Are setc and A1 similar? I thought college auditions were crazy… Just the beginning. Our kids gotta have GRIT to make it in this profession. Good luck to all!!!
@stagedoormama Wow! What a great story! I love it! Thank you for sharing her story – it’s very encouraging! And @ballet97 – GRIT is right! And ingenuity, as illustrate by @stagedoormama 's daughter above!
@stagedoormama Congrats!! Securing summer work early is such a blessing! My D is at A1s this weekend and did get a notification that she has a Strawhats slot - still waiting to hear from NETC. Good luck to all auditioning in NY this weekend and everyone waiting for news from other places!
@gingersnap97 Let us know what your daughter thinks about A1s! Congrats on the Strawhat slot!
This year’s A1’s was definitely worthwhile per my S. Last year being their first year he said seemed very disorganized. This year was the total opposite. They offered many good workshops and master classes and offered a mixer and a group ticket rate to see Sponge Bob the Musical on Friday night. They were able to work his audition times around the workshop and he ended up with 4 callbacks. I would highly recommend applying next year as it seems each year the caliber of theatres in attendance gets stronger. The competition is fierce though.
Glad your son had such a great experience at A1’s! I had never heard of A1’s before- thank goodness for CC! Too late for this year- and why oh why is it sooo hard for these kids to get summer work??!!!
Just dropping in after A1 weekend - Please, please encourage your children to move towards this unified audition.
I have attended many unifieds before and this was the premiere one to attend. I have long adored SETC (and still do), but the quality of theatre was significantly better - and the quality of talent was astronomically better.
The power players in the room made it worthwhile as very few companies sent lower artistic administration - most sent the person with highest casting authority. And dance/acting/voice workshops with Broadway’s resident Dir/Choreos - a huge benefit. A dance call run by the MUNYs resident choreography.
Only takeaways for right now:
- WOW, the talent was absurd. I could have cast my entire season with MT freshman that I saw at the auditions.
2 “On My Way”, “Lost in the Brass” and “Right Hand Man” - all done ~20 times for girls. "I Love Betsy"and “All I Really Need is the Girl” ~20 times for boys
Great work to all who attended!
@TheaterHiringCo - How many kids were there? I have been trying to figure out how many they wean down from the prescreens
@toowonderful - We saw like 950 people all said and done over the course of the four days. Day 1 was all NYC talent (50% AEA). Day 2 was NYC/College Seniors. Day 3 was College Juniors/Sophomores. Day 4 was Sophomores/Freshmen.
These kids were insane. I wormholed on Youtube into the Jimmy Awards and National YoungArts Week on the way home/in my office. Texas State, Elon’s freshman class (!), FSU, BW, Shenandoah - every.school.had.amazing.talent. I just can’t speak highly enough - if your child went this weekend, odds are that they were wonderful. If your child didn’t pass through, don’t stress…almost every student at the audition was a viable professional performer. They had tight packages, well rehearsed…and all well trained. I have never thought that so strongly after a unified weekend.
@TheaterHiringCo - fascinating. My D was not there (she’s focusing on UPTAs coming up), I am just super intrigued by the process
Thank you for the feedback, @TheaterHiringCo .
@TheaterHiringCo Does it hurt someone in these unifieds if they are not from a large MT college program? Curious how students whose schools don’t participate in the big awards programs fare.
@calimomof3 - Not at all. We saw kids from really small BFA programs, and even a few BA. The entire group was talented. It was just that the “big” schools sent more kids and thus had a better overall impression. That, of course, was helped by screening auditions being held onsite.
Does anyone have any insights on College Light Opera Company in Falmouth, MA? My daughter just received an invitation to submit an audition video for CLOC’s Vocal Company. Please share.
Has anyone gotten a Strawhat audition yet? My daughter submitted in December, seems like it’s been forever, and we haven’t heard back. We also haven’t heard anything from NETC. Has anyone else?
@Meanasmom - NETC is still open (until 2/1 I think). Last year my D was notified 2nd week of feb if memory serves
@Meanasmom No word hear from either Strawhat or NETC. My daughter also applied to Strawhat as soon as the app was available. @gingersnap97 's daughter has received a Strawhat slot.
We are in the same boat! My daughter applied to Strawhats before her winter break-no word from them other than they received her application! Starting to get really nervous now, because some parents on CC mentioned their kids have audition slots already! My daughter wasn’t cast in any shows this year( her school typically casts upperclassmen)…she’s concerned her lack of roles in college will be perceived as a negative. I wish they would require a video so they could see their talent… Fingers crossed for us all!
Thanks so much guys! This is our first year for this - I’m needing to book travel and the ticket prices go up as time goes by lol! My daughter submitted as a dancer who sings - do you know if any of the appointments given already have been for dancers? @gingersnap97
I asked my D - she was notified of her NETC slot on Feb 8th last year