk about the nine versions of it, but it was like we just were trying to walk. But it
was so cute. So okay, So we get there and he's like, so we have this misfit group and he's like, you know, tall and short and this and that, and I'm like, great, and I was like, and he plays don't stop believing, and I'm like in the parking lot like jamming, and like I'm showing you like rock and roll, and like I'm like bouncing my shoulders and and and like slapping my thighs like we you know, did it. And he's like, yeah, I'm so glad you're excited about that.
But I don't think we can do any of that. Like it was just he was like, we are it is going back. It is we have to go back to there, not dancers or not not dancers or not, and we have to get that feeling and like but I think I was just so excited about it too, and he was also so excited to have that like energy of being excited. And then we walked into the room and it's like, okay, we have to hold dance Like okay.
Yeah, Well, like did he warn you properly about the groups.
To dance?
Yes, I'm sure he did not. I mean it was he warned. Like do you know if he was warned by like Casting a Ryan or anyone.
Well, no, because this is the whole thing is that you guys did an audition to dance because no one thought about it.
I mean, I thought about audition because I was like, they're only checking singing and acting, but how is there not like a dance? And I felt fine about me. I was like, well, I'll be able to pick up a five, six, seven, eight.
But and then that's the whole fun Like again, that the whole fun thing of listen to you guys talk to everybody about it is like that's you know, Zach had these amazing relationships with everybody, with Robert and it's like, okay, so you guys got to ask, you know, you got to make a move a little bit. Can they can they do things?
Is that?
You know, it's the same thing we talk about Corey. Everyone was so excited because they're like, he has rhythm, he plays the drums, and it was like, that's a different rhythm.
Ye correlated, right, he's musical, musical musical. But yeah, so but I think, oh gosh.
That diagonal at the end, Oh we never got it. We never know, never got it, never got it.
That's okay. Well, it's also insane to me to see the growth of like we just watched an episode where there's like eighty of us on stage and we're all moving everybody's like locked in doing the right thing, and to think that we could not get a diagonal with five people.
Well, also part of the whole show that was crazy too is that, you know, you guys have talked about the progression of it moving so fast. It was like, okay, yeah, there are these misfits, and then like by episode two it's like, oh, we have a full performance number. It's like it's like where what happened to sit down rocking the boat? Like we're just doing disco, really bad disco, and now we're heartfelt and you know, moving, like moving, moving some of the most iconic numbers like now we're
moving and going to craziness. And then it's like two weeks later, it's like we're sectionals.
It's like a month to figure out how to do a bad diagonal line. Yeah, exactly a line.
But it became a well oiled machine to the point where there was literally dance doubles. But not you guys ever having dance doubles. But yes, the process of figuring out how to get everybody in.
The room skeleton crew only got worse.
We could talk about tour.
Oh yeah, oh we will. So after that first, I mean what would did the show, because like you said, there would be descriptions and in the pilot that they dance, or Ryan would come in and be like Twila or Ryan would come and be like, I just want up. I want something up.
It needs to be more and more lifting like, and.
You're like lifts but not lifts like.
He couldn't explain it, but he had a feeling and then you guys had to turn the feeling into dance basically.
Well and I and again that's like the one. I mean, Zach is just a genius. You know, he's like the most unrecognized. I mean, everyone who knows him knows he is just the biggest angel in the heart and the smartest and most talented person. And I think only gets the hardest jobs in the whole white world, you know, only it's he only does the impossible and makes it unbelievable and that's what is so special. And so he's also I mean, this is this was my first job
coming in onto more of the choreography side. So I was still like because if you guys remember during a pilot, I was still dancing with Brittany, So I was rehearsing like the circus video because I was like, I gotta leave, I gotta go to set. I got.
I was so exciting. It was so fun. I mean I not like when I first started coming to LA and my mom and I were here for like pilot season or something, and we saw a tour bus on like Los Sienega or something in Hollywood and we're like, oh my god, that is the most beautiful tour bus. Who do you think it is. I'm like, I don't know. Let's follow it for a couple of blocks, like psychos, and we followed it to this hotel and it.
Was large. No, it was when we were in Hollywood. How do you know it was me?
Because I recognize your hair because like you're the one with the hair, the red hair hair, And I didn't put it together un till you know, we were in throws a rehearsal, and then you admitted that you had to like go to like the Spring because you were like you and Zach are also like the most humble, like self deprecating people on the planet. You would never talk about your achievements and how great you are, but
we can. And it came out you were one of like Britney's longtime dancers and you had to go do the circus video and it was like light bulb, Holy shit. I stopped her years ago and like, now you know, you're our choreographer. And it was just a very weird. Yeah. I couldn't believe it.
You are a psycho? Yes, no, yes, no, it was.
It was just it was one of those things. It was like kind of crazy and like at the same time, because this was just way at the beginning, like we were just still working on other projects and things and going and then yeah, when the once the pilot finished, you know, we were they were about to go back on the next tour, and I just send promo with her, so I was like in Japan and it was over in Europe and they were like, yeah, so we're getting ready to you know, set up the next tour, and
I was like, yeah, okay, and I was kind of like I kind of have this other show, you know, so like I basically stopped doing Brittany to do Glee because you know, at that point, my kids were now four and six, and going back on the road again was a lot and that would have been my third world tour, and it was like or I can be at home who knew that sort of sort of like fifteen hours a day living in Long Beach, but you know,
excited for Chick fil A when it came by. But it was it was like the it was the like unquestionable decision, like this is was exciting to be. I wanted to be working with Zach. I wanted to be doing this next adventure. And don't regret that at all, you know, like I did the other one. I did that job. So now I was ready to come and play with you guys. So because it was special, like even the pilot was so fun. I don't know, and I know you I don't know if you guys know.
Originally a vocal Adrenaline was four minutes long, that first number, yes, And we choreographed the whole thing and Zach was always a big fan of cutting everything. Make it shorter, make it shorter, make it short. He's like, I'm the person in the room who loves dance the most, and I don't want to see it. So he was very much like this, this can't be. We got it down to
three minutes, so they all came in. They cut it down to three minutes, so they shot it at three minutes and then when it was on the edit, it was a minute dance, you know, so that kind of shows you how much I know, like how much dancing was actually done.
And having an intense number that is.
And so we played, you know, we were good caught bad cop an opposite for you guys for the actors, and we were for the dancers. So for the dancers, Zach was bad cop. I mean no, for you guys, he was bad cop and I was I was good cop. So he was. He would be so hard on you, and then I would come and be like, it's okay, you didn't need work on this, and I would like I was like, hug kisses because it's like, don't you
mean to them? They try it, and He's like, no, they need to be Like he was just broom and with the dancers it was totally opposite. He just was having the time of his life. And I kept being like, they're messing up, like they need to be cleaner, totally, like totally change the way we talk, Like we don't talk the way we used to. You know. Jah, you guys mentioned heads and holes and just so fun. Look, I'm only repeating the things you guys have said, like totally.
And Zach was also infamous for not knowing the lyrics to words of songs, and.
So he would make up his own to fit the dance mooth.
So like he'd be like, they're not in knees, yes, I mean, but that I don't know if that's just a trait that both I had most choreographers dancers.
Like we do, but like I mean, I have all bad words for every song.
It's so helpful though, because like if I can't count.
Yes, this is also we just had so much fun and like make you laugh. So pilot happens. I'm bad cop, I'm trying to get everybody. Midway through the last day of shooting, one of our dancers goes down kind of throws out her neck like and everyone's like, can't you just finish? And they're like, no, she can't finish. And as she's getting wheelchaired off or like taking the shoes off of her, trying to get the costume. Because the whole thing was partnered, there were thirty vocal adrenaline dancers,
guys and girls, so I had to step in. So if you watch the pilot, you can see blonde red, blonde red, and so.
Yeah, I just thought I thought you were in the whole thing. No, That's why I was like, wait.
Yeah, So then what happened? Well, because I'm in all those pictures. There's like there's like these vocal adrenaline picture It's like me and Ryan are like all post in costume like zax Is, which also fun fact. Uh you know when they show vocal adrenalines like feet stretching and doing that little those sax feet, those were like jims out. They're like, oh, we need these shots later, and they like put costumes on them. But it was lunch break, and I knew the dance obviously, but I hadn't been
put into staging and doing all this thing. And then lunch break thirty dancers. No one would come help me, Like I kept texting like but we were like anyone can someone come in like review? And I'm like, I guess I was too mean to them.
I was telling them that.
I get now now I'm like now I'm in and work things and I'm like god, like everyone, okay, this, are you warm enough? Do you want my blanket? Do you do? Like? What can I do?
But remember at that moment so well, because what was also magical about how you and Zach were with us. You also built such like a great community of dancers on the show, and so many of those dancers in Vocal Adrenaline I had known previously to Glee, And so that day that you guys shot Rehab, I remember hanging out like back with all the Vocal Adrenaline people and then finding out that one of them went down and then you were stepping in. I was like, because it was the we hadn't you guys were.
All you guys were all hanging out. You're all hanging out having lunch, and I'm sure I'm stressing out and trying.
To re alert she knows, she's fine.
No, it was. It was an awesome group and and I think, you know, one of my favorite things to do, because in general, I did a lot of uh. I went like the cat like. The way that the casting worked is like I was still out in the world teaching, so I was constantly being like, oh, I know all these eighteen year olds because we really needed eighteen year olds, people who had never worked in the industry before. So when all that auditioning and things and bringing people in,
like we gave so many people their first jobs. We got so many people to become into SAG and so like it was like a average of like over five hundred dancers a year would get jobs doing that, which was so cool, Like it was so cool. And I remember the first time like but we did safety Dance and I was like, ah, we got to hire fifty people.
Like that was always so special. I think that was part of some of my favorite memory or like moments, is how many dancers we got it in employ and at the same time working with production not trying to be greedy about it. So it was like that that
would be that would happen. A seed would come up and be like, okay, well how many dancers do you think and so we would be like we would go, I think it needs twelve and they would say, okay, well I think eight and be like, okay, can we get ten, you know, like we are you know, or you know what eight is great here, We're going to need four more, you know, to work with like whatever the budget and how many we could really get into it,
like how many can we sell this for? You know, because we never went back to thirty dancers for vocal adrenaline, you know, then it got down to It was twenty four and twenty two some episodes. It was six, you know, like you know, it was like what could we mask for all those things? But it was, you know, the more the merrier.
Did you know Heather from before?
Heather and I grew up at the same dance studio. Yeah, because so we're both from Phoenix and we both were.
You guys, yeah, like two of the best. I don't know what, and you both have like this a similar essence about you of like when you're dancing in a group, you can't you find you guys, and you can't take your eyes off. I don't know what it is, but you both have that same thing.
Well, we grow. So we grew up at the same dance studio, so it was dance connection. It was in Arizona and are It was all about performance. It was like the attitude is look at me and don't look at anybody else, and the person next to you is they need to have that same attitude. So there needs to be three of you up on stage all go in look at me and don't look at everybody else, and knowing that like the people next to me are dancing the same way. So it's look at us. So,
I mean that's how we grew up. It was you stare at yourself, and that you stare at yourself in the mirror and you make sure that that person is staring at you and looks hot. It does. It's It's one of the things I still try and teach, because I still am out there going to teach you. But it's much harder now because we look at our phones more than we look at ourselves.
But also from a Zona.
No, she's from Texas.
I knew that, but.
You know, dancers like Haley, like I you know, I was teaching her at twelve, so you know, and then my sister and then like just a lot of the people who all came through we've known for so long. So like that's the whole thing. Like that was Haley's first job coming.
Out to She was so like little when she came with us. Yeah, she was the youngest one out of everyone, and we were all so like protective of her.
Now all married.
Yeah, Yeah, you mentioned before that you got to you and Zach got to sit in because you were navigating all these different departments that you get.
You got to sit in some of those production meetings or all of the production meetings to figure out what does this one little line mean in the script and how is going to look on screen? What were those meetings like, because we were never ever privy to anything.
Yeah yeah, so I so I really did end up doing tone stuff until he left, So I wasn't. I wasn't doing tone meetings until season five. It was more of like, so it would be a department head, so you know original tone means. So that was like Zach was there, Mark Hutman, Lou It would be like the Okay, we need some costume, we need to know what's going on. And that was just breaking things down. Ooh, I'm thinking this, I'm thinking this, I'm thinking this, And that's not where
you really asked necessarily all the questions. That wasn't where you start saying, Okay, I need twelve answers, I need this danswers. It was like, okay, I see this happening here. And then those meetings broke down and the next thing is you get to a production meeting, so now that all of this department head's going to walk away take all that information, then you got to kind of break down what do we really need? How are you how are we going to make this work? How are we
going to make this different? And then you kind of then that next step is present and you know, mechanics of working your way through everybody like can we do this? Can we do this? How about this? This is our idea? And then you present the next step. You know, then then they present the stage looking the way they do, or they get the drawings of the costumes. Ours was always harder because it was like we did we never present. We just were asking can we get can we get
some dancers? And then it's like could we get the set made? I mean even the risers that was that was a production because do you guys remember your baby risers?
Yes, because the first I remember even getting them period was a thing, and then we got like a version of them. Sorry you talk about.
It, Yeah, you know, you're absolutely right. So there was two sets of risers because vocal adrenalines. Risers were foot so it's a full foot step up and you guys couldn't It wasn't that you couldn't handle it. I'll say more that the choir room didn't allow it. We maybe didn't need it. Well yeah, maybe a little bit of both.
But well, that's a progression of we just trying to get step up to getting those things, but trying to figure out how many inches you guys could dance and step up and do levels and where we can make the difference. And then eventually you guys did graduate and you got full risers and you guys made it. You
guys did the whole thing. But it was funny because you did like this six inch riser and like it didn't help because Corey was still you know, Frankentine and then you had Tater Tot down on the floor wheeling around, and you know, it was all the levels were crazy. I loved it.
I'm so interested in like because you talk about all these different departments presenting what they had to do, you guys asking for things, and Ryan was so involved and so much of he'd come into our rehearsals he'd personally approve, especially in the beginning. Yes, yeah, everything, oh yeah, oh yeah. So there was a short line that seemed like all of you had to learn with each other because these things also weren't happening like, oh, make a presentation, you
have a week to do it. It was like things were getting turned around on like an afternoon or the next day. So like, what I mean, what was it like developing that sort of shorthand with Ryan and with the other departments. Because also, again a lot of these people had all come from TV were not used to shooting musical numbers. You guys were so used to doing musical numbers, but maybe not at this rate and with
different levels of expertise in your students. So like I felt like you were all balancing and meeting in the middle of Okay, we're coming together to create this thing that is wholly unique, and we all have to learn how much each department or Ryan needs from us to be able to tell you, to convince you that we know what we're doing.
Well. I honestly it was I think so much of
it was easy at the beginning, you know. Okay, so working with Lou who did costumes, she understood that they had a stretch, you know, that that you couldn't have you needed to have a gusset and things, or if you you know, you couldn't get a suit on if your guys's arms didn't go past here, or that it was worth the money to spend, you know, to buy an eighty dollars dance shoe, then to buy the thirty dollars dance shoe from you know wherever, or the fake heel,
but then they broke, you know, so working with people who knew where the w earth was in the value. And I think that also comes from obviously we had an amazing production, you know, like we had Kenneth who basically understood how to fix all these departments and say where we could spend the money and do all this stuff, because it was important to spend the money, like it was important to spend the money to make this work.
And I think that's why this show did work, is because as a department you felt valued and loved in the sense of instead of I don't feel like we had a super fight like how dare you? But also in a site of like a respectful And I think that's something I take with me with everything I do. So like, you know, I had like seventy five dancers on Lucifer and I just did you know, I just worked on that new Apple Paul Royal is coming out,
Like we had seventy five dancers on that. And what I've learned from Glee is it's not just about being selfish it's not okay, I need seventy five d answers
and I need two weeks of rehearsal. And it's like, no, okay, I can work with these twenty Like my days are going to be seventy five hours a day and I don't care, you know, but like I'm going to rehearse like this, and I can I can then flip flop one actor in and get them like that, like manage time management and knowing how to be smart about what
is really needed and what is a necessity. And and I think we all respected each other in that so much that you you really went, okay, that's there's value in that. And you had to trust what our opinion and things were. If I said that's not safe. You know this floor is not going to be a safe floor. Well it looks pretty well, yeah, but they're going to fall, Like so what is it? What is another option? How do we make this not slippery? And do those things?
But you had everybody who wanted the best product and
the best job. No one had that ego, honestly, we I think sometimes the hardest thing was when the years and years go by, you get new people kind of coming in and everyone has these great ideas and you're kind of like, it really works like this, and they go, okay, great, it works like this, And you know that was you know, the only time that you had to go through changing you had to go we had more casts, we had more people, we had other things, but we really had
an amazing group that wanted to make the top happy and knowing that also by treating departments well and and and that was going to be a smart way to do those things. So you know, we worked really hard.
You worked hard, you guys works worked hard.
We tried to make it's but also to make it look like it was easy, like it's not. It's also not my job to go this is so hard. This is so difficult. It's like, oh, you have seven numbers this episode, we don't have any music and you don't have oarsal time and we shoot tomorrow. Great, okay, cool, totally and we can do this, Like yeah, it was dance is great.
So how did you guys manage the time given that that was usually the case.
Well, especially as we got going, like as the season's because in the beginning we had more time.
Oh no, more time, no, no, no, no, So we get a script, Nanda has music, and then we have no music, right because they have to create the music. So like it was also backwards still like we were the last department to get it. So that's where those demos would really come also in handy for us, like you guys were recording to demos. But if we didn't have a demo, we didn't know what the breakdown of the song was
going to be. So we never like saw a song and said, oh, don't stop believing, let's just reverse and make something up because without knowing who's singing, where the storyline's going to be, Oh this is you know, this
is already in Tina's dialogue. They're in a fight right now and they need to throw looks to each other or that we're not supposed to have, you know, Finn and Puck next to each other because they like yeah, like yeah, like mister, like mister, she would be choreographing and not putting people next to each other because now
they're in a fight, doesn't matter, that's how. But we had to wait till we knew those moments or where those partnerships are going to be coming in, So we were guessing and then it was like how quickly could we get a demo? How quickly could we get a demo? Then can we get a breakdown? Then you know, sometimes we never got your guys is recording till the day of We never heard that stuff. It was like, well,
I hope it sounds right. It always worked, it did, but it was that was sort of the magic, but we were it was never it was never super It was at the beginning because the scripts were a little bit more there and so music was a little bit faster, meaning we were ahead of the gate, yes, you know, or right on track, and then it got a little harder when we would get behind and it'd be like, well we got.
This in the beginning when we had more time. It was so we probably didn't realize it either at the time how important that was for all of us in terms of like cohesion, because we had when the show got picked up after the pilot, we had that full month of like January when we were first in the Tin Shed boot camp boot camp and we didn't have episode well, we knew we had the first episode, so we knew we had push it and whatever else is in that episode, but we were you would like warm
us up every day we'd show up, we'd do stretches, you would teach us rehab just to like, you know, that was yeah, that was all that was.
So you know, that was Zach just going knowing that you guys had to learn also that how do you muscle memory? How do you start learning faster? How do you start picking up things. Here's a dance you guys are all obviously familiar with. Wasn't really what you were going to do, but it was what we were going to get you to doing. I mean, those those lifts were not overhead like we were doing. Eventually a vocal adrenale got psycho rehab really was the style that you
guys got up to, you know. So it was getting to that stuff, which was great. You know, we loved sort of that time that never ever happened ever ever. But also, you know, the crazy thing too, was for the first thirteen episodes, you guys weren't on the air, so you had to I mean, it was the beauty of it. You had to trust us a little bit more and we could be meaner to you because we could just keep saying you look horrible, you look horrible.
You look well but in a way, but you know that that no, I need more that projection like and never not saying like never being like, you guys did great, but never like patting you too much on the back, being like great, okay, good, we're moving on and we're moving harder.
Like.
So there was this constant push and there was a little bit of this fear in the sense of what it really looked like. And because you guys never got to see yourself on the screen, I feel like there was a nice control that we were like and then and then you guys, and then you guys aired, and then you were so good, Like it was like, oh, well we're so good. Look how good we like? It's
like that was so hard like it was. It was a real sort of change because then there was a little bit of well, they're just going to edit it out if I look bad. Oh, they'll never do that, and that was poor part of like no, no, no, no, no, no, that's not how it works. We don't want we don't want to edit, and we don't want to not have to have all those things were.
Just full of close ups like that is not what we're going right, right.
But you guys also got better, and then that process was easier, but there was this sort of there was a magic, well there was magic at the beginning and then and then like a little of that like oh gosh, they're knowing that it's okay, and then it's like nope, we're doing We're going more and more and more. So like there was this little circle of time. But yeah, you know, it was it was. I mean, it's also
just hard to figure out. How do you encor how do you incorporate a wheelchair to look like it's smooth in there? How do you put partners together of someone you know, how short Tina was compared to the guys were tall. You know, like nobody was misfit like we were. We were a misfit group.
Yeah, I was going to say that's what it also felt like in the beginning when Ryan would come in or like all the department heads would come in and like watch the number. Andrew would come in with his iPad and film it to learn it himself. Where it felt like because Ryan would normally have a note or two and we would like tweak things, but we were all sort of figuring it out together. You guys are
figuring out how to interpret the script. And then put it on us to like the adjusted depending on our ability, and then we were all together figuring out how do we make Ryan's vision right true? Because there were so many I mean, I think of that first season, there wasn't a number that did not get pre approved or pre seen by all the department, Like Lou and Mark would come in.
And make seats in the front and yeah, we'd do it, perform it for that I think.
I think it changed in the years later, like we would video it, send it out to everybody, then sometimes get that approval. We always tried to get the directors to come by, but again it started getting harder because the directors were shooting the episode as we're still in the rehearsal process. And then what the real hope was is that we did a rehearsal and there weren't going to be any changes. I mean, that was that was our real main goal was. It wasn't let's do this
and let's see what happens. It's let's be smart enough that we don't get any notes.
How often do you say you guys would get notes? I don't even remember, Like, how would you say most of the time towards like once we got to that groove.
I don't think there was ever that many notes. I mean really past the beginning, there wasn't some major I'm trying to think if there's any major disasters. I mean, every once in a while there'd be like, right, like this is not what we were looking for, right, but but that's kind of more of like, well, but that's
what we said we were doing, you know at the time. Yeah, I know, we really try or more of like no, we need to add more like no, we actually want three super polls now in November, and would that have been fun? We did that. We we did that a lot later when we got to New York, like we went to the clubs and we had you guys just weren't always there.
What's wild is that, like that New York faction vocal adrenaline, Like you weren't just choreographing new directions, You're also choreographing all these other people in styles like everyone had their own sort of like vibes like style identity and.
Do you remember this? Besides, so at the beginning the dancer platform, So if we'll explain that what we're talking because I don't think we actually did.
Oh yeah, literally literally there.
Was a dancer platform or broke platform or we kept calling, but I was behind the cameras up on a higher level to be doing like I looked like literally like
waving lines, but I was dancing. And a lot of times I would have the godlike too, talking and screaming, like do you remember Jenna when it was the Christmas episode and it was Saturday morning and it was that Anthony was directing, and we were all in our pajamas and you had you hadn't even been to rehearsal, like and not in any fault of your own, but like you had you had never made it to literally rehearsal. And I'm like teaching you to dance, be like how
do you feel? And then I'm like screaming over the microphone and like doing this and like and you look great, and you look great. And that became like another new norm of doing that sort of stuff.
But when but but what happened is runs, Oh my gosh.
We would do all the rehearsal together. Zach would be their shoot film, start to like get you guys, make sure everything was working, and then he would leave like not not really season one, but then later like he would go back to the studio and be working on the next song, and I would be staying there and watching you guys, like stay until you guys finished shooting.
And that happened a lot, a lot, lot lot season two, season three because we were doing so much, or he would have another rehearsal, like he would go and start and have rehearsal. So that was also the crazy part is like we were also part of when you're talking about the numbers from the head to the tail, because we were there as it developed. We were there till
the end, till it shot. Because you know, again most departments, you sit there, you build the set, the set, and then you know right and you go, great, it looks good. We shot it, boom and then you have you know, the art like you have the other departments take over for being on set for your stuff. Same thing with costumes, design, build great. Then you have your customers who are still there with you guys. But it was just us, so
we were there till the end of those numbers. I mean I was also put into numbers because I need to help, especially the Turkey Lurky day. I was in Turkey Lurky because we never had anybody in there, so like we never had Sarah Jessica really come and Lisa and all there, and so I mean, just watch Turkey
Lurkey because I know it's everyone's favorite. But like I opened the door and then like I'm always presenting my hand and then I'm like pulling people and then I'm like push it, like I And at the same time that that was happening. So that was in New York set, you guys were with the new New Directions shooting with Zach on the other set, so we didn't even have someone really like watching it, and I would kept being back, going back to here like is it like okay, I
like is it ever working? Like are we checking on that? Do you guys know? Do you guys remember my I had to break down every number so for you know you talked about the scripting needs to see what it was. I used to make a football play of every single dance number. Yes, so every formation that you would be in, it would be x's and o's and then let's say so let's say it was vocal adrenaline and there was
like only Jonathan Groff, which was what was this Jesse Jesse? Yeah, so like his would all be x's maybe for the guys, and sercles for the o's and then one big J. So you I would have every formation set up and then where he is, and then I would time code it, so like that was at thirty seconds, and then this one's like at four because poor poor Carol Banker and coor Babs like who needed to kind of follow.
Along at supervisors, right, So.
I so then I'm sitting there and we have those. But then for you guys, it was every single letter at every so every formation change.
I did this. I had no idea.
Oh yeah. And then every once in a while, like I would wouldn't do it ahead of time, and like we would get to set and we were rehearsing its. It's like, Breck, I'm like literally drawing the formations as we're going.
How often did Za call you like post work hours to be like to talk like did you have homework?
We left work on the phone and then we would talk all night and then we would laugh. I mean, but we also, like I feel very serious right now, we had the best time ever, laughing and hysterical and loving this and like, I mean, we were just so silly. We were just like we just had so much fun, Like we were always having fun. I enjoyed being at work. I enjoyed being around everybody and making everybody laugh and
being silly. But no, we were twenty four to seven or we would finish the day, leave be at set for twelve hours and be like, oh my gosh, we got to talk about today, like we just got to talk about it.
Like, well, Jenna and I lived together. It was so good because we would come home and sort of with each other debrief.
Oh, we used to have the best meetings that we spaw. So basically this this was back when This Is War, when we were in the powerhouse, which was our So the reason why it was called the tin shep you guys said this because it was literally a tin ship because of the t it was so hot and the bathrooms were downstairs, so you had to pee every time you had to pee. It was a lot of pain. And then the powerhouse was an old powerhouse that they gutted for us, like they created that. It was huge.
It was amazing huge. It's still there. I used I used it last year. It was so great. Oh my god, I want to slay home. It still has like some of the faux brick wall because when we made that in New York set and like left it, so it's still it's still all designs, but usually what it's what's sadly used for is a lot of like it used to be, like crew lunches would be in that room. Oh yeah, it's a big, big place to set up.
It's like, oh fair, but we would we would be sitting there and we'd like just finish an episode and we're waiting for a script and waiting for music, and it was like, I think we should have our meeting today at the wee Saw. So we would go drive to the we Spaw and think.
About the Koreans for people who don't know, Yes, l.
A twenty four hour Koreans, the guys side, the girl's side, the family side.
Going after the pandemic. But man, is.
So good, so good to have our meetings there.
Yeah, you always just made us.
I always personally enjoyed dance rehearsals most of the time because, like you would, it was like you guys were our friends, like as much as you were our you know, our teachers and our chorks, like co workers, like you were our friends. And so we always like it's like the relationship you have with your makeup artists, like it felt here. It's so intimate and personal and you know, you always like looked out for us, and we always laughed a lot.
So it was just like like the most dances, like the most amazing thing ever, Like it really is one of those things where it just makes you so happy, you know, or I mean there was certainly some tears in that room, but lots of tears, but but not but it no matter how frustrating was, it was like that was the fun stuff, like you got to play,
you gotta move. We didn't take it very seriously. You know, it's funny with you guys are breaking down these scripts when you're talking to everybody, Like when you're talking to everyone, it's like that wasn't for real. It's like we knew that. Like you can't watch he shows and be like what were they thinking? It was like right, we were thinking exactly what you should be, like this is a joke, like this is we're making fun of ourselves. We were
being silly and like we did that. We did that when we were moving and playing and trying to Like again, the more that you guys laughed at yourself, and we laughed at the jokes and we laughed at how ridiculous it could be. The better it all was.
But I think it worked because you and Zach were like that, Because could you imagine I can imagine all those hours in dance rehearsal with somebody who was like overly serious and be like really cleaning us up and making sure like you know, you were never going to you knew what you were going to get for us, and so like you would have gone crazy if you were that serious about all of it all the time.
And it also felt like, to Jenna's point that like dance is sort of like an equalizer where you have to be vulnerable, because so many of us were not comfortable doing it and we weren't that good, but you
and Zach were like there to catch us. So everybody, and especially because we had that time in the beginning to figure it all out together, everybody was sort of I don't know, more open to each other and those moments with you, guys, other than any other department, because I felt like you spent the most time with you,
we could be the most honest with you. You guys could be honest with us or if there was this mutual respect and openness that like when you're on set, there's like a certain level of professionalism that we like, you know, the cameras are on.
We had professionalism this show.
But like when we were it was more like we're just kicking it. We're going to get it done. We always didn't we're.
Going to get it. We're going to get it done. But you know that was I I feel like there was a place you didn't have to be on you know, you didn't have to come in and have makeup on. You could have a.
Really bad day reprieve from my care it likes to.
Talk crap about everything you could and at the same time, you could be so dramatic about all the stuff that was going on and then come into the dance room and be like, oh, yeah, that's really not as you guys have a harder job, and like we were like, yeah, just shut up and let's do this because like.
Also check us and welcome. We wanted to check us well.
In the best way. It's like, you guys, it's not that deep. Let's just do this, Let's get our job done, let's have fun, Let's not take it seriously. Let's laugh at it, let's pull our stuff together, and remember like we are singing and dancing like we could be doing drama. You could be doing the most dramatic shakes, like you could be doing something hard, like we just have to be fools up there, and the more that you guys are fools and like that, we got that out of
you and played with you. But it also was it was a totally safe zone. I mean, and that's what I mean. I'm so surprised where all this conversation is gone, because I really got worried that we were only going to be talking about scary stories and I was gonna have to be closing my mouth constantly and be like whoops. But but we just it was like that place where it's like nobody was watching you.
Nobody you know you didn't that's a big point.
You had no makeup on. You could be so real, like you could be laying on the ground. You could take you know, Corey would take top Rom and just eat it out of Sometimes they would.
Have like like the boys that have like their kiss makeup on, but like regular clothes on.
And You're like, this is I can't look too seriously right now? But like, okay, let's work. It was also like a check in, like we could remember Zac would make fun of him, like one day MTV, like he'd make MTV and we were in rehearsal for MTV and he's like, yeah, well here. It was always like a good foundation, like you guys felt like mom and dad in a way, but like siblings, like the older siblings that we could look up to.
Totally well more like we were your aunt uncle that we're going to kind of like give you alcohol but like and didn't care if you had it and knew that you were drinking it, and like you when you try to hide it, like dude, you guys are totally drug like you know, we we were that sort of like we're like, absolutely, give me some too, Like I need to give me a drink. What the hell am I doing here? I mean, how many nights did we spend until four am sitting there on set? Or you know,
you guys the smelly airplane? Do you remember how bad the airplane smelled? Oh my god, I tasted that was okay, So that was our tour. That was the second tour when we were a big time because we flew.
Okay. So I learned a lot today and there's still so much more. That's like, I felt like I knew everything because we were so close to Brooke and Zach, but there's a whole other side that we just don't know. They were so good at, like I think compartmentalizing what they had to do, probably because say, their sanity, because they were in charge of so much exactly. But I mean, thank you, Brooke. I hope you like, I really enjoyed hearing that. Oh and there's still so much more.
Yes, there's there's a lot more to be said, so stay tuned because there's another part coming with Brooke. But yeah, I mean, it's just it was really truly fascinating to me to hear all of all of that.
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