Latest / The BSB Podcast / Exclusive Interview: Chase Bowman and Quinn Jacobs of The Ringwald Theatre's 'Steel Poinsettias'

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Exclusive Interview: Chase Bowman and Quinn Jacobs of The Ringwald Theatre's 'Steel Poinsettias' · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  The holiday season is a time to gather with family and friends, much like those who frequent Truvy's Beauty Spot.
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  The Ringwalt is returning to the world of Steel Magnolias in a holiday parody sequel, Steel Poinsettias Today we're talking to two of the cast members from the show, Quinn
• 0:13
  Jacob and Chase Bowman.
• 0:14
  How are the two of you doing today?
• 0:15
  Doing great, thanks for asking.
• 0:17
  Thank you so much.
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  We're super excited to talk to both of you and we are super excited to talk about this show.
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  We have seen Steel Magnolias before and it's absolutely devastating.
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  So I can only imagine what humor and tragedy maybe happened in this one.
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  So I'm wondering, Chase, can you kind of start us off by telling us what's happening?
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  and the story of Steel, Poinsettias
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  So during the story of Steel Poinsettias, it is all the ladies that are back in the shop.
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  But we have time jumped a few, like 20 or 30 years.
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  So we are now in like current day, like 2025.
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  And so it involves JJ coming home for the holidays and sort of bringing up a lot of like challenging questions for M'lynn
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  uh and so she's sort of like dealing with JJ, uh JJ coming home and JJ asking her all these questions and uh and so all the ladies in the shop and including Annelle who's
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  played by Quinn.
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  uh Annelle is...
• 1:20
  Oh no, my god.
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  I'm so sorry.
• 1:24
  Yeah, thank you.
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  Sorry about that.
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  So the characters that we play, uh JJ Jackson Jr.
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  is Chase's character who is um Julia Roberts' son.
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  In the movie, if you remember, she has her son and that's when she passes away, very sad, of course.
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  Everyone remembers.
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  And I play Annelle's daughter, Shelby.
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  So Darryl Hannah at the end of the movie, if you remember, she goes into labor.
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  She tells M'lynn she's going to name her daughter Shelby.
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  um after Julia Roberts' character, that is who I play.
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  We are best friends, Shelby and Jackson Jr.
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  Yes.
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  Thank you so much, Courtney, for fixing my mistakes.
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  It's very much like you two are the legacy characters from the original story.
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  We are, we are the only two characters in the show that do not appear as like characters in the movie.
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  We are kind of added on, uh which makes it very special.
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  We get to add on into a new generation and uh you see kind of how this village has shaped these two new people.
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  fantastic.
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  What is that like stepping into the world of a story that so many people are familiar with?
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  mean, Steel Magnolia is a classic.
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  It is.
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  Chase, you want to take that one?
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  Yeah, I got it.
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  got it.
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  I love Steel Magnolias because my first introduction to it, I worked a play version of it a few years ago at Thumb Coast Theaters.
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  uh They did a play version a few years ago and I was very lucky to work backstage for it and I had not watched the movie yet.
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  So I was going into it completely blind and every single night that I worked it, I was absolutely devastated.
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  Like I cried every single night where it was M'lynn doing the monologue.
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  um
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  where she's grieving her daughter.
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  Like it was so heartbreaking every night to watch it.
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  And then I waited to watch the movie like a few years later um because I wanted that to be like my initial introduction.
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  But I still love the culture that it has brought.
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  I love how it has brought like a sense of unity for a lot of people.
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  And a lot of people can also see themselves as these characters.
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  that's sort of what, or they see like their other family members as like those characters that they see.
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  And so it's very
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  nice to be able to help portray those characters and help bring them to life.
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  to say that I've never I had not seen Steel Magnolias until recently when uh Birmingham Village Players put it on last year and so I had no idea walking in either what I was
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  getting myself into and it's just like so it's soul-crushing but it also there's such catharsis to it as well there's like the humor and the the emotions that of them coming
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  together as a family is just really it's really a nice piece of that story
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  Yeah, it feels like such a such a great slice of life like when I I have a Almost a similar experience to you.
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  I saw the movie many many many years ago I didn't remember much about it except for like the biggest plot points.
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  I revisited it just recently um before we started uh rehearsals for steel points that does and whoa How crazy it was?
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  these women and their lives and how they support each other.
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  It was just such a beautiful story of love and hope.
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  it really, brings you into tears.
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  Even without all the tragedy in it, it brings you to tears.
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  Absolutely.
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  So what drew you to auditioning for the show, Quinn?
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  Yeah, so actually, if you can believe it, uh the writer of the show, his name is Vince Kelly.
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  He's written for uh many Ringwald shows in the past.
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  He's a very talented uh performer, writer.
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  He actually wrote the show with all of us in mind.
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  Yes, every person who is in the role that they are, he had that person in mind while writing their character.
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  uh he told us the other day, he was like, it's actually...
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  I was so ecstatic that you all said yes, because this is who it was meant for and I'm so happy you guys are all here.
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  And with that, it's been such a wild ride.
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  He wrote it perfectly.
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  We're all in a great place with the character that we have and it's been such a fun journey.
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  such a huge compliment for someone to write a show with you in mind for a role.
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  I literally was like my god that's that's so crazy it's happened to me before I just never happened to chase before you know and and getting to step into that the new characters
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  like that is such a such an honor it really is.
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  I will say it is very fun, especially when you're like looking into the script and looking into our texts where it's like, there's moments where I'm just like, where I will read and
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  I'm like,
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  like this is the conversation that we have had before.
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  Or like, this is like a joke that has been said in the rehearsal room and now it's in the script.
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  And so it's fun seeing little conversations and little bits that we have in our real life sort of be written into the show.
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  It's a lot of fun.
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  So you're playing JJ Chase.
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  Who, like what is JJ's narrative through this show?
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  JJ's narrative, like he's very, he's very stubborn.
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  He's very, um he's very similar to how M'lynn functions with, like with Shelby not being a part of his life, sort of M'lynn went and stepped in as like the, as the mother figure,
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  like as the great grandmother figure that I have.
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  um And with JJ, he's very much like he's set in his ways.
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  He knows what he wants and he knows that like he's gonna stick to what he wants and it's very much sort of like that's also how M'lynn functions too.
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  where she's kind of like, she's set in her ways and so she like, she has her past, she has her ideas and so she sort of sticks to them.
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  Well, because they're so similar, they also like to fight a lot.
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  And so it's a lot of fun to play with that aspect, especially with Joe Bailey.
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  I love Joe Bailey with all of my heart.
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  uh He directed me and Quinn actually in our college production, Rocky Horror.
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  And so that's how we got to meet him.
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  it was like, and so knowing him for so long and...
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  Having this relationship with him, it's so much fun to play off of him as well.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  such an energy that I can only imagine what that's like.
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  Oh yes, yes, especially like, cause we did Annie with him as well over the summer and him as Miss Hannigan, I still look at him as M'lynn and I'm I'm imagining like Miss Hannigan
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  like right in front of me.
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  It's so much fun every time.
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  am.
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  What is Shelby's narrative in this show?
• 7:58
  Yeah.
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  So Shelby is such a down to earth person.
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  She is always the coolest girl in the room.
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  She is the daughter, of course, of Annelle and Sammy, um who get together in the movie.
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  In the beginning of the show, she basically comes in and tells everyone that she is
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  putting her name forward to be in the Miss Christmas Pageant this year.
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  This is not something she has ever done before.
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  She is not by any means a pageant girly, um but she loves trying new things for ambition.
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  Like she's a very ambitious person.
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  It's established that she is the owner of a podcast, a true crime podcast in which she...
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  tells a lot about cold cases and different kinds of things in the south.
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  This podcast is really taking off for her.
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  um And she just wants to keep rising.
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  Every time that you see her in the scenes, she kind of is uh alluding towards different things that are going to push her career forward.
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  um And it all cultivates in the end scene, which I won't give any spoilers, but she...
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  basically comes into her own by the end of the show and she's uh ready for new chapters in her life.
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  That sounds like you both have such unique storylines that really showcase, again, just how this story can continue to grow.
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  these people, while we see, I think when you used earlier, Slice of Life, that truly, that was kind what the first movie was about, and you're recapturing that magic once again.
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  Absolutely.
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  Vince did a great job of really bringing in that the whole vibe from the movie, that familial connection.
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  He really did a great job of bringing that into the space.
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  And also he makes sure to add some little references from the movie into the script as well.
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  And so if you pay attention, you'll be able to catch some similar lines that you'll recognize from the movie.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  That's so cool.
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  I love a callback.
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  know, there's nothing like, I think all of us in this, our age bracket, we love a callback to something that we either grew up on or that we have such a closeness to.
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  ah So Chase, what is your process then for developing JJ?
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  So obviously you get the script.
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  I know that this was kind of written with you in mind, but how do you make this character your own?
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  When it comes with like the rehearsal process and everything I try to become like as memorized as possible So that way when I'm in the rehearsal room, and I'm walking through
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  the space I'm able to sort of like I'm able to sort of like step into JJ Because I like I still go to Wayne State and so I'm learning a lot of different acting techniques like
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  while I'm it while I'm in school and so like trying to uh Implement what I'm learning in classes into practice as well uh has been a lot of fun
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  And so it's like stepping into like my imaginary body and then sort of like walking with him through space and finding out every like little detail of him.
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  Like I have a little notebook that is pink and it has a bunch of flowers all over it.
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  And any sort of thought that I have like when it comes with JJ and like a character development, I'll write it down.
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  um I'll write it down or I'll just like make like a little note of just like, I like this moment between like these two characters or I like this relationship or I want to develop
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  this.
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  ah Or I write down any questions I have and so it's it's I try to sort of like flesh him out fully And sort of figure him out as a person and then sort of take him take him
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  physically and then walk him through the show ah Every night and so it's it's fun to see him make these decisions and watch him discover uh all of these new Conflicts all of these
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  new ideas every night
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  That's a very thorough process.
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  It's almost like as much homework as for a role that you possibly can do.
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  It's truly like, it's homework.
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  It's my craft.
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  It's what I want to do in my life.
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  And so I'm putting in the most effort that I can.
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  And so I hope that what I'm doing in the rehearsal room is able to showcase at the end.
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  Do you have a similar process or do you have a different way of developing Shelby?
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  Yeah, so my process is a little different.
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  I do keep a like little notes thing as well, but my process is a little bit more like tactile hands-on first and then I'll go back to do...
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  So I kind of am like a reverse of Chase where I'll go back now in the process or like towards like tech and then answer all those questions that have been like nagging in my
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  brain about her.
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  But in the beginning is when I just kind of try her on for size.
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  I start with um like just taking like walking around the house.
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  I don't really get into my character fully until I feel like my lines are memorized.
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  I think that that is a very specific thing for me.
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  It's always kind of been this way when I'm working on a character.
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  I just don't really feel in it until
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  I have it all down in my brain and I can start making different choices on stage because until I have the lines memorized, that's all I'm thinking about.
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  Do know what I mean?
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  It almost feels like it's a very technical part of it, you know what mean?
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  Like, you have to get it all in there before you can emotionally start to expand and feel who this character is.
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  Absolutely.
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  So as the process has been going on and I get more things down and I and I get more blocking down That's when I can really start to make Changes and make tweaks and really
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  start to look a little bit more inward on like, okay.
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  Why am I doing this?
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  Why am I?
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  Saying this right now.
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  What's what's causing me to move from point a to point B?
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  um That's when I can really start dissecting it and I think that it really opens up a huge world
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  for me to play in the whole like couple weeks before we open.
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  I think it is so much fun to be able to like be in costume, be in wig, be in character and just get to play around like I am Shelby.
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  feel like I would probably have a similar process because I would be so anxious about getting all the lines down first that I wouldn't be able to think about anything else.
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  So I can appreciate that.
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  So with the Steel Magnolias, which is definitely has comedic parts, but does have a lot of tragedy in the end.
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  How would you describe the tone of Steel Poinsettias?
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  I would say it still holds the light-hardness of the, it holds the light-hardness and the empathy of the movie and so it holds a lot of family values close, but also it is a Vince
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  Kelly written show and so it's humorous beyond belief and there's a lot of humor, there's a lot of heart that is really involved in this show.
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  Yeah, I think that it hit the nail on the head chase.
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  It is a very humorous show.
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  There is a lot of laughs.
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  There's a lot of room for play and a lot of like riffing that we do.
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  um But there's also a lot of heart.
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  There's a lot of seriousness.
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  There's many, there's quite a few scenes that are like the boiling points or that are the like there's you know, the um there's like in the middle of the show they have like the
• 15:29
  emotional climax of the show um and I think that all of the humor balances out into a really nice, excuse me, all of the humor and all of the emotion.
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  makes for a beautiful show.
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  think it all balances out very nicely.
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  ah And you get you get all the all the the laughs that you did in the movie and then you get all the tears that you did in the movie as well.
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  And also within a shorter time period and shorter time frame because we're only an hour long show like we're we're we're only like an hour.
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  Yeah, hour 15 minutes and so having to capture all of that all of the like essence of the movie within such a short time frame is is also something that we were playing with in the
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  rehearsal room to.
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  That's a quick pace.
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  I'm sorry.
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  It is, yeah.
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  So then what themes from the show really stand out?
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  And Chase, I'll start with you.
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  What kind of resonates with you the most right now with where you are in your life?
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  holding, for me it's holding like, holding everyone that you have close to you and knowing that you have like a support system there uh whenever you need it, especially when you're
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  going through like hard times and you're, and you feel like you're alone.
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  uh You're always going to have people by your side, especially like with how M'lynn had all the girls in the shop.
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  It's making me look at.
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  the relationships I have with people a lot more closely and it's allowing me to hold them a lot more uh within my grasp and being like, I don't want to you go because I love you so
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  much.
• 16:58
  Absolutely.
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  Quinn, how about for you?
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  So I have been really turning around in my head the idea of the fact that we will all be okay no matter what happens.
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  That is a huge theme of the story.
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  There is a lot of kind of uncertainty in the beginning about where the children's path will lead, the children being JJ and Shelby, about where our paths will lead and where
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  that leaves the older women of the shop, especially M'lynn.
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  um and I think that the whole the biggest moral of the story to me is that We all have each other will all be fine.
• 17:38
  It will it will be okay.
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  No matter the turmoil or The stress everything will turn out fine and we'll have the ones we love
• 17:48
  think that really showcases too just how important community is, especially now more than anything and The Ringwald is definitely one of those places where community is essential.
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  So before you know I let you go we do have to talk because this is a show that's kind of set during the holidays as per you can hint from the title.
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  So what are some holiday traditions that you like to keep alive in your personal lives in your real life you know?
• 18:13
  Chase how about you?
• 18:17
  So so I have a few that are that are like within my like little like lineup um And it's all it's all with my family like we always go get it.
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  We get a real Christmas tree every year um We always we always go as a family me my mom my dad my brother and my best friend Owen We always go get a Christmas tree We even used to
• 18:35
  get like a Christmas tree for my room to like a tiny little one like one of the Charlie Brown Christmas trees Because another one of our traditions is we watch your good man
• 18:43
  We watched the Charlie Brown Christmas and then we also watched the original animated Grinch movie.
• 18:50
  uh Because there's like a specific, and I can only watch it with my father because there's a specific scene where he'll just die laughing and it's only him that laughs.
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  And it brings me so much joy and I look forward to it every single Christmas.
• 19:08
  Those are some great holiday traditions.
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  Quinn, how about for you?
• 19:12
  So my mom loves to bake.
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  We will always bake a Christmas delicacy.
• 19:19
  It depends on what it is, you know, we've made different things in the past.
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  One time we made like a yule log, which was awesome.
• 19:26
  But we'll always make a different Christmas delicacy.
• 19:28
  We'll put up the tree together, we'll decorate it.
• 19:31
  um And then like Chase said, Christmas movies are just a huge part of any tradition, any family tradition specifically as well.
• 19:39
  put on the fireplace, you turn on your movie, got your hot cocoa.
• 19:42
  With my mom, I'll watch Eloise at Christmas time, one of my favorite movies of all time.
• 19:48
  uh Which actually, to me, it has a similar vibe to Steel Magnolias even, where it's just that kind of slice of life, like beautiful little story, you know?
• 20:02
  And then with my dad, I'll watch The Family Stone, which is another great Christmas movie.
• 20:08
  uh
• 20:09
  Yeah, I love getting...
• 20:10
  I love this time of year getting to revisit the things that I love.
• 20:15
  I think that's important again, because that shows like all these things that you're doing with family, including, know, people go to shows, theater, you know, this is why it's so
• 20:22
  big right around this time of year.
• 20:23
  So, ah but before I let you both go, one last question and Chase, I'll start with you.
• 20:28
  just, are you hoping audiences take away from this production of Steel Poinsettias?
• 20:32
  am hoping that people take away the love and appreciation of each other and also just to have a fun laugh oh every once in a while.
• 20:42
  And that it is okay to laugh in hardships.
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  Beautiful.
• 20:47
  Quinn.
• 20:48
  I love that answer, Chase.
• 20:50
  I think that I feel something very similar.
• 20:53
  I want people to come in and forget their worries, and I want them to have a great hour with us where we can make them laugh or we can make them cry, and then we can see them
• 21:04
  afterwards and send them on their way.
• 21:06
  I think that this is a great escape.
• 21:09
  Not even escape, that's not the right word, because I think that this is a great another world to visit.
• 21:16
  um
• 21:17
  in this time of year, I think that this is gonna give people a lot of holiday cheer.
• 21:21
  Perfect.
• 21:22
  Beautiful.
• 21:22
  Thank you so much for both of you being here.
• 21:24
  It's been such a pleasure chatting with you.
• 21:26
  Thank you very much.
• 21:27
  It's been a lot of fun.
• 21:29
  Yes, thank you so much for having us.
• 21:31
  Of course, absolutely.
• 21:32
  So Steel Poinsettias runs at the Ringwald Theater through December 21st.
• 21:35
  So get your tickets now and we'll see you at the show.