Alumni Spotlight
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Audition, audition, audition! ESU grad Darrin Lamont Byrd ’91 passed up football, scored with musical theater By Rita M. Plotnicki ’72 “Once upon a time, about 20 years ago, I was you,” Darrin Lamont Byrd, ’91, told the high school and college students participating in a musical theatre audition workshop at East Stroudsburg University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center in April. “You can create the life that you want,” he added. “Be confident and go for a performing career, especially if you know that nothing else will make you happy.” The musical theatre audition workshop was the first event of a week-long residency at his alma mater for Byrd, a musical theatre veteran currently starring as Mufasa in the Hamburg, Germany production of The Lion King. He also gave two talks on the business aspects of musical theatre and two concerts: one a musical theatre concert featuring Byrd and the second with the University Jazz Ensemble as its featured soloist. Byrd’s residency was sponsored by a grant from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. The tone of the week’s residency was
set in the audition workshop as Byrd mixed advice and examples from his ESU experiences and his 15 years as a musical theatre performer. “When I started out, I didn’t like auditioning,” Byrd told the group, “but then I figured out that you have to love auditioning to be successful. Preparation is the key and you need to start long before the audition. Presentation is important—walk in and take the room. Your posture is important. Be confident; know your purpose. If you’re not there to book the gig, stay home. “When I first got to New York, I went to EVERY audition,” he said, “even one for Mary Poppins.” Byrd chuckled and added, “now what was I going to do in Mary Poppins? Years later, however, I got a call from that director offering me a part that I was right for in the Canadian production of Five Guys Named Moe.” From Five Guys Named Moe Byrd went on to play major roles in Big River, Dreamgirls, the world tour of Riverdance and his current engagement. In all of his presentations, Byrd talked about how his ESU experiences shaped his career. “I came to ESU in the summer of 1985 to play football,” he noted, “but playing college level football really hurt.” In the spring of 1986 he chanced upon an audition for Of Mice and Men in ESU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, read for a role and got the part. Parts in other ESU productions followed. “Professors Jay Brennan and Rob Howell challenged me to be the best that I could
There is a nurturing atmosphere here with professors who care and