As a theater geek, I have always had this unrelenting curiosity about national tours. I mean, it's the only form of Broadway-level theatre that I've been exposed to live as of yet and so I want to know just how these companies are able to put on fantastic shows all across the country. Luckily for me, one of my good friends just finished his first national tour with the Christmas classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and was open to answering some of my questions with his cast members! So here it is, everyone's burning questions regarding a professional national tour.

Q: What’s your track for the show?

Matt Ransdell: "I played the role of the Boy Elf (the one with glasses) in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer the musical. The role was an ensemble like role, the elves in the show do most if not all of the dancing and most large group numbers are Elf numbers."

Monique Abry: "Music Director and Mrs. Donner."

Leo Thomasian: "I play Rudolph!"

Q: For each of you, what was the best part about going on tour and being a part of this cast?

MR: "The best part of touring by far has to be the travel. I mean, imagine it, one of the most desired things for anyone to do in life is to travel the world, and on tour, you’re getting paid for it. Over 75% of this tour contained destinations I’d never even been through. Now don’t get me wrong, there are cons that come with the tour life, however, the fact that it’s your job to perform across the country is a pretty awesome gig. To taste new foods, experience new cities, new people, it’s pretty awesome."

MA: "Getting paid to travel the country and perform with some of my best friends."

LT: "My favorite part of touring is spending time with so many great friends in cities that I've never been to before. It always makes for the most memorable adventures."

Q: I know not everything is gumdrops and lollipops, even in the North Pole, so I have to ask what was the least fun thing about going on tour?

MR: "With this tour specifically, the whirlwind of travel! Some tours will have a company in a certain city for a week, or a weekend, this tour was mostly one show stops. We’d drive into a city, do a single performance, and leave for the next one. Although the travel aspect is the best part, it starts to beat you down after a while when you never truly get to unpack or get past the first layer in your suitcase. Touring at any capacity can take a toll on the mind and body as you live in and out of hotels for the duration of your contract, but 1 night only engagements, keep you on the road more often and in and out of hotels more frequently, so you get much much less of an opportunity or an experience settling down in your destinations."

MA: "The turn around in some of the cities. Some days we'd get into a hotel at midnight and leave in the morning at 8:00 AM. Those days were very exhausting."

LT: "The least fun part of touring is probably the grueling schedule and the amount of time spent on the bus going from city to city."

Q: You all have a very different experience on tour than normal, non-traveling shows have in the fact that you all spend all of your time with the same people for weeks on end, what does that do to the cast dynamic?

MR: "The beautiful thing about a touring company is that they’re your family in a much different way than your average local or communal cast family. You are on the road with these people, going in and out of cities where you’ll more than likely not know another soul. With that being said, your cast is usually the only option you have for social interaction. You’re not just meeting them at the theatre for call time, you’re waking up with them, breakfast, adventures, lunch, heading to the theatre, and heading back, all with the same people. Bus travel, air travel, in the same line of friends as the last day. Now don’t get me wrong, you find your need for independence or solitude every now and then, but whenever you shake that off whether you like it or not, the same people are waiting for you when you return. It’s not like going home to your other jobs or families or friends once you’ve left the theatre. You head back to the hotel you came from, with the same people you came from it with. With that being said, I LOVE my cast! I couldn’t have thought of a better group of people to share this experience with. Some already strong friendships grew much stronger, and many new friendships blossomed. And believe it or not, there were days where it seemed like you hadn’t seen a friend or two, and you even missed them and asked them where they’ve been (probably just the other side of the bus)! A touring company may take a bit more patience and acceptance because working and traveling well together is a must, but once it happens, that family is on this crazy national adventure with you, and you share some pretty unbelievable times with each other, and it’s a pretty strengthening and amazing experience"

MA: "When you spend all day, every day with the same group of people you grow closer to them than a normal cast. You see the good, the bad, and the ugly-- but it makes me respect everyone so much more."

LT: "It's different from regular shows because, for the duration of the tour, you're literally living with these people. It's not like seeing them every night in a rehearsal, and then going home, and so on. So your cast is almost always everywhere you go. I think this yields mostly positive effects, as it provides the opportunity for the cast to really get to know each other and bond on a level that would be much more difficult to reach in a regular show."

Q: So let's now talk about getting the job. What was the audition process like?

MR: "So my story here will be different than many other peoples' because my audition process was a surprise. I didn’t do the general call for the show, I was called in as a replacement. A young man in the cast was getting replaced, and with a couple of days until tech week, a week prior to departure for the tour, and with no rehearsals to be had, I submitted a video of me singing, and a video of me attempting a dance from the archival tape of the show, and wished for the best. I assume I was cast because of my work ethic and commitment to learning the material with no time to actually rehearse or prepare. The 2 days prior to tech week I ensured that I’d memorize the archival tape, study tracking sheets, get and learn all music, and show up to tech as if I’d been a part of the company the entire time. And I did, the homework was monstrous and fortunately the music director came to teach me all the stuff in person for a few hours after I got the call. I used one of my teaching spaces and made it my cave of learning. For hours on end, I ran the music, recorded it and practiced all night, then showed up to tech week not squeaky clean but close enough to show that I had the material under my belt. It was an unexpected whirlwind but one that I’m so fortunate to have been a part of. (besides my story, the company had 2 brush-up rehearsals prior to tech week, and 2/3 of the company I believe were returning performers who’d done their tracks the year(s) prior)."

MA: "I auditioned in 2014 when they had a full audition call. I went to an initial audition and sang, and then had a callback a couple days later. It was a pretty normal audition experience for me. Every year after we've been offered the contract again without auditioning."

LT: "The audition process consisted of an initial audition, and then callbacks a few days later. The initial audition was quick and painless, as most tend to be. The callbacks took an entire day."

Q: And what was the rehearsal process like and how long was it?

MR : "We essentially had a 5-6 day tech week, where we put the show on its’ feet with all production aspects in full tilt as we headed into tour. It was a quick and vigorous process, but extremely enlightening and strengthening at the same time."

MA: "The first year we mounted the tour (2014) we had a 2.5 week rehearsal process. This year we only had six days."

LT: "This year, we only had 6 days to put the show together. The length of our rehearsal process has gotten shorter and shorter over the years. We had about two and a half weeks our first year."

Q: So overall, how does being on tour differ from just a regular one stage show.

MR: "Being on tour is surreal. To get to take the material you’ve worked on, and perform it for nearly sold out houses nationwide, is incredible. New communities, people, families, cultures to reach all across our countries. To see and perform in all of the different and beautiful theatres in the U.S., to get to take in the different cities and states, and to get to travel and strengthen relationships with an amazing group of people, while exploring this amazing country and bringing joy to the people of it along the way. Nothing I’ve done in my career thus far has felt better."

MA: "On tour, your only job is the show, which is really nice. Most of the time doing theater in DFW I'm juggling 3-4 day jobs as well as performing/rehearsing. Tour is refreshing in that aspect because the only thing you have to focus on is your one job."

LT: "It's so much fun. It can be absolutely exhausting. I mean, just draining. But in the end, you think back and think 'Wow, what a blast.' There's something about being paid money to do what you love with the people you love in cities that you've probably have yet to see or explore that you just can't beat. It's always very exciting."