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Hi! I'm a sophomore in HS and I've always loved theatre but it wasn't until this year that I actually got around to learning about tech theatre, most theatre kids in my school know each other and are a pretty tight knit group but I'm really interested in continuing tech theatre for the rest of high school and maybe into college, do you think it's a good idea to go for it? (1/2)

Yes! Go for it, if you really loved working on the last show, then it seems like you’ll continue to get something out of it! Sometimes breaking into a new group that is tight might seem daunting, but most theatre groups I’ve had to break into are incredibly welcoming and you should feel like you fit right in in no time! Also, don’t let your level of experience keep you from trying to continue to learn, everybody starts from nothing and the best way to learn more and more about tech theatre things is just to throw yourself right into the fray and get to working on some shows!

Making It To Opening Night

#theatre #tech theatre #acting #stage managment #backstage

People Who Think Working in Theatre isn’t a “Real Job”

#theatre #theater #acting #tech theatre #Stage Management

Hi, I'm a freshmen in HS and am part of the tech doing the lights. This year was my very first year doing tech ever,and by the end of this year our tech director and all of the other people doing lights will be gone. The TD might be back next year but it isn't 100% yet and all the seniors say I will do just fine because I learned eveything super fast, but I'm still kind of nervous because this is what I want to do as a career and everyone who would train me is leavinng. Any advice?

I’d say that even though everyone who is now training you may be leaving, it seems like you have probably picked up a lot and you probably know more than you realize right now. Also whoever comes in to replace your current TD if they leave will probably be able to continue to teach you about lights. If for some reason there is no one next year to help you or if they aren’t as knowledgeable about lights as your current people, it might be a sucky situation but sometimes you gain more knowledge about something and have it stick a lot better when you’re just stuck alone and have to figure things out.

There also tons of books, blogs, forums, etc. specifically about lighting that you could check out if you need/want to. Also, since you’re still in high school, I would try not to be too nervous about it if you plan on continuing your education on lighting into college, you’ll learn a lot there and that will be where you really get the knowledge and experience necessary to make a career out of it!

I'm a junior in high school so I'm going to be applying for colleges next year. Basically, my parents think I want to be a writer but I want to act either on Broadway or in Hollywood and I'm not sure how to tell them that I want to do that. They think I do musicals just for fun, which is also true, but I do it because I love it and get experience. Any tips on how to break the news?

[This is an older ask, sorry I didn’t get to it sooner whoever you are!]

I think you just need to tell them that this is your passion and you want to pursue it. Convincing parents to get onboard the theatre train can be difficult mostly because some parts of society have this whole idea that going into an art field like theatre isn’t a “real job”, which is obviously ridiculous. Most parents seem to be hestiant to support it at first because they’re just worried about job security and livable wages and all that fun stuff. My parents, even though other people in my family have had careers in theatre, still tried to convince me to become a lawyer or doctor until the day I left for school, but now that they see that I can make a life out of it and that I’m happy, they’re all for it. You just gotta have a talk with your parents and as long as they are halfway reasonable people, they should understand. If they dont, they you have to make a decision on if you want to do what you want to make yourself happy and perhaps upset your parents or do what they want and be unhappy. Its obviously a fine line to tow and everybody has different, complex relationships with their own parents so obviously I can’t definitely say what will work personally for you, but if your parents want you to be happy, they’ll probably come around to the idea of you acting and come to support and love it.

Hey, so I am submitting a proposal to direct a student production next semester, and I was planning on doing Extremities, but feel that it has been very over done. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for less popular shows that are challenging to an audience, but a small cast and easy set that would be fun to work on?

Hey!If you really want to do Extremities, I’d go for it. Even if a lot of people do it, its still a show worth putting on.If you want to do a less produced show, there are tons of small shows, especially one written recently, that specifically challenge audiences. I can’t think of many right now, so maybe some other people can chime in with some shows they’ve worked one.

One small cast, small set show I’ve done that is challenges the audience (its very dark) is Bash: The Latter-Day Plays by Neil LaBute ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bash:_Latter-Day_Plays). Its a really great show when you have strong actors to do it and have an audience that isn’t afraid of being challenged.

Those Pow-Wows the Production Team has After a Day of Tech

#tech theatre #theatre #production meetings #tech week #tech rehearsal

Hi! So I'm a sophomore in HS, and I'm looking towards a career in acting and theater. I'm looking at acting colleges and such, and I'm hearing many different things about my two top choices, AMDA and Juilliard. Can you give any input on which is the better choice? Thank you!

Hey! I don’t know a whole lot about either of those places, so I’m just going to post it here and hopefully someone else with some more knowledge can weigh in?

Story time: I'm in high school and a choir kid once said McBeezy about 15 times in the dressing room the second night because he wanted a reaction from us and that night a set piece broke, an intel flipped out mid song, and an actor faceplanted.

#gotta be careful with that stuff #words are powerful #theatre #tech theatre

Hey, so I’ve been pretty shitty about running this blog for the past couple of month [to be honest I don’t think I ever fully recovered from my Christmas show, you know how it is] but I’m going to try to put time into this again and answer all the messages I’ve gotten even if they’re wicked late! So if you sent me something I didn’t just ignore it, I just have been terrible about going on this blog!

Hi! So I have an audition for the show brigadoon next month and it's a Scottish musical. That's cool because I am Scottish and I lived there for 10 years! Anyway, any ideas on what I could sing? Thank you!

I'm just gonna post this and let other people reply, I'm not good with audition stuff!

Hi! this is super random & i understand if you don't have an answer, but I am a senior in High School and am doing my last SM job in the spring with a huge production of the Music Man. Now here's my problem, my group of theatre best friends, who are all terrible people, dropped me annd none of us are speaking anymore. I'm not sad about this at all, but they all are going to be playing large rolls in the show, and will try to make my job even harder & try to make my director hate me, help?

Oof, thats rough! Sorry you have to deal with that.

I'd say your best option is to be the better person and be as professional in dealing with them as you can, that way if they act up or anything, your director and other faculty around you will probably be able to tell which half is actually causing the problem. Just go about your job the way you normally would, and if they really cause a huge problem, just talk with your director or supervisor or whoever and let them know your concerns. Thats one of the best things about being in school, your faculty/supervisors should have you back and you should feel comfortable bringing up concerns like this if it ends up being a problem!

Hello! I have been really wanting to go into a career of being a stage manager and I have already ran several shows from backstage and directors have told me they can see me working in a theatre but I'm kind of scared with all the "theater is a bad major to go into there are no jobs" hype I've always been told, and suggestions?

There are jobs. If you love it and you know that its what you want to do with you life, you need to go for it. Starting out may be rough and it is possible that finding jobs can be rough sometimes, but no one I know has ever fared so badly that they have had to quit theater all together or have regretted their decision to go into it. I'm not saying that you absolutely wont have rough times, but that's not just a theater related problem. No matter what you go into there are no guarantees that will you'll find a job right away or keep one, so you might as well go for something you love.

Hello. I'm a 39 year old woman from Detroit, yeah a bit a way from the industry. I work in local television (trapped may be a better term). I had dreamed of being in theatre and film since I was 3 but never had any money for proper training or support and could not get grants of any sort. This among other things caused me many years of deep depression which further crippled me in my pursuit. Would it be too late for me to still try? If not, how do I get there?

Hey! I don’t think it is ever too late!

What I would suggest doing is trying to either find a community theater group that you can start getting involved in or find a professional theater in your area that gets occasional help from volunteers. Community groups are great ways to begin getting involved and they are generally very schedule friendly since almost everyone involves has day jobs too!

so i have just finished up with high school, and i have heard that people can get apprenticeships or go to more schooling for production. which one would you say would be the best option?

Hey!

I'd say that although just getting tons of experience no matter how you get it is important, most places nowadays seem to highly value people who have degrees. A lot of tech based positions even just a few decades ago were highly apprenticed-based, but now most people see further education in the field as a must-have for full-time positions. Internships and apprenticeships can get you a long way, but I personally think more schooling is the proper way to go.

Furthering your education in the field is also a great way to gauge what you actually want to do production wise and gives you the chance to try out different paths if you're unsure. School can also help you make incredibly important connections/friendships that will get you jobs or at least job offers in the future, trust me. Theater is a small world and the more people you know, the more options you will have in the future. College also lets you gain early experience in an environment that is forgiving, rooting for you, and backing you up along the way, which I think is incredibly important in gaining knowledge and confidence in your chosen field.

Thats just my opinion, I think if you find the right school with the right program for you, college is very beneficial for going into theater.

When People Continually Complain About Working in Theatre

#theatre #tech theatre #acting #Stage mangement #backstage

I was scrolling through your dash and saw your response to someone asking about making enough money, and my plan actually is (well, for now) to just up and move to NYC after my 5 years of schooling to get my Masters in Arts Management. I saw thought, that you mentioned an equity card... what is that??

Hey!

So having an equity card means that you are a member of the Actors Equity Association, which is a union for professional actors and stage managers who work in theater. Some jobs/theaters hire only actors/SMs in Equity or those not in it, some places hire both. When you work under an Equity contract or in an Equity house, there are certain rules and regulations that must be followed and enforced. There’s a whole process of applying for membership and stuff, I’m not too familiar with that if you want more info you can check online. [http://www.actorsequity.org/home.asp]

There’s a whole bunch of pros/cons of joining Equity or not joining it depending on the type of career you want to have in theater if you are an actor or SM. There are also different unions for directors, designers, stagehands, technicians, and everyone else too.

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