Ever dream of working on a hit viral musical about a boy wizard or a futuristic, insect-ridden world that garners more than 100 million YouTube views? What about watching your cast's recordings of those musicals rise on the Billboard charts? Perhaps you'd like to embark on a multi-city, almost sold-out concert tour to perform songs from said musicals? If any of these dreams have struck an inspirational chord, then take a look at the skyrocketing career of Team StarKid, a rambunctious group of twentysomethings from the University of Michigan who mix stage and pop culture to create a hybrid style of new-age theatre. Here's a "how-to" designed to put fledgling dreams into fast-forward, whether those dreams are on or off the stage.
Totally Awesome Tip #1: Know your roots
Since 2009, StarKid has written, composed and starred in four full-length musicals. Their first was "A Very Potter Musical," based on the Harry Potter series. After posting videos of their school-based performances to YouTube, they saw the total view numbers rise along with their popularity. One of the group's co-founders even ventured into the big wide world of Hollywood: Darren Criss, who played Harry Freakin' Potter himself, scored a role on Fox's hit series "Glee" and is currently starring on Broadway. Ironically, he took over the lead role from the original Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."
It is these beginnings that could be the start of something amazing - and it's a good idea to remember that! In an interview with Billboard Magazine, Criss said that the "cool thing is it's not us versus you; there's no kind of separation."
Totally Awesome Tip #2: Do what you know.
In a pop culture-fueled world, there is always a surplus of "fandoms." For StarKid, continuing their work can rely heavily on their fan base.
"Our marketing team is Twitter and teenage girls telling their friends," said co-founder Brian Holden in an interview with Variety.
When an audience is known, it's easier to appeal to them once their interests are piqued; there's a reason why many successes follow a formula.
However, that isn't to say breaking free from repetition isn't out of the question - in fact, many encourage it! Even Criss broke through the mold and began to indulge in new entertainment options. He still remains part of StarKid, appearing with them on multiple stops of the group's recent SPACE tour whenever he could.
No matter what, the StarKids stay true to themselves and to their fans, and there's no going wrong with that.
Totally Awesome Tip #3: Be fearless, but be smart about it.
Three-hour long musicals about insects and talking genitalia (respectively) aren't the usual Broadway fare. However, StarKid has fearlessly taken these topics and turned them into beloved productions that fans quote and sing repeatedly.
Even their magical journey into the musical world of Harry Potter took guts: They were at risk of angering a massive fandom with any potential mistake.
This bravery didn't come without precautions. As an article by Christopher Borrelli in the Chicago Tribune assured, the group publicly respected the Harry Potter franchise, owned by Warner Bros., by acknowledging that the franchise was not just their own.
StarKid knew when to take provisions and how to use that to their advantage, which led to them branching out from the Potter franchise to encompass a variety of stage topics.
Groups like StarKid are one of a kind, never to be replicated. However, the group's success is something that can be shared with any aspiring dreamer.
The mixture of acknowledging a starting point, maintaining a relative focus and keeping a courageous attitude allows not only StarKid to continue to rise, but inspires StarKids-to-be and the like to pursue their dreams throughout any galaxy.
Back to witches and wizards and magical beasts — StarKid turned a dream into a reality this summer.
