Encanto Star Stephanie Beatriz On The Most Challenging Part Of Singing A Lin-Manuel Miranda Song [Exclusive]
Disney's latest animated musical is the sweet story of an extraordinary family called The Madrigals who live hidden in the Colombian mountains in a magical place called the Encanto. The magic of the area has given every child an unique gift, that is, everyone except Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). All of that changes, however, when Mirabel discovers the magic of her home is in danger and the "ordinary" Mirabel may be the family and the land's last hope. Directed by Byron Howard ("Zootopia," "Tangled"), Jared Bush (co-director "Zootopia"), and Charise Castro Smith ("The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez"), "Encanto" features all-new songs from Emmy, Grammy, and Tony award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Stephanie Beatriz is best known for playing Detective Rosa Diaz in the comedy series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," but this is not Beatriz' first time delivering voice-over, nor her first time singing to Lin-Manuel Miranda's music. Beatriz previously lended her voice as Gertie in "Ice Age: Collision Course," General Sweet Mayhem in "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part," and a flurry of animated series. Most recently, however, Beatriz played hair stylist Carla in "In The Heights," the Jon M. Chu film based on Miranda's musical of the same name.
Miranda's music is known for its fast-paced and unique presentation, marrying classic musical theatre with contemporary pop stylings. /Film's own Hoi-Tran Bui spoke with Beatriz about her experience working on "Encanto," and got to the bottom on what is the most challenging part of singing a Lin-Manuel Miranda song.
You've Gotta Find Time To Breathe
As Beatriz told /Film:
I think the most challenging thing sometimes is to figure out where to breathe in his songs because the way that they're structured is not necessarily... You got to plan it out. You got to literally plan out "Okay. On this eighth note or whatever I've got to..." So that I'm ready for the next big chunk of it. Because he composes, right? He's a songwriter, but he also composes the structure of these songs in a way that they inform storytelling. So you want to stick to the map that he's given you because he's doing something beyond your own understanding, I think. So you don't want to mess up the gift that he's giving you. Right? Because it's so good. So I think you just sort of try to show up and do your best and not screw up on Lin-Manuel Miranda song.
Anyone who has ever tried to sing along to "Guns and Ships" from "Hamilton" or "Benny's Dispatch" from "In the Heights" alone in their shower can tell you, Miranda's writing takes no prisoners. The amount of storytelling he manages to squeeze in to each song is astounding, and proves why he's becoming the musical theatre auteur of a generation.