Thank You, Five: Post Show Chat with Kolin Jerron

Production: The Lion King (2017)

Performer: Kolin Jerron

Role: Swing

Arguably one of the coolest moments in the show is when Simba sees his father’s apparition in the sky. What is the tech for that like?

It’s a lot. It’s a lot of work, but it’s good. It’s a lot of different pieces that go into it. In rehearsals, they teach us which part of the mask you’ll be holding. When they teach you that part, it’s very dark on stage, so you’re just kind of going off a feeling. It’s kind of crazy, because we can’t really see and we have these things covering our eyes. We get out on the stage and everyone has a particular place on stage where we stand- we all have a mark. We all have a queue when to connect our pieces to the mask.

That is very cool. What exactly are you holding that connects to the other pieces?

They’re really long poles and we’re just holding it together the whole time.

Is there anything else you want to add about the process or production itself? It’s such a big, Broadway-esque performance.

I’m a swing in the show, so it’s an incredible process. It’s very tedious because I have to learn eight different tracks- all the male dancers- which is a lot, because there’s five male dancers. I have to learn all of them, plus some of the male singers, so it’s a lot, but it’s very fun. It’s hard work, it’s dedication, but that’s what we train for. This is our job and this is what we love to do every day.

Feature Photo Credit: Joan Marcus