Theatre kid things

Judgmental theatre nerds

Ever realize how harsh some theatre nerds are? Like, they aren't afraid to (harshly) criticize whoever doesn't sing a certain note exactly the way the original actor/actress did. They always seem so quick to judge when it comes to casting, especially if a "mainstream" celebrity is even rumored to be in an upcoming show, regardless of if that celebrity has had musical background or not. One of the reasons why I'm so scared of performing is because I've seen enough of the theatre community to know how judgmental some of these people are, and I know for a fact I sound nothing like Idina Menzel, or Barrett Wilbert Weed. If a (somewhat) normal person was to see this, they'd probably think, "well, obviously you don't sound like them because you're not them, but why would it matter?" I'd think the same if I haven't seen so many people say "(insert name) will never be as good as (insert broadway cult fan fave)!"
I really want to be an actress, but I have terrible stage fright. I know that the negative comments I've seen on instagram are mostly aimed at mainstream celebrities (and are definitely not directed towards me at all), but thinking about performing in front of such a judgmental audience only makes my stage fright worse. I love fantasizing about being in revivals of my favorite musicals, but sometimes, all I can think about is that fear of someone hearing me sing, and thinking, "she didn't sing that note exactly like the original person! She'll never be as good!"
Now, I may be overreacting a bit (my anxiety tends to make me overreact a lot), but I feel like instead of commenting things like; "(insert name) is going to ruin this musical", or, "(insert person) can't sing", or "(insert name) will never be as good as (insert name)", people should be positive, and say things like; "I've never heard (insert name) sing before, but I hope it works out", or, "(insert name) wasn't at their best that time, but maybe next time, they can do (insert thing) instead of (insert other thing)".
To all of my fellow theatre nerds, if you want to give somebody criticism, give them constructive criticism. Tell them about what didn't work, and how they can make it better, because that is WAY better than tearing somebody down all because they don't sound exactly like Ben Platt (or any other broadway cult fan fave).

Sorry for the rant.