Matt spends another three hours brooding about cash flow vs. creative fullfillment. Bonus casting coach details.

Nothing in N.Y. comes easy. That’s why when you achieve something you feel like you own the world. At this point in my career though, it doesn’t always take me long to realize I don’t. I’m sitting in Starbucks waiting for my very first rehearsal with Cherub Improv, a group that performs improv comedy at hospital, correctional facilities, nursing homes, etc… It should be an exciting moment. Instead, I’m haunted by my lack of income.

I shouldn’t be worrying about this. I should be in performing RENT. I got cast to do a regional production. But, sadly, I got uncast suspiciously close to my rejection of the producer’s offer to let him be “a bad influence” during the production. “I’m looking forward to being friends, but I meant that in the plutonic sense”, I said shortly after he tried to kiss me. “That’s too bad because I’m not looking for plutonic friends,” he replied. The next day I received a call stating that I was too young to play opposite their Roger.
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My hard work pays off and the cast of Rent helps me to celebrate the significance of my achievement.

For the past few weeks I’ve been going through the songs I know with a fine tooth and comb, selecting one for every occasions. I’ve had to find songs to sing when I’m asked to sing country music, when I’m asked for classical or contemporary music theater, up-tempo or ballad. On top of all of this I’ve had to steer clear of familiar favorites. Supposedly there is no worse crime in an audition than to sing a song from Rent or Wicked.

I can’t say that my process prepared me any for today — but I certainly felt more prepared to knock ‘em dead when I showed up to an audition for Theatreworks today. Theatreworks is a professional union theatre company that tours family oriented shows around the country. I’ve been wanting to do one of their shows since I arrived in New York. So when I showed up today and was informed that they were looking for a pop-rock song, I was a little nervous. I’d not yet found an appropriate pop-rock song to sing — and they’d asked for a contemporary musical theatre selection when they called my manager. Well, I had Beauty School Dropout from Grease and I’ve Got Life from Hair. Neither song seemed right. So, I didn’t do either. I stuck with my original choice. They seemed to like it and when I was done, they asked me to sing something that was a bit more pop-rockish. Read the rest of this entry »