Volunteer Spotlight | Tammi Zumwalt
Tammi Zumwalt makes her QCT debut in what just happens to be her all-time favorite musical — and we’d say that’s a perfect match. No stranger to the stage, Tammi has directed and performed in numerous productions with Pike Theatre Guild. A true COME FROM AWAY superfan, she even got to meet the real Nick and Diane over Zoom during the pandemic. Offstage, Tammi is wife to Jarrod, mom to Katie (29) and Molly (11), and proudly answers to “GrammiTammi” to grandkids Anna and Tommy. Welcome to QCT, Tammi!
This is your first production with QCT! What made you want to audition for COME FROM AWAY? I would be lying if I tried to say it was anything other than THIS SHOW!! I haven’t been on stage in 25 years, but I have said for a while now that I would step out of my comfort zone and audition for COME FROM AWAY if it ever made its way to Quincy. When they announced the season in September, I started preparing. It is truly a passion project for me. I am sure everyone in the cast will tell you I am a CFA junkie. I have all the books and know every line and every detail of the real story.
What has been your most memorable moment during the rehearsal process? It was very early in the first vocal rehearsals. I was feeling like a fish out of water and doubting myself. Our Vocal director was trying to get the different parts to blend together, and she asked us to stand in a circle and then move around and stand next to someone that you don’t normally. I was terrified. We sang this one section of a song over and over again. There I was, thinking I was the weakest link in this room of really talented people who were strangers to me, and we just crowded together and worked off of each other, and the sound was amazing. It was magical and will always be something I remember.
If you could play any role in any play or musical, what would it be and why? It might be cliché, but it’s Diane in COME FROM AWAY. In 2017, I saw this performance at the Tony Awards, which I found out later was from CFA, and I was mesmerized. I listened to the soundtrack nonstop. In 2020, during the pandemic, I fell down the rabbit hole and read and watched everything about the real story of what happened. I got the opportunity to be on a Zoom call with “super fans” with the real Nick and Diane from the show. Diane just really spoke to me. We are of similar age at the time, both trying to find ourselves later in life. I just really saw a part of myself in Diane. I think CFA brings out everything you want in a show. It’s funny, poignant, thoughtful, brilliant, and will make you laugh and cry. A CHORUS LINE will always be my favorite all-time musical, but I think physically those days are over for me, haha.
What’s one thing you wish the audience knew about what goes on behind the scenes? I don’t think people who have not been in shows realize the relationships that are formed. Especially with this cast or shows of smaller companies. There you are with these people who are in the same spot as you, trying to learn lines, remember choreography, WHERE TO MOVE YOUR CHAIR, for long hours TOGETHER. You become family. I will be close with these people for the rest of my life. I have no doubt about that. I just lost my best friend last spring, and I realized these friendships are exactly what I needed in my life right now. You become family very quickly.
Is there another area of volunteering at QCT that you haven’t tried yet, but would like to? For many years, I was a member of the Pittsfield Theatre Guild and directed many shows. It is probably my take-charge Type A personality, but as much as I have enjoyed being on stage again, I love to direct. Taking a show and dissecting it to every detail and then working to bring that vision to the stage through other people’s performances is truly satisfying. I would love to get the opportunity to direct again.
For someone who has never volunteered with QCT before, what would you say to convince them to get involved? Do it!! First, there is something for everyone. You can perform, direct, build, paint, organize, clean, usher, sell tickets, hang posters, etc. I guarantee that no strength in your life that could not be utilized at QCT. I have never been part of a theatre that is so organized and set up for everyone to work so independently, while at the same time being a vital cog in the overall wheel. From sewing costumes to building sets to belting out the big number, there is truly something for everyone. The last several weeks have been so fulfilling for me, and I cannot wait to be involved more once this show is completed.
What’s the most challenging part of preparing for a role while also balancing your day-to-day? For me, preparing to play Diane had been ingrained in my soul for 6-7 years. She is a part of me. The “work” is hard. (It’s way different to walk on chairs and belt out a song on stage in front of a crowd than it is to do it in your shower.) But for me, it has been the stage-life balance. I work a full time job, a part-time job, and a side cake pop making gig. I live an hour from the theatre, so I have two hours of commute each night for rehearsal. I have a husband, a 5th grader, and a grown daughter with 2 beautiful children who need their GrammiTammi. I try to be as involved in my community as possible. Some weeks, the time gets to me. Being away from my family 5 or more days a week for 6-7 hours a night and getting home at midnight and packing lunches and just kissing them on the forehead before passing out is stressful. But, in making the decision to audition, my husband, children, and I sat down and discussed what this could mean. And they all stepped up and said they would do whatever they needed to because they knew what this show meant to me and what doing something like this would bring to my life. I am forever grateful for how my husband, especially, has stepped up and really taken charge to allow me to do this. I get emotional every time I think about what they will think when they see me step out on that stage. I just want them to be proud of me and know that I needed this and, in the end, it was all worth it. My favorite line in the show is overarching, and I hope it resonates with them as much as it does with me about this process – “Tonight we honor what we lost, but we also commemorate what we found”.