Some Words of Wisdom

After our weekly staff meeting on Wednesday, we had our first intern meeting. After discussing the nuts and bolts of the internship, we got the opportunity to hear from and interview Michael Mitnick, the playwright who wrote “Sex Lives of Our Parents,” the current production at Second Stage’s theater on 76^th street. He provided us interns with words of wisdom that can be applied not only to everyone involved in theatre, but also to anyone trying to excel in any business.

            Mr. Mitnick shared with us his recipe for success: luck, perseverance, and talent. While perseverance and talent are pretty straightforward, his definition of luck was quite different. Luck refers to being in the right place at the right time.  He named quite a few examples where he has gotten a job simply by striking up a conversation with someone. Contrary to popular belief, luck is not something that is completely out of our hands. A person can’t be in the right place if they don’t put themselves out there. The running belief in the theatre is that you should go out six nights a week. It is not enough to simply go see the shows and remark that you enjoyed them in an interview or cover letter. Personal relationships are very important and give you an automatic leg up. The specific example given in the meeting was to go to the bars the people involved in the production frequent. Strike up a conversation with someone and do not just talk about the show. Although many of these people are household names, they are still real people who enjoy talking about things besides their careers. If you are looking to break into the theatre business, chances are that these people have many similar interests as you.

Although I, being under 21, cannot connect with people at bars, I have already put this advice to good use. I recently saw a production called “H4” in a tiny off-off-Broadway theater. As I was reading through the playbill, I noticed that one of the supporting actors had also been in the on- and off-Broadway production of “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson.” I happen to have a friend obsessed with that show. I was never able to see it, but I love the soundtrack, so I figured I would find this guy after the show to get his autograph. When he exited the theater, there was no one around him, as not many people care about supporting roles in off-off Broadway performances. I had no problem getting to him to ask him to sign my playbill. He also agreed to give me his autograph for my friend. He even took the time to write her a note. That is when we got to talking about what she and I do. I explained how she and I both attend Dickinson College and she is a theatre major interested in directing and design. I also explained my interest in lighting design and how I’m currently interning in development at Second Stage. He said that was interesting because he has a theatre company that it is always looking for new people. Without even realizing it, I had just made a new relationship with someone in the business. He gave me his card and invited me to come see their next show. If you look at the “luck” ingredient from a statistical point of view, the more places you go, the more likely it is that you will wind up in the “right place.” 

The other interesting subject that Mr. Mitnick discussed with us was how the theatre business is not as cutthroat as some people think. He said that we will “rise with our friends” and that we don’t have to compete with them. He gave us the example of a guy applying to write a score for a musical who enlisted his friends to help. Although the theater did not think his score would work for the show, they were extremely interested in the voice on the track. This allowed the friend who helped him to get a leg up. As she rose in the business, she could then enlist his help on a project, bringing him up with her. This was an interesting way to look at theatre because we often believe that we need to beat out our friends for the good positions. Mitnick proposed that we should instead focus on forming good relationships to help each other out down the road.

            I will leave you today with a quote from actress Helen Hayes that reflects the message shared by Mr. Mitnick: “If you rest, you rust.”