Meet Sean Patrick Murtagh | Actor – Singer – Entertainer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sean Patrick Murtagh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sean Patrick, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

I actually don’t believe I consciously chose to pursue a creative career. I had a creative lifestyle unfold before me — little by little, from a young age, I have been creating and working as a performer. I know certain landmark moments that helped set me on this path, like taking my first acting class, signing with my first agent, booking my first commercial, but I honestly could not tell you about a specific moment in which I consciously made the decision for this lifestyle and career path and no other options. I was all in from the beginning, and since I started so young, there was never really any other option for me that I could even fathom.

And after having said all of that, I guess it is important to say my mom was my first mentor and singer I looked up to. She sang at church and did community theatre. I knew watching her what I wanted to be. I just didn’t know what it entailed at that point in my young life. But to be clear she is without a doubt the most influential “landmark moment.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I tell people I am an actor, singer, and entertainer. I am a performer. However you need me, I will show up and I will create an environment in which you are either swept away from your reality, allowing you a moment to escape, or you are faced with your reality, and you discover new way to experience and understand it. This is my art, and I got to this place as a performer by not waiting for opportunities to find me. I got to where I am today because of the roadblocks and dead ends I have encountered on my journey. Auditions and callbacks that led to no where, dry spells in bookings, and general disinterest from casting directors for projects I knew I was right for. It’s easy to throw in the towel; it’s easy to become cynical, and it’s also easy to become delusional. I chose to create opportunities for myself when others were not offering them to me. I didn’t book the part? OK, well then, I will book a date, fill a club and win an award for it.

I continue to show up and submit myself for projects for film and theatre, but I no longer live and die by some creative team’s decision. My career and my success are not determined solely by others’ willingness to hire me — I have to hire myself. I have to create performance opportunities for myself. I have to find ways to keep myself active and creating, so that when someone wants me for their project, I am ready and come to the table confident in what I have to offer as an artist.

This is something I learned from my parents. Not directly related to this field, but in general: work ethic and perseverance. Flexibility, with a wide variety of skill sets, adaptability, and follow-through have been foundational in my growing my brand as an artist and creating a name for myself where I am respected professionally by the very people I look up to and want to work with.

I once had a particularly soul-crushing audition season in New York, where I was getting called in for show after show, learning so many sides and songs week after week. You could not tell me I was not going to be fully booked that summer with all the interest I was getting. I was on fire and you could feel the momentum surrounding me. And then June came, and I didn’t have a single job booked. A huge blow to my ego and heart. So, I licked my wounds and looked at all the material I had been given to learn that season and decided not to be a victim of circumstance. I was asked to learn this music because it was a fit, and I HAD learned it, so I repurposed it into a cabaret (Ready, Willing, & Thirsty), sold out two shows, and recouped financially and creatively.

I think no matter what field you are in, these tools and experiences will help you get to where you want to be. It is rarely via the most direct path, which is why you have to be able to remove yourself every now and then to see the bigger picture. You can continue walking into a wall hoping for a “breakthrough,” or you can step back and locate the nearest door. To put it modern terms — you have to be your own GPS. You may know the route, you may have been given flawless direction, but sometimes you just have to recalibrate and adapt to what is in front of you.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I wholeheartedly believe the old adage, “it takes a village.” I certainly am the product of many people’s support, faith, and generosity in helping me not only achieve everything I have, but in fueling my passion and cheering me on to stay the course. First and foremost, my parents to this day remain the biggest and most influential part of my career. Every time I do a show, regardless of where, regardless of whether or not they can be there, my parents are the first to buy tickets. It means a lot to me, and such a parent thing to do — I can count on, at the very least, a handful of tickets. My parents went out of their way to make sure I had every opportunity to learn and grow as an actor and singer, ultimately giving me everything I needed to succeed. So Danny and Sandy, THANK YOU! (And yes, my parents are Danny & Sandy…I was meant for musical theatre (if you know, you know)!)

I have also been fortunate enough to stumble across amazing teachers and mentors who, separate from the academics of music (which is important), taught me and helped me to discover my own humanity and spirituality in music and storytelling. Teddi Lightfoot, Richard Nickol, and Abbigail Cote have each helped me to level up as a singer at different times in my life. I would not be the singer I am today without any of them.

More recently in the story of my life, I have met someone who, without its being asked of him, has jumped right in with me on this journey. He helps me run lines, he helps me tape auditions, he handles the little things on show days, and he stands right by my side with unwavering support. My partner Jeremy is exactly that — my partner in everything.

Website: www.seanpatrickmurtagh.com

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Image Credits
Photographers: Gene Reed, Matthew Barker, Dianna Bush, Conor Weiss