Five Questions with Daniel Berryman

Recently, I noted the phenomenal work Contemporary Classics, a company dedicated to new musicals, has put on over the month of July. Tonight, Mon., Aug. 2, happens to be the newest edition of their revue of new musical songs, New Voices, performed by the best of Seattle’s theatre scene (at ACT Theatre; tickets $15/$20). We’re spending the week profiling some of the talented performers who’ve appeared in their shows.

Today, Daniel Berryman is under the gun. Still in college, where he’s majoring in musical theatre at the University of Michigan, Berryman played the lead in The Yellow Wood, which closed this last weekend at the Center House Theatre.

1. Where did you grow up, and how did you end up where you are now? My father works in the theatre. He introduced my sister and I to the theatrical world from an early age, and to the surprise of my mother, we followed in his footsteps. I was born in Texas. When I was six, we moved to the Northwest and eventually found ourselves living in North Seattle. I attended Roosevelt High School and was very involved in their theatre department. Now I’m pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan, and in the fall I’ll be studying abroad in London for the semester at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA).

2. Which performance, song, play, movie, painting, or other work of art had the biggest influence on you and why? This is a tough question. I don’t think I can site one specific piece of art. However, I can tell you the artist who has made the largest impact on my life. His name is David Wilcox. He is a folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. My father first introduced me to his music. I would play around in our garage while my father worked and we would listen to Wilcox’s album Big Horizon day after day. Ever since, the wisdom of Wilcox has pulled me out of my sulk many times. On level with Pixar, David Wilcox is the greatest storyteller I know.

---

3. What skill, talent, or attribute do you most wish you had and why? I wish I had many things. I wish I could play the piano well enough to sing and play Billy Joel tunes. I wish I could dance in such a way that I would have the chance to work with Twyla Tharp. I wish I had the time to study opera, play soccer, and be a monk. However, there is one attribute I truly wish I had. This desire arises every single time I yawn: To open my mouth as wide as I can, wishing against all hope that I could roar like a lion. Now that would be cool.

4. What do you do to make a living? Describe a normal day. Right now, I’m a full-time student. Thankfully my parents still love me, feed me, and house me. What does my normal day look like? Depending on whether I had a show the previous night, I sleep in. When I wake up I eat breakfast and shower. Then I do some reading on our back deck. Sometimes I’ll watch a movie. And in the in between time I prepare for the shows, cabarets, etc. that I have coming up. I’m very fortunate to lead the life I do, and I look forward to the challenges that are no doubt barreling towards me as I write.  

---

5. Have you ever had to make a choice between work and art? What did you choose, why, and what was the outcome? Yes. I’ve chosen art so far because I’ve been able to. Being in school is a large part. Musical Theatre as a major is a full-time job. Classes go from nine to five with a few breaks if you’re lucky. Then, if you’ve been cast in show, you have rehearsal from seven to eleven. As for the summer, most people audition for regional houses and many of them book shows. I chose to let that go this year, and instead my parents and I paid a whole lot of money for me to study opera for five weeks. Art and education are invaluable to me. Hopefully this won’t come back to haunt me.

“Five Questions” was originally developed by Andy Horwitz at Culturebot.org, an NYC-based website covering contemporary performance.