All Right, Jared. You're On!

He showed up to watch.9:28 AM. Carroll’s Rehearsal Studios. The Tina Turner Broadway show is about to start.Jared’s a college student at NYU. He’s not there to play. He’s there to observe — to see how a real Broadway drummer handles a real Broadway rehearsal. He’s looking at the chart on the stand. Not touching anything. Just studying.9:30 hits.The drummer isn’t there.Contractor John Miller scans the room. Lands on Jared.“All right, Jared. Sit down. You’re on.”He sat down. Blacked out. And sight-read 15 minutes of a mega-mix — a chart he’d never seen, styles flipping every 16 bars, a section in 3/4 buried in the middle — while a friend quietly filmed from across the room.He had no idea that moment would eventually lead to his first touring gig: Beautiful.Not because he was perfect that day, but it was because he was prepared before it.My full conversation with Jared Shaw drops soon on the Broadway Drumming 101 podcast.Clayton Craddock is the drummer for Cats: The Jellicle Ball on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre. He is also the founder of Broadway Drumming 101 and the author of Broadway Bound and Beyond: A Musician’s Guide to Building a Theater Career.His Broadway credits include Memphis, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Ain’t Too Proud, and Cats: The Jellicle Ball, with additional credits spanning tick, tick…BOOM!, The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical, and subbing on Rent, Motown, Evita, Avenue Q, and the Hadestown tour.Clayton has appeared on The View, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the Tony Awards. He has performed with artists ranging from Chuck Berry and Ben E. King to Kristin Chenoweth and Norm Lewis.www.claytoncraddock.comThis Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe