How I Got the Job: Interview with Broadway Actor Zurin Villanueva

Written by Kenneth Ray

August 16, 2017

How many times have you heard the phrase “Be kind to everyone! You never know where your next job is coming from!”? Well it’s true! Welcome to Performer Stuff’s new series that celebrates the unique ways performers book gigs!

Today’s feature is an interview with actress Zurin Villanueva who reveals how she landed her gig as a swing in the Tony Nominated Musical Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed! After you read her interview, visit her website and follow her on Instagram!

How did your journey with Shuffle Along begin?


I was on the Book of Mormon tour in San Francisco. I had let go of my agent and only had a manager at the time. I had been with Mormon for close to two years and was beyond ready to go, but getting a job while you’re on the road is hard. You have to be able to travel to audition or book from a tape. I knew Shuffle Along was happening, and I already had two 1920’s style shows on my resume (Josephine Tonight and Ain’t Misbehavin’) and extensive tap experience. I heard a girl I knew from college had booked it, and I was incensed because I knew I could too if I was there. I called my manager, Maurice Hines (my director from Josephine Tonight) and Andre Deshields (who directed me in Ain’t Misbehavin’) to see if they could get me an audition. No dice. I was out of options. I was frustrated and angry. That’s when it was time for the secret known as prayer! I couldn’t be angry anymore because that energy doesn’t bring things to you. I declared I would get off the tour with another job!



I started getting ready to leave the tour to show The Universe I meant business. No more than 2 weeks later I get a message in my inbox from Savion Glover’s associate choreographer who was working on Shuffle Along. I had met him at least four years ago when I went to see Chloe and Maude tap solo shows on the lower east side just because I loved tap. We spoke briefly and connected via Facebook back then, and I thought little about it. Yet here he was asking me if I still tapped, and if I could come to a dance call for Shuffle Along! The very show I was calling up ghosts of my past to get into! I told my stage manager I had a personal issue to handle at home on Sunday and flew for one day across two time zones to audition. I even made it back in time for the Tuesday night show!

What was the audition process like?


Tap dance was the very first thing I ever did. I started when I was 7 years old. All that being said, I can’t lie… I. WAS. RUSTY. I was in a rhythm tap group called Loud and Clear in high school and we used to take class together all the time but that was then. Now, I had been doing musical theatre tap (if any at all), and that was few and far between. Musical theatre tap is often quite simple when placed in shows. So here I was with my ticket to freedom, but I had to get through this audition first. I was in Salt Lake City at this point, and there weren’t any rhythm tap classes there, so I hit YouTube University. I found this guy doing some light rhythm and did whatever he told me to do for the two weeks prior to my audition.



When I arrived at Chelsea Studios in New York on the day of my audition, there were about fifteen men and women at the call. I knew a few of them. Savion comes out and does his call and response way of teaching. Basically, he does about a four-count rhythm and you copy. There are no descriptions of steps — just “I do it, then you do it.” I was barely keeping up but just enough not to quit. I refused to quit. I needed out of the tour. Once we finished dancing I was invited to continue with the rest of the audition. Now the easy part — singing! I walked in there and sang big-time! Then they asked me to sing a snippet from the show which they taught me right there with the panel looking at me. Then they gave me the musical directors big o.k. book to hold in one hand while I sang the last 16 bars of the song. It was so weird and awkward, but I refused to let that stop me and worked it the best I could. After that, I thought I was done and they called me into another room with the assistant choreographer to learn another tap combination. At this point I’m freaking out and it almost got the better of my feet. Luckily, the assistant was so sweet and talked me down. I went back in and danced it by myself. The Savion (the choreographer) says “Just do a little improv. I wanna know what your style is.” My style?? Hunny, I had no idea! So in that moment I made it up. While he’s talking, I literally said to myself, “OK, my style is going to be hips and turns. I did exactly that! Afterward, the director George C. Wolfe asked me where I was from, and I proudly stated Brooklyn! Then the casting director Jordan asked what my out [date] is with Mormon. I told him 4 weeks, and I got a call just over a week later!

How did it feel to finally book your first Broadway gig?


It felt amazing. It felt like the first time I booked any gig ever. It felt like the first time I got a production contract. It feels like you won the lottery. It feels like flying. It feels like you finally have done something right.

Did you ever think that a Facebook message from a casual acquaintance could lead to such a huge opportunity?


Not to that level! I had gotten some smaller jobs through Facebook but Broadway?? Just goes to show don’t ever discount any professional relationship. I’m so mad they changed Facebook messenger because now you don’t get your messages right away popping up on the screen! They’re messing with my money! (Laughs.)

More about Zurin:


Zurin is a New York based actress originally from Brooklyn, NY. Her credits include Broadway: Shuffle Along, Mean Girls (2018) National Tour: Book of Mormon, Nobody’s Perfect. Regional: Ragtime (Barrington Stage) Mama Mia (Pittsburgh PCLO) Ruined (Everyman Theatre), Good News (Goodspeed Opera House), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Crossroads), Josephine Tonight! (Metro Stage), and Crowns (Arena Stage). Workshop: Invisible Thread (ART). She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Howard University and is a graduate of LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York City.



Hungry for more interviews? Check out our other stories below!

Kenneth J. Ray is an exceptionally versatile actor and educator. As an actor, he completed his undergraduate training at Howard University under Emmy winner Al Freeman Jr. and at The British American Drama Academy with John Barton and Mark Wing Davey. Upon moving to New York in 2012, Kenneth continued rigorous graduate level training with the nation’s foremost master teachers including: Jayd McCarty (The Actors Center), Fay Simpson (Yale School ofDrama/ NYU Grad Acting), Lucas Caleb Rooney (Juilliard), Roz Coleman Williams (NYU), Chris Bayes (Yale School of Drama) and Ilse Pfeifer. He has enjoyed an array of diverse performance opportunities at regional theatres all over the country including The Kennedy Center. Kenneth has been a teaching artist with Young Playwrights Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, Success Academy Charter Schools, Duke Ellington School for the Arts and Howard University. He is a highly sought after audition coach whose clients have appeared on Broadway, National/International Tours and numerous television roles.