Gay&Night Mei 2016

218
Interview / Tituss Burgess
‘Our
community
has enough
going on,
without
making
people
feel selfconscious’
That’s interesting, because I would assume the
response from the audience in a theater would be
much more direct than when someone watches
something on Netix at home.
‘Yeah, but you know, television has afforded me the
ability to strengthen a muscle I didn’t even know I
had. And that in turn has caused me to trust myself a
lot more, and not need the response of an audience to
be a barometer for how well I’m doing. I can now read
a script and know exactly the right temperament and
tonality, how much to juice it, how much is supposed
to be in there. So one would think I would prefer
theater, but television is a whole fascinating new
world I found myself in.’
You’ve also recorded a studio album a few years ago.
The title track, ‘Comfortable’, is about body image.
How do you feel about the body shaming that’s going
on in the gay scene?
‘I think it’s so unfortunate. My doctor put me on a
diet because of health reasons, so I’ve lost a little
bit of weight. But I think we as a community have
enough going on, without adding“making people feel
self-conscious”. I suppose you like what you like, but
still. That’s one of the things that I don’t like about
humans. I don’t think animals do that to each other,
so I think we should take our cue from them.’
Gay Pride, and events like that. I love my community
so dearly, and it has been one uphill journey after
another. So when I hear of Gay Pride, it’s not so much
that I’m proud to be gay – which I certainly am, but
that’s not why I celebrate pride – I’m proud of the
strides we have made, and how resilient we are. I’m
proud of all the people who came before me and
fought so I could live freely, and a character like mine
would look normal on TV. Those are the things that I
celebrate and meditate on during pride.’
When you’re not shooting Unbreakable Kimmy
Schmidt, not performing on Broadway or recording
music, what does your life look like?
‘I watch Real Housewives of Atlanta! I’m looking
forward to the next season. Mostly I cook, and I write
music. My schedule picked up a lot, I don’t have as
much downtime as I had in the interim between
season one and season two of Unbreakable Kimmy
Schmidt. I’m focused on writing, I’m working on
another album, so when I do get to rest, it’s a small
dinner party and sitting around a piano and singing
some show tunes.’
The show was originally pitched to air on a cable
network. Do you feel that you and the other creators of
the show have a greater sense of freedom, because the
show ended up on Netix instead of a cable network?
‘I think the creators denitely have a greater sense of
freedom. I personally don’t feel it so much, because
as actors we’re sort of the last piece of the puzzle. The
writers probably feel it more immediately than we
do, because they don’t have a network that’s telling
them that certain jokes can’t go in because a certain
advertiser might pull out because it’s the butt of a
joke. With Netix we don’t experience that.’
When shooting the show, you’re on a set with some of
the funniest actors and writers of this time. Are there
any on-set anecdotes you can share? Are there any
antics going on?
I’m proud a
character like
mine can look
normal on TV
‘Honestly, when I hear about actors playing practical
jokes on each other on set, I think they probably have
a lot of time in between lming scenes. We don’t have
a lot of downtime like that. I did once TP Ellie’s room.
She thought it was funny, but she warned me never to
do it again.’
May is kind of the start of the gay pride season here in
Europe. What does gay pride mean to you?
‘Hmmm. I am very proud of who I am. I kind of wish
it were called “Human Pride”, though I certainly
understand the need for Black History Month, and
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