Mean Girls on Broadway Stars Ashley Park and Kate Rockwell's Dressing Room Tour

Mean Girls on Broadway has taken theatergoers, critics, and social media by storm. The Broadway show has been nominated for 12 Tony awards (including Best Musical), and creator (and Tony-nominee) Tina Fey has brought the hilarity and wit of the film to the Great White Way. The show's set, unmatched style, and power house songs leave you consumed in a high octane world of high school cliques, cafeteria drama, genuine friendship, and let's not forget...a world run by PLASTICS. Amongst the shows many leading standouts are dressing roommates Ashley Park, who is Tony-nominated for her role as Gretchen, and Kate Rockwell , who shines comedically as Karen.

Contrary to popular belief, Broadway theaters are not known for their lavish sized rooms and with a cast this big, Teen Vogue wanted a glimpse into the small space and backstage world of these two broadway stars. With the help of interior designer and artist Mike Harrison, this comedic duo went from the white walls and limited square feet of their dressing room at the August Wilson Theatre, to something beautiful, comfortable, peaceful, and dare we say "fetch." We caught up with Ashley and Kate as they glammed for one of their many pre-Tony Award soirees to learn more about the space they prepare for the stage each night, the affordable inspiration behind Mike's design, and their experience working in the world of Broadway.

Teen Vogue: What was your inspiration for the design and aesthetic of your dressing room and how did you come to an agreement on this?

Ashley Park: Mike asked us what we wanted right from the beginning. What he likes to do is have everyone that he designs a room for send him inspiration photos. It was so funny, he said, "Because it's two of you, I want you guys to both get what you want. Why don't you guys do that part separately?” Literally, all of our photos were almost exactly the same. We were just like, "Beach, chic, relaxing."

Kate Rockwell: We framed a photo we both were inspired by and we had no idea the other chose the same one! One of the biggest rules we had was no pink. Because we knew that our costumes are pink, our jewelry is pink, gifts for the show that we get are pink, flowers people send us are pink… EVERYTHING is pink! We said to Mike really specifically, we want cool colors. We want lavenders and blues and greens. Things that are calming and comfortable. We really sort of had two sides of the same coin, where I feel like Ashley's been in a lot of Caribbean, more tropical, and I send in a lot of New England, Cape Cod.

TV: So great. So what do you think is one thing that you cannot live without in your dressing room?

AP: That coffee right there. The mugs are from TJ Maxx, and then the coffee press is from Home Goods. That was something we said very specifically to Mike. We're like, both of us drink way too much coffee, we want to be able to make coffee in the dressing room so we're not always at Starbucks. And we make a whole pot once a week, if not more, and then we can keep it in the fridge so we can have iced coffee throughout the week. But those mugs get used — I don't think I could survive without my little coffee station.

KR: I think for me, it’s my Muji diffuser because that was the first thing I brought in, personally, but for all the shows, I've always had a diffuser. It is just really important for moisture because we are non-stop.

AP: People comment on how good it smells in here all the time. That's what makes us feel like we’re somewhere calm and not a Broadway stage. Once we go down to the stage, our show, we don't come back up again until intermission. It's six quick changes in a row, and our characters are a lot of energy on stage, so we find ourselves a lot, like, once I have to do a wig change, we have to do a costume change at intermission, and we have about four and a half minutes before we have to go down to places again, where it's just like, close the door, turn on the diffuser, and it's just like total quiet in here. We both just do our thing, and it's great.

KR: I think we both really like our succulents and planters too! They are a really great addition to our space. We have a new one Mike just got us from Home Goods, and they all look great with our white curtains next to the hats from Goorin Brothers... which are our fave. We really wanted a space where people would come hang and feel comfortable after a show, and I think Mike helped us to create that. Most of our furniture is from Home Goods and it fits nicely for such a small space.

TV: Did you have any Instagram account or social media accounts that you looked at for interior design or décor? Like, celebrities that you like their houses, or anything you saw that you thought was interesting?

AP: Scott Pabst, our set designer, his home in Arizona. It's wood, minimalist, very spacious. That kind of desert feel is, like, obviously that corner over there. That is from Real Simple!

KR: Scott’s house is beautiful! We are both obsessed with the photos and we talk about the calming feel of it all the time.

TV: Obviously the room isn't inspired by Mean Girls. Was this important to you?

KR: I think when you spend as much time as we do living in a certain world, you can get tired of it, which we don't want. I love the Mean Girls world that we've created, I love my costumes, I love the bright bubble of show that we have, and, especially our characters. It is super high energy, and it's super in your face but you have to balance that out sometimes, or you just burn out and go crazy. We knew that for the being here so many hours of the day every single day, we were going to be living in that world, so it was important to make sure that this world felt different.

AP: I think Kate said it exactly. Also, I think we see ads for the show all over New York City.. .and for this show especially we are a part of “THE PLASTICS!”, and I think immediately in October when those first came out and the commercials first came out, it felt very like, "Oh my god, here's Mean Girls!" Also to me, it feels very self-glorifying, and I feel like for us that's really not us. it's exactly what we don't want the work to be about and what is so easy to fall into in this industry. It was like, "Oh, this is all about me." I think for both of us, It's so important to us to stay focused on the work, and that's something we really connect over. So it kind of feels like a palate cleanser every time we come in here, and that the pressure is taken off of us, and we're not looking at ourselves as our characters.

KR: It's nice to be reminded that that isn't you. That that's a character you play, and that's a job that you're doing. When we're onstage, we're not being ourselves, right? We're buying into a world. So then to come off stage, and if that felt the same in here, I think ultimately those characters start to fuse into you, and that's not who I am, that's not who Ashley is, so to have this space feel like who I am as a human was so important. Come into my apartment, and it's like this. Go into Ashley's apartment and it's like this. This is much more true to who we are as humans rather than who we are playing onstage, and that separation I think is really important to make sure you do remember that this is a job, and we're doing the work, but at the end of the day, we go home and walk our dogs, or eat cheese.

TV: Were the two of you friends before this show?

AP: I met her through the rehearsal process for D.C., and I was uber, uber tired all the time from double duty, and I really relied on Kate because we had almost all of our scenes together, and she knew what she was doing, she knew what the comedy was, and I really trusted her because I had seen her work before.

KR: I agree! I learned very early on that I could trust her, both onstage and off stage, and that's not always the case one way or the other. Sometimes you can trust someone in one environment and not in another. We do have almost every scene together, and when you do comedy, you build comedy together. If one person's not in, the comedy doesn't work. I think we both came into this wanting to trust each other and wanting to be able to rely on each other, and then we found that we could. Now we don't go a day without speaking. On our days off, we FaceTime each other.

TV: What would you say your favorite part of the set is, and what is your favorite scene that you're a part of?

KR: I mean, it's so obvious…the mall. We had one of our understudies on yesterday. So I was just paying attention to things a little more than I normally do to be aware of things. I looked up and I was like, “this is cool!” Sometimes I'm just so stunned by how visually spectacular that moment is.

AP: We have such a love-hate relationship with the cafeteria tables, but they are really cool. During the show we're being rolled in on this cafeteria table. Before, in our D.C. run, a lot of the set changes were, we were wheeling ourselves up. The students all do it, but we're in stilettos.

Kate: I also like the Halloween scene! I love it and it's so fun. Every night it is just me out there doing it, so if I'm alone and I bomb, I bomb by myself. I love the challenge of it and it is different every night. Every day I put my split in the same spot, I put my coat on the same way at the same time, I see the same people at the same moment, so when something can be really, constantly challenging and make me really stay on my toes, that's so satisfying for me, without having to deviate from what the show is and still being authentic to the show. I just love it.

TV: Do you guys think you created a bond with other women in the show?

AP: Oh yeah definitely, and that comes from Tina and Nell and Casey, and it just being a female-dominant team as well. This whole cast has really, really bonded. Everyone really lifts each other up; it's a super joyful cast. It is great to be a part of show that is so woman-centric and a lot of the show message focuses on that.

KR: Yeah and getting to put our collective weight behind organizations that empower women, and want to give women a chance to break through. Not to steal the glass ceiling metaphor, but to push through boundaries that have been in place for a really long time. The show gives the right definition to the word “woman.” Because sometimes musical theater does tend to fall into that trap, where we define what a woman is and stereotype her. But this show really tries to fight against that.

TV: We want to know more about your journey to Broadway! Where did you go to school, what did you major in, how did you get here?

AP: I went to school at the University of Michigan for musical theater. It's actually the only place I applied to, and I was like, if I'm meant to do musical theater, I'll just go to Michigan. I graduated with a BFA from there, and I moved here immediately. Mamma Mia was my debut and it was the time of my life! I had so much fun and learned so much from being the ensemble in Mamma Mia specifically, because it's a whole other thing to do a Broadway show, and a long running one. Just to learn what a call board is, and how you should take a personal day. And just to have adults in the industry around me like, "This is how you do your taxes as an actor." You know? Nobody teaches you that before the real world.

KR: Mine starts like that, then it goes a little awry. I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, I went to Baldwin Wallace, now University, it was College for Musical Theater. I moved to New York after I graduated immediately. I participated in a reality show on NBC called Grease: You're the One That I Want.” That sort of helped me be introduced in way that I wouldn't have been as just like another random Ohio white girl who mixed belts. After that, I made my debut in Legally Blonde, which was awesome and very educational, and a real eye-opener about what it is to do a long-running show, because it is not the same as doing regional theater, it is not the same as doing a college production.

TV: What advice would you give to a young person who wants to pursue their dreams, whether it's in theater or performing, or something else?

AP: Firstly, be nice. Not only to other people, but to yourself. I always thought the first part of that was the most important thing, and it is, but being nice to yourself is just as important. I feel like another big one is, someone else's success is not synonymous with your failure. Truly, the more that you surround yourself with people who are the best that they can be, the more that it will make you the best that you can be as well.

KR: Somebody told me a really long time ago, and now I paraphrase it: You can't be anything but yourself, and no one else can be you, so don't try to be somebody else, don't try to mimic somebody else.

Ashley Park:
Hair: Nate Rosenkranz
Makeup: Aidan Keogh
Dress: Tory Burch

Kate Rockwell:
Hair: Patrick Kyle
Makeup: Tanya Rae
Attire: Hellessy

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