Hamilton and Me: An Actor’’s Journal

＂One of the most joyous and clear-eyed approaches to playing a character that I have ever read...I was already in awe of his performance; now I’m in awe of his humanity and attention to detail, and willingness to share the hard work and magic that goes into it.＂ --Lin-Manuel Miranda, from his Foreword

Hamilton and Me is a unique, behind-the-scenes account of preparing for, rehearsing and performing in one of the most important cultural phenomena of our time.

When Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical Hamilton opened in London’s West End in December 2017, it was as huge a hit as it had been in its original production off and on Broadway. Lauded by critics and audiences alike, the show would go on to win a record-equaling seven Olivier Awards--including Best Actor in a Musical for Giles Terera, for his portrayal of Aaron Burr.

For Terera, though, his journey as Burr had begun more than a year earlier, with his first audition in New York, and continuing through extensive research and preparation, intense rehearsals, previews, and finally opening night itself. Throughout this time he kept a journal, recording his experiences of the production and the process of creating his award-winning performance. This book, Hamilton and Me, is that journal.

It is also deeply personal, as Terera reflects on experiences from his life that he drew on to shape his acclaimed portrayal. Illustrated with photographs and featuring an exclusive foreword by Lin-Manuel Miranda, this book is essential reading for all fans of Hamilton----offering fresh, first-hand insights into the music and characters they know and love so well--and for aspiring and current performers or students, and anyone who wants to discover what it really felt like to be in the room where it happened.

Giles Terera MBE is an award-winning actor, musician, and writer. He
trained at Mountview Theatre School and has worked consistently at venues such
as the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Shakespeare’s
Globe. He is best known for originating the role of Aaron Burr in the London
production of the award-winning musical Hamilton, for which he won the
2018 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

His other theatre credits include Rosmersholm, The
Tempest, Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, 125th Street,
Rent (West End); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hamlet,
Death and the King’s Horseman, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each
Other, Troilus and Cressida, Candide, Honk! (National
Theatre); The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s
Globe/international tour); The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
(Donmar Warehouse); Pure Imagination - The Songs of Lesley Bricusse (St.
James’s); King John (Shakespeare’s Globe/UK tour); Don’t
You Leave Me Here (West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Playboy of
the Western World (Abbey, Dublin); The Ratpack (West
End/international tour); Jailhouse Rock (Theatre Royal
Plymouth/West End); You Don’t Kiss (Stratford Circus); Up
on the Roof (Chichester); The Tempest (RSC); Six
Degrees of Separation (Sheffield); Generations of the Dead (Young
Vic); Bill Shakespeare’s Italian Job (Playbox,
Warwick/Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh); The Demon Headmaster/The Animals
of Farthing Wood (Pleasance, Edinburgh).

As a writer, his theatre work includes The Meaning of Zong (Bristol
Old Vic), The Ballad of Soho Jones (St. James’) and Black Matter
(Crazy Coqs). As a filmmaker, Terera’s first documentary, Muse of Fire--created
with Dan Poole--centers on modern perspectives of Shakespeare and premiered on
BBC Four in Autumn 2013. Terera was an associate producer on Poole’s feature
documentary The Space: Theatre of Survival and he wrote and directed
the concert film Hello Harry! A Celebration.

Terera was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the
2020 New Year Honours for services to theatre.