As a young, aspiring artist giving it my best shot in New York City, I live in a constant state of preparation. I keep my game face on and my voice warmed up. I work hard at my small "survival" jobs, and keep my eyes peeled for new opportunities. All of this, so that in my daily attempt to scale the great wall that my art school professors call "the door to the industry," I might have a slight advantage over the climber next to me.
Thus a precious and rare moment occurs for the weary climber when something presents itself as a "leg up" on the wall -- a little boost that restores your faith and puts you just ahead of the rest. Finding Back Stage was that leg up for me.
In early April this year, having spent a school year (and a lifetime) dreaming about playing live acoustic shows in venues across the five boroughs of the city, I had just met a busker in the subway named Elijah Bridges, who with his big laugh and his blues harp soon became my close friend and bandmate. We called our duo the Thief and the Cobbler, after an old childhood movie we both knew, and over the course of many afternoons in April we turned the Bedford Avenue "L" subway station into a roaring dance hall. But we had no "ins"—no CD demo, or equipment, no friends who owned bars… and close to no money.
It was also in April that I first discovered Back Stage. I had just subscribed to BackStage.com when in an online casting search, I discovered a listing for a talent showcase that was to be held at The Duplex NYC, the West Village cabaret venue.
Opera artists now have a new online resource at their disposal.
OPERA America announced the launch of the Career Guide for Opera, a database that can be found on their website. This new tool provides career guidance and information for emerging artists, administrators, and technical/production staff in the opera field.
“The Career Guide for Opera provides information that is essential for emerging opera professionals, but has never before been available from a single authoritative and accessible source,” said President and CEO of Opera America Marc A. Scorca in a press release.
Continue reading "OPERA America Offers Internet Career Resource " »
"Have you ever gotten in front of people and sang? It’s the closest you'll get to getting up in front of people and taking your clothes off and standing there naked." This daunting nugget of advice (or extreme caution) comes courtesy of Matthew Modine, the actor/writer/director/self-deprecating conservationist -- and a recent Back Stage client.
Before the New Year, Back Stage published a casting notice for The Rocking Horsemen, a new feature film about four high-school boys starting a rock band in the early 1960s. The film's director is none other than Mr. Modine, an actor whose distinguished and varied filmography includes such cult favorites as Vision Quest and Married to the Mob, undisputed modern classics like Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket and Robert Altman's Short Cuts, and more recent performances as businessmen of questionable integrity on Showtime's Weeds and HBO's upcoming feature about the financial meltdown, Too Big To Fail.
Modine told us more about The Rocking Horsemen and his grassroots casting process, and he even invited Blog Stage to come check out his open call auditions in New York City. Read on for more about Modine's film and see exclusive video from the auditions, including thoughts from some Back Stage readers who came out for the call.
Continue reading "Exclusive: Making the Band... with Matthew Modine" »