the nashville theatre lost and found

the usual suspects

I recently attended a highly advertised show at one of the area professional theatres in town.As I flipped through the program before the show started, I noticed several familiar names; once the show began there were those familiar faces.“Ahhh, the usual suspects,” I thought to myself.

We live in a city bursting of musical and theatrical talent.Nashville voices hail from the Broadway joints to the echoes of TPAC’s auditoriums.So why is it that I am somewhat flummoxed when I go to certain theatres where I know I am guaranteed to see the same people repeatedly?Their talents are real; they are each versatile and capable actors and musicians.However, they are not the only talent in this town.

As Nashville continues to (hopefully!) grow as a theatre town, I worry that seeing only the “usual suspects” on stage will harm the theatre community more than it will help it.As new talent arrives and continues to audition in Nashville, will those gifted upstarts eventually become disheartened as they lose role after role to a “usual suspect?”Word does “get out” in a theatre community that an actor should not even waste his or her time auditioning at particular venues because the old favourites will be used, regardless of the audition.As this continues, these theatre companies will eventually find themselves with a smaller and smaller group of performers with whom to work and may implode from a minimized audience.

I once worked for a theatre for several years where I, Trudy Gordon, was one of the “usual suspects.”However, the artistic director loved new talent, so much so that if an audition came down to a “usual suspect” or a new face, 9 times out of 10 the new face got it.As a performer that was frustrating; to come so close, to know a role was “meant for me” (don’t we all?) and then see it go to a new performer.Though admittedly, as an artistic administrator, I had to see the wisdom in it.Those choices kept that theatre vibrant and exciting; it ensured that they not only had a wide talent pool from which to pull, but that their audience was always on the rise as well.Not only is bringing in new talent a sound artistic move, it is an excellent business move as well - it brings new paying customers.Every actor has a mum, a dad, a spouse, a co-worker – someone who is going to come see them in a show.And by putting new faces on the stage, those theatres are also putting new bums in seats.I have sadly also seen the opposite - the “imploding theatre,” if you will.This theatre group continually pushes away new talent to the point that no one ever auditions for them except the “usual suspects.”Artistically they may be completely satisfied with that, but will then be hard-pressed to understand why their audiences diminished and their popularity antique.

Of these local groups who are fond of their “usual suspects,” none of them claim to pre-cast or have a company of actors that they always use.Maybe they should.“The role of ___ is already filled,” or, “You will be working with ___ if you land a part in this show.”I have seen it done for only two theatres here in Nashville and I, for one, appreciate the honesty.

Now if any of you are thinking, “Hey, I’M a usual suspect!” - I want you to know that I certainly do not hold the actors responsible.I simply want to see the casting and artistic directors in Nashville become more welcoming to new talent, more aware of what we are so lucky to have in this town.By no means do I want the “usual suspects” to go away.I would straightforwardly like to say that we would appreciate their talents more if we were also given the opportunity to see what else is out there.Mull over it, humble theatre companies.It would do everyone, including yourselves, a big favour to take a more considerate look at those new faces when they tender their headshot to your audition.