Posted: 11/17/18 at 12:25pm
Posted: 11/17/18 at 12:28pm
Well spoken JennH, I completely agree.
There are some interesting things going on in this situation. It seems like there's 2 types of social media people; People who have social media as a career, and people who have an actual career. For the first group it is very important to have much followers/be succesful in their social media business, because it's all they have. Actors who have a successful career are now forced to create a second career, which is not nearly as interesting as their actual career.
JennH said: "Actors are always told to brand themselves, therefore an Internet presence has become part of that, therefore almost necessary for career success."
True, but I would like to make a distinction between 2 types of Internet presence. There's the very fleeting apps and platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, and there's Internet. It occurred to me that if you really want to know about someone's "presence", you need to Google them and find if they have a Wikipedia, what their actual credits are, IMDB, all kinds of databases, theatre, film, interviews, articles in renowned papers, etc. The presence on Instagram or Facebook is actually the least interesting, as way too many nobodies post things everyday. It has become one big messy jungle. If I look for actual information about someone or someone's actual legacy or pictures, I always Google. Seldom do I check their fleeting Insta with airbrushed pictures and uninteresting information. What will be left of these apps in 100 years? Will we have 3 billion forgotten ghost accounts? Will they be deleted after a while? It doesn't mean anything. It's actually quite irrelevant. If I google an "influencer" and all I see is youtube screenshots, I know there's not much left to be found of that person in 100 years. So basically, the truly great artists have a huge internet presence on Google, but not so much on social media (at least it's less important) and for the rest it's the other way around.
Updated On: 11/17/18 at 12:28 PM
Posted: 11/17/18 at 12:59pm
Some Broadway performers are artist just want to create their art,
some Broadway performers are just performers and want to be a "name" or be famous.
The former tend not to have social media,
the later tend not to shut up on social media.
Posted: 11/17/18 at 1:06pm
Posted: 11/17/18 at 1:25pm
InTheBathroom1 said: "That’s a very simplistic way to put it. Some people like to have interaction with fans over social media. That means a lot to fans as well as the performers. Additionally, if a performer has a platform they can use it to support their own projects or their friend’s projects. I don’t think that we should consider social media evil. Yes, sometimes social media sucks but there are positives too."
I believe that fan "interactions" on social media is what's causing those under 25 to treat cast members like they're characters in a sex novella they're writing. Or treating cast like they're entitled to attention. I don't care if I was down to my last dollar and sleeping in Shubert Alley, I wouldn't join the cast of Be More Chill (or Mean Girls) because the fans who have been falsely empowered by social media are genuinely frightening.
Posted: 11/17/18 at 3:11pm
Sondheimite said: "Some Broadway performers areartist just want to create their art,
some Broadway performers are just performers andwant to be a "name" or be famous.
The former tend not to have social media,
the later tend not to shut up on social media."
Would you say this about Bette Midler, Donna Murphy, Lin Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti, etc? All of them are fairly active on social media.
Updated On: 11/17/18 at 03:11 PM
Posted: 11/17/18 at 3:30pm
Bwayfan292 said: "For me at least, it seems the people thatbare very active on social media, don’t have that many broadway credits. The people who barley post are the ones with like 6-9 shows under their belts."
I think it has more to do with age then credits. Most people who grew up in the “social media age” are about 20-30, that age group is less likely to have 6-9 credits just by how long they’ve worked in the business.
Posted: 11/17/18 at 3:46pm
poisonivy2 said: "Sondheimite said: "Some Broadway performers areartist just want to create their art,
some Broadway performers are just performers andwant to be a "name" or be famous.
The former tend not to have social media,
the later tend not to shut up on social media."
Would you say this about Bette Midler, Donna Murphy, Lin Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti, etc? All of them are fairly active on social media."
1) Midler comes off as a shrill lunatic on twitter, not the best example.
2) I said, tend not to (I'd put Audra, Donna, and Laura in that boat)
3) Lin is just pandering to the children.
Posted: 11/17/18 at 3:52pm
Sondheimite said: "poisonivy2 said: "Sondheimite said: "Some Broadway performers areartist just want to create their art,
some Broadway performers are just performers andwant to be a "name" or be famous.
The former tend not to have social media,
the later tend not to shut up on social media."
Would you say this about Bette Midler, Donna Murphy, Lin Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti, etc? All of them are fairly active on social media."
1) Midler comes off as a shrill lunatic on twitter, not the best example.
2) I said, tend not to (I'd put Audra, Donna, and Laura in that boat)
3) Lin is just pandering to the children."
I am not a big Bette Midler fan, but how does she come across as a "shrill lunatic" on twitter? She's very vocal about politics but that's hardly uncommon. I mean Kelli O'Hara also is vocal about politics on twitter. Is she a "shrill lunatic"?
I really think it's a matter of personal preference. I don't think having social media is a sign of moral weakness as you seem to be implying.
Posted: 11/17/18 at 4:07pm
Sondheimite said: "poisonivy2 said: "Sondheimite said:
3) Lin is just pandering to the children."
Truer words were never spoken.
Posted: 11/17/18 at 4:18pm
Posted: 11/17/18 at 4:20pm
InTheBathroom1 said: "Lin also has more money than any of us combined so"
What does Lin having more money than any of us have to do with him pandering to people your age?
Posted: 11/17/18 at 4:47pm
Posted: 11/17/18 at 4:49pm
InTheBathroom1 said: "I’m just saying that Lin has written one of the most successful musicals ever written so you may think he’s pandering to children but it still doesn’t take away the fact that he wrote the musical and is seems like a person who is genuinely excited about life and theatre.
I also don’t understand the resentment people have for younger fans of musicals. We were all there at one point. They’re excited, so what?"
That argument, though, has little to do with what we're talking about in this thread.
Posted: 11/17/18 at 9:17pm
Posted: 11/17/18 at 10:02pm
With the exception of Norbert Leo Butz & Linda Mugleston, who both use Instagram, no leads in the original cast of the My Fair Lady revival seems to really use social media.
Posted: 11/17/18 at 10:18pm
Posted: 11/17/18 at 10:40pm
InTheBathroom1 said: "I’m just saying that Lin has written one of the most successful musicals ever written so you may think he’s pandering to children but it still doesn’t take away the fact that he wrote the musical and is seems like a person who is genuinely excited about life and theatre.
I also don’t understand the resentment people have for younger fans of musicals. We were all there at one point. They’re excited, so what?"
While yes we were all young broadway fans at one point, we weren't acting like the younger folks are now a days. Theres adults my age (19) who still act like these certain fans. We didn't go around shouting how actors were our dads, begging actos to adopt us, sending countless dm’s of memes to actors. No one hates the younger crowd liking theatre, judging by your username you know EXACTLY what I am talking about. Now back to the topic of this thread,
@natashalost Yeah, I see your point. It seems like it’s a newer generation thing
Posted: 11/18/18 at 12:42am
Posted: 11/18/18 at 1:11am
There are plenty of "true greats" with social media accounts. Having a social media account doesn't mean that you have to be messy or that you have to interact with everyone. I don't really monitor a lot of stage actor accounts and I only follow people who post interesting things. From some pithy, witty actors twitter plays to their strengths. Other people take interesting photos and have an interesting way of looking at the world and I wouldn't know that if they didn't have Instagram accounts. But other than the show promotion (for themselves and their friends) the actors I really respect are the ones who use their various social media accounts to advocate for the causes and issues they believe in. Used correctly, it's a platform to reach a wide audience in a meaningful way.
That said, I do think it's difficult in any profession to have a public facing account that is too... casual. We criticize people for selling themselves are brands but if you're not conducting yourself in a somewhat professional way then it's better to have a private personal account or not be on social media at all. I think we all have some idea of who is messy and who isn't.
Posted: 11/18/18 at 9:15am
VintageSnarker said: "That said, I do think it's difficult in any profession to have a public facing account that is too... casual. We criticize people for selling themselves are brands but if you're not conducting yourself in a somewhat professional way then it's better to have a private personal account or not be on social media at all. I think we all have some idea of who is messy and who isn't."
I think there is a difference between people with an actual career/talent and people who just want attention and call their career social media. The first group I see as brands, the second group I see as a casual mess, as there is nothing to be professional about except the filter they choose and the level of deception they choose to present. Which results in either a presentation of their casual life, or something not real.
So I agree, when you are an artist, it's better to not be too casual about your personal life and allow the magic/mystery of your career to soar instead, and if you are just an influencer, it's better to be as casual as possible, as that's what they have to offer. Like showing how you have a fight with your sisters or how you make a sandwich with peanut butter.
Updated On: 11/18/18 at 09:15 AM
Posted: 11/18/18 at 6:10pm
IMO, there's no point in comparing older actors who established themselves before social media with younger ones, then trying to draw some kind of conclusion about talent. The reality is that younger people use social media more than older people, and some of them are actors. And internet forums such as this one are a form of social media, so none of us can afford to be too judgemental because some people use a different form of it.
That said, and as much as I see the benefits of a carefully run social media account, I think the individual has to think carefully about what they hope to achieve from it, and consider the possible pit-falls. At first glance, gaining some followers might seem clever because casting directors will be grateful that you'll give their project some free publicity, but at what cost? It is very easy to become distracted by follower numbers and to chase those numbers instead of focusing energy on a body of work. If you go beyond the odd post announcing projects and carefully selected behind the scenes photos and actively engage with fans, how do you maintain boundaries? Are you able to keep things in perspective if someone tags you when giving the show a bad review? If you are active on social media, people will expect you to answer questions or voice your opinion on things, when you'd rather keep quiet.
No famous person ever has 100% accurate press, never mind 100% favourable press, and social media makes it harder to ignore. The temptation to put things right is ever present.
Yes, there is a risk that an actor might post something that will annoy fans, but IMO, the bigger danger is to the mental health of the actor, and while some people can take social media and all of its perils in their stride, it's just going to produce unnecessary anxiety for others.
In the name of balance, I should add that I know of some famous actors whose social media absence only encourages some of the more stalkerish fans to assume that they are hiding something in their personal life, and the absence of daily breakfast updates allows them to imagine that their marriage is a sham etc.
Posted: 11/19/18 at 3:38am
Paterson said: "In the name of balance, I should add that I know of some famous actors whose social media absence only encourages some of the more stalkerish fans to assume that they are hiding something in their personal life, and the absence of daily breakfast updates allows them to imagine that their marriage is a sham etc."
That mystery is the difference between a star and a real life soap attention seeker to me. Every star I used to look up to lost a bit of my interest as soon as they did a real life soap or posted daily things about their personal life, opinions, etc.
Posted: 11/19/18 at 6:21am
bwaylvsong said: "I'm a low-level professional actor and I neither did a BFA program nor am young enough to have had social media covered in my college/grad school coursework. That said, I got two out of my three gigs this year from acquaintances messaging me on Facebook, so it's extremely important to note that for actors who have not yet made it to Broadway, having Facebook is a necessary tool for keeping in touch with people who could potentially help your career."
But that is personal, not fan related. I'm sure many actors have personal accounts too.
