Theatre introduced itself to me when I was in the seventh grade. Faith was a big part of my family while growing up. Body, Mind, Spirit. I started Built For The Stage sometime around mid to late 2017. I can’t quite put my finger on the exact date because truly, @builtforthestage started at birth. It is something that I feel like I truly was destined to create.
Before Ben Crawford became the nightly music maker in The Phantom of the Opera, he made his Broadway debut in the 2006 revival of Les Misérables at the Broadhurst Theatre as both an ensemble member and understudy for Javert and Jean Valjean. Crawford sits down with The Ensemblist to tell us a little more about company life and his early roots.
Our lives are topsy turvy. Schedules change, income is always in flux and, ultimately, no one month is like the next. While there is something thrilling about the constant shifts, it’s also very hard to find any sort of regularity.
With more than 20 years of Broadway casting experience (including Tony-award winning heavyweights such as Wicked, Rent, and Hairspray), casting director Rachel Hoffman (Tesley + Company) knows a thing or two about life behind the table. She recently spoke with the Ensemblist to give her take on what it takes to be a standout in a crowd of thousands.
Written by Angela Tricarico – Cover Photo: Justin Prescott receiving the Legacy Robe for Head Over Heels, photo by Walter McBride Each Broadway season, the Legacy Robe makes its journey around Broadway to every musical that opens with an ensemble. The Robe is given to the ensemblist in each show with the most Broadway ensemble […]
I recently received a request for career advice from a graduate starting out in the entertainment industry. Following is my (slightly edited) reply to him. I hope these tips can help others in the same situation. Good luck, Scott
I rarely see someone who looks like me on a Broadway stage. Being an Asian-American soon-to-be-college student hungry for a performing career, I wish there was more representation of the Asian community in theater.
In my home, My Fair Lady was the movie-night staple. Every time I popped my VHS into the TV, I felt instantly transported to early 20th century London. The soaring orchestrations of Lerner and Loewe burst through my bedroom and it was transformed into a glorious study.
Work broke up with me. My greatest nightmare. The one thing I thought could never leave me. Let’s face it, as actor’s employment is the vacation. When you’re not “working” you tend to work ten times harder. You teach in New Jersey and Long Island, you work study for discounted dance classes, you volunteer your time to get a chance to perform, you audition relentlessly… and you have two other jobs.
1. What is your name and hometown? Sarah Quinn Taylor from Wichita, KS. 2. What is your role/track in your Broadway debut? I was hired as a vacation swing for My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center. Made my debut in an Ensemble/Higgins’ Maid track last week and onto my next ensemble track this week. […]
I have always been a “musicals person” when it came to theatre. When the season was announced each year of my collegiate theatre experience, my brain instantly started thinking of audition songs for whatever the musical that year was. Auditioning for the play rarely crossed my mind.
The best Broadway Stage Manager April Fools joke! I was told this story many years ago and it’s still the best stage management April Fools I’ve ever heard. This was way back in the 1990s during the Broadway run of The Who’s Tommy.
We’re always looking for interesting, cool haunts to head to before or after shows. You know the kind of place: bars and restaurants that have a low-key glam vibe, but remind you that you’re seeing theatre in the “The Greatest City of the World.” (Thanks LMM) Looking for suggestions of where to head before or after a Broadway show? Here are five recommendations for venues near Broadway great for before or after a show.
I began scattering seeds of the idea of Broadway Botanist one year ago. Gardening has always been a hobby of mine and since moving to New York about ten years ago, I made it my mission to surround myself with green regardless of a lack of yard. So in came creative ways of having vertical indoor gardens. 😉
I broke.
About three weeks ago, I found out my body was dying. Like, actually dying. Fibroid tumors, tumors that grow in fibroids, also known as uterine myomas, leiomyomas, or fibromas. They are firm, compact tumors that are made of smooth muscle cells and fibrous connective tissue that develop in the uterus.
Ever since I was ten years old, my dream has always been to be in the Wicked cast. Over the course of my life, I’ve always tried to take steps towards finally achieving that dream – my living room has seen more renditions of my one-woman Wicked than I can count, and I can certainly say I’ve painted myself green once or twice in my childhood just to see what it would look like.
When an opportunity comes your way that requests you step outside of your comfort zone, what do you do? You could ignore it. That would be too easy. Or, you could say yes to the unknown and see where that path will take you. As a performer, I love doing what I do. I always have, and I always will. But like most performers, I am constantly searching for ways to grow as an artist and feed my artistic appetite.
“Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. Some day we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.” – Maya Angelou
Let me begin by saying that I believe in the process of developing new theater. It takes blood, sweat, and tears from EVERYONE involved. From the Producers to the Creatives to the Artists… it takes all of them to bring a piece of theater to life. Everyone takes risks to create something new. They risk money, other career opportunities, time away from their family, etc. all because they want to help be a part of something meaningful and successful.
As a swing, each track has its own mental and physical preparation, as well as challenges that differ from track to track. I cover seven male ensemble tracks in Mean Girls and each of the performers who play these roles are insanely talented, all the while making eight shows a week look seamless.
Just when you think you can’t love Lin-Manuel Miranda more than you already do, he pulls something like this. On January 8th, news broke that Lin-Manuel Miranda and his Hamilton co-creators came to the rescue of the Drama Book Shop by purchasing and saving it from permanent closure. This was tremendous news to theater patrons who regard the Drama Book Shop as a staple in the theater community, past, present and future.
The cycle of Broadway openings and closings ebb and flow differently each season. Some years, every single Broadway house will be full of audiences. Other seasons, the glow of Midtown’s marquees will be considerably darker. Today, four shows will shutter on Broadway: Head Over Heels, Once On This Island, The Play That Goes Wrong and Torch Song. Each of these shows launched onto the Great White Way with hopes of being the next theatrical juggernaut.
The Broadway community has reached a standstill over a dispute regarding insufficient payment for participation in development work such as workshops and labs. In a recent New York Times article, it was reported that “about a quarter of all Broadway shows use developmental labs to test out material, and there are several labs scheduled in coming months that will not take place unless the dispute is settled.”
Three years ago I was told that I needed to start playing “The Instagram Game” if I wanted to continue working. The modeling and acting worlds were changing and now casting directors were requiring the amount of followers you have be listed every time you went in. Social media has changed the game.
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