Peppa Pig and friends arrive at the Marlowe Theatre tomorrow in Canterbury, England. While it's only a two day stay in the Kent theatre, PETA(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is asking the theatre not to traumatize children attending the performances, by serving Peppa as food in Marlowe's restaurant. 

While there isn't a surefire way to be accepted by every school you audition for, there are certain mistakes that can happen that might ensure you won't be accepted by any of them. As cruel as it sounds, no matter how much preparation you put in, what happens in that room is all that matters. Here are some mistakes I've been seeing during auditions. 

When I heard that they were making “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” a musical I was really excited. The movie is VERY underrated. If you watch it with an open mind and heart you will see that there is A LOT of substance in it and it is something I feel works perfectly for the stage.

I saw the poster same as everyone else. Steven Spielberg is set to direct a remake of West Side Story with Tony Kushner providing the screenplay. Holy hell was I unprepared for the social media arguments I saw play out in my newsfeed. Apparently, there are some who believe something’s coming and it’s not all good. 

Let's be honest, nepotism is rampant in theatre communities. Whether it's professional settings, community or educational, directors casting their children in lead roles is practiced far and wide. While I don't agree with the practice and do find it more than a bit unethical, I've come to the realization that rather than getting stressed, I have two firm beliefs for those who do it

“If I just move on not knowing what’s ahead of me”, 2016 Tony nominee Alex Brightman told me, “I knew I would always find great things to do.” Call him the artistic nomad.

For reasons I understand much better now than when it was happening years ago, I was rejected repeatedly by the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. I didn't really know how these things worked, I sent them my best stuff, they turned me down. Nowadays I see their point and I am working harder. Fortunately for me, the program's namesake wrote a book.

Whether it's myself witnessing it firsthand or accounts I've heard from others. The amount of sexual abuse and misconduct in community and college theatres is right on par with every other industry out there. What makes matters worse is that there aren't unions to protect community theatre performers. And while colleges have staff set up to protect individuals from sexual abuse, we've seen from schools like Michigan State, that schools fail in this area as well. 

In the last few weeks, I have spoken to almost a dozen people regarding claims they brought forward to me. With their permission, I am going to share with you their stories with the following series of articles.

Theatre newcomer, Arielle Crosby, is no stranger to the stage. A native Detroiter, Arielle has been singing all of her life and has been performing since the age of 11. It all began with winning the city-wide Delta Sigma Theta sponsored Jabberwock Talent Competition and led to performances across the eastern/southern region of the US and countries around the world.

It’s hard work running a theater company, even harder running one designed for kids. There’s several not for profit and for-profit theater companies that focus their efforts on children’s theater. Based on my experiences as both an audience member and performer with children’s and community theaters, here are some examples of what NOT to do when in charge.