What's in a name?... acting, auditioning: Jacob Ben-Shmuel appears at and looks beyond the Paper Mill.

Jacob Ben-Shmuel, an actor starring in the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," discusses his decision to keep his birth name as his stage name. He explains that actors in the Equity union must choose a unique name for their career, and since no one else was using Jacob Ben-Shmuel, he decided to stick with it. Ben-Shmuel shares his theatrical journey, his Jewish background, and his experiences in the industry, including auditioning and dealing with rejection. He expresses optimism about his career and the connections he is making in the theater world. [Extracted from the article]