One of the greatest challenges facing any actor is playing the same role in the same show, eight shows a week. So think about what it’s like to perform the same role in the same show for years and years! TheaterMania recently spoke to four such veteran performers: Hugh Panaro, who has starred in The Phantom of the Opera in both the title role (his current assignment) and as Raoul; Judy McLane, who is about to begin her seventh year as Tanya in Mamma Mia!; Alton Fitzgerald White, who has played Mufasa in The Lion King on Broadway and throughout the country for a decade; and Jersey Boys‘ Peter Gregus, who has played Bob Crewe since the show began its run at the LaJolla Playhouse in 2004.… Read the rest

Having a gap in your resume — a period of time when you weren’t working, or weren’t working at anything that you want to include in your resume — is common these days.

The current 9.1% unemployment rate means there are 13.9 million people unemployed in this country. These people will hopefully soon be employed again, but will all have gaps in their resumes to explain.

Whether your resume gap is because of personal reasons or a massive lay-off, here are some tips to address the issue and land a job offer.

————————————————————————————————————
Job Interviews — Be Ready and Be Honest
————————————————————————————————————
Good interviewers are trained to look for gaps in resumes. Your interviewer will want to know why you left each position listed on your resume.… Read the rest

Getting fired can happen to anyone. People are fired due to performance issues and failure to meet their manager’s expectations (reasonable or unreasonable).

However, in many cases, being terminated has nothing to do with you and your work. In today’s business world, layoffs and “job reductions” are standard operating procedure. You can lose your job due to downsizing, restructuring, a merger or acquisition, or any of a long list of corporate changes that are not related to your performance.

Whatever the reason for your termination, rest assured that you CAN bounce back from being fired. You may even be able to look back on your firing as a learning experience someday.

However, even in the heat of the moment after hearing “You’re fired!” (or “You’re laid off!”), you must try to put your emotions aside and think about the practical steps to take to ensure a smooth transition to your next position.… Read the rest

An interview is a two-way street. Your potential employer is asking you questions to learn about you and your skills. In return, you need to prepare questions to ask your potential employer about the position, your boss, and the company in order to be sure that this is the right job for you.

In addition, if you don’t prepare smart questions, you run the risk of the interviewer assuming you aren’t interested or haven’t prepared.

Your opportunity to ask questions usually comes at the end of the interview. You must prepare at least two questions that demonstrate your interest in the position, your drive to excel in the role, and the fact that you’ve done some homework (researched company, industry, department).… Read the rest

Robert Britton Lyons has played the “King of Rockabilly,” Carl Perkins, in Million Dollar Quartet – the popular musical about the famed Sun Records session that brought together Perkins, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis — since the show’s first workshop production in Seattle. He has since gone on to play the role in Chicago, on Broadway, in the West End, and, now at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages, where the show resumed performances on July 28 after closing at the Nederlander Theatre in June. TheaterMania recently spoke with Lyons about his music background, his long run in this musical, and working with Melissa Etheridge.

THEATERMANIA: How has the transfer been from Broadway to New World Stages?… Read the rest

Sales can be an ideal career path for those who enjoy communicating and building relationships, can easily tell the story of a product or service, and have great presentation skills.

However, in today’s competitive job market, it’s harder than it used to be to find and land a great sales job — especially if you’re new to the job market or the sales profession. We’ve got tips to get you from square one to job interview to offer.

FINDING A SALES POSITION

The first step to finding a sales position is to decide where your interests lie. If you have completed an internship program, you may already know which industry you’d like to focus on.… Read the rest