December 3, 2024 • 37 mins
In this episode Taylor answers his most common questions from his community!
LIVE inside Instagram & Facebook Group!
In this episode, here is what you can expect:
- What Casting Directors Look For – Insights from Taylor and industry experts on how to stand out.
- Defining Success Beyond Booking a Show – How to create daily habits that align with your goals.
- Sustainable Habits for Performers – Building routines that support longevity in the industry.
- Navigating Post-Show Blues and Homesickness – Tools to thrive during transitions and while on the road.
- Balancing Authenticity in Auditions – Tips for showcasing your individuality while staying true to the material.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So welcome in.
Welcome back to another episodeon the Dive Podcast.
I'm your host, taylor Scanlon,and I'm a musical theatre
performer.
I've been a dance captain andswing in musicals for about
eight years and before that Iwas also in the ensemble with
some shows for two years.
So I've had about ten yearsexploring the world of musical
(00:20):
theatre and today we're going tocome on and share with you like
a connection with you as thecommunity.
I speak to so many of you outthere in the community and we
are now live on Instagram and weare live in our Facebook group
community.
So if you're not also in ourFacebook group community, for
anyone that is on our Instagram,we actually run or I actually
(00:42):
run a community group onFacebook which is free and this
is for musical theatre aspiringmusical theatre performers who
are looking to grow with theirmindset.
Specifically, I run I did run afive-day mindset challenge on
there which has five industryled community workshops on there
on different forms of ordifferent topics on mindset.
(01:05):
So we ran that, I think in Juneor July and all the recordings
are still on our Facebook group.
So if you want to go on there,just if you're on my Instagram
and you want to go check it out,go check it out.
But if you're also in theFacebook group right now which
you're listening in, hello,hello, hello.
So, first and foremost, welcome.
It's awesome to have you in.
If you have any questions alongthe way, I have a list of
questions that I've actually gotfrom the community.
(01:26):
I put a poll out a few days agoasking about what you want to
speak about, and this episode iscompletely for you the
community to ask your questions,to get them answered in the
best way.
I know how I, yes, have had acareer and still having a career
in the theatre, and I alwaysjust love sharing.
I want to share, and my biggestpurpose with this platform is
(01:49):
to really just bring us togetheras a community to help answer
the questions that we're allprobably asking, but maybe too
afraid to ask, or unsure orunclear, and I want to bridge
that gap between you having tooverthink or having to really
not understand things, and foryou to just come in and gain
crystal clear clarity on exactlywhere you want to go, gain
(02:12):
clarity on the exact steps tobest take to go into the
industry and to go into theindustry in a way that's
sustainable.
So let's get into it.
I'm going to start off withsome questions that we got from
the community, which is soawesome.
When I did a poll the other day, one of the highest things that
(02:32):
you guys wanted to learn aboutwas what do casting directors
actually look for?
Why don't we just start there?
But, as always, actually, whatI would love to do.
No matter where you are, ifyou're watching the recording or
you're watching live, let'sjust take a moment, because it's
Monday, it's the start of theweek, maybe you've done a bunch
of things, or maybe you'rehaving a day off.
Wherever you are, if you'relistening in, listen into the
(02:54):
car, wherever you are, let'sjust take a moment, breathing in
and breathing out.
And one more like thatbreathing in and breathing out.
And one more like that,breathing in and breathing out.
All right, let's get into someof the knowledge.
All right, let's do it.
What do you actually, castingdirectors, look for?
(03:15):
And I actually reached out to adear friend of mine, david
Spencer, who's an associateresume director currently for A
Christmas Carol, and I asked hisknowledge, because I have my
own idea of what castingdirectors actually look for, but
I wanted to bring as manypeople and resources in to help
give you an understanding ofwhat casting directors look for.
So, first of all, in my opinion, what casting directors are
(03:39):
looking for is to really connectwith you and understand who you
are as a performer and as aperson, and they're looking to
understand how you can gel withthe rest of the cast and what
your individuality speaksthrough and the diversity in
which you can present yourselfwith the material, so that they
(03:59):
know where to fit you in thecasting process.
So that's like my idea with acasting director.
They either have a veryspecific idea of what the show
and the role that they'reneeding to fulfill in, but
they're also trying to bridgethe gap between casting a full
company, so not just aone-on-one role or an individual
(04:20):
, but also, as at large, whatthe company they're looking for,
if that makes sense.
But I'm going to read to youfrom David what he sent me
earlier today.
So he says I think castdirectors either see someone
when they are specificallylooking to cast someone and have
a very clear idea about a roleand wonder if you'd be the right
(04:41):
fit In a general call.
So if you're going in andyou're going into just a general
open call, maybe it's for theensemble.
They want to know what you'relike as a person, which is
really cool, which you probablyhaven't even maybe you've
thought that before about acasting director.
So they're wanting to know whoyou are as a person.
So what have you done?
(05:01):
What are you interested indoing?
Whether you're easy tocommunicate with.
I know this a recent auditionearlier in the year.
A casting director would beusually the person that's giving
you the entrance to the room.
They want to connect with youfirst.
How are you?
What are you bringing in today?
And then allowing thatconnection to already happen so
they can get an idea of how areyou handling this pressure of
(05:24):
this crazy audition.
Who are you?
Because I feel like a lot ofour true colors shine when we're
exhausted and we're in theaudition process.
Comment if you feel the same.
Essentially, that's what they'relooking to do.
They're looking to see yourrange and how versatile you can
be, and it's always a good ideathis is what David Spencer also
has recommended it's a good ideato have a couple of really
(05:46):
contrasting monologues,especially if you're going in
for maybe a lead or a role toshow.
You show basically the rangethat you can provide.
So in the different styles.
But if that's not somethingthat you can do or you can find,
just pick a monologue and I saythis a lot of the time.
We'll go into a little bit aboutauditions and material and what
to bring.
All in all, the best way andthe best thing about auditions
(06:11):
and what you really need to keepat the top of your mind is like
how comfortable, how genuine,how connected can you feel to a
song and then present that,because auditions, especially
for first rounds, they're justgetting an idea of who are you,
what can you do, what are youabout, and a lot of that is
going to be shown through yourpersonality and the way you're
(06:33):
doing stuff.
It's not necessarily about whatrole or how you're fitting into
the show itself.
It's actually just going right.
Who is this Taylor?
What is his energy like?
How is he going through thisexperience as an auditionee or
auditioner?
And starting there in sayingthat, what I meant in a whole is
(06:53):
that going with material thatyou feel comfortable with, going
with material that you areexcited to actually showcase,
because if you go in withsomething that's maybe brand new
or that you feel not reallyconnected to, it's going to be
really hard, when we're in thathigh stakes situation of an
audition, to then add the layersof feeling passionate about
(07:14):
something, if that makes sense.
You almost sometimes especiallyeven more so for ensemble I've
been told this and I've donethis myself.
If it's got, if you, forexample, just being given an
audition right and you've onlygot a week or maybe a day or an
hour to get to this audition,don't be so hyper-focused on
(07:37):
what style or what song or where.
Just go in with something thatyou know you can present well,
and if they want to see you formore things, they will give it
to you within reason.
But I always just say that,like when in doubt, just go with
what you know, go with whatyou're passionate about, because
that's what they really want tosee.
They want to see who is, whoare you as an individual and
bringing that out.
So I hope that kind of firstanswers the first question of
what casting directors areactually looking for.
(07:59):
So the panel is split upbetween a director you've got
the choreographer there and themusic team too.
So then there, from there, thecasting director sees the
overall thing and who you are asa human and how that's going to
gel well with the community andthe company, rather, and then
you also have the team of thepanel that are actually going to
(08:22):
assist and find outspecifically the vocals and the
choreography and the directionof the panel that are actually
going to assist and find outspecifically the vocals and the
choreography and the directionof the piece itself.
So now let's get into for thenext maybe 20 minutes or so, and
if you do have any otherquestions, please feel free to
comment on Instagram or on live,whether you're watching the
recording or you're watchinglive, because I'll give you the
answer as much as I can.
(08:42):
So the first question's goingto come in.
I'll keep all the namesanonymous just for respect out
of the community, but I justwant to say thank you so much
for everyone that sent throughquestions that you want answered
.
I'm really keen to get into it.
So just know that I'm only justgoing to share from my
experience.
There may be other people thatcome on here that will have
different experiences, so I justthought I'd say that from the
(09:03):
start that any advice that Igive do not take it as gospel.
I'm just going to give you whatI know and the experiences that
I've had over the past 10 yearsof different shows and things
in hope that you can take awayone thing.
So whatever, if it doesn't feeltrue to you, don't even use it,
just throw it away.
But if something does resonate,maybe look into that and start
(09:24):
to explore that further.
So the first question that Igot in was I was from a
beautiful woman in the communityand she asked I'd love to know
if you think there are specificthings us emerging artists can
do to get ourselves up, to setourselves up for success before
booking the show, apart fromkeeping up the classes, singing
(09:47):
lessons and things like that.
So yes, there is definitelysome things that you can do,
especially if you're an emergingartist and you haven't booked a
show yet, that can set you upfor success before booking the
show.
The first thing that you want todo is you actually need to
define what success actuallylooks like for you, because if
you're only tied to successbeing booking a show, you're
never actually going to feelsuccessful until you book a show
(10:09):
.
So then we need to really justlook at okay, what does actually
success feel like?
What does it feel like in mybody?
What does it feel likeenergetically?
Maybe it feels oh, my shouldersare relaxing or I breathe a
little deeper, and that's whereI would basically start.
So find out what successactually means for you and then
start to see how you can bringmore elements of that into your
(10:32):
day to day.
So this could be an example ofokay.
Success maybe feels okay if I'malready in a show and I was
feeling successful.
Maybe point out three thingsthat you would feel if you
already were booked in a show.
How would you feel and so thismay be feelings if you feel
successful because you're in ashow, maybe another feeling
you'd be is fulfilled or excited, or it could be happy, whatever
(10:57):
it is.
So you can just take thosethree feelings and this is a
tool that I start to teach.
I've been teaching a lot ofstudents and it's really
effective is then what you wantto do is just ask yourself okay,
what's one thing I can do todaythat will allow me to feel more
happy, fulfilled and excitedtowards your goal, because then
(11:19):
that way you're going to be ableto set up a routine that is in
line with this future successthat you have on the other side
of something and that will allowyou to not hold on to just
having the outcome presentitself to get those feelings.
You can actually have all thosefeelings right now, and that's
a massive thing.
That I've recently learned aboutgoal setting is that we never
(11:41):
actually really want the goal.
We actually want how it willfeel when we get there.
What I mean by that is when weget there or when it can do with
anything material audition,working, getting a job is that
when you get there you're goingto feel amazing.
You're going to feel all theseamazing things.
But if you're tying your wholesuccess just to that outcome,
(12:02):
just to receiving that thing,you're going to burn yourself
out.
You're going to be questioningyourself all along the way.
You're probably not going toeven enjoy the journey until you
actually get that thing.
And then you hold such pressurearound for example, an audition
or getting into a thing becauseyou're really just adding this
pressure onto one moment, whichis what we don't need.
So you can release the brakesof all of that by just asking
(12:25):
yourself what's three thingsthat I would feel if I was
already successful and how can Iimplement or take those success
feelings and bring them into myday-to-day?
So I hope that makes sense.
She's also asked I'm personallyfocusing on building healthy
habits right now, so that when Ibook a show, my body and mind
is ready.
I love this.
(12:45):
You know, what I love this isbecause this is when we go into
sustainability right, and that'sactually what we want.
We want sustainability.
We don't want I don't knowabout you, but I don't want to
be building and being burnt outand not having any time.
But by working on my disciplineand going and going to then get
(13:06):
into a show, because I tell youwhat, when you get in, you
won't relax Because if, whateveryou build right now, whatever
you're building right now withyour habits, with your mindset,
with your life, you're going totake into the industry when you
are there, because you're justconsistently showing up in a
certain way, so that when youget there, you're not going to
(13:27):
all of a sudden be a differentway.
Maybe you'll do it for one day,but then, if you're starting to
build these habits of I need todo more, I need to be in every
class, I need to rush or I needto oh my gosh, and all of this
energy.
A, you're going to bring thatinto an audition, which probably
won't help you get a job.
And then, b, if you do sohappen to get a job, you're
(13:48):
going to bring this into youreight shows a week, because this
is what I did when I firststarted out.
I had a big case of perfection,perfectionitis, perfectionism
when I was first starting outand I yeah, let's just take a
story, let's just take a littlemoment when I was first starting
out and I got into Cats theMusical, I was straight out of
(14:10):
full-time.
So I came straight out offull-time and in full-time I was
taught 120% every day, everytime, boom, boom.
And so when I went into theindustry, I was taking all of
that, all my habits, all thethings that I learned, into 8
Show Weeks and where I actuallylearned quite a lot of valuable
things in immense, amazing,incredible amount of things
(14:32):
through full-time.
But having this perfectionismthat I put on myself, what
happened is I went into eightshow weeks and I could not
finish it, like I was off everynow and then I ended up getting
injured.
I was out for three weeks andit was just not a fun time and I
was like, wait a second.
I just worked so hard, I put inall of my efforts to make this
(14:53):
happen and now I'm like not ableto enjoy it, because I'm going
so fast and I'm going at a speedthat is not sustainable.
So, yes, it is super importantto build these sustainable
habits that you can do right nowso that when you do book a show
or when you go into an auditionroom, it allows you to, you're
allowed to hold yourself.
And it's not all about thisjust one moment.
(15:15):
It's actually really aboutbecoming the performer that is
sustainable and a performer thatyou can sustain over a long
period of time, because it's myguess that you all want to be
working for longer than 12months or longer than six months
.
You want to come into theindustry and stay there for
quite a long time, I hope.
Feel free to comment to thislive or put an emoji or
(15:38):
something.
If that's what you want.
I'm sure it is, and we can onlybuild that by starting now,
step by step, and, yeah, don'tget too overwhelmed.
Just start and you'll start tosee this ripple effect come
along.
Okay, let me try and get througha few more of these things.
How do you know what othertypes of work is worth pursuing
that isn't a stage musicalrelated, and when is it the
(16:00):
right time to do that and whatare the signs that may be
telling you it's time to trysomething else?
This is a really interestingquestion because a lot of the
time, we're always told andwe're just trained for so long
to do one thing, so sometimesthe thought of doing anything
else can be scary.
Does anyone feel that?
But sometimes we are not booked, sometimes we have gaps.
(16:21):
Right now I'm home, not working, not getting paid, and there's
going to be these gaps happening.
So how do you know what othertypes of work out there are
actually worth your time andworth pursuing, and what are the
signs that are around that thisbeautiful person in the
community and a dear friend ofmine is asking what are the
signs that you can actuallylisten to that are maybe telling
(16:43):
you to try something else ortime to do something else?
Okay, great question when itcomes to worth pursuing.
Whenever I hear the words whatis worth pursuing, it's all back
to energy, like how do you wantto feel because, at the end of
the day, we didn't just comehere to we're not obviously here
for that long, but we didn'tcome here to just slave away and
(17:04):
do all these jobs that don'tfulfill us?
Honestly, I truly believe that,and if you're not feeling good,
even if you are in a show andsomething's not right, that is
just feedback.
If you're feeling good insomething, it's feedback.
If you you're feeling good insomething, it's feedback.
If you're not feeling good insomething, it's feedback.
And what I mean by that is thateverything around you right now
is just feedback.
And if you're not feeling good,usually I put it like this
(17:27):
Right now, think as thoughyou've got like a road maybe
like a yellow brick road infront of you oh my gosh, a road,
whatever road, it is for you,and it's coming forward.
And then, if you go off theroad, usually this is when you
don't feel good.
So anytime we steer away fromour GPS and I always think
whatever brings you the most joyis in alignment with what
(17:48):
you're meant to be doing.
Does that make sense?
So anything that actually feelsreally good, it's supporting
you, you feel energetic, it'syou, you feel energetic, it's
inspiring, you feel motivated,you want to get up early and go
and do it that's in fullalignment with your vision and
your goal and your destiny.
If you believe in that, which Idefinitely do.
(18:10):
And anytime we don't feel good,it usually means that we're
just off the tracks.
We're over here somewhere.
We started this way, but nowwe're just off the tracks.
We're over here somewhere.
We started this way, but nowwe've gone off, and what this is
, it's essentially just feedbackfrom your higher self being
like okay, wait, this is whereyou're meant to be going forward
, and but we're over here.
So I'm going to send you somenot so good feedback in terms of
(18:32):
negative experiences and stuff,so that you can realize that's
not meant for you.
I hope that makes sense.
So that's what I would do is,if you are in a position right
now where you're not enjoyingand you're not feeling in true
alignment with what your purposeis and what you're meant to be
doing, go for the good feelingsand go.
Just allow yourself to trustyour gut a little bit more.
(18:53):
I feel like, as performers, wespend so much time in training
and we spend so much time havingother people tell us what to do
, having other people validatewhat we are doing is good or
correct or good enough, and sowhen you're actually becoming a
professional artist, we don'thave those people really around
(19:14):
us 24-7.
So then that means that we needto become those authors of our
own experiences and reallybecome master reflectors of our
own life so that we can actuallymove forward in a way that
supports us.
And the best way to do that isjust following your intuition
and following what brings youthe most joy and the most energy
.
Because, again, we only camehere for a short time and I
(19:34):
don't know about you, but I wantto have a good time, I want to
experience all the good thingsand just know that, yeah it just
stay on the track, stay forwardand just know that, whatever
decision that you do make, don'tever feel like you're lost time
, because I truly believe youcan learn something in every
experience.
So maybe you decide something.
If it doesn't feel so good,maybe there's a, there's an
(19:54):
opportunity for you to leave itand go forward into what you
need to do.
But if you have to stay therefor a little bit, maybe just
explore that and be like whatcan I learn from this part?
Or how can I get the most valueout of this experience before I
can move forward into thedirection that I need to go?
So I hope that makes sense forthe question there.
Next question comes from anotherwonderful being in the
(20:15):
community, and this is askedabout a bit more when you're in
a musical.
And the question is how do youovercome homesickness when
you're traveling with a musicalthat you're in, and what do you
do to help with post-show bluesand when you have a gap after
the show ends?
So I'll answer the first onehow do you overcome homesickness
(20:36):
when you're traveling in amusical?
This is like a big thing andeveryone experiences it
differently, especially whenyou're first starting out.
You're, you haven't maybe spentquite a long time away from
home, so it's just finding whatbrings you that sense of home
without actually being there.
So this could be by stayingconnected to your family, to
your loved ones is moreregularly, because you're not
(20:57):
physically with them.
You're probably going to needto up their communication if
that's something that brings youa bit more feeling of home.
And then, if you are traveling,just take something that
reminds you of home.
There was actually a time when Iwas performing in South Korea
and I was there for, I think, 11months and I didn't come home
once.
That when I'm home, I actuallynever, never, ever listen to the
(21:20):
radio or the news ever.
But when I was in Korea and Ithink it was like near the end
it was a long time since I'dheard an Australian accent or
anything outside the cast and Ijust tuned into a radio station
that was in Melbourne just to tohear like the news, to hear the
ads, to hear just somefamiliarity.
Or even I put on Australiannature to hear as I was in, as
(21:44):
if I was walking and doing anature walk at home.
So there's all these differentthings that you can do that can
allow you to feel that comfortfrom when you are home.
But just if you're going into abig show and you are worried
about feeling homesick, just dothose things, take the things
with you that will make you feelas though you are home and stay
(22:04):
connected to your family andfriends and also connected with
your cast, because a lot of thepeople there are going to be
going through the same thing asyou lean on them and that will
help you as well.
So I hope that answered thatquestion.
And other question that you hadwas what do you do to help with
post-show blues and when youhave a gap after a show ends?
Great question, because this iswhere I am right now.
(22:25):
So right now I am in a gapbetween a show I'm going to do
sunset boulevard, again infebruary over in singapore,
which is nice.
So right now I have a break upuntil then.
So right now it's the 2nd ofDecember, is the time of filming
this, and so I have quite a biggap.
And what I do post-show bluesagain it depends on the show
(22:48):
whether you how long you've beenon it.
Usually, if you've been on ashow for a very long time, you
build a lot of emotionalattachment and experiences to
that.
One experience I remember whenI was overseas again doing Cats.
We had to finish really earlybecause we couldn't something
about COVID or we couldn't.
Something happened where weliterally had to say goodbye
(23:09):
that day and we wouldn't becoming back the next day.
So that was a big shock to thesystem.
So it got to the end of Act 1and I was an absolute mess.
I probably cry more than that,more than a funeral, than any
other moment.
Anyway, that was just a momentin itself, but that was sprung
on me.
So I guess that was really hardwith other people.
They're going through the samething, so they're going to
(23:30):
understand.
And although that you've justhad this amazing experience, a
really good tool to use is tojournal about it, speak about
the good times, speak about whatyou loved, and also definitely
get a journal and write out whatyou learned from this
experience.
What are you going to take fromthat experience into your next
(23:54):
chapter?
So that's really helpful.
I really like doing that at theend of every show that I do so.
At the end of every show I sitdown maybe it's the next week
grab a coffee or whatever andjust write out what was that
experience like, what did Ienjoy, what did I not enjoy,
what did I take from that andhow can I take the best things
into this next opportunity, thenext audition, the next show
(24:17):
that I get into.
Next question we have do youhave any practices or healthy
habits to keep a healthyrelationship with your dancing
or your skills?
This is fantastic.
So, yes, this is reallyimportant, and I believe this
beautiful person in thecommunity has asked this because
we put so much energy and somuch time into our skills that
(24:40):
sometimes we build unhealthyhabits around them or we don't
appreciate them as much.
We put so much energy into thatthat we go, oh, not that again
right With our question do youhave any practices to sustain
healthy habits or a healthyrelationship with your skills.
There's not necessarily aspecific practice.
I would just always, beforedoing anything, gain crystal
(25:02):
clear clarity on why you weredoing it, and that would just
allow you to all of a suddenrelease this pressure of doing
it itself, because sometimeswhen we're in training and we're
training a lot and we're doinga lot of the things we actually
forget why we're doing it.
We're just like told to rock upat this time, doing it this day
, doing all these things, so wecan actually forget and lose
(25:24):
sight of why we are doing it inthe first place.
So that's what I would do.
I know it's not a specificpractice, but it definitely
would help you ask yourself whyam I doing this today?
And actually ask yourself why afew times.
You know the first why thatcomes up will be, for example,
if you want to build a healthierrelationship with your dancing.
Why do you want to?
(25:45):
Because I want to feel better.
Don't go just there.
Dive into a little bit deeperand keep asking yourself why do
you want to build a healthierrelationship with dance?
And maybe you can even tap intothis and say if I had a healthy
relationship with dance or yourskills, what would that feel
like?
That's a really good questionto ask.
What would it feel like if youhad a healthy routine or a
(26:06):
healthy habit related to yourskills?
What would that feel like?
Because if you can actually askthose questions, then you can
reverse, engineer yourself andsay, okay, how can I feel more
of those feelings with thedancing that I'm doing?
How can I feel more relaxed orat ease or passionate again with
this next class that I go to?
So doing that is going toreally actually help you
(26:28):
understand the practices and thesteps that you can uniquely go
forward and do.
So I hope that helps.
Okay, let's get into a few moreof the last questions.
I didn't want to make it toosuper long, but I know there was
a lot of questions that kind ofcame through.
Let's get into it.
Another question we have how doyou balance your own choices
and bringing your own flair to acharacter, so in an audition,
(26:51):
and what is expected, or what isexpected and what's done before
?
So this question is askingabout how do you balance
bringing in material and givingit your own style or your own
flair, as opposed to showing upwhat's expected or what's been
done before.
I actually had this questionasked twice.
So this is really interesting.
Again, I spoke a little bitabout auditions earlier in this
(27:13):
episode, but, okay, all I wantyou to do is that the panel are
looking for something different.
They're looking for somethingelse within you.
So if you're going in and doinga carbon copy of what's already
been done, they've heard that amillion times.
So I think going in with yourown style is actually more
beneficial than going in anddoing a repeated, regurgitated
(27:35):
version of something else.
In saying that, when it comes tostyle, just keep a note of that
.
If it's a specific style, don'tgo in and all of a sudden do.
If it's a classical style,don't just go and do country
because you love country, sostill do the style of the show.
But just add just ask yourselfas you, as an individual
individual, how would you dothis as bring your personality,
(27:57):
how would my?
For example, if I was going tosing a show from hairspray, how
would I, taylor scanlon as aperson, sing that song?
What can I connect to in thatsong where I can be, share my
own self?
I find that sometimes I cancome across obviously cheerful,
maybe a little bit cheeky, alittle bit fun.
(28:19):
So I try to bring thoseelements, because that's where
I'm who I naturally am.
So if I can bring thoseelements into the room, I'm able
to connect with the panel on amuch deeper level, because I'm
not actually trying to be anyoneelse but myself.
There you go, do that, give ita try and see how you go.
I think there is somecomfortability we have when we
(28:39):
think, oh, if I just go in anddo what's on the recording or
what's exactly written down,I'll be safe.
That's a lot of the time whathappens.
But whereas there is time foryou to do that, I think you're
always gonna be better off byshowing your own individuality
and giving your own personalitytwist to the actual material
(29:01):
itself.
And I think that goes foranything the dance that you're
about to do, the song thatyou're about to do and even the
monologue you're about to do.
When it comes to monologues,though, I would say that it's
much more yes, still againshowing your own personality,
but really staying true to whatthe story is trying to convey.
They want to know how can youbring their story to life.
So staying connected to thatSound good, amazing.
(29:23):
Let's do two more questions.
Let's do two more questions andthen other ones I'll save for
another week.
Question here is whennavigating, when we navigate the
industry and agents, how orwhat's the best way to go
forward in finding an agent foryou who, maybe, if you don't
have an agent yet, you haven'thad a show under your belt and
(29:44):
you're looking for the best wayto find an agent?
This is a really good question.
So if you're someone that isnavigating the industry and
you're looking for an agent, thebest thing that I would
recommend personally again, thisis my own opinion is that I
would think of it as though, ifyou're looking for an agent,
you're looking for a businesspartner.
You're looking to presentyourself, to show them that you
are worth presenting to theworld and to be putting put
(30:07):
forward under their agency.
So you want to collect aportfolio, you want to have your
headshots done.
You wouldn't mean business.
I would mean.
That's what I would want to do.
I would want to show up, Iwould want to connect and see
what agents are matching myenergy and matching my vision,
asking for interviews with thesedifferent agents to get an
(30:28):
understanding of who they are,what can they provide to you,
because, at the end of the day,I think a lot of us performers
forget that they work for us.
Yes, we work together, but whenwe get into a show, we're
paying them.
So it's in your best interestto get along with them.
It's in your best interest toknow what they're about and what
they can bring in terms ofvalue to you as well.
But that's what I would do.
(30:48):
Go in there with either a showreel, whatever you have, whether
that's collecting the best orthe latest.
I would say the latest, not thebest, because you don't want to
hyper-focus on making it yourbest ever.
But, yeah, something vocal.
If it's musical theatre, youwant a vocal, a singing and an
acting.
Boom, put it forward and justhave that ready.
Reach out to agents and I hopethat helps.
(31:11):
So that's what I wouldrecommend if you're looking for
an agent.
I've also got a podcast episodeabout what an agent does for
you in musical theatre.
So if you don't know what amusical theatre agent can do for
you, I'll link in this episodeat the bottom of this when I
repost it about that episode soyou can check out what an agent
can do for you.
Fantastic, all right, let's getinto the final.
(31:33):
How are we up to?
Yes?
Final question we have here.
We are final to last twoquestions and then we're done.
So this question is when itcomes to vocal, the vocal style
of a show.
I feel like I've answered thisalready.
I'll ask it anyway.
When it comes to the vocalstyle of the show, is it best to
bring your own unique styleexample, adding riffs, adding
(31:54):
runs or differentinterpretations of the music,
the show?
Is it best to bring your ownunique style example, adding
riffs, adding runs or differentinterpretations of the music or
is it better to stick to the,say, the original recording of
the show in terms of the styleand what is done before?
I've just answered this kind ofbefore.
Yeah, listen back.
But essentially what I asked,what I answered was when it
comes to vocal style, definitelystay true to the style of the
show, but it's always going tobe so much more important that
(32:16):
you showcase you, your talents.
If you feel like there is aspace in that show that's quite
poppy, that does runs and doesriffs, add them in, go for it,
absolutely.
But if you'll say, going forCats the musical and you're
singing a classical or you'resinging a version and then
you're wanting to bring insomething like riffs or runs,
(32:39):
you know, maybe not asappropriate, but again, it's all
about just showcasing you as aperson and your vibe, your
energy and your personality withthe material that's been given,
and adding that and mixing thatwith showcasing how well you
can share the story of the pieceitself.
It's like a little bit of both.
I would always say use thematerial that's written on paper
(33:02):
as like your base.
I wouldn't go in there and justdo what's been recorded before
or what's been on the paper.
Like you're as an artist, youare an individual that has all
these other capabilities.
So take those notes, take themusic, take the monologues and
stuff off the page and make itcome through the lens of who you
(33:22):
are as an artist.
That's going to just translateso much more than anything else.
Let's get into the last one.
Are casting directors coming inwith?
I can answer that one.
If you want to know whatcasting directors are looking
for, you can listen to the startof this episode.
Okay, final one, an easy one tofinish with.
So what type of clothing shouldyou wear to an audition to stand
(33:45):
out?
Okay, this is interestingbecause I know a lot of
different schools say all wearblack and wear this and wear
that, Personally, I always go inwearing something A that I feel
really comfortable in, that Ifeel like a million dollars in,
or that I feel yes, or that Ifeel is a real, true
(34:07):
representation of the show andthis kind of story and the
energy that I'm wanting to jumpinto, does that make sense?
So I would, because, again, ifyou're not feeling comfortable
and you're not feeling a millionbucks, you're not going to show
that right, you're not going toshow up as your best self if
you're trying to be a carboncopy of someone else because
you're like, oh, that's whateveryone else is wearing, so I
(34:28):
should be wearing that, okay.
But in saying that, of course,going in trackies and feeling
comfort, we don't.
It depends on the show, but youwant to marry the feeling comfy
with more so in yourself, likewhat brings you that sense of
let's do this.
I feel really good in what I'mwearing.
(34:49):
Let's go.
And in terms of standing out, Ialways love adding a little bit
of color, whether it's blues, mycolor, blues and greens.
I would probably wear somethinglike this to even sing.
And just again, what'sshowcasing your personality?
If you're a fiery person,where's the red Wear?
Some red Wear, some that withthe black.
I think blacks are reallybeautiful because it just makes
(35:11):
everything quite neat and it'sreally easy to see everyone when
you're on the other side of thepanel, which I had the
privilege of doing.
But you also want to havelittle pops of color.
If you're just all in black,it's just not going to.
You're going to wash out withthe rest of the people.
Maybe this is something in yourhair, maybe this is a belt or a
shoe or something, but don't gotoo crazy on the accessories.
(35:34):
So there we go.
We answered a super manyquestions One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine,ten, eleven, ten or eleven
questions.
But if you have any otherquestions, feel free to comment
on the live or the live on ourFacebook group or on our live on
Instagram.
And what I'm doing from now onis that every second week I'm
(35:56):
actually going to be coming onlive and we're going to be
answering the questions from thecommunity, and every other week
we're going to have interviewedguests.
That I've been usually doingpublished.
So this is going to be moretapping into the stories and the
experiences of professionalartists in the industries,
understanding how they navigatedthe things that you're
navigating right now in terms ofmindset, in terms of navigating
(36:17):
auditions and the wholeexperience what it's like to
first book a show and how tonavigate all of that fun stuff.
So thank you for joining theDive podcast.
I'm so, so happy that you'rehere.
I hope this kind of questionand Q&A has helped you in some
sort of way.
Please comment in, let me knowif you like this form of podcast
sessions, and I hope you have awonderful rest of your day.
(36:41):
This is a really exciting time,as we're getting into the end of
the year, and I just want tofinish with one little note is
that remember the goals you setfor yourself at the start of the
year.
You know, maybe you haven'tquite got there this year.
What I want you to do is thatdon't just write off December.
Don't go oh, it's Christmas andthen it's all done and we'll
start a new year.
(37:01):
There's still time for you tocomplete your goals and in terms
of that, it's like setting upsome routines.
Reflect on what's gone well,what can you bring into this new
year, but also, what can you doto finish this year super
strong, feeling super fulfilled.
You have 100 control of that.
So I hope you have a wonderfulrest of your day and I look
forward to seeing you all soon.
(37:22):
Bye, bye for now.
So welcome in.
Welcome back to another episodeon the Dive Podcast.
I'm your host, taylor Scanlon,and I'm a musical theatre
performer.
I've been a dance captain andswing in musicals for about
eight years and before that Iwas also in the ensemble with
some shows for two years.
So I've had about ten yearsexploring the world of musical
(00:20):
theatre and today we're going tocome on and share with you like
a connection with you as thecommunity.
I speak to so many of you outthere in the community and we
are now live on Instagram and weare live in our Facebook group
community.
So if you're not also in ourFacebook group community, for
anyone that is on our Instagram,we actually run or I actually
(00:42):
run a community group onFacebook which is free and this
is for musical theatre aspiringmusical theatre performers who
are looking to grow with theirmindset.
Specifically, I run I did run afive-day mindset challenge on
there which has five industryled community workshops on there
on different forms of ordifferent topics on mindset.
(01:05):
So we ran that, I think in Juneor July and all the recordings
are still on our Facebook group.
So if you want to go on there,just if you're on my Instagram
and you want to go check it out,go check it out.
But if you're also in theFacebook group right now which
you're listening in, hello,hello, hello.
So, first and foremost, welcome.
It's awesome to have you in.
If you have any questions alongthe way, I have a list of
questions that I've actually gotfrom the community.
(01:26):
I put a poll out a few days agoasking about what you want to
speak about, and this episode iscompletely for you the
community to ask your questions,to get them answered in the
best way.
I know how I, yes, have had acareer and still having a career
in the theatre, and I alwaysjust love sharing.
I want to share, and my biggestpurpose with this platform is
(01:49):
to really just bring us togetheras a community to help answer
the questions that we're allprobably asking, but maybe too
afraid to ask, or unsure orunclear, and I want to bridge
that gap between you having tooverthink or having to really
not understand things, and foryou to just come in and gain
crystal clear clarity on exactlywhere you want to go, gain
(02:12):
clarity on the exact steps tobest take to go into the
industry and to go into theindustry in a way that's
sustainable.
So let's get into it.
I'm going to start off withsome questions that we got from
the community, which is soawesome.
When I did a poll the other day, one of the highest things that
(02:32):
you guys wanted to learn aboutwas what do casting directors
actually look for?
Why don't we just start there?
But, as always, actually, whatI would love to do.
No matter where you are, ifyou're watching the recording or
you're watching live, let'sjust take a moment, because it's
Monday, it's the start of theweek, maybe you've done a bunch
of things, or maybe you'rehaving a day off.
Wherever you are, if you'relistening in, listen into the
(02:54):
car, wherever you are, let'sjust take a moment, breathing in
and breathing out.
And one more like thatbreathing in and breathing out.
And one more like that,breathing in and breathing out.
All right, let's get into someof the knowledge.
All right, let's do it.
What do you actually, castingdirectors, look for?
(03:15):
And I actually reached out to adear friend of mine, david
Spencer, who's an associateresume director currently for A
Christmas Carol, and I asked hisknowledge, because I have my
own idea of what castingdirectors actually look for, but
I wanted to bring as manypeople and resources in to help
give you an understanding ofwhat casting directors look for.
So, first of all, in my opinion, what casting directors are
(03:39):
looking for is to really connectwith you and understand who you
are as a performer and as aperson, and they're looking to
understand how you can gel withthe rest of the cast and what
your individuality speaksthrough and the diversity in
which you can present yourselfwith the material, so that they
(03:59):
know where to fit you in thecasting process.
So that's like my idea with acasting director.
They either have a veryspecific idea of what the show
and the role that they'reneeding to fulfill in, but
they're also trying to bridgethe gap between casting a full
company, so not just aone-on-one role or an individual
(04:20):
, but also, as at large, whatthe company they're looking for,
if that makes sense.
But I'm going to read to youfrom David what he sent me
earlier today.
So he says I think castdirectors either see someone
when they are specificallylooking to cast someone and have
a very clear idea about a roleand wonder if you'd be the right
(04:41):
fit In a general call.
So if you're going in andyou're going into just a general
open call, maybe it's for theensemble.
They want to know what you'relike as a person, which is
really cool, which you probablyhaven't even maybe you've
thought that before about acasting director.
So they're wanting to know whoyou are as a person.
So what have you done?
(05:01):
What are you interested indoing?
Whether you're easy tocommunicate with.
I know this a recent auditionearlier in the year.
A casting director would beusually the person that's giving
you the entrance to the room.
They want to connect with youfirst.
How are you?
What are you bringing in today?
And then allowing thatconnection to already happen so
they can get an idea of how areyou handling this pressure of
(05:24):
this crazy audition.
Who are you?
Because I feel like a lot ofour true colors shine when we're
exhausted and we're in theaudition process.
Comment if you feel the same.
Essentially, that's what they'relooking to do.
They're looking to see yourrange and how versatile you can
be, and it's always a good ideathis is what David Spencer also
has recommended it's a good ideato have a couple of really
(05:46):
contrasting monologues,especially if you're going in
for maybe a lead or a role toshow.
You show basically the rangethat you can provide.
So in the different styles.
But if that's not somethingthat you can do or you can find,
just pick a monologue and I saythis a lot of the time.
We'll go into a little bit aboutauditions and material and what
to bring.
All in all, the best way andthe best thing about auditions
(06:11):
and what you really need to keepat the top of your mind is like
how comfortable, how genuine,how connected can you feel to a
song and then present that,because auditions, especially
for first rounds, they're justgetting an idea of who are you,
what can you do, what are youabout, and a lot of that is
going to be shown through yourpersonality and the way you're
(06:33):
doing stuff.
It's not necessarily about whatrole or how you're fitting into
the show itself.
It's actually just going right.
Who is this Taylor?
What is his energy like?
How is he going through thisexperience as an auditionee or
auditioner?
And starting there in sayingthat, what I meant in a whole is
(06:53):
that going with material thatyou feel comfortable with, going
with material that you areexcited to actually showcase,
because if you go in withsomething that's maybe brand new
or that you feel not reallyconnected to, it's going to be
really hard, when we're in thathigh stakes situation of an
audition, to then add the layersof feeling passionate about
(07:14):
something, if that makes sense.
You almost sometimes especiallyeven more so for ensemble I've
been told this and I've donethis myself.
If it's got, if you, forexample, just being given an
audition right and you've onlygot a week or maybe a day or an
hour to get to this audition,don't be so hyper-focused on
(07:37):
what style or what song or where.
Just go in with something thatyou know you can present well,
and if they want to see you formore things, they will give it
to you within reason.
But I always just say that,like when in doubt, just go with
what you know, go with whatyou're passionate about, because
that's what they really want tosee.
They want to see who is, whoare you as an individual and
bringing that out.
So I hope that kind of firstanswers the first question of
what casting directors areactually looking for.
(07:59):
So the panel is split upbetween a director you've got
the choreographer there and themusic team too.
So then there, from there, thecasting director sees the
overall thing and who you are asa human and how that's going to
gel well with the community andthe company, rather, and then
you also have the team of thepanel that are actually going to
(08:22):
assist and find outspecifically the vocals and the
choreography and the directionof the panel that are actually
going to assist and find outspecifically the vocals and the
choreography and the directionof the piece itself.
So now let's get into for thenext maybe 20 minutes or so, and
if you do have any otherquestions, please feel free to
comment on Instagram or on live,whether you're watching the
recording or you're watchinglive, because I'll give you the
answer as much as I can.
(08:42):
So the first question's goingto come in.
I'll keep all the namesanonymous just for respect out
of the community, but I justwant to say thank you so much
for everyone that sent throughquestions that you want answered
.
I'm really keen to get into it.
So just know that I'm only justgoing to share from my
experience.
There may be other people thatcome on here that will have
different experiences, so I justthought I'd say that from the
(09:03):
start that any advice that Igive do not take it as gospel.
I'm just going to give you whatI know and the experiences that
I've had over the past 10 yearsof different shows and things
in hope that you can take awayone thing.
So whatever, if it doesn't feeltrue to you, don't even use it,
just throw it away.
But if something does resonate,maybe look into that and start
(09:24):
to explore that further.
So the first question that Igot in was I was from a
beautiful woman in the communityand she asked I'd love to know
if you think there are specificthings us emerging artists can
do to get ourselves up, to setourselves up for success before
booking the show, apart fromkeeping up the classes, singing
(09:47):
lessons and things like that.
So yes, there is definitelysome things that you can do,
especially if you're an emergingartist and you haven't booked a
show yet, that can set you upfor success before booking the
show.
The first thing that you want todo is you actually need to
define what success actuallylooks like for you, because if
you're only tied to successbeing booking a show, you're
never actually going to feelsuccessful until you book a show
(10:09):
.
So then we need to really justlook at okay, what does actually
success feel like?
What does it feel like in mybody?
What does it feel likeenergetically?
Maybe it feels oh, my shouldersare relaxing or I breathe a
little deeper, and that's whereI would basically start.
So find out what successactually means for you and then
start to see how you can bringmore elements of that into your
(10:32):
day to day.
So this could be an example ofokay.
Success maybe feels okay if I'malready in a show and I was
feeling successful.
Maybe point out three thingsthat you would feel if you
already were booked in a show.
How would you feel and so thismay be feelings if you feel
successful because you're in ashow, maybe another feeling
you'd be is fulfilled or excited, or it could be happy, whatever
(10:57):
it is.
So you can just take thosethree feelings and this is a
tool that I start to teach.
I've been teaching a lot ofstudents and it's really
effective is then what you wantto do is just ask yourself okay,
what's one thing I can do todaythat will allow me to feel more
happy, fulfilled and excitedtowards your goal, because then
(11:19):
that way you're going to be ableto set up a routine that is in
line with this future successthat you have on the other side
of something and that will allowyou to not hold on to just
having the outcome presentitself to get those feelings.
You can actually have all thosefeelings right now, and that's
a massive thing.
That I've recently learned aboutgoal setting is that we never
(11:41):
actually really want the goal.
We actually want how it willfeel when we get there.
What I mean by that is when weget there or when it can do with
anything material audition,working, getting a job is that
when you get there you're goingto feel amazing.
You're going to feel all theseamazing things.
But if you're tying your wholesuccess just to that outcome,
(12:02):
just to receiving that thing,you're going to burn yourself
out.
You're going to be questioningyourself all along the way.
You're probably not going toeven enjoy the journey until you
actually get that thing.
And then you hold such pressurearound for example, an audition
or getting into a thing becauseyou're really just adding this
pressure onto one moment, whichis what we don't need.
So you can release the brakesof all of that by just asking
(12:25):
yourself what's three thingsthat I would feel if I was
already successful and how can Iimplement or take those success
feelings and bring them into myday-to-day?
So I hope that makes sense.
She's also asked I'm personallyfocusing on building healthy
habits right now, so that when Ibook a show, my body and mind
is ready.
I love this.
(12:45):
You know, what I love this isbecause this is when we go into
sustainability right, and that'sactually what we want.
We want sustainability.
We don't want I don't knowabout you, but I don't want to
be building and being burnt outand not having any time.
But by working on my disciplineand going and going to then get
(13:06):
into a show, because I tell youwhat, when you get in, you
won't relax Because if, whateveryou build right now, whatever
you're building right now withyour habits, with your mindset,
with your life, you're going totake into the industry when you
are there, because you're justconsistently showing up in a
certain way, so that when youget there, you're not going to
(13:27):
all of a sudden be a differentway.
Maybe you'll do it for one day,but then, if you're starting to
build these habits of I need todo more, I need to be in every
class, I need to rush or I needto oh my gosh, and all of this
energy.
A, you're going to bring thatinto an audition, which probably
won't help you get a job.
And then, b, if you do sohappen to get a job, you're
(13:48):
going to bring this into youreight shows a week, because this
is what I did when I firststarted out.
I had a big case of perfection,perfectionitis, perfectionism
when I was first starting outand I yeah, let's just take a
story, let's just take a littlemoment when I was first starting
out and I got into Cats theMusical, I was straight out of
(14:10):
full-time.
So I came straight out offull-time and in full-time I was
taught 120% every day, everytime, boom, boom.
And so when I went into theindustry, I was taking all of
that, all my habits, all thethings that I learned, into 8
Show Weeks and where I actuallylearned quite a lot of valuable
things in immense, amazing,incredible amount of things
(14:32):
through full-time.
But having this perfectionismthat I put on myself, what
happened is I went into eightshow weeks and I could not
finish it, like I was off everynow and then I ended up getting
injured.
I was out for three weeks andit was just not a fun time and I
was like, wait a second.
I just worked so hard, I put inall of my efforts to make this
(14:53):
happen and now I'm like not ableto enjoy it, because I'm going
so fast and I'm going at a speedthat is not sustainable.
So, yes, it is super importantto build these sustainable
habits that you can do right nowso that when you do book a show
or when you go into an auditionroom, it allows you to, you're
allowed to hold yourself.
And it's not all about thisjust one moment.
(15:15):
It's actually really aboutbecoming the performer that is
sustainable and a performer thatyou can sustain over a long
period of time, because it's myguess that you all want to be
working for longer than 12months or longer than six months
.
You want to come into theindustry and stay there for
quite a long time, I hope.
Feel free to comment to thislive or put an emoji or
(15:38):
something.
If that's what you want.
I'm sure it is, and we can onlybuild that by starting now,
step by step, and, yeah, don'tget too overwhelmed.
Just start and you'll start tosee this ripple effect come
along.
Okay, let me try and get througha few more of these things.
How do you know what othertypes of work is worth pursuing
that isn't a stage musicalrelated, and when is it the
(16:00):
right time to do that and whatare the signs that may be
telling you it's time to trysomething else?
This is a really interestingquestion because a lot of the
time, we're always told andwe're just trained for so long
to do one thing, so sometimesthe thought of doing anything
else can be scary.
Does anyone feel that?
But sometimes we are not booked, sometimes we have gaps.
(16:21):
Right now I'm home, not working, not getting paid, and there's
going to be these gaps happening.
So how do you know what othertypes of work out there are
actually worth your time andworth pursuing, and what are the
signs that are around that thisbeautiful person in the
community and a dear friend ofmine is asking what are the
signs that you can actuallylisten to that are maybe telling
(16:43):
you to try something else ortime to do something else?
Okay, great question when itcomes to worth pursuing.
Whenever I hear the words whatis worth pursuing, it's all back
to energy, like how do you wantto feel because, at the end of
the day, we didn't just comehere to we're not obviously here
for that long, but we didn'tcome here to just slave away and
(17:04):
do all these jobs that don'tfulfill us?
Honestly, I truly believe that,and if you're not feeling good,
even if you are in a show andsomething's not right, that is
just feedback.
If you're feeling good insomething, it's feedback.
If you you're feeling good insomething, it's feedback.
If you're not feeling good insomething, it's feedback.
And what I mean by that is thateverything around you right now
is just feedback.
And if you're not feeling good,usually I put it like this
(17:27):
Right now, think as thoughyou've got like a road maybe
like a yellow brick road infront of you oh my gosh, a road,
whatever road, it is for you,and it's coming forward.
And then, if you go off theroad, usually this is when you
don't feel good.
So anytime we steer away fromour GPS and I always think
whatever brings you the most joyis in alignment with what
(17:48):
you're meant to be doing.
Does that make sense?
So anything that actually feelsreally good, it's supporting
you, you feel energetic, it'syou, you feel energetic, it's
inspiring, you feel motivated,you want to get up early and go
and do it that's in fullalignment with your vision and
your goal and your destiny.
If you believe in that, which Idefinitely do.
(18:10):
And anytime we don't feel good,it usually means that we're
just off the tracks.
We're over here somewhere.
We started this way, but nowwe're just off the tracks.
We're over here somewhere.
We started this way, but nowwe've gone off, and what this is
, it's essentially just feedbackfrom your higher self being
like okay, wait, this is whereyou're meant to be going forward
, and but we're over here.
So I'm going to send you somenot so good feedback in terms of
(18:32):
negative experiences and stuff,so that you can realize that's
not meant for you.
I hope that makes sense.
So that's what I would do is,if you are in a position right
now where you're not enjoyingand you're not feeling in true
alignment with what your purposeis and what you're meant to be
doing, go for the good feelingsand go.
Just allow yourself to trustyour gut a little bit more.
(18:53):
I feel like, as performers, wespend so much time in training
and we spend so much time havingother people tell us what to do
, having other people validatewhat we are doing is good or
correct or good enough, and sowhen you're actually becoming a
professional artist, we don'thave those people really around
(19:14):
us 24-7.
So then that means that we needto become those authors of our
own experiences and reallybecome master reflectors of our
own life so that we can actuallymove forward in a way that
supports us.
And the best way to do that isjust following your intuition
and following what brings youthe most joy and the most energy
.
Because, again, we only camehere for a short time and I
(19:34):
don't know about you, but I wantto have a good time, I want to
experience all the good thingsand just know that, yeah it just
stay on the track, stay forwardand just know that, whatever
decision that you do make, don'tever feel like you're lost time
, because I truly believe youcan learn something in every
experience.
So maybe you decide something.
If it doesn't feel so good,maybe there's a, there's an
(19:54):
opportunity for you to leave itand go forward into what you
need to do.
But if you have to stay therefor a little bit, maybe just
explore that and be like whatcan I learn from this part?
Or how can I get the most valueout of this experience before I
can move forward into thedirection that I need to go?
So I hope that makes sense forthe question there.
Next question comes from anotherwonderful being in the
(20:15):
community, and this is askedabout a bit more when you're in
a musical.
And the question is how do youovercome homesickness when
you're traveling with a musicalthat you're in, and what do you
do to help with post-show bluesand when you have a gap after
the show ends?
So I'll answer the first onehow do you overcome homesickness
(20:36):
when you're traveling in amusical?
This is like a big thing andeveryone experiences it
differently, especially whenyou're first starting out.
You're, you haven't maybe spentquite a long time away from
home, so it's just finding whatbrings you that sense of home
without actually being there.
So this could be by stayingconnected to your family, to
your loved ones is moreregularly, because you're not
(20:57):
physically with them.
You're probably going to needto up their communication if
that's something that brings youa bit more feeling of home.
And then, if you are traveling,just take something that
reminds you of home.
There was actually a time when Iwas performing in South Korea
and I was there for, I think, 11months and I didn't come home
once.
That when I'm home, I actuallynever, never, ever listen to the
(21:20):
radio or the news ever.
But when I was in Korea and Ithink it was like near the end
it was a long time since I'dheard an Australian accent or
anything outside the cast and Ijust tuned into a radio station
that was in Melbourne just to tohear like the news, to hear the
ads, to hear just somefamiliarity.
Or even I put on Australiannature to hear as I was in, as
(21:44):
if I was walking and doing anature walk at home.
So there's all these differentthings that you can do that can
allow you to feel that comfortfrom when you are home.
But just if you're going into abig show and you are worried
about feeling homesick, just dothose things, take the things
with you that will make you feelas though you are home and stay
(22:04):
connected to your family andfriends and also connected with
your cast, because a lot of thepeople there are going to be
going through the same thing asyou lean on them and that will
help you as well.
So I hope that answered thatquestion.
And other question that you hadwas what do you do to help with
post-show blues and when youhave a gap after a show ends?
Great question, because this iswhere I am right now.
(22:25):
So right now I am in a gapbetween a show I'm going to do
sunset boulevard, again infebruary over in singapore,
which is nice.
So right now I have a break upuntil then.
So right now it's the 2nd ofDecember, is the time of filming
this, and so I have quite a biggap.
And what I do post-show bluesagain it depends on the show
(22:48):
whether you how long you've beenon it.
Usually, if you've been on ashow for a very long time, you
build a lot of emotionalattachment and experiences to
that.
One experience I remember whenI was overseas again doing Cats.
We had to finish really earlybecause we couldn't something
about COVID or we couldn't.
Something happened where weliterally had to say goodbye
(23:09):
that day and we wouldn't becoming back the next day.
So that was a big shock to thesystem.
So it got to the end of Act 1and I was an absolute mess.
I probably cry more than that,more than a funeral, than any
other moment.
Anyway, that was just a momentin itself, but that was sprung
on me.
So I guess that was really hardwith other people.
They're going through the samething, so they're going to
(23:30):
understand.
And although that you've justhad this amazing experience, a
really good tool to use is tojournal about it, speak about
the good times, speak about whatyou loved, and also definitely
get a journal and write out whatyou learned from this
experience.
What are you going to take fromthat experience into your next
(23:54):
chapter?
So that's really helpful.
I really like doing that at theend of every show that I do so.
At the end of every show I sitdown maybe it's the next week
grab a coffee or whatever andjust write out what was that
experience like, what did Ienjoy, what did I not enjoy,
what did I take from that andhow can I take the best things
into this next opportunity, thenext audition, the next show
(24:17):
that I get into.
Next question we have do youhave any practices or healthy
habits to keep a healthyrelationship with your dancing
or your skills?
This is fantastic.
So, yes, this is reallyimportant, and I believe this
beautiful person in thecommunity has asked this because
we put so much energy and somuch time into our skills that
(24:40):
sometimes we build unhealthyhabits around them or we don't
appreciate them as much.
We put so much energy into thatthat we go, oh, not that again
right With our question do youhave any practices to sustain
healthy habits or a healthyrelationship with your skills.
There's not necessarily aspecific practice.
I would just always, beforedoing anything, gain crystal
(25:02):
clear clarity on why you weredoing it, and that would just
allow you to all of a suddenrelease this pressure of doing
it itself, because sometimeswhen we're in training and we're
training a lot and we're doinga lot of the things we actually
forget why we're doing it.
We're just like told to rock upat this time, doing it this day
, doing all these things, so wecan actually forget and lose
(25:24):
sight of why we are doing it inthe first place.
So that's what I would do.
I know it's not a specificpractice, but it definitely
would help you ask yourself whyam I doing this today?
And actually ask yourself why afew times.
You know the first why thatcomes up will be, for example,
if you want to build a healthierrelationship with your dancing.
Why do you want to?
(25:45):
Because I want to feel better.
Don't go just there.
Dive into a little bit deeperand keep asking yourself why do
you want to build a healthierrelationship with dance?
And maybe you can even tap intothis and say if I had a healthy
relationship with dance or yourskills, what would that feel
like?
That's a really good questionto ask.
What would it feel like if youhad a healthy routine or a
(26:06):
healthy habit related to yourskills?
What would that feel like?
Because if you can actually askthose questions, then you can
reverse, engineer yourself andsay, okay, how can I feel more
of those feelings with thedancing that I'm doing?
How can I feel more relaxed orat ease or passionate again with
this next class that I go to?
So doing that is going toreally actually help you
(26:28):
understand the practices and thesteps that you can uniquely go
forward and do.
So I hope that helps.
Okay, let's get into a few moreof the last questions.
I didn't want to make it toosuper long, but I know there was
a lot of questions that kind ofcame through.
Let's get into it.
Another question we have how doyou balance your own choices
and bringing your own flair to acharacter, so in an audition,
(26:51):
and what is expected, or what isexpected and what's done before
?
So this question is askingabout how do you balance
bringing in material and givingit your own style or your own
flair, as opposed to showing upwhat's expected or what's been
done before.
I actually had this questionasked twice.
So this is really interesting.
Again, I spoke a little bitabout auditions earlier in this
(27:13):
episode, but, okay, all I wantyou to do is that the panel are
looking for something different.
They're looking for somethingelse within you.
So if you're going in and doinga carbon copy of what's already
been done, they've heard that amillion times.
So I think going in with yourown style is actually more
beneficial than going in anddoing a repeated, regurgitated
(27:35):
version of something else.
In saying that, when it comes tostyle, just keep a note of that
.
If it's a specific style, don'tgo in and all of a sudden do.
If it's a classical style,don't just go and do country
because you love country, sostill do the style of the show.
But just add just ask yourselfas you, as an individual
individual, how would you dothis as bring your personality,
(27:57):
how would my?
For example, if I was going tosing a show from hairspray, how
would I, taylor scanlon as aperson, sing that song?
What can I connect to in thatsong where I can be, share my
own self?
I find that sometimes I cancome across obviously cheerful,
maybe a little bit cheeky, alittle bit fun.
(28:19):
So I try to bring thoseelements, because that's where
I'm who I naturally am.
So if I can bring thoseelements into the room, I'm able
to connect with the panel on amuch deeper level, because I'm
not actually trying to be anyoneelse but myself.
There you go, do that, give ita try and see how you go.
I think there is somecomfortability we have when we
(28:39):
think, oh, if I just go in anddo what's on the recording or
what's exactly written down,I'll be safe.
That's a lot of the time whathappens.
But whereas there is time foryou to do that, I think you're
always gonna be better off byshowing your own individuality
and giving your own personalitytwist to the actual material
(29:01):
itself.
And I think that goes foranything the dance that you're
about to do, the song thatyou're about to do and even the
monologue you're about to do.
When it comes to monologues,though, I would say that it's
much more yes, still againshowing your own personality,
but really staying true to whatthe story is trying to convey.
They want to know how can youbring their story to life.
So staying connected to thatSound good, amazing.
(29:23):
Let's do two more questions.
Let's do two more questions andthen other ones I'll save for
another week.
Question here is whennavigating, when we navigate the
industry and agents, how orwhat's the best way to go
forward in finding an agent foryou who, maybe, if you don't
have an agent yet, you haven'thad a show under your belt and
(29:44):
you're looking for the best wayto find an agent?
This is a really good question.
So if you're someone that isnavigating the industry and
you're looking for an agent, thebest thing that I would
recommend personally again, thisis my own opinion is that I
would think of it as though, ifyou're looking for an agent,
you're looking for a businesspartner.
You're looking to presentyourself, to show them that you
are worth presenting to theworld and to be putting put
(30:07):
forward under their agency.
So you want to collect aportfolio, you want to have your
headshots done.
You wouldn't mean business.
I would mean.
That's what I would want to do.
I would want to show up, Iwould want to connect and see
what agents are matching myenergy and matching my vision,
asking for interviews with thesedifferent agents to get an
(30:28):
understanding of who they are,what can they provide to you,
because, at the end of the day,I think a lot of us performers
forget that they work for us.
Yes, we work together, but whenwe get into a show, we're
paying them.
So it's in your best interestto get along with them.
It's in your best interest toknow what they're about and what
they can bring in terms ofvalue to you as well.
But that's what I would do.
(30:48):
Go in there with either a showreel, whatever you have, whether
that's collecting the best orthe latest.
I would say the latest, not thebest, because you don't want to
hyper-focus on making it yourbest ever.
But, yeah, something vocal.
If it's musical theatre, youwant a vocal, a singing and an
acting.
Boom, put it forward and justhave that ready.
Reach out to agents and I hopethat helps.
(31:11):
So that's what I wouldrecommend if you're looking for
an agent.
I've also got a podcast episodeabout what an agent does for
you in musical theatre.
So if you don't know what amusical theatre agent can do for
you, I'll link in this episodeat the bottom of this when I
repost it about that episode soyou can check out what an agent
can do for you.
Fantastic, all right, let's getinto the final.
(31:33):
How are we up to?
Yes?
Final question we have here.
We are final to last twoquestions and then we're done.
So this question is when itcomes to vocal, the vocal style
of a show.
I feel like I've answered thisalready.
I'll ask it anyway.
When it comes to the vocalstyle of the show, is it best to
bring your own unique styleexample, adding riffs, adding
(31:54):
runs or differentinterpretations of the music,
the show?
Is it best to bring your ownunique style example, adding
riffs, adding runs or differentinterpretations of the music or
is it better to stick to the,say, the original recording of
the show in terms of the styleand what is done before?
I've just answered this kind ofbefore.
Yeah, listen back.
But essentially what I asked,what I answered was when it
comes to vocal style, definitelystay true to the style of the
show, but it's always going tobe so much more important that
(32:16):
you showcase you, your talents.
If you feel like there is aspace in that show that's quite
poppy, that does runs and doesriffs, add them in, go for it,
absolutely.
But if you'll say, going forCats the musical and you're
singing a classical or you'resinging a version and then
you're wanting to bring insomething like riffs or runs,
(32:39):
you know, maybe not asappropriate, but again, it's all
about just showcasing you as aperson and your vibe, your
energy and your personality withthe material that's been given,
and adding that and mixing thatwith showcasing how well you
can share the story of the pieceitself.
It's like a little bit of both.
I would always say use thematerial that's written on paper
(33:02):
as like your base.
I wouldn't go in there and justdo what's been recorded before
or what's been on the paper.
Like you're as an artist, youare an individual that has all
these other capabilities.
So take those notes, take themusic, take the monologues and
stuff off the page and make itcome through the lens of who you
(33:22):
are as an artist.
That's going to just translateso much more than anything else.
Let's get into the last one.
Are casting directors coming inwith?
I can answer that one.
If you want to know whatcasting directors are looking
for, you can listen to the startof this episode.
Okay, final one, an easy one tofinish with.
So what type of clothing shouldyou wear to an audition to stand
(33:45):
out?
Okay, this is interestingbecause I know a lot of
different schools say all wearblack and wear this and wear
that, Personally, I always go inwearing something A that I feel
really comfortable in, that Ifeel like a million dollars in,
or that I feel yes, or that Ifeel is a real, true
(34:07):
representation of the show andthis kind of story and the
energy that I'm wanting to jumpinto, does that make sense?
So I would, because, again, ifyou're not feeling comfortable
and you're not feeling a millionbucks, you're not going to show
that right, you're not going toshow up as your best self if
you're trying to be a carboncopy of someone else because
you're like, oh, that's whateveryone else is wearing, so I
(34:28):
should be wearing that, okay.
But in saying that, of course,going in trackies and feeling
comfort, we don't.
It depends on the show, but youwant to marry the feeling comfy
with more so in yourself, likewhat brings you that sense of
let's do this.
I feel really good in what I'mwearing.
(34:49):
Let's go.
And in terms of standing out, Ialways love adding a little bit
of color, whether it's blues, mycolor, blues and greens.
I would probably wear somethinglike this to even sing.
And just again, what'sshowcasing your personality?
If you're a fiery person,where's the red Wear?
Some red Wear, some that withthe black.
I think blacks are reallybeautiful because it just makes
(35:11):
everything quite neat and it'sreally easy to see everyone when
you're on the other side of thepanel, which I had the
privilege of doing.
But you also want to havelittle pops of color.
If you're just all in black,it's just not going to.
You're going to wash out withthe rest of the people.
Maybe this is something in yourhair, maybe this is a belt or a
shoe or something, but don't gotoo crazy on the accessories.
(35:34):
So there we go.
We answered a super manyquestions One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine,ten, eleven, ten or eleven
questions.
But if you have any otherquestions, feel free to comment
on the live or the live on ourFacebook group or on our live on
Instagram.
And what I'm doing from now onis that every second week I'm
(35:56):
actually going to be coming onlive and we're going to be
answering the questions from thecommunity, and every other week
we're going to have interviewedguests.
That I've been usually doingpublished.
So this is going to be moretapping into the stories and the
experiences of professionalartists in the industries,
understanding how they navigatedthe things that you're
navigating right now in terms ofmindset, in terms of navigating
(36:17):
auditions and the wholeexperience what it's like to
first book a show and how tonavigate all of that fun stuff.
So thank you for joining theDive podcast.
I'm so, so happy that you'rehere.
I hope this kind of questionand Q&A has helped you in some
sort of way.
Please comment in, let me knowif you like this form of podcast
sessions, and I hope you have awonderful rest of your day.
(36:41):
This is a really exciting time,as we're getting into the end of
the year, and I just want tofinish with one little note is
that remember the goals you setfor yourself at the start of the
year.
You know, maybe you haven'tquite got there this year.
What I want you to do is thatdon't just write off December.
Don't go oh, it's Christmas andthen it's all done and we'll
start a new year.
(37:01):
There's still time for you tocomplete your goals and in terms
of that, it's like setting upsome routines.
Reflect on what's gone well,what can you bring into this new
year, but also, what can you doto finish this year super
strong, feeling super fulfilled.
You have 100 control of that.
So I hope you have a wonderfulrest of your day and I look
forward to seeing you all soon.
(37:22):
Bye, bye for now.
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