All thanks to Theatre Washington for connecting us, we are so thrilled to catch up with an alum whose Encore role knew how to “break free” and remind us that in theatre, we are all in this together. Meet Encore alum, Jimmy Mavrikes!
My name is Jimmy Mavrikes! I did one show with Encore, High School Musical in 2007; I played Troy Bolton. I had not heard of Encore before, but really wanted to do a production of HSM with my best friend, so we went to the audition even though we lived over an hour away in Southern Maryland. I showed up for the audition in flashy plaid pants and a fancy fedora, clearly I was going for the role of Ryan, but was cast as big basketball star Troy.
What are you up to now?
I am a professional DC actor, and the Co-Artistic Director of Monumental Theatre Company. Next up for me is A Christmas Carol at Ford’s Theatre, this will be my second year doing the show. I’ve done shows all over town, but my favorite is this little 2 hander I did at Signature Theatre called Girlfriend, which I won my Helen Hayes for.
We are so excited to bring back High School Musical this January! We presented HSM for the first time almost 20 years ago–And you were Troy! So you have to tell us, what were your favorite musical numbers?
I just had the best time doing the show. I guess one of my favorite numbers would have been “When There was Me and You.” I loved how it was different from the movie, as a duet with fun harmonies. To be honest, it’s one of my least favorite songs in the movie, and I think it’s much better on stage!
Our High School Musical Jr auditions begin TODAY! What piece of advice would you give to students auditioning for the first time?
Just have fun! if you are having fun, the ones watching will have fun. And warm up! These songs are surprisingly hard.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our students?
Enjoy these moments while you can! As you get older, more factors come into play, money, time, location, and these are the years to just have fun. Break Legs y’all!!
Thanks so much for sharing your time and experience with us!
Photos courtesy of Jimmy Mavrikes. Feature photo taken by Larry McClemons.
