#SwingLife : Being A Swing After 2020
Travis is currently working on completing the writing of #SwingLife, a sardonic take on the “hardest job in theatre”. The book explores the absurdity that is the life of a swing while imparting valuable lessons to any would-be swing with gall enough to take on the job.
From page 1, Travis establishes a tone that is humorously blunt. With sarcasm and plenty of self-effacement, Travis’ sardonic style is sure to have you laughing while questioning your life choices. Balancing personal experience with practical advice and actionable tools, the book is a love letter to the swings out there who have conquered the unconquerable. A salute to the unsung heroes of the stage. And an honest look at how to make life easier for everyone involved in creating a piece of theatre.
You can find a short excerpt from the beginning of the book below:
Who Am I And Why Should You Care?
My name is Travis Ward-Osborne. And the short answer is you shouldn’t.
I’m not some superstar great guy who everyone loves to work with. I was never good at swinging, and I remain bad at it. Even though my Broadway debut was as a swing and I’ve had two other long-term swing positions on Broadway since. But finally, after eleven years in the business, I put my foot down and emailed my agent:
I WILL NOT BE TAKING ANY MORE SWING JOBS
That’s right, you ordered this book from someone who will never be doing this again. But that’s exactly why you should read this and really take it in. I made a million mistakes. So many that I still live in constant fear for my reputation.
But maybe you can learn enough from me about what not to do to avoid all those swing nightmares. And I’m not talking about, “oh, I messed up on stage and it was a metaphorical nightmare.”
I’m talking about legitimate nighttime dreams while you’re asleep where you forget which number you’re going on for and put on the wrong costume from a different show then get yelled at by the stage manager who is also somehow your mom who tells you you can’t come home for Christmas because she’s disappointed and then you fall off the stage and that’s when you wake up kind of nightmares.
And perhaps, from all the things that I didn’t do, you will take a few strategies that you should put into place to make your life easier. And by making your life easier you’ll make the lives of everyone in the theatre easier.