Class Notes: Esco Jouléy from “Trophy Boys”

Summary

Podcast Summary: BroadwayRadio - "Class Notes: Esco Jouléy from 'Trophy Boys'"

Release Date: July 29, 2025

Introduction

In this engaging episode of BroadwayRadio, host Lauren Claus Schneider sits down with Esco Joulet, who portrays Scott in the acclaimed play “Trophy Boys” at McC. The conversation delves deep into the intricacies of the play, Esco's personal journey, and the broader themes of inclusivity within the theater community.

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1. Esco's First Impressions of "Trophy Boys"

Lauren opens the discussion by asking Esco about his initial reaction to the play.

[01:05] Esco Joulet: "I absolutely loved it. I literally sent a message back to my team, and I said, I'm gonna book this. I was just so connected to what they were saying in the play..."

Esco emphasizes his immediate connection to the play's themes and its potential to spark meaningful conversations beyond the stage.

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2. Exploring the Play's Themes: Feminism and Debate

The conversation shifts to one of the play’s central debate topic: "Feminism has failed women." Lauren probes into Esco's character perspective on this statement.

[02:05] Esco Joulet: "...as we go throughout the show, I'm like, is this what my sister was talking about when we would have talks?... Just me and her when she was like, hey, I get like, catcalled by guys and like, this guy won't leave me alone."

Esco discusses how his character grapples with the complexities of feminism, initially confident but gradually confronted with deeper societal issues affecting his sister.

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3. Collaboration with Director Dania Taymor

Lauren inquires about Esco's experience working with the renowned director Dania Taymor.

[03:04] Esco Joulet: "We have never worked together before, but I love Danya. I think she's an incredible director... We did warmups before every rehearsal which really helped us get into our bodies, but also connect with each other."

Esco praises Taymor's unique directing style, highlighting the importance of team spirit and physical connection in their performances.

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4. The Dynamics of Performing Live Theater

Esco elaborates on the challenges and nuances of live performances, especially in a tightly woven cast.

[04:40] Esco Joulet: "Danya built into the play soft landings... moments in the play where you can go, oh, yes, this is a soft landing for me. I can get back on right here."

He explains how Taymor incorporated "soft landings" to help actors recover from mistakes, ensuring the performance remains seamless and engaging.

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5. Personal Journey: Gender Identity and Challenges

The discussion takes a personal turn as Lauren references Esco's article about his transition and the challenges he faced, particularly during the pandemic.

[06:50] Esco Joulet: "I have to stay on my own path and realize that the journey that I'm on is very special... The pandemic actually gave me time to sit with myself and really question why. Why am I doing this?"

Esco shares his resilience and introspection during difficult times, emphasizing the importance of self-discovery and authenticity.

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6. Impact of Identity on "Trophy Boys"

Lauren asks how Esco's identity as a non-binary and trans individual influences his portrayal of Scott.

[09:39] Esco Joulet: "Through my journey, I kind of thought I knew things... I never grew up as a man. My goal was never to be a man... It was an eye-opening experience."

Esco reflects on the depth his personal experiences bring to his character, enhancing the play’s exploration of gender and societal expectations.

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7. Inclusive Casting and Future Productions

The final segment addresses the playwright Emmanuel Montana’s commitment to inclusive casting and Esco’s perspective on its future implications.

[12:10] Esco Joulet: "I hope it is... I think more, more female, non binary trans people should be able to say these words and do this play. They really do that."

Esco advocates for broader inclusivity in theater, highlighting the empowerment and freedom it brings to diverse performers.

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Conclusion

Lauren wraps up the interview by reflecting on the play’s impact and the collaborative efforts of the cast and crew.

[15:07] Esco Joulet: "That freedom should be given to every person... I can have fun. And I really do want all people to be able to experience that type of freedom."

Esco’s heartfelt insights underscore the transformative power of theater in fostering understanding and celebrating diversity.

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Final Thoughts

This episode of BroadwayRadio offers a profound look into Esco Joulet’s role in “Trophy Boys”, his personal journey, and the broader themes of feminism and inclusivity in modern theater. Esco’s candid reflections and passion for the craft provide valuable perspectives for both theater enthusiasts and those interested in the evolving landscape of performing arts.

Transcript

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[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Hi, I'm Lauren Claus Schneider with Class notes for Broadway Radio. I'm here with Esco Joulet playing Scott in the Trophy Boys at mcc. Hello.

[Esco Joulet]

Hi.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Hi.

[Esco Joulet]

Hi.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

I'm very glad you're here. And we're going to talk about. The Trophy Boys prepare for the final debate of their undefeated high school careers. Going up against their sister school, they get a debate topic so weighted, there's no way they could possibly win.

[Esco Joulet]

Or.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Or could they? This play written by Emmanuel Montana. What were your first impressions upon reading it?

[Esco Joulet]

I absolutely loved it. It was. I literally sent a message back to my team, and I said, I'm gonna book this. I was just so connected to what they were saying in the play and the questions that they were trying to bring up and the conversations that I think people are having outside of the show. At mcc, they like to say there's three acts to a play. You know, there's the first and second act that you have to deal with in the show, and the third act is going home and talking about it with your friends and family. And I feel like this is one of those shows that just makes people talk, and I love that that it's a conversation starter.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Mm. The play requires the characters to grapple with. Quote, feminism has failed women. Give us some insight as to your character's thinking about that statement in the context of the debate.

[Esco Joulet]

Nice.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

I knew you'd like that.

[Esco Joulet]

I did like it. Well, my character, the backstory that I have for my character, being from a black prominent family, both my parents, Scott's parents, are lawyers. And the question. I actually think about my sister the most when the question comes, and I'm like, no, my sister's doing great. And then as we go throughout the show, I'm like, oh, is this. Is this what my sister was talking about when we would have talks? You know, just me and her when she was like, hey, I get like, catcalled by guys and like, this guy won't leave me alone. And it starts to make me think deeper about it. But at first I'm like, oh, we can do this. I have a mom, I have a sister, and I love them. I'm a good guy. Let's go. But it's actually more complicated than that.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

The play is directed by Dania Taymor. Have you two worked together before?

[Esco Joulet]

We have never worked together before, but I love Danya. I think she's an incredible director. The way that she goes about directing shows, I think is very helpful. I come from a very athletic background. I also do clown. And before every rehearsal, we did a warmup. And for people who haven't seen the show, there's only four people on stage. And those warmups really helped us get into our bodies, but also connect with each other. And I just thought that was such an interesting way for her to help us build a team, a team spirit. Oh, I just thought it was brilliant because she never mentioned it, but throughout rehearsal I was like, I see what she's doing. And I was just so grateful for that. Day one, she was just so on point about how much we have to be a team for this play to work. Just completely right about that. And the teamness of it actually makes, I think, in my opinion, the show really sparkle and hit because people love watching sports and teams work together very well. And that's what we do on stage. Because of Danya.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Yeah. And it requires the cast to be so intricately woven for the whole 75 minutes.

[Esco Joulet]

Yes.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

What happens if or when one of you goes a little off or up on a line or an understudy goes on for the first time.

[Esco Joulet]

Good. Good question. So Danya, hats off to her again. She built in to the play soft. We call it soft landings of places. Because we're on stage the whole time. Yeah. That is. I mean, to be focused, like intensely focused, especially with the topic, for seven to 75 minutes is very intense for the brain. And she built in soft landing. So if you feel like you get lost, there's moments in the play where you can go, oh, yes, this is a soft landing for me. I can get back on right here. Oh, I have another soft landing. I can get back on right here. And we also do warm ups before the show where we run the top of show. And then at five minutes, we also gather together again and we literally talk to each other and say, hey, how are you personally doing today? What is it that you need? And that also, also Helps the understudies because we've. We built this kind of family that is, we realize that we're also real people who are thing. And also, if I can say, people who have been through these things that we're speaking about because we are in drag. And so we also have to respect that things are going to hit us differently every show. And so we truly try to build in a communication with everyone and really asking everyone, hey, how you're doing? How are you doing? And of course, like, we always go up on lines and we just look at each other and we have. It's. It's fun. I mean, that's the thing about live theater, right. Little mistakes are going to happen, but it always does make the show better.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

It's certainly interesting and keeps you on your toes and the audience on their toes.

[Esco Joulet]

Yes.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

And there's an article from the Direct where you talk about transitioning in 2019 with low dose testosterone and you had concerns about your vocal register. Then the pandemic hit in early 2020. How do you see yourself or how did you get through that time where it was such a challenging time for anyone under any circumstance?

[Esco Joulet]

You know, I think, I don't think the journey's done, especially with, like, the world that we live in right now. I mean, at the beginning of the year, we had someone say that there's only two genders. And I really feel like that's holding everybody back. I think everyone should be able to explore and be however they want. But when it definitely comes to our career and you start thinking that only maybe people see the binary of just like men and women, it gets scary a little bit. No, I mean, it gets scary a lot. And what I've had to do is actually stay on my own path and realize that the journey that I'm on is very special and that I'm hoping that through me keeping pushing forward, that at least one person sees that and they're like, I can do it too. And so that's what I keep thinking about, even through, you know, throughout the pandemic. The pandemic actually gave me time to sit with myself and really question why. Why am I doing this? You know, and it. And I realized that it had to be for myself. I have to. I have to have fun. And I. And I'm also. I am on it. I don't think what I'm doing is anything new. I think there have been people who have existed like me for ages. But I also know that the importance of people who might just be a Little bit off to the left. It is to encourage other people that we need this. We, we need new faces. We, we need to know that things can sound differently, especially with the voice and all those types of things. I've gotten back into singing opera, which I don't think I would have ever done if I wasn't on the journey that I've been on. And I've been on the self discovery of realizing that, you know, we're all unique and, and to just keep that as the, as the goal. It's just to be unique as possible and whatever happens, happens. And we'll see what the entertainment business does, you know, but.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

We'Ll see what it does.

[Esco Joulet]

We'll see, we'll see. I'm over here trying to not put gender on things myself and to keep myself curious, to see what is, what is possible, what is possible for the voice, what is possible for the body, what is possible for stories. And I'm really grateful for that.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Uh huh. Well, and you're a beautiful black actor who identifies as non binary and trans. Does that part of you inform the work you're doing in Trophy Boys?

[Esco Joulet]

It, you know, I think it does, it does. And I, in a way that is very special to me, I think because through my journey, I guess I kind of thought I knew things. I was like, I know, I know what's happening here, I get it. And then I was hit in the face with, no, you don't get it, you don't know everything. I do have things that might be a little bit helpful with knowledge of like just like the gender exploration that I have been on. So that has been helpful. But at the end of the day, I never grew up as a man. You know, my goal was never to be a man and to really actually enter that, what do I want to call it? Enter that space of what the world considers masculine and the pressure that they put on men. I've never entered that space before. So to truly enter that and be like, okay, I'm going to play because we're, I mean we're playing and we're playing very seriously. It was, it was such a eye opening experience and still is to this day of when a black man, when something, when something is said about men, you know, there's a group of us, we're all different ethnicities, but if there's a rape allegation, I was like, guys, you know what I just realized? The black guy is going to be guilty. Which I've never had to go through myself. Never had to think About. And so entering that space, I just learned a lot about compassion, about what I think, how I think about things when I hear things, and who I think about is guilty first. And I just had to take a really deep look at myself and I thought a lot about my guy friends and my cousins, you know, and what they've had to go through growing up and stuff like that. And I have like so much more compassion.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Well, last question. The New York Times has said that playwright, actor Emmanuel Montana has made the casting of female, queer, trans and non binary actors non negotiable. I'm gonna ask you to look into your crystal ball. Do you think that that's going to be the case for all future productions?

[Esco Joulet]

You know, I, I hope it is. I mean, I also think that, and I think that they're also open to this, that even straight women should be allowed to step into these roles. Because I think it's, I also think, and if you can go with me here, for people who have been on the other side of this, you know, we've all seen the, you know, Dr. Chris, Christy Ford, Mrs. Ford, we've seen all those. And I was like, you know, what also could help women deal with these things is being able to see the other side. And it also could be healing at a certain point because what these characters have given us, that's very powerful if we're going to look at the good side. I've never been able to take up so much space in my entire life on set. I have never been able to play so hard. And I was like, that freedom should be given to every person who, who, who has been born with a vagina. Just that freedom, the place to like spread your legs. The, the, the, the. As loud as you want, you know, the, the space to say something that probably isn't right, that you probably should someone say, you shouldn't say that, but to say it anyway, you know, it, it does give people a freedom that they've never got to experience before. And so that is the thing that I think we all know and I, and I hope spreads out with this play because I really do think that more, more female, non binary trans people should, should be able to say these words and do this play. They really do that. It has empowered me in a way of like walking down the street. I mean, Scott, Scott has given me my playback, my clown. I could never really be the class clown, but Scott is. And I'm like, I can exist like this, you know, I, I can, I can have fun. And I really do want all people to be able to. Able to experience that type of freedom.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Yeah.

[Esco Joulet]

That makes any sense?

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And we'll see what future productions in relation to the playwright's vision or requirements about casting will bring. But it's incredible to hear you say that, especially thinking about what's going on in the other teams. Debate prep room with the girls team from the girls school while we're being able to watch the boys team from the boys school have this team experience to create their argument for something extremely meaningful for them.

[Esco Joulet]

Right.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

This has been great. I thank you so much, Esco.

[Esco Joulet]

Thank you so much. I truly appreciate it. Thank you.

[Lauren Claus Schneider]

I'm Lauren Clash Schneider with Esko Jouer playing Scott in Trophy Boys at mcc. Thank you.

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