Every third Wednesday, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer will fill out my nosey little questionnaire and offer a glimpse of what they look like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. For January, we’ve got a young man worth making some noise about…
Photo by Rob Sutton.
Name: Callan Bergmann
Hometown: Gowanda, NY. It’s a speck on the map about an hour south of Buffalo, NY.
Current Show/Role: Silence! The Musical/Dream Hannibal
The best part of Silence! The Musical is: the spontaneity of the show. There are several parts of the show that are ad-libbed every night. It keeps the show so fresh and exciting. I look forward to every performance because I love seeing what new and hilarious things my insanely talented cast will come up with. Often times my fellow cast mates and I will be laughing just as hard backstage as the patrons in the audience.
The most challenging job in show business I ever had was: learning and performing 5 new shows in 10 weeks at summer stock. It was my most recent summer at Pittsburgh CLO and I was cast in Oliver, Curtains, The Producers, Hairspray, and The Student Prince. While we were performing 8 shows a week of one show, we would rehearse our next show during the day. And none of these shows are what people consider easy. It was extremely exhausting both mentally and physically. It was also tons of fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat!
If I wasn’t an actor, I would be: A host on an HGTV show. As of late I have a minor obsession with HGTV. My show would be called something like “More For Less” or “Broadway Budget”, and I would for sure slap on a thick Canadian accent.
Photo by Becky Thurner.
Places, Intermission or Curtain Call? Right away I have to eliminate intermission because Silence! no longer has one and being in a one act musical is pretty awesome. Curtain call is exhilarating because it is the pay off for the hard work you just put in onstage, but I’d have to go with places. My real reward is just being out onstage and nothing beats the excitement that I feel right before I get to go out and perform every night.
The best post-show cocktail in town is at: The Duplex at 61 Christopher Street in the West Village. Not only is it a piano bar where you can get up and perform a little ditty, it also has the best bartenders in the city. No matter what night of the week it is this place is guaranteed fun. Seriously, I challenge you to find a place where you will have a better time!
After you’ve hit all the traditional sites of New York City, you should totally go to: The High Line. It’s a park that’s built above ground on an old, historic freight line. It runs along the west side of Manhattan from the Meatpacking District up through West 34th Street. I discovered this gem of a park while doing a photo shoot over a year ago and it quickly became one of my favorite places to visit in the city. It’s also the perfect place to wind down after taking a gymnastics class at Chelsea Piers.
If I could live anywhere else in the world it would be: Hmm. I don’t think at this point in my life I can knowingly answer that. I have a long list of places I want to visit and I can’t really say where I would want to live without taking a trip there first. I need to do more traveling. The only country that I’ve been to outside of the United States is Canada… and it doesn’t really count for me because I’m from Buffalo.
Winter getaway on the slopes, on the beach, or by a fireplace? Most definitely on the beach. I got my fair share of snow-filled winters growing up in Buffalo. I don’t think you could pay me to take a winter vacation that wasn’t an escape from the cold. A beautiful beach in Hawaii, on the other hand, sounds quite enticing right about now.
Photo by Rob Sutton.
My workout “secret” is: to work hard, but have fun. In other words, I make sure that I put effort into working out, taking class, and having a generally healthy diet. But it’s also important to not go overboard. It’s okay to skip the gym sometimes or go out for pizza with your friends (or in my and my friends’ case, drunkenly order in pizza). Keeping yourself happy is the most important thing because who cares how awesome you look if you are completely miserable all the time.
When I’m looking for a date, nothing attracts me more than: A nice smile. Dental hygiene is super important to me and a nice smile reels me in right off the bat. After that though, it’s all about their sense of humor and being easy to talk to.
Photo by Rob Sutton.
When I’m web surfing, the site I’m most likely to be on is: YouTube. I have wasted so many countless hours on YouTube, and yet I keep going back for more.
Board Shorts, Speedo or Skinny Dipping? I haven’t been skinny dipping in quite some time, but when the timing is right you can’t beat it. For a normal outing to the beach or pool I would have to go with a cute pair of board shorts. Speedos take me back to my junior high competitive swimming days. And let’s just say I was not a speedo fan back then.
People would be surprised to learn that I: was valedictorian of my high school graduating class. I think the real surprise, though, came to my guidance counselors when I told them that I wanted to go to college for musical theater.
When I was 10, I wanted to be just like: My mom. And the same holds true today. There is no one that I look up to and admire more than her.
Ten years from now, I’d like to be: performing and/or choreographing on Broadway. Truthfully I’d like to follow in the footsteps of our director/choreographer at Silence!, Christopher Gattelli. His talent, passion, work ethic, and kindness inspire me on a daily basis and fuel my desire to one day become somebody who creates theater. If you’ve ever seen his work you know how brilliant he is, and if you haven’t, stop on down to PS 122 in the East Village and check out Silence! The Musical to see for yourself!
Photo by Rob Sutton.
