During my four years at University I never played
an actual lead in a show. My friends Fred and Lisa weren’t given the chance
either. I decided to look elsewhere for the
opportunities I was missing. At the time
it was frowned upon to go outside of the Theatre Department to
do shows, but that's what I did. I went out into the world...and by “the
world” I mean the largest city in the area, which was only twenty minutes away.
I was confident I was completely prepared for venturing out into the cruel cold world. I had been performing constantly since I was 15. I had been taught and was being taught by some of the best teachers money could buy (...or should I say student loans could buy...). How much different could theatre outside of school really be?
What I found outside was the chance to do more shows and meet
new people. And money. Producers actually wanted to give me money to perform in
their shows. This was a crazy notion to me at the time. I had been performing
non-stop for the last five years and not one dime was thrown my way. The
experiences I had and the things I learned in those five years were beyond what
money could give me. But there’s something to be said for being able to buy a new
pair of shoes...
I recently read a blog post called “Things I wish I had been
told in Theatre School” and it’s by Callam Rodya. One of my Facebook friends had shared it and a
few other friends totally agreed with the sentiments. Then I started seeing a lot of people liking
the post and agreeing with it and sharing it. It’s a great post. Everyone has his or her own opinions based on their individual life experiences. There are some differences between what
I’ve experienced in my travels after University and what's listed in Callam's bog.
I’m including the post in my blog. I don’t personally know
Callam, nor do I know anyone who does. I have no way of getting his permission
to include his work. I believe it’s better to give him full credit and
acknowledgement (number 23). After all these are his truths and his opinions. I
don’t dispute them. I can only compare them with my own, which are in italics.
Things
I Wish I Had Been Told in Theatre School
Theatre
school was great. It is great. But it can omit some of the more fundamental and
important career lessons. School is, after all, a bubble. It’s not a natural
professional environment. So, with what little wisdom I have regarding a career
as an actor, here’s a list of some things I wish somebody had told me in
theatre school. Some of these lessons, I had to learn the hard way. Others
simply would have saved me a bit of time.
1.
“Stealing the show” is not a
compliment. The ensemble is more important than your “moments”.
Everyone’s
“moments” in the show are important. If the moment isn’t important it shouldn’t
be there. If you have the ability, talent and focus, and a role that allows it,
then you should steal the show. Every actor is on stage to shine and give of
their talents freely and abundantly. But know there’s a huge difference between
“stealing the show” and “stealing focus”.
2.
You’d be surprised how few people are
willing to pay for theatre tickets when they aren’t your friends and family and
have no personal connection to you whatsoever.
People
do pay for theatre tickets when they don’t know directly someone connected to a
particular show. However most won’t buy them from a random solicitation. My
friend Dom sold theatre
tickets on the street for a living, and it’s hard as hell.
3.
No, you can’t actually play forty and
fifty-year-olds in your twenties. At least, no one will pay you to do it.
Plenty
of non-equity summer stock theatres will gladly pay a younger person to play
older. These places generally don’t offer a high enough wage to hire someone of
the correct age. With age comes a greater fiscal responsibility. A forty year old man with a
wife and 5 year old child cannot afford to go to Po Dunk, Miskantucka for $300
a week and still sustain his life and family in New York.
4.
By the same token, there are very few
roles in the theatre for twenty-year-olds.
In
straight plays there are very few roles for twenty year olds. The musical
theatre world is saturated with roles for 20 year olds. Just look at the breakdowns where they're looking for an "girl" in here early twenties and her "mother" in her late twenties to early thirties. Do the math. It’s the 30-40 year olds that
have very few roles.
5.
The stage manager always works much
harder than you. And technically, you work for him/her, not the other way
around.
You
do not work for a Stage Manager. You work with a Stage Manager.
You work for whoever signs the checks. The Stage Manager is that person’s (and
the director’s) on site representative.
6.
Most people don’t get drunk on Opening
Night…because they have a show the next day…idiot. Oh, and cast parties are
more likely to be cast dinners.
Every
cast party I have ever been to involves alcohol and it’s never
been a dinner party. I’ve found the
amount of alcohol at cast parties is in direct correlation to the production
budget of the show: the larger the budget the more the alcohol freely flows.
Any responsible adult knows their limit, not to mention their ability to artistically
function with a hangover the next day.
7.
Developing and producing your own work
is the single MOST important thing you can do after you graduate.
This
may be true for film and TV, but I have a very small point of reference for
those mediums. For theatre most people behind the table want to see known works
on your resume. It helps give them a point of reference as to your potential abilities.
8.
Background film roles don’t do shit for
your career.
But
they do pay the bills ...and buy shoes!!!
9.
Unions are awesome and the worst at the
same time.
Can
I get an “Amen”?
10. When
people said you would be poor thanks to your brilliant career choice, what they
really meant was “completely fucking destitute.” And that’s okay.
You
don’t have to be destitute because of your career choice and the scarcity of that
work. The idea of the “starving artist” is a myth. Get a marketable skill to
help pay for your life while you pursue your career. Everyone does it or has
done it. See number 8.
11. Auditions
are on one level. Knowing the right people is a completely different level
altogether.
Knowing
the right people will get you nowhere. Having the right people know you
and appreciate your particular talents will eventually get you everything those
people have to offer, and that includes auditions, jobs and introductions to
other people who will appreciate you.
12. Directors,
casting agents, and producers care as much about how easy you will be to work
with as they do about how good you are for the role. If not more so.
OH
HELL YES. The people behind the table would rather take someone less talented
who is a genuinely nice and amiable person to work with over someone who is
incredibly talent and impossible to work with.
13. Remember
how you used to have five weeks to get off book? NOPE. Get off book NOW.
It
depends on the length of the rehearsal period and the desire of the director.
Some directors prefer you not to be off book until all the mechanics have been
worked out. Some expect you to walk into the first rehearsal completely memorized.
When in doubt, ask.
14. Save
up a certifiable shit-ton of money if you’re going to move to Toronto. Like, a
ridiculous amount. Student-loan worthy. That is, if you want to actually be
able to go for auditions, take classes, network, and you know, any of those other
career-building essentials.
I
cannot agree with this more. My one caveat is that when you feel in your very
bones that it’s time for you to move, do it. And do it then. But be prepared
for an uphill battle. (More on this in another blog)
15. Don’t
do everything. Seriously. Know when to turn something down. And believe me,
you’ll know.
Do
everything that pays you a decent wage, promotes your career or feeds you inner
artist. In the perfect world every job would do all those things. In the real
world, you’re lucky if you get two of the three.
16. It’s
not unreasonable to expect to be paid for your work. And you should be. But you
won’t always be. So when you do work for free, which will be a lot, make sure
it’s work that you’re passionate about or will really be a career booster. And
honestly, it should be both.
“No
one is going to buy the cow if you keep giving the milk away for free”. And see
previous comment.
17. Ninety
percent of casting decisions have nothing to do with how you perform in your
audition.
I
wish someone could get the actual percentages on this one, because I suspect it
could be higher.
18. Most
of the time, when you don’t get the part, it’s not because you suck, but
because of some other (probably superficial) reason altogether. Unless you
suck.
No
one sucks. The appeal of your talents may be limited... really limited, but
since the performing arts are completely subjective, someone somewhere will
hire you to do something. It just takes some artists longer to find that one
person.
19. Energy
is more important than appearance. So get more sleep instead of wasting your
time making yourself look good. After all, there’s always a hair and makeup
person on set. There’s rarely a person to spoon-feed you caffeine and cocaine.
I
could not disagree more with this. I believe both are equally important and
feed off of one and other. If you're well rested you will have more energy. When you have more energy you look fresher more alive. When you look fresher/more alive people naturally perceive you to be better looking. When think people find you attractive, you tend to be more energized.
20. Take
your “me” time. And cherish it. Because the pursuit of an acting career will
totally consume your life.
The
pursuit of a career should BE your life. But that life should include a wide
range of unrelated hobbies and passions. It makes you more of a well-rounded
interesting person and thus a well-rounded interesting actor.
21. Don’t
hide your “physical flaws.” Embrace them. And learn how to look at yourself
objectively.
Know
what you need to work on, be it posture, weight or some other thing, and work
on it. However make yourself look the best that you possibly can at any given
moment.
22. Your
“hit” is no joke. It’s what you’re selling. Either be okay with it, or figure
out a way to change it and still look like a real human being.
I
have no idea what a “hit” is. I can only guess that it means your “product”. If that's the case "see previous comment".
23. No
matter how big of a star you were in school, out here, you are just a part of a
team. So act like it. And give credit where credit is due at every opportunity.
Always
give credit where credit is due. And yes some people, who were stars in school,
are stars out here. Never dim your light to become another bulb in a
chandelier. See number1.
24. Acting
is actually easier than you want to believe it is. And more people can actually
do it than you want to believe. And most people behind the scenes work harder
than you do. So don’t be a diva.
Statement
number one I disagree with. Acting is work. And to do it well not only takes
work, it takes talent and dedication. Statement number two I disagree with as
well. But since it’s subjective I’ll not comment on it. And whether the people
behind the scenes work harder than you or not, don’t be a diva. See number 12!
25. You
are replaceable.
Very
sad, but very true. There are a hundred people just like you waiting to take
your job. And they’re happy to do it. So when you’re in a show, whether it be
community theatre in Po Dunk, Miskantucka or the next big Broadway hit, cherish
it. You are one of the fortunate few.
26. The
camera really does add ten pounds. No shit.
Yep.
Sometimes 20!
27. Stage
and screen are completely different worlds requiring completely different
approaches and are cast in completely different ways.
Yes,
yes and no. The casting process is the same for everything. You walk in,
display your wares, the people behind the table (or camera) look them over. You
leave. They talk (sometimes they talk and then you leave). This continues until
they’ve seen everyone they want to see. They meet and decide who’s going to be
cast. Of course there will be callbacks involved but callbacks are just more of
the same “display and look and talk” dynamic.
28. You
thought there was “technique” to acting on stage? Just wait till you get some
serious face time with the camera.
No more or less technique is needed for
on camera work...just a completely different technique that needs to be completely
hidden.
29. Rehearsals
are a luxury. Don’t waste them.
Oh yes, and not a time for socializing
or romancing. Save that for the lunch break and the cast house.
30. It
is not okay to be drunk, stoned, high, or any other kind of intoxicated while
you work. Not for “professionalism” reasons. But because you are, in fact,
worse.
We
need not go any further than it is unprofessional.
31. Try
not to get discouraged/cynical/jaded/resentful too early. This is a tough
business. That’s just the way it is, and it’s not going to change any time
soon. So be tough. Or get out.
Everyone
gets a little discouraged/cynical/jaded/resentful, even those just starting
out. It’s frustration. And what is frustration? A blockage of needs. And what do
you need? To be employed in your craft. The trick is to not let those negative
feelings overwhelm you on a constant basis. If they do, then for your own
sanity and health, you should step away from the business, even if just for a
few weeks or months.
After that summer of performing
in the real world I returned to University. My
senior year was interesting to say the least. Things had changed. Everyone
seemed to look at me oddly and interact with me differently. I had committed a
cardinal sin and I went to a Catholic school. What made things more tense was
the fact that I had to finish out
some contractual obligations during that first semester. I was able to do both,
work outside performing and work inside of the university on finishing my
degree.
I had broken out of the insular bubble that
school puts around you. That bubble is there for your own protection, and
preparation for career longevity. The teachers at universities want their
charges studying and learning and building their craft. They don’t want their
students seeing the teachings of Meisner and Uta Hagen and the like distorted
and perverted. They don’t want students exposed to “screalting” (singing while
screaming and belting simultaneously) Teachers don’t want their students to be
tainted by commercialism. There is plenty of time for that once they’ve
graduated. However, if as a student school isn’t giving you what you want and need, then you
should find it elsewhere, be it outside of school or another school all
together.
Lisa
transferred schools and found the education and opportunities she had been
looking for.
My senior year we did West Side Story as one of the main musicals. I was cast as “Chino
the white-faced boy”. While not a “lead” in the show, the role did allow for
some stand alone moments. And because I also dance I was put into all the
Puerto Rican dance numbers.
Did
I finally get a break because the faculty saw that I was wanted elsewhere? Did
they finally see I had marketability? Did it take someone actually paying me to
make them realize my potential? Or did they pick that show so I could be featured not only acting but singing and dancing as well? I’ll never know. What I do know is that upon
graduating my friend Fred and I had the longest bios of our class. He’d decided to go behind the scenes into the production side of
things.
Today, Fred is a professor of
Theatre Management in a prestigious New England University.
Lisa is an award-nominated
Broadway actress and teacher.
And as for me? I’m literally one
of two people from my class still performing and pursuing professionally what I
spent all that money and time in University to learn.
The last point Callam Rodya made in his blog “Things I Wish I Had Been Told in Theatre School” is this:
32. And
finally, don’t go down this path just because you’re “good enough” to be a
professional actor. For the love of God, do it ONLY because you cannot do
anything else.
My classmates discovered performing to be lacking
and unfulfilling for them. They moved on to the pursuit of other careers. Today they live wonderful lives, happy with their choice. Whether a career in the Arts is right for you is
something you discover once you’re outside of the school environment. It happens when you're living Life.
I think the single most
important thing a student needs to be told in University is simply this:
Everything else you can learn.
