Great post, ManVan. I definitely get what you’re saying. It’s fantastic and exciting news, and like others have said, it’s heartening to hear about good stuff happening for real. I actually didn’t read any more into it than what you just said – until I read other other posts that seemed to be drawing conclusions I wasn’t sure I agreed with and that made me think I was missing something. In other words, I also ditto what vvnstar said. Your experience, your fact, is pretty awesome. Onward and upward.
I’m a longtime lurker and love reading all of the success stories. @ManVan, you should be very proud of your son. That is quite an accomplishment. Did he already have his equity card before auditioning for this show, or will he get it through doing this show?
@soozievt, I have followed your many posts on your daughter and she is quite accomplished too. You should be very proud of her also. I would love to see a timeline (similar to the one that ManVan posted) showing the timing of all of the national tours and Broadway shows your daughter has done. I realize that every career will be different, but it gives us all hope when we see how quickly young people like yours, that are just a few years out of college, are able to book national equity tours and/or Broadway shows.
It would be great for other parents to share some career success stories as well. Maybe even a thread on this would be great. Thank you again ManVan for sharing you son’s journey with us. I hope you will continue to update us.
@SkyTalk, I agree with you that a thread on success stories would be terrific. Only I hope those that are included are not just those that booked Broadway shows and National Tours, but those that are making a living performing no matter where in the country or the world. Everyone’s measure of success is different because they want different things out of life and their profession.
@SkyTalk Thanks for the interest and comments. I don’t really wish to use ManVan’s thread all that much, but don’t want to ignore your post either. It would take me some time to recreate a time line as my daughter graduated almost 6 years ago and has done many things. I will say briefly, that first, she has not been on Broadway. Second, her career has not revolved around Broadway or National Tours, and so if that is the goal in mind or what you are asking about, my D may not be a good example. However, I would say she has had a successful career so far (and she is just 26) and ALL of her jobs have been in theater and music. Even all her survival jobs were in theater and music, though she no longer does any survival jobs. Even though she has worked consistently in the field after her graduation day, her career has developed and evolved and so she has done more significant things over time. If you were asking how soon it took to book work, well, she booked the day after graduation on her first audition. But this field is an endless maze of short term work and so one is always job hunting so to speak.
My daughter doesn’t just audition, however, and wait for the next casting opportunity. If she did that, she would have less work than she has had (though she has been in many shows and she has been Equity starting with her first job out of college). She has a three pronged career: 1) performing in musicals/theater; 2) singer/songwriter in the pop/folk/jazz/rock/soul genre; and 3) writer/composer/lyricist of original musicals. She is paid for all those things and she juggles all three areas, and has something going on in all three almost all the time.
That is a very general answer for now due to it being ManVan’s thread and also I’m busy at the moment. I could explain it in more depth and answer questions, though I am not entirely sure I could recreate an accurate timeline. Again, her career (and reputation and network) has built up over time, even if she has worked in the field the entire time. I’m not sure how else to explain it but perhaps I could say she is doing more significant work as each year goes by and has even had to turn down some opportunities due to schedule conflicts.
Keep in mind that her view of success as an artist (mine too) is not defined by being on Broadway or a National Tour. She’s gotten pretty far in the casting process with leads for such things, but her career is not focused on just those venues, not to say they would not be great too. In terms of MT shows, she has been in Off Broadway ones (and has another one booked), a tour, and significant regional and international theaters, as well as concerts in well known venues. But she doesn’t just perform in musicals and hasn’t put all her eggs in the waiting to be cast basket.
It sounds to me like there are several longer-term posters whose kids are doing very well, and a lot of medium-term people whose kids are booking summer stock. I’d love to see a success stories thread, personally. It would make writing those big checks a tiny bit easier.
Great reply @soozievt - that one will make the copy, paste and print file for my D as it shows the many paths to success in this field which reaches far beyond Broadway. More importantly, it shows the benefit of keeping a lot of irons in the fire which is a great perspective for our kids to have as they absorb the training they are about to receive.
@Jkellynh17 Amen to that!
Excellent idea @jkellynh17!
Here’s a thread like that which is a blast from the past (but don’t use it any longer, as it is outdated, though a new one could be started):
I just started a new thread titled “How do you spell SUCCESS?” Hope @soozievt and @ManVan will post about their kids there along with anyone with current college or post-grad kids who are making their way in the field. Love to hear about any and all accomplishments! Thanks to @jekyllnhyde20 for the suggestion of starting a new thread!
Oops - I should have said @jkellynh17! Sorry for the confusion!
@vvnstar Thanks, good idea for a new thread. I’m more apt to discuss stuff my D is involved with as a professional in a more general way and have chosen since her graduation from college to not post specific shows, concerts, awards, etc. on the forum (but use FB for that). But it is a topic of interest for many of us who are done with the college stage.