af Justin Cunningham 4 år siden
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The private life of Broadway performers is usually managable, unless you are apart of a huge show, in this case you might get put into a lot of interviews about the show, you might have to do a lot of performances for news stations, and you might gain a big following on social media. the biggest broadway performers usually have more things to do, which can become a lot for one person to handle, but it is never impossible, because the directors will most likely be helping you manage your time. The shows are usually only about two hours long so in a normal day you will only work for 4-5 hours. This includes getting into costume and warming up your voice, performing, cleaning up, and going to the stage door for fans to meet you.
there are a lot of benifits to being a broadway performer. one benifit is that a lot of people find satisfaction with their job, even if they have to have a side job, and even if it doesnt pay well, performing is one of the most fulfilling jobs. another is that you can gain followers and/or be invited to perform in different places. a lot of broadway performers also make many friends with the cast because everybody that is on broadway is usually really nice. If you are in a touring company, there is also the benifit of travelling, and you will get to go to many different cities.
A broadway performer is expected to do many things. Even before shows start they are expected to rehearse for atleast 2 weeks for 8 hours a day with the rest of thier cast. they are expected to develop a very strong understanding of the character/characters they are playing, and with that they are expected to make choices with thier lines and physicality that would make audience understand them more. along with this they are expected to remember every little bit of blocking they are directed to do aswell as lines, and choreography. Along with all of this they are expected to remember harmonies and melodies of songs and proper placement in the voice. Broadway performers are also placed on strict diets, as to not mess up thier energy and voice. some performers are in travelling casts, which means they are expected to travel with the company and perform in many different theatres.
anually, ensemble Broadway Performers make an average of $61 160. Weekly thats about $1 653 but this can change depending on if they have lines, what theatre they are performing at, what show they are performing in, and if they have a main part. the salary range varies a lot for these performers.
A Musical theatre performers skills are usually divided into three catagories: Acting, singing, and dancing. Although these are the basic catagories, sometimes they can change based on a few factors. There is also something called blocking that is an important skill.
A lot of times in Specific Shows, they will bring in people with specific talents and skills, like if they need an acrobat, or a person that knows german, etc.
Dancing is important to learn, because most of the time characters will have to dance, and sometimes even do crazy things like flips on stage, but there are characters that dont dance in musicals. All scenes on stage are Blocked on stage (Blocking is where you are walking or what you are doing with a prop), and it take a certian amount of skill to do. my favourite example of this is in the musical Waitress. a Character name Dawn has a solo song called "when he sees me" where in it she is not dancing, but she gets carried around by dancers, and has to do very specific blocking in the song.
Then there is singing, which is also an important skill. Almost every single person will be singing, either while dancing or in the background, so even if you are not a main character, you (most likely) will have to sing. some things that are expected of performers in this area are: Pitch, harmony, good tecnique, projection, a fully developed range.
A performers ability to act is usually the most important thing, and doesnt change no matter what character you play. Some expectations of actors are: projection, accents (depending on the show), line memorization, and the ability to stay in character. Examples of this are the characters from Mean Girls the Broadway Musical. There are the main characters, like Regina George, and Cady Heron that have set character traits. Then there are the side characters, like Aaron Samuels, and Kevin G, even thought they have less lines in the show it is still important that they bring all their acting skills to the table so that their characters are not boring. finally there is also the background dancers and specifically, the North Shore Lion. the North Shore Lion comes on one time during the show, and in that time he has to express his emotions through a giant costume which isn't easy, and the dancers have to react to everything going on while dancing, which also isnt easy.
The educational pathway to becoming a broadway star is unlike others, because there are many broadway stars that did not go to university, and instead were self taught or they just trained in other ways.
other broadway performers can take vocal, dance, and acting lessons outside of school and still become an amazing performer. This is a less likely scenario because of how intense Broadway is, but it is still possible if you are willing to commit and work hard.
Universities are a great way to recieve training for Broadway, the top rated Broadway course in canada is at Sheridan, a 4 year course which totals up to about $60 000 (depending on if you live on campus), and in this Course they take time to personalize your training. Lets say you are a great actor but you need more singing training and you dont know how to dance, they will train you in those specific areas while still teaching you about broadway as a whole.
