Ever wonder how Broadway’s top honorees first got their start as professional artists?

Here, 2017 Tony nominees think back to their first professional job in theatre:

For some, like actor Stephanie J. Block, it was a role. “I played Nellie Forbush in South Pacific,” says the nominee for Falsettos. “I can see the theatre, I can smell the theatre, I just can’t remember the name of the theatre.”

Grammy and Tony-winning orchestrator Alex Lacamoire (nominated this year for Dear Evan Hansen) thought back even further to the “gig” that set him on his musician path. “I remember playing in the band at my junior high school production's summer show, which was Bye Bye Birdie,” he says. “I played with a drummer and a guitarist and a pianist, and that was probably the first time I remember being part of a band.”

Tony-nominated director for Come From Away Christopher Ashley started as an intern at Playwrights Horizons, while Tony-nominated Dear Evan Hansen director Michael Greif began working under Des McAnuff at the La Jolla Playhouse.

Tony-nominated scenic designer David Korins (War Paint) remembers his early beginnings, when he was a one-man band. “I think my first professional job was designing a set in a little tiny theatre in Connecticut, and I built it and painted it and propped it myself,” he says.

If you’re looking to make your own start in theatre, or you love stories of humble beginnings, watch the full video above to learn where these Broadway greats got their start.

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