The Business of Show Business

After sold-out runs in Cardiff and at the National Theatre, Pride is transferring to the Bridge Theatre this November. In this special mini episode, Jamie Body sits down with BAFTA-winning writer Stephen Beresford and Tony-nominated actor Samuel Barnett to talk about bringing the true story of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners to the stage.

Stephen explains what a musical can do that the film couldn’t, including how a song about the Sexual Offences Act conveys information in a way a scene on screen never could. He also talks about having Pride and his new film Elsinore, which is opening at the BFI London Film Festival, both landing at the same time. Samuel shares how a three-week workshop turned into what felt like a long audition, why he wasn’t ready to let go of playing Jonathan, and what he’s learned from shows that transfer, from The History Boys to Pride.

They finish with advice for drama students and early-career writers and actors trying to get a foot on the ladder in a changing industry.

🎟 Pride the Musical runs at the Bridge Theatre in London from 12 November.

🎧 Listen to the full podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major platforms

📱 Follow Jamie: @bodyjamie

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#PrideMusical #BridgeTheatre #StephenBeresford #SamuelBarnett #WestEnd #MusicalTheatre #TheBusinessOfShowBusiness #LGSM #TheatrePodcast

In 2009, Adrian Gas danced on Take That's record-breaking Circus Tour. Seventeen years later, he came back to choreograph it.

Adrian is a dancer, choreographer, movement director and creative director. He has performed with Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Kylie and Rihanna, and worked on The Voice and Strictly Come Dancing. In this episode, Jamie Body sits down with him to talk about moving from the stage to the other side of the panel, and what really decides who gets booked.

Adrian grew up in his mum's dance school in Ibiza, the son of a pianist and the grandson and son of Tiller Girls. He shares how winning a choreographic competition at Performers College planted the first seed, and why years of assisting taught him more than anything else. He also explains why the dance steps are often the easy part of a choreographer's job.

He is refreshingly honest about casting. He talks about the height, hair colour, passport and budget decisions you will never hear about, and why worrying about them gets you nowhere. He also covers what makes a good email to a choreographer, why you should never go past two minutes on a showreel, and why lateness is the quickest way off his next job.

In this episode:

• From Ibiza to Performers College, and falling in love with commercial dance
• Assistant to choreographer: the skills that led him there
• Reimagining Take That's Circus 17 years on, and reinventing Relight My Fire
• Working with Kim Gavin, a creative who won't take no for an answer
• Why networking is really just being a good human
• Emails, follow-ups and research: what gets you remembered
• Showreels: front-load your best work
• What happens behind the audition panel
• Does your follower count matter?
• How to practise your way out of audition nerves
• Quick-fire round: Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake and a bottle that wasn't water

Connect with Adrian:

adriangas.com

Connect with Jamie:

Website: jamiebody.com

Instagram: @bodyjamie

The Business of Show Business is the podcast about the entertainment industry through a business and career lens, for performers and creatives who want a career, not just a job. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate and review. It really helps the show reach more people.

James Rowell and Natalie Dawson both started as performers, and now they have built a creative studio producing shows for Hampton Court Palace, London Zoo, Camden Market and cruise lines worldwide. In this episode James and Natalie of JR Creative Group pull back the curtain on what actually gets a performer hired, rehired and remembered — and why the most talented person in the audition room often isn't the one they book.

In this episode, we get into how you actually make the move from stage to studio: pitching, budgeting, scope creep, and the unglamorous business skills nobody teaches at drama school. They also open up the casting inbox — 300 emails per call-out, and exactly what makes one stand out.

We cover:

- Why personality and reliability get you rebooked more often than technique

- Always asking for a budget, even a ballpark, before you go blue-sky

- Scope creep and the cost of being a pleaser

- The full Hampton Court Palace Christmas timeline: pitch to opening night

- Casting email etiquette, headshots and CVs that actually work

- Why resorts, cruise ships and holiday camps are the best training you'll get

- Pricing your day rate to cover overheads, savings and a pension

- Networking alone, and why relationships come years before contracts

- Making the transition from performer to creative director

Follow the show wherever you listen, and find more at jamiebody.com.

Scott Garnham has lived the full arc of show business — West End leads in Les Mis and Billy Elliot, a Netflix film, and now co-founder of the Barricade Boys and Sisco Entertainment Group, producing shows across cruise ships, US tours and the West End.

Jamie Body sits down with Scott to talk life on and after the stage: why the industry is unfair and owes you nothing, the transferable skills performers underestimate, how to pitch and pack a show, what actually stands out in auditions, and why every performer needs to think of themselves as a business.

Perfect for performers, producers and creatives — on stage or behind the scenes — who want the real, unfiltered business side of the industry they love.

Follow Sisco Entertainment and The Business of Show Business for more.

Over 3,000 shows perform at the Edinburgh Fringe every August. So how do you get a show there — and how do you make it stand out?

Jamie Body spends the festival on the ground with the people making it happen: PR Chloé Nelkin of Chloé Nelkin Consulting, Alex Harvey of circus company Ockham's Razor (Collaborator), co-writers Alex Moneypenny and Adam Tuffre (The Shocking Truth About Flat Earth), Emily Weitzman (Furniture Boys), Corey Muizelaar (Behind Closed Doors), Alex Urwin of Kick It Anywhere (The Jolly Fisherman), and Rachel Twigg (Your Choice, Amanda Royce).

They talk honestly about money, PR, flyering, venue strategy, star ratings and what happens after August — including the writers who are £18,000 in the red, and the producer who will sell out his entire run and still make a loss.

In this episode:

- Why PR is about profile, not a guaranteed sell-out

- When Fringe planning actually starts (earlier than you think)

- Why three stars is a good review

- Choosing a venue you can fill over one that looks impressive

- The true cost of accommodation, travel, previews and pints

- Marketing that comes from the show rather than bolted onto it

- How to build a second life for your show once the festival ends

The Business of Show Business covers the entertainment industry through a business and career lens, for performers, makers and everyone building a career in the arts.

How do you go from waiting tables between auditions to co-directing a Disney musical with Jason Donovan and Harry Judd? And once you're the one running the room, what do you actually want to see when a performer walks in to audition?

Joseph Houston and William Whelton turned a former Manchester mill, first advertised as a storage space on Gumtree, into Hope Mill Theatre, one of the most talked-about producing houses in the UK. Ten years on, they're producing and co-directing a brand-new production of High School Musical, opening at The Lowry this summer before transferring to the Troubadour Wembley Park.

Jamie sits down with them to talk auditioning, producing, and swapping the performer hat for a business hat.

"Everyone on that panel is rooting for you to succeed."

In this episode:

- Why "50% naivety, 50% ambition" built a theatre, and why that's a superpower, not a weakness- The false sense of security that helps performers pivot: people only see what you show them

- What producers really think when you walk into the audition room (and the red flags that stand out)

- Why an audition is a job interview, and how to make safe, strong choices instead of risky untested ones

- The permission slip most performers need: bring your sides in your hand, and just ask

- How to wear the producer and director hats at once, and why "there's always a budget" makes the work better, not worse

- Why regional theatre matters, and how shows now reach Manchester before London

- The business skills nobody teaches performers: take every opportunity, even as a runner

- Why your performing career was never a failure, just part of the journey

Got a topic you want covered on the show? Send Jamie a DM. And if you're near Manchester or London this year, go and see High School Musical live.

Subscribe for honest conversations about the business behind the performing arts, made for performers, creatives and anyone building a sustainable career in this industry.

And find out more about High School Musical here - https://highschoolmusicalonstage.com/

Actor and entrepreneur Ellie De Rohan trained at RADA, performed in Kenneth Branagh's King Lear in the West End and on Broadway, and appeared in Death on the Nile, Anatomy of a Scandal and Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal. She's also the co-founder of Mona, a platform connecting actors to flexible, well-paid work that fits around auditions and performance careers.

In this episode of The Business of Show Business, host Jamie Body sits down with Ellie to talk honestly about the reality of an acting career: the dizzying highs of a West End transfer, the nine-month gaps with no work, and how to build a survival job that actually respects your skill set.

If you're an actor, dancer, performer or drama school graduate trying to work out how to pay rent without losing your craft, this one's for you.

WHAT WE COVER:

- Going from RADA graduate to Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, then not working for nine months

- Why the "unicorn" straight-out-of-drama-school success story is rarely the full picture

- The difference between stage and screen acting and what each demands

- How Ellie co-founded Mona and why actors make the best hospitality, promo and events staff

- The transferable skills every performer already has (and undervalues)

- Managing money, tax and cashflow as a freelance creative

- What a healthy, positive relationship with an agent actually looks like

- Writing to industry contacts without stepping on your agent's toes

- Launching Lisa, Mona's UGC and content creation arm, and navigating brand and advertising legislation

- Why you should keep training after drama school, American-style

- Taking care of your "muggle self" and your "magic self"

Ellie's advice for graduates, plus our Lights Questions Action quickfire round covering her favourite jobs, falling off a stage in New York, and working with Kenneth Branagh.

FIND MONA:

Website: monacareers.co.uk

Instagram: @monacareers

ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF SHOW BUSINESS:

The Business of Show Business is the podcast unpacking the commercial reality behind creative careers. Hosted by Jamie Body, performer turned industry commentator, journalist and presenter, each episode brings you honest conversations with the people navigating the business side of the arts.

Now in Season 7, distributed across 45+ countries.

Website: www.jamiebody.com

Contact: [email protected]

Subscribe and leave a comment wherever you watch or listen.

Nobody teaches performers the business side of the industry. You spend years on audition technique, vocal training, dance and craft, then get into the industry and realise no one showed you the other half: how to think of yourself as a business, how to market what you do, and how to make sure the right people know how to find you.

In this solo episode kicking off Season 7 of The Business of Show Business, Jamie Body draws on nearly 20 years across theatre, TV, film, arts marketing and industry journalism to unpack the mindset and practical strategies that get you in the room and keep you there.It's not always the most talented person who works. It's the most discoverable, the most consistent, and the one who makes it easiest for the right people to say yes.

In this episode:

- Why you are the CEO of your own career (and your own marketing manager, PR, finance director and HR)

- What your personal brand actually is: what people say about you when you leave the room

- How to turn your reach from a 150-seat theatre into a "stage without walls"

- The brand audit every performer should do (open an incognito window and Google yourself)

- Why you should pick three platforms and "be a triple threat" rather than burning out on six

- The "go ugly first" rule and how to beat social media resistance

- What to post when you're not working (hint: you're always working)

- The brand lens: does it entertain, inspire, start conversation or educate?

- The rule of threes for content

- Why a goal without a plan is just a wish, and how to work backwards from it

- Networking vs canvassing: two ears, one mouth

Whether you're a performer, creative, or freelancer trying to build a career that reflects how hard you work, this episode offers a different lens to look through, one that changes how you approach every decision related to your career.

Got a topic you want Jamie to explore? Send a DM.

Subscribe for new episodes of The Business of Show Business, with conversations featuring performers, casting directors, agents, producers, marketing specialists and PR experts, all answering the same question from different angles: how does this industry actually work, and how can you make it work for you?

🎧 Listen to the full archive wherever you get your podcasts

🌐 thebusinessofshowbusiness.com

📩 [email protected]

🎧 Listen to the full archive wherever you get your podcasts

🌐 thebusinessofshowbusiness.com

📩 [email protected]

What does it actually mean to succeed as an actor? In this episode, journalist and presenter Jamie Body is joined by Alexa Morden — actor, coach, author, and founder of the 98% podcast and CIC — to have the conversation the industry rarely wants you to hear.

Alexa breaks down why chasing the traditional idea of "making it" could be holding you back, how to find genuine success and fulfilment at any stage of your acting career, and why being in the 98% of actors who don't earn their main income from acting is nothing to be ashamed of.

They also get into the red flags actors need to watch out for — from fake producers and IMDb credit fraud to agencies withholding pay — and why Alexa turned her podcast into a Community Interest Company to keep fighting for actors who have nowhere else to turn.

Plus, in Lights, Questions, Action: the role Alexa always wanted, the acting advice she thinks is complete nonsense, and why you absolutely need to be her friend if you're okay with voice notes.

🎙️ Topics covered:

• Why only 2% of actors earn their main income from acting?
• Redefining success on your own terms. Internal vs external validation. Control the controllables — a process-focused approach to your career.
• Industry red flags and the work of the 98% CIC: The myth of blacklisting.
• Writing Beyond the Spotlight with her father, performance psychologist Dr Steve Ball 📖 Alexa's book Beyond the Spotlight is out now.

🎧 Find the 98% podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. The Business of Show Business is the podcast for performers, creatives, and industry professionals navigating the real world of show business. Hosted by Jamie Body, distributed across 45+ countries.

Subscribe for new episodes monthly and leave a comment below — what's your definition of success as a performer?