UCF alumna Abby Jaros poses with costumes she wore five years ago as a musical theatre student. (Photo by Bella Martinez)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/nYou auditioned for the show nine times before getting your role as Woman One. Did you always feel it was going to work out eventually?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n I was holding onto that hope. I had gotten some reinforcement from the creatives I was working with in the audition process. They were giving a lot of great feedback. I was thankfully on a first-name basis with some of them. Things don/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019t happen for a reason in certain places and that/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s just how life is./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n
My friend, Phil Colgan, who is also on the tour with me, found out the same day I did. He texted me that night, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201cI have something to tell you./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201d I said, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201cWe should get drinks this week because I have something to tell you, too./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201d The next day he called me and he/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s like, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201cNo. I have something to tell you./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201d We had to keep it a secret for six months until they were ready to announce it. Anytime he and I saw a Hamilton poster, we took a picture with it and thought, one day we can share this. It was hard to keep it a secret because I am someone who is in auditions every day. When people stop seeing you at those or stop seeing you on that grind, they say, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201cWait a minute, what/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s happening?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201d You have to play dumb to it, and that was very hard./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/nTell me about your character./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m Woman One. She/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s sassy. She/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s fun. You have to be able to do all things that I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019ve studied my whole life and at this institution. You have to be able to act through dance and song. I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m singing soprano, so I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m singing the highest track on the show and still dancing a lot. I really get a fulfillment of all the areas./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n
And you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019re doing all that while wearing a corset. What/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s that like?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n We do have a vest we have for a couple of the larger dance numbers, but we still dance a lot in the corset. I don/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019t even know if I can explain it. There are times that even though my arms aren/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019t tied down, I feel like I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m in a straightjacket because I can only move certain parts. We have to dance with it, and we have to make it look easy. I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019ve definitely gained a serious core dancing in one. That/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s for sure./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n
How does the experience compare to your expectations when you first got the gig?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n I knew there was a big following with the show but until you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019re in it, you don/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019t realize how much you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019re in the spotlight all the time. And I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m in the ensemble, I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m not even some of the people who get recognized from the show. It really does become your 24/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107//7 life. I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m very grateful for that, but it definitely was more intense than I had realized./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n
Why do you think Hamilton resonates with so many people?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n“There are so many times Hamilton was shot down, but he never gave up. I think that is a huge theme we can learn from this.”/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/nTo me, there are multiple reasons. I was never very good at history, but putting it to music and dance, OK now I get it. I think that/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s the answer for a lot of people. I also think with the representation of different colors and sizes on our stage, it represents America and what people see in the people who were the founding fathers of our country and building this big thing we have now. I think it gives a lot of hope to people. It just is revolutionary in the musical theatre world. There are just so many answers to that. And I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m still finding more and more answers to that all the time, especially when fans come up to you at the stage door and say, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201cThis resonated with me today./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u201d There are so many times Hamilton was shot down, but he never gave up. I think that is a huge theme we can learn from this./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/nWhat is your day-to-day routine like?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n We get to sit down in places for a while and really get to know areas of the country that we/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019re performing in, which is amazing. We have eight shows a week, and five of them are on the weekend, which can be intense. It/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s a lot of Hamilton in three days. Our cast rallies through that. Mondays are the days to explore and live your life. I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019ve had to learn to build a schedule because being on the road and living out of a suitcase is tough. I go to the grocery store and meal prep for the week. I usually work out Wednesdays through Fridays. There/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s still life stuff going on. Taxes are coming up, so I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m dealing with that. I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019m constantly striving to keep my personal life and my professional/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107//career life balanced./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n
What has helped keep your life balanced?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/nMy dog Ernie. He is a Brussels Griffon, and he has an Instagram (@LilErnieBigJourney). I got him four months ago. I think there are actually about eight dogs on our tour with us. A lot of us have gotten them in the last few months. I was in a little bit of a slump personally. It can get lonely on the road, and I was trying to figure out what I could do. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people, especially people on the road who were making it work. If I was going to bring in another life into my life, I needed to make sure I was going to be able to be responsible for it. He has been the best little addition. He is known around town every city we go to. He/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s a ham. And it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s led to meeting a lot of cool people. I was at the dog park yesterday for two hours and met a lot of local people and just got to chat with them. It/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s so great. He/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s brought a lot of happiness to me./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n
What have been some of your favorite experiences away from the stage in the cities you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019ve visited?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n What is really cool about being on this show is a lot of people know about it so they want to show us their world. They are so gracious to give us their time and invite us for VIP tours. When we were in Durham we got to go to the Duke Lemur Center. We/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019ve done Anecestry.com headquarters in Salt Lake City. With Ernie, now I get to walk more and experience the culture. It was a part of my life on the road that I didn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019t explore until I had him. It/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/u2019s great to walk around and see different shops and meet people and talk to people. Every place has its own trademark./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/nAbby Jaros auditioned for Hamilton nine times before earning a spot on the U.S. Tour./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Abby Jaros ’14 discusses her experience as a cast member in the hit musical that’s currently captivating audiences in downtown Orlando./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":94113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[15992,3,28],"tags":[17023,5995,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-94107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-arts","category-theatre-ucf","tag-college-of-arts-and-humanities","tag-theatre","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n
What's it like to Tour with 'Hamilton'? This UCF Alumna Shares the Details/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/94107/n