Sprinkles Cupcake ATM

I'm super proud of this fun post over at the Levy's Unqiue New York so go over and check it out!

http://levysuniqueny.com/5160/sprinkles-cupcake-atm/

And don't forget that is where you can see most of my new NYC entries now!:)

Stagelighter Review

New York is filled with hopeful performers dreaming of making it big on Broadway.  A tool that they often use to achieve this goal is attending industry workshops.  At these workshops, actors attend a class run by casting directors, agents, or an industry icon, receive feedback on a performance they give in class, and get face time in front of people who may have casting power.  These workshops are wonderful and allow actors to get about 10 to 15 minutes of the industry professionals time.  Recently a new tool known as Stagelighter was introduced that improves and enhances the industry workshop experience.  The best part is, Stagelighter isn’t only available to actors in New York!

Stagelighter is a website designed to help improve your audition skills and build your network, and it does so with alarming success.  At first I was very skeptical that a website could offer anything close to what a live and in person class could offer, but boy was I wrong.  Stagelighter actually gave me MORE than I have ever received in an industry workshop. 

To participate in Stagelighter, I had to make a video of myself singing a song.  I sat down with my lovely vocal coach and recorded myself singing “What’s the Use of Wondering from “Carousel.” I ordered two sessions.  One  session was with an actress that I highly admire and one with a casting director I frequently audition for.  I created my Stagelighter Profile which included my headshot, resume, and a short video introducing myself and stating which performers I look up to and two dream roles.  (Mine were Alice Beane in “Titanic” and Nimue in “Camelot.”  I then uploaded my singing video, typed in a question of my choice to ask each coach, and hoped for the best.

Three days later I got my first response!  Oh my goodness was it shockingly helpful.  It was from Christiane Noll.  I received a seven minutes video response jam packed with helpful, positive, constructive advice.  She pointed out what I did well, and what I could do to make the song even better.  She walked me through the song measure by measure, discussing what the character was thinking, how that can translate into the musical line, and where new thoughts occur.  

My second coach, Gayle Seay, responded a few days later.  Her feedback was equally helpful.  She gave extremely detailed notes about my performance in the video I submitted as well as roles and material I should look at for the future.  Since she had time to put careful thought into the feedback, I found it a thousand times more helpful than the rushed industry workshops I had taken previously.  Again, it was invaluable to be able to take the video response to my vocal coach as well, so we could put in specific work on Gayle's feedback.

The one thing I wish stagelighter.com would do, especially for those of us living in NYC, is hold monthly recording sessions.  I was a little embarrassed at the amateur recording I produced, despite having a relatively nice camera.  It would be wonderful if they could set up sessions with a fabulous camera and excellent sound quality for those using the Stagelighter.com product.  Another product it could add is help creating and editing a reel.  It would be wonderful if performers could submit their reel and get feedback on that as well.

Overall, my experience with Stagelighter was one of the most positive and beneficial theatre experiences I've had in New York.   I was such a fan that I got several of my most jaded friends to buy sessions and they all ended up raving about it.  Recently I took a trip to Malaysia to visit my friend who is a dancer in a show near Kuala Lumpur.  She was sighing that there was no way for her to stay relevant in the New York industry from 10,000 miles away.  I told her about Stagelighter and her eyes lit up!  I can see this site revolutionizing how performers far away or on tour can stay active in casting directors minds.

Since this is a New York blog, I wanted to review Stagelighter because it gives people an insight into the New York audition world.  A lot of performers are trying to weigh whether or not they are ready to move to the big city.  Stagelighter can help with that.  It will also let performers in the city get more effective feedback from their auditions.  Non-union performers who have a difficult time being seen at the union open calls will also find this tool invaluable.  It's very New Yorky, despite having the capability to be used from the other side of the globe - literally.  So what are you waiting for? Check it out!

A mini-move

So great news!  I'm now going to be paid to blog!  YAY!  This means that most of my new entries will be found on the Levy's Unique New York blog which can be found here!  My first entry was Melt to Earth.  Please enjoy!

The Levy's, or LUNY as we like to call it, are a family of tours guides who have been gracious enough to hire me as their blogger/social media coordinator.  I also give tours for them - so if you want a private Megan tour - they are who to contact!:)