A Guide to a Career in the Performing Arts

Do you dream of starring in the West End or on Broadway? Or directing the next record-breaking musical performance? Or even working in theatre design? Well, it sounds like you’ve working within the performing arts.

The performing arts industry is a truly rewarding career. You can express yourself and show the world your creativity, all with the benefit of getting paid! However, to succeed in this industry, you’ll need to work hard. But, once you’ve made it, it’ll be the best feeling in the world.

Here’s everything you need to think about when considering a career in the performing arts.

The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonApril 23, 2019Ruby Clarkson

That’s Why They Call It “Casting”

As Casting Chair of my local community theater, I think a lot about the process of casting our shows. While the goal is always to find the ideal fit between auditioners and available roles, the reality is that we often have to compromise. Unlike Broadway, we usually don’t have the luxury of picking people who perfectly look the part, fit the age range, and have the exact vocal range suggested by the script or score. So, we make do with what we have. In a sense, casting is like fishing. We cast our line into the water by posting a carefully crafted audition notice. First, we get some “nibbles”; expressions of interest on Facebook. Then we see who we catch on audition day. Many are not “keepers,” and often we have to throw them back (gently) into the pond. But if we keep an open mind, we’ll often be pleasantly surprised by the talent we land.

Auditions, The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonJanuary 22, 2019Tony Targan

Let's Talk About "Act Singing" For A Second....

If you are a performer, know that whether they know it or not, this is what every audience member is thinking about you before they see your interpretation of your role. Answer this question in your performance honestly. Tell the truth. Show them what you have to offer in the role.

What do you have to say that no one else can say?

The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonJanuary 3, 2019Matt Whalen

The Reality of "Theatre Friends"

There are friends and then there are Theatre Friends. It’s kinda like Facebook. There’s some folks you’re “friends” with on Facebook and you have lively conversations back and forth on one wall or another but you know if you met them in real life it wouldn’t be the same. That’s sort of like theatre friendships. They burn hot and strong for a few weeks, months whatever the duration of the show’s rehearsal schedule is and that’s it. They fade just as quickly as they come until you see them at the next audition or if you’re lucky another show.

The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonJanuary 2, 2019Liz Chirico

8 Signs That Your Improv Team Is Heading for a Breakup

Improv isn’t always all fun and games. Take it from someone who has gone through two team breakups within the past year.

To the average audience member, a team may appear to have amazing comedic chemistry on stage. But if the off-stage chemistry isn’t there, improv team members will often part ways and seek new theatrical horizons. Sometimes it’s simply an issue of conflicting schedules or a lack of managerial organization. Other times, it goes deeper than that and involves a web of drama, which can end in bad blood or tears. In either case, there are some key warning signs you should keep an eye out for that may foreshadow a painful improv breakup in your team’s future.

In this article, I’m going to share with you the warning signs I noticed in the days leading up to the breakup of my improv teams. If you spot any of these signs with your own team, you may want to start exploring other improv alternatives.

The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonDecember 22, 2018Anna Hubbel, Improv

Thanks to 'The Cher Show', It's Time to Brush Up on Your Impressions

Can you do a killer impression of Michael Jackson? What about Lady Gaga? Maybe even a Taylor Swift? If so, keep those impressions fresh because they could come handy for not only Las Vegas but for the Great White Way as well.

The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonDecember 17, 2018Chris Peterson

When a Show Starts to Really Work After Performances Begin

So we’re backstage at the conclusion of performance #10 in a 12-show run of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, produced by Big Dawg Productions at the Cape Fear Playhouse down here in Wilmington, NC. We’re in the single, narrow dressing room that accommodates all five of us and our two-person backstage crew, changing back into street clothes.

J. Robert Raines, who plays Doctor Watson, is in the midst of changing his shirt, with a broad smile on his face.

“That,” he says, “was just so much fun!!”

Amidst murmurs of agreement all around, acknowledging that it had taken us a while to reach a performance level that was “fun” for all of us, we stumble across one of the harsh realities of community theater; that by the time everybody literally gets their act together, the run is over.

Community Theatre, The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonNovember 15, 2018Skip Maloney

My Broadway Baby Playlist

At 34 weeks pregnant with my first child, and being the “love all the info person I am,” I’ve read several books (or parts of) on pregnancy. I know that the baby can hear voices right now. I know it’s good for my husband and me to speak out loud to her since she can recognize our voices specifically. But it feels weird. Now, we speak all the time to our cat, but then again our cat is vocal and answers back which makes it seem less strange. But talking in the general direction of my stomach…hmmm.

Anyway, I found a way around it - Music. Specifically, Broadway show tunes because that’s mostly my entire music library. Here are the songs and shows my Broadway Baby is being exposed to which if the books are right may result in helping calm her when she’s here, live and in-person!

The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonOctober 20, 2018Liz Chirico

When Your Comfort Zone is Your Danger Zone

If there’s anything more challenging and nerve-wracking it’s putting yourself physically as well as emotionally bare on the stage. Acting is one of the most vulnerable and risky professions in the world. The idea of breaking down in front of hundreds of people eight times a week is extremely daunting. In a small acting class of about fifteen people it’s even more daunting and the idea of “playing it safe” is absolutely enticing.

The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonAugust 12, 2018Amanda Thomas

If the Arts Were Treated Like Sports

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am very passionate about the arts, particularly when it comes to my love of theatre, film and creative writing. I enjoy these more than anything else, I am grateful to have had the chance to study them in school, and I feel as if my life would be completely miserable without them. Anyone who knows me especially well also probably knows that I’m not exactly the biggest sports fan in the world, and whenever a big game comes on – such as the Super Bowl, just to give one example – I couldn’t possibly care any less for how it goes.

The Acting LifeChristopher PetersonAugust 1, 2018Anthony J Piccione

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