Who knew a Disney theme park ride was actually teaching us all an important life lesson?
You never know who you are sitting with in the audition room, on the subway, in a starbucks (*cough* Sam Gold), or at a show. New York is bustling with famous actors, producers, designers, casting directors, agents, and artistic directors, and you just never know who you are around. Maybe that awkward person who sits in the non equity lounge day after day having just graduated with pigeon toes and wiry hair will turn out to be the next Sutton Foster.
I just found out that a guy who I worked with at Roswell Village Playhouse when I was 5 years old is taking over the starring role in War Horse on Broadway. Who knew when I was dressed up as a Dalmatian performing in my first ever play about eating too much popcorn, the guy I was seeing every day in the lobby was going to be a Broadway star! (Of course my fellow animal, popcorn eating cast mates are thinking, "why not me?!?!")
It's a small world after all! So you need to take some advice from Santa and be nice...to EVERYONE. You can't really afford to make any enemies, and you always need to be on your game (rehearsal, audition, interview, show). This also means when you are gossiping with your friend in the equity lounge people are listening and likely know who you are talking about! I also recently discovered the beauty of the conversations in the ladies dressing room. Gossip ain't just for middle schoolers any more, folks! But really, just don't talk so loud. It's rude. People are trying to practice their monologues, do zin tae kwan doe yoga, or finish The Help.
The hardest thing to remember is when seeing a show that is fabulously perfect (which, have you ever even encountered one of those? What's the beauty of theatre if you can't at least critique it or have differing opinions!)---Talk About It! BUT if you have any qualms at all, use the six block rule (which I learned from SpringboardNYC!) Before you start talking about the show, wait 6 blocks. Why you ask? You never know who is at the show. Example: back when I studied in London we saw a production of A Midsummer Nights Dream. The production was pretty good, but the Puck was kind of terrible. Now we were sitting in the very top balcony, why would anyone of importance be sitting in those crappy seats? Well, my friend went to the bathroom at intermission and was talking to another friend about the crappy acting Puck was doing. The lady behind her tapped her shoulder and said "that's my son". MAMA DRAMA!
Heard of the six degrees of separation? In NYC, as huge as it seems, it's more like one! Almost every theatre person I meet and facebook friend has at least two people in common. So if you see someone you hate at an audition, do what many actors do....act like you are best friends and are genuinely interested in what they are working on. Then, when you see them two days later, act like it's been ages since yall have talked (I can't tell you how much of this I see/do...)
So the life lesson is this: When you wake up early in the morning for an audition after a long exhausting weekend, make sure you drink some coffee. That way, you won't get to the audition and realize you forgot to put on deodorant!
You never know who you are sitting with in the audition room, on the subway, in a starbucks (*cough* Sam Gold), or at a show. New York is bustling with famous actors, producers, designers, casting directors, agents, and artistic directors, and you just never know who you are around. Maybe that awkward person who sits in the non equity lounge day after day having just graduated with pigeon toes and wiry hair will turn out to be the next Sutton Foster.
I just found out that a guy who I worked with at Roswell Village Playhouse when I was 5 years old is taking over the starring role in War Horse on Broadway. Who knew when I was dressed up as a Dalmatian performing in my first ever play about eating too much popcorn, the guy I was seeing every day in the lobby was going to be a Broadway star! (Of course my fellow animal, popcorn eating cast mates are thinking, "why not me?!?!")
It's a small world after all! So you need to take some advice from Santa and be nice...to EVERYONE. You can't really afford to make any enemies, and you always need to be on your game (rehearsal, audition, interview, show). This also means when you are gossiping with your friend in the equity lounge people are listening and likely know who you are talking about! I also recently discovered the beauty of the conversations in the ladies dressing room. Gossip ain't just for middle schoolers any more, folks! But really, just don't talk so loud. It's rude. People are trying to practice their monologues, do zin tae kwan doe yoga, or finish The Help.
The hardest thing to remember is when seeing a show that is fabulously perfect (which, have you ever even encountered one of those? What's the beauty of theatre if you can't at least critique it or have differing opinions!)---Talk About It! BUT if you have any qualms at all, use the six block rule (which I learned from SpringboardNYC!) Before you start talking about the show, wait 6 blocks. Why you ask? You never know who is at the show. Example: back when I studied in London we saw a production of A Midsummer Nights Dream. The production was pretty good, but the Puck was kind of terrible. Now we were sitting in the very top balcony, why would anyone of importance be sitting in those crappy seats? Well, my friend went to the bathroom at intermission and was talking to another friend about the crappy acting Puck was doing. The lady behind her tapped her shoulder and said "that's my son". MAMA DRAMA!
Heard of the six degrees of separation? In NYC, as huge as it seems, it's more like one! Almost every theatre person I meet and facebook friend has at least two people in common. So if you see someone you hate at an audition, do what many actors do....act like you are best friends and are genuinely interested in what they are working on. Then, when you see them two days later, act like it's been ages since yall have talked (I can't tell you how much of this I see/do...)
So the life lesson is this: When you wake up early in the morning for an audition after a long exhausting weekend, make sure you drink some coffee. That way, you won't get to the audition and realize you forgot to put on deodorant!
HAHAHAHA Lys! I always think about that Midsummer production when I'm on line in the bathroom during intermission. You never know where Mom is.
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