Broadway actors moving to California

Owen22 said: "Hasn't Broadway always just been a stepping stone to film and TV anyway?"

I was thinking that as well. But maybe it was just me thinking that there’s been quite and increase on the transfers over.

trpguyy said: "Film and TV work is generally easier and much more lucrative than theatre. Add in the SoCal weather, and the equation isn’t too tough to figure out."

Are you speaking from personal experience? Because I think each medium has its own challenges. I know Streisand once said in an interview she prefers film because she can be "performing all over the world" while she is soaking in her bath; but based on accounts of her performance in FUNNY GIRL, it seems it was the repetition that got to her, not the difficulty of the role (which is certainly one of the more challenging roles in musical theater). Before FG she had an equally active night club career that must have been just as challenging. (Ask any musician of any genre about the travails of life on the road.)

Some film shoots require six months to a year or more of 12+ hour days, at all times day and night, not to mention physical exertion rarely seen in live theater. A traditional season on a TV sitcom was like doing 22 different one-act plays in a few months. Even the 10-episode seasons common to Netflix and similar platforms may be akin to shooting 10 independent films.

I'm not an actor myself, but some of my best friends, etc. I don't think I've ever heard a one complain that "theater is harder than film and TV", though I'm sure some actors (such as Streisand) will agree with you. I just think it's more a matter that they find theater's (or film's or TV's) particular requirements difficult or tedious, rather than any inherent difficulty of any one medium.

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To answer another question above, I don't know a single New York actor who hasn't tried Hollywood at some point. The money is too good and, nowadays, with so many competing platforms, the quality of the best shows is as good or better than that of most straight plays.

On the other hand, I do know some California actors who have no interest in NYC. In most cases, they either make their home on the West Coast and want to stay here, or they just don't have the chops to sustain a full-length, live performance.

ETA if this last paragraph seems a contradiction, I'm not saying theater doesn't require special skills. I'm just saying each medium does, so deciding which is "harder" is largely subjective.

Updated On: 11/29/19 at 06:03 PM

Actors go where the work is. They move all over.

I was just thinking about Barrett Foa while fast-forwarding through the parade on CBS. I can't say how artistically fulfilling it is to be on a show like NCIS: LA or Supergirl or Private Practice but given how unstable theater can be, I'm not mad at anyone for getting those checks.

I'm just happy that, for example, Shoshana Bean has started to do more concerts in New York.

"Film and TV work is generally easier and much more lucrative than theatre. Add in the SoCal weather, and the equation isn’t too tough to figure out."

Only bummer is state income tax rate could be as high as 13.3%.

GavestonPS said: "trpguyy said: "Film and TV work is generally easier and much more lucrative than theatre. Add in the SoCal weather, and the equation isn’t too tough to figure out."

Are you speaking from personal experience?Because I think each medium has its own challenges. I know Streisand once said in an interview she prefers film because she can be "performing all over the world" while she is soaking in her bath; but based on accounts of her performance in FUNNY GIRL, it seems it was the repetition that got to her, not the difficulty of the role (which is certainly one of the more challenging roles in musical theater). Before FG she had an equally active night club career that must have been just as challenging. (Ask any musician of any genre about the travails of life on the road.)

Some film shoots require six months to a year or more of 12+ hour days, at all times day and night, not to mention physical exertion rarely seen in live theater. A traditional season on a TV sitcom was like doing 22 different one-act plays in a few months. Even the 10-episode seasons common to Netflix and similar platforms may be akin to shooting 10 independent films.

I'm not an actor myself, but some of my best friends, etc. I don't think I've ever heard a one complain that "theater is harder than film and TV", though I'm sure some actors (such as Streisand) will agree with you. I just think it's more a matter that they findtheater's (or film's or TV's) particular requirements difficult or tedious, rather than any inherent difficulty of any one medium.

***

To answer another question above, I don't know a single New York actor who hasn't tried Hollywood at some point. The money is too good and, nowadays, with so many competing platforms, the quality of the best shows is as good or better than that of most straight plays.

On the other hand, I do know some California actors who have no interest in NYC. In most cases, they either make their home on the West Coast and want to stay here, or they just don't have the chops to sustain a full-length, live performance.

ETA if this last paragraph seems a contradiction, I'm not saying theater doesn't require special skills. I'm just saying each medium does, so deciding which is "harder" is largely subjective."

Just want to add that William Wyler was infamous throughout his career for doing take after take after take without ever saying what he thought was wrong or what he was looking for. I think Leslie Howard had a real problem with him because of this. Streisand is a diva among divas, but she's not the only one who found working with Wyler intolerable.

There's a story that he made Bette Davis do take after take after take of the opening shot in The Letter. Viewing the dailies, he looked at her performance with pride and said, "Now you know why I shot so many takes." Someone in the room said, "Willie, we printed the first take."

Movies and tv series are now shot all over the world. There are more shows produced in Vancouver and Toronto than there are in LA and NY. And casting happens as much via video submissions as it does through live sessions, so it really doesn't matter where actors live now. There's a proximity benefit to establishing relationships with LA Casting Directors, but there is no longer any need for a NY stage actor to relocate to LA to work in film or tv.