How many times have you watched Hamilton? Did you know that it’s currently one of 29 Broadway musicals to be filmed (legally) in front of a live audience and shared with the world? Or that it’s one of the hundreds of stage musicals to do the same? 

During the shutdown it’s more important than ever to have access to the room where it happens. (Enter Me)… And that’s where Filmed Live Musicals comes in! 

Filmed Live Musicals provides information on nearly 200 stage musicals (and growing) that have been legally filmed with a live audience present, and publicly distributed. It includes a searchable catalog, and details on how and where to watch the musicals. 

As of July, you can now listen to the Filmed Live Musicals Podcast! We’re going to talk about the world of filmed live musicals, interview creatives, actors, producers and industry folks, look at the research being carried out on filmed theatre, dive into some history, and, of...

CW: Eating Disorders

Hey all!

Today's blog is going to be a little different. 

In fact, it's going to be a video blog.

Why?

Because this afternoon I had the immense pleasure of interviewing registered dietitian and eating disorder specialist Libby Parker. 

I wanted to sit down with an expert to talk about the challenge of maintaining our physical and mental health during a quarantine. 

Because, boy howdy, is that challenge SIZABLE.

And I truly couldn't have found a better person to interview. 

Two of Libby's specialties are working with performers and working with folks with eating disorders.  

And, as Libby and I discuss in our interview, all too often those two specialties overlap. 

This interview has great tips for anyone struggling with body-image or food issues during this extra stressful time.

Not just performers. 

Not just folks with eating disorders.

Anyone who's struggling.  

Or, to put it another way, let me just share one...

IT'S REZOLUTION SZN BAYBEE. While this year may have consisted of cobwebs on your dance shoes and scrolling through IG instead of AA, 2020 is DIFFERENT. New decade, new you. You're done listening to the inner voice of fear and negativity, and you have an arsenal to finally defeat it: 

• You have a new planner with positive, inspirational quotes like "You have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyoncé!"
• You're hitting dance class at 5 AM daily because rest days are for people who are NOT ON BROADWAY.
  
• 3 open calls per day, every day? HOLD MY THROAT COAT. MAKE IT 5.

THIS is the year you turn into a ripped, screlting discipline machine. You're going to cook all your own vegan food, book so many dream roles you have to turn down OTHER dream roles, meditate for an hour each morning in your Stephen Sondheim shrine, AND somehow get 8 hours of sleep.

You've got a detailed, color-coded plan in your planner, and all it requires is that you work REALLY, REALLY HARD. Feeling...

Tis' the season of holiday parties and that probably means you've been getting this question A LOT:

"So, what have you been in lately?"

or

"What are you working on?"

or, worst yet,

"Are you still acting?"

Take a deep breath. 

In most cases, these questions are not meant to make you feel panicky or small. 

More often than not, it's just a friendly person trying to make small talk. And if you are in the middle of a project right now, or just closed a show, you probably don't mind this question at all! 

But, if you've had a slow fall, (as many actors do) let's talk about how to navigate that conversation. 

My #1 tip for navigating the holiday party minefield is: 

Imagine this:

You're walking down the streets of NYC on a sticky July afternoon. 

You're in between acting gigs.

Your Instagram feed is filled with selfies of friends snapping laughing backstage pictures in the most fabulous show wigs. 

What fun they are having!! 

You're so busy scrolling through these DELIGHTFUL pictures, that you walk directly into another pedestrian. 

That pedestrian turns out to be an old acquaintance from some class you took freshman year of college.  Was is "Intro to Theatre Studies"? "Writing the Essay"? "Theoretical Zumba in the Feminist Age"?!

Before you can figure it out, they do the unthinkable... 

They ask you, THE DREADED QUESTION.  

"So, what are you up to?" 

What do you do?!

You're not in a show right now! This feels like a trap...

Think, think, think!

Oozing casualness, you respond, 

"Oh, you know, this and that. Auditioning a lot. I recently closed 'Mamma Mia!' at Agrabah Rep. Bob Loblaw was...

Ready for the Audition Rep Matchmaker’s patented one-step process to attaining a beach body?!?!

Step 1.  Take your body to the beach.

There is no step 2.

Boom.

Beach body attained.

Now, I know this is not new information. Memes with this very message abound across the internet.

However, given the HUNDREDS of messages we receive each day that our bodies are not acceptable as they are, I think it bears repeating.

ESPECIALLY this time of year.

‘Tis the season of street harassment and body shaming, when temperatures rise as self-esteem falls!

Plus, if you’re like me, as audition season grinds to a halt if you’re probably antsy for a new project.

Something you can control and fix.

How about your body?!

That seems like a good place to direct all your frustration and anxiety!!!!

Right?!?!

…right?

In my experience, this does not make for the most enjoyable or productive summer…

Here are five gentle suggestions of things other than your body...

Audition season can be tough.

Sometimes you just need a meme-able burst of inspiration to keep pounding the pavement in those tattered LaDucas!

So these are for you, all my Broadway dreamers!!! 

WE GOT THIS!!!!!!!!

1. Not to get biblical right away, but these first two quotes always remind me of Matthew 7:7. "Ask, and it shall be given to you..."

2. "Seek, and ye shall find." 

3. So, go ahead and ask for what you need!

4. A reminder that the answer you're looking for may be right in front of you.

5. Or it could come from the most unlikely place!

6. So, don't be afraid to put yourself out there to the community.

7. And never hesitate to look to your elders for wisdom.

8. They challenge us to ask the important questions.

9. This quote gets misattributed a lot, but I believe it was either Uta Hagen or Ben Franklin who said it first.

10. For when you need to really OWN it.

11. When you need a reminder that sometimes, it's okay to say "No."

12. Because self-care is...

I don't know about you, but as the days get shorter and colder I am STRUGGLING with motivation. 

I look at my to-do list in the morning and the temptation to open a new browser and watch a YouTube video or two (or five) is great. 

I put off the thing I need to do, I berate myself for putting it off, make myself a cup of coffee, I check my Instagram, berate myself some more, and then before I know it it's noon. 

But here's the wild thing:

Once I'm doing the activity I'm supposed to be doing, it's not that hard. 

I rarely find myself ten minutes into a yoga class saying to myself, "Why am I doing this?! This is soooo haaaaaarrrrrd."

(Note: I don't do hot yoga. That could very well be a different story...)

But truth be told, I have this experience with 99% of the activities I put off doing.  

The activity itself isn't painful—Getting started is. 

That's where the five minute rule can help us!

Last week I did an...

I woke up feeling a little weird this morning.

Not terrible—just oddly uninspired and unmotivated.

I did NOT feel like writing a blog post.

(This, unfortunately, is usually a pretty good sign there’s something on my mind that I should write a blog about.)

That’s why I’m in your feed today.

To talk about transitions.

Fall is hands down my favorite season. (The sweaters, the tea, the crunchy leaves, what’s not to like?!?!)

But, like many people, the stark shift from summer to winter can leave me feeling unmoored. My schedule has changed, but I haven’t yet fallen into the daily and weekly routines that ground me and make me feel like a person.  Auditions have started to pick up, but we’re not in the reliable chaos of winter audition season yet.

In short, we’re in between.

And if you’ve ever taken a song interpretation class, you know that “in between” is one of the most difficult and crucially important...

Hi.

My name is Sara, and I'm a recovering perfectionist. It's been about 33 minutes since my last nit-pick.

Sound familiar? Welcome to Perfectionists Anonymous.

I used to wear my perfectionism like a badge of honor. Perfectionism meant I was prepared. I was diligent. I was SERIOUS about my craft. I thought it made me competitive.

In reality, perfectionism was killing my career.

Perfectionism is the voice that advises, "You should really wait until you have a solid double before you take class at BDC."

It protectively whispers, "Once you lose ten pounds, you'll be ready to pursue representation."

It sagely warns, "If you go out for that show, they might call you back to dance. You're not ready for that. It's probably safer to stay home."

Perfectionism is NOT your friend.

Perfectionism is a toxic boyfriend that says, "I love you, babe. But no one else will. Stay home with me."

Perfectionism may feel safe and familiar, but in an industry that values vulnerability and risk, it is...