SEATTLE — When the Blue Man Group takes the stage at the Paramount Theatre this weekend, one of the performers powering the show won’t be painted blue — but she will be coming home.
Drummer and composer Ursula Sargent, a Seattle native and University Prep graduate, is part of the rock band that drives the world-renowned production’s signature sound. The tour stops in her hometown for a limited run, giving Sargent a rare chance to perform for the family, friends, and teachers who watched her musical journey begin.
“It feels amazing to be back,” Sargent told “Seattle’s Morning News.” “It’s kind of surreal, but I’m loving it.”
Sargent’s path to one of the most recognizable live shows in the world started with a snare drum she unwrapped on Christmas morning when she was 10 years old. For a while, the snare was the whole kit. She would tap out the stomp-stomp-clap of Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” flipping the snare on and off to mimic different sounds.
“I don’t know — I guess my parents didn’t know what they were getting into,” she said.
The rest of the drum set arrived piece by piece. By 12, she was playing a full kit. At University Prep, she joined the jazz band, then went on to study music in college.
It was during her senior year that a friend from Seattle forwarded her an audition notice for Blue Man Group. Sargent passed. She didn’t think she had a shot. Months later, one of her teachers sent her the same notice.
“I thought maybe this is a sign,” she said. “I really learned a lesson that you really just need to believe in yourself and try that stuff.”
She auditioned the second time around. It clicked. She got the part.
The character of ‘Rock Star’
Inside the show, Sargent plays a character called the Rock Star — part music director, part live drummer, part DJ. Sometimes she’s pounding acoustic drums. Sometimes she’s triggering audio cues. Sometimes she’s curating music in real time, reacting to whatever the three blue performers and the audience are doing on a given night.
“The show changes every night based on what the audience is doing, based on how we’re connecting with each other,” Sargent said. “I sort of curate the music based on what they’re doing.”
She does wear one nod to the show’s iconic look: a blue wig.
Sargent shares the road with veteran Blue Man Chris Smith, who has performed in the show for 15 years. Smith, a UCLA-trained actor with a background in juggling and clowning, said he auditioned on a whim and didn’t fully understand what he was signing up for until he saw the show. The company offered him six months of drum training as part of his preparation.
Smith described the production, which has reached more than 50 million people worldwide since launching in the early 1990s, as a “clown rock show” built on percussion, comedy and heavy audience participation.
“It’s all about breaking down the fourth wall between audience and performer,” Smith said. “Hopefully creating an environment where we’re all getting in touch with our inner child and celebrating just kind of joy in life at its best.”
Both performers said the show feels especially relevant at a moment when audiences are glued to their phones and isolated in their own digital bubbles.
“Just reconnecting with joy, especially in the world right now, where there’s so much that can be stressful and tough,” Sargent said. “Just sort of an escape for an hour and a half that lets you just pretty much feel joy and happiness and laughter the whole time.”
Sargent has spent most of her career on the road since college, with a brief stretch living in New York. But Seattle, she said, is still home.
Blue Man Group performs at the Paramount Theatre this weekend only. Tickets are available at the box office or stgpresents.org.
Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here.