Making It On Broadway - th truth?- Page 2
Making It On Broadway - th truth?
Speed
Broadway Star Joined: 7/12/03
#25re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/7/04 at 6:16pm
I think the big surprise to most, though, is that you can completely SUCCEED (at least to those on the outside) and wind up with NOTHING, no money, no job, heck... no auditions.
What often looks like a successful career from the outside... isn't so wonderful on the inside.
You can star on Broadway and win a Tony and still be broke and jobless.
#26re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/7/04 at 6:38pmThe reason I bought it was for Idina.. so all you Idina fans.. go and buy it for her!
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#27re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/7/04 at 7:14pmLiving in a tiny one-bedroom with almost not kitchen is hardly a situation unique to actors. You might as well call that part of it, "Making it in New York City."
shesings
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/14/04
#28re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/7/04 at 7:24pmI read it and enjoyed it very much - in the beginning. I left the book feeling sad and dismayed. In all honesty I'm quite worried about my future now becuase of this book. I won't let it stop me from trying, but I'm incredibly scared. Which is a shame b/c in my entire life I never had any doubts that this is what I was meant to do, and that I would suceed. Now I wonder if I was kidding myself all these years. It seems like only a handful of people, if any, are really "making it".
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#29re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/7/04 at 7:26pmDon't let it stop you from trying. You don't know if you're up to it until you actually get in there and start working. If you find you can't do it...well, you have the rest of your life to figure out what you want to do. :) Plenty of people switch careers multiple times in their lives.
shesings
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/14/04
#30re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/7/04 at 7:33pmPlum - thanks sweetie! I'll try my best!
#31re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/7/04 at 10:29pmI'm in the "corporate world" now and yet I live with three roommates. Do I want three roommates? No freakin' way. I'd kill for that one bedroom with the tiny kitchen and no roommates. Living in New York is hard, period. Don't kid yourselves that living here is hard only if you're trying to be an actor. I live here because I love the city and being close to the theater. If my own fabulous apartment - or even a house - was my priority, I'd live just about anywhere else in the country.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
jezzebelle
Featured Actor Joined: 4/19/04
#32re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 12:00amI took the book with a grain of salt. It offered sound advice, to be sure and I understand that the point was not to enter into an acting career lightly, but I also believe it depends on individual experiences and you cannot go solely on what other people have gone through.
NYC20042
Understudy Joined: 6/23/04
#33re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 9:50am
Once again, Rathnait62 and Al Dente, you have never worked on Broadway, so why do you pretend to know what the life of a Broadway actor is all about?
Why to you demean the actors in this book, rather than applaude them for speaking about their deepest fears and sharing the secrets of their real life?
Why do you disparage Wilson Heredia, Antonio Banderas, Brooke Shields, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and so many others who are are not bitching but are calling out for help?
Let the actors speak for themselves. This book is not depressing, but inspiring. Finally, the actors are taking matters into their own hands, honestly addressing difficult issues, and praying for collective change.
Because so many people want to act on Broadway, actors are always meant to feel pressure to say "theater is great" even when it is not. This collective "peer pressure" has done a great disservice to the profession, and has kept people in the dark for far too long.
Actors sacrifice so much to get to the stage, more than anyone sitting at a desk or working in an assembly line. They often have no permanent homes, no health benefits, no family, spend their whole life struggling to pay rent, and, UNLIKE ANY OTHER PROFESSION, ONCE THEY MAKE IT TO THE TOP, THEY ARE NOT REALLY ANY BETTER OFF THAN THEY WERE WHEN THEY BEGAN.
Maybe you need to read the book again with a fresh mind. This book is about change, necessary change.
#34re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:03am
NYC, read my post again. I know exactly what I'm talking about.
And, every actor who goes into the profession is fully aware of what it entails. That's why so many people who would love to do it, don't.
A book of funny anecdotes, of which there were a few, would be interesting, or even the stories about stalkers, etc., or unusual things that have happened onstage. But I really don't want to hear Broadway actors whine about how tough their lives are. If it's so awful, they can try working at McDonald's. Bottom line - they knew going in what they were getting into and made a conscious choice to do so.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
NYC20042
Understudy Joined: 6/23/04
#35re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:10am
Here is where you are simply wrong:
You wrote "Bottom line - they knew going in what they were getting into and made a conscious choice to do so."
WRONG. TRY AGAIN.
Ask any Broadway star or Tony Winner if they they "knew going in what they were getting into," most if not all will say NO WAY. That is precisely what the book is about - how even Broadway stars had no idea what life at the top would be like.
Because of the misinformation fed to them by soft "theater-friendly" books and academics, and because of the "peer pressure" on Broadway to never complain, they were left totally in the dark: Terrence Mann, Donna Murphy, Sondra Lee, Harvey Evans, ect.. included.
Updated On: 11/8/04 at 10:10 AM
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#36re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:11am
I don't blame them for a little whining about sexual harrassment- no one should have to deal with that.
But Rath, I think you're being a little over-harsh. The anecdotes were the ones picked the the editors of the book, who obviously had a big-time agenda. Don't blame the actors for the authors' angle. If they didn't like what they did, don't you think more of them would have quit? :)
#37re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:18am
Oh, please. Why do you think parents and teachers and relatives and friends always warn people AGAINST a career in acting? EVERYONE knows it's insecure and unstable. That's the nature of the beast and again, it's why a small percentage of the people who would actually prefer to be acting as opposed to sitting at a desk or cleaning houses or working behind that fast-food counter - don't.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
Updated On: 11/8/04 at 10:18 AM
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#38re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:23amTheatre friendly academics? Are you serious? They're a myth.
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#39re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:24am
*blink*
Deep breaths, Rath. It's just a book. :)
Read over my post again. I don't doubt that the actors in there whined, but I do doubt that that's all they did, or all they would do, if you asked them to talk about acting. The book got cut to mostly whining because that was the authors' angle. That's all.
NYC20042
Understudy Joined: 6/23/04
#40re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:24am
WRONG ONCE AGAIN.
You wrote "Why do you think parents and teachers and relatives and friends always warn people AGAINST a career in acting" -
They do so because it is so difficult to make it.
But there is always an assumption that, if you do "make it," win the Tony, and wind up on posters above the beds of adoring fans like yourself, then life will be easier and different. Just about every aspiring actor and new Broadway star harbors such an assumption. This is what keeps many going and makes the sacrifices all worth while. As the book explains, that assumption is painfully false.
Moreover, that is only one issue the book addresses. The book is not about how "hard it is" to make it, but how the Disneyfication of theater has changed the industry and the lives of Broadway performers. The book is an honest glimpse into this new life.
So, once again, I recommend that you try reading the book a second time....
Updated On: 11/8/04 at 10:24 AM
#41re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:27am
NYC, one of my best friends is a Tony winner who does not have people knocking down her door for jobs. I KNOW exactly how hard it is. I KNOW. But she also doesn't whine and bitch and complain about it (the one quote of hers used in the book was not a complaint about how much her life sucks now and how she had no idea of how tough it would be) - because she knows full well that this is the life she chose. Would she like to be an in-demand above-the-title name? Of COURSE she would. Does she moan and blame because of it? NO. She's grateful for what she has now and what she's had in the past and what she'll hopefully have in the future. She's what you might call a grown-up.
And I know there were other aspects to the book - one of my earlier posts addresses that.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#42re: Making It On Broadway - the truth?
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:30am
But there is always an assumption that, if you do "make it," win the Tony, and wind up on posters above the beds of adoring fans like yourself, then life will be easier and different
I don't think anyone over the age of 13 actually makes that assumption though, I have to say.
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
NYC20042
Understudy Joined: 6/23/04
#43The Truth According to Hugh
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:31am
Here is what Hugh Jackman had to say about the book:
"Outrageous, endearing, appalling, and true, and what any aspiring actor needs when trodding the Great White Way."
HUGH JACKMAN - 2004 Tony Award Winner and star of Broadway's The Boy from Oz
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#44The Truth According to Hugh
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:33amReally? I don't remember that part. And it really doesn't sound like him, but I guess quotes can end up like that...with a lot of ellipses. Updated On: 11/8/04 at 10:33 AM
NYC20042
Understudy Joined: 6/23/04
#45The Truth According to Hugh
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:36am
Check out the website www.makingitonbroadway.com
for more information about those who have rallied around the book...
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#46The Truth According to Hugh
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:37amDid you publish it or something, NYC?
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#47The Truth According to Hugh
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:38amInteresting. A quote from Hugh Jackman, who started as a lowly Starbucks barista while taking classes and struggling to get a chorus role on Broadway - oh wait a minute - I'm thinking of someone else. Hugh Jackman came here as a star and his first Broadway role was as the extraordinarily high-priced lead. So yeah, he knows.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
NYC20042
Understudy Joined: 6/23/04
#48The Book: Making it on Broadway
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:39am
Nah, just love it and think that it is one of the most important theater books to be published in a long time...
Don't you agree?
Updated On: 11/8/04 at 10:39 AM
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#49The Book: Making it on Broadway
Posted: 11/8/04 at 10:42amWell, he had his struggling actor phase, but it was in Melbourne. And as someone who's seen and read waaay too many of his interviews, I still say that quote sounds nothing like him. Updated On: 11/8/04 at 10:42 AM
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