February 4, 1992. That was the day I moved to New York. Like so many before me I moved to the big city to fulfill my dream of starring on Broadway. During my senior year of high school I auditioned and was accepted into the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. My journey was about to begin. Little did I know that that journey would take me on a rollercoaster ride that has made me into the person that I am today.
Since I was seven years old all I ever wanted to do was to live in New York and be in a Broadway show. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life, and I wasn’t about to let anything or anyone convince me otherwise. Luckily I have always had the love and support of my family and friends since day one, and do to this day. Without them I know I would not be here today telling you my story.
After an intense two year program I graduated and began the next step, which is getting out there and auditioning for anything and everything. Now of course I was smart enough to know that nobody was going to offer me the lead role in the next Andrew Lloyd Webber musical or hire me to be the latest beefcake on All My Children. That’s not me and quite frankly it probably never will be. I did however have one problem. My voice. It didn’t fit my look. There I was singing Italian Arias, and “If I Were A Rich Man” from Fiddler. The problem was I was eighteen and looked it. What should I do?
Well like most actors I decided to do something else. Before I had moved here I was given the opportunity to direct a show at my local community theatre. As it turns out I liked it. A lot in fact. Plus this way I could still stay involved in the theatre until my look caught up with my voice. My friends who had come to know me strictly as a performer used to ask me if I missed acting. I would tell them, “At first I did. But if you think about it, it is my vision up there. So in a way I feel like I am up there on stage too.”
So here I am fifteen years later. Still directing and producing my shows. Last year I had the chance to produce my own work, Avarice. Unlike my other shows I have hired someone else to do the directing. I am however still wearing many hats. I am the book writer, lyricist, and composer. Plus the most exciting thing is I am getting the chance to return to the stage as a performer. So how did that happen you may ask? Did my looks finally catch up with my voice as I had always hoped and prayed that it would? Well not exactly. You see that reason that I am making a return to the stage is because I am playing myself. And I thought who could play me better than me right? I guess we will soon find out.
Throughout this incredible journey there has always been one constant. And that is my day job. Without that none of this would have been possible. For the past 4 years I have been lucky to have had the chance to work for Applause. Not only has it allowed me to pursue my dream at night but it gives me the chance to talk about the thing I love most, theatre. In my past jobs I had worked in a box office where I was pretty much limited to selling one show at a time. That is not the case with Applause.
Everyday I get the chance to talk about Broadway, Off-Broadway, Opera, Ballet and shows nation wide and abroad. Where else can you do that? I have been working in this line of work for almost ten years now and nothing gives me more pleasure than sharing my love of theatre and entertainment to new and returning clients every day. This is what we do. When people ask me what I do I don’t just say, “I’m a ticket broker” or “I sell tickets.” I really feel like we provide a great service. And I’m not afraid to say that we do it better than anybody else. So give us a call and let us show you what we can do for you. 212-307-7050 or 1-800-451-9930 or visit us at http://www.blogger.com/www.applause-tickets.com
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