what is it like being on broadway? any advice?

Hi Katie,

I am an actress and have played off-off-broadway so can only speak to the love of performing. I have many friends who have made the Great White Way, however, and every story is different. There are thousands of working actors who never make it on Broadway, but it doesn't mean they failed. The acting profession is varied and a rollercoaster. It's hard work and takes a LOT of dedication. You have to believe in yourself because nine times out of ten you are the only one rooting for your success. And you have your ENTIRE life to be an actress. We need actors to play babies as well as their grandparents. It's a long race, not a sprint.

I'm really glad to hear you're working so hard for straight A's. That's what's going to get you into a great school. And Julliard is amazing, but not the only one where you'll get good training and support. It's not just about where you go to college. That's just one piece of the pie. Study hard, learn TONS of monologues, read plays and plays and plays all the times so you know the playwrights and their styles. Watch old movies. See live theater when you can. Watch the movie versions of your favorite plays. You can never have enough emmersion into the theaterical/acting world. That's how you'll become and remain an artist.

Because being an artist is the goal. Broadway is just a paycheck.

Break legs in your career! We're rooting for you!
Amie B~

Hi Katie - I focus more on film now, and I have not been on Broadway, so I can't answer that specific question, but I do have some experience that may answer the rest of your question. I've played the lead in several plays while at college, which had a large audience (565 seats) - not the same as Broadway, but there are some similarities. It is exhilarating.

With the bright lights on you, all those faces in the audience kind of fade out to me - I don't see most of them, only the first few rows. But I feel them there. You know that feeling of being able to sense when you're being watched? Now multiply that times 500+. You feel that energy from them. And it can make some people nervous, but I choose to let that energy FUEL me. It helps focus me, invigorate me, so I put that energy into my performance.

I also find that the more focused I am on stage, the more I simply connect to the joy of LIVING my passion in that moment, in that performance, and it doesn't really matter to me if there is 1 person in that audience or 500. I'm having the time of my life.

You mentioned Julliard. Getting in there is great, but you can have much success without having to have gone there. There are other great schools as well. You can make it a goal to get into one of these schools, but one thing to keep in mind, always, is to never compare yourself to anyone else. There is only ONE you. NO ONE else can be you better than you can. That's much more important than most people think.

Don't worry about anyone being "better" than you. Let your passion guide you, drive you to be better than you were before, to learn and practice and get better and better, but don't worry about what anyone else is doing. For me, in this regard, I get excited when I meet someone who is a really good actor, or I'm in a scene with them, because I learn from them and become better myself as a result. I look at it like playing tennis - If I'm "an expert" and I play against a "novice," my game cannot improve. But if I play against other "experts" or even a "master" then my game MUST improve.

If you follow your passion, no matter the challenges you face (and everyone has challenges of their own) you will find success. It may look differently than you thought, but that can be a FUN surprise! For instance, I went to school with Jim Parsons (Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory), he and I played the leads in together in one of those college plays. He didn't go to Julliard, but his success on TV opened a door for him to play the lead in plays on Broadway. And he's not the only story like this.

Follow your passion and your excitement. Let it guide you, and trust there are MANY ways to live your dream :)
~Darrell

Juliard is a reat school - here are some other renowned theater programs to check out:

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities - Guthrie training program;
Emerson College;
University of Miami Florida;
Boston University;
Northwestern;
University of Michigan;
Carnegie Mellon;
Fordham University;
New York University;
Indiana University-Bloomington;
University of North Carolina School of the Arts;
Syracuse University;
University of San Diego;
UCLA;
USC