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10 Things Theater Kids Hear Nonstop

Being a theatre kid in High School can be great! You have a bunch of friends who understand your love for all things Broadway, who know the difference between theatRE and theatER, and who can have a battle of who’s more attractive, Jeremy Jordan or Aaron Tveit. Unfortunately, being involved in theatre also leaves many people to have misunderstandings about the nuances of being in theatre. It’s not just jazz hands people! (Well…some of it is.)

  1. “Have fun at practice!”
    Thanks, but it’s actually called rehearsal. We rehearse our shows. Practice is for the football team!
  2. After telling someone you’re in the musical and they go “What’s the name of the play?”
    It’s a musical, not a play. A musical has singing. A play is just dialogue. If you’re not sure which the person is in, stick with the word “show”. It’s theater-neutral!
  3. 3. “Have you been in Wicked?” (Or any other incredibly popular show.)
    I perform a one man show of Wicked in the shower every morning but it is still on Broadway and since I still go to high school thousands of miles from New York City, no. I’ve not been in Wicked or on Broadway. But I wish.
  4. “What’s your favorite band?”
    You mean cast album, right? Or would you prefer I respond with musical? How about composer? Lyrist! Maybe my favorite solo album by my favorite Broadway veteran!
  5. “How can you compete in theater?”
    The same way you can compete in a singing competition. Except with a lot more RENT and Legally Blonde: the Musical! You pick a scene/song, work your butt off to perfect it, and then perform it in front of a panel of judges!
  6. “If you didn’t get the part, then why don’t you quit? I wouldn’t want to be a back up singer.”
    Being in the ensemble is one of the most fun experiences you can ever have! You get to bond with your fellow ensemble members, do a lot more dancing, and you have super cool harmonies you can rock!
  7. “You’re always drinking tea.”
    Tea with honey and lemon is a theater kids’ antidote to the wear and tear tech week can bring! Tea is practically a super hero all by itself! Thank you tea for protecting our vocals from sounding like Broadway-legend Harvey Fierstein!
  8. “Is there a lot of drama in the drama department?”
    You’d be surprised that there is actually a lot less drama in the drama department than you’d think! Most drama departments get really close and are really civil with each other. Yes, we occasionally have our spats and disagreements, but we sing “Seasons of Love” and we’re all okay again.
  9. “If you hate going to rehearsal so much, why are you still doing drama?”
    Okay, we don’t hate rehearsal, we just complain about it a lot! When we’re not doing a show, we actually miss it! Yeah, it sucks that during lighting rehearsals, we have to stand in the same place for a really long time and not even get to say our lines! But it’s all worth it!
  10. 10. “You’re a what?”
    A thespian. I am a thespian. T-H-E-S-P-I-A-N. Being a Thespian is a major honor! The International Thespian Society is no joke and it’s an absolutely wonderful thing! It took a lot of hard work to get there, so please don’t undermine it by making jokes about it.

Even though there may be some misconceptions about what goes on in terms of being a theater kid, we still love our little community, even if we have to explain some of what we say…multiple times. It’s all worth it in the end!

Community Theater Schedule – A Typical Actor’s Day

By Sami DeSocio

Being a community theatre actor (for now) is nothing like being on Broadway, clearly. But, just like actors on Broadway, we all have our own daily routines before hitting the theater for the night. I compared my schedule to that of Andrew Kober of Les Miserables.

  • 7:00 AM: I wake up and beg my alarm clock for fifteen more minutes. I get up anyway and quickly get ready to go to work.
  • 7:15 AM: get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, make myself coffee, grab my lunch from the fridge and grab a muffin to eat once I get to work.
  • 8:15 AM: Pull into the parking lot of my day job and convince myself It’s going to be a good day! I have a show tonight!
  • 8:30 AM: the day has officially started and I’m off and running, making and receiving phone calls all morning.
  • 10:0o AM:Company gets a company wide 15 minute break. I pull out some music I’m working on for a competition and sit at my desk, eyes closed and study the piece.
  • 10:15 AM: back to work on the phones. I keep looking at the clock since the muffin I had wasn’t enough to keep my stomach from growling at me.
  • 12:15 PM: lunch time! I sit with co-workers, but I use that time working on a mental line reading for the show.
  • 1:00: back to the phones!
  • 3:00 PM another company wide break. This time, I use my break to get on my surface tablet and get some writing done on a skit I’m working on.
  • 3:15 PM: an hour and some change until I can leave!
  • 5:00 PM: log off my computer and run out the door like the building’s on fire so I can get to the theater on time!
  • 5:45 PM: WAWA! There’s no way I can do a show without coffee, some food, and some chips!
  • 6:00 PM: call is in a half hour, but I’m here early to get myself together and wait for people. Kind of my pre-show ritual.
  • 6:15 PM: everyone starts showing up and there’s a great buzz in the air as we get ready for the show!
  • 8:00 PM:– show time! Let’s do this!
  • 9:00 PM:– intermission! Quickly eating whatever we can because you can hear the collective stomachs of the cast groaning from bad grease.
  • 10:15 PM: Great show!  A few of us decide to grab something real to eat at a place down the road. My friend jokes she needs a ‘grown up drink’ (we’re over 21!).
  • 12:30- I finally take all my make up off, brush my teeth, and crawl into bed, where I know I’ll be awake and on facebook until I fall asleep.
  • If you want to compare my day to Andrew’s, he just did something similar over a Playbill.com.

While being a community theater actor might not be completely glamorous like the life of a Broadway actor, we all have our own ‘life schedules’ that make up our routines, on and offstage.

What’s yours?

Audition Monologues: How to Chose the Best

Every high school theatre student can pretty much agree: auditions are the worst. While in the actual acting world, monologues are not as often used as audition pieces, in high school, it’s pretty much the exclusive tool directors use to cast! A lot rides on the one to two minute audition monologues, and here are some ways you can make it count!

1. Know the show.

If you are doing a farce, it would be completely unhelpful to both you and your director for you to perform a dramatic piece! Also, keep in mind, that shows can be classified far beyond comedy and drama. If a show is melodramatic, show that you can pull that off. If a show’s style is very minimalistic, find a monologue in which the character expresses his/her emotions very subtly. This requires you actually reading the script before you audition!

2. Know your typecast.

While it isn’t wise to pre-cast yourself before you audition, you need to be able to identify what kind of role you are expecting to be cast as. If you realize that you are more of a character actor and wouldn’t be cast as the lead ingenue, don’t do a monologue that is from the point of view of a lead ingenue. Identify a couple roles in the show that you could see yourself as, and pick a monologue that captures their essence.

3. Know who you are talking to.

There is absolutely nothing worse than hearing a monologue that is monotonous and dull. Why does that happen so often? Because so few actors can connect to a piece that isn’t dialogue. There is no other actor present there with you to feed off of, so you must create them in front of you. (Note: in front of you, not to the side; focus right above the judges’ heads.) Imagine what they are doing as you speak to them. What are you trying to make them believe? What do you want from them? Imagine their changing expression as you speak to them.

4. Be aware of your physicality.

In full-length plays you have months to practice your blocking and get comfortable with the set. In auditions, you have no blocking and minimal (if any) furniture, so it is very easy to have a weak or distracting physical presence. Be aware of the way you are standing. Is your posture correct, or are you slouching? Make sure your feet are planted and your presence is commanding, and always avoid walking around too much. There should be very minimal, if any, walking in a monologue, as it shows lack of confidence! The best way to see if you are doing any distracting physical things repeatedly is to ask people you trust to watch you.

5. Watch your voice.

Find places in your monologue to change vocal levels. If it’s an angry monologue, make sure you aren’t screaming the whole time! Think about when you are angry at someone! As you change tactics, you diversify your vocals. Obviously, make sure to annunciate and project, and never do a character voice/accent unless it is specifically specified and you are completely confident in your ability. It is always an amateur move to audition with a character voice.

All in all, confidence is key. Make sure that you prepare far enough beforehand that you don’t even have to worry about it on audition day! Just make sure that you form a interesting character in the short length of time that you have, and don’t be afraid to take risks; you want to stand out! Break a leg!

Singing Tips for Any Type of Performer

By Sami DeSocio

When I was first starting out as a singer in my chorus, we would always have a big winter concert and a big spring concert. Before one of them, my parents took me for pizza where I ate two slices of white (ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese-no sauce). Upon arrival to the school, the teacher asked us all if we had eaten dinner before the show,because we would be of no use to him if we were starving under hot stage lights. When I said yes, I had two slices of pizza-he looked at me as if I had two heads!

Today, having done this now for as long as I have I understand why I received the look I did. Eating any kind of dairy before singing isn’t good for your throat. It causes mucus to build up and causes you to choke on your notes.

There are a lot of other singing tips, rules and tricks that singers need to live by in order to preserve their voice. For example, the volume you speak at and how high or low your voice is causes your vocal cords to rub together and if they do this too much, it could cause nodes. Those could leave you without a voice for a few months, or even a year! Sometimes, they even require surgery (see Julie Andrews and Adele).

Singing Tips 1: You also have to be very in-tune with your voice. Know that when the weather shifts from extremes such as from hot to cold, or cold to hot that it will affect your voice as well. Some great tricks for this are a netti pot, or a steam inhaler to help balance things out again.

Singing Tips 2: Another great tool every singer has (and I can hear the singers reading this groan already), is throat coat! Yes, throat coat, that gross smelling, icky tasting stuff that has saved all us singers at one time or another. And if throat coat isn’t your thing, there’s always the old-fashioned tea with lemon and honey, or even hot water with lemon and honey.

Singing Tips 3: If you need to drink things like soda, coffee, or anything else that will dry you out, be sure to follow it with a lot of water (I drink 1.5L of water a day), and try not to use cough drops-contrary to popular belief, they actually dry you out (according to my speech therapist I had to go to when I wound up with nodes from over-using my voice in childcare).

If you treat your voice right, then it will do right by you and make sure that you sound as awesome as you should!

What are some of your own tips as a singer that you swear by?

Off-Broadway to Broadway: Does it Work?

By Eric Gelb

Off-Broadway houses are defined as theatres that house anywhere from 100 to 499 patrons per performance. Anything beyond 499 is considered a Broadway house. So naturally, one may assume the popularity of the show may call for a Broadway transfer to have more seats available for purchase. While this is usually the reason, it might not be the only one. Don’t get me wrong — producers love when a show is hot and highly in demand, and will sometimes fulfill this demand by transferring the show. But think about it like this; Off-Broadway and Broadway are two different things. Most people associate the word “Broadway” with big and splashy.

I’m not knocking Off-Broadway here or anything, but it’s easier to market a Broadway production to tourists. So when a producer transfers, not only do the get more tickets sold, but easier marketability should the demand slow down because the show is on Broadway. Oh, and those coveted things called Tony Awards? The ones that draw audiences in? Only Broadway productions are eligible for them, so when a show moves to the great white way, not only do they gain the marketability of being on Broadway, the gain the eligibility of an award which can further help market the show if it wins one. Without being on Broadway and transferring, a show would never have that marketing opportunity!

499 seats is large, but not huge. If a show is designed for that specific space and moves to Broadway, obviously it’s going to have to be retooled. But due to restaging, rehashing and retooling (or in some cases, lack thereof) may ruin the shows charm or cheapen it. Think LYSISTRATA JONES — a show that opened Off-Broadway in a church basement and then moved to Broadway shortly after. The show was swallowed in the Walter Kerr theatre, and closed promptly after opening. The intimacy and the excitement of the basketball game and the small dance numbers was what made the show special, and when transferring it to to a huge theatre, lost that special charm. But bringing it back to marketability – LYSISTRATA JONES now has a budding life in licensing and community theatre and gets to boast it enjoyed a Broadway run (albeit a short one), which definitely is a draw for at least interest.

Seussical the Musical falls into the same boat – the Broadway production simply didn’t have the same charm that it did in a smaller, intimate setting, and the show is regarded as one of MTI’s most popular titles today, in part due to the show’s experience on Broadway. Marketability, people! Some Off-Broadway shows will become just as popular as Broadway shows, yet still not transfer at all, including Heathers the Musical, and The Last Five Years. Both shows were shown at the Second Stage Theatre, and drew large crowds, but didn’t transfer. Sometimes, 499 seats is just enough.

Other times, a musical gains enough traction to do well in a Broadway transfer, such as the well-known musical, Next to Normal. This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical started at the Second Stage theatre before it ran for two years at the Booth theatre with 733 performances and 21 previews. It broke Box Office records twice in its run on Broadway. The truth is, no one can really tell whether a show will do well in a transfer, it’s all about profits and marketing.

But from a Producer’s perspective, looking in the future is the safest route. If an Off-Broadway show is really hot right now because it’s new or has an A-list star, that’s great. However, this cannot justify a transfer because in the future, when the show’s buzz dies down, the show would be a stuck in a Broadway house with Off-Broadway sized crowds, which is unprofitable. This is why it’s important for Producers to look into the future, not just the now, when looking to satisfy their audiences.

Newsies Forever – My Personal Newsies Story

By Brenna Corporal

Newsies. Newsies!! NNNNNEEEEWWWWSSSSIIIIEEEEESSSSS. This has been the speech patterns of Fansies everywhere. Fansies are fans of the Disney musical Newsies. I myself am a HUGE Fansie- I’ve seen the show three times! If you know Newsies then you know that it closed on Sunday, August 24th, but despite that, that doesn’t stop me from talking about my personal Newsies story — how this show affected me, personally.

We’ve previously posted about this closing, writing about how this “little musical that could” got its start and then became one of Broadway’s biggest hits. But Newsies is so much more than that. Newsies is a story about the underdog rising up and winning. Newsies is an inspiration. Newsies brought a generation of fans to their feet, in more ways than one. Newsies has become, to many, a second family- to the actors, to the creators, and to the fans. Newsies changed so many people’s lives. Here’s how it changed mine.

It’s November 2012. Every year, I see a Broadway show for my birthday, and this year, I’m seeing Newsies! I was so excited- I heard that it was amazing. Cute boys who sing and dance all over the stage- what’s not to love? So I saw the show, and I LOVED it! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go to the stage door after the show, since it was my actual birthday and we had family at home waiting to go out to dinner.

But I slowly began to then do some research on how it came to be. A few weeks later, my director of my Drama Club announced that we would be going on a trip to see Newsies AND participate in a Newsies dance workshop! I was FREAKING OUT. I signed up for the trip right away. It was to be in February. I had a countdown in my school planner of how many days until Newsies. I got the cast album and listened to it over and over. I watched all the videos I could find, from Corey Cott’s “King of New York” Broadway.com vlog, to past performances at parades and awards shows and so on. February came and so did a huge storm. Our trip was cancelled. I was devastated. But it was rescheduled for May, so at least I had that to look forward to. To make up for it, I went into the city one day and waited at the stage door- I FINALLY got to meet Corey Cott, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Ben Fankhauser, and the rest of the cast. It was one of the best days ever- the cast was so nice and sweet, and I couldn’t wait to be able to see them again in May.

But that was a few months away. So to pass the time, I immersed myself even more in Newsies. I watched videos to learn the exact choreography to “King of New York”- Newsies got me dancing again. It was something I only did when I had to, for shows and whatnot, but now I was dancing EVERYWHERE. I’m so thankful that Newsies helped bring dance back into my life; I memorized all, yes ALL, of the lyrics to the high energy, fifty-million-people-singing-at-once opening number, “Carrying the Banner”; I even wrote fanmail to Corey Cott and Kara Lindsay– and they both wrote me back!

One part of Corey’s letter that I will never forget, aside from when he wrote, “Dear Brenna- cool name!”, is when he wrote, “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t make it.” Those words of advice meant so much to me. I, like every teenager who has ever done theater, have gone through times where I thought I am horrible, I have no talent, I will never amount to anything, theatrical or not. But whenever I feel that way, I just remember those words. Who am I to tell myself that I can’t do something? I can do anything I set my mind to! If someone has enough determination and passion, I truly believe that anything is possible. And what do you know, isn’t that just the very message of Newsies as well?

Well of course May came, I saw the show and had a great dance lesson to learn the choreo to “Seize the Day.” It was amazing. Fast forward a year, and one day on a whim, my friends and I got rush tickets to Newsies and saw the show together. It was an amazing experience. Altogether, Newsies has become a show that is so close to my heart in so many ways. The lyrics have ways to touch my heart. The story is one we can all relate to. And the cast is a group of people who truly love what they’re doing every night. Newsies is a show that has inspired people and brought them together in ways nobody ever saw possible.

So this is a proper farewell to that “little musical that could.” To Newsies– thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve been for your fans. It is so difficult to put into words the joy and love you’ve brought to millions of people. The fact that one show could be so much to so many truly shows just how important theater is. So thank you for giving us something to believe in.

Newsies forever, second to none. One for all. And all for one.

Stagedoor Etiquette 101

By Eric Gelb

Instagram, Twitter and Facebook… Social media outlets that used to be solely for connecting with friends have turned into a fangirl Mecca! Anyone that’s even walked near the Nederlander in the past two years has seen the long lines Disney’s Newsies generates at its stagedoor. Girls, boys, parents young and old flock to meet and greet the stars of Disney’s latest bona-fide hit after each performance.

However, with the help of social media, the fanbase doesn’t stop at getting one autograph and meeting the performers after the show. So now, even though the curtain is down, the show continues outside and online, beyond the lip of the stage. With the help of the internet, it as an easy task to locate cast members online — which many fans do — helping each cast member not only quickly gain followers but fan accounts as well, which is a blessing and a curse. However kind the support is, there is a line between being a supportive fan and being a bother to the performers.

Asking for autographs with the intent of giving them away on tumblr, sending Schmackary’s and gifts expecting a twitter shout-out or some sort of thank-you beyond a tweet or a letter back — is all inappropriate. Asking a performer to “follow you!” on twitter many times in a row is silly – ask once, and if it doesn’t happen, don’t tweet it again! Some performers have even taken to twitter to reiterate that their job does not require them to pose for pictures and sign autographs – and when they do so, it’s out of kindness and not out of obligation.

Take Lesli Margherita (Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda), who posts video blogs online for fans to enjoy. She’s not getting paid to do so, she’s doing it for all fans, so when fans tweet her repeatedly asking when the next is coming out angrily, it feels inappropriate. Think of it like getting a free ice cream as dessert at a restaurant on your birthday – you can’t really complain about it, since all you paid for was your actual meal. Make sense?

So, what is appropriate? What is proper stagedoor etiquette to follow? It almost feels like abiding by rules sucks out all the fun, but trust me… performers will be happier to greet audience members after the show if you act grateful rather than deserving. But you can definitely…

  1. Ask for an autograph or a picture.
    Most performers are more than happy to oblige to this request, and most love it when you follow them on twitter or congratulate them on a performance well done, whether it be in real life or on social media. Performers are contracted to perform their show for you and give it their all, and not to meet you afterwards or follow you on twitter.
  2. Talk to them!
    No one likes awkward pauses (First Date the Musical anyone?) while you’re waiting for a Playbill to be signed or to get your Sharpie out, so make sure you have a topic ready. It’s okay to reference another show or piece of work they may have been involved in (if appropriate). Don’t make it awkward for them!
  3. Flattery is always good.
    It’s okay to tell a performer you thought they were awesome when they did xyz or during song xyz. Performers love to hear they’re doing a good job and entertaining, so don’t be afraid!
  4. Try and make new friends!
    I’ve made many friends at the stagedoor! Most fellow patrons at the stagedoor are kind and understanding that you want to meet the performers just as much as they do, so don’t push or shove. If you’re alone, asking nicely to someone closeby if they could take your picture and offering to reciprocate may work very well for you – it might even lead to a new Facebook friend!
  5. Be conscious of your (and the performers) time.
    While I’m sure the cast of Heathers would love to stay and hear your obsession with “Candy Store” all night, they have plenty of other fans to greet and talk to. Talking is cool, but we’ve all seen (and awkwardly looked away from) people talking a performer’s ear off… and pitying them too! Keep it endearing but concise.
  6. Make sure you say please and thank-you.
    Most people in the theatre community are very gracious and kind. When you finish your encounter, make sure to thank them for their time. Don’t push the envelope during stagedoor or online encounters, and you’ll leave the theatre not only feeling uplifted by the show but with a twinkle in your eye after meeting one of its stars, knowing you’re not “that guy”!

 

Child Actors on Broadway

By Eric Gelb

Matilda The Musical, Annie, Lion King and Once… all Broadway blockbusters that heavily rely on the talents of 7, 8, 9 and 10 year old child actors to carry the entire show. And, of course, from an audience’s perspective, the kids are cute and talented. But the two hours or so that you watch them is no gauge for how life changing the experience is for them, and the many parts that make up that experience. Easy to say, harder to explain. Let’s begin!

First, let’s have some perspective. When a child this young attends a casting call for a Broadway show, the push has had to have come from an adult (nine year olds aren’t exactly regulars on casting call websites), but the kids that actually get cast have to share the passion and desire for the art. So once the kids get cast, they have to deal with schooling – which is up to the parents. Do they keep them in public schools to keep it easier to transition back to a normal life after the show although it’ll be harder during the show, or do they homeschool the kids which works inversely, keeping it easier during the school but harder after their run in the show ends. While booking a Broadway show is extremely important, there is an aftermath of everything and school plays a big part in that – they are really “that young”. So school is definitely one of the big parts of performing young on Broadway.

The second part of being a child actor on Broadway is the fame, glamour and glitz! Almost a blessing in disguise, but it’s hardly a secret. Broadway’s best kept (not) secret is the stage door – the door in which the performers in the production enter. The stage door also serves as a haven for audience members to mingle with the performers, which, as you can imagine, makes them celebrities in a way! This leads to twitter followers, and then fans, and then to fame, which is certainly suitable for a grown adult. But when you’re newly nine or ten, the fame is a shock.

While school and the fame are two very tough topics young Broadway performers are subjected to, there is a main focus and center of the experience – the actual performing. Take Annie – she opens the show with the soulful Annie, but gives the rest of the cast plenty of time to shine, but in a show like Matilda, the title role is more challenging, requiring the performer to recite not only their lines but russian and several math facts at rapid-fire pace. Matilda is on-stage most of the show! While the girls at Once are only in a few scenes, their character is pivotal and requires a great deal of emotional depth.

Being a performer in professional theatre is difficult, but being young adds layers to the difficulty (the issue of school and the adjustment of fame), but the cherry on top is the opportunity to perform on a Broadway stage. However big or small their roles, these young people are living out their dreams.

Balancing Life and Show Business

As excited as you are about being cast in a show, every actor knows that the show of their every day life must go on! The question becomes, how do you deal with balancing your life in show business and the life you have at home? People who have mastered that skill deserve an award!

Chances are, unless you’re rehearsing all day and do a performance at night, and unless you work during the day, the hours before you need to be at the theater will be yours to do with what you want. Use that. Do the laundry, shower, catch up with that friend you haven’t seen forever, pay bills. Whatever you need to do, do before you go to the theater.

A great way to keep yourself balanced is something you’re probably using right now to read this—your cell phone! You’ll get breaks during rehearsals and during a show you’ll most likely have a fifteen minute window to make a call or two. Take advantage of that and make that call or two, use whatever time you have to your advantage to play catch up.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught a quick nap at a theater before a show. If you get there early enough and are ready to go on when called, there’s no shame in taking a fifteen minute nap. As long as you’re up before call, and you don’t miss your places call, you’re great!

Making meals in advance is a great way to make sure you eat on the go. On  a day off, plan your meal schedule for the week-of course, this could mean you’ll be eating a lot of salads or sandwiches because they’re the most portable..but if you’re creative enough (and the theater you’re in has a way to do it!) a quick hot meal, even one to just hold you over until your next real one is fantastic! Even if the cast gets together and does a pot-luck lunch or dinner between or after shows, that’s a great way to not only bond with your cast, but also to make sure everyone is eating! You’re not the only one with a rumbling stomach!

Days off are for your life things like sleep, and seeing friends, and eating, and doing the laundry. But if you don’t have that luxury and you’re trying to squeeze everything in, it can get complicated. Little things like throwing in a load of laundry before heading to the theater can make a world of difference! And of course, make your real-life ‘to do’ list shrink while you do your thing onstage!

Being an actor means you live your real life around the lives of the characters you’re fortunate enough to play. But with proper planning, and good time management, both lives can live together in harmony!