How many times do Broadway actors work a week?
Broadway is an 8 show, 6 day week. Mondays are dark. Two shows on Sunday. Well you have Mondays off. And Monday through Saturday day. Bt it is extremely exhausting. I have only been in the ensemble on Broadway. Being a lead for National Tours is extremely exhausting. You're continually moving locations, you never really get a chance to see the locations you go to. But you become a lot closer than Broadway casts--at least, that's how it has been for me... Hope that helps. Email me if you have any more questions!
What does it take for a one man show on Broadway to be successful - the actor, the story, is there a formula or pattern?
It’s the name and reputation of the performer. Solo performers who are unknown or not well known rise to prominence through off-off-Broadway venues or through establishing their act elsewhere in the U.S. Whoopi Goldberg was a street performer in the beginning as were several other innovative comedians.
Why are successful Broadway performers not also successful pop singers?
Because that would be trying to do two different full time jobs at once.I probably know several dozen people who can sing better than Taylor Swift (my personal singing is atrocious on the other hand). Nevertheless Taylor Swift is utterly amazing at what she does and there are very good reasons she’s one of the most successful pop stars in the world. Most of it around superb songwriting, making the commonplace meaningful in the way Kipling did, drawing the audience into confidential intimacy, an impressive stage presence, and caring a lot about her fans. Pure singing ability is secondary to what she does (and indeed I suspect if she sang amazingly it would weaken her as a performer and pop star; it would make her less like a member of her audience).It would be impossible to use Taylor Swift’s methods and be a Broadway professional at the same time with their more ensemble focus, different style of music that gets appreciated differently, and their rehersal schedules. You can stunt-cast for Broadway or put out a novelty pop album, sure. But that’s not the same as being successful in the other arena.Fundamentally most pop stars get there through touring and publicity to build up a fanbase. Broadway stars have their own grind up through the wings and learn to play to a very different set of live audiences, and about the only things that transfer are the ability to sing in tune and some basic stage presence and stage fluidity (for singing ability without stage presence and fluidity, watch Paul Potts’ amazing first Britain’s got Talent audition). Both are full time careers.
How do I become a Broadway actor?
Slow down and stop hyperventilating. There is no one show or audition that is going to make or break your Broadway ambition at this point. The truth is even after you complete college and move to NYC it can be years before you ever realize the dream of performing on Broadway. Most if not all actors have to cut their teeth on regional theater. Because Broadway is a high risk financial business now, very few if any fresh off the boat actors get a shot. No name means no business. You are just a freshmen in high school. You are not too far behind anyone. Also, you will have to learn to get over your stage fright or performing in front of people. What use will you be if you can't even muster the courage to perform in a class? That is silly. If you want this more than anything on earth then you will commit yourself to classes and auditions for your school productions. End of story.
Who are some famous broadway actors from 1940 -1969?
You can check out lists of the Tony award winning actors and actresses during that time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Award_... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Award_... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Award_... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Award_for_Best_Performance_by_a_Leading_Actress_in_a_Musical
Acting: How do people become Broadway performers?
Practice, practice, practice.The goal of a Broadway actor is to be a "triple threat": singing, dancing, and acting. To learn all of that, you need to start early. And you need to get it quickly: these are often extremely strenuous jobs, and you need to be in top physical condition, i.e. young. It's very hard on both your body and your voice, and when you burn out, there are a few thousand equally talented young actors ready to take your place. (Dancers especially have a very short shelf life.)A college fine arts degree is helpful, but not required; actors study acting, dancers study dancing, singers study singing. It's not a prerequisite, but it takes years to master these skills, and college is as good a place as any to learn it. It's one of the few places you'll be able to work on a full-scale production before getting booted out and going on a few thousand auditions. If you're smart, you'll learn some of the backstage skills while you're there, which is a whole lot less ugly of a profession.After college, you'll usually end up taking even more classes from New York's acting schools, brushing up on your weak points, mastering audition skills, and basically killing time and trying to build up enough points to join Actor's Equity, which is generally a requirement. Actually, they don't use a points scale any more, but you still hustle your butt to try to get jobs in Equity Member Candidate productions, so that you can work long enough to join Equity, and THEN you can work on a Broadway stage.
Am I too short to be on Broadway?
Broadway actors come in all shapes and sizes. You're height will help you in come cases and not in others - the same as any other physical attribute. What matters more is do you have the passion for acting. While it's fine to have a "dream role", if the only reason you want to go into acting is to play Eliza, you'll be disappointed. But if you have the passion for acting along with the talent, training, business sense, drive, persistence and resilliance you could be a professional actor.