We recently connected with Travis Nesbitt and have shared our conversation below.
Travis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Honestly, I never gave myself another option. From a very young age, I knew that I would pursue a life in the performing arts. I was very aware how difficult the industry was, but I believed in my talent and had a lot of ambition so I’ve always kept blinders on and have never lost focus. It hasn’t been easy, but I never expected it to be a breeze. I’ve had a lot of crazy survival jobs and the dream has evolved many times, but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.
Learning to work hard and trust the process was a lesson I learned in my late 20s that changed the game for me. So many performers get into the business as a vanity project, but I’ve always been in love with “the craft” itself. Once I learned that I needed to be useful and have something truly unique to offer the industry in order to be successful, I really started to “work”. What this meant to me was I needed to get serious about an industry that on it’s face doesn’t seem so serious. Small victories combine to create larger ones. Trust the process, make smart decisions, work hard, have integrity, be a good person, and you will get somewhere you want to be. Also, don’t be afraid to let the dream evolve. You have to listen to the messages that the universe is sending you.
Everyone has their own path, so I would never have speed up this process. The Journey has been just as great and there is so much farther to go!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I attended The Boston Conservatory for Musical Theatre and right out of college booked the national tour of the Mel Brook’s Tony Award winning musical The Producers. For ten years, I worked on and off Broadway and in major regional theatre’s around the country. Selected highights include: Link Larkin in Hairspray, Featured vocalist in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, but my biggest credit was playing the role of Mark in Altar Boyz Off-Broadway for 555 performances. That show tested my talent, my character, and will always be a part of who I am.
When I turned 30 I wanted to create a business. I had always had this entrepreneurial spirit and I wanted to create a career that encompassed all my skills. I moved to London to study at The Royal Central London School of Speech and Drama and received an MA in Creative Producing. When I returned to NYC, The Boy Band Project was born. A contemporary boy band show performed by broadway talent with a rotating cast and rotating set list. When I started the group, nobody thought the 90s/00s was retro, but I knew it was just a matter of time…
The Boy Band Project, transports you back to a time when the boy band phenomenon dominated pop culture and TRL was appointment television. Delivered with their own special mix of handsomeness, tongue-in-cheek humor, and Broadway talent, these boys have been seen all over the world spreading their boy band love. Even if you’ve never demolished a Trapper Keeper notebook with pictures of your favorite boy bander, this show will make you party like it’s 1999 before you can say Bye, Bye, Bye.
The boys re-imagine the sound, movement, and energy of NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Hanson, One Direction, 98 Degrees, O-town, BoyzIIMen, Jonas Brothers and more.
In 2019, opening for US Pop star Todrick Hall on his “Haus Party Tour”, and featured on the US Television show ”Good Morning America,” They’ve headlined residencies in Provincetown, Puerto Vallarta, and The Green Room 42 in New York City. Other notable performances include: Atlantis Cruises, Washington DC Pride, Rehoboth Beach, The Playstation Theatre, The Gramercy Theatre, The Copacabana – New Year’s Eve Celebration, Iridium, Birdland, Resorts World, Empire City Race Track, The O2 Academy (London, UK), The House of Blues (Cleveland, OH), The Metro (Chicago), The Crest Theatre (Delray Beach, FL), and Avenel Performing Arts Center (Woodbridge, NJ)
The Boy Band Project started a popular weekly event in New York City called ‘Boy Band Brunch’ that garnered them the 2019 Broadway World Award for “Best Group”. They received an astounding 8 nominations for the 2020 Broadway World Awards and won Best Original Song for their Holiday Hit Jingle My Bells. In 2022, The New York Times called their brunch one of the top musical brunches in the NYC area.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Creativity INC, by Ed Catmul.
This book changed the game for me. Ed is the creator of pixor, but his book is all about the creative process. The book came into my life at a time when I knew I was creator but I was terrified to put my work out into the world. Ed describes a creative work as an “ugly baby”. It needs to be fed, nurtured, and given the space to grow with an open mind and the proper perspective. Creative projects should come from a round table, meaning that a project should attacked from intelligent minds on all sides, instead of just one voice. Being able to listen and evolve are a creators best attributes.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When Covid happened, The Boy Band Project was really starting to take off. The pandemic was devastating for the performing arts, but I was commited to not letting our momentum die. We immediately moved to digital platforms, we focused on creating online content, and I said yes to performances that we probably wouldn’t have performed in the previous world. I knew in my gut that it was important to just not stop. I had to keep moving to save my business, but also having a creative outlet to pour my heart into while the world was on pause, kept my heart happy.
We didn’t make a lot of money during the pandemic, but because we didn’t stop we were pretty much able to start from where we left off once it was once again safe to hit the stage.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theboybandproject.net
- Instagram: boybandproject
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boybandproject
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-nesbitt-03b45b1b7/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0TaLi_7rOiaPZN-ZA4cp2Q