I’ve never been the kind of person to beat around any bush, so let’s talk some tough truths.
Musical theatre professionals are facing an entirely new industry landscape post-pandemic. The old school goons that said casting musical theatre could “never happen” online finally had to learn that Skype was dead and Zoom had taken over the world when a deadly virus pushed us all indoors—and shut down Broadway overnight. They also realized they could see more people without the cost of in-person auditions and plug in creative team members from anywhere in the world. The learning curve was fast and changed the game.
Evolve or die. That’s what it boils down down to regarding the digital entrepreneurship and filmmaking skills that are now imperative to book work as an actor for any genre: tv, film, theatre, or musical theatre. Some opportunities will start and end with self-tapes and others will prescreen online and move to in-person callbacks, work sessions and final offers.
WTF?! You didn’t train to be a filmmaker. Or a music engineer. Or an art director. Or an editor.
You also didn’t expect a tiny little virus to wipe out your entire industry (and job opportunities) for a couple of years and then struggle to reinvent itself for long-term survival. Well, guess what? We survived when the comet crashed on earth and took out the dinosaurs. It’s believed that 75% of the earth’s species were wiped out by that global event over 60 million years ago, but it also paved the way for new species to evolve.
We adapt. We shift. We change. We learn. We grow. We survive.
If you are still finding yourself angry about all the new equipment you have to buy to stay in the game, get over it because you have a smart phone. Everyone can make movies now. If you are feeling lost because you aren’t “tech savvy,” start watching tutorials online. If you just don’t want to do the work to get proficient in digital content as it relates to Broadway-level casting and professional musical theatre, go find something else to do. Create a new career path that gives you the same excitement that being in musical theatre used to give you.
Let it all sting for a minute and then get to work on a new life or on some new skills. The question you should be asking yourself is, “Who am I willing to be and how will I show up as a professional in the industry now?” Not the one you trained for 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago. The one that is staring you in the face right now.
One final truth bomb before we jump into the fun stuff for future posts: Happiness is in your court to create. No one cares what you do because everyone is trying to run their own race.
Do what you need to do—it’s all good.
VP
COMING NEXT: Setting Up Your Bedroom Film Studio.