Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mara Lucas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

In the theatre industry, there isn’t a precedent for the training you should receive before working as a swing. But the role is incredibly nuanced and can pose major safety hazards if not done correctly.

Swings are essentially understudies for the ensemble of a musical. And while that core concept is simple, the job is not. In my experience as a swing, I’ve regularly been responsible for the jobs of 12 or more of my cast mates.

To do that effectively, you need exceptional notes, a deep understanding of the world of your show, and the ability to keep calm and make quick decisions under pressure. But, until now, no one taught you how to develop that skill set – you just had to give it your best shot and hope it worked.

When I was a swing for the first time, I had no idea what I was doing – despite going to one of the top 10 musical theatre programs in the country. I knew what swings were but I had never been told how to be one.

So I learned the hard way.

I wasted a lot of time (that I couldn’t really afford to waste) taking notes that weren’t useful to me when crunch time came. And frankly, it could have cost me my job & reputation. But I was lucky and was able to turn things around in time to be able to execute my job well and make the right impression for some big industry names.

Now, through Center+Center, I’m pushing back against the industry standard of “they’ll figure it out” and working to offer the guidance I desperately needed before everything was on the line. I teach actors how to become safe, effective swings both in-person and virtually to make sure no one else has to wing it the way I did.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I gave my first performance at age 2 after my parents put me in dance class because I was dancing to the music on the weather channel. And I have been performing ever since. I entered the industry professionally in 2013, but wasn’t cast as a swing for the first time until 2016.

I started out totally unprepared but once I figured out what the job really was, I fell in love with it. It is thrilling and complicated and very fulfilling to get to jump in and ensure the show does go on. It’s not for everyone, but the reality of the theatre industry is we don’t get to choose how we’re cast. So I firmly believe every actor should know how to do the job just in case and opportunity arises that’s too good to pass up.

To help spread this knowledge, I partner with university programs around the country to provide immersive workshops where we recreate a rehearsal room and give students and opportunity to try out learning and swinging into choreography. We get to talk through the mistakes they make along the way and how to avoid them. And they get to leverage my experience to start out confidently if/when they do get cast as swings.

For those actors who aren’t in school, I created the Swing Survival Guide, which is a quick but dense breakdown of everything I wish I had known before starting out as a swing. It’s designed to get you briefed and ready to go in the time it takes you to travel to your gig.

I also developed our signature notebook, Thank You Five, which is designed to help swings take the robust and precise notes they need to be effective in their jobs without having to start from scratch. These disc bound notebooks allow for total customization to suit any experienced swing’s system, while still offering the baseline structure a new swing would need.

The thing I’m most proud of is the feedback I get from my workshop students and my TikTok followers who have since been swings. Being able to help prepare them with the knowledge and tools they need to be successful makes this work really fulfilling for me.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think the thing that has been most helpful in building my reputation with Center+Center is that I I’ve had a lot of experience swinging in very complicated situations. Telling the stories of my experiences and the situations I’ve been able to navigate has helped to establish my reputation. But it doesn’t hurt that I have a reputation as an actor that backs this up too!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My audience is primarily on TikTok and I built that base by establishing myself as an expert at what I do. I spend a lot of time talking about why I do what I do, my experiences, and answering questions for my followers who want to better understand the job or how to better support those doing it from their roles. I make a point to answer every question I get because sharing that knowledge is what it’s all about.

If you’re just starting out, my advice is keep going! The first videos you make will probably feel weird, but it really does get easier to make them and the videos you make will get better too.

Contact Info:

• Website: atcentercenter.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/atcentercenter
• Other: TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@atcentercenter