Secrets of Stage Success

Two of the biggest musical-theatre stars working today answer questions submitted by the public on a wide range of theatrical topics. A message from Louise and Mark... This is the book for anyone who's seen a show and thought: 'That could be me...'
That's what we used to think growing up, dreaming of working in musical theatre. Now, after years of hard work, we've been lucky enough to star in some amazing shows, including Wicked, The Book of Mormon, Ghost: The Musical, Evita and Cats.
We've picked up lots of tips from other performers, and have developed our own strategies and solutions too. In this book, using this knowledge and our experiences, we want to draw back the curtain and shine a spotlight onto how you can follow in our footsteps.
What makes our book really different (and useful) is that we asked our fans worldwide to submit questions – and thank you to the hundreds of you who did. Dozens of these questions are featured here, covering every aspect of the industry:

• 'What is it like training at drama school?'
• 'How can I improve my vocal range?'
• 'How do I prepare for an audition?'
• 'How should I find and select an agent?'
• 'How do I deal with rejection?'
• 'How can I progress from the ensemble to a leading role?'

This is a tough and competitive business, but passion, determination, a clued-up approach – and this book – will help see you through. Read it to discover the secrets you need to know, and we hope that one day soon, up on stage, it will be you.

'Useful, cheerful... Reading the encouraging, entertaining words of Dearman and Evans is rather like being present at an extended, in depth Q&A session. You can’t help but learn a lot from virtual conversation with people who really know what they're talking about.'— The Stage

'A must have for anyone in theatre training or even just with a keen interest in theatre… a good, easy read that allows you to go behind the scenes and see what it takes to become that person we see up on stage… you can’t get much stagier than this!'— West End Wilma

'A superb book for anyone thinking about starting out in this mad world of entertainment… definitely one to add to the library'— Musical Theatre Review

'One of the best sources of advice for performers and people thinking about performing as a career I’ve seen... a down-to-earth book containing sage advice from a personal perspective... a useful resource for generations of performers to come. Highly recommended.'— Stage Status

'An invaluable resource… peppered with interesting stories about life in the industry… an easily readable book which gives plenty of insight into the highs and lows of life as a musical theatre performer.'— Everything Theatre

“'Useful, cheerful... Reading the encouraging, entertaining words of Dearman and Evans is rather like being present at an extended, in depth Q&A session. You can't help but learn a lot from virtual conversation with people who really know what they're talking about.'”

'Useful, cheerful... Reading the encouraging, entertaining words of Dearman and Evans is rather like being present at an extended, in depth Q&A session. You can’t help but learn a lot from virtual conversation with people who really know what they're talking about.'

The Stage

'A must have for anyone in theatre training or even just with a keen interest in theatre… a good, easy read that allows you to go behind the scenes and see what it takes to become that person we see up on stage… you can’t get much stagier than this!'

West End Wilma

'A superb book for anyone thinking about starting out in this mad world of entertainment… definitely one to add to the library'

Musical Theatre Review

'One of the best sources of advice for performers and people thinking about performing as a career I’ve seen... a down-to-earth book containing sage advice from a personal perspective... a useful resource for generations of performers to come. Highly recommended.'

Stage Status

'An invaluable resource… peppered with interesting stories about life in the industry… an easily readable book which gives plenty of insight into the highs and lows of life as a musical theatre performer.'

Everything Theatre

Louise Dearman a musical-theatre performer and recording artist, the first performer to have played both the lead roles (Glinda and Elphaba) in Wicked. Her other performances have included playing Sarah Brown on the UK tour of Guys and Dolls, Eva Peron on the UK tour of Evita, Mimi in the Donmar Warehouse's production of Guys and Dolls and Lucy Harris in the UK production of Jekyll and Hyde.Mark Evans is an actor, singer, dancer and choreographer. He has played Elder Price in the North American tour of The Book of Mormon, Sam Wheat in Ghost, Flyero in Wicked and Troy Bolton in High School Musical in London. On tour in the UK he has played Brad in The Rocky Horror Show and Curly in Oklahoma!. He has worked frequently in television and radio, particularly as a presenter on Welsh-language broadcasts. In 2011, he created the title role of Marcaroni, one of the most popular children's shows ever made for S4C.

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