Get ready, people, because Nickelodeon‘s All That is almost back! The latest episode is set to premiere on Saturday, January 18 and, according to the cast, it’s filled with hilarious new sketches.
J-14 got a chance to sit down with Kate Godfrey and Aria Brooks from the show (which also stars Ryan Alessi, Reece Caddell, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, Nathan Janak, Lex Lumpkin and Chinguun Sergelen) exclusively about the show and they spilled a lot of on set secrets! They also opened up about their audition process and experience being a part of the iconic series’ reboot.
J-14: What was the audition process like for ‘All That?’ How did you land the role?
Kate Godfrey: The audition process was pretty long. I auditioned seven times, I believe. I know some of my other cast members auditioned eight or nine times. The first one I did two characters — grandma and a sports lady — and then they kept calling me back and calling me back, it was super fun and obviously nerve wracking because you don’t know what’s going to happen. Then my final audition was called “The Test” and that was pretty nerve wracking too, just because it’s called a “test” and I did that audition.
Aria Brooks: I only had three auditions. When I first got it, I had to do a self-tape and I came up with sketches. I had to come up with three or four sketch characters and I had to prepare a scene. For my callback, I had to do the same thing. So, I did my characters for them that I came up with myself and the same thing for “The Test.” The auditions were pretty consistent, I did the same thing for each of them. That did make it a lot easier because it got better every time.
J-14: What does it feel like knowing people have been loving the reboot so much?
Kate: I just love to act, it’s like my sport. So the fact that people watch it and tune in every Saturday is really special to me.
Aria: It feels really good. I’m really glad that I got to join [the cast] and be a part of these next episodes. It’s crazy because my parents and my family members watched All That growing up, so now I get to be a part of it. It’s just an honor, I’m really excited.
J-14: Do you feel any pressure starring in a reboot of such an iconic show?
Kate: We definitely had some big shoes to fill because it’s just so loved and iconic. The original cast members were so welcoming, and kind. They were so helpful, it made it a lot easier.
Aria: Not a whole lot of pressure. I don’t even think that it’s the fact that it’s a reboot, although that is kind of hard because I want people from the old audience and the new audience. I want everyone to like the show. I think a lot of the pressure just comes from just knowing I’m the youngest one, the shortest one, I’m completely different from everyone else and I’m coming in with not as much training.
J-14: What has been your favorite sketch?
Kate: It’s really hard to pick my favorite sketch because they’re all very fun to do, but I really like “Marie Kiddo” because I get to smash and actually break things which is really fun. I like doing “Brie Back From The Dentist” because she’s super messy and I get to get covered in pudding. I get to do very messy things. It’s fun, especially when other people clean you up.
Aria: My all-time favorite sketch is the “Babies Who_____.” It’s different every time. That’s one of my favorite sketches and it just gets better and better every time.
J-14: Have you ever had any sketch ideas of your own that they used in the show?
Kate: The first ever meeting we did with the writers, we told them a few sketch ideas we had and then a few characters that we already developed. For my audition I did a grandma and then they put that in a music video. For our first cast and group meeting we did a music video and I played my grandma that I did in the audition.
Aria: Since we do have more weeks to come there are some characters that will be used a little later on, but one of my characters that I used in my audition did get to go into a sketch and I was really excited about that one. I’m really excited for people to see it.
J-14: Can you spill any behind-the-scene secrets or stories from the All That set?
Kate: One secret that’s not really portrayed in the show is that Nathan [Janak] carries an orange. Nobody really knows why, but in the ‘90s Josh Server used to carry an apple during the musical guest performances, so in the reboot, Nathan carries an orange.
Aria: These little 30 second to one-and-half minute sketches take all day to film. There’s so many moving parts, so they take all day for one sketch. They turn out really well because all the time we put into it. It’s worth it. They produce something really great. That’s one secret that you may not know, that it takes us five hours for one sketch, it’s crazy.
J-14: Are you close to your cast mates when the cameras stop rolling?
Kate: We’re so close, we never stop hanging out with each other. We just went on break for New Year’s and we were literally facetiming every day, we’re always texting. We’re all pretty much best friends.
Aria: We’re all really close friends and we all spent time with each other outside of the show and outside of rehearsals as well. [I loved] getting to know everyone and knowing how different everyone is and how diverse we all are.
J-14: What’s your favorite memory from working on the show?
Kate: When we were first announced as a cast and we were on the TODAY Show. It was fun to be with all my new friends and doing something so momentous in my life.
Aria: One time I went over to [Reece Caddell’s] house. When I first got [on set] I was getting to know everyone so they invited me over to their house. We had dinner together and they had some of the best lasagna that I think I’ve ever had in my life.
J-14: You’ve worked with a few of the original All That stars. What was that like?
Kate: It’s so cool because throughout the audition process we had to watch All That sketches. By the time I got the job I knew every single sketch, I basically had them all memorized and so just to see them, they’re iconic. Kel [Mitchell], Lori Beth [Denberg], Kenan Thompson and Josh Server, they’re really nice and very talented people.
Aria: It was like a mixture of different emotions. First it was crazy because even though I didn’t watch All That when I was younger, I knew some of their other projects. To be there with them was crazy. Meeting Kel, Lori Beth, Josh Server, everyone’s been so nice.
J-14: If you could work with any one of the original ‘All That’ cast members that you haven’t yet, who would it be?
Kate: I hope that Amanda Bynes comes back because I loved watching her in all her sketches. That would be the top of my list.
Aria: It would probably have to be Kenan Thompson because everyone’s met him, and I really want to meet him. He’s actually from my home city and we went to the same ensemble. So, I really want to meet him and get to know him like everyone else did.
J-14: Are there any guest stars or musical guests you really want to be on the show?
Kate: I really like Taylor Swift, so I think Taylor or Ariana [Grande]. That would be very cool.
Aria: I would definitely want Zendaya to come and be a musical guest because she’s my favorite singer. Also, Melanie Martinez because I listen to her all the time and I love her music. It I was in a sketch with Melanie Martinez I would freak out, definitely, I would really want them to be in a sketch with me. That would be awesome.
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