{"id":39946,"date":"2021-11-12T16:37:38","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T16:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=39946"},"modified":"2021-11-12T16:37:38","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T16:37:38","slug":"alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Alexandra
Alexandra Shipp (Photo: Thomas Concordia\/Getty Images for Supper Suite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alexandra Shipp\u2019s is the first and last voice we hear in Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!<\/em>, a film that is full of soaring, joyful, impassioned voices\u2014though, funnily enough, she isn\u2019t singing in either instance. Her opening voiceover serves as a guide, a brief primer on the man at the center of the musical. In a sense, she\u2019s the voice of memory. Based on Rent<\/em> creator Jonathan Larson\u2019s autobiographical stage show, Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!<\/em> is an unusual hybrid of biopic and musical, deftly helmed by Lin-Manuel Miranda<\/a> in his feature directorial debut. Andrew Garfield stars as Larson, who is struggling to finish writing his first musical before his impending 30th birthday. Shipp plays his long-suffering girlfriend Susan, a dancer who is beginning to imagine a life beyond the day-to-day struggles of surviving as an artist in early \u201990s New York City.<\/p>\n

As the film opens in select theaters\u2014with a debut on Netflix<\/a> coming on November 19\u2014GRAZIA chatted with Shipp about movie musicals, the real-life inspiration behind her character and working with powerhouse performers like Garfield and Miranda.<\/p>\n

How familiar were you with Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom! <\/em>before you were cast in the film? <\/strong><\/p>\n

My particular relationship to Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!<\/em> was knowing Jonathan Larson through Rent<\/em>. I was a big fan of Rent<\/em>. I had never seen Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!<\/em> onstage, so when I first got the audition, I dove into as many YouTube videos as I could find. I listened to the soundtrack over and over and over again. I was just like, Alex, you have got to absorb more! <\/em>It really deepened and broadened [the experience] for me.<\/p>\n

What kind of relationship did you have to musical theater? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I love<\/em> movie musicals. I know it\u2019s controversial, you know? A lot of people are like, You gotta see it onstage!<\/em> And I\u2019m like, Yes, of course. Duh!<\/em> But to see it [at home] means that I get to rewind it\u2014or used to be able to rewind it. I get to watch it over and over and over again. Some of my most formative memories of musicals were on VHS, you know? Watching Grease<\/em>, watching West Side Story<\/em>. I grew up loving Shirley Temple, and I had an entire boxed set [of her movies]. I have always loved movie musicals, so to finally be a part of one\u2026It just feels like a really beautiful full circle moment.<\/p>\n

\"Andrew
Andrew Garfield and Alexandra Shipp on the set of Tick, Tick…Boom!<\/i> (Photo: Jose Perez\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The film is sort of bookended by voiceovers from your character. How do you interpret that choice to have Susan set the scene at the beginning of the film and effectively eulogize Jonathan Larson at the end?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s a testament to how much she and Jonathan loved each other in real life\u2014not only in the film. There is such a mutual love and respect. In our final scene together where we\u2019re saying\u2026not goodbye, but just parting ways\u2014it\u2019s a major theme within the movie, it\u2019s timing<\/em>. Right? Love is just timing. And sometimes it\u2019s the wrong time for people. And when Lin asked me to narrate the top and the end of the film, it was such an honor to be able to do that, and I think only showed the audience that much more of the connection that she had with him and the love that they shared. The reason why it didn\u2019t work out was because of time, and that is just something that is so relatable.<\/p>\n

Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!<\/em> is autobiographical. Do you know if there was a real-life analog for your character, and did you have the chance to speak to her? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, so Susan is a real person. She really dated Jonathan. When he writes about her in the play, he\u2019s literally writing about their problems. Which is so wonderful and probably was insanely frustrating for her. I think that\u2019s the thing about dating a writer; when they write about what they know you just so happen to come up! [Laughs<\/em>] So, yeah, there was a real love there and she really was in his life. And she made it to every show in real life.<\/p>\n

Did you try to get in touch with her to discuss the character? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, I really wanted to meet her, but sadly COVID happened and I wasn\u2019t able to. But I know that she\u2019s a firm supporter of this film, and I just hope that I was able to do her justice with the tools that I had. I got to speak to other people in their lives. His sister Julie Larson was onset all the time. And so, I got a lot of information from her and the people around Jonathan.<\/p>\n

\"Garfield
Garfield and Shipp in Tick, Tick… Boom!<\/i> (Photo: Macall Polay\/Netflix)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!<\/em> is about the struggles of creative people. I wondered how it compares to your experience as a performer. Was there anything that you particularly related to? Or was there anything that cast your own experience in a different light? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I think I related to so much of the film in the sense that it really does show the struggle of artists and the true ups and downs of the wins and losses. Throughout my career, especially at the beginning, whenever there\u2019s a loss there\u2019s this question of: Am I doing what I\u2019m supposed to be doing right now? <\/em>And within this movie, that\u2019s just such a throughline. When Jonathan doesn\u2019t get his show picked up by a [producer], he runs to Michael [Robin de Jes\u00fas] and is like, \u201cI wanna have a job!\u201d I\u2019ve had those moments where I\u2019m like, Alex, you can\u2019t do anything else. This is all you\u2019ve ever done. This is what you love.<\/em> I started in theater when I was 10. There\u2019s no going back, you know what I mean?<\/p>\n

Talk to me about working with Lin-Manuel Miranda. I imagine you\u2019ve worked with first-time directors before, but Lin-Manuel Miranda isn\u2019t just any first-time director.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think one of the best things about working with Lin was his excitement and love for performance. He really knows how to take all of the mismatched ideas and ingredients that I would come to him with and really create this beautiful meal. He is so intentional with the things that he does. The way that he sees the world and how he wants to capture it is just so special. Having him pull those moments out of me\u2014some things that I didn\u2019t really want to look at, you know? And being able to use that for this performance was just\u2026prime<\/em>. I\u2019ve worked with a lot of first-time directors, and everyone has their own individual level of brilliance. But Lin just knows what he\u2019s doing, even when it\u2019s his first time doing it. He has an idea and it just rocks. And I\u2019m like, What\u2019s that like? <\/em>I bet you that\u2019s a really great place to be!<\/p>\n

Andrew Garfield\u2019s role requires him to be such a ball of energy and enthusiasm for so much of the film. What was it like playing opposite that? Did you feel like you had to keep up, or was it more like creating a contrast? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Working with Andrew, you\u2019re working with a thoroughbred actor. He is so talented and intelligent, and his choices are so specific. I obviously knew his work coming into this experience, and I wanted to rise to the occasion. So, I dove deep into my research, not only of this Jonathan Larson play in particular, but of Susan and I tried to stay as true to Susan and how I<\/em> saw her, but also being open enough to go back and forth with Andrew. We really found this beautiful love language between Jonathan and Susan that I think translates not only when we see them in their sweet, intimate moments, but also when we see them in their darker fighting moments. There\u2019s a way that people talk to someone that they love even when they\u2019re yelling at them, and I loved where we got with that.<\/p>\n

\"Garfield
Garfield and Shipp on set with director Lin-Manuel Miranda (Photo: Jose Perez\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I wanted to ask you about the song \u201cTherapy.\u201d The song itself is played for comedy, but it\u2019s intercut with scenes of a really devastating fight between Jonathan and Susan. Can you tell me about playing that scene from your end? Did you have to put the song out of you mind in order to get to the real emotion of that fight? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Coming onto set that day, I was out for blood, you know? I got there before I even got to work, honey! I was, like, This motherf*cker won\u2019t answer his phone? I\u2019ve been trying to talk to him. He\u2019s just being a neurotic artist\u2026<\/em> I had this whole inner monologue, so when I walked on set, I was like, \u201cWe need<\/em> to talk\u2026\u201d And I held onto that energy.<\/p>\n

In the original play, I\u2019m singing \u201cTherapy\u201d with him, whereas in the film, I\u2019m not<\/em> singing \u201cTherapy\u201d with him. Which, I think, also helped me stay in that mindset. I wasn\u2019t thinking about the song. I was thinking about the relationship. What\u2019s cool about this movie is it goes from these dark, sad, terrible moments to these really beautiful, smiling, laughing moments as well.<\/p>\n

As you said, in the stage version, your character is played by the same actor who plays Vanessa Hudgens\u2019s character Karessa. Obviously, having those roles played by two different actors means that you don\u2019t get to sing as much. I was curious about that choice and how you felt about it. <\/strong><\/p>\n

What I love about Lin is, like I said, he\u2019s intentional. And he had specific ideas for what he wanted\u2014even out of the music. He\u2019s a musician, he\u2019s a composer. And I trust his process. I didn\u2019t need to sing all the songs if I got to sing \u201cCome to Your Senses,\u201d you know what I mean? So much builds up to that song that I\u2019m like, This means that much more<\/em>. I think that\u2019s what he\u2019s going for.<\/p>\n

I feel like it\u2019s been a big year for movie musicals. Other than Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!<\/em>, are there any that you\u2019ve been especially into so far? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I mean, I loved In the Heights<\/em>. I don\u2019t know any Lin-Manuel Miranda fan who didn\u2019t! I thought it was beautiful. I\u2019m really excited for West Side Story<\/em>. I remember first seeing that movie and, you know, I\u2019m American and yet I was [singing], \u201cI want to be in America!\u201d I\u2019m so ready for that to come out!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29097,"featured_media":39947,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[38,3324,16],"yoast_head":"\nAlexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alexandra Shipp discusses her role opposite Andrew Garfield in Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut, Tick, Tick... Boom!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alexandra Shipp discusses her role opposite Andrew Garfield in Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut, Tick, Tick... Boom!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1323278944-e1636648497531.jpg?fit=1986%2C1116\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1986\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1116\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/\",\"name\":\"Alexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-12T16:37:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-12T16:37:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Alexandra Shipp discusses her role opposite Andrew Garfield in Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut, Tick, Tick... Boom!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\",\"name\":\"Grazia USA\",\"description\":\"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019","description":"Alexandra Shipp discusses her role opposite Andrew Garfield in Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut, Tick, Tick... Boom!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019","og_description":"Alexandra Shipp discusses her role opposite Andrew Garfield in Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut, Tick, Tick... Boom!","og_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/","og_site_name":"Grazia USA","og_image":[{"width":1986,"height":1116,"url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1323278944-e1636648497531.jpg?fit=1986%2C1116","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/","name":"Alexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-11-12T16:37:38+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-12T16:37:38+00:00","description":"Alexandra Shipp discusses her role opposite Andrew Garfield in Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut, Tick, Tick... Boom!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alexandra-shipp-tick-tick-boom-interview\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alexandra Shipp Only Needed One Song to Make An Impact in \u2018Tick, Tick\u2026 Boom!\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/","name":"Grazia USA","description":"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Grazia USA","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/39946"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}