# 39. stepping back from broadway auditions, redefining identity, and building a nonprofit with Andrew Norlen

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kicking-it-real-7560311/39-stepping-back-from-broadway-auditions-redefining-identity-and-building-a-nonprofit-with-andrew-norlen
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kicking-it-real-7560311/39-stepping-back-from-broadway-auditions-redefining-identity-and-building-a-nonprofit-with-andrew-norlen.md
Podcast: [Kicking It Real](https://stenobird.com/podcast/kicking-it-real-7560311)
Published: 2026-07-01T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kicking-it-real-podcast/episodes/39--stepping-back-from-broadway-auditions--redefining-identity--and-building-a-nonprofit-with-Andrew-Norlen-e3l8akp
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/10ad936d0/podcast/play/121956441/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-5-30%2F427068145-44100-2-e31db121fb5b1.mp3
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Duration seconds: 7082

## Resource

This episode felt like getting a download from someone a few steps further down a road I'm just starting to walk myself. Andrew Norlen is a Boston Conservatory grad who wrote the book that gathered over two hundred Broadway letters during the shutdown, founded a nonprofit working to open the first wellness and community space for performers in Manhattan, and somehow does all of that while serving as associate director across Robert Hartwell's companies, the Broadway Collective and the Unstoppable. He has been chasing a Broadway debut for years, closed a non-union national tour of Kinky Boots, and got the offer for that show five minutes before places on a totally different contract he almost didn't take. We get into why rest still feels like something he has to earn instead of something he's allowed to just take. We talk about the years he spent making decisions based on what other people would think, and what it actually took to stop. We get into the audition he almost gave up on for good, right before it became the best one he'd ever done. And then we talk about the family change that forced him to ask, for maybe the first time, what he actually wants instead of what looks right on paper. If you are in a season of choosing yourself and still feel guilty about it, this one is for you. Stay in the loop with me 👇🏼🤍 Instagram: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby TikTok: @potentiallygabby Find Andrew here👇🏼 Instagram: @anorlen @bravingthebusiness

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