Auditions are nerve wracking… for everyone.

Posted onOctober 1, 2015
Blog

Did you know that when you audition for a show, the people behind the table are REALLY happy that you are there? Do you have any idea how happy they are that you decided to take the risk to come out and show them what you’ve got? It’s a pretty big amount of dependency on their part to even hold the auditions, and believe me, they are really, very glad that you are there.

Auditioning is stressful – for everyone. But for the people who are behind the table, they are extremely nervous that you WON’T show up. Think about it, they’ve chosen a show, or been given a show to produce/direct/choreograph, etc. and they don’t know if the right people or ENOUGH people will walk through that door! When YOU walk through that door and bring in your positive attitude and your energy, they are excited to see you and very, very hopeful that you will be the answer to their dreams.

You could be the boy who can sing that one part of the song that is integral to the show. You could be the girl who can do the right amount of acrobatic movement to sell the big production number, or you could be the person who wants to work behind the scenes to make everything better for all the people involved in the show. And in reality – when you show them that glimmer of what makes you special – the “scary” people behind the table are absolutely THRILLED to have met you. They just can’t show it, because they are supposed to remain neutral until the whole process is resolved.

If you are lucky, you might hear some stories later on about how happy they were when you arrived, but in reality, you may never know how important you were to the production. Just always think that to yourself when you audition – “I am super important to this production. And I just need to show them that!”

If you do, you’ll be an asset to any show. I promise.

Production meetings… can be fun!

Posted onApril 10, 2013
Blog

Thank you for coming…

If you are going to get a project off the floor, then you need good people and you need to get them to all come together around a table and discuss your project and then be willing to commit to it. How do you do that? How do you excite folks enough that they will give up their free time to come and work with you and support your vision? That’s the big question.

After having had two (count ’em – two) Production Meetings this week, I just feel very lucky that folks are willing to come out and support shows that I have in development. I wonder what has motivated them to join me on my project or how I got them to say yes when I asked them to join the team. But I’m sure thankful that they are there.

It’s a magical little process and I don’t have any concrete answers, except to say that, if you are passionate about what you want to do, that tends to inspire others to want to join you. Enthusiasm is certainly contagious. I know it was this week. At both of my production meetings the folks involved were more than happy to be there and more than willing to stay and visit and chat either before or after the meeting was concluded. They were having a good time. That was integral. They were happy to be there because they felt valued, important and appreciated. And the enthusiasm was growing – exponentially – by the people involved gaining an appreciation for what will be needed to complete the project. Everyone at the table(s) had an expertise that they knew was valued and necessary.

It’s a good thing when you can meet with talented folks and get them all to contribute to one, major, exciting goal. I wonder if this is how Arthur felt with his Round Table. He was certainly on to something there – wasn’t he? Who will you invite to your table?