Childhood Inspirations

[Elphie]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 7:29pm

What/Who was your biggest inspiration to perform when you were younger?
I have to admit I wanted to tap dance from watching all those Shirley Temple films. I use to immitate her all the time that my mother had to sign me up for dance lessons. So I started dancing at 2 and I guess thats how I began in the performance world. I must be one of Shirley's biggest fans- I own all her movies under her Fox contract plus some of her shorts- the Baby Burlesks. What about all of you?

[MillietheModern]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 7:59pm

Well when I was very young and I went to a new dance studio (my old one went downhill..) in 2nd grade, my new teacher kept talking about Fosse and we watched videos with some of his numbers and stuff in it and I just always wanted to do something Fosse because I thought it was soo cool. So he kinda inspired me to want to do tap when I was older. That changted tho. I dont really want to do tap anymore for a living although I still take it. :)

[Corine2]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 8:03pm

Isabelle
Barbara Walters
( As a child I was in awe of Andrea McArdle- I wanted to be Annie)
Updated On: 12/29/03 at 08:03 PM

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 8:03pm

Gene Kelly. Not only was he my first love, but he made me know at the age of four that I was going to be a musical theatre actress. As for females, Liza Minelli, Bernadette Peters, Linda Eder, Patti LuPone, and Ethel Merman.

Updated On: 12/31/03 at 08:03 PM

[Elphie]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 8:26pm

Fosse is such hard dancing! I take a Fosse class and it feels so awkward doing his type of movement.
My first love in the movies had to be John Travolta. I was addicted to Grease at the age of 4 and in love with Danny. I then went on to be in love with Macauley (however you spell it) Culkin, Jonathon Taylor Thomas, and Devon Sawa. I was such a dork! Well I guess I still am such a dork..

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 8:43pm

Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 8:50pm

Yes...Fosse seams like it would be extremely difficult. The dancers make it look so easy, but the way his choreography works is very unusual. I am working with my aunt to go see the tour in Akron as we speak.

Updated On: 12/29/03 at 08:50 PM

[b-waygirl]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 9:42pm

well I'm still sort of living out my "childhood phase" but the way I got started with music was when I was 3 and the piano. My sister took piano and I wanted to be exactly like her and so I wanted to take piano. I began playing and took(and am still taking) the ABRSM exams which includes an aural training section. I used to HATE this because I was so uncomfortable around the examiners who were complete strangers. But then I started listening to my mom's phantom stuff and I thought, "these people sing in front of millions of people they don't know, and all I have to do is sing a few notes for an examiner." so I began singing out. I guess I would hafta say that my sister started the musical thing even though she doesn't play the piano anymore.

[CJR]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 10:15pm

Vicki Frederick and Ann Reinking

[TTL]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 10:43pm

I'm 17 but.....i look up too my equity friends, but besides that....here's a little thingy with A Chorus Line the movie. I used to watch it all the time when i was little and The character Mike says he's from Trenton, NJ. I always yelled out THAT'S ME! lol since my real name is Trenton. Remember this is when i was 4 or 5 lol.

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 10:49pm

This is gonna sound really stupid, but when I was younger, I wanted to be a Spice Girl. I used to watch the movie over and over and copy them. They got me into wanting to sing professionally, whether it be Broadway (which I'm hoping for) or in a band, or just a solo act, the Spice Girls inspired me.

[Amneris]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 11:50pm

when i was little, TIFFANy was my hero.. I used to line up my class pictures and stuffed animals, turn on her cassette and lip sync to her songs for "my audience" my brother used to tell my mom not to bardge in on my saturday matinees loool.

[CJR]

Posted: 12/29/03 at 11:52pm

Hahhaha all my mother remembers is me walking around my house dancing and pretending to be Ann Reinking from the movie "All That Jazz" (and then later on, "Annie"), and Vicki Frederick from ACL the movie and her small part in ATJ

[Daisy Head Maisy]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 12:11am

hmmm well Julie Andrews is a big one for me...Andrew Lloyd Webber ( i know there are a lot of haters out there but his musicals are the ones i first got exposed to), Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe (im a turner classic movies addict)

a more recent one though is Linda Eder

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 1:55am

See picture at left!

[LiTtLeDaNcEr729]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 3:16am

Well, I watched all the musicals when I was little- Annie, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Oliver....everything. When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, while the kids in my class would say "fire fighter" or "police man" I would say "Julie Andrews." One time I had a friend staying over night and we were talking about what we wanted to do when we grow up- and I said "I either want to be Julia Andrews, Lea Salonga, or a vetrinarian" and she said "whos Yvette Trenarian?" Hahaha- it was funny. But yea, I suppose watching all the musicals- especially the ones with Julie, really provided my inspiration. I started dancing at 4 and piano at 6.

[bially082]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 4:05am

Nathan lane

[WOSQ]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 4:41pm

Mary Martin in Peter Pan.

She was the center of the universe for children of all ages.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 5:00pm

It sounds kind of strange, but for me, it was Harrison Ford. At a young age, the idea of an actor separated from the character was still quite difficult to swallow. When I saw Han Solo suddenly transform to Indiana Jones, I was blown away and I suddenly developed a strong sense of the actor that could create two such memorable characters of international renown and make them complete unique so as not to remind the viewer of any other characters he's played.

[dededarlin]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 7:22pm

yeah, Mary Martin in Peter Pan was my obsession as a toddler. we have home videos of me mimicking her at 2 years old. my family says i watched it atleast 4 times a week. thats a bit frightening.
then came Judy Garland, Bernadette in Into the Woods, and Julie Andrews.

[BillyLawlor]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 10:00pm

DEFINITELY Judy Garland in "The Wizard Of Oz"- that whole movie was my childhood inspiration. Ray Bolger was also an inspiration. I could watch that movie 1,000,000 times over and never get bored.

[lovinlife]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 7:44pm

Some of mine:
-Betty Buckley in Cats
-Lea Salonga in everything she did from 89-96
-Alice Ripley, an amazing performance in Side Show that forever changed me at the age of 12
-Bernadette Peters (actually in series called Fary Tale Theatre with Shelly Duvale as Sleeping Beauty and she sang this lovely lullaby)
-any member of the ensemble in Cats (my first show)

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 7:58pm

Barbra Streisand actually.
I remember the first time I saw her I must have been about 5 or 6 years old, and I was captivcated by her as an actress/singer. Then as I got older I discovered she was a Producer, one of the first female directors in Hollywood, a political activist, etc. And yet she grew up with nothing as a child. She is honestly the reason for a lot of decisions I have made as far as College/Career goes.

And then I would have to say Bob Fosse. He sparked my love of dancing. I may not be the best, but I love it anyway.

[Kristie-K]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 8:01pm

MISS JUDY GARLAND.....I wanted to sing, dance and act because of her...I wonder how many entertainers started out because of Miss Garland?

[PJ]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 8:55pm

Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick sparked up the desire within myself to become a film director. Then I got interested in theatre and decided I wanted to direct both film and theatre. So here are my heros: Bob Fosse, Sam Mendes, Stanley Kubrick, and Rob Marshall ( I just really, really liked what he did w/ Chicago.)