Now that graduation day has come and gone, the Elon University Class of 2013 is preparing for its next steps. Some are headed to graduate school, some just landed their first job and others are still on the lookout for that opportunity. For one student, the future is the Broadway stage.
Ben Redding, originally from Columbus, Ga., will be moving to New York City in September to start rehearsing for the Broadway tour of “West Side Story.” The musical is set to open Nov. 5 in Memphis. After the initial show, the cast will tour the country.
Redding, a music theater major, said the audition process started during the casting director series, an annual event during which casting directors travel to Elon to work with the senior class.
One of Redding’s friends, senior music theater major Sean Ronayne, said the opportunities Elon offers its music theater students are never micromanaged, especially when they could lead to chances on Broadway.
“We’re given a lot of freedom in terms of what classes we take and how we spend our time. We have a core set, but I think we’re absolutely prepared,” Ronayne said.
Joy Dewing of Joy Dewing Casting was in the audience in front of which Redding auditioned. He sang a few songs and got an email a week later that invited him to travel to New York City to audition again the following week.
After traveling to the city twice for narrower auditions, Redding sent in a video for the final time because traveling back and forth was no longer an option while he was finishing his senior year.
Redding said it almost feels like he will be going through another year of school because the tour is a nine-month gig.
“It kind of feels like the process is getting prolonged a bit, but in a great way,” he said.
“West Side Story” is an American musical set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid-1950s. The musical is centered around the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different backgrounds.
Redding said he is most excited about the strength the show requires of its actors, along with the rehearsals and the amount of time the tour will run.
“The athleticism that it’s going to require to get through the tour and do it well [is] really going to challenge me in a great way,” Redding said. “I think that if I do it right and really work hard at it, by the time I’m done with it, I’ll be a whole different performer than when I came in.”
Redding said one of the challenges he will face is the longer show run time. The shows Redding has been in usually run for two weeks. He will now be part of a show for more than 200 performances and therefore, longer rehearsals.
“[Whether] that’s going to be telling in a good way or a bad way, I don’t really know, but [it will be] a good experience,” Redding said.
After participating in the casting director series, Redding said he feels his time at Elon is complete.
“I don’t think I could get any more out of it than I already have because literally [after] that casting director series and senior year and what you have to go through and do after all you’ve been through for four years — I feel so ready for the next step,” he said. “[Elon has] absolutely done their job to prepare us professionally. We’ve met so many professionals already and we’re not even there yet.”
The senior class has now worked with 12 of the highest-ranked casting agents and directors in the country. With those connections and the web of Elon alumni in New York, Redding said he feels some comfort.
“That’s one of the things that makes it not as scary to move there because a lot of us have spent the last year going up for breaks and there’s such a community there,” Ronayne said. “Yes, we’re going off to New York, which is this big city, but I have so many close friends who are there waiting.”
While some seniors dread the goodbyes at graduation, Redding said it’s not as sad graduating because “we’ll be in a better place soon” in New York.
Redding has been cast in many shows at Elon, including “The Wild Party,” “Crazy for You” and “Rent.”
“I feel like with every show I’ve done here I could say something that honestly changed me about it,” Redding said. “That makes me very happy. I’ve been really lucky, but I’ve worked very hard. I feel like every single part presents a new challenge.”
Redding said “Rent” was memorable because of his connection with the audience. Walking out on stage opening night is something both Redding and Ronayne said they will always remember.
“It changed it all,” Ronayne said. “It set a new level for what was going to be expected.”
The best piece of advice Redding ever received was from Gavin Creel, who starred in “Hair” on Broadway: “Other people’s successes are not your failure.”
“Maybe this is just specific for music theater, but I feel like the only way you’re going to get through in life is if you’re able to let go enough to be able to celebrate other people,” Redding said.
Tickets can be purchased online to see Redding’s opening performance in “West Side Story” Nov. 5 in Memphis.