‘She’s always at a ten’
Kyra Sorce has told how playing West Side Story’s Anita is the “greatest honour”— and how the character paved the way for “what kind of stories you can tell on stage”. The iconic musical will be playing at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin from June 12 until June 24. The production is the sixth time that Kyra has had a role in West Side Story, but she told Chic that this one is particularly special.
She said,“i’ve played a Jet girl, I’ve played a Shark girl, I’ve played a Shark boy, I’ve played Graziella and now I’m Anita. I’ve also understudied Anita.
“So I was really familiar with the text. I’ve seen it so many times and there were so many different ways that I was watching it — but to be her, to find her, and to be this production’s Anita is the greatest honour because it’s not like I’m going to step into someone else’s track.”
Kyra told how one of the things that she loves most about the character is how“the stakes are just so high every time that she steps onto the stage”.
She said,“she’s always at a 10, whether it’s the bridal shop scene, the dance at the gym, America — she’s always striving for something.
“There’s nothing boring about her. She’s so thrilling every night. It’s a n honour, as a Puerto Rican Sicilian woman, to step into these shoes.”
Kyra added that while Act One is jam-packed for Anita — as it’s when she gets“all my dancing out of the way”— there was “so much to work with”in Act Two.
She said,“i warm up really heavy, get all my dancing done, and then I can really drop into act two. And in act two, there’s a term — getting your roses, like you’re getting your roses at the end.
“Act two is where this character gets her roses. She goes through loss, pain, a taunting — and she is back-and-forth with fighting for Maria, defending Tony, hating Tony…there’s so much to work with.”
Kyra also opened up about the process of preparing for the role of Anita.
She said,“stylistically, you want to embrace the 50s mannerism. We’re so contemporised today and we have so many contemporary gestures that just don’t have a place in that world. We didn’t change the script at all, so all the slang is still 50s slang.
“I was mostly preparing my physical body, looking at things like, how would a 50s woman flirt? It’s so different from how we would flirt, right?
“Somebody I really looked at was Debbie Allen. She played Anita — and there’s a video of her doing America onyoutube. She was actually one of my teachers growing up, I got to train with her. I went to Debbie Allen Dance Academy from like, nine to 11 in Los Angeles.
“And so it’s just like, there’s Miss Allen — looking up to her, watching her be Anita and watching her America, it was so funny. She gave me lots of bits.”
Kyra told how working as an auditions assistant for the production led her to get “back in touch”with the material — and take the leap to audition for the role of Anita herself.
She said,“i was originally brought onto this production — the choreographer Julio Monge saw me as part of the production in some aspect.
“We were initially doing auditions and he wanted me to be his audition assistant. That was my first job.
“And as I was assisting auditions and getting back in touch with the material, I was just like,‘this is mine — I’ve got to go for this.
“This is my time, I’m 26 years old, I want to act, to dance and sing. I don’t want to dance in the ensemble any more, I’ve been working on my craft and I’m ready to take that step’.
“This is my first role ever. My first role ever that I’ve booked right off the bat. I’m still early in my career, but up until now I was just understudying.
“I was just like,‘this is my time’. She’s the best. She really paved the way for what you can do on stage, what kind of stories you can tell on stage — and she’s the first one of her kind, for sure.”
Kyra explained that her favourite scene in West Side Story has“totally changed”since she took on the role of Anita.
The actress also opened up about the“sisterhood”she has with Melanie Sierra, who plays Maria, and how they will be“bonded for life”.
She continued,“my favourite scene is our first bridal shop scene together. We play ever night, we’re
never bored. We’re always trying new things. We’re always going for the laugh, going for the emotion — it is so, so fun. And I did not think that Bridal Shop One would be my favourite.
“And then there’s America. I just love dancing America — it’s a beast to sing and dance, but no matter how tired or sore you are, that number is rewarding.”
The 26-year-old recalled how the moment that sparked her love for musical theatre — and how she initially wanted to pursue a very different career path.
She said,“i am classically trained in ballet — and that’s what I wanted to do, I wanted to be a concert dancer. I wanted to dance for
Alvin Ailey, the Netherlands Dance Theatre and all sorts of companies like that.
“When I got to high school, I was in the core ballet of my ballet department — and then I saw musical theatre as an option at my high school and I was just like,‘i think I want to give it a try’.
“I auditioned for my first show, which was Hairspray, and it immediately clicked. Musical theatre requires just as much technique as convert dance — expect with musical theatre, you’re having way more fun, if I’m being super transparent.you have way more fun and you get to do all sorts of styles. There’s tonnes of ballet, ballroom, hip hop, jazz, contemporary — especially now.”
Kyra told how she feels“so honoured”to be a part of the cast — and to take to the stage as her career.
She said,“i’m so grateful every single day that this is my job.
“There’s people working nine-to-five and then doing their passion — I feel so, so much gratitude that my job is my passion and that I get to see these amazing things and meet amazing people.
“This is going to be the most incredible year of my life so far.” ■
“SHE’S ALWAYS STRIVING FOR SOMETHING...”
West Side Story runs at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre from June 12 until June 24. For more information or to book tickets, visit www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie.