Hey guys I would really love some word of advice or encouragement to help, so last month, I was offered a role in my very first Shakespearean play. It's a little edited down so it's not the entire script. But it's about 58 pages. ( I got the lead! which yay but oh my god SO many words-Macb) I feel like for a while I struggled because this was my very first Shakespearean play, and I spent a lot of time breaking down what was being said, and what certain words meant rather than memorizing. I think I just didn't want to memorize words if I didn't know what I was saying. Anyway we open in a week and im scared because Act 4 and 5 are not really memorized. Act 3 was the LONGEST act and took me so long. I also have so much else on my plate as I am also in another show with a different company (smaller roles, I play 3 different characters. people dropped out last minute so i agreed to take on) As well as juggling college classes (sophomore year) and work. I feel like I am losing my mind and losing sleep over this. I feel like my brain won't take in any new information like I have fried it but I can't stop now.

What can I do? anyone have any similar stories and made it out the other side? best fake it to you make it strategies? I know I'm being hard on myself, I can't help it. I love theater and my cast mates. I wanna do good but i'm still so new that I know there's probably better ways to go about it

Hi! I just got cast as Angelique in a production to The Imaginary Invalid at a classical theater in my city. I’m so excited!! Has anyone done this production, or this role? What do you think of it?

I posted in here a few months back about a realization I had after one of my daughter’s more recent productions and everyone was super supportive and engaging - it meant the world to this lowly stage dad. Now I want to tell yall a story that had me beaming with pride.

Set up- as some of you know, my daughter is 12 and has been acting on stage since 5. She’s gone through the process of kids theater to community theater and most recently- a professional gig in a regional with Broadway talent and AEA talent and rules. She killed it. I couldn’t have been more proud of that much dedication and professionalism out of such a little person. She got great experience, feedback and tutelage by some Broadway heavy hitters.

But she has also dabbled in screen work (mostly BG stuff). This is important later.

Her first experience in NYC and her first Broadway show was about 3 years ago- when we were sent to see the Gypsy revival with Ms Audra by the cast and crew from our local theater (where my daughter played Baby Louise in Gypsy) I don’t think she took a single breath from the moment we exited Grand Central to the closing curtain of the show. She even got to stage door and meet the very gracious young lady who also played Baby Louise in that show. She was beyond excited, happy and even more determined to make it after that experience.

On the train ride home, a sleepy and now adrenaline drained little girl looked up at her father and told me with no uncertainty- that she would be on Broadway one day, and she would be performing in THAT theater- the Majestic Theater. I told her that I’m sure she will, but there are soooo many theaters in the theater district- she could make any one of them. She then informed me that nope- she was going to perform in that theater.

Flash forward to yesterday. She’s booked on a film (I can’t talk about it and won’t say the name so don’t ask lol), where holding was the Eddison Hotel in midtown. Call time was ungodly early and we had to leave our home at 4:15 am just to make it. Signed in, clocked in, wardrobe, hair and make up- and then taken to set.

You already know where I’m going with this.

My baby girl performed at the Majestic yesterday.

Now I know it isn’t stage work or theater per se. but just sitting in the house (decent seats for free ha) and watching her perform on film in that theater was magical.

Of course she didn’t realize the gravity of the moment - but the second rehearsals and actual scenes were shot, she turned into pure work. No giggling, no wonder- just work. On the walk back to GCT once everything was done - I reminded her of what she told me a few years ago- when the realization hit her - it was pure dad gold.

I am truly thankful for all the opportunities she’s been afforded so far. I am truly in awe of what she is able to do- what all of you actors and creatives are able to do and how amazing a world it is that I’m allowed to watch her be a part of. Theater and the acting community is an incredible place to see happen for her. And these little victories she’s having build such a strong foundation and reinforce her resolve.

That’s it, that’s all. Not the best story but I thought I owed you all something after my last post and how awesome everyone was. Just some “keep pushing” feedback and how this field gives back in ways she or I would never expect. You never know where the next validation and step deeper will be - but if you’re paying attention, they’re everywhere. As I told her this morning on a groggy ride to school- it’s not going to happen all at once, it’s going to happen for you in degrees. Never stop pushing, never stop refining your craft, never stop working. Because these little victories will refill the gas tank as long as you keep driving. I’m hoping she gets these along the way- and I’m hoping all of you out there do too.

-Stage dad

Hi.

I’m the parent of a HS junior who loves theatre tech (light and sound). He’s at the point of thinking about college and I’m struggling to see how $40-70K/year for a BA or BFA will translate into a job he couldn’t have gotten simply from having drive and experience (he’s already Production Manager for his HS theatre performances, programs home and business light shows), just four years earlier.

Or, put another way, will he have significant knowledge after four years of college (or connections, etc) that would put him into jobs right out of school that he couldn’t otherwise get after four years of post-HS experience?

I don’t know anyone in the industry to ask… so I’m here for all of the advice anyone can throw at me.

Help, please!

TIA!

To be fair, I have been pretty new to theater. Before that I have extensive dance and music experience. But have only been doing theater for about almost four years since I was 18 and I am 21 now. I am fine with being a noob and not always getting the roles that I want. However, my biggest gripe I think has to be the people I was cast in my first professional production last year in November. They had done vernacular casting so they had hired people without a lot of experience and people with experience. My community theater trope I love, but this pro trope I think is going to kill me. They are very incredibly mean, and treated our crew for the show poorly as well. One of our actors was really struggling with his lines in the show too. We’ve had to rewrite a bunch of stuff in the scripts because they’re odd and poorly written. I have currently been recast and I’m under studying for the same trope and I was crying after my last practice. I am worried though about branching out into other community theaters. I feel like my current trope is not challenging me enough, and I could find other opportunities elsewhere. But there are certain people that I’ve met outside of my community theater and other community theaters, but I’m not quite sure about as well. I am not quite sure what to make about all of this but, yeah.

If anyone is familiar with the music of Into the woods, there’s a particular song “prologue: so happy”.

The part that I found really pretty was when Cinderella’s step mother and step sisters sing a harmony “we’re so happy, you’re so happy. Just as long as you stay happy, we’ll stay happy”

Their whole part has a touch of dissonance to it that I really want to hear more of but I’m having trouble finding anything that sounds similar. Does anyone have any recommendations from other plays, songs, or even bands or groups with this type of sound? I’m familiar with the Andrew sisters but they’ve got more of a jazz sound as opposed to a “fairytale” or dreamlike quality if that makes sense.

Good morning!

For a class I teach, my students form a mock theater company. I have them spin a "wheel of (mis)fortune)" that is filled with both good and bad things that have happened to people during a production. I have my own list of things, but I love to hear from other theater people about their experiences.

If you have anything fun - both good or bad - that I can add to my list of options, throw it in the comments!

Thanks!

Looking for a full length comedy with literary merit for a large cast (approx 12-15 people). All genres welcome but we would prefer minimum sexual references since it's a pretty conservative community. We want the audience to leave refreshed and thoroughly entertained.

Anyone knows if there is a recording of Sam Shepard's "True West" with Paul Dano & Ethan Hawke? Last post asking this was 3 years ago, so I wonder if there are any updates? Would loooove to set this show with them in it.

I'm in a production of Much Ado About Nothing, and I got Georgina Seacole. A quite boring character. She literally just does stupid stuff the whole time. How do I make this character less... stupid? A lot of the roles I've played recently have been "dumbed down" characters, and I'm lwk sick of it. Any advice on how to empower myself through this character, I guess?

Hi! I haven't posted much to Reddit in God knows how long but I have an interesting experience that happened to me this past week. I auditioned for the Adams Family Musical and got casted as an Ancestor/ Gomez understudy...you can see where this is going. At first I was a bit upset, being that I've never experienced being a " second option" but learned to accept the opportunity. As the rehearsals went on, I got to know the main Gomez and it turned out he was a super humble guy who was friendly with everyone in the cast, especially me. I would ask him questions about blocking, advice on tonality in certain scenes, etc; he'd always be happy to help me learn. However the entire rehearsal process was limited to getting the Understudies practice on stage as well as with the music. We kinda had to learn the show on our own time, which is very difficult if you think about it. We had one understudy rehearsal where we got to play the leads, to see what it feels like but under show conditions. I learned a lot from that day but I knew it wasn't enough, at least for me. I made sure to memorize all the lines, figure out the blocking through watching the main Gomez perform, while keeping my interpretation of Gomez in tact. Skip to performance week, we perform opening night flawlessly with energy being through the roof with the cast. The next day, I walked into the theatre for my call time and was quickly pulled aside by the director with a brood tone, " -insert name of actor- is out... you're playing Gomez tonight." I wish you guys could've seen my face but it mixed in with a little shock, a tingle of excitement with uneasiness. My first thought was "what happened?" which was quickly shut down in thought because we can't ask that, coming from a directors POV. I said, "okay, sure. I'm ready...what do I need to do?" I quickly got fitted for a different outfit, rehearse blocking I've never done before, basically doing all I can for me to feel prepared. Of course I was nervous but I kept my composure and knew that all the observing, blocking at home, character development, everything that I worked on personally would work out...which it did! I winged it and made it through the performance! I will admit, I might've slipped a line or two but you have to remember that only the cast knows the show, not the audience. Everyone praised me quickly with the short, " you're doing great!" As badly as this sounds, it was overwhelming! But of course I appreciate everyone who tells me I'm doing great, it's the validation that I need to keep playing as Gomez and what really makes me happy is when people notice the different things I do as my version of him. To wrap it up, I completed my second show yesterday which went better than my first night, I think. We're on a two-day break, and are back on this coming Halloween weekend! I'll never undervalue the importance of understudies because they are the real backbones of the show! You have to memorize not only one character's thoughts/motives but your current character's as well! I hope y'all see this and want to share your crazy experiences being Understudies!

Got into a disagreement with an actor because he said techs should be present in all rehearsals. I said no because it's a waste of their time, especially when NOBODY is off-book and the actors are constantly absent and therefore unfamiliar with their blocking, and also because this isn't our only subject. I don't know if which one of us is right. Before he complained about this, I have already scheduled day for techs to watch a run, and I already told them that they must be present on the days leading up to opening day.

This is for a subject requirement so not all of us (including me) are familiar with the ins and outs of the theater. We're all just trying to get by. Should i have required techs to be present in all rehearsals? Help. It's been bothering me... I don't know if i'm doing the right thing or not.

Edit for clarification: I'm not the tech. I'm the stage manager.

Also, I didn't expect this to gain so much response, it is literally scaring me. Thank you to everyone, professionals and hobbyists alike, who have taken precious time to share industry knowledge. I really appreciate it, but we are only 20 people running a show so we are tremendously fucked and idk if my limited brain capacity can take all this advice to good use! thanks a lot still!

I’m seeing The Cherry Orchard this week. Has Kristin Scott Thomas been signing at the stage door?

When was your first diabolical death on stage and describe it in the most spooky way possible muhahahahaha

Idgaf what they even say just speak at those clowns and creeps.

What do you guys think?

Any actors or techs enjoy the rush of a loud audience?

Hi! Currently doing a show and theres a character that is gagged up for almost the entirety of the show😅. We need a gag that wont fall halfway through the show.

We have tried evvveeryything.
Plz help

Hello. I am very excited to post on this subreddit for the first time.

For context, my theatre acting class are currently prepping monologues that we will present to each other. Our instructor has assigned us pieces from different theatrical plays ranging from drama to comedy.

My assigned play is ‘The Pillowman’ by Martin McDonagh, of which I will be presenting a slightly abridged version of the third act monologue delivered by the character Ariel. The scene that takes place sees Ariel, a ‘bad cop’ archetype in a totalitarian society, conversing with Katurian, the protagonist suspected of child murder as his horror stories bear striking resemblance to recent incidents. Ariel is taking his ‘confession’ until Katurian attempts to make peace and find common ground with Ariel, who then launches into his monologue about how entirely different he is from Katurian and how he is violently hellbent on punishing people like him.

My initial reading of the script my instructor gave me is that I may have to deliver the scene dramatically. That was until I did some further research and come to find out that this play is a tragicomedy (not surprising as Martin McDonagh directed ‘Banshees of Inisherin’, one of my favorite black comedies in recent years).

As I am in the midst of making choices, I want to know how you would approach portraying Ariel, and furthermore, dark humor such as the material McDonagh writes or any other material you know of.

What advice has someone given you about portraying ‘bad cops’ or people with dark pasts? How do you get into that mindset?

I enjoy plays like a number, escaped alone, the nether, the pillow man, playing with fire after Frankenstein, bug, the humans, and the children. Can anyone suggest any other kind of odd, unsettling plays?

I’d love some perspective from fellow playwrights because I’m still frustrated about an experience from a month ago.
A theatre company agreed to present a staged reading of my play. One of the characters is a Black man, and his race is integral to the racial commentary in the script. I only found out who was playing him a week before the reading, when I randomly came across the promotional poster online. He was being played by a white actor.

The racist character written as a white woman was being played by a Black actress.
I reached out to the producer and they said “the actor they had in mind dropped out and they didn’t know anyone (black) in nyc to replace him”.

The casting combination fundamentally changed the racial dynamics of the play, made some dialogue stop making sense, and risked making it seem as though I was suggesting Black people were racist toward white people, which was not the point of my writing at all.
They also cut some of my political jokes.

I emailed the company to express my concerns. I understood that this was a reading and that last-minute casting issues happen, but I was upset that no one contacted me to see if I could help find another Black actor. To add to the experience, the other playwrights were acknowledged at the event by giving them a shoutout, but I wasn’t.
It’s been a month, and I’m still annoyed. Would you pursue the conversation further, or take the lesson and move on? Have you ever had your work presented in a way that fundamentally changed its meaning, particularly around race?
I’d really appreciate some honest perspective from other playwrights.

It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve had any sort of singing lessons. However, recently, I watched the pro-shot of Miss Saigon with Eva Noblezada and noticed her jaw moved like crazy when she sang. (This is no hate to her, she’s talented as anything and I love her!) I tried to post a clip but I think I’m not able to so here’s a clip of her at the Tony’s and it’s very evident here.

I saw a thread either here or another musicals sub that said Rachel Zegler has crazy jaw tension and makes weird faces when she sings, and perhaps it wouldn’t be like that had she gone to performing arts college.

From what i remember, it’s frowned upon to move your jaw to create vibrato and I know Eva went professional at 17 to be in Miss Saigon and also didn’t go to performing arts college.

Anyway, just curious if I’m noticing something incorrectly or if I’m onto something about their technique.