HomeARTSWorkshopping on the Way to Broadway

Workshopping on the Way to Broadway

By WILL HEATLEY
Contributing Writer

Ripley Grier Studios, 520 8th Ave. Manhattan, NY. At this address lies the hotspot for young talent trying to better themselves in order to follow a dream.
On my way to perform a monologue from Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper’s play “A Hard Rain,” in front of Alison Franck, a casting director whose name I have heard before but have never met in person, I walk through the halls which are colored in reds, greens, blues and oranges, reflective of the varying levels of diversity within the theatre community. Pianos are against every other wall, vases of flowers cover most tables, and I can constantly hear the sound of music. Not the musical, mind you, although in some cases yes, but melodies of many songs which are being practiced by the performing artists of the world.
There are cafes and mini bars where many thespians are looking over scripts, marking music, and drinking coffee with their headphones in, probably to gain a sense of the tune that they are about to perform for their various auditions. These guys have been at it for a while, they know the ropes and are going through the motions, being nice and friendly, but also speaking in businesslike tones.
These are their stomping grounds, and here I am, as a student of The Vocal Studio of Lisa Franklin, putting my foot in the door and making myself known.
I walk into the performance space, not much bigger than my kitchen, and there sits Alison with a copy of my monologue in one hand and a pen in the other. I say hello, hand her my resume, walk to the front of the room and perform. Several seconds after I finish she scribbles some things on my resume that I never read or saw.
“That was very interesting, you remind me of a Matt Damon from ‘Good Will Hunting.’” she says. We talk a few minutes more before the next student comes in. I cannot remember what we talked about but the final thing she said still is in my memory. “Very good work today Will, it was a pleasure to meet you.” Wow.
Many think of Broadway as East 42nd. For those who aren’t as familiar with NYC, “Broadway” is just a name that describes every single theatre within the district. For the actor, singer, and dancer, it is the big time. Frank Sinatra once quipped, “If you can make here, then you can make it anywhere.”
The view that I have as a working actor in this field is that the glamor of it all is one side of the business. Sitting in the audience and watching the finished product in its most beautiful form is amazing no matter how many dollars it sets you back, but behind the curtain, in the months leading up to that finished product, to watch the progression of a show being made from the first person point of view is perhaps even more beautiful.
Two college kids, some high schoolers, some middle schoolers and some elementary kids. I am the oldest heading down to New York, the next-oldest being a student from Hudson Valley Community College, and there are high school students of various ages and kids as young as 9. For the majority of us, whether consciously or not, this workshop prepares us for the bigger work that lies ahead.
Sean McKnight, a Pace University choreographer, teaches us a Jazz/Charleston combination from the opening number of “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” which is a reminder to me that I have to lay off the pie.
“You don’t have to be a great dancer,” he says. “Just be a good actor, because as long as it looks like you know what you are doing and are having fun, no one’s gonna know.” He proceeds to do the combination himself with such fluidity and ease that we have to collectively pick our jaws up from the sweaty and sticky floor.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “It takes years of practice.”
Amy Rodgers, Pace’s song guru and talent-seeker in charge is the same way with our music choices.
“Try to be you,” she says to me in regards to my portrayal of King George from “Hamilton.”
“Will has more depth to him than the king, and I want to see that.” Not a single student from our congregation is let off the hook for perfection, and why would they be? The workshop is about practice and improvement, and rather than doing the things that are easy, we choose to do the things that are hard because gaining knowledge and skills for the hard things makes the long run much more easy to master. (Thanks, Mr. Kennedy.)
This past Monday, instead of sleeping in or binge watching, I went down to the Big Apple to dip my toes into the waters of the future. I networked, met some amazing folks in the industry, and prepared myself for the next act to come. I cannot wait for that debut to come soon enough.

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