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[0:00] Mo Brady: The Ensemblist is brought to you in part by our Patreon members, including Joey Shoji, Linda Lee, Phoebe Stewart, Rebecca Russell, Stephen Bell, and Ty Williams. You can join them in supporting The Ensemblist for as little as $5 a month. Find out how at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Mo Brady.

[0:35] Mo Brady: Back in February, Brian Martin wrote a story for our website about finally feeling ready to make his Broadway debut at age 30. Six months later, we asked him to revisit the piece and talk about how the feeling of finally making his debut on the main stem has been changed by the Broadway shutdown. Here, in his own words, is Brian Martin.

[1:06] Brian Martin: Flashback to last summer, I was hired to be a chaperone for the Open Jar Institute summer high school session. This meant I was assigned to be in charge of a group of 14 students who were traveling to New York City, some for the very first time, for a week-long training program headed by Jeff Whiting. During this session, I had my very first appointment for the out-of-town tryout of Mrs. Doubtfire and had to find coverage picking my students up from lunch that day. When I returned from the audition, I was flooded with congratulations on your Broadway audition, and I'm sure you were amazing, so cool you received an audition. A Broadway audition had become such a norm in my everyday life that I was a bit overwhelmed with the love and acknowledgement from these high schoolers.

To them, that dream was still so far-fetched, and to me, the dream was one yes away. I had forgotten to appreciate and understand how far I'd come since moving to New York, and reminded myself to live in the present moment and embrace each and every audition opportunity.

[2:32] Brian Martin: In my life, I've always been a bit of a late bloomer. I was a belting soprano until my voice changed at age 15, and never took dance training seriously until I began college. While Broadway had always been a dream of mine, it wasn't until moving to New York and beginning the world of auditions that I realized the beastly realities of the talent that lived and worked here. Although I had much training, I wasn't ready to tackle the commercial Broadway circuit of performing, so I tried my luck at the non-union tour regional circuit. The experiences between then and now have helped prepare and shape me into the performer I am today, slowly taking steps forward, not only in technical performance, but maturity and drive.

For Mrs. Doubtfire, in my head, I was thinking, they just had an out-of-town, and they're not really looking for anybody new, but it never hurts to show up and show out. About a week later, I received an appointment for the male swing and steward understudy to add to the company. Having just revisited the dance vocabulary at the recent Equity Chorus call, I prepared the material as much as possible. The audition went as well as it could, and the waiting game began.

[3:47] Brian Martin: I woke up about a week later to numerous missed calls, emails, and texts from my agents informing me they needed me to come back in that same day to do the material one more time. This usually never happens, but I knew if they were bringing me back in, they must have liked something about my previous audition. I had about an hour to shower, warm up, and get downtown to audition once again at Tulsi, and this landed me the job. It's hard to not associate your own successes with others in the biz. I am in constant awe of people who move to New York and land a role on Broadway right away. For me, my journey was meant to be different. We moved into the Stephen Sondheim Theater on my 30th birthday, and besides the children in the company, I am still one of the youngest members of the cast.

I am very excited and grateful for this dream come true experience of finally being able to perform on Broadway. I am reminded of every national tour, regional theater production, and other artistic experiences that led me to this point. There is no discredit to where you are as an artist. Without these experiences, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish the things I am today at age 30. And age is just that, a number. I feel more alive and myself than ever before. I am the strongest I've ever been physically, emotionally, and mentally. I am now ready to make my Broadway debut in Mrs. Doubtfire. I wish I could have whispered to myself hundreds of times, don't worry, it'll happen when the time is right.

It's true that life has a perfect way of working itself out, even through every hardship along the way. These hardships are molding the person you are and preparing you for that next big audition or opportunity.

[5:50] Brian Martin: Mrs. Doubtfire had just finished its third preview performance when the news that Broadway would be going dark due to COVID-19 hit, and it of course shocked us all. Staying positive, I packed a carry-on suitcase and headed home to Michigan for what I thought would be just a couple of weeks, which then turned into four months. Financially and emotionally, it was the right choice for me. This in-between time of uncertainty is challenging for all of us artists. There is no right or wrong way. We all have good and bad days. So many people would reach out to me personally because this Broadway dream that is painstakingly so hard to achieve was ripped out from underneath me within moments. And to be honest, my swing brain that was on information overload from retaining seven tracks felt a huge burden of relief at first. But the stillness of uncertainty turned into bits of anxiety. My life went from 100 miles per minute to not knowing what to do next.

[7:00] Brian Martin: I know I'm not the only one who sought the positives of the quarantine. Spending much needed quality time with family and friends and also putting forth the things in life that matter most. It has definitely humbled me and allowed me a moment to breathe. With our careers, we go so hard from gig to gig, job to job, rehearsal to rehearsal, on top of working to pay the rent to even get to an audition. It allowed a moment of breath and uncertainty, which in time turned into the most certainty. What matters to me most? Thinking of the day Broadway and the Arts make a return is thrilling to me. No matter when we reunite, whether it's next spring, fall, or even 2022, I will be that much more ready and capable and certain to make my Broadway debut.

I will be so overjoyed to return to swinging this hilariously beautiful show. The main message you can take away from Mrs. Doubtfire is that as long as there is love, everything will be okay. And that is truly fitting for this 30-year-old dreamer. No matter what step you are on in life, rely on the love that surrounds you. You'd be surprised when your dream just may come true.

[8:30] Mo Brady: Special thanks to Brian Martin for sharing his stories with us today. The Ensemblist was produced today by Jackson Klein and me, Mo Brady. There are two great ways you can be helping The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And the second is by becoming a Patreon member, which you can do at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow The Ensemblist wherever you listen to podcasts, on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or at bpn.fm, the home of Broadway Podcast Network. You can also follow us on Instagram. Thanks for listening. Until next time!