Tell me if this story sounds familiar: You leave an audition feeling like you absolutely crushed it. So much so it would be a complete shock if you weren't offered the role. Days go by and you hear nothing until the moment you're told the role was given to someone else.
Aside from being sad and angry, chances are you might be a bit confused. Why didn't you get the role? What did you do wrong? What could you have done better?
Read More‘Are you nervous?’ someone asked me last night about bringing my show over from the UK to New York for the first time.
‘No,’ I replied honestly. ‘I don’t tend to get nervous anymore before doing Shurl - just excited to be sharing it with people.’
A couple of hours ago I sat in the tiny black box theatre that is Midtown Festival’s Jewel Box. The technical rehearsal had gone well - efficient; lighting states swiftly sorted; cue-to-cue accomplished without a hitch.
Read MoreIf you've been following theatre news for the past 24-hours, there is quite the mess going down at Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. It was announced that current Pierre, Okieriete "Oak" Onaodowan, will end his limited engagement on Augst 13th and that Broadway legend Mandy Patinkin will step in the role until September 3rd.
While many theatre fans rejoiced at the news of Patinkin making a short-lived return to Broadway, many were left wondering, "What happened with Oak?"
Read MoreThis morning, fans of the new musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 were shocked to see that Mandy Patinkin will replace Hamilton’s Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan in the lead role of Pierre on August 15th. Oak had just recently joined the production on July 11th, and many of us were wondering why he is leaving so soon?
Read MoreIf I were to ask most people what they think of when they see the color ‘pink,’ I believe the answer would most likely be femininity. Now, with changing times, I find that ‘femininity’ has a varied meaning from person to person. Although the term has generally been associated with qualities and behaviors traditionally expected to only be embodied by girls and women, people have started to widen their scope and have begun to define femininity in a more individualized manner and associate it with anyone who chooses to personify it (of course, society still has a long way to go before it fully widens its scope, but that’s a different discussion).
Read MoreSummer definitely seems to be the time when local companies dust off their Shakespeare texts and a wide range of the Bard's work is performed in public places. This is also a time when directors get a bit creative with their takes on these classics. Some of the work really well, others don't.
But one such company, the Striving Artists Theatre Company is doing something quite interesting. Not only is the Boston based theatre doing Shakespeare's "The Henriad", a funny, action-packed blend of four of the bard's most popular histories, but they are doing it with a cast assembled from a gender-blind audition process.
Read MoreGrowing up and going to school in the South, I spent most of my life in an environment where those around me shared my basic spiritual ideologies and religious faith. While no one’s journey in faith is identical to anyone else’s, I rarely found myself in circumstances in which my beliefs were overtly questioned.
Read MoreA while ago, I was working on a production starring one of my favorite all-time performers. Not only did I feel fortunate enough to work alongside this person but also that it was occurring early in my career. From everything I had heard about this woman, she was a joy to work with, told amazing stories and would often lend advice to up and coming performers. As rehearsals began I realized, this was far from the truth.
Read MoreHamilton took over the world last year, from a mixtape to the Tony Awards. With all the hype, I have been waiting anxiously to see Hamilton and was finally surprised for my birthday to see the show in Chicago. Part of me wondered if the anticipation would live up to seeing it, but Hamilton not only met my expectations, but exceeded them. There are few modern musicals that have won a pedestal in American pop culture, like The Lion King and Wicked, and I believe Hamilton has earned that spot.
Read MoreThe production staff and the actors are the ones who are known to bring the show to life. They are usually involved with the show from the start. But theater is so much more than that. Theater and shows are also about the little people that you meet along the way. The ones who help out your production in small ways and have no idea that they have helped. In part 2 of the series of those who help bring a show to life, I am going to introduce you to them. They are the people who work at the thrift store, the library, or at another community theater.
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