Every morning, Taylor Louderman starts her day by taking her puppy for a walk to the nearby coffee shop. Once caffeinated, she returns home to make a list of tasks she’d like to accomplish — dishes, laundry, a workout, answering emails and Instagram comments, plus whatever else she can squeeze in. She has a few hours to tackle the items before she’s no longer Taylor Louderman. By 7 p.m (almost) every night, she is Regina George.
Louderman plays the iconic character in Mean Girls on Broadway, and she says it’s a role that allows her to tap into the confidence she never thought she had. The 28-year-old (and former Campus Celebrity at University of Michigan) caught up with Her Campus to share what it’s really like to be Regina George for a living, and all that comes with being on Broadway.
Regina George does have some redeeming qualities.
“She owns her power, something I hope more and more women and young people will do. [Regina] needs to work on empowering others and kindness of course, but I have faith she will learn from her failures. Being a part of this show in this capacity has given me a platform to spread compassion for ourselves and for others. I like playing a character that is capable of bringing others down, but in the end, spoiler alert, chooses not to. We are all capable of hurting others, it’s important that we continue to choose love.”
Playing her comes with a lot of pressure.
“It’s unreal that I get to play this iconic character on stage every night. Sometimes it feels like a lot of pressure — trying to uphold the Rachel McAdams brilliance, but Tina Fey was smart in that she wanted all of us to make these characters authentically our own.”
You put in a full day of work before a full day of work.
“I could hit the gym, I might teach a Musical Theatre class to high schoolers from out of town, or I might have an audition. Auditions pop up one or two days in advance and can really mess with your time management given the preparation that goes into them, but it’s part of the job. Sometimes all of these things are loaded into one day and then I arrive at the theatre for the show dead tired. So I’ve tried to find a balance. I will also likely hit up the dog park and read a bit throughout the day. I try to cook when I have the time, and any other time I like to devote to projects outside of NYC that bring theatre opportunities to underserved communities.”
And when you’re done, you’re not done.
“After the show, I often have to give a backstage tour — either to friends or friends of friends came to the show, or I donated a tour to a charity. Then I might stage door if I feel up to it. And then I head home to do it all over again.”
You play one character, but it’s a team effort.
“One thing I try to do is walk around backstage at ‘places’ clapping my hands to spread enthusiasm and connect with everyone before we start the play. I don’t enter onstage until 20 minutes into the show, and my track is somewhat isolated, so I like to catch up with everyone before-hand to feel a sense of teamwork.”
If you’re studying musical theatre, don’t let fear hold you back.
“I wish I’d focused more on following my heart, and listening to what really inspires me even in the face of fear. I’m not sure I want to perform on Broadway my whole life and I wonder what else would fulfill me. I think fear of failing held me back from trying and learning other things.”