If you work in the theatre, odds are that you are working during the holidays, providing entertainment for everyone else on vacation enjoying their break. We help create the shows that people love, as evidenced by the traditional recurring holiday favs; A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker, Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
An impressive backdrop of light bulbs is shining brightly at 302 West 45th street in New York City. Standing in front of this wall of light, Kinky Boots’ actors are all lined up, ready to walk down the runway after two hours and twenty minutes of jumping, kicking and belting. The sight of those performers blinding the audience with Greg Barne’s glittering costumes and matching high heels is… Breathtaking, simply breathtaking.
Considering how close the two districts are—a mere stone’s throw away—the Opera and Broadway are two separate worlds. Both require a commitment to performance of the highest calibre but are quite distinct animals—ferociously fierce and beautiful, but different nonetheless.
According to the Actors’ Equity Association Production Contract, which governs most Broadway theatres, performers accrue a week of vacation every six months. But those planned absences are not the first time actors miss performances. Performers may be out of the building due to illnesses, contracted personal days or for press events that conflict with performance times.
“OK, so I packed a change of clothes for Dean and put everything he will need for the day in his diaper bag. The stroller is in the car and ready for his walk. There is plenty of milk and his baby food inside the cooler. I laid out his sleeper and sleep sac, and his bath stuff is all ready for his tub. Bedtime is at 7pm. Please tell him I love him more than anything.”
For stage performers, making your Broadway debut can feel like the major milestone – even if it was never an actor’s goal. Once you’ve made that debut, it can be a long and trying process to make it back to Broadway – particularly if your first outing is a limited run or closes quickly. For The Prom’s Mary Antonini, that patience has paid off after more than seven years.
How do you lead thirty eight actors, over twenty creatives, countless crew and staff, and an audience of thousands, all who speak a different language, live in a different country, and grow up with a culture other than your own?
It’s a story as old as Broadway itself. With each new musical opening comes scores of opinions from theatre devotees. Yet, some of those reviews have typically been held in high esteem: those of theatre critics. For decades, theatre reviews from the legitimate press were the industry standard of quality. Both business insiders and loving fans looked to The New York Times and other publications for opinionated, but honest views of productions.
Life throws you some amazing curveballs. I feel very grateful to be able to continue to live my dream as a dancer on Broadway as well as be a mum to a gorgeous little girl, Matilda. It is not often that family can blossom with a performing career, but I’m happy I get to experience it all.
It’s a phrase heard time and again in the theatre industry. Successful Broadway ensemble actors say that while they love performing, they want to “get out of the ensemble.” But what does that phrase mean? What about being in the ensemble is so difficult that so many actors would want to escape it?
Artists are the gatekeepers of truth.
Use your voice and actions to create and/or participate in positive change.
Vote.
These were among the messages conveyed by social activists, students, musicians and Broadway artists at Broadway Fights Back, a benefit concert to support March for Our Lives’s mission to raise awareness and put a stop to the senseless gun violence that plagues our country daily.
I was flailing in a rehearsal studio in Boston. This was the choreography. But I wasn’t flailing correctly. I had just joined the national tour of Wicked – a true childhood dream! And per usual, my first week of rehearsal was spent terrified they had chosen the wrong person and I’d never get it right. It’s my extremely healthy process when joining shows.
Even before it welcomes its first audience, King Kong is proving itself a massive Broadway mounting. The production features a 2,000-pound, 20-foot puppet as its titular character. In addition, the show features a massive cast of 35 actors, including an onstage ensemble of 11, six offstage swings and ten actors known as “King’s Company.”
I first started dancing when I was 15 years old. That age can be difficult for any young man, but was particularly a challenging moment in my family’s history. At the time, I was living in a homeless shelter with my mom and siblings. Yet amidst all of this I managed to set foot in a dance studio for the first time.
Cameo, a mobile app connecting celebrities and fans through personalized shoutouts, is growing more and more popular within the Broadway community. All in all I think the app is great when used with grace, honesty and humility.
The day I got called about making my Broadway debut with The Book of Mormon was one day after I was rejected by three non-equity touring productions I had really wanted. Almost four years later, looking back, I learned more from those rejections than I ever did from that debut.
We are already aware that as a stage manager, stress comes with the job. Everyone in the creative & production process is relying on you to know and communicate everyone’s needs and notes. You are the person responsible for everything, but have control over nothing. Read on for 7 ways we stage managers can deal with this stress.
Travelling across the country on national Broadway tours can bring perspective and reflection on life, love, work, family and everything in between. Poetry On The Road is a selection of works written about these areas of life.
Travelling across the country on national Broadway tours can bring perspective and reflection on life, love, work, family and everything in between. Poetry On The Road is a selection of works written about these areas of life.
Are you finding yourself in a rut? Can’t get motivated? No need to wait till New Years to set some resolutions, the first day of the rest of your life is today. So here are some resolutions for those in stage management or any management role to consider right now.
The 2017-18 Broadway season is officially in the rear view mirror and culminated in the Tony Awards a few weeks ago. Since then I’ve been reflecting on the season and about stage managers. Because stage management is what I think about. And I wondered why there isn’t a Tony Award for the stage manager?
Ok so I’m going to put it out there and perhaps I’m going to get my hand slapped for it. Even some of my fellow TheatreArtLife contributors are going gasp and shake their heads at me. (I’m looking at you Mena Buscetto). Perhaps I’ve lived in Asia too long and I’m tired of fighting the good fight but I’m going to say it……. why can’t audience members take photos during a theatre show???
I had a sneaking suspicion when Harry Potter and the Cursed Child made its long-awaited entrance to Broadway it would do so with flair. The same goes for a staple in theatre’s history, Angels in America, led by the legendary Nathan Lane and definition-of-versatile actor, Andrew Garfield. These plays, though they are different in content and presentation, and will be considered for the “best” award in different categories, are slated to win big at the June 10th Tony Award celebration, Harry Potter with 10 nominations and Angels in America with 11.
One of the most beautiful and magical aspects of theatre is that it has the ability to help its audiences connect with the realities life and the emotions that come with them. Its stories and characters help us see the world through a new lens, multiple perspectives, and allows us to see the broader scope of an entire story, rather than our own, singular view we experience life with each day. When we see a Broadway show, if it accomplishes its goal, we feel emotions we have perhaps suppressed or have not otherwise had the opportunity or circumstances to experience.
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