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thespian86 · 06-22-2006, 03:36 PM

Hey Everyone,

I'm not sure if anyone has read enough of my posts to know that I am a student actor, that is I am currently on summer break from studying musical theatre. Let me begin at, simply, the begining.

I began acting when I was very young and my enthusiasm got me many young roles which could have gone to better singers. But my love for theatre grew, especially musical theatre, and I began to act more consistantly, leaving one show or company to instantly join another. I have never been the strongest dancer, not that I'm lacking technique, but because of a football injury that I got when I was a young teen, which had pretty much ridden me chubby and somewhat crippled for a few months/a couple of years :S. All the same my comedic timing, stage presence, work ethic, passion, and, at times, mediocre talant landed me great roles, most of the time playing the anti hero; the geek or the older man, which was great because of my character voice and my natural comedic nature, which usually laced the text and lyrics of those roles. I began getting cast in our, capital city, yet somewhat small town as mostly lead roles, sometimes the second largest male principal. There was a time when I was losing roles to a boy who had far less singing and acting talant and experience then me, but could dance like he had it in his blood. this made me bitter and turned me to straight acting (pun intended) and i began to develop the dramatic side of me, open up my emotions to draw from them, and began to develop a strong acting technique. This takes us to my grad year in high school where I won the lead role of Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof, got Seymour in Little Shop Of Horrors, Robert in sondheim's Company, Mike in A Chorus Line, and led two revue shows which left me both exhausted, confident (too much at times), experienced, and, most importantly, with a full acting resume. I showed up at schools to find that my resume was making big splashes after my extremely lucky year in my city's very young theatre community (I had actually been the lead at a highschool that I techniquely didn't go to but had enroled as a "part time student" and taken one correspondence course to make it offical). Most of the time I was doing three or four shows at once, leaving me with no life outside of school and rehersal; but to be honest that was my life, the stage. I was on top of the world. But three years later I have found very little work in or outside of school. Even in my small town I am being turned down for roles that I feel I deserve. Also, life has become very dark and distant at my school and in the large acting community in my university city. Students are murderous and liars. Women put other female students in physical harm dancing, men create emotional armies to try to drive a threat out of the company. They are five year olds with the ruthlessness of a dictator.

I guess my problem is that I was used to the whole backstabbing nature of the business when it was small time but perhaps I am to naive and nice to survive it. And say I do, perhaps I will continue this mean streak and not get any jobs. I'm not sure what I will do fiancially. All of this didn't matter before but now it seems like a harsh reality. I can't stay in school and certificate programs forever.

I love the stage more then anything else in the world, excluding my fiance. And I'm not willing to give it up. I'm not only an addict, it has been my whole life for as long as I can remember and I don't know anything else. But if it is going to land me on the street with a broken spirit and a drinking problem then I'm not going to hang on out of stubborness. What am i going to do with my life? I'm scared of getting out of school and I really need some advice. Please... Pretty please?

PMF21

06-22-2006, 03:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
thespian86 change is hard. Location: the green room.	Stuck between love and hate Hey Everyone, I'm not sure if anyone has read enough of my posts to know that I am a student actor, that is I am currently on summer break from studying musical theatre. Let me begin at, simply, the begining. I began acting when I was very young and my enthusiasm got me many young roles which could have gone to better singers. But my love for theatre grew, especially musical theatre, and I began to act more consistantly, leaving one show or company to instantly join another. I have never been the strongest dancer, not that I'm lacking technique, but because of a football injury that I got when I was a young teen, which had pretty much ridden me chubby and somewhat crippled for a few months/a couple of years :S. All the same my comedic timing, stage presence, work ethic, passion, and, at times, mediocre talant landed me great roles, most of the time playing the anti hero; the geek or the older man, which was great because of my character voice and my natural comedic nature, which usually laced the text and lyrics of those roles. I began getting cast in our, capital city, yet somewhat small town as mostly lead roles, sometimes the second largest male principal. There was a time when I was losing roles to a boy who had far less singing and acting talant and experience then me, but could dance like he had it in his blood. this made me bitter and turned me to straight acting (pun intended) and i began to develop the dramatic side of me, open up my emotions to draw from them, and began to develop a strong acting technique. This takes us to my grad year in high school where I won the lead role of Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof, got Seymour in Little Shop Of Horrors, Robert in sondheim's Company, Mike in A Chorus Line, and led two revue shows which left me both exhausted, confident (too much at times), experienced, and, most importantly, with a full acting resume. I showed up at schools to find that my resume was making big splashes after my extremely lucky year in my city's very young theatre community (I had actually been the lead at a highschool that I techniquely didn't go to but had enroled as a "part time student" and taken one correspondence course to make it offical). Most of the time I was doing three or four shows at once, leaving me with no life outside of school and rehersal; but to be honest that was my life, the stage. I was on top of the world. But three years later I have found very little work in or outside of school. Even in my small town I am being turned down for roles that I feel I deserve. Also, life has become very dark and distant at my school and in the large acting community in my university city. Students are murderous and liars. Women put other female students in physical harm dancing, men create emotional armies to try to drive a threat out of the company. They are five year olds with the ruthlessness of a dictator. I guess my problem is that I was used to the whole backstabbing nature of the business when it was small time but perhaps I am to naive and nice to survive it. And say I do, perhaps I will continue this mean streak and not get any jobs. I'm not sure what I will do fiancially. All of this didn't matter before but now it seems like a harsh reality. I can't stay in school and certificate programs forever. I love the stage more then anything else in the world, excluding my fiance. And I'm not willing to give it up. I'm not only an addict, it has been my whole life for as long as I can remember and I don't know anything else. But if it is going to land me on the street with a broken spirit and a drinking problem then I'm not going to hang on out of stubborness. What am i going to do with my life? I'm scared of getting out of school and I really need some advice. Please... Pretty please? PMF21 __________________ EX: Whats new? ME: I officially love coffee more then you now. EX: uh... ME: So, not much.