5Q: Back to the Future — Caden Brauch

Jump into the magic of “Back to the Future”and join a high school student who accidentally becomes a time traveler and alters history after his scientist friend invents a DeLorean time machine. The iconic story is adapted for the stage by the movie’s creators Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis and is directed by the Tony Award-winning John Rando.

Newcomer Caden Brauch steps into the role of Marty McFly, a confident teenager who dreams of becoming a rock star. Caden grew up doing professional theater in the greater Seattle area and graduated from the T. Schreiber Studio acting conservatory.

You said before that every actor should study improv. Why is that?

Improv is such a useful skill for every actor, in my opinion, because of the spontaneous nature of theater and the creation of art in general. Theater is live and things can go wrong, or someone can do something different than they did the previous night, and, with improv training, that’s not scary. It becomes an exciting opportunity to create a new fun moment onstage. Some of my most memorable moments so far on tour have been the improvised moments onstage that have come from all manner of reasons and, usually, the audience loves them too!

You’ve also said you only watched the “Back to the Future” film once before starting rehearsals and purposefully not since then. How else do you prepare to step into an iconic role while also making it your own?

Our creative team, led by our director John Rando, was so helpful in this process. He encouraged me and Don Stephenson, who plays Doc Brown, to create our own versions of these iconic roles. Don has been such a wonderful and generous actor to work with. I’ve also learned so much from being able to observe and follow him, and that’s led to a relationship on and offstage that I think audiences really get to enjoy seeing.

Any words of wisdom [from Don Stephenson] you’ve received that stick with you?

Like I said before, Don has been such a wonderful and generous actor to work with. Watching the way he worked in the rehearsal room was fascinating, and I tried to just soak up as much as possible. That applies to every part of this process, from that to performing every night, pre-show, to even doing press. So much of this is new to me as this is my first national tour, so I’m very grateful to have someone like him to help me navigate.

What has surprised you the most about playing Marty or touring with this production?

I knew “Back to the Future” was popular, as I grew up watching it and quoting it with my family, but to see how beloved it is by all ages has been very fun to see. I’ve seen kids dressed up as Marty who just saw the movie for the first time and are now so excited to meet me after the shows. But also, the older generation who brought their kids to the movie when it first came to theaters and are now getting to relive those moments on stage.

What is the main thing you’ve taken from your time at the T. Schreiber Studio acting conservatory into your first national touring production?

I feel like I really learned how to act at T. Schreiber. I grew up doing musical theater, so to get pure and focused acting training working on Shakespeare, Chekhov, and modern-day plays like “True West” really pushed me to learn and fight to improve, which I’m so grateful for.

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“Back to the Future” runs at the Orpheum Theatre through September 22. For more information and to purchase tickets, head to www.hennepintheatretrust.org.