Tag: theatre

Welcome Back

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The title of this post is not only for all you readers, but it’s for me too.  I have had this blog since 2013 and it has been neglected for the last three years.  I started this blog to get my theatre ya-yas out.  I feel that people in the entertainment business, whatever your forte may be, need to be able to talk about how nuts it is.  It’s CRAZY!!!  Up is down.  Up is sideways.  Up is inside out.  Up can be downsidewayinsdieout.  In conclusion, up is never up.  People who are not in the entertainment business have no clue how crazy it is because all they see is the glitz and glamour.  

Well, I’m going to talk.  I need to talk.  And I’m going to talk in this blog.  I want to share my experience.  Whether you agree, disagree, relate or not.  I need to tell my crazy stories and how I’m feeling.  I want people to have a laugh and to get angry with me and to be surprised about my experience as a New York actor.  You may read my previous and future posts and say, “No way!”.  ” No way any of this actually happened.”  But it did and it will continue to happen.  I promise everything I post is true.  

Here’s truth number one: I’m going to use this as therapy.  Lord knows therapy is expensive, so out into the inter webs it goes!  Comments and feedback are welcome.  All you internet trolls can stay under your bridge.  You may not pass Go and you may not collect your $200.  I know the risks of having a blog today.  The internet is the Wild, Wild West and everyone thinks it’s a good hiding place.  But I’m here to share.  Take it or leave it.  

I am going to try and post about once a week.  The posts will not be all unicorns and sunshine.  2019 has been hell so far for a lot of theatre actors pounding the pavement here with me.  I am very frustrated and upset about a lot of things happening this audition season.  Some of the things are typical and some things need to change.  My only hope is that you read, relate or not and share.  Send my blogs around to friends and family, discuss it with your pets or whatever.  I revamped my website for all to enjoy.  I even added a subscribe button!  If you are reading this on your phone, it’s at the very bottom.  Happy reading to you all.  Thank you for stopping by!

Knowing What THEY Want At Auditions. Think Fast!

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I’ve spent months now auditioning and I just keep having some crazy auditions.  But they are giving me great stories to tell.  Today is one of those days.  I auditioned for a cruise line today.  This particular cruise line would be great to work for, but their auditions are so stressful and off-the-wall.  They put descriptions of who they’re looking for in the audition post, but you realize when you get there, they are looking for very, VERY specific types.  Types that you think you are, but it turns out you are not.  According to them.

After three auditions with this particular cruise line, I have learned what to expect when auditioning for them.

  1. They are looking for VERY SPECIFIC TYPES.  The casting and production team put these ridiculous ideas of what they are looking for in performers on a pedestal and if you can’t match that idea.  You’re out.  So, do your best to type yourself, properly.  And be realistic.  Don’t go in auditioning for a 20-year-old when you are clearly 45.  All the makeup in the world can’t help you.
  2. Pick your best 8 bars.  Yep!  These bastards will cut you off.  They are the only company who has ever cut me off.  EVER!   Bastards.  They do it because they are TYPING.  If they were smart, they would save us all time and heartache and just line us up and type by look.  But, no.  They type in this cruel manner and it leaves us all feeling like shit.
  3. Be the best character you can be and stick to it.  Plan what you are going to do and don’t deviate for a second.  If you get cut off, say “Have a good day!”

Ok.  So, with all of this in mind, I go to this audition knowing my type pretty well, knowing what I’m going to sing and how I’m going to perform it and knowing that I could get cut off at any moment.

I decided at the last-minute to add a little flare that would set me a bit apart.  Just a little gimmick.  A prop.  It was a small prop.  The audition post said they were looking for strong actors.  Ok, I was going to act for them.  I was so excited because this would either fail miserably or be wicked awesome.  Either way, I was going to have fun and whether they cut me off or not I was going to be proud that I tried something different and committed to it.

And then the wrench comes flying in…….

So, I go in and start performing with my prop and they don’t cut me off!!!!!!  The gimmick worked!  I was so excited.  I continue to perform and I’m having a great time.  I just milk it as much as I can.  Then….  They cut me off.  But it turns out ok.  They ask me to sing another song.  Contemporary pop/rock.  No acting.  Here I am acting my ass off and now they want no acting.  I swear, just as you try to give them what they are asking for, they turn around and ask for the opposite.  Jeeeeeeeeeez.  It’s infuriating.  Luckily, I work well “on my feet” and this is no problem.  I whip out an 80’s rock ballad and belt away.  It went well and they liked it. 

This audition is a prime example of how nutty show business is.  They ask for one thing and then they ask for the opposite.  They say 16-32 bars, you get cut off after 3. You think you’re rockin’, they think not so much.  Now, I could just never go back to audition for this cruise line again.  But now I think I have figured out how to play their crazy audition game and I want to play.  I’m a competitive person and a challenge is always fun for me.  At this third audition for this cruise line, I made it farther into this audition process than ever before.  I finally piqued their interest and that has given me motivation to come back and beat them in their fucked up audition game.  So, knowing how this cruise line works, I’m gonna go back and give them the best of me and more.  

My Worst Auditions: Getting Cut Off

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Something happened to me at an audition in 2014 that has never happened to me before.  I had heard of it happening to other people, but it never concerned me before.  I was stopped less than half way through a song during my audition by the audition panel and was told that is all they wanted to see.  I was shocked!  In all my years of auditioning, no one has EVER stopped me.  I was always able to finish.  Whether they knew from the beginning that I wasn’t what they wanted, or I sang the wrong song, or I messed up or I sang too long.  They were kind enough to let me finish.  I also know that I didn’t do anything wrong.  I was nice and professional when I walked in and I didn’t mess up any of my song.  It was, honestly, going to be a great audition for me.  Until I was stopped.

In all my years of auditioning, no one has EVER stopped me.

Now this audition was for three shows on a cruise line.  One show happens to be a favorite of mine so, I think that’s why it hurts so much.  Even though many things can go on during an audition that actors must accept whether they are good or bad, I felt that this cruise line was very unprofessional about it.  When I came out and told one of my friends what had happened, the look of shock on his face was unforgettable.  I worked with him in a show, so he knows what I’m capable of.  He then immediately said, “They typed you out.”  Ok.  Alright.  I got typed out then.

Listen up everyone who is involved with casting in any way: If you are going to type at an audition, tell us before the audition starts and that we may possibly get cut off while we are singing!

We, as actors, work very hard to perfect a performance for you at an audition.  Auditioning is very stressful and a skill that we have to try and perfect every time we walk into an audition.  It is our thirty seconds to perform for you.  We don’t get to perform every day for an audience.  Auditions are a chance for us to do that.  Let us enjoy performing for you!  When you cut us off without any warning, it is personally insulting and it destroys our confidence because we have no idea why you did it to us.  Cutting us off, basically, says, “You suck and we don’t want to hear the crap coming out of your mouth anymore.”  Not nice, people.  Not nice.

If you are going to type us.  Tell us.  If you only want to hear 8 bars of a song.  Tell us.  If you are looking for specific types of actors.  Tell us.  Be upfront and professional and stop wasting yours and our time.  I know a lot of casting representatives would say, “Well, don’t take it personally.  It just business.”  I get that acting is a business.  I understand that, but you can be professional and respectful and still run a business.  Don’t be unprofessional because we probably won’t want to come back and audition for you, especially, when you cut us off at an audition.  I told people what happened.  They were shocked, but what I found interesting was that all of them were so scared to go and audition for the cruise line after I told them what happened.  They reconsidered auditioning for the cruise line.  And the people who were aware that this cruise line does this told me they never went back to audition for them again.

Bottom line, casting, be professional and respectful.  Don’t be jerks because you may miss out on talent you were looking for.  Courtesy and a smile can take you so far and that’s all we ask for.  Even if we don’t get the job, it’s always nice to remember a smile and a thank you. 

Think Happy Thoughts When Going To Auditions

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At one point, I realized that I was focusing on all the bad that was happening to me. Rejection after rejection really can take a toll on any person. I never realized how much rejection actors get until I was auditioning full time. I totaled up one week of auditions that I didn’t book and it was 10. And that was just one random week I happened to total. I went almost 6 months without a job.

10 rejections X 4 weeks = 40 rejections in a month.

40 rejections X 6 months = 240 rejections in 6 months.

That is A LOT of rejection and it does happen. Let’s face it. Being told that you suck and that no one wants to work with you is not a good feeling. We all want to be loved and no one more than actors. 🙂

Cue a week of a lot of rejection! Not only in the acting world, but also in the search for a part-time job. I was soooooooooooooooooooooo depressed. I had an audition to go to. It was one that I was extremely lucky to get because EPA’s don’t have to give appointments to EMC’s, but I got one and it was stupid for me not to go. My attitude was horrible all the way to the audition. I really wanted to give up and not go. I was so depressed, I didn’t want to do anything!

Well, it was a good thing that I went. I sang two songs that I love and hadn’t sung in a while. I ROCKED IT! I had so much fun. Plus, the casting team was very nice. They actually looked at my resume and asked me questions. I got a very good vibe from them and I left the audition calm and feeling accomplished. I was shocked at how much that audition calmed me down. Usually, I’m pretty nervous.

THIS was an audition to remember. No matter how much crap gets thrown my way, I need to remember amazing audition moments like this one. It’s time to put some positivity into the world and focus on that. You get back what you put out. It’s somewhat relieving to vent about bad experiences. It makes you feel like your not the only one dealing with hard times. But, it’s time to write about happy stories. Victories that will motivate and inspire. It’s time to be a good person and spread the love.

Keep It Positive! – LB

How An Unprofessional Audition Moved My Career Forward

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I recently ran into an awkward situation that left me slightly flattered and upset at the same time. I had an audition situation like none other. A community theatre my friend runs was holding auditions for a show I really wanted to do. This friend was also directing this show. In all honesty, I haven’t had the best track record auditioning for this company. My first audition, I found out that I was auditioning for roles that were already cast. They ended up offering me understudy parts, but I turned it down because the theatre was and hour away and I wasn’t getting paid.  Financially, it wasn’t going to work for me.  My second audition, they screwed up and sent me the wrong email, calling me back for the wrong parts. I found this out when I got there. They wanted me to wait 3 hours for my callback and I couldn’t stay because I worked early in the morning. I knew all my callback material and offered to do it right then and there, but the director wouldn’t budge from his schedule. Obviously, I didn’t do the show. This all leads up to my third audition. I figured, this is their last chance. Third times the charm or not.

Knowing my past audition history and the director, I emailed him and asked him if he really wanted me to come. I told him I was only interested in two roles and that if he really wasn’t going to consider me, please let me know. On a side note, this director has seen me in shows, so he knows what I’m capable of. He told me to come and so I went. For two hours! I danced and sang three times, full out belting, and I should mention, I was doing a show at the time and it was my day off. I waited about a week and got an email from him stating that he didn’t want me to come to callbacks because he couldn’t find anyone to match my voice and they were heading in a different direction.

After reading this email, I was kind of disgruntled.  Understatement.  I was pissed because I took a lot of time out of my schedule for him. But after really thinking about the whole situation I, basically, took this as,

“It’s time to move forward and don’t look back.”

My career goal in acting is to be happy performing material I can be proud of while being a member of Actor’s Equity. I don’t want to do anything else in my life. I want to work in professional theatres getting paid for my work. I spent so long working my ass off just trying to gain points in an Equity show. I, finally, joined the EMC program and I don’t want to go back. I’m not putting down non-equity theatre in any way. Non-equity theatre is a very important part of the arts community and it is also a stepping stone for actors who want to eventually join Actor’s Equity.  I’ve done many non-equity productions that I’m very proud of and I wouldn’t change any of them.

We all go through milestones in life. We make goals and we achieve them. We move forward down our new paths and look back on where we’ve been and how we got to where we are now. Through this unprofessional audition experience, I learned that I am now on a new path. I tried to turn around and go back, but it won’t let me. I think that is a very good thing.

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Audition 101: Beware of the Energy Suckers

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No matter where you go in life “Energy Suckers” exist around you. They look like everyday normal people living their lives like the rest of us. But, as it turns out, they are some of the worst people to have around you. They, literally, suck all of the energy from your body. It’s like being in a horror/sci-fi movie. When it comes to show business, they are extremely dangerous. Their effect on you can determine whether you get a job or not.

Energy, whether it is kinetic or potential, is very important to an actor. We have to be able to sustain a lot of energy for long periods of time. Because when we perform, we are putting forth energy that you need to feel in order for you to understand the material we are performing. Actors give a lot of themselves, so our energy is like gold. When we run out, we have to find more energy within ourselves and that can be extremely exhausting.

Most of my experience with “Energy Suckers” have been at auditions. Their behavior is pretty specific at auditions. Here is a list of possible behaviors:

1. They do not stop talking. Whether they are nervous or not, consistent talking at an audition is very distracting. Some actors use this excessive talking on purpose to psych fellow auditioners out. They purposefully want to ruin your audition so they look better.

2. They come by themselves and actively seek out other actors to talk to. Distraction is their goal.

3. They ask a lot of controlling questions to the audition monitor, eventually, pissing them off. Some people feel they need to fully control the audition. When in all honesty, it’s how you behave in the audition room that determines if someone wants to work with you.

4. When in conversation with you or other actors in the audition room, they boast about jobs and other “important” people they know. They, also, speak very loudly because they want other people to hear.

All of these behaviors put together, put on a show. A show meant to distract and weaken their fellow actors they see as competition. In all honesty, it’s a huge waste of time for these people because they are the one’s not getting jobs and lying about them. Just be aware and stay far, far away from these people. You have a job to do. You have to go in that audition room and give it everything you got. Because you have a job to get and no one but yourself is going to get it. Ultimately, I suggest sticking to friends or yourself at auditions and blocking all the bad juju these people are putting out. Focus on what you have to do in that room!

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My Worst Auditions: A Theatre Conference

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This is a fun story to tell. About five years ago, I gave up auditioning for theatre conferences. You know, those auditions where you have like 20 seconds to sing a song and perform a monologue and make it the best anyone has ever seen. No stress, right? Well, I tried some theatre conferences and never had any luck at them. I got frustrated with not receiving any jobs from them and refused to sign up for them ever again. Over the past few years, I had friends that were getting jobs from these conferences. It started to change my mind. Instead of being mad and frustrated, I realized my attitude was the problem and that I needed to figure out how to audition properly for these theatre conferences. So, I found a small theatre conference that I could attend where I could test out my new approach to this unique form of auditioning and I signed up. I drove to the audition with a positive attitude, ready to tackle anything it was going to throw at me. I wanted to do my best that day because I wanted to see if I could improve my audition skills.

Warning #1

As soon as I walked in the door, a REALLY annoying, clingy guy I met at another audition recognized me and immediately started talking to me. You know those kind of people. The ones that are so nervous they don’t stop talking and eventually suck all your energy from you that you run the risk of having a bad audition. Yeah! Got away from him real quick!

Warning #2

We were told by email to arrive 15 minutes early to allow time to check-in. I was the fourth actor scheduled to audition. I got there on time and there was a huge line for check-in, but the personnel who were checking in the actors were sitting behind the desk ignoring the line.

Warning #3

As I was waiting to check in, one gentleman behind the desk looked official with his name tag and I recognized his name because he was the one who emailed all of us the audition information. I heard him tell another person, who was working the audition, that “Everyone keeps asking me questions like I’m someone important who knows all the answers.” Dude! Aren’t you the one who sent us all those emails and has an official name tag on?!?!? REALLY unprofessional.

Warning #4

The staff behind the desk told us that they would come and get us 5 minutes before our audition time. I’m ready to go and it’s 10 minutes past the beginning of the auditions. I go back up to the desk and double check with the staff. They tell me to follow the blue arrows taped on the floor. Would have been nice to know when I checked in.

Warning #5

I follow the blue arrows taped on the floor and end up in a dressing room where 4 other actors are waiting to audition. How did they get there?! Or even KNOW how to get there? Oh, yeah. There is still no audition monitor in sight.

Warning #6

Finally, someone comes and gets us. The dressing room isn’t the waiting area. We have to go somewhere else. OMG! As we walk to our new destination, wherever that is, we pass “Official Name Tag Guy” who tells another staff member that the auditions need to start while displaying the clock on his phone to all of us. It was 23 minutes past the beginning of the audition.

Warning #7

We reach our final destination and finally meet our official audition monitor. He places us in order of our numbers and disappears. He comes back a little later and tells us that the accompanist is 20 minutes late and they are waiting to see if they have permission to allow us to sing our selections a cappella. He disappears again.

Warning #8

Guess what? The accompanist still isn’t there and the first six people including myself sing our audition selections a cappella. Next time, Just Say NO!

Warning #9

After the first 40 people sang, we all changed to go and learn the dance combination. The dance room was a small classroom that had a crappy linoleum floor. The floor was uber slippery due to the fact that it was not cleaned and covered in dirt and salt that had been crushed into a powder from the previous dance group. I changed my shoes 3 times and nothing helped. Plus, we danced to “It’s Too Darn Hot” from Kiss Me Kate. I mean, why? Why that song? It’s always that song! And the choreography is always ridiculous.

Warning #10

It’s time for the dance call! Everyone who was auditioning that day all congregated on the side of the stage after we all danced a quick review together. We all thought we would audition in the order of our numbers. No. Not so much. The audition monitor just picked the first six people he saw and told them to go out on stage. Well, that way of auditioning people didn’t work well for the theatre companies. Everyone’s audition numbers were all messed up. After that first group, they decided to go in order. I was sooooooo pissed and sooooooo done with the audition that I ended up walking off the stage halfway through my dance audition and out the door.

This audition was the most irresponsible, unprofessional and disorganized event I have ever been a part of. I’m leaving the name of the organization out of this blog due to the fact that my experience is one of many. I’m hoping that this little tale may help those of you with the warning signs of when an audition is going bad.  I also hope you get a chuckle from this crazy audition tale.  I look forward to writing more.  Best wishes to future auditions!!!!!

Audition Etiquette With Audition Monitors

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Audition monitors. Love ’em or hate ’em, they control your audition. You have to be nice to them, look good for them, and show them you are a competent human being who can follow directions. Oh, and be careful about asking too many questions. That one extra question could ruin your whole audition!!!!!!!!!! That’s what we think, right? Is it really true? I don’t completely know, but this story kind of surprised me when I was around to witness it.

Welcome to another non-equity cattle call for a national tour. I was lucky enough to get my ass out of bed super early and got my name on the list around number 30. The audition posting and the monitor told us who was in the room, that we had to wear flat shoes, and they were requesting a strict 8-bar cut of our audition song. At that point, everyone is scrambling through their audition books, counting the measures in their songs, flipping pages, thinking they might have to sing something different. It really sucks when they change auditions cuts to shorter bars. When they do that, sometimes your song doesn’t work anymore, you can’t finish the line you want to sing, your next choice works for 8-bars, but the song is wrong. And sometimes you need to add 2-5 more bars to make the whole thing work.

Well, in this situation, I was fine. My song worked with the cut and I had nothing to worry about. The audition monitor was hanging out at the door to the audition room and we were all listening to the girl who was singing her cut. When she finished the monitor said, “That was not 8-bars. She’s cut.”  Now, I don’t know how correct this monitor was when he said this, but I was shocked.  Shocked, that he actually said that.

When it comes to audition monitors making comments like this, I take it with a grain of salt.  Bottom line, they aren’t the one’s casting the show you are auditioning for and they really have no say in who gets cast and who doesn’t.  But, the best thing any actor can do when going to an audition, is follow all the directions in the audition posting and all the information from the audition monitor.  Casting directors appreciate it when you follow directions because it makes their day less stressful.  It also shows them that you can be a responsible actor.  Hopefully, your responsibility will be rewarded with a callback or, even better, cast in their show!

Crazy Audition Callbacks: That Time I Got This Email…

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In February of 2013, I encountered the strangest callback.  I had auditioned for a company in Pennsylvania.  I auditioned well, but you never know.  They choose who they choose.  A few weeks later, I was checking my email on my phone and was really excited cause the title in the subject line stated callbacks for this Pennsylvania theatre.  I open it up and read that they have attached a PDF file of who was called back for what parts.  Excited that I had a callback, I opened the file and searched for my name.  It wasn’t there.  Confused, I looked for it a few more times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.  My name still wasn’t there.  So, I thought maybe they made a mistake and I will email them just to check.  And that is what I did.  I sent a nice email saying that I received a callback email, but my name was not on the list.  I wanted to confirm whether I was sent the email by mistake or if I was called back and they forgot to put my name on the list.

A few days later, I received a reply stating that everyone who auditioned was sent the callback email.  If your name was not on the callback list, you were not called back.  This has never happened to be before.  This was the first time a theatre company has sent a callback email to everyone who auditioned.  They, also, didn’t state in the email that if your name isn’t on the list, you aren’t called back.  Usually, only the people who are called back receive an email.  I mean, isn’t that the courteous way of doing things?  Only emailing the people who are called back protects actors privacy and saves the theatre company time and stress from answering emails like mine from confused actors.  

Personally, I think it’s better to not receive anything and just forget about it.  I would rather move on, focusing on future auditions.  Even though we all accept the craziness of this business, it still sucks to not get called back.  It’s not fun to know who did get called back when you didn’t.  It hurts.  You start playing mind games with yourself.  Why didn’t I get picked?  Did I do something wrong?  What could I have done to make you pick me?  And then it gets worse.  You don’t know why and most times, you never will know.  You then wallow in self-pity and when that passes, you’re suddenly fine.

Overall, if you are casting a show, please only email the people who are called back.  We, as actors, go through enough rejection and we appreciate it if it can be put to a minimum.  We come in to see you and pour our heart and souls out to you when we audition.  It’s better to have a nice rejection then a bad one.

Lastly, about two months after this annoying email, I received another one from the same theatre company in Pennsylvania.  It stated that all roles were cast and they thanked us all for auditioning.  Well…….duh!

Lights Up!

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Welcome players!  This theatre blog is a new venture of mine.  Over the last few months, I have been thinking of starting my own blog about everything theatre.  Musical, straight play, stage, lights, auditions, jobs, contracts, dance shoes, casting directors, licensing rights, tickets, monologues, theatre companies, etc.  You name it.  I’ll talk about it, if it has to do with theatre.  And Lord knows there is plenty to talk about.  I will share my opinions and experiences throughout this blog along with stories and experiences from other people I have encountered along the way.  By no means, will this blog be perfect in any way, but it will be a place to let loose and have some fun and to voice some gripes when the moments present themselves.

I myself have loved the performing arts my entire life.  I started my involvement in theatre in high school.  I wanted to perform.  I wanted to sing and dance on stage and make the audience happy through my performance.  Being in musicals seemed so great!  I would get to sing, dance and have fun with my friends on stage and then after we were done we would get applause.  Is there a better feeling in the world?  To know that you are having the greatest time on stage AND making the audience happy through your fun?  Little did I know, that being involved with theatre isn’t always puppies and sunshine, but those are lessons I learned later in my career.

I still get up on that stage because it makes me happy.  I have had many other jobs throughout my life and none have given me the happiness that performing does.  I have had to deal with tons of “drama” and disappointment in my career.  And I always ask myself, “Is it worth it?”  Every time I feel defeated by someone in the industry or by a company or a casting director, I always go to that dark place of sorrow and ask myself that question.  I always come up with the same answer and it is YES!  I don’t want to do anything else.  I don’t feel a pull toward any other profession.  I want to do this for the rest of my life.  Even when it sucks, I love it!  I’m willing to take the ups and the downs.  I deal with as much “drama” as I can.  If it comes to the point that a situation is dangerous, inappropriate or illegal, then I know it is time to stop and move on to the next project.  We should all know our limits and stick to them.

So, I love theatre!  And I plan to talk about it all through this blog.  Comment away and help me discuss this crazy business!  Maybe this blog will help some and maybe it won’t, but we have to start somewhere.  Ladies and gentlemen, places.