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[0:00] Justin Guarini: It was more about not what jobs I was getting, but what work I was doing on my way to those jobs. And so I think it's about redefining that success and that continued sense of work is getting my ego out of the way or what happened, just making it about the work.

[0:31] Justin Guarini: Hi, welcome to the show. I'm Justin Guarini, an entertainment industry insider and veteran, and I have been operating on a national level as well as an international level for about 20 years now in Broadway, film, television, hosting, commercials, you name it. I have most likely done it or been around it, and I created this podcast called Audition Secrets, the podcast, so that you could have a direct link to the wisdom and insight that I've gained over those past 20 years, but also the stories, the heartbreaks, the victories, and everything else in between of some of your most favorite and cherished people in the entertainment industry. I am so lucky that I have access to some of the one name folks, to some of the legends, as well as you, my people, my fellow hardworking entertainers, actors, performers.

This is not all about me just wanting to invite on some really cool friends of mine and share some really great stories. I want you to be able to take bits and pieces of this show, wisdom that you hear, behind the scenes things that we talk about, and I want you to use them to help you nail more auditions and book more jobs. I want you to ask me questions because I love to teach, I love to serve, and I want you to be able to take this podcast and to use it to help you get further in your career and to reach more of your goals. We got a great show for you today, so kick back, relax, and enjoy the show.

[2:10] Justin Guarini: Hi and welcome to Audition Secrets, the podcast. I'm Justin Guarini, and before we get to today's show, I just want to stop and say thank you, thank you so much for the amazing response from week one. I gotta tell you, I was up until 4 a.m. making sure everything worked, the podcast was all together, the website, everything. My team and I were working really hard, and it's interesting because when you dream something up, and I spent like a year on creating a platform where I could have this podcast and serve my people with private lessons, online workshops, and a book, and after all the stress and the struggle, when the vision comes true and people actually like it, I can't tell you how unbelievably just grateful I am to each and every one of you.

What a relief it is. I mean, the night before I launched, I was literally having a panic attack. My breathing, my heart rate, I was sweating, the obsessive thoughts, the worries, and what's interesting is I've never had a panic attack before. My wife used to get them all the time, and I never really understood, and it is intense, and I made sure to go to my wife and just say, hey, I love you, honey. I can't believe that you went through that all the time. I have a newfound respect for people who have panic attacks, who have anxiety disorders, because it is serious, and I cannot imagine feeling that all the time, but I felt it because it means so much to me, this thing, and you all mean so much to me, and I have put my heart and my soul into this project, so thank you very much.

[3:43] Justin Guarini: Okay, so we have a great show today. My good friend James Snyder, who is currently starring as Harry Potter on Broadway, is today's guest, but first I want to answer a question that I received just a day ago, and I get this one, or ones like it, a lot, and it's about memorization. I know, it's a tough one, and I am terrible with names when it comes to memorization, but I'm good with text because I have a technique that I love to use, and actually one that I'm putting together a workshop for, and we'll roll out a little bit later on this year, but for now, let me read this question from Jack Benson. Jack asks, hey Justin, my question is, what is a good way to memorize lengthy monologues? Is it as simple as just reading and running it through with someone?

Thank you very much for your question, Jack. Yeah, is it as simple as just reading it and running it with someone? Yes, it's that simple if you want to go crazy. I mean, that's a really good thing to do, run it with someone, but mostly after you've memorized it, or after you have at least a good hold of the text. So when people ask me this question, I love to kind of pull it back to the basics. One of the first things I tell all of my students is, let's go back to, I don't know, second grade, when we first learned about stories, because I believe that our job as performers is to serve the story. Our number one job as performers is to serve the story. So when we go back to that lesson that we learned in elementary school, we learned that every good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

And musical theater songs, musical theater songs rather, are no different. Monologues are no different. Scene work is no different. It's all a story. They're all little stories encapsulated into however long the scene or the song is, and they all have a beginning, a middle, and an end. And what I mean by that, really, is the character must start in one place, usually move somewhere else emotionally, physically, spiritually, to another place in the middle of the song, and at the end of the song, or monologue, or scene, or whatever, a decision has been made, and the plot has moved forward. Something has changed with the character. Now forgive me if this is very simplistic, and you're listening to this, you're like, duh, I know, I spent four years in school learning this, but it's very interesting how much we forget in our work and in our preparation.

So with that in mind, every good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A character must start in one place, and end up in another, where a decision has been made, and the plot has moved forward. Just like you would look at the map on your phone to know where you are, or where you're going, you can create a map in your monologue. You can create a map in your scenes. You can create a map in your songs. It's what I do with people all the time in my private lessons, and I think the best way of describing it is a beat map. Now a beat, and forgive me again if this is simplistic, I'm just trying to speak to everyone, a beat refers to an event, a decision, or discovery that alters the way the protagonist pursues their goal.

Okay, so in a monologue, one of the things that we want to avoid, especially in auditions, and even more so on stage when we have the job, is saminess. I don't know if that's a real word, but I'm going to trademark it today. Saminess. Justin Guarini, 2019. And what that is, is just kind of having the same sort of emotion, the same sort of tack on trying to get the character through the scene, and nothing really happens. We don't earn the ending. We start in one place, but we don't end up in somewhere different, and the plot doesn't move forward. So a beat map is, well, it's kind of like something I used to use when I did a lot of hosting on red carpets without a teleprompter where I couldn't read the text.

I would be given a paragraph of things to say, and instead of trying to hammer my way through it and just memorize everything and screw up the take 50 times, I created a roadmap in my head of the bullet points, the major ideas that I had to get across. It, of course, was a bit easier for me because I could improv my way around the bullet points. But in theater, we have to say what is written on the page. Remember, we serve the story first and foremost. But the concept still works. The technique still works in theater. So the two simplest pieces of advice I can give you, and remember, Audition Secrets is the podcast all about giving you actionable items that you can use today and quickly integrate into your system and your process.

So I'm purposefully keeping it simple here. If you want to go deeper, you want to have more one-on-one conversations with me, go to auditionsecrets.com and find out more about the quick start workshop that I'm doing there. But for now, here's my advice for you to create a beat map. It's super simple. It's just as simple as really drawing lines across the page, the paragraph, to mark where the beats change. Take the paragraph, break it down into the sections where the new ideas or thoughts occur and give yourself the overview of your journey. All right, that's going to help at least let you know where you are going throughout the long monologue. And then the more you play and the more you physicalize the action.

And what I mean by that is start acting out the words and actions. And this is for rehearsal only, of course, or else we'll make you look like you're... you should feel as though you're crazy over acting and indicating and doing all the no-no's that we're not supposed to do. But what is that doing? When you've created the map in your head that gives you the overview, the beat map, and then as you start to say the words, physicalize the actions, get it into your body, instead of just sitting there rocking back and forth trying to memorize something. I've done that many, many a night. Get up, physicalize the words and the movements and it will activate another part of your brain that will help you to retain the material.

Okay, I hope that helped you out, Jack. Thank you so very much for your question. If you have a question, do not hesitate to reach out to me by sending an email to justin at auditionsecrets.com or you can go to auditionsecrets.com and leave me a voice message that I can play live right here on the show and I can answer your questions, your thoughts, your concerns. I would absolutely love to hear you. I'm here for you. Use me as a resource. All right, now it's time for my good friend James Snyder to join us. James is currently starring as Harry Potter in Broadway's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and has also been seen on stage in Broadway's first acapella musical, In Transit. That's the one that we did together.

As well as If Then, Broadway and the Tour. He's also received a Drama League Award nomination for the titular role in Cry Baby. I love that word, titular role, in Cry Baby, and recently played Billy in Goodspeed Opera House's production of Carousel. He's an amazing guy. It's so funny, when we did this interview, his son had just thrown up that morning, which for anybody who is in a production and has a family and has kids or is trying to audition to get into productions, you know that kids will have accidents and or sicknesses at the worst time. James is another Broadway dad just like me. We talk a little bit about that and a bunch of other great stuff in this interview. So without further ado, I give you the wonderful and talented James Snyder.

[11:26] Justin Guarini: All right, so I guess, James, we have to talk about the huge elephant in the room. You're Harry Potter. I'm Harry Potter. You're Harry Potter on Broadway. Can we just take a second to wrap our heads around the fact that so many people, myself included, lived for when the next book was going to come out, and now all of a sudden it was a movie, and so we lived through the years of the movies, and now it is an actual show. It was on the West End first, now it's on Broadway, and you are Harry Potter. Were you a fan of the books?

[12:02] James Snyder: I was. I read the first four books right when they, well, I caught up when book four came out. I was like, oh, all right, it's time. I had put it off. I put it off because I was in high school, and then I was like, nah, it's for kids. It's for kids. And then one of my friends in college was like, no, no, you have to read this. And so I just sat down and I cranked through the four books in like a week. I didn't leave my house. And then, yeah, and then actually after that point, the movies started coming out, and I was just keeping up with the movies, and I let the books slide. I think I read, I think I didn't read Past Goblet of Fire, so I think I like read that chunk, and then I know, and I can't remember.

I think I read Order of the Phoenix, and then I didn't continue after. I can't remember which one I read, but I had watched the movies, and so I knew. But I liked the movies. I like any kind of nerdy, not nerdy. I like any universe that's been created that's been so thought out. And what J.K. Rowling did was created her, like, I love Star Wars. I love Lord of the Rings. And in that, it's such an epic world of possibility, of magic. I mean, I'm into it. I spend my mornings trying to use the force. Now I'm going to have to switch it over to like Accio coffee, and cast a spell and see if I can get my coffee to come over, just because I like pretending I have magical powers.

[13:34] Justin Guarini: Yeah, of course. Well, it seems to be extremely magical. I can't wait to come see you in it, for sure. But I want to delve into some...

[13:42] Justin Guarini: In my book, Audition Secrets, I tell folks five secrets on how to walk into an audition room and own it. And I also talk about how I struggled early on in my career auditioning when I had, like, the barest idea of what to do when I walked into the room. You know, I'd studied the singing, the acting, the dancing, and all that, but I had no clue that there's actually a technique to auditioning, and I had to learn it the hard way. So when you first started out, what was one of your biggest struggles when you were auditioning, and how'd you overcome it?

[14:21] James Snyder: I would say I talk too much. When I get nervous, I just run. And still, it's still something that I have to remind myself of, that instead my ego steps in and it tries to make it about me and make it, you know, and, and, well, really early on in my career, I was doing a play or musical with Kristen Bell, actually. And I remember it was right after she had shot the Veronica Mars pilot. And they were still waiting to find out if they were picked up. And I was like, do you have, and I asked her, I was like, do you have any secrets? And she said, I forget it, she said, I visualize the entire audition before I walk in. And I don't think that means like, I'm going to make it go like this. I think she just looks at who am I, or who do I want to be in the context of whatever may be thrown out at me. And but I love the idea that you have a visualization and that you, it's like athletes do it all the time, right? They visualize the race, they visualize the course.

[15:20] James Snyder: Yeah. And for me too, it's, it's also realizing that the audition doesn't start when I step into the room, the audition happens, okay, I got this on maybe even before I get the audition is when I, I start being the person that I want to bring in the room. And I had a month to prepare for Harry Potter, but not the role of Harry Potter, I was going in for Draco Malfoy.

[15:47] Justin Guarini: What?

[15:48] James Snyder: I'm not kidding. I was like, which makes sense, like entitled Rich Dad, I guess that's what I do.

[15:53] Justin Guarini: Okay.

[15:55] James Snyder: Yeah, so I spent a month digging it. And luckily, we have, we have a friend, David Avalos, who's in the show. And I grabbed him, I coached with him, I went to my coach. And the scene was, luckily, Draco and Harry's journeys are very similar, but it's just a dad really trying to hook into, really trying to understand his son. And Draco is actually a little more enlightened, I think in this, but going through that path. So I had a month to study for this. I go in for the audition. And Des Kennedy, the Associate Director was like, I think you're more of a Harry. So the next day, they're like, can you come in for Harry Potter in three days? So for me, I didn't think in a million years, I would ever book this. And so I really was very relaxed. In the audition, I was like, not in a million years, I was like, I'm too young, I gave myself all of the excuses on why I wouldn't book it. But rather than let it like, freak me out, it freed me up to just go in and do the work.

[16:59] James Snyder: And it was one of those things. I came in, there were a couple movement calls. And I was like, I'm just gonna have fun doing those. And those were fun. It was it was Stephen Hoggett magic. Yeah, I mean, it was just amazing of us walking around doing like on to throw your hand up on four hands out this way. And then very Stephen Hoggett. Oh my gosh. I mean, you know, you know. And then I went into the room. And when it was time to go into the room, I had spent the morning just taking my time walking around the city just sort of living in the work. And I said, you know what, I whether I booked this or not, I really love these scenes. I'm just gonna make it about the work. And I went in and I didn't say much.

And the whole team was there, producers, everybody. And I did the first scene. And I was just connected, just I'm here to connect with my son. And then the director got up and was like, great. It was great. Actually, I asked, I was wearing my glasses. I said, do you want me to keep the glasses on or not? I mean, these are my glasses. They're not like Harry Potter glasses. They're just like my glasses. And he was like, yeah, keep them on. So I do this scene. He was like, that was, that was great. I don't I don't have any adjustments for you. That was wonderful. Thank you.

[18:16] James Snyder: I was like, okay, great. And I was like, game to play. But he didn't have me do anything. So and then I did the next scene. I finished he stood up and shook my hand. And he said, that was, that was really great. That was, that was fantastic. Thank you very much. And then we talked. He was like, Oh, do you know the book? So I said yes. And I talked a little bit about being a dad. I talked about my kids. And then that was it. I walked out of the room. Like I did the first scene once I did the second scene once I left and then Jim Carnahan, who's a casting director, came out and was like, they really liked it. He's like, I've been working with the director for a really long time. And he was like, yeah, honestly, even at that point, I was like, it was one of those, you did such good work.

I thought it was one of those. And so I was like, I didn't book it. But I did my best. Like, I really did. It was it was one of the best auditions in my life, because my ego wasn't there. I was connected to the material. I did the material. I answered their questions. I was open and honest in my communication with them. I didn't need anything from them. And I left. And it's a really scary feeling because when I go in, I try and control things. So that's why I talk is to be like, well, if I can control the conversation that I can control how they see me, and then they'll like me, and then I'll book the job. And this was, everything was out of my hands, other than what was really my responsibility, which was the work and being kind and open as a human being in the audition.

[19:53] Justin Guarini: Yeah, absolutely. That's so great. I mean, it touches on so many wonderful points there, because so many people, like you say, do try and go in and control, not in an ethical way, control the audition so that they can manipulate the people on the other side of the table into seeing them a certain way. And I always love to say, it's like, we have one job as performers at the end of the day. It's not for applause. It's not for all these accolades or awards or anything like that. And you touched on it perfectly. I say, it's to serve the story. Our job is to serve the story, right? And that's exactly what you did. You went in and you served the story. And I love how, you know, it's the same thing that happened with me, with Lil Sweet.

I have a similar story. And there's something to be said for walking into the room, being focused on the work. That's really, really important. And just serving the work and just going in because this is supposed to be fun. Like this is supposed to be a good time. It's supposed to be a dialogue between you and the other side of people on the other side of the table, right?

[21:02] James Snyder: Yeah, yeah. I mean, and that's the thing is, if you enjoyed the work, then I feel like the people are going to know that they're going to enjoy working with you.

[21:10] Justin Guarini: Yes.

[21:11] James Snyder: That's like one thing that I think when I was asking, because I have a lot of friends going in for the San Francisco cast right now. And they're like, what, what? So I went to one of the directors, Benji, and I was like, any advice? And he's like, to be honest, like, if this is a 14 week rehearsal process, we need to know that we're going to love working with you.

[21:31] Justin Guarini: And 14 weeks for rehearsal. Look, we did In Transit together. That was hard. I mean, you know, five weeks was like a luxury, right? And for most of the shows, whether it was Cry-Baby that you did, or the other shows that we've done, it's like, usually if you get a month, you're like, yeah, sweet before you go into previews, right? We got five weeks for In Transit. This was a 14 week rehearsal process for a play.

[21:56] James Snyder: Because it's two plays.

[21:58] Justin Guarini: Oh, that's right. It's two plays. That's right. It's parts one and two. And so you're doing, even if you break it down to seven and seven, that's still a tremendous amount of time.

[22:07] James Snyder: That's still a long, yeah.

[22:08] Justin Guarini: Yeah. So they got to know that when they bring somebody onto the cast, that they're not going to be a problem, right?

[22:14] James Snyder: Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know if you remember, or you ever heard Christian Anderson Lopez, writer of Frozen and In Transit. The writers of In Transit called around and asked about us, if we were cool people. Like, I'm sure your reputation preceded you. But yeah, they really vetted our cast to make sure, like, they did background checks and called people that we had worked with. And then like, are they really that cool? Like, are they?

[22:41] Justin Guarini: Yeah. Well, because especially in In Transit, just like I'm sure with Harry Potter, you know, you're a family on that stage. And all the pieces have parts have to work together.

[22:53] James Snyder: That's right.

[22:53] Justin Guarini: Yeah.

[22:53] James Snyder: So I do remember them doing that. And people do that more often than you think, right?

[22:57] Justin Guarini: Yeah. Yeah, really. I mean, and it's, yeah, you don't want to be on the other end of like, no, you guys not.

[23:04] James Snyder: No. Okay. So walking into the room, feeling relaxed, because you're there to serve the work, because you're there to create a dialogue, because you set your ego aside, is all really super great advice. And obviously, it's worked for you. And it's one of the people that I've talked to and for myself when I go in and do it. But I've auditioned for a ton of musicals, you've auditioned for a ton of musicals. But I've only ever auditioned, I think maybe for one or two plays, one of which I got, which is Romeo and Juliet on Broadway was very short lived, but got it. So really, what is in your mind the difference besides the fact that there's no music involved? What's the difference of auditioning for a play versus auditioning for a musical?

[23:51] James Snyder: Well, I mean, and you know, you've auditioned for Stephen Hoggett before. So there was that movement aspect, which felt very musical theatre, but that was separate anyway. I approached the scene work in the same way. But because I didn't have to learn the music. And because I didn't have to, it was, I just dug that much more into the material. For me, and maybe, maybe this is a lesson for me to dig into the sides that I get with a musical also that I really need to do that work and really lay it in. It didn't feel that different. I think the conversation just is a little bit more cerebral, in a way, I think it was because it's just, all you have are the words. And so, so that's, that, that's the thing that plays the thing like, and so I just, I spent that much more time with the text.

[24:48] Justin Guarini: Yeah. And I, yeah, I think that my one experience or two experiences, you're right, that conversation A is more cerebral, and I think it's more open to conversation. So what you said before, like walking into a room and just being yourself and being vulnerable and open to having conversation because that dialogue with the director, because there's just the words, there's just the scenes, there's just that is so important. So you bring up a really good point.

[25:24] Justin Guarini: You know, I had so much fun talking to guests about their stories and the ups and downs of their careers, but I actually want to hear from you and specifically, I would love to hear your audition horror story. You know, we've all got them. I certainly do. A lot of the people that I talk to do, but I want to hear from you. So there's two easy ways for you to share your story, not only with me, but with all the other listeners. You can go to auditionsecrets.com, hit the button that says, ask me a question and leave me a voice memo with your story. And I would love to play that on the air for everyone to hear. Or if you feel like you work better by clacky clacking things out, you can email me at justin at auditionsecrets.com. And I would love to read your story.

I want to share in the joy, the laughter, the pain, the misery, and everything in between. We've all got those stories and I want to hear yours and share it with all of my listeners. So go to auditionsecrets.com or email me at justin at auditionsecrets.com.

[26:37] Justin Guarini: Now, before we started the interview, you were telling me that your poor sweet son got sick this morning. And we were roommates in transit, dressing roommates in transit. And we would come in because we both are married, we both have multiple children. And we would come in and we would talk all the time and share our victories and our defeats in the family game. But how do you, being at the pinnacle of world theater in one of the most popular shows on Broadway right now, how do you balance all of that with family life?

[27:12] James Snyder: Yeah, I'm really lucky that my wife is so supportive. Like she's the rock that's holding everything together. And

[27:26] James Snyder: I think it's just about time management, and just sucking it up. And like, I had this diva moment. A few weeks ago, I was like, I'm not walking the dog at 1am when I get home from a two-show day. And my wife looks at me. The way you understand that that is a logical conclusion. I was like, Harry Potter is not walking his dog. And my wife looks at me and goes, well then who is going to walk the dog? Because I'm at home alone with the kids. And I was like, I didn't have an answer for that. And we got into a huge fight about it. And because I was like, haven't I earned the right to not do this? And the answer is like, yes, if you want to pay someone, like, then pay someone to go walk the dog, which I didn't. And I haven't, and I won't. But if you just do it, like you just have to know your job and do your job and get the ego out of the way.

Because otherwise, it's just you have your team on Broadway, and you have your team at home. And I think it's just about like eating right and getting sleep. So you have the energy to handle it. Like all around. I mean, that's all I can figure it and be grateful and gratitude. Yeah. It's just although I was grumpy this morning, like with my daughter, getting my daughter out to school. I was watching TV right now where it's like, I'm just like, oh, I just I need to brush your hair. But it takes so long because she has such curly hair and everything. And I'm just like, you just have to be grateful for it. Gratitude is one of the best tools to have is just realize that like, how long are they going to be this little?

And how long are they going to be in your house, even if they're teenagers? Like, they're stinking teenagers. You're like, oh my god, but how long do I get a little teenager in our big teenager in my house, you know, so I think that's it is just maintaining that sense of gratitude. And it just keeps everything flowing. Because it's all the energy you need is there. Yeah. It's just about knowing how to use it and how to maintain it and how to keep it going. Right? Yeah.

[29:34] Justin Guarini: So you mentioned sleep and eating well, of course, gratitude. I mean, there are so many times we all I know we all I speak for you, I can speak for our friend David Avalos, I can speak for our friends in transit. I mean, it's like, when you're in the thick of it, and you're doing eight shows a week, or sometimes they throw in a little high school show in there for you, which is saying 11am. You know, it's sometimes it's like when people don't understand when they're trying to get to Broadway and whatnot, and trying to get to the whatever the sort of high level theater that they're after is, is that a, it's a job, like any other job, right? But it's a really, really cool job, and we get paid to dress up and play.

But I love to check myself in those moments. And in other people have checked me, where I'm like, Oh, I don't feel like doing the show today. And that gratitude is really important. But another thing that I remember, as well that goes hand in hand with that gratitude is that, okay, I'm stepping out on this stage for the hundredth time, if I'm lucky, right in the show, it's been running. And yet, there's someone in the audience who was like me, seeing their very first Broadway show, and who's going to have that light bulb go off. And they're going to say, I want to be a part of this now, maybe as an actor, maybe as a stagehand, maybe as a costumer, maybe as a makeup or hair, whatever it is. But I remember, oh my god, you want to talk about the tight white pants and the rake on Wicked.

And like, the pain, literally, sometimes that you go through in order to perform multiple times, eight times a week, becomes so much more worth it when you have, like you said, that gratitude. And when you remember that, oh my goodness, there's somebody out there, who's probably seeing their very first Broadway show, or seeing their very first show, even if it's not on Broadway, and who's going to be inspired by a performance, maybe it'll be my performance, maybe somebody else's, but I would be doing them a huge disservice if I went out, and I gave anything less than 100%. And then, you know, you tie that in with family, eating well, and sleeping, right, getting enough sleep. I mean, you want to talk about Lin Manuel's talked about it, you talk about it, so many people talk about, I need, and it can be a challenge, getting that, especially when you have little babies, getting that eight hours of sleep, or some six to eight hours of sleep, because it's so important, it sets you up right.

And then, you know, I like to try and go to bed early. I mean, it's very convenient, because I'm not in the show right now. But I try and go to bed at 10, and get up at five, and have like an hour to myself where I'm not waking up with kids. Because like, when you wake up, and you're immediately servicing someone else's needs. Yeah, it's like, I mean, you know, when I say the audition begins, even before you get the audition, you know, it's like, my morning is, you know, I know, granted, like, I'm up, I walked the dog. And that sort of has is a meditation. But that's, and that's what I mean, even if you have a day job, and you're going to when I first started out, I was tending bar in the mornings, I was opening a bar at 830 in the morning, going to one, then I had one or 130 shift, like I go through lunch, then I have auditions in the afternoon.

And me, just even at work, keeping that energy and open and just awareness of like, who do I want to be? And who am I going to bring into the room? Who am I in the world? And who authentically Can I be and then being that whether you're in an audition room, or you're, you know, handing someone a beer? Yes. You know, like, that's all you can do is just open and stay in that communication and flow.

[33:23] James Snyder: You know, that. That's wonderful. And it leads me into the next question, you know, what is one of the greatest lessons you've learned when it comes to maintaining success in this business? And I think you kind of covered that I'm going to try and maybe maybe it's a sort of a dual sort of a two-part question, you know, what's either one of the greatest lessons you've learned when it comes to maintaining success in this business? And what is the one thing you wish that you kind of just said it, every actor, trying to make it to Broadway knew, so maintaining success, and then maybe just a little nugget of wisdom that you wish every actor trying to get to Broadway or the height of theater, wherever they are in their market knew?

[34:02] James Snyder: Well, my first Broadway show was Cry-Baby in 2008. I was playing Cry-Baby. I had the best money year of my entire life. I'm 20, I was 25 or 26. And the next year, my tax returns were $19,000 after I had starred on Broadway performed in the Tonys, you name it, like I had one of my worst years. And I think I took Cry-Baby closing really hard. I took it very personally, like it was somehow my fault. I didn't realize that most new musicals don't recoup. Most of them don't make it. They're not hits. The hit is the anomaly. And so I think the expert managing my expectations or what I thought success needed to look like is the secret to maintaining that success. So it's it was more about not what jobs I was getting, but what work I was doing on my way to those jobs. And so I think it's about redefining that success and that continued sense of work is getting my ego out of the way or what happened just making it about the work.

[35:16] Justin Guarini: And when you say work, do you mean also not only just like what work I was doing on the material, but what work you were doing on yourself as well?

[35:25] James Snyder: I think a good human makes a good actor. Really? I do. I think you live it. Telly Leung lives it. I during In Transit, I listened to that scene every day that you guys would do. And I was like, these are good human beings. And so we go to the theater to open up to share and I think that's it. And I, and I'm not saying like, look, there are plenty of holes in this. Like, wait, I'm not saying, wait, like, you know, I'm like, it's fine. If you're an a-hole, you can still do good work. Yeah. It's, it's, it's about just continuing to work as a human being and as an actor, and don't let that define you, you define it. And so for me, it's about being versatile. I've done movies, I've done plays, I've done this, I have a music career, like I got an album, you know, and I have a new song I released.

And yeah, you know, and it's like, find the thing that makes you open up. And then I think the universe responds to it. And so that's it. And just be kind along the way. Yes. Really kind along the way. Yes. Yeah. It's a tough business. We're all just fighting even at the top levels. Sure. It can sometimes be worse up there. Because there's a smaller crowd of people that are all extremely talented that are all vying for still the same job. Yeah. Yeah. So don't you know, it's like do what you need to do to be the person you want to be. Right. And so don't be ashamed of taking those day jobs or anything like that, too. I had a big aversion to it. And all of a sudden, I found myself without any money, and about a Broadway credit, and a movie, and everything.

And I was like, I just suck out my pride and go get a day job. And then I took that really, it was like, here, I thought I had made it as this star. And it's like, it doesn't look like anything. So make it look like, what's good? How do you want to be? Who do you want to be in the context of your life of your work? And just keep that going and keep that focus and renew that commitment every morning, you know, or every hour or every second you need to. Yeah. In these moments, moments, moments, moments, moments, moments, and be your best self.

[37:46] Justin Guarini: Amazing. Well, that is absolutely wonderful. Sage advice. You are awesome, man. I'm so glad that we got to spend the time that we did you. And there's so many people in that In Transit cast that I had, you know, because the Broadway community, as big as the feeling of Broadway is the community itself is actually really small. There's not that many people who work and work often, right. And so when I did In Transit, I was just like, when your name came up there, we started texting with one another, like, Oh, my gosh, you do this again. Oh, my God, yes, I did. Like, there's so many people you included who I wanted to work with, who I got to work with, who I'm so glad that I got to work with. And I know, because we talked about it, you know, there was there, there's such feasts and famine in this business, right.

And there were so many things that even when we were on Broadway, that were challenging you, you know, with kids, and then, you know, finances and all sorts of stuff. And it's the same thing with me, I was finances were like, Oh, and I had just gotten a break here. And but you know, things at home were kind of tough. And I know we talked back and forth about all that stuff. And the point of this me saying that is, I am so glad that you got this job, because you totally deserve it. And you stuck in there, you've worked hard to not only be a great actor, but a great person, and a great dad and a great partner, husband, man. So really, congratulations, dude. And thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate it, man.

[39:29] Justin Guarini: I love that James Snyder. Thank you so very much, James, for stopping by and being a guest on the show today. Thank you, Jack, for your question. And thank you so very much for listening all the way to the end of the podcast. Do you know that only like 30% of people make it to the actual end of this part of the podcast? Can you believe that? 30%? Well, you are one of the special ones that I want to thank you very much for sticking with me and with James all the way to the end of the show. But the conversation does not stop here. You can go to auditionsecrets.com and we can keep talking. You can leave me a voicemail, you can send me an email to justin at auditionsecrets.com. If you have any questions, comments, concerns at auditionsecrets.com, you can go and download a digital copy free of my book, Audition Secrets, as well as find out about the new Audition Secrets Quickstart Workshop that I'm offering there as well.

There's so much stuff, other episodes, all kinds of great stuff at auditionsecrets.com. Go check it out. But in the meantime, I'm Justin Guarini. This has been Audition Secrets, the podcast and remember, you're only one audition away. Thanks for listening.