made his name with Saturday Night Live,
and Missi Pyle who starred in such films
as Big Fish and Galaxy Quest. All three of
us went on to attend the North Carolina
School of the Arts.”
In 1993, “I got accepted to the School
of the Arts, which is by audition only.”
Each year, “35 kids out of 1,500-2,000
who audition are accepted for the intense
training. It gets more difficult as each
year students are asked to return based
upon evaluations. By the end of the
second year, only 15 students are asked
to return. This is called the Sophomore
Slaughter. Chris, Missi, and I made it past
the cuts and were graduated,” Wes said.
“After graduating with a Bachelors of
Arts degree from the School of the Arts
in 1997, I headed to New York City in
July to begin looking for a job. I went
and bought a bartender book to sign up
for classes to bring in some money,” he
continued.
“Within three weeks, I had found an
apartment in New York City, saw the
audition call for work with a small offBroadway production called the Blue
Man Group, and took the audition for the
New York show on a hot August day in
the Big Apple. I had never seen the show
before auditioning.”
The Group “had only two productions —
one at the local Astor Place Theater and
the other in Boston at the Charles Street
Playhouse. Another production was set
to open in Chicago at the Briar Street
Theater that October.”
“With all of my years of intense training
at the School of the Arts, I felt more than
prepared for my audition as a Blue Man.
The part was very physical and I was a
healthy 22-year-old in great shape. So, I
felt good about the audition.” That very
same night, “I got a phone call telling me
I was going to be a Blue Man.”
Wes “performed in the Off Broadway
New York City show from 1997 until
moving to Florida” to become part of the
Orlando show.
“I moved to Winter Garden in 2012 with
the woman I love and we couldn’t be
happier,” he said. “Laura and I reside on
a sprawling 2.5 acres in a two-bedroom
home, complete with a pool and office,
right beside the bike trail. We enjoy doing
a lot of year round outdoor activities that
we never did in New York City. We also
have taken many trips to the Keys and
the beaches on both coasts. Last summer,
I bought a surfboard and learned to surf,”
Wes said.
“Also in our home is a full drum set that
I can play any time I want. Back in my
Park Slope apartment in Brooklyn, I had
an electronic drum set that I could only
use certain days of the week and never at
night.” Wes met Laura Camien after he
began his new job. Laura had moved to
New York City in 1996 from Manhattan,
Kansas, and “started working for the Blue
Man Group’s core team. Today, Laura is
Vice President - Communications for
Blue Man Productions, responsible for its
PR globally.”
Laura is an award-winning film maker,
playwright, and actress. She is a member
of the Orlando Screen Writers Meet Up
Group. She also has established her own
business — Bridge Club Productions that
specializes in marketing/public relations,
producing, and writing.
“Laura guided the production of our new
book — Blue Man World — that came
out this year and is available in stores
and online,” Wes pointed out. “For both
Laura and me being associated with the
Blue Man Group is a dream come true.
Watching the show become a winner of
such recognition as a nominee for a 2000
Grammy Award, among numerous other
awards, is so wonderful,” Wes said.
“Every time I go to the theater, I look
forward to donning my Blue Man
costume and to entertaining hundreds
and hundreds more people every
performance,” adding to the show’s
record of already captivating over 35
million people worldwide.
V
Photo Captions & Credits
WGM - Wes on La Voz.jpg
Photo courtesy of Telemundo
Wes J. Day with fellow Blue Man Group
members performing the music for the
young singers on Telemundo’s La Voz 2016
season’s final show.
WGM - Wes in paint shot.jpg
Photo by Lindsey Best
Wes Day performing in the famous paint
splashing musical segment of the Blue Man
Group show.
WGM - Wes and Laura.jpg
Photo courtesy of Wes and Laura
Wes and Laura in their Winter Garden
home in August 2016.
OCTOBER 2016
|
WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
|
27