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"Just after moving to NYC, Jason Hite landed a starring role in Bare, the much-buzzed-about Off-Broadway play that's like Rent meets Spring Awakening with a dash of Shakespeare. About two gay high school students who are trying to understand life and love at their Catholic boarding school, Jason steals the show as the jock-turned-thespian who falls for another guy while dating the coolest girl in school.\n\nWe caught up with the 23-year-old actor before the show comes to a close on Sunday, February 3. (If you're in the city, snag tickets before it's too late!)\n\nThis was your first Off-Broadway role in NYC. How did you land it?\n\n \"I'd just recently moved to New York. I'd been working in the Bay Area and had hit a ceiling there. I needed a change of an environment. I came here with not a lot of contacts, and only a few friends. I got a call from my agents that they were looking to cast Bare, and I was vaguely aware of it because I had had a friend in the show. I'd actually done a production in Berkley California called that had a similar premise, so I went for it.\"\n\nYou dance and sing on stage. Do both of those things come naturally to you?\n\n \"It depends on what's being asked of me. I love to do movement on stage, but I'm not a technical dancer. Acting is my first love, but I do love singing and I'm in a band as well. It's about being a storyteller for me.\"\n\nHow did you get involved with a band?\n\n \"My band is called 5j Barrow. We started with just me and my girlfriend\u2014before she was my girlfriend, actually. We just started writing in her apartment and it's since grown into a seven piece indie folk monster. We just had our EP release last Saturday. It's totally grassroots right now.\"\n\nHigh school is a tough time for many kids. What was your high school experience like?\n\n \"I shifted lives midway through high school. I was strictly into sports and played football and baseball and basketball, but I wasn't growing as a person. I wasn't the greatest student, and my priorities were shot. I stumbled into theater because I needed an extra credit and was just looking for an easy class to fill it.\"\n\nSo you could really relate to your character, then?\n\n \"I had this double life: all of these bro-y joke friends but then, through theater, I knew what it meant to have tender moments. My high school experience wasn't as tortured as my character's. I was somewhat of a ghost, because I didn't do club stuff and I wasn't the golden boy.\"\n\nWhat was it like to land a role in an Off-Broadway production with 15 other young actors? Are you friends off-stage too?\n\n \"We all share one dressing room with a curtain down the middle, so yes. This is one of the first casts that I've been a part of that has made a conscious effort to spend time off-stage together, and it really does help our on-stage performances.\"\n\nThe show's ending next weekend. How do you feel about it, and what's next for you?\n\n \"I've had a wonderful time, but it's about holding on tightly and letting go loosely. While I am sad to say goodbye to the show, it's the biggest thing I've done in the city and I'm excited for what's next. I'll be going back to auditioning and working odd jobs. That's what I learned when I came out here three years ago\u2014I was blown away that I would see people on the Broadway stage on a Thursday, and then at an early morning audition the next day. Everything is temporary, and it's always about what's next.\"\n\nWhat's your advice for budding actors who dream of Broadway?\n\n \"Honestly, it's hard work. The city is not the nicest place. If you have a passion and drive, stay with it. There's going to be people that tell you 'no.' The best advice I have about auditions is that 'no' doesn't mean no, it means not now. The more relationships you build, the better.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/jason-hite-off-broadway-bare>