3d ago in General discussion
Tip of the Day #8
Say Yes! And mean it!
So yesterday I went to an early screening of the new WICKED movie Part 1. I was sitting next to an actress and I was dressed Team Elphaba and I commented she had on a pink shirt, so I was guessing she was team Glinda. We began chatting and she shared how she's been auditioning for Glinda for years. She explained how she works with the show's MD (Musical Director) as a vocal coach, about how you usually start out on the tour (which is true of most Broadway shows unless you are already a broadway actor). She went on to talk about the understudy track, which involved playing Nessa, as well as how when she started auditioning for the part she looked to young but now she's a better look for it, as well as that there were a backlog of women from pre-pandemic ahead of her for the role.
I found this quite fascinating to hear from her perspective. NOT telling her who I am in the industry, I simply asked, hey I'd love film you talking about this for my socials after the movie, would you be cool with that? And she said yes. Which I was excited about. (Sometimes I like to go incognito so I can see how people really are)
Here's the kicker -- So the movie Ends. Myself, the actress and her boyfriend, and two other folks really sit it out until the very bitter end of the movie credits -- Which I usually do b/c I want to make sure I don't miss an easter egg (hidden film moment during the credits), as well as give respect to everyone who create the film. When the credits were finally over and we were standing up and getting our stuff, I turned to her and said, so we could go right outside where the lighting is good and talk for a few minutes. And then......
She blew me off. She was nice about it, don't get me wrong. Made an excuse about being tired, and blew me off. She did offer to get a coffee sometime and asked for my social media. I was nice about it back, though a little 'over it.' I asked if she preferred Insta, TikTok, etc? She said Insta b/c she didn't do TikTok. (For everyone reading this -- POST ON ALL THE SOCIALS -- you made the post, use it as many places as possible -- build your brand on multiple platforms so if there becomes an issue with one platform, you can still have the others)
Anyway, I gave her my insta loosely, and she asked for the correct spelling of my name. She then read my profile and said "Go Producer" as she walked out with her boyfriend.
HERE"S THE THING:
The theater world is extremely, extremely small at the top. The higher you go, the fewer people in the circle, and guess what, we talk. So I was talking to another producer after the show, and they said, well, she might have been legitimately tired, which could be -- it's a long movie, but you know it's a long movie going in. So her yes at the beginning was inauthentic? I guess so?
Now, I haven't worked on one of David Stone's shows, or worked on production he was involved with, so I don't have a personal relationship with him. I could get his number from the community if I wanted to, I'm sure. I worked with enough folks who worked with him (some of which turned down Wicked-- bet they are kicking themselves this weekend). But I know a lot of producers, had it been a Tom Kirdahy show or Global Creatures or Stage Entertainment or Dodgers or my friends Larry, Sue, and Eric who are all lead producing now.....I could have picked up the phone and talked about his women. I could have either talked about how amazing she was, or how she blew me off. Would that affect casting? Maybe.....
Think about this, would you hire someone who treated a friend of yours like that? If you know they act that way when nothing is at stake, how will they treat other cast members? crew? front of house staff? how will they be when you travel with them on the road? The road is a lot.....it's not for the faint of heart.
So say Yes, and mean it!
She had an opportunity to network and expand her brand. Had she done it, who knows what good things would have happened. Who knows who in the community would have seen the post I would have made about her, and what that might of created for her. I got cast in a musical reading off of 10 seconds of my singing in one of my posts. There you go!
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Tip of the Day #8
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