As the National Casting Director for Blue Man Group, Deb Burton never knows what to expect in the audition room. One man drummed on a typewriter to impress her. Brian Tavener did not show off his percussion skills, but he sent Burton a tape of him learning how to juggle.
His juggling tape helped Tavener score the gig that hundreds of actors envy, and it transformed the musician into a Blue Man.
Now, Brian Tavener’s career revolves around catching marshmallows in his mouth and drumming on pipes. He refers to Twinkies as ‘sacred relics.’ Tavener, 26, is bald and blue. Crowds of nearly 500 people flock to the Charles Playhouse in Boston’s theater district to see him perform and show off his skills as a Blue Man.
The show, which is performed in 10 venues throughout the world, combines artistic expression, music and audience participation ‘-‘- all without the Blue Men uttering a single word.
Each performance begins with a sound check, stretching and drumming warmups. After taking the time to apply special blue paint formula to his face and hands, which can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, Tavener transforms into his blue character.
‘Like halloween, it’s like putting on a costume that lets you be more of yourself,’ Tavener said. ‘[Audiences] don’t even think that you’re human when you are on stage.’
Tavener’s winding career path that led him to Boston is not traditional. The Ashville, N.C., native played in a band for five years before he started looking for other creative outlets. That’s when he sent the juggling tape to the Blue Man Group.
‘I figured I’d be myself and see what happens,’ Tavener said. ‘Blue Man in general is all about that ‘-‘- people being themselves and not trying to act as anyone.’
With only 72 Blue Men in the world, the program is a highly competitive one. Potential Blue Men must be between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot-1, possess drumming and acting skills and have a willingness to relocate. Although women are encouraged to try out, there has only been one woman to ever join the troupe.
Burton, the casting director, said there are not very many women on staff because of the character’s physical requirements.
‘It’s hard to cast women because they have to look androgenous,’ Burton said. ‘The Blue Man is a genderless, genuine human being. It doesn’t matter what gender or race, it’s real at the core of the person.’
Whenever Burton is asked about her job, she braces herself for a long conversation. She has seen hundreds of auditions ‘-‘- national and international ‘-‘- for those who possess the subtle qualities of the bald and blue.
Although she defines the Blue Man character as ‘childlike’ and ‘vulnerable,’ Burton said she understands why someone may be afraid of the cast.
‘It’s really intense. They’ll come up into your face and stare at you and look right into your eyes ‘-‘- a really powerful feeling, even for those who do like it,’ Burton said. ‘As people, we are used to language and human body language to hide behind.’
Nonverbal acting was another skill Tavener had to learn while training with the Blue Man Group. He said it is one of his favorite aspects of performing.
‘You can take away from the show what you want,’ he said. ‘The characters are showing the audience that everyone is the same, trying to join everyone in the place, not to fill it up with words but things we all understand ‘-‘- like music and drumming.’
There is no script for the show, but there is a basic guide of action. Burton said the nonverbal Blue Man language was hard to master, despite its simplicity.
‘It sounds easy, like a no-brainer, but it’s challenging for even a trained actor not to make it seem cheesy, over the top, obvious or not obvious enough,’ she said.
Bobby Nicolescu, a College of Communication sophomore and aspiring director, said it can take months or years for actors to learn how to take away language from their acting.
‘We rely on language so much that our bodies become just a means of transportation from one place to another,’ Nicolescu said.
Many times, the people who get the Blue Man job have no prior acting experience. The honesty of the character shines through because it is not forced, Burton said. It often leads to a calm, enjoyable audition process that usually causes Burton to laugh more than anything else.
The light atmosphere is quite a contrast to the tenseness that Nicolescu said she has seen at BU stage troupe auditions where the hopefuls clutch Starbucks cups as they frantically rehearse lines.
Still, the Blue Man auditions are extensive. They involve drumming, acting and workshop segments. Out of every 100 people interviewed, fewer than half advance to the acting audition. Only one or two move onto the workshop.
What the actors learn through auditions and training is how to get the audience involved in the show. One of the goals of the performance is a high level of audience participation. When language is elimated, everyone can better relate to one another, Tavener said.
And throughout the show, the audience changes.
‘One of my favorite parts is seeing how scared people are and how at the end of the show they’ve come around and are smiling,’ Taverner said. ‘You see people that didn’t come into the show together interacting during the show, or after. You change people and get them out of their box a bit.’
Tavener said one challenge he loves to take on is a silent, subdued crowd, because it forces the actors to get creative in their improvisation.
‘That’s a high point of the show. As a character, our show changes based on the vibe,’ Tavener said.
When the show lets out, crowds of people flood the streets with toliet paper wrapped around their heads and perhaps some blue paint smeared on their faces.
The buildings lining Warrenton Street, where the Charles Playhouse is located, are covered with blue handprints.
Tavener and the other actors make an appearance in the lobby after every show. Audience members sometimes make the joke of asking them to smile for the camera, but the Blue Men always keep a curious stare.
Once he washes the paint off and leaves the theater, Tavener becomes a regular Boston resident. He spends much of his time walking Newbury Street or reading at Espresso Royale Cafe. But all of his current concerns, like the cold he is currently suffering from, disappears when he goes on stage.
‘Everything changes when I get into character. Once the show starts, you forget about your regular life and you are a Blue Man.’