Being a performer has it’s challenges without a pandemic. Add something like Covid-19 in the mix, and you are asking for a group of people who have become accustomed to waiting for their dreams to align with their reality, to suddenly question the validity of even having that dream in the first place.
Don’t stop pursing theatre simply because the world has seemingly stopped. If this is something you are passionate about, and you want to live your life out on a stage, nothing like Covid-19 should stop you.
When I got to The Lion King, I realized that doing eight shows a week in a show as physical as The Lion King on an open ended run was a mix of positives and negatives. On one hand, here I am doing this amazing role, in this amazing show, telling this amazing story for 1,700 people each show. On the other hand, my knees hurt so bad I could barely take the stairs to enter and exit the subway, my voice was doing crazy things, I was newly married in a new city and I never had time to hang out with anyone or make new friends because I was exhausted.
As much as I loved performing in the Lion King, for the first time in my career I started to feel burned out, overwhelmed, tired, unfulfilled and stressed out. Isn’t that just crazy? To finally book the job of your dreams and to realize that it isn’t fulfilling you in the way you expected.
I started my career in the ensemble. And I was blissfully happy about it. I was just happy to be booked. I didn't care where they put me as long as I was on stage.
But when I booked my first principal role and I got a taste of what it felt like to hold center stage and sing a solo, or share a scene with an actor on stage… I was hooked. I wanted more opportunities to be a lead on stage, but I had no idea how to get casting directors to see me as not just an understudy or ensemble player, but as a potential lead.
If casting tells you to work on a certain skill, do it! Without delay. And If you haven’t worked on that skill, don’t waste their time during a callback.
Acting and telling a story through the song is important. Even if you think the song is just performative, it’s still an opportunity to tell a story. Don’t pass up any opportunity to tell a story in front of casting and creatives.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. What is meant for you, will be for you. Just do your best, and keep it moving.
In my opinion, you should just be yourself. What ever you bring naturally to the role, is what you should bring into the audition room. I’ve had the privilege of getting to sit in on some auditions for iconic roles, and even auditioned for them myself. What I’ve learned from that experience, is that casting directors (for the most part) are not interested in seeing actors mimic past portrayals of these iconic characters. They are much more interested in seeing actors become the character naturally.
Give yourself permission to play a bit. Give yourself permission to audition for these roles without limitations. Give yourself permission to be you and know that being you is goodenough.
Singers lose their voice from time to time. But why are we so afraid to talk about it? Why is vocal loss a shameful experience? What can we do as a community to change that perspective and to celebrate vocal health and support vocal healing when our comrades lose their voice?
For me personally, I experienced my scariest and most prolonged vocal loss in 2019 during Kiss Me Kate and that loss carried over into my return to The Lion King. It was terrifying. I was doing everything I could to keep my voice and nothing was working. During that time, I did not feel comfortable sharing what I was going through. I have found that most singers are not comfortable discussing vocal issues. For fear of seeming weak, or inept, or a poor caretaker of their voice.
But boy did she give me some amazing advice. Here’s what I learned. For the purpose of this blog we will call her Julie.
We work in a super competitive business. So we have to do what we can to make ourselves look hirable and awesome! There are three key things you can work on starting today that will up your actor game.
First and foremost. Get a website. Having your own website is a game changer. Julie said that casting directors and talent managers, agents even, are curious. They want to know everything they can about us.
I have been in rooms where I’ve been made to feel like my hair is a problem that needs to be fixed. I have not booked jobs because the production didn’t wan’t to deal with my hair. I have shown up to jobs fearful & prepared to do my own hair because I know its going to be an issue. I have been the recipient of jeers, snide remarks, and flippant phrases in a professional setting because of my hair. I’ve been told how much better I look when my wig is on; “You should wear your hair like that more often.”
