Christina Tompkins graduated from our BFA Musical Theatre program in 2009, and since then has been on stages across the country—most recently as part of a national tour of "The Sound of Music."
Christina Tompkins graduated from our BFA Musical Theatre program in 2009, and since then has been on stages across the country—most recently as part of a national tour of "The Sound of Music." She was an offstage swing for that tour, and over the course of two-plus years got to perform every track in the show.
We talked about how this native New Yorker ended up at the University of Mississippi (and why she stayed), the role of swing and the skills needed to perform so many different parts on-demand, and why those skills also make her a good company manager. She also shared some advice for theatre hopefuls and let us in on what she has coming up with another alum from her graduating class.
For more information about Christina, visit her website at: https://www.christinatompkins.com/
Follow along with her adventures on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/tina_tompkins/
The Sound of Music on Tour: http://thesoundofmusicontour.com/
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Katherine Stewart
Hello, hello and welcome back to Stage & Screen.
Katherine Stewart
I'm your host, Katherine Stewart, and my guest today is Christina Tompkins, who graduated from our program in 2009 with a BFA in Theatre Arts and an emphasis in musical theatre.
Katherine Stewart
Since graduation she's been in productions all over the place, most recently on a national tour of the Sound of Music.
Katherine Stewart
She was a swing for that show and at one time or another got to perform pretty much every female track in the production. Stay tuned to hear about that and much more.
Katherine Stewart
Hi Christina! Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with me today.
Christina Tompkins
Thank you so excited to be here.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, I'm really excited to talk with you, so just if you wouldn't mind to get us started, could you tell us a little bit about your background? Kind of who you are, where you're from, and how you got into theater.
Christina Tompkins
Yeah, so my name is Christina Tompkins. A lot of my friends call me Tina and that started at Ole Miss.
Christina Tompkins
I graduated in 2009 with a BFA.
Christina Tompkins
In theater with an emphasis in musical theater, I grew up in New York, in the suburbs of New York City, and I landed at all this.
Christina Tompkins
I couldn't tell you exactly how it all came to be, except for you know back then in 2004.
Christina Tompkins
Christina Tompkins
You would go to Borders and you will look at like the Fiske School College guide, and I didn't get into my dream school where I had done Carnegie Mellon Pre College and I was like oh I'm gonna get into Carnegie Mellon no problem.
Christina Tompkins
So that’s my confidence so I didn't really apply to a lot of other places, so I needed to find a rolling admissions school that had theater and I really wanted to go to the South. I I often say like the South called me and I answered and I was like I don't know why.
Christina Tompkins
But I need to go experience it right? So yeah, I ended up at Ole Miss and really with the intention of of just going there for the year.
Christina Tompkins
And which I I did only I started freshman year of thinking like I'm going to transfer. I still want to go to a Conservatory program.
Christina Tompkins
And, you know, did all the applications again got all the auditions ready again, and I met my best friends and I had like such a wonderful experience. I left. I left for a semester.
Christina Tompkins
And then I was like.
Christina Tompkins
Why would anyone go anywhere else? This was a mistake and I I will never forget. Like you know I had to explain to the, you know, the admissions the director of the program I went to like why I was going back.
Christina Tompkins
I was like I'm getting a better education and a better experience at the University of Mississippi than your Conservatory.
Christina Tompkins
So let's go.
Christina Tompkins
Oh, let's go.
Christina Tompkins
Christina Tompkins
So I I I transferred back sophomore spring.
Christina Tompkins
And yeah, stayed and graduated in 2009 and it was quite a ride of during that time and it, you know, like the best. I'm definitely one of those people is like ah, best years of my life.
Christina Tompkins
But it it was. I have such fond memories and and. And honestly I actually was about to go back in August to get my MBA.
Christina Tompkins
And then I I just most recently decided not to. So with you know, like with Renee and Julia Aubrey like.
Christina Tompkins
In my corner be like yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah come back I was like oh I don't know. And then I realized if you want to get an MBA you had to do some finance classes.
Christina Tompkins
You know in undergrad, and trying to teach yourself accounting in the middle of a pandemic is not the way to go, so.
Christina Tompkins
I've decided against it, uhm?
Christina Tompkins
But it was for a brief moment. I was like, OK, great. I'm going back. Well, this and I was going to get my MBA. Starting in August. But you know, I think it's it's for the better. It's for the better.
Katherine Stewart
You can stick with musical theater. It's OK, yes, yeah.
Katherine Stewart
Well, speaking of some of those memories, what are some highlights from your your time here, were there shows that you were in that you loved especially? Or maybe some indelible lessons that you've been able to carry forward into your career.
Christina Tompkins
Yes, yeah. Well listen, I you never know who you're going to meet I think is you can't really judge.
Christina Tompkins
Anything before you try it and Ole Miss was definitely that place. I showed up and we were at cattle call, and you know the first friend I made was Heather McMahon, and now it I'm so grateful to have that friendship.
Christina Tompkins
She's more like my sister and then I meant also two other girls that are basically my family as well. Caroline, now Lucas, but her last name.
Christina Tompkins
Was flat back then.
Christina Tompkins
And Jenny Hobart and they were always my my rock like for the past. I don't know how old am I 34.
Christina Tompkins
So since we were 18 years old and I would, I'm not gonna say we were like the bad girls but I I would definitely say we weren't your. You know the typical group of theater girls we were always Uhm, out trying other things as well, which I thought was a great part about going to Ole Miss that you've Had the experience of a university while also having this amazing training. Amazing teachers.
And I definitely suggest that to any kid that's thinking about doing a BFA, really consider going to a university because Conservatory's when I was there. Maybe it was just my experience, but I really felt like you weren't becoming a well rounded actor. You weren't, you weren't able to.
Present yourself in a way that was like commercially going to get you places and from what I've learned later on in life, I didn't know back then, it was like, oh, you have to be commercial and I.
Christina Tompkins
Was like I.
Christina Tompkins
Don't know about this, I make weird faces so.
Christina Tompkins
Really, Ole Miss it. It taught me how to.
Christina Tompkins
You know, be confident in who I was and to make network. Ole Miss is like the best networking school.
Christina Tompkins
It's the old southern way of networking, but like teaches you everything and how to like really hustle once you get to any city, that's for sure.
Christina Tompkins
Uh, my my favorite show memory I. I mean there's so many fun ridiculous times. Senior year Heather and I were in “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” and I.
Christina Tompkins
Wish I could find that DVD. Renee, make me another copy because it is probably just comedy gold and we're going to need it if if Heather is like nominated for an Emmy next year.
Christina Tompkins
So like we gotta put like get the ball rolling on “5 Women.” It was so fun like I just I.
Christina Tompkins
Really love, that's where I like thrive. If “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” was a musical which I've also thought about this, it would be.
Christina Tompkins
Uhm, then I also was the lead in “Well” by Lisa Cron and that was directed by Doctor Malloy and he really became such a champion for me and really gave me confidence in who I was as an actor because I wasn't BFA acting.
Christina Tompkins
I was BFA musical theater and then to be the lead of the drama was really, you know.
Christina Tompkins
It really boosted my confidence, not really coming from having, uh, a singular lead leading up to senior year. And I really.
Christina Tompkins
I felt like I I had worked hard and listen. Maybe I wasn't as good of a student in my mind like as in my mind I but like.
Christina Tompkins
You know it. It felt finally like I was accepted in the theater department and it took till senior year.
Christina Tompkins
But again, like I left the beginning of sophomore year, but Renee also was always my mother hen, you know.
Christina Tompkins
Definitely I Had some really fun times in any kind of class that any musical theater studio. It was always a fun time, especially like our year was just a great group of people. Super funny people so.
Christina Tompkins
I loved love doing that and then I also was taking voice lessons with Jennifer Robinson in the music department and she really pushed me to do the operas and and any kind of classical stuff there. So I did a lot of training, I had done that training growing up so it was something that I was very familiar with.
Christina Tompkins
And they were like. Oh, you know how to do like you could sing in Italian like what're you doing so serious?
Christina Tompkins
I was also in Carmen. It was like the to me. It was so much senior was so much fun because I I felt like I was finally like hitting.
Christina Tompkins
Everything I wanted to do I was in an opera. I was also understudying one of the leads in the opera, which was crazy.
Christina Tompkins
I was like this is this is great. I don't. I can't speak French so.
Christina Tompkins
We didn't. We didn't have to take that one.
Christina Tompkins
And then “Well” and “Five Women.” So it was. It was a lot. A lot of fun. Senior year was like let's go out with a bang.
Christina Tompkins
And we did, and we did so.
Katherine Stewart
Sounds like the ultimate college experience, really.
Christina Tompkins
Girl I'm tired still. Listen, I love it for sure.
Katherine Stewart
Now what have you been doing since graduation? Can you give us kind of an overview of your career?
Christina Tompkins
Yes, yeah so.
Christina Tompkins
Uhm, you know we graduated in 2009, which was the big housing crisis crash financially. A lot of theaters had not done.
Christina Tompkins
Uh, you know summer season everything was sort of put on hold when we first graduated and I was really, I, you know, gone to a couple of the.
Christina Tompkins
Unified auditions and I got an internship at the Weathervane Repertory Theatre, which is in upstate New Hampshire.
Christina Tompkins
And wow, if that didn't, you know, kick you in your **** I don't know what would if you wanted to be a an actor. So we.
Christina Tompkins
Did it was “Hairspray,” “Curtains,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Blithe Spirit,” and “Producers” in rep?
Christina Tompkins
And also four kids shows. So it was quite a summer and you really. I mean, I was up at 7:00 AM and I didn't go to bed till midnight and.
Christina Tompkins
I mean, I don't know how legal what it was, but it was definitely. It was definitely a learning experience and I was like, oh, this is there's nothing better than this. I mean, it was the best.
Christina Tompkins
So coming from there and we were with people that have been on, you know, ten people were equity, Broadway veterans or national tour veterans.
Christina Tompkins
And then there was the Ted interns and really, I felt like, oh, I'm I'm moving to the city tomorrow. I'm good to go.
Christina Tompkins
I was very confident leaving that season and then, you know, I think it was almost you know 2.
Christina Tompkins
Summers later, like two years later, is when I got my first professional job and really took a lot of time to, you know, make friends and and meet the people 'cause back. We did have a showcase. It was one of the first years that showcase existed.
Christina Tompkins
With almost endless yeah.
Christina Tompkins
Nothing really had come to me. I made some connections, but not like an agent or a manager. So that was that was the difficult thing coming to the city without having our presentation and then.
Christina Tompkins
You know Heather and I just lied and said we worked on the Square at a restaurant and put on our acting face and got some restaurant jobs.
Christina Tompkins
We and we like lived.
Christina Tompkins
Together on a 9th Ave in Hell's Kitchen and we worked at the same restaurant and Greg Flaherty was there who was another 2009 graduate. And yeah, we we really pounded the pavement. We were, we'll do it. We'll do whatever you need.
Christina Tompkins
But it talked that time in the city where I really met a lot of restaurant people and made those connections really help sustain my life in New York. And I sort of from there.
Christina Tompkins
In that world I I started working in like Michelin star and New York Times three star restaurants and that's.
Christina Tompkins
If you put in the time and you want to do that, it's a great way of of like supplementing. Obviously being an actor but not just working like that. You know, maybe, uh.
Christina Tompkins
A bar grill, whatever it was something that oh I feel like secure enough I can support myself and take classes or I I can take five days and and go on a vacation and things like that.
Christina Tompkins
Which was wonderful. But finally I what was crazy to me is like then my first job. I was.
Christina Tompkins
Velma von Tussle on “Hairspray” at like you know, 23 in Reno, NV.
Christina Tompkins
For six months.
Christina Tompkins
Wow, so it from there I I sort of like.
Christina Tompkins
Found my little.
Christina Tompkins
Niche of these older character women in musical theater and sort of made my connections with cast directors through that and they I always was getting because I was non equity and I looked older. I'm 5’9”. I really was successful going down that path which was really fun. So after.
Christina Tompkins
Uhm, Reno. I did a couple more “Hairsprays” and like “Music Man” things like I got it.
Christina Tompkins
Regional theatres and equity theatres too. But they they always need to cast non equity. So I was I was doing really great with that and then I coincidentally.
Christina Tompkins
I started working with this company called Prather and they owned 2 dinner theatres, one in Lancaster and one down here in Fort Myers and they basically kept me employed for you know 2 1/2 years and I think would have if I had wanted to stay. Right?
Christina Tompkins
And they were just wonderful and I. And really, I mean I was doing 9 shows a week as Reno Sweeney and I was in never better shape in my life and I was always like come and see my show. And if you don't think this is an equity level show you're crazy because I've seen equity “Anything Goes” and they’re pretty well…
Christina Tompkins
Uhm, so after that I I sort of put my foot down. I was like I want a national tour. I haven't gone on a national tour.
Christina Tompkins
Uhm, it's something that I've always wanted to do and.
You know I finish “Anything Goes” and I went in for a replacement last minute call for the swing in “The Sound of Music” and The the only female swing in the Sound of Music and then I and I booked it like.
Christina Tompkins
Two weeks before rehearsal started and I stayed with that show for.
Christina Tompkins
A little, it was 2/2 contracts. There was like over two years over. I think it's like 540 performances. Wow.
Christina Tompkins
And it was really, I mean, such a special special show and an amazing experience. And unfortunately we were supposed to go international last week. So wow.
Christina Tompkins
International has brought me to Naples, FL. For a little bit, but.
Christina Tompkins
Yeah, so that's that's where I ended up.
Christina Tompkins
Up right after “Sound of Music” ended, Heather started gaining a lot of traction and then also got offered to headline her own comedy tours.
Christina Tompkins
So she had never toured before, had come on the road to see me a couple of times and she's like can you come and help?
Christina Tompkins
Could he be like the stage manager? I was like yes I got this and it was really like, uh, I was like an audience liaison. We had a whole bumble section of the tour where there was a Bachelorette.
Christina Tompkins
And then you know, helping out with a wagon costume change.
Christina Tompkins
It was like whatever you needed done I'm there and hopefully I'm also going to be continuing doing that when her tour starts up again.
Christina Tompkins
In the fall.
Katherine Stewart
Oh cool.
Katherine Stewart
One thing I would love to hear a little bit more about is your role as a swing on this national tour of “The Sound of Music.”
Katherine Stewart
If you wouldn't mind just in case we have listeners who don't know exactly what that role is, could you explain it?
Katherine Stewart
And kind of walk us through what that looks.
Katherine Stewart
Like for you.
Christina Tompkins
Yes, yeah. So the swing is what I call the insurance policy and it's the best way of explaining it to, you know, someone in Akron, OH.
Christina Tompkins
That's like what are you doing here and I'm like on the swing in the Sound of Music and they're like.
Christina Tompkins
OK, well basically you have someone that's covered off stage that's covering.
Christina Tompkins
All of the ensemble or if you have more than one swing, I guess you'd get to divide it and have a very luxurious life.
Christina Tompkins
And then you also cover principals and and secondary leads. Things like that my role wasn't wasn't off stage swing, I covered the 8.
Christina Tompkins
Female ensemble tracks, then my principal track was.
Christina Tompkins
Elsa Schrader, the Baroness.
Christina Tompkins
And I.
Christina Tompkins
I have I've performed every track in the show multiple times the the first time I went on I had never been on stage, ever.
Christina Tompkins
I had never been in a costume or a wig. It was opening weekend at the Seattle Paramount Theater, which is about 3300 seats.
Christina Tompkins
And you know singing like 8 part Latin harmony acapella.
Christina Tompkins
Uh, was sort of daunting, but it honestly it's like in my bones now and I I love it. I love the challenge.
Christina Tompkins
I loved learning every nuans for every role and and it kept me like interested if that makes sense. I have to be doing more than one. Thing at once I'm I can't I make more mistakes if I'm just doing one thing? If I'm doing 50 things, I think that's my restaurant mentality kicking in.
Christina Tompkins
Like you know.
Christina Tompkins
Old school bartender has to be like doing 50 things at once.
Christina Tompkins
But it really taught me how to balance and what and also how to prioritize sure as a swing, like there's definitely times where I've been in a split track.
How do we make this happen? Oh, I'm in for a track and this fall just left in an ambulance at intermission. Now you're doing both of these tracks.
Christina Tompkins
How do we make sure that you know it's a seamless transition? The audience doesn't realize?
Christina Tompkins
And I my favorite line, sort of for the newcomers to “The Sound of Music” would be sometimes you're the Maria and sometimes you're the 8th Nun. We’re the 8th Nun right now, and we're going to make sure that we're doing the best to support the entire show, because really every part is of the storytelling of “The Sound of Music.” Ii’s so important and makes the show what it is and some people like it's “Sound of Music.” It's this, this and this.
Christina Tompkins
I look very.
Christina Tompkins
Wonderfully, we had Jack O'Brien who's a very acclaimed director. Broadway director set the tour and then Matt Lentz was also our tour director. We had Andy Einhorn which is one of the biggest conductors and music directors on Broadway was our music supervisor, so we were the attention to detail was was very high and the standard was very high and I I loved that I was like give me opulence.
Christina Tompkins
Give me ridiculous sets, automation. I want it all. I need it to be out of control and it was I I thrived in like a you know classic music theater show and I love R&H. That's my jam. That or like a cold water. You know like I wanna that's where I live.
Christina Tompkins
Yeah, yeah, I'm not going to be in “Six the Musical.” I'm not, you know, I don't think I'll be.
Christina Tompkins
In “Jagged Little Pill,” but like.
Christina Tompkins
Oh no, I won't say no.
Christina Tompkins
So yeah, this swing really keeps you on your toes and there was myself and then a male swing on the road.
Christina Tompkins
And then we also had two kid swings, a boy and a girl that covered the children and they also were off stage. So it was also a great way of.
Christina Tompkins
Nurturing and and educating the kids that were there off stage because it's still it. That is the hardest job is telling these two kids you're you're good enough to do the show, but you can't be in the show and and that's was always heartbreaking. And and.
Christina Tompkins
Learning and navigating that is very, very difficult for the company managers as well as the stage managers.
Christina Tompkins
So I I mean, I loved it, loved being a swing I would do it again in a heartbeat. But China will have to wait I guess.
Katherine Stewart
Sounds like a hard job. What are some of the special skills a person would have to have to be able to learn and remember all of those different parts and be able to do them? Kind of on demand while reading it for?
Christina Tompkins
A show like “Sound of Music” reading music is definitely of most importance. I felt yeah, keeping up keeping a harmony is is very hard when you're going in for different tracks.
Christina Tompkins
And I definitely. There were times that I had to stop singing 'cause I was like what is everybody singing right now?
Christina Tompkins
What is going on around me? And because you know, every theater is different, the sound is different. You know the the speakers on stage speakers are different. Maybe you're not getting a full sound.
Christina Tompkins
It was always a learning curve.
Christina Tompkins
One thing about being a swing. I think you need to be extremely humble and you have to.
Christina Tompkins
Realize that you're not going to get the applause every night, and it's that's probably the hardest thing for people to learn. And like, the skill is like.
Christina Tompkins
You matter and you have to realize that the show is going to need you at some point. Like right now it doesn't, but there's gonna be a, uh, I'm telling you it, it happened.
Christina Tompkins
I don't know how many times where they're, you know, in the middle of the show someone went out and for kids too, especially like all o a sudden they're like I Can't Sing anymore. You know, like you can't sing anymore what? What? But yeah, that definitely learning that you have to take insanely diligent notes there, even by the end of the first year, I was like why did I not write down this number for this one girl in this one scene?
Christina Tompkins
Like every time I was always so mad at myself and you know then 50 other things would happen. And then the next time I would go on for her.
Christina Tompkins
Three months later, I be like I still don't have that number and I'm gonna forget to ask her for this one time in like 10 seconds that I need to be there. But you know, it's it's really no. Keeping track of that.
Christina Tompkins
The you know the Rolodex of all of your characters. The costume changes the wig changes and you have to be like totally secure in what you're doing, because if you're not confident people are just going to doubt you, including, like every you know, the crew is new at every venue besides the one that you're traveling with, so.
Christina Tompkins
I always made it a point. If I was on I, you know you have to introduce yourself to everybody and say I'm swinging.
Christina Tompkins
I'm going to probably do it a little bit different than the other girl before me, but don't worry, this show will go on. I promise you, you might need to stand like 2 feet over here and it's.
Christina Tompkins
It was it it. It taught me a lot and then so after the first year of Sound of Music, I said this isn't enough responsibility to cover all these.
Can I be the assistant company manager? S then I also started that and.
Christina Tompkins
And I I also loved that. I loved being a company manager.
Christina Tompkins
And and we had an all female production team management team and it was. It was amazing to see like what happens when you have.
Christina Tompkins
Have these strong women come together and you know what no one questioned us. So I was like this is amazing.
Christina Tompkins
So yeah, I I then did all of like travel, logistics, HR kind of stuff like it. Just was mind-blowing and you know dealing we have a.
Christina Tompkins
A road crew. We have an orchestra and.
Christina Tompkins
That parents tutor that equals 65 people. So there was also, you know, the drama of flying 65 people from Portland, ME to Tulsa. OK in a day like.
Christina Tompkins
It I loved being that busy.
Christina Tompkins
It was, you know, the best like two years and such a great learning experience. But I, I think.
Christina Tompkins
Because my brain is set up that way to be a swing, I can also do company management and prioritize and and delegate and know like action steps.
Christina Tompkins
We got this, I'm never like I'm not a no person. If you're like oh we can't do this I was like yeah we can figure it out.
Christina Tompkins
It's going to be fine. The hills are alive, they go over a mountain and it's fine.
Christina Tompkins
I was like, do we have a Gretel? If we have a Gretel, we have a Maria, and we have the mother abbess singing, you know, “Climb Every Mountain” We're completely fine.
Christina Tompkins
So you know you learn to just.
Christina Tompkins
You know you have to laugh and and roll with the punches 'cause it's live theater. It's not gonna be the same every night, that's for sure.
Christina Tompkins
Katherine Stewart
So what's next for you? You mentioned Heather McMahan fall tour.
Christina Tompkins
Yes, so basically I mean she's.
Christina Tompkins
Headlining her own tour.
Christina Tompkins
She doesn't have an opening act like it's all Heather all the time, and she I've been helping her out throughout the summer.
Christina Tompkins
Just doing some assistant stuff because now just her life has gotten very like a little bit out of control.
Christina Tompkins
Uh, which is amazing and wonderful and so deserving. And and it's really awesome to see everybody that from Ole Miss.
Christina Tompkins
You know, in the time that I was there, really like crushing it, it and reconnecting with people like I. I always like DM with Ashley Dulaney on Instagram.
Katherine Stewart
Oh for sure.
Christina Tompkins
And yeah, my girl it's so crit like you're doing amazing things and Jay Jurden and like it's everybody. It's just so awesome and so successful. I love it. So going out with that.
Christina Tompkins
Uhm, we're supposed to, you know, reconvene.
Christina Tompkins
By the end of the year, for the Sound of Music International, well, I don't know if that will happen. I, you know, I don't definitely have learned to not count my chickens. In this industry.
Christina Tompkins
Yeah, but yeah, I will probably try to, you know, freelance, either company management or go into any kind of production with the other tours.
Christina Tompkins
'cause unfortunately because we had a contract with “Sound of Music,” I didn't really go after any of the other tours.
Christina Tompkins
So that's the way the. Cookie crumbles, but yeah, I'm excited for this new.Uhm, like rebirth of theater that's happening and and to see where everything sort of turns and takes us going forward.
Katherine Stewart
Well, do you have any advice for students or other young hopefuls who are wanting to make a career in the theater?
Christina Tompkins
In theater…the best thing you can do is educate yourself. You have to know the business you have to know what you do.
Christina Tompkins
It's crazy to me that people.
Christina Tompkins
Right now, because theater, musical theater is is bigger than it ever has been ever with, you know.
Christina Tompkins
The shows that are coming out now. It's so contemporary and so pop driven like we're knowing where you fit in coming if you come to New York, make sure you're extremely confident in who you are but really like.
Christina Tompkins
The the training is is something that I I.
Christina Tompkins
Definitely suggest to everyone and you have to love it. If there's actually one other thing you see yourself doing, do that thing first.
Christina Tompkins
Do that first and see if you like like it. But if you're still thinking theater, come back to it.
Christina Tompkins
But like try that, maybe 'cause sometimes it's you know you have to. You definitely have to be able to.
Christina Tompkins
Have a pivot. Have something else and thankfully like getting on the production side and management side definitely helped me with that. 'cause I, I mean I also.
Christina Tompkins
And on an assistant to Co managed “Once on this Island.” And I was like which is amazing to see the the first national tour like to be with these insane Broadway veterans and and just to be in the the room where they're making all these decisions. If they want a $10,000.
Christina Tompkins
Mechanical chicken I was like yes we do. We need the chicken.
Christina Tompkins
It's dead, but we need it, you know, but it's it's. It's taught me a lot.
Christina Tompkins
Moving since moving to the city, but really the foundation.
Christina Tompkins
And there's definitely times I was like, wow, I probably should have practiced more. You know, there's I, I'll never forget like I, I'm.
Christina Tompkins
I've been with my boyfriend for almost four years and he went to Belmont as a percussionist and hearing the insane practice hours. I was like wow, what if I had went to the practice room?
Christina Tompkins
For like 6 hours a day and did monologues.
Christina Tompkins
Ah, I don't know what would have happened, but.
Christina Tompkins
You know, just.
Christina Tompkins
I think going to school at when you're 18-19 you don't have those kinds of you don't have that foresight and and now looking back, it's like really cherish that time in the classroom.
Christina Tompkins
And taken everything around you go explore.
Christina Tompkins
Try to get at least if travel like that's what one of my other big things is. Meeting new people cultures.
Christina Tompkins
That's what happened when I went to Mississippi and it really has has given me so many different opportunities just because I went to old miss and I'm from New York, so.
Dude gotta love it.
Katherine Stewart
Solid advice.
Katherine Stewart
All solid advice.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, well, Christina, thank you so much for taking the time. Thank you. I've had so much fun yeah.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, well, Christina, thank you so much for taking the time, thank.
Katherine Stewart
Today, yeah, it's been really. It's been really wonderful talking with you. I will certainly be following along to see where you land next.
Christina Tompkins
Yes at Tina Tompkins. Find me an Instagram for the adventures.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, yeah, and maybe.
Katherine Stewart
Maybe we'll run into you at one to Heather shows.
Christina Tompkins
Yeah, yeah, I don't think there's another Oxford Oxford one yet, but well.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, I think it was wet 2.
Christina Tompkins
Years ago she was here. Yes, yeah, I like powerhouse but now or like the lyric, I think I think it was the lyric.
Yeah, yeah, no, it's we're, you know we're going to The Mirage in Las Vegas, it's amazing crazy so yeah we need to do like an alumni show with like Jay and and Heather. And yeah that would be great.
Christina Tompkins
I would love that we'll be there. Yeah, well, thank you so much and I I appreciate being on here.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, thank you so much and take care.
So that was a fun conversation. Once again, that was Christina Tompkins 2009 BFA graduate.
Katherine Stewart
I'll put some links to her work in the show notes, so be sure to check those out and stick with us 'cause we've got conversations with more alums doing exciting things coming up until next time this is Stage & Screen.