B-Way advice for a Beginner

There was a thread on Broadway salaries yesterday...good information there about money-stuff. You can get an equity card from 50 (?) weeks work in an equity production as a non-equity actor, or by joining a show which only hires equity actors (in which case you are offered papers on the spot), or if you area member of other preformance related unions. SAG, etc.

---

Maggie,

Thanx so much all that info really helped. Yes, I do have a voice teacher. I have had one for about 3 years now. I am currently studying Italian and Spanish, as well as Opera. My passion is in MT, however, my voice teacher wants me to go into Opera. I am a tenor with a 3 octave range (I have a very VERY strong Falseto) Which brings me to my next point, is having an extended range a plus for MT or does it not really matter to directors and producers? I have not taken dance classes, although in the shows I've done we have had to learn dance, so I'm learning piece-by-piece, lol. My first show I had one of the worst parts, and I stuck with it. My second show, the director was good friends with Donald (the dire. for my first show) and Donald was referring ppl to him. He referred me and told him that I had a really cheesy part but that I stuck with it and gave it my all. He told him that he really felt I deserved a pretty good part for the show, after all the hard work I had done. This was for Joseph and the Amazing Tech. Dreamcoat...and I got the part of the youngest brother Benjamin. This was my first big role. Now as I move up the ladder I get bigger parts, but I understand that in B-way I would prob. get ensemble parts for the first several shows I did, because I'm not pro. My biggest problem at first was acting...I hated it. I felt so embarassed. I was so worried about what other ppl thought and it really dented my career. Then in my last show, I finally popped and realized to get a good part I need to let go. So I did...now I have so much fun. :) Well this is really long...lol...thanx!

-Chase

---

that's definitely a good idea. if you can find any classes in "acting the song" that would be AWESOME. hundreds of kids who love MT and do it pretty well have great, great voices...but don't ACT their songs.

---

When I was your age, NY was the place I HAD to go for college. But remember...you don't have to go to school in NY. There are many great schools for MT across the country. You will make it to NY sometime.

---

You said that you've never seen a show before...I don't know if you meant a Broadway show or just a show, but this is my advice:

Try to see shows as much as you can. It doesn't have to be a Broadway show- it can be a regional or touring production, but go see shows so you can watch professional actors do their thing. Many theaters (mostly regional) offer student tickets for cheap prices. You can learn so much about acting from watching professional actors work.

---

chase --

AMDA is a 2-year conservatory that offers programs in MT and straight acting. you DO NOT graduate with a BFA - Musical Theatre, but you can transfer your credits to the New School and earn a degree from there. i don't know anything about their cut system/if they have one.

i auditioned for it, got in with a good scholarship, visited, and formed my own opinions about it. if you want to hear them, feel free to PM me about it -- i just don't want to start any of the arguments that usually arise around the AMDA topic. try using the search feature -- just type in "AMDA" -- there have been lots of threads about what people think about it. don't take any of these as the god-spoken truth because they are indeed OPINIONS. the best way to form an opinion is to visit for yourself, but looking at the AMDA threads here is a good start.

again, you can PM me if you would like to hear my impression of AMDA.

Maggie

---

I also would like to hear your thoughts. =)