On this Going for Broadway episode, Eryn has one of her fellow actors join her, Evan Harris. Evan has been acting locally since 1995 and has worked with The Greenville Little Theatre, Centre Stage, The South Carolina Children’s Theatre, The Warehouse Theatre and the Upstate Shakespeare Festival. He has studied acting with The Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC and is a member of the Laughing Stock Improv Group.
Evan and Eryn discuss his comedic nature and how it is what sticks with him always. He mentions that one should know what their type is and what would work for you to audition for, as well as taking a shot at what may not be your strongest niche to help you grow and expand.
Alongside balancing out his work life and doing community theatre, Evan has his own podcast and works as a writer and an actor on multiple web or YouTube series.
Evan’s big word of advice to aspiring actors is to always continue to learn, get new material, and work to get better every day. He emphasizes that people should always be easy to work with in order to keep on working.
On this episode of Going for Broadway, Eryn talks with Darius Wright about his journey towards going on tour with Matilda currently.
Growing up, Darius never really knew that working in musical theatre was an actually thing. But as he goes through college with the help of some colleagues, he was able to figure out his dream. Darius talks about his training at Oklahoma City University and performing at regional theatres.
Eryn and Darius talk a lot about how he was able to be on the tour of Matilda and what it is like touring nationally with a show. He goes through the audition and call back processes he went through and how he was able to land the role in the ensemble as well as cover for Michael Wormwood and the Escape Artist.
The show concludes talking about the ways Darius continues to train and discover as he goes on to working in different aspects of the performance arts in the future. He thinks that actors should accept the way that they are as a person both physically and mentally and being patient for the right role to come.
On episode 1 of Going for Broadway, Eryn is joined by long-time friend and fellow actor, Brian C. Coker. Brian has been acting since his teenage years, and is well-known in the upstate South Carolina community theaters, and even starred in Eryn’s first play with her. He loves to make people laugh, especially kids, but theater is his first love. Brian’s dream of acting began after watching The Carol Burnett Show as a kid, and was inspired by Tim Conway’s power to make his costars laugh. He didn’t study acting, with the exception of a class his 8th grade teacher recommended, but has 20 years of experience that has shaped his career.
Brian shares his opinion on whether his improv-style sense of humor can be learned and lists the key players that inspired his style. He demos some of his character voices and discusses his start in mimicking. Brian shares his insights on always learning and growing and how he enjoys watching new talent perform on stage. He also talks about his most recent on-stage roll in Into The Woods.
The show wraps up with Brian discussing his love for the stage as he provides insightful tips and advice for stage and film acting. Brian tells aspiring actors to keep taking chances and learning from their mistakes, and gives parents a push to be the loving and encouraging parents that young actors need.