Who: Ari Stachel
Stopped: Outside the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on 43rd Street
What are you doing in the theatre district?
AS: I’ve been biking around from back-to-back auditions today.
So you’re an actor. What kind of work are you drawn to?
AS: I’m trained in musical theatre, but I’ve also worked in television. I love singing onstage but being on camera is a more sustainable way to make a living.
Are you from New York?
AS: I’m from Berkeley, CA. I got a scholarship to NYU in the undergraduate musical theatre program and that brought me here.
What’s your experience of being an actor in this city?
AS: It’s tough, but it can be really rewarding. On a day like this—with four auditions—when you’re doing what you love, it feels like your entire being is engaged. That might only be 10 percent of the time, but for me, it’s been enough to keep at it for three years, going on four.
What would you like to see more of, on Broadway or Off-Broadway?
AS: I think a wider range of stories being told, and that calls for a wider range of people at the helm — producers, directors and writers. I want to see more diverse stories and more diverse creative teams.
This text originally ran on the Playbill and has been republished with permission. See the full version of the story here.
