15 Minutes of Fame: So you think you can nuke Part 2
Has Evan had the time to play much since his SYTYCD journey began? Are there restrictions on his contact with the outside world and virtual worlds?
Evan does stop in from time to time, usually before he goes to bed. He managed to knock off the last few levels on his alt Shaman (I couldn't be prouder that he rolled a Shammie), Ankhtastic.
There aren't restrictions with the outside world -- at least, not the virtual one. The contestants are physically limited to the Los Angeles area during the competition, but they are insanely busy practicing and practicing and taping. The great thing is when he is on WoW, we get to chat (whispers and occasionally Vent), so even though I barely ever see him (I have been to LA twice since the top 20 began), I still feel connected to him.
For Evan, WoW is his outlet. The competition is intense, so everyone needs a little stress reliever. What could be better than blowing up a few Horde in a BG or beating down a boss or two?
Does anyone else on the show play WoW that you know of? Anyone that Evan can share geek-talk with?
Gamers on the show? Not that Evan has mentioned. I know Jason has at least watched Evan play WoW. And him and Phillip Chbeeb could definitely talk geek together. Phillip is a physics major and has a strong interest in inventions, so I am sure they had a common bond of geekiness.
How much do you hear from Evan at this point in the competition? Is anyone from your family with him in LA at this point?
We are a very tight-knit family. Even spaced across the U.S., we keep in touch. I mostly hear from Evan, to be honest, on WoW. It is really hard to know when he is going to have free time, so just calling him usually fails. We text also; that seems to work in between the crazy schedule he is keeping.
Right now, representing the family in LA are my mom (Barb Kasprzak), my wife (Elizabeth Kasprzak) and Mr. Rutherford, the theatre director at Groves High School in Birmingham, Mich., where we all went to school. (We all did theatre -- that also runs in the family, even those of us who went pro in a more geeky pursuit.)
It doesn't sound as if you've had much chance at all to meet up in game during these last weeks.
When Lich King came out and until Ulduar, we were meeting at minimum once a week to do a full clear of Naxx 10 every Tuesday (till like 2 a.m. California time, so 4 a.m. where he was) with Guildtastic. Other than that, it was kind of random.
WoW has always been our way to virtually keep in touch. Plane flights are vastly more expensive than a headset and a WoW account. Generally, if Evan is on, we try to do something, whether it is knocking out a few group quests for an alt leveling (that is most of what we did during SYTYCD, due to the very limited amount of time Ev was available) or hitting up a few BGs. Things that can fit in smallish time blocks -- a full time student/dancer/musical theatre player has some very small and random schedule holes.
After the competition, Evan will be heading out for the tour, won't he? Does he have a WoW-capable laptop to be able to take WoW on the road?
YES! Evan will be touring, and he has a WoW-capable laptop with him even now at SYTYCD. We went out and shopped for a very beefy Mac laptop so he could do video/audio editing for dance-related things at school ... but it is also very good as a gaming box.
So for any readers who are still wondering why we're talking to you instead of directly to Evan -- as this article goes up, what will be on Evan's agenda for the day?
Evan will be dancing for a spot in the finals on Tuesday. The actual taping of the Wednesday show on Fox is done on Tuesday, because they use Wednesday to learn the opening number for the results show. So as this article goes up, Evan will be dancing his heart out for a shot at performing at the Kodak Theatre in the Final 4 episode. The episode actually airs at 8/7c on Fox on Wednesday night.
When you last spoke with Evan, what was his outlook? How's he holding up under the pressure?
As you might imagine, the whole experience is very surreal. Evan said at least the first week, everything you did, you were like "Wow, I am really on a national television show dancing!" The first time he stepped on stage, the first time the theme music played from the speakers, etc., etc. ...
Evan is very excited about the numbers he is dancing this week. He has become very close to all the remaining dancers, so every week is a little bittersweet, no matter what the outcome is. I would say his current mood is excited for the finals. He is working very hard, and he is dancing the best he has in his whole life -- dedicating two solid months to nothing but eating, sleeping, dancing (and the occasional group quest) will do that. He is very excited at the prospect of getting to dance on the stage of the Kodak Theater in the finals and of course getting to tour the country showing off his unique Broadway stylings.
Sounds like exciting times ahead – but we're going to have to break off here and wrap up with the burning question on every reader's mind: What is Evan's favorite in-game dance?
I (just) texted him. He has two favorites: of course, the Boomkin dance (How can you not love it? Comes with instant costume ...); and the male Troll dance, because of the break dancing and the sweet stall in that dance. (See Evan's version of a stall, right.)
Here's to hoping his progress in the finals doesn't take a Trollish stall! Thanks, Ian – give our best to Evan when you next log in.
Follow Evan's progress on So You Think You Can Dance:
Ian on Twitter @Kazovation
Ryan on Twitter @BearKaz
(Evan isn't on Twitter and FOX rules don't allow him to change that until the competition is over.)
Evan's Facebook fan page (the best place for news, updates and voting instructions)
"I never thought of playing WoW like that!" - neither did we, until we talked with these players. From an Oscar-winning 3-D effects director to a custom action figure artist and even a bunch of guys who get together for dinner and group raiding in person every week, catch it on 15 Minutes of Fame.
