Not quite as he planned - Jake Epstein
Originally posted on Barrietoday.com as part of the Scene Setter series (#54 - Oct 17, 2023).
Boy Falls From The Sky, written and performed by Epstein, offers an intimate look into his journey so far through a series of entertaining and soul-baring stories and songs that take you from Canada, to Broadway, and beyond.
Following a sold-out premiere at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre last year, Boy Falls From The Sky makes a stop in Barrie for a limited-time engagement.
I had the opportunity to ask Jake a few questions about how this production came to be, and advice he would give to anyone looking to live their dream.
Richard: What inspired you to share your stories and develop them into what has become Boy Falls From The Sky?
Jake: After spending five years in New York City, I moved home and felt massively disappointed by the experience of having lived there. New York had been my lifelong dream. It was supposed to have changed my life. It's what I had worked so hard for! I didn’t know what to do next.
Around this time, my wife-actor and writer Vanessa Smythe, who recently premiered a solo show at TIFT called Tell You a Story, was hosting a storytelling night at a local theatre, and she forced me to get up and tell a story. I immediately fell in love with the idea of getting up in front of an audience and sharing something truthful, albeit funny, sad, outrageous, and turning that little truth into a moment of entertainment for a group of people. It allowed me to suddenly have some healthy perspective about my own experiences.
It was after that that I started sharing with close friends some of my experiences of New York and working in musicals. I quickly realized that the stories were relatable, and most of all entertaining. I knew that I needed to make something of these stories. Something told me this was what I needed to do. That began the process of turning these stories into a show.
Richard: Is there a particular story in the show that is your favourite to tell or a moment that gets a grand reaction from the audience?
Jake: One of the things I love most about doing the show is how different every performance feels. New moments and stories ‘pop’ on certain nights, and they change night to night. But I do love telling the stories about my time in the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark on Broadway. It was my Broadway debut, and it was such an absurd show to be doing! People were getting injured, including myself. Bono and The Edge from U2 were involved in the show. I was literally flying around a 2000 seat theatre… It was crazy. It felt like I was a fly on the wall to a really interesting moment in Broadway history. In my show, it's gratifying to take people ‘backstage’ through my experiences doing Spider-Man and seeing and hearing their reactions!
Richard: Since its premiere last year, how has the production changed or evolved?
Jake: I’ll be honest, getting to do the show at the Royal Alex Theatre in Toronto was a dream of mine. It’s such a beautiful and historic space to perform in. But one of the challenges was the size of the theatre. The show lost some of the feeling of intimacy- the feeling that the audience was full of my friends and we were at a bar sharing crazy theatre war stories. That intimacy is what I believe made the show really exciting for people in the first place.
Getting to do it again, but creating it for a more intimate theatre experience, is really fun and exciting to me. It feels like a rare chance to go back to the root of what made the show so special to do in the first place.
Richard: The rejection and heartbreak associated with being an artist is widely acknowledged but never really talked about in-depth. Why did you choose to include these topics in Boy Falls From The Sky?
Jake: It almost felt like I didn’t have a choice! I had these thoughts and experiences and no real way of dealing with all of them. They just came bubbling out of me. And what was so confusing for me was that I was asked constantly about my experiences on Broadway and on tour with musicals, and I was never able to answer truthfully. Of course, I knew how lucky I was, but it was so much more complicated. I chose to write this show because it finally allowed me to properly answer the question: what was it like performing on Broadway?
But the awesome surprise of making this show for me is how much fun it is to tell these stories onstage! It’s almost like a stand-up show. It’s joyful and funny and it feels like a piece of entertainment, more than a serious tell-all solo show. I think that’s what’s been so healing for me in the process- I’ve been able to explore these really painful memories in a joyful and funny way.
Richard: Do you have any advice for people who want to chase their dream but haven’t made the leap?
Jake: The best advice I ever got about wanting to be an actor was this: If you can do anything else, do it! It is such a devastating and complicated career path, and the only way I think you can survive it in a healthy way is to know deep down, that there is literally nothing else you can do. And therefore, you SHOULD be doing it. That feeling becomes your armour. You don’t have a choice but to keep going!
Richard: You’ve recently added “New Father” to your long list of roles. Congratulations! How has becoming a parent changed your approach to being an artist? And do you hope your son follows in his parents’ footsteps into the arts industry?
Jake: Thank you so much. It’s been my favourite role in my life so far! I’ll be honest, this tour is my first real gig since becoming a dad. Everything is new to me at this point. So, I’m very curious how being a parent will change how I feel about being an artist. Maybe if we run into each other during the run, I’ll be able to properly answer the question!
And in terms of whether I hope my son follows in his parent's footsteps, I’ll just say that I want him to be happy, and if performing makes him happy, then absolutely. However, one day I may let him read the script to this show just so he’s prepared!
Richard: If you made a playlist of songs to get people in the mindset to be a “Leading Man”, what songs are on it?
Jake: This is an interesting question. I’ve always had a tough time with the term ‘leading man.’ I think I automatically think of chiseled Brad Pitt types who are a bit robotic but very good looking. In my head, my favourite ‘leading man Broadway songs’ are sung by Joel Gray, Norbert Leo Butz and Lin Manuel Miranda. I’d consider them ‘character actors’ who play leads in their own stories!
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