A couple weeks ago I ended my run in Mary Poppins. It was my bucket list show and a bucket list role; y’all, I was a tap-dancing chimney sweep! Sold out shows, adoring family and friends coming to watch, and I only dropped a line once. Pretty good run.
So it stands to reason the post-show blues would hit and hit hard. Here’s how I decided to combat them.
Read MoreFrom my ten years of hindsight, and not quite ten years of toiling in the difficult world of professional theatre, all the wisdom I am fit to impart on my younger counterparts this week is: Enjoy it.
Read MoreI remember a moment when I was a freshman in college, and I had my first one-on-one meeting with the technical director of the Theatre Department. Near the beginning of the meeting, I remember him asking me a simple question: “What are your ambitions?”
Read MoreThe beauty of community theatre is that you don’t have to have any experience or training: you can come as you are, show what you can do, and hopefully leave on a positive note. However, that means that all walks of life are mingled together on stage. From the woman who’s just there to pass the time after a long day at work, to the boy who’s fresh out of theatre school with dreams of Broadway, everyone can share the space.
Read MoreAs one of a plethora of 30ish mezzo-sopranos with a decent voice and the ability to move with some semblance of grace, I know at any given audition there’s 10 of me for every 1 spot they’ve reserved in the show for my type and vocal ability. There’s a decent amount of “stuff” on my resume but the stuff doesn’t begin to come close to highlighting my abilities. As much as I dislike the corporate job-interview process, I do wish the community theater audition process borrowed some from the corporate world. Because 16-32 bars isn’t enough time to learn I’m more than my resume.
Read MoreSpeaking from personal experience, I know that drama gives kids much more than just confidence. Growing up I was never athletic, so I was never part of any organized sports team.
Sure I took Physical Education, it was required, but being painfully shy, and having no natural athletic ability left me standing waiting to be picked when team captains began choosing their teams.
Read MoreWhether you’re preparing to chase that Broadway spotlight or planning on operating it, most of us who choose to pursue a theatre degree in college have been pestered with that one dreaded query: “Are you sure you want to do that?!”
Read MoreActing is tough. The hardest part of it is the fact that you’re not going to get every role you want, no matter how badly you want it or how perfect you think you are for it. They say you’ve got to have a thick skin in this business- you have to be prepared to be rejected.
But instead of telling you how to deal with rejection, all everyone keeps saying is “something better is coming”, “one door closes, another one opens”, “it’s their loss”, “everything happens for a reason” etc. Those sentiments are all well and good, but none of them have ever actually made me feel better when I wasn’t cast in a show I had my heart set on.
Read MoreImprov is not everyone’s cup of tea, and that is okay. Learning the basics of improv to prepare yourself for ad-libbing on stage or keeping your cool during cold reads is tremendously helpful for any actor, but no one should be forced to play improv games. However, the attitude that improv is a lesser art form than scripted drama only breeds division within the performing arts community. They are different performance forms; each has its strengths and most people have a preference, but both are legitimate. Improv is an art which deserves the same respect as a carefully rehearsed theatre show.
Read MoreI have come to a place where, if I spend the rest of my life as a fairly accomplished fish in small ponds, I’m okay with that. Because it is the small ponds that have given me a chance, taught me everything I know about theatre, and given me the motivation to keep going in this industry that is ridden with rejection.
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