LaQuet Sharnell Pringle
We Don't Go Dark
The purpose of this project is to provide a collection of transcriptions from the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. This project seeks to give a platform to all parts of the vocal performing arts to better understand the lived experiences and mentality of those professionals. In collecting stories from the COVID-19 pandemic LaQuet Sharnell Pringle, actress and singer, discussed her view of the pandemic being both a performer and a new mother. It was particularly interesting to speak to her again after a year of the pandemic and see how she had evolved.
LaQuet Sharnell Pringle, actress and singer
Interviewed April 20, 2020
TB: I always like to start off these interviews on a positive note. What is the best thing that has happened to you in the last week?
LSP: The best thing is being able to see my kiddo learn how to crawl. I didn't get to see her do her first rollover, and it kills me a bit. Being able to see her start to crawl and roll over from her back to her stomach has been the best thing in the whole world.
TB: As you are holding her, her participation in this interview has been great as well. Would you mind telling me a bit about your background and the projects that you are working on? L
SP: I became interested in musical theater when I saw The Lion King national tour. Up until that point, it was just something I saw on AMC. It seemed like a movie star type of thing and like I needed to be Judy Garland. I didn't think Black people did musical theater and that I would figure out something else to do with my life. Then I had just started taking a few dance classes, and I remember watching the lioness chant and thinking, 'If these women could do it, I can do it. I could so do that.' It got me deeper into modern dance and what it took to be a Broadway actor. I started getting furious about it and ended up going to the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Following that, I went to North Carolina School for the Art of Modern Dance. I booked a show about a year in and moved to New York City.
Since then, I have been working steadily in theater. I took a small break after my wife and I got married and moved to Austin. I began teaching full-time at Texas State and Ballet Austin. I began seeing a difference between the professional artist and the educational artist, as I would tell students to do things that I never did as a professional. That got me excited about coming back to perform again. Now, I am back in New York City, and my fifth Broadway show currently. Once we are done with social distancing and quarantining, I will resume as a swing and understudy in Mrs. Doubtfire.
TB: Could you describe where you were and how you first realized that your life was going to be directly affected by the pandemic?
LSP: When it first started, New York as a whole was under the idea that this was just a bad flu (not to come from a particular political standpoint). No one needed to freak out or stress out. If you get it, just stay home, and you will be fine. Initially, it wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't until the beginning of March that we started to hear reports of people dying in New York. But stateside, I don't know if everyone really understood the severity of what was happening in China, and more importantly, what was happening in Italy. Because when the death rate started to rise both in China and Italy, it was the first week of March. It had also started to hit New York because we are such a major hub. There are so many tourists, and we are constantly in contact with each other.
Very quickly, there was no hand sanitizer at the local drugstore. So while everyone was still thinking, 'It is a bad flu,' you couldn't buy hand sanitizer. It made people wonder what was going on. By the time social distancing started to make its way into New York, we had found out there were several cases within the Broadway community and Broadway houses. As a swing, I generally watch the show from the house. So every time someone coughed, I was thinking, 'What do we do?'
Suddenly, within a two-week span, it went from 'It is not that big of a deal to 'What the f***.' It was literally overnight.
TB: So the second week of March, when Broadway closed, what did that look like in your world?
LSP: The day started like any other. We had a rehearsal, getting ready for the opening, and we had just started doing previews. So, I got up and got myself together. But I remember running into a friend of mine from Lion King as I walked down the street. I looked at him, and he said, "I'm heading to Connecticut." I was like, "Good for you, going on vacation?" He replied, "No, we are about to go dark. I think that Broadway is going to go dark." From that moment, I knew this was really serious because we don't go dark. There is always a show going on.
So I tried to keep moving forward. There were still a ton of people moving around in Times Square. Then I got a message from a friend who works at Good Morning America. She was asking, "Are you guys going to go dark because they're telling us not to come to work on Monday?" Then I walked into the theater, and all of our producers and creative team were talking —mostly to make sure that we were all staying safe—because we had just done two or three previews. Everything in our show was saying, "We are a new show. Are we really going dark right now? Do we really have to stop what momentum we have?" Especially within commercial theater: if you are putting all of this work, time, and energy in—only to stop—who knows what is going to happen to the show? Generally, walking into work is such a pleasant experience, but you could just feel the uncertainty, fear, and frustration. And you could feel it very quickly. We are a positive company, and I have never been in a company where everyone loves each other so genuinely. It is such a family. So for us to be looking at each other wondering, 'What the hell do we do?'—it was frightening.
The next day, when we didn't have a show to finish our rehearsal process, it felt incomplete. To go home, it felt empty. I felt a bit like a zombie while still having to run around with a five-month-old child.
TB: So, Broadway goes dark, and what happened after that?
LSP: Broadway went dark, and the first thing any actor asks who becomes unemployed is, "Can I file for unemployment?" The next thing is reaching out to your castmates, "Are you guys okay? Did you hear anything?" And all of those things were happening within that first week. Governor Cuomo was doing all of these interviews and press conferences at the time. You would watch them and think, 'Why were we told this was just a flu?'
Now, we are learning everything frantically. Asking, "Do we have enough supplies? Do we have enough food? Can I still get formula? What is the deal with ordering stuff?" Mostly it was, "How do we survive this virus?" It became a checklist of survival.
TB: Before the interview, you talked about how you are no longer in New York. Can you tell me about making that decision?
LSP: It was the week after we were all told to social distance. My wife and I talked about how you can't really social distance in New York. That morning, we happened to have a doctor's appointment for my daughter, and we brought it up to our pediatrician. We asked specifically, "Should we stay in the city?" Our doctor is the sweetest and kindest woman, but she looked at us and said, "Oh no, F that! Get the F out!"
So, we got in our car and immediately went to the grocery store to get as much food as we could. We called my mother-in-law to see if she was cool with us coming there to quarantine ourselves. She said yes, and then we started thinking about how we were going to pack. 'How long are we packing for? How do we get everything down there?' This isn't just visiting for the holidays. This is our life now, and we are moving.
It took about two or three days because we wanted to avoid going outside as much as possible before getting into the car to drive. For us, it became okay now that we are here. We have two people who are still working full-time jobs, and I have the baby and the dog during the day. There is still the question of peaceful cohabitation, but now no one really knows what to do.
TB: One of the things you mentioned before was unemployment. Can I ask how this has affected your financial health?
LSP: I am one of the lucky ones. My wife is still working her full-time job. But we are no longer a gainfully employed two-income home. Personally, it hurts so much not to have my Broadway show. I take a great deal of pride in working—that is a whole other conversation about being a mom and loving my full-time job.
But financially, we are better than most. We still have a five-month-old who needs diapers and formula. We are just hoping that she doesn't get sick. There is insurance and all these other things that come up. Like, we are still paying for our lives back home [in New York City], but now we are a one-income family. We are living here now, but all these responsibilities didn't turn off. Until unemployment kicked in, it was a conversation of "Are we going to make it? If this goes into the summer, how do we survive?" Thankfully, unemployment did start. But we went from being really comfortable and saving to thinking about dipping into those savings to take care of both places.
TB: What would you say is the hardest lesson you have learned so far in this situation?
LSP: I think there are two parts. First, as an educator and student of my craft, I look at a class very differently now, especially when it comes to dance. I don't know if I need to be in close proximity to other people to warm up. When I am doing a ballet bar now, I am thinking, 'Do I need to be in class for the bar? Or is it the centering that I miss?' Ah, I miss the centering. I need to be in the dance class for the center work. When I am teaching, how do I teach my kids to really and truly do real warm-ups? Because what they really need from me as an educator is center work. That has been the thing that I have sat with the most. I have to do that in order to stay sharp. But it is something I could be doing at home.
The other half is that I miss people, both as a dancer and an actor. I miss being able to talk to someone within arm's each. I miss hearing someone crack on notes. I miss doing partner work and feeling someone's sweat. That sense of community and the sense that genuinely we are in this together—that is hitting me for the first time. That is what makes it okay for me to say, "Baby, [speaking to her child, who is currently in her arms] I am going to go to work now." That sense of camaraderie is really, really special. And as someone who has always been a strong-willed person, I don't think I gave community as much credit until this happened. I really need it, and a lot of us do. It has been tough to let go of that community.
TB: So six weeks ago, can you talk me through a normal day?
LSP: Prior to isolation, our nanny would get to the house, and I would force myself out after saying goodbye for 15 minutes. I would go to the gym and workout, warm myself vocally, go over some music and lines, and then go to the theater. From there, I would mentally and physically walk around doing the choreography, trying to say lines, and making sense of the show. I would be in the theater doing that work until 10 or 11 at night.
On days where I would be teaching at AMDA [The American Musical and Dramatic Academy], I would spend my 15 minutes saying goodbye, getting on the subway, and going teach my class. After that, I would go to the gym, warm-up, and get to the theater to go over my lines and any changes. I got to be absorbed in theater and dance, and that was pretty cool.
TB: How do you think that the pandemic will change the musical landscape going forward?
LSP: I have my theory on how things should change, but these are my thoughts about what we need to do. First, we have to remember that until everybody can get tested and there is a vaccine, we should be staying at least three to four feet away from each other. How do we accommodate the seats to highlight that? As someone who has produced plays with friends of mine, it should be in a producer's insurance that you can pay your cast, crew, and creative teams if a situation like this happens.
As an educator and a student of my craft, we will have to reconsider how we are doing class. People are going in and out of rehearsal spaces, and those are not being cleaned until the end of the day. We should be thinking about how long these classes really need to be and, 'How quickly can we clean these spaces? How many people can safely be in one class? How do we protect each other?'
I think that we have to reevaluate how we do that moving forward. Because we don't have the vaccine, and it is very possible that we may not have it for another year and a half. And so for that time, how do we get through without everyone getting sick again? These are the things I would look at if I were in charge.
As I talk to friends back in New York, the one redeeming quality of this pandemic is how clear the air is. That is another thing I would change. Why do we need to drive everywhere? How many cars actually need to be on the road? And how many people need to be on a subway car? We have a virus that is taking out our respiratory system and our senses. We have to be better to this earth and our bodies. If we don't start thinking about how we can be better to our earth, the earth will get us.
TB: What advice would you give to young performers at this moment?
LSP: It varies from day-to-day because many times when I go into the classroom, I want to be as positive as humanly possible. But I am trying to get a couple of things through to my students when I am doing my online classes.
Within musical theater, we think of ourselves as athletes. Things like sleeping with humidifiers, steaming that is a necessity to do what we do. Not a luxury. Certainly, not something you do once you get the show. If there is anything that I'm trying to make sure that my kids get now, it is how to take care of yourself. Especially during something as crazy as what we are going through right now. The last thing you want to do is be breathing in cold air and then trying to sing. It is not just something for the leads in the play to be doing; all of us need to be doing it because we are all very important to the piece.
The second thing I have been trying to stress to all of my students is we are so needed as artists. Our voices are needed, not only for bringing happiness but for the transparency that comes with an artist saying, "This is what I've gone through. This is what I have experienced. This is what I experience around me." This is so needed. Not just from the perspective of how I look on my social media page, but this is what I am genuinely feeling. Genuinely, this is what I am going through. Genuinely, this is what my community is going through. To take on the responsibility of how important it is to be present, with our feet on the ground, during a time like this is going to make us that much stronger when we emerge. We have got to be stronger and take what it is that we do very seriously.
TB: Thank you so much for the time that you have spent with me. Before I ask my last question, is there anything else that you would like to say?
LSP: More than anything, I have become so grateful for what we do and the opportunities we are given. I am proud to be an actor. I am so honored that the universe gave me this talent and has given me opportunities to express myself and learn about who I am and about other people via this art and this craft. I am thankful to COVID-19 for really giving me the opportunity to say thank you.
TB: What is your video binge recommendation?
LSP: We had to do Tiger King; that is the first thing. We have also watched Sesame Street from 2015-2020. We really nailed it! We have also been watching Better Call Saul from the very beginning.
TB: It has been a pleasure talking with you today and hearing your story.
“Move On” from Daybreak by Bobby Cronin
LaQuet Sharnell Pringle, voice
Addendum
May 2, 2021
It has been slightly over a year since I spoke to Ms. Pringle, and since our discussion, she has not slowed down. At the end of this summer, she will complete her undergraduate degree at SUNY Empire State College in Theatre History with a minor in Sociology. This educational experience has been uplifting and transformative for her life as an artist and as a student—growing through classes in mathematics, sociology, or history. In reflecting on the Pandemic, she explained, "There is a world of opportunity ahead of me that wasn't there when the Pandemic began. Now, I am getting to meld and mold these two talents into oneself, and it is exhilarating."
One of the main pillars in Ms. Pringle's life is her child. As discussed in the first interview, being home and watching her infant learn to crawl was an extraordinary experience. When we spoke again, she shared new experiences: watching how the child was learning how to explore her own physicality as she grows into being a human being. Currently, she is taking the initial steps, doing squats, and learning how to jump with assistance. These lessons have also turned into learning about emotions: laughter and sadness and how they affect the human experience. Currently, they have begun thinking about moving her to daycare to assist her in socialization and development in other educational skills.
While being a primary caregiver to her daughter has been a gift, this transition had both a financial and psychological impact. When talking with me, Ms. Pringle noted that her family had been negatively impacted by not performing in Broadway productions. They have been fortunate that her wife maintained her work throughout the Pandemic, but that meant becoming a stay-at-home mother for Ms. Pringle. And while being able to experience her daughter's development has been a highlight for her, it's important to remember that she had no choice in the matter. Subsequently, Ms. Pringle joined the growing trend of women that were forced to become stay-at-home parents while navigating life during a pandemic.
Ms. Pringle noted that having to be an at-home parent helped her to confront her "perceptions of what being a stay-at-home mom looked like." She continued, "I've had to swallow a lot of the words that I had said about stay-at-home parents. Because the job that I have been on this past year has been tremendous work." Even besides the work of parenting, she notes that the change of life and stigma that came with it has meant confronting anxiety and depression, which she has managed with solid family support, her wife, and her therapist.
With Broadway planning to reopen in Fall 2021, Ms. Pringle is thinking about the transition for her family and herself back into the world of performance. This transition will begin this summer as her daughter enters daycare. As we spoke about this upcoming change, Ms. Pringle recollected our previous interview in which she spoke about spending 15 minutes saying goodbye to her daughter. In considering that time in the near future, she said, "Those 15 minutes of saying goodbye are going to be there in a different way now. Because she is at the stage where she needs her independence in a healthy school environment for her own understanding that she is of my body, but she is her own person."
The COVID-19 Pandemic has taught American society many lessons, especially lessons about dealing and living with/in uncertainty. However, in returning to Broadway, Ms. Pringle spoke passionately about how far we have to come in dealing with diversity and equality after the Pandemic.
The complicated side of this is that we have to confront many injustices. The optimistic side of me says, "We're going to confront it and take it head-on to create meaningful solutions." The black, lesbian, and queer woman says, "I don't know if we are really ready." I know many of us are ready to have the hard conversations and address the hard solutions that have to happen for there to be just an equitable workplace. We have to start there first because, at the present moment, it is not. What I have learned from my isolation is that it is essential to call out injustice. But, it is not easy to create solutions and meaningful action.
That is the more challenging work to do. Especially within the theater community, where we are a group that labels ourselves as liberal, we haven't addressed the patriarchal weight that has been on all of us. We have not addressed cultural appropriation and race issues, sexuality issues, or class issues that led us to this field. That is the work. (Ms. Pringle)
And while she has noted that these are complex topics, her education remains a pillar to addressing these subjects. She plans to finish her bachelor's degree and continue to a master's degree while writing about her experience of having experienced bias from her diverse background. She noted to me that these writings include plays, poetry, and prose. Additionally and more broadly, her plan consists of a training and hiring system that promotes unheard voices for the stage in all capacities. Not only singing but directing and writing as well. In her words: "These young people, who represent all of us—the complexities, colors, and identities—are going to give us such remarkable ideas about how we can reinvent. Like, how we can reinvent marketing, new works, and the actual shape of the theater. If we don't give them the time, we have already failed."
It is remarkable to speak to Ms. Pringle again after more than a year. While she has experienced her fair share of difficulties during this period, what strikes me is that it does not appear difficult for her as I observe from the outside. She seems ever empowered by life's hurdles and from working to create a new world. She will be returning to Mrs. Doubtfire on Broadway in the fall and notes that her approach is to create a new, more equitable theatre. Furthermore, Ms. Pringle is uplifted by the role art has played in supporting people in the Pandemic. From Sesame Street for her child to Amanda Gorman's Inaugural poem, COVID-19 has created space for shared artistic moments of beauty.
About LaQuet Sharnell Pringle
LaQuet Sharnell Pringle began her dance training at the late age of 14 in Dallas, Texas. To make up for lost time, she attended the acclaimed Booker T. Washington HS for the Performing and Visual Arts (BTW). She also received additional training at The Dallas Powerhouse of Dance under the direction of Kim McSwain. While in HS she received numerous awards from NYCDA (National Outstanding Dancer Finalist), Co.Dance (National Teaching Assistant), Jacob’s Pillow (Scholarship Recipient), Broadway Theatre Project (Scholarship Recipient and Showcase Soloist), NYU Summer Intensive (Scholarship recipient) and the National Foundation for the Advancement of Arts (Honorable Mention Modern Dance, Merit Award Jazz Dance). Upon graduation from BTW she went on to train at the University of NC School of the Arts as Contemporary Dance major. There she studied Limon, Cunningham, Nikolasis dance techniques and Improvisation.
She is a proud graduate of the William Esper Studios, training specifically with Master Meisner Acting teacher William Esper. There she received additional acting training in Movement, Voice & Speech, Alexander, and Script Analysis. LaQuet is also, a proud graduate of SUNY Empire State College where she received a BA in Theater History with a minor in sociology.
As a performer her professional credits have been seen on Broadway/National Tour: Mrs. Doubtfire (U/S Wanda Sellner), Beautiful The Carole King Musical, Lysistrata Jones (Myhrinne), Memphis The Musical (Ethel), The Lion King, Sweet Charity (Helene U/S perf), Off Broadway: Make Mine Manhattan, Ave Q (Gary Coleman U/S), Regional: Flashdance (Kiki), Candide (NYC Opera), The Wiz (Dorothy), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Charlaine), Princess-A New Musical, Chicago (Cell Block Tango), Footloose (Wendy Jo, U/S Rusty), AIDA, Nights on Broadway III (Vocal Swing), Shrek- The Musical (NY Workshop), Jawbreaker The Musical (Featured Vocalist), Caty Bridgewater A Musical (Caty Bridgewater), The Submission (Emelie), Closer (Alice), The Dead Guy (Gina), Television/Film: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Lion King Dancer), As the World Turns (Hair Stylist), Step Up 3D (Tango Dancer), Devoted (Short Film), Sylvia Plath Project (Short Film). Industrials: Mary Kay, Viacom, and Bloomberg Enterprises.
Her choreography has been seen in Hair The Musical, The Addams Family, Mixtape The Musical, Texas Musical Theater Workshop, Bruce Wood Dance Project, Houston Met Pre- Professional Company, Food Like Love (short film), Sylvia Plath Project (short film). Additionally, she has served as an associate director to Lorin Lattaro and Dan Domenech on multiple readings and workshops.
Her most proud accomplishments are seen as an educator. She served as an adjunct faculty member at Texas State University Musical Theater Department, AMDA Conservatory, and NY Film Academy. Her masterclasses have been celebrated at The Performing Arts Project, Dance Planet 19 (Dallas, Tx), VIP Dance Conventions, Metro Movement Dance (Toronto, ON), Texas Christian University, Ft. Worth Country Day Arts HS, and Booker T. Washington HS for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Her philosophy is through freedom of expression and individuality, artists are able to combine technique with artistry which allows us all to shine. laquetsharnellpringle.com
