Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

It is not everyday that you get to meet a person so equally passionate with two divergent fields, say engineering and entertainment.

One such person is Catherine Ricafort, originally from Thousand Oaks, California. She took up Industrial and Systems Engineering (with a minor in Musical Theatre) at the University of Southern California (USC) as a presidential scholar and graduated last May. It was through this degree that she realized the real value of discipline and the importance of academics.

"Even if my passion was singing/dancing/acting, I’ve always believed in the value of a solid education. My mom has been a teacher and is a college/career counselor, and my dad is an engineer," Ricafort said.

She is currently a part of the national touring production of the musical A Chorus Line, essaying the principal role of Connie. Had she not been sidetracked by her dream to pursue a musical career, she thinks she’d already be in the thick of getting her masters in engineering.

"I’ve never performed this much before, but I am not complaining," Ricafort told the Asian Journal in an interview a week before their shows in Connecticut. The touring crew does eight shows a week for more than 20 weeks and will be performing in various cities and states until May 30.

Before her stint with A Chorus Line, Ricafort has been busy performing left and right, taking in roles of understudies and ensemble parts, in order to hone her career.

Performing since the age of three, she has been involved in numerous musical theatre productions, including the role of Annie. She is also an avid dancer in jazz, tap, ballet & pointe, hip-hop, and lyrical, and she has danced principal roles with USC Repertory Dance Company and Pacific Festival Ballet Company.

That is why she felt right at home doing A Chorus Line because the musical showcases her talents in singing, dancing and acting. A triple threat, indeed.

Critics say that this nine-time Tony Award-winning musical is not for the faint of heart, mind or foot. The stage is stripped bare of amazing mechanical woodwork and the performers are not garbed in the most flamboyant of costumes. It’s all about talent.

Since its opening in 1975, A Chorus Line has been captivating audiences with its realistic interpretation of just how grueling the audition process is for Broadway plays and musicals. It is, in a nutshell, a story of 17 cast members lining the bare stage for the entirety of the musical, which is set for an audition in the "Great White Way."

By the time A Chorus Line finished its historic run at the Shubert Theatre in 1990, it was the longest-running Broadway show in history, with 6,137 performances. Cats, Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera have since passed it.

The musical was revived on Broadway from 2006 to 2008, and the touring production began work immediately after the curtail fell.

At the end of the show, the audience is given an idea on how casting calls and auditions are really done, with all the raw emotion of each character giving his/her best in order to land the coveted roles.

With encouragement from family and friends, Ricafort moved to New York from California last September in order to pursue her dreams in the theater.

It has all been about auditions and casting calls since then.

"It was a big and scary decision for me—I had never lived very far from my family. I didn’t know anyone and would have to get in lines for auditions at 6am and wait all day long to get the chance to sing for 30 seconds or learn the dance routine, not knowing if I would even be seen or turned away at these auditions," Ricafort reminisced.