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.
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.
The audition waiting area is littered with distractions. It’s actually something I dread about the audition process. In a small area queued up with other actors, all vying for the same position? It’s madness! How are we ever o be successful with that kind of set up? Not to mention the other distractions that come along with that.
Let’s talk about rejection. It’s a huge part of an actor’s life. So let’s talk about it.
I couldn’t count the number of times I didn’t book the job. Seriously, it happens almost daily. If I counted, it would make me sick. So instead, I focus on the opportunities I’ve had. I focus on how all of these auditions have only enriched my skills as a performer. This business is difficult. It can break you down. We all have our moments of feeling rejected, not good enough, crazy for choosing this profession, fill in the blank. What helps me is simply focusing on the work. I haven’t always been able to do that, but recently, I’d say in the last year or so, I’ve been actively working on just focusing on the work and leaving it there. Any opportunity, no matter how small, is still an opportunity to learn and to grow.
The “big callback” is the high stakes callback. The callback you’ve been waiting for. This is the callback that may change your life. This is the callback of your dreams. Try not to vomit under the pressure of it all, okay? Once you have made it past initial casting calls and callbacks and you are actually in the room with the director, and the producers and the creative team who will undoubtedly decide your fate, how do you keep your cool?
We’ve all heard the phrase, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” In this business no phrase could be more true.
When the feeling of wasted efforts hits you, as it inevitably will in this business, try to remember that from every audition you attend, you are learning. You are growing. You are gaining more information. Whether it be about yourself, or the audition process, or the casting process. You are constantly learning. And when you’re learning, you’re getting better. You’re getting sharper. You are preparing yourself for that “yes” that you will eventually hear.
