Q&A: Matthew Steffens
Where are you from? Originally Virginia Beach, VA, but my dad was a navy SEAL so i moved all over, but i think of VIRGINIA as home
Broadway credits: Doctor Zhivago, Promises Promises, Women on the Verge...
How did you hear you’d booked your first Broadway show? I was doing a Fiddler on the Roof in Philadelphia and i had come up for the day to do the audition in NYC to become the vacation swing for Promises, Promises. The next day i was walking home from having run an understudy rehearsal and called my agent back and got the news on the streets of Philly. I was dancing. I still remember exactly where i was when i found out. I was walking past this gorgeous old bank!
What is your favorite event in the Broadway community? So many events bring the Broadway community in a positive way, whether it be Gypsy of the Year, Broadway Flea Market, softball league, Broadway Bares, but I love the Gypsy Robe. I think that it connects us to our past and continuously brings us together as a community. It also connects shows because you are always passing on the robe to the next show.
What’s something about Broadway that fascinates you? how small it is. There are so many talented people out there, and when i meet someone it’s always amazing how our circles intersect.
What, other than theatre, has inspired you recently? I was in the mountains at Camp Rivers Bend where i go every summer to work with youth in the outdoors and the silence of nature and the outdoors was inspiring in that it reminded how simplicity can reign in everything in life.
If I could have coffee with any living person, it would be…oh, wow, this is hard. I think I’d love to have coffee with Ricky Martin. I loved him growing up and he has a great heart and friends say he is awesome.
If I could trade places with anybody for a day, I would choose… this is even harder!!! I think it would be with a villager in a village in Africa. Their culture is SO DIFFERENT from ours and it would really make me appreciate all that i have.
To be successful in this business, it takes… hard work and being prepared. I also think you have to do the free jobs to make good connections because those are what lead to the paying jobs. Everyone wants to work with people they like working with.
Tell us a secret. I have NO CONTROL when it comes to eating sweets. If i buy a thing of cookies, i will eat them two at a time till they are all gone!
