(Dr. Lori Major Carlin
is the Theatre Arts teacher at Northwood High School. She has been teaching in
Chatham County for 15 years. With the assistance of professional development
grants from the Chatham Education Foundation and the Northwood Arts Education
Foundation, Lori is attending the Broadway Teacher’s Workshop in NYC.)
This will be my final post about the phenomenal experiences
I’ve had these last few days. It will be hard to summarize all that I will be
taking back with me personally and professionally. In many ways, I’m not sure
that I can identify all of the sparks of ideas, show titles, directing choices,
and lesson plans that will result from the Broadway Teacher’s Workshop. All I
can tell you is that “I have been changed for good” (shameless Wicked quote), and I am so grateful to
both CEF and NHSAEF for helping me get here!
I will begin with the shows. Peter and the Starcatcher is just utterly magical. I laughed (very
hard) and I cried (just a smidge). It is my new favorite straight play and I
feel certain that it will be one of those shows to gain more & more respect
as people see it & experience the magic it has to offer. Also, Disney is
now attached so look for the ride in a theme park near you. See it if you can.
The show will be replicated but the directing choices in this one make it an
absolutely must see in New York.
I must admit that I wasn’t super jazzed about seeing Porgy and Bess. Go ahead & throw
your stones. It was that much more surprising then to find that I was
completely captivated by the story, of course, but more so by the sheer demand
of the starring roles. This was the first performance that the full Tony Award
winning cast was present for since they won. Audra McDonald had been out for
some time for vocal rest and I cannot imagine how she was able to do both a
matinee and an evening show. The physicality demanded of all actors but
especially these two leads is tremendous.
Finally, the dream came full circle with our Saturday
evening viewing of Once. Before the
show begins, there is a full beverage service area on the stage. I had heard
the rumor and got in early enough to go up. I was there when the cast came out
and danced a little Irish jig with the actor who plays Guy’s father. Then, he
turned and introduced me to Guy (Steve Kazee – Tony Award winner for lead actor
this year). He presented me as a “bonnie lass”, Guy took my hand, and I fell
completely stupid. The show was everything I expected and I enjoyed it very
much.
After each show, we were privileged to have a “talk back”
session with some of the actors. Sometimes chorus members & a few minor
characters would come out and other times (Once
& Peter and the Starcatcher) the
whole cast would come speak to us. They were always so nice and so normal and
so appreciative of their own teachers. David Allan Grier shared an interesting
statistic with us during the Porgy session
– apparently only 1% of those working performers fortunate enough to earn an
Actor’s Equity card earn over $5,000 a year. That statement blew me away.
It was remarkable how accessible all of these people have
been. From the co-directors of our workshop to every presenter (including the
hero flier for Spiderman – we got to
see the tech call for the matinee performance) and every actor – they are just
like you and me. They love their craft and they work very, very, very hard. Each
of them said that if you can do something else for a profession – do it. But if
you can’t, if you have the passion and the drive and if you are willing to work
very hard and sacrifice a lot of pride, you too can dance an Irish gig on the
Broadway stage, or design lighting for Spiderman:
More Ridiculous than Ever Part 7, or scrounge through thrift stores looking
for the perfect vest for Peter Pan.
Now these aren’t formal lessons, but I can infer from what
I’ve seen this week that there are other key factors in finding success on
Broadway (and elsewhere perhaps).
-Be on time. One of our performers was late to a
presentation and everyone was visibly disapproving. Don’t assume that your time
is worth more than someone else’s and honor your call times. (I’m working on
it, Mr. Blice!)
-Stay well. 8 shows a week. 8 new audiences and 8 chances to
change a life. Take care of your instrument. Your health is vital to your
success so take personal responsibility for it.
-Learn. Not one single performer or technician was a star
chorus member straight out of high school. No one is coming to your freshman
production of Godspell to whisk you
away to Broadway. It is incumbent upon YOU to get the education and training
required to play in the big leagues. Education is NEVER a bad thing.
-Finally, Be Nice. This week I got to work with Tony Award
winners, Broadway legends, agents, technicians, and more. They are all working
in the industry that they love and it shows. It shows in the way that they
valued me as your teacher and it showed in how incredibly excited they are to
meet you.
Your turn. Go on pigeons, live YOUR dream!
