Ariana DeBose says “there’s no better training” for SNL than performing on Broadway.
The ‘West Side Story’ star - who hosted the NBC sketch comedy show in January that features regulars Kenan Thompson, Pete Davidson, Bowen Yang and others- found the costume changes much less trickier than when she worked in the stages musicals ‘Bring it On’ and ‘Hamilton’.
Speaking after being named as a nominee for the EE BAFTA Rising Star Award, the 30-year-old actress exclusively BANG Showbiz: “There’s no better training for something like a live show, like Saturday Night Live than theatre.”
She continued: “If you can do theatre and Broadway quick changes, like Broadway quick changes are six to four seconds long. And these lovely, lovely gals, we’re like, ‘Cool thing, you’ve got a two minute quick change, and I said, that is not quick.”
In addition, the Golden Globe winner found her live theatre background helpful with handling and correcting mistakes.
She said: “Also being on stage, and you know, potentially making a mistake and having to correct it in real time on a Broadway stage, you’re doing that on a live show. It is the greatest training I’ve ever had, because otherwise there’s no way to prepare for a show like that.”
On reflection, despite the nerves and jitters, Ariana would love to do it again and has “the greatest respect” for the people who put it all together.
She said: "I loved it. On a scale of one to ten , it was a 20. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the first three days, I wanted to actually run and hide. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But then the last 48 hours were just sheer joy and I have the greatest respect for all of those folks, not just the actors, everyone who actually makes the show happen and I sincerely hope I get to go back.”
Due the hectic preparation, Ariana didn’t “have time” to be nervous or even let thought float through her brain
She said: "You don’t have time to think, let alone read or know your own name. You just gotta keep going one foot in front of the other until you finish the show on Saturday. Or actually at that point, it’s Sunday.”
Public voting for the EE Rising Star Award is now open at ee.co.uk/BAFTA and the winner will be announced at the EE British Academy Film Awards on 13 March 2022.
Ariana is nominated alongside Lashana Lynch, Millicent Simmonds, Harris Dickinson and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
