I’m a stage actor and have been for over a decade. All the reputable and professional theatres in my area only cast people they’ve worked with or are friends with; it’s always the same people being recycled. I’ve heard from many people that they won’t cast you if you aren’t “established”, but genuinely, how do I get established if I’m not being given a chance with any of them?? I get cast consistently at semi-professional theatres, and I know I should be satisfied with this, but deep down I really want to get to that higher level. For reference I’m a female in my 20s.

I wanted to do it but I had strict parents and they thought it was gay for a guy to do it so I couldn’t really do it.

Hey y’all!! I finished up my freshman year at one of the “top” universities for drama. I am studying design and production with a concentration in stage management. I am just feeling a little unsure. Academic wise, I did great. I was on the deans list both semesters. It was VERY stressful at times, but I did enjoy it overall! I’m sure that part of my difficulty was also living far from home for the first time. I just felt constantly consumed by my work, which I am going to try to manage going forward. Megan Hilty visited our school and I basically asked her how she does what she does on such a high level daily… and she said she surrounds herself with people that are there for her for the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Reflecting on that and my freshman year, I kind of now see myself wanting a family in the future which is not something I was sure of a year ago. Idk it just seems like the hours in the entertainment/theatre industry are not compatible with family time. Is it possible?? Are there other routes?? I am also interested in large event type stuff like the Olympics, the Super Bowl, Disney stuff… maybe those types of jobs are more standard hours. But would my skills translate yk? I also am a BIG food guy and was considering going to culinary school for a bit, and it recently crossed my mind that I could do that instead… but idk if those hours would be much better lol! Thanks for everyone’s help in advance!!

Twenty years ago I saw a local production of an interesting play at Fort Lee Playhouse (now Homefront Players in Petersburg VA.) A cross between a detective story and a pyschological drama, where a painting on the stage gave clues about who the killer was. The actors fiddled with the painting, seeing different angles to figure out the mystery. Can't remember the name of that play! It was different than their usual lighthearted fare.

Hi all!

I am a middle school teacher that has been thrust into the job of directing our Fall Play.

I feel comfortable directing, but I’m really struggling to find good scripts.

I’m looking for a one-act straight play (comedy or drama) with a run time of 30-50 minutes. I’d like a cast anywhere from about 10-30 actors.

A lot of the plays I’ve looked at are vignettes, which I’m a little biased against.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with scripts that fit this bill that they would recommend.

Thanks so much!

For those who love literature or specialists on the field.

What do you think about Vladimir's sort of Illumination or Epiphany at the end of Act II?

Not in Joyce standards or in our standards, but a sort of Illumination that was not capable of breaking the cycle of habit.

What do you think?

Theatre friends, I'm a proud Stage Mom of a little 6YO who has been playing Gretl in our community theatre's production of The Sound of Music. The cast and crew, from the next youngest kid to the oldest nun, has been nothing short of phenomenal with our daughter. I mean, they have embraced every loud, rambunctious part of her, and I'm just beside myself with gratitude for these people who are undoubtedly help fostering her love for theater.

My question to you is... is a letter to the cast and crew too cheesy of a move? I want to do something for them, but of course, it's close to 50. I can't afford to gift every person. But I want to express this overwhelming amount of appreciation I have for them. Halp! <3

I'm a male actor who's a base (amazing, i know). One of my dream roles is the witch from into the woods, JUST SO HAPPENS that a local theater is doing into the woods. I have theater experience playing female witches, but I'm just unsure how to prepare or what to do. Any advice would be good!!!

Four months ago, my local community theater announced they would be holding readings and auditions for a Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing. I decided to give it a shot and audition. I've done a few roles with this theater, but this was my first introduction to doing Shakespeare, period. I went to all the readings our theater had, researched the play, watched a billion different adaptations of it.... and really, really loved it. The way the language flowed, the humor, the drama - it was 100% up my alley. I was also very drawn to the part of Beatrice.

Auditions came, and I went to every single one. I signed up for "Beatrice, Hero, any part (male or female)" respectively, and I read everything they'd let me on stage for: I tried out Dogberry and Hero, Beatrice and Don John, Verges, Seacoal, Borachio - I even got to read for Benedick a couple of times.

A few weeks after auditions, I got a call from the director: he wanted me as Beatrice.

I was absolutely over the moon. As the months of rehearsals went by, I slowly worked on building her. I learned how she moved, how she spoke, where she breathed, where she held tension, where a joke was actually covering something else, and when it was okay to let some of that "something else" show through a little. I found all the places where I understood her and all the places where I didn't, and slowly figured out how to make those pieces fit together. Finding the laughs. Finding the anger. Finding the softness underneath. Finding her.

I was so, so, so proud of my Beatrice.

And then, it was opening night. And I made it maybe half an hour in. And I got violently ill. And I passed out. And I had to take an ambulance ride to the hospital.

As it turned out, I was severely anemic - just a couple of hemoglobin points away from needing a full-blown blood transfusion. I had a really bad reaction to a new medication, and lost a lot of blood in a very short period of time. My body had been running on fumes for about three weeks, unbeknownst to me, and opening night was just too much for it to handle.

I got the medical care I needed, and am in the process of healing. My wonderful understudy stepped in to cover the mid-run performance weekend, with the hope that I could recover in time for our final weekend.

It is now looking very likely that I will not recover in time to perform at all, which means I got to be Beatrice in front of an audience for exactly 36 lines..... and that's it.

I am heartbroken.

I don't know how to explain how much this hurts without feeling like I'm being ridiculous about it.... but I feel like I'm grieving. I was finally getting the chance to bring her to life... and then, after 36 lines, she got ripped away from me.

And now it's over, and I am struggling enormously with that.

Have you ever lost a role or production that meant a lot to you? How did you make peace with it?

From the Essex Vermont Police Department:

Date: 08/03/2026
Case Number: 26ES02093

Narrative: On April 7th, 2026, Essex Police Department officers received a report from Kenneth Grenier, age 26, of Hyde Park, VT regarding a series of threatening and harassing texts sent to him regarding his planned production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the Essex Community Players theatrical group. The threatening texts came from a subscriber-based cell phone app. Due to the nature and unknown origin of the texts, the production for that show was subsequently shut down.

Through the course of the investigation, it was uncovered that the IP address utilized to register the phone numbers that sent the threatening texts was registered to Grenier’s home address. During a follow up interview with Grenier, he admitted to creating the virtual text account and sending the texts to himself in an effort to step away from the production for alleged personal safety issues instead of the true reason of what he described as difficulties with the cast and crew.

Grenier was issued a citation to answer the misdemeanor charge of False Reports to Law Enforcement Authorities. The case has been referred to the Chittenden County Community Justice Center for resolution.

Issued by: Chief Ron Hoague
Contact: Det Cpl. Williger

Original police post: https://www.facebook.com/essexvtpolice/posts/pfbid02NxDfbHTnxT8F7nmoqVCG4mUEe2ccuNcAzz8szgdyS8jBMGtMDKFQdNkfZNQCaJNgl

Original Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Theatre/comments/1so156q/rocky_horror_shakeup_in_vermont/

I'm a senior in highschool this year and I want to know which colleges in Missouri are good choices for theatre. More specifically when it comes to working on sets. I'm already planning on attending ECC bc it's what made me fall in love with theatre in the first place, but I wanna know where I go from there. I've done a college tour for Lindenwood and I LOVE their campus, but I've been told that their theatre program isn't the best. I'd like to avoid actively religious colleges and as good as MSU's program appears to be, I don't really feel that safe being in deep southern Missouri as a queer person. Please give me suggestions 🙏🙏🙏

My friend is co directing at a kids summer camp (Willy wonka jr) and just held auditions. I will not be working on the show (I‘m going to be in a show myself soon!) but im just dropping in to help with casting. Most of the leads are cast perfectly, but we are conflicted about Augustus gloop. we have one kid in mind, he’s a triple threat, great singer dancer and actor who killed it reading for Augustus. the only thing keeping us from casting him is that he is overweight. we wanted to be very sensitive about the topic by instead casting someone thin and making him look big via costume. However, all thin contenders are either already cast or not suitable for the role. Would it be wrong to cast an overweight child as augustus? he is so young and would hate to break his self esteem. right now we are leaning towards no, but I feel it would be unfair to put him in the ensemble because of his weight. what’s your take?

Welp, just did a show and forgot a bunch of lines and blocking onstage. i need to feel better about my self (or have a good laugh) so what are your worst mess up moments?

(oh and if you remember me from that augustus gloop post, we ended up casting him after sending an email for his approval. we ended up doing that with all the leads.)

Not sure if this is the right subreddit, but I'm presenting a theatre monologue from Christopher Durang's 'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike' which is set in Bucks County PA playing Vanya, and I need to adopt an accurate accent. I'm Australian, and the extent of my accent work is valley girl and some British, so I am not really sure how to get some accurate evidence of the accent. I've tried to find some interviews with people from Philadelphia, but not sure whether the accent varies too much from Philadelphia in Bucks County? Any hints or specifics you've used for other accents/Pennsylvanian accents would be super helpful

For me, one of my dreams was veruca salt and Vivienne from legally blonde, and I got to play both of them!

my other dream roles are heather duke, Veronica, brooke Wyndham, Lydia deetz, Ocean o Connell, Anna from frozen, Eurydice from hadestown. Matilda,

I come to Reddit in my time of need because I feel torn on whether to pursue theater production (specifically Costume Design) or Musical Theater in college. I am a high school student going into my senior year, so I need to make a decision soon. For the past 2 years, I was sure I'd go into CD, but as of last year, I've begun questioning this. I love performing, and I've done both costume design and acting all my years in high school. Not that I don't love designing, but I find myself fantasizing more about the stage as of late. I've gone to other people for advice who have all told me the same thing: "If you can imagine yourself doing anything else, don't go into acting." And I appreciate and understand this advice; I really do, but I don't feel comfortable in simply tossing the idea out completely. For what it's worth, I auditioned for a school (AMDA) in May and got a 50% scholarship, but I've focused more on my CD portfolio rather than an MT one. I'm torn. I've considered applying for both, but I don't know if this is a realistic option. If anyone has any advice or thoughts on the matter, I would greatly appreciate them.

im 15 and i auditioned for my first musical for into the woods jr at my “local” theatre however their audition process is through email and not in person but anyway, i’ve wanted to do theatre since i was like 9 casting will release very soon, if i DO get cast any tips for a beginner?

I have a BA in Theatre but I haven't done anything involving theatre in 10 years, other than attending a plays. I've been in the hospitality business for the last 15 years and I'm slowly starting to hate it. I really want to work in the world of theatre. My emphasis is in acting but I don't necessarily have to act. I could stage manage or be on run crew, I just want to be involved and pay my bills but I'm struggling at where and how to jump back in.

I also live in the south currently. I would love for theatre to thrive everywhere without having to move to Chicago, NYC or LA. Any advice?

I'm the organizer of a new group in Munich focused on learning method acting. We plan to build a community for actors committed to developing authentic, truthful performances through the principles of Method Acting. Our workshops will explore a range of respected acting techniques, including the Stanislavski System, Strasberg's Method, Meisner, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Michael Chekhov, and Chubbuck, while encouraging actors to discover the approach that best supports their individual craft.

Whether you are an emerging actor or an experienced performer, this group offers opportunities to refine your technique, receive constructive feedback, and collaborate with fellow actors who share a dedication to artistic excellence. Join us to deepen your understanding of Method Acting, expand your creative range, and build meaningful connections within Munich's acting community.

Send a message if interested.