Every third Wednesday of the month, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer fills out contributor Tom Mizer’s nosey little questionnaire and offers a glimpse of what he looks like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. For May, we’ve got someone worth bending over backwards for…
Olaf Triebel. Photo by Heike Wippermann.
Name: Olaf Triebel
Hometown: Born and raised in Hagen, Germany but living in Montreal, Canada for the past 14 years (when not on tour).
Current Show/Role: Queen of the Night, circus artist and artistic coordinator for the circus part of the show.
The best part of the show I’m working on now is: The stories you get to hear after the show from your cast mates about what has just happened to them during the show. Some of the stories are priceless but not meant for the general public! What happens at the Diamond Horseshoe stays at the Diamond Horseshoe.
The most challenging job in show business I ever had was: Pretty much this one. It is a great show that can be very different from night to night. Because of the immersive nature of this show it depends so much on the audience and their willingness to let go and just go for it. You can have a shitty day and then have this one interaction with a guest that just totally makes your day (unfortunately sometimes you have a great day until you have this one interaction with a guest…) We are trying to stay vulnerable throughout the show as much as we can to not only ask the audience to be open for intimate and private experiences, but to [also] give them something real and intimate back. So the way people behave during the night can effect you a lot.
Olaf Triebel. Photo by Joseph Pinzon.
If I wasn’t a performer, I would be: Miserable! I can’t imagine doing anything else. Yes, I teach and do other things but the one thing that keeps me going is the performance itself. Waking up knowing you do what you love (most of the time) is something I don’t want to give up
Olaf Triebel in “Queen of the Night”. Photo by Renald Laurin.
Places, Intermission or Curtain Call? We don’t have a curtain call in our show but we do have the best chocolate cake in town at the end of the show. It is meant for the audience but there is always some left over and even now after doing the show for over 5 months I have my bite at the end of the night (and if you were wandering… yes, chocolate makes me very happy!)
The best post-show cocktail in New York City is at: Lillies on 49th between 8th and Broadway (not that you find me very often having drinks after the show.) I prefer having a hot chocolate at home… but we love Lillies, the live music and the beautiful space and keep going back there mainly on Sunday nights.
After you’ve hit all the traditional sites of New York City, you should totally go to: You tell me! Haven’t had time to even hit the traditional ones yet.
If I could live anywhere else in the world it would be: Somewhere in Australia. Great people, the nature is spectacular and I love the heat in the summer.
Olaf Triebel. Photo by Manu Fiore.
It’s time for summer blockbuster season; which summer movies, plays or concerts are you most looking forward to? Looking forward to seeing Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway
My workout “secret” is: Never stop! I had to stop once for 2 months because of a small injury and it took me a long time to get back into the shape I was in before. So I try to not stop for any longer then a week at a time. (Unfortunately hand balancing isn’t like riding a bike; you will loose it if you don’t practice.) And squeezing a short workout in here and there can make a big difference.
When I’m looking for a date, nothing attracts me more than: Eyes and a kind but strong face. The person I am with needs to be independent active and driven. No need for being at the gym six days a week but someone who is playing sports, goes on a bike tour with me and has the drive to move is definitely sexy.
My favorite website to visit that you may not have heard of is: Anyone heard of YouTube before???
Olaf Triebel. Photo by Jenny Wheat.
Board shorts, speedo or skinny dip? Shorts. No one wants to see my skinny legs in a speedo.
People would be surprised to learn that I: Am a great Petanque player. (It’s a french game I played as a child in my summer vacations in France and am still playing whenever I have time.) It brings me down and I can play it for hours.
When I was 10, I wanted to be just like: This is going to sound so stereotypical but I wanted to be just like David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider.
Ten years from now I’d like to be: Happy, healthy, in love, still performing and spending more time at home.
It’s May; pick a flower: Titanic’s Rose DeWitt Bukater, Dukes of Hazard’s Daisy Duke, or Aladdin’s Princess Jasmine? Princess Jasmine.
See Olaf and all of the immersive wonders of Queen of the Night now through August 31 at the Paramount Hotel’s Diamond Horseshoe Club.
