#2 - James Harkness: Navy Vet turned Broadway Actor

Explicit content warning

11/29/21 • 73 min

Actor James Harkness made his Broadway debut in Aida back in 2001 before moving on to productions such as Chicago, The Color Purple, Guys and Dolls, the Dreamgirls tour, and Beautiful. Now that Broadway has returned he resumed his role as Paul Williams in Ain’t Too Proud on Broadway. A navy veteran, James seized an unexpected opportunity and took a chance when he walked into a dance studio while on leave and forever changed the trajectory of his life.

James shares how embracing chance, taking intentional risks, and learning to trust his instincts lead him to a beautiful and unintended career working alongside mentors such as Tiger Martina and Sergio Trujillo, and performing alongside some of the greatest in the arts, including John Legend, Julie Andrew and many others.

Y’all don’t want to miss everything James is up to. Follow him at @iamjamesharkness and go see him in Ain’t Too Proud on Broadway right now: https://ainttooproudmusical.com/.

Make sure to follow this podcast everywhere you find podcasts, leave a rating and a review, and slip into our DMs at @wasitchance.
More about Heather via @heather_vic keryandco on Instagram and Threads, @Braveheather on TikTok, and listen to The Brave Files
More about Alan via @theatre_podcast and listen to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

EPISODE TAKEAWAYS

Missed opportunities may be hidden gifts
Manifestation only works when you work hard
Resharing our experiences and stories brings new awareness
Learning to trust your intuition
Running towards fear rather than away from it
Resting is an important part of being ready to embrace “chance”
Staying connected to creativity by being flexible in the moment to always do your best

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Y’all don’t want to miss everything James is up to. Follow him at @iamjamesharkness and go see him in Ain’t Too Proud on Broadway right now: https://ainttooproudmusical.com/.

Make sure to follow this podcast everywhere you find podcasts, leave a rating and a review, and slip into our DMs at @wasitchance.
More about Heather via @heather_vic keryandco on Instagram and Threads, @Braveheather on TikTok, and listen to The Brave Files
More about Alan via @theatre_podcast and listen to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

EPISODE TAKEAWAYS

Missed opportunities may be hidden gifts
Manifestation only works when you work hard
Resharing our experiences and stories brings new awareness
Learning to trust your intuition
Running towards fear rather than away from it
Resting is an important part of being ready to embrace “chance”
Staying connected to creativity by being flexible in the moment to always do your best

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

#1 - What is this about? Introducing "Was It Chance?"

People talk about manifestation as a thing that you can just think into existence. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. When it comes to making your creative dreams come true, what really matters is putting yourself in a position to thoughtfully and intelligently take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. And sometimes these opportunities show up in very unexpected ways.

We’re Heather Vickery and Alan Seales, two perfect strangers who met by chance and embraced opportunity! Listen in as we chat with other successful people about the risks they took, and continue taking, to put themselves on a path to creative success.

WAS IT CHANCE? The podcast about embracing opportunity and taking intentional risks for your creative life.

Make sure to follow this podcast everywhere you find podcasts, leave a rating and a review, and slip into our DMs at @wasitchance.
More about Heather via @heather_vic keryandco on Instagram and Threads, @Braveheather on TikTok, and listen to The Brave Files
More about Alan via @theatre_podcast and listen to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

#3 - Erica Swindell: Lead Violinist / Concertmaster for The Eagles

The broadway actress and lead violinist for The Eagles, Erica Swindell, gets straight to the heart of the matter of how taking a massive chance opened doors she actively tried to previously keep closed.

She first picked up a violin at the age of three but after joining her high school theater program decided to pursue acting rather than music. That’s not, however, what fate had in store for Erica. While performing in Broadway Tour of Once, an unexpected audience member completely changed the course of Erica’s life. Who was the audience member? None other than Eagles founding member Don Henley.

Erica has long believed that embracing chance opportunities, taking thoughtful risks, and having a damn good time in the process is the key to success.

Make sure you catch all of the amazing things Erica is up to by following her at @ericaswindell and go see her light up the stage on The Eagels Runion Tour: https://eagles.com/

Make sure to follow this podcast everywhere you find podcasts, leave a rating and a review, and slip into our DMs at @wasitchance.
More about Heather via @heather_vic keryandco on Instagram and Threads, @Braveheather on TikTok, and listen to The Brave Files
More about Alan via @theatre_podcast and listen to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

EPISODE TAKEAWAYS

If you want to be successful you have to accept that you’re going to fail a lot!
Work hard, but stay open to change and new opportunities
It’s really important to laugh, have fun, and experience joy when you’re a creative
When you stop worrying what other people think, your energy shifts, and people are attracted to that
Sometimes you need to create a “persona” to help you step into the uncomfortable and do hard things
There are ways to communicate that go well beyond language

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices