From Princess to Gargoyle

I told you that after four and a half years full-time as Belle, Disney casting had different plans for me. Here’s that story.

For those who have never been through a Disney contract talk, they’re pretty simple. You walk in; you get told if they have a new contract for you or not, and barring any wage negotiation or other subjects, you are done! Now, let me be very clear…Disney owes you no more than the contract you signed, so I always believed that to assume you will be getting another year’s contract is fool-hardy. 

So, in a ten-minute contract talk, I went from Princess to Gargoyle. The year was 1996, and they were scheduled to open a brand-new show, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. They had found someone on the audition tour that they thought would do well as Belle, and they wanted to give me the chance to try a new skill, character acting! Now, there are two ways I could’ve looked at this. Had I been super hung up on being a ‘princess’, I may have taken offense at the prospect of swinging so far on the ‘pretty pendulum’. But, I’ve always been way more of a realist when it comes to this profession. As a female performer, it’s wise to understand and accept that your ingénue years are limited. Plus, I was intrigued by the challenge of becoming a surly yet nurturing centuries-old cathedral dweller! 

This role was the best gift that Disney ever gave me! (Thank you, Russ Jordan!) Basically, they gave me the opportunity to learn the skills of character acting on THEIR dime! I got to work in a cast filled with skilled pros and had the chance to hone my craft and new skills up to 25 times a week! I still got to do Belle for five more years, played Esmeralda tons of times, and even trained all the new Belles, but if I had to pick a favorite role I ever played at Disney, it would be Laverne!! I love that old stone broad!