Ask Amy: I’m devastated that I wasn’t discovered at the school play

Dear Amy: I am a major theater kid!

I love everything about the theater. In 2020, I won a regional award from my production of “Guys and Dolls” (I was Sarah). This was right before COVID hit.

In 2021, I started to do the school plays at my high school. I got some decent roles but none as big as the ones I got before.

At our school’s production of “The Sound of Music” (I was Marta), a casting agent came to cast people for an off-Broadway play. I didn’t hear much about it and thought no one got picked.

A few days later one of my friends told me they picked seven kids from our production.

I was devastated, as I have been performing all my life, and thought I was really good at it.

This is even more disappointing because it is my junior year and I’m considering going to a college for theater.

Should I quit?

Supporting Role Sadness

Dear Supporting Role: To respond, I’m turning to an expert, my friend Mo Rocca. Mo is a grown-up theater kid who is a sought-after actor on television and had a leading role in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” on Broadway. (Check out his great podcast, “Mobituaries.”)

Here’s Mo’s answer to you:

“You’re only getting started. If your career is a two-act musical, you’re still in the overture. Heck, the horns are just warming up – and we the audience are excited for what’s to come.

“Here’s the thing about casting that’s both reassuring and (yes) frustrating: There’s little you can do if you’re just not right for a part.

“I’m tall and skinny and so I’m never going to be cast as a sumo wrestler. On the bright side, when I audition for Bert the chimney sweep in a production of ‘Mary Poppins,’ I know I’ll have a leg up on any sumo wrestler who might go out for the role.

“All of this is to say that if you’ve got talent, your day will come. You just gotta stick it out. (The great Angela Lansbury was almost 40 when she was in her first musical.)

“To be clear, there will be disappointments along the way – most auditions don’t work out – but try to use those experiences to make you a better actor.