Carmen Cusack and Paul Alexander Nolan offer magnetic performances in “Bright Star,” the new Steve Martin– and Edie Brickell–penned musical giving Broadway a refreshing taste of North Carolinian bluegrass. Together the two leads provide the show with its sense of soaring romance, both in 1945 and in flashbacks to 1923, as the smitten Alice and Jimmy Ray.
They also have plenty of pointers for early-career actors. When asked for his go-to piece of advice, the Drama Desk Award–nominated Nolan says, “Know yourself. That’s the most important tool you have.”
Part of knowing yourself, he adds, means going after only the roles that speak to you personally—rather than trying to book a job just to have a job. “For me, you have to know how to get to a place where you know the material and have an opinion about it—not a rigid opinion but at least you’re coming in the room with your power. You’re coming in and actually expressing something you want to express, for a reason.”
For years, Nolan booked roles that didn’t match his passion, roles that didn’t provide as much of a learning experience as those he felt strongly about. “Now, I need to come in with some choices. And some actors are very quick and they can do that very quickly; for me it often takes time to marinate. That’s what I mean about know yourself.”
Cusack, who has earned Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Tony Award nominations for her “Bright Star” performance (and a Theatre World Award marking her Broadway debut), advises actors not to imitate others. “I didn’t get jobs,” she says, “because when I went into the audition, I tried to be somebody else. I had to realize, what I can actually bring to the table is unique. No one else has experienced what I’ve experienced, no one else has walked in my shoes. To try and connect that to the character, what I can bring uniquely as myself into that character, that’s what always gets me the jobs.”
She adds that in rare cases, actors may be called upon to impersonate a specific person. “For [the musical] ‘First Wives Club,’ I did a Diane Keaton impersonation and I got the gig. If it’s very specific, then fine. But if it’s not, and you have the freedom to really develop how you want to develop the character, go with it. And make some strong choices, and be bold, and be yourself!”
Nolan agrees, articulating his fearless approach to auditions: “Know what you need, and demand it. And go into that audition room and take the space.”
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