I Know Things Now

This past weekend, I had the absolute privilege and joy to attend the 3rd annual BroadwayCon, a three day celebration of Broadway at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.

I attended 17 panels on shows old and new, theatre criticism, musicals on screen, and accessibility. I sang my heart out, laughed, cried, was inspired over and over again, and moved by how damn awesome the Broadway community is.

​Here are some of my key takeaways:

Things I Learnt About Being an Actor

1. Many actors go through a period of being ready to quit before they land a dream role.
2. Your career will not follow a timeline you expect.
3. Doing a show 8 times a week for years on end is like a yoga practice. You have to meet it new every day. ~ Beautiful leads Evan Todd and Chilina Kennedy.
4. Replacements in long running shows get very little rehearsal time.
5. Swings work their butts off (and make use of colored markers to write notes).
6. If you see something missing from the stage, you must create it for yourself. You will find people to support you who also needed that thing.
7. Be Yourself.
8. Open mind. Open heart.
9. Kindness, kindness, kindness. Be kind to everyone.
10. You must Keep Going.

Things I Learnt About Theatre Criticism

1. Critics of color and female critics are often left out of the conversation.
2. We need more diverse voices in theatre criticism.
3. More voices in theatre criticism means a more nuanced conversation about theatre.
4. Critics love watching shows and want to see them succeed.
5. Fans consume theatre. Critics enjoy theatre and engage in a dialogue with the show.
6. It is a critics job to see everything: the good, the bad, the atrocious. And you have to keep your fan light alive through the dreck.
7. If you want to do it, GO DO IT.

Things I Learnt About Filmed Live Musicals

1. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, watches bootlegs.
2. There is a hunger for musical theatre content.
3. Technology is not something to be feared, and it’s not going to kill live theatre.
4. The New York Public Library is run by incredibly smart, fun, and passionate people.
5. Audiences don’t want fast action movies when watching filmed live theatre, they want to see the show. Sondheim agrees.

Things I Learnt About Broadway

1. Broadway is just a bunch of people who love to sing and dance and tell stories
2. “There is no I in Broadway” ~ Mo Rocca. Broadway is 100s and 100s of people working their butts off.
3. The only difference between Broadway and a community production is $$$.
4. Music unites us across age, race, ability, and background.
5. The more specific it is, the more universal it is.
6. Audiences love it when things go wrong.
7. We have a long way to go in making theatre accessible for EVERYBODY.
8. Theatre changes lives.
9. The audience and fans are what make Broadway possible. Without an audience, there is no Broadway.
10. Nothing beats being in the room where it happens.

Make sure to follow Filmed Live Musicals on Twitter and Facebook - I’ll be sharing more fun insights from BroadwayCon over the next week!

Check back next Monday for a new post on how filmed live musicals affect box office sales on Broadway!