Things I Wish I Had Been Told in Theatre School

Callam Rodya in the Encore Theatre Company’s production of “Down Dangerous Passes Road”.

Theatre school was great. It is great. But it can omit some of the more fundamental and important career lessons. School is, after all, a bubble. It’s not a natural professional environment.

So, with what little wisdom I have regarding a career as an actor, here’s a list of some things I wish somebody had told me in theatre school. Some of these lessons, I had to learn the hard way. Others simply would have saved me a bit of time.

1. “Stealing the show” is not a compliment. The ensemble is more important than your “moments”.
2. You’d be surprised how few people are willing to pay for theatre tickets when they aren’t your friends and family and have no personal connection to you whatsoever.
3. No, you can’t actually play forty and fifty-year-olds in your twenties. At least, no one will…