Improv 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.

I 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.

According to many actors who consider themselves a triple threat, “A Chorus Line” is high, if not on top of, the bucket list of musicals-to-be-in.

Publicity started early. Buzz was palpable in the musical theater community for months before the actual auditions. I got the idea it might be somewhat ironic, if not clever, to share with you the experience of community members auditioning for a musical about auditioning for a musical.

Not getting to achieve your dreams doesn’t mean that you aren’t successful. Not getting to achieve your dreams doesn’t mean you are a failure. Sometimes, it means that something better, and meant for you, is waiting.

Former actress Charlotte Thornton is the author of Talent Isn't Enough, a book which, by introducing ten key strategies, helps aspiring actors to turn their talent into careers. “There are a lot of books about how to get started in acting,” Thornton comments, “but the trickier part is making a success of it once you’ve trained.”

One of the great things about theatre is that it can encompass many different disciplines. Those who work or play in theatre know that it is so much more than meets the eye. If there was ever an art form where the tip of the iceberg metaphor applies, it is the theatre.

A college student or any student can sometimes seem overwhelmed with the choices of electives thrown their way. So here are some electives that I have found can help develop skills that can carry over into the theatrical world.

Theatre history, script analysis, and dramatic lit are vital areas of the art-form for you to understand…and to strive towards expertise in.  I know that that sounds daunting and intimidating.  I understand that these classes require long hours of reading and studying, paper writing and research.  I know that it’s more fun to be plotting a set design on Vectorworks, or doing Suzuki movement exercises, or sewing, pulling props, or building.  But the foundation that you are laying now will shape those designs, help you to use that intense energy, and help you to find the correct props.  You can do this.  Your professors are here to help.

While attending the Vancouver Web Fest this March, I discovered a brilliant web series called “Empty Space.” This comedic look at the inside world of theatre features a full-out fight between the actors and the technical crew, each blaming the other group for the play’s issues.

As a theatre artist, this moment was both hilariously extreme and bitingly realistic. Why does it so often seem like those in all black and those donning costumes stand at opposing sides of the stage?

During the rehearsal process for a play, most actors spend time digging into the psychology and physicality of their character. How do they sound? How do they move? What was their childhood like? For Brian Owen, star of “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery” at Long Wharf Theatre, that process is a little more difficult than normal. That’s because he plays 17 distinct characters in Ken Ludwig’s madcap retelling of the famous mystery.

Kyle Scatliffe is currently starring in the second National Tour of Hamilton, playing the roles of Marquis de Lafayette/ Thomas Jefferson which recently began performances in Seattle at The Paramount Theatre. Mr. Scatliffe is known for playing Enjolras in the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Miserables, and Harpo in the 2015 Broadway Revival of The Color Purple.  He also has performed on the West End in The Scottsboro Boys playing the role of Haywood Patterson which earned him an Olivier Award Nomination for “Best Actor in a Musical”.

I had a chance to chat with Kyle about his journey as an actor. But first, I had to ask him what went through his mind when he got the call that he was cast in Hamilton.