If ever there were a woman who can’t be sufficiently understood through a written interview, it’s Mackenzie Perpich. On tour for the first time with the classic musical ANNIE, this bubbly girl just has too much joy and excitement for life to be contained on paper. But I will try…
As a swing, this insanely talented performer’s job is to know her own ensemble role as well as four other roles in the show so she can take over at a moment’s notice if another performer is out. First tour ever. First swing gig ever. Touring with ANNIE has brought welcome new experiences to Mackenzie. Check out the five major things I learned from my conversation with her!
- Tour life is no joke
It’s way harder than I ever imagined. I mean, it’s rewarding, and it’s an adventure for sure. I’m very adventurous, so I do like that aspect of it. But it’s definitely harder than I ever imagined. It’s hard on your body even just to sleep in a different bed every night! And then you’re trying to sleep on the bus sometimes. You’re curled up, and your arm’s asleep, and your knee is stiff, and you’re like, “How did I get here…?” - Sleeping on a bus is an art form
You just stretch out over that seat and do what you can. I curl up in a little ball and put my eye-mask on, and I can sleep for like 6 hours. It’s insane! - Touring with 10-year-olds means embracing your inner child
I honestly, I don’t know what I’m gonna do on the next tour I go on, if I go on another tour, because I’ll just be like, “Where are the children? Who can I have a sleepover with?” My roommate and I and our “littles” had an old-fashioned slumber party a couple weeks ago which was so fun!
- Learning five roles basically means you have to be a genius
Your brain’s going a million miles a second. But I think it’s fun. I think it’s exciting. And I haven’t had any crazy “swing in the middle of the show” moments, so we’ll see how I feel about it after I have to do one of those! - It’s never the end. Just onto the next thing.
I’m a little insane. We finish May 21, then on May 23 I head out to Staten Island to compete in the Miss New York competition. I’m a pageant girl. It’s crazy! I’ll have a couple days, to recuperate, repack, and then go out again. That’s my next immediate thing. We’re in the middle of audition season, so we’ll see what happens for the summer. So that’s it for now, but it’s enough.
Click here for more information on how to catch Mackenzie and the cast of ANNIE playing across the country!
For more interviews, reviews, and Twitter sass, follow @BwayGinger. And then let’s be best friends and fangirl over Aaron Tveit together, ok?