My D received a standby slot initially but got a spot at NETC today.
D is still waiting for Strawhats. Portal still says “hardcopy received waiting for Strawhat panelist to approve.” She didn’t submit until mid January, though. Staying positive, but we figured it might be a longshot since she didn’t apply last year… congrats to everyone w/their NETC/Strawhats slots!
Break a leg to all those auditioning at Midwest Theatre Auditions this weekend! Come back and tell us about your experience!
Thanks @janne006! My S enjoyed his time at MWTA. Here is the secondhand update I have from S:
He thinks there were approximately 15 companies there. The email said callbacks would be posted after each session, but it looks like it was held back and posted before the dance call (on Saturday), but not all theaters got their list up at that time, so you had to keep going back to look. S said if you had a lot of callbacks it was difficult to fit them all in and the evening ran extremely late for those people (I don’t think that is a criticism, just a fact). For those with no or few callbacks, the evening ended very early and some of those people went to a show at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis which is on campus (or very close to campus).
My observations (not S’s):
They do not publish a current list of schools attending in advance (I think he said he got a list at check in). He had to text me a few times and ask me to check on a season while he was doing something else…in one case he had to find a place to learn a song he suspected he would be asked to sing in a callback (he was). I’m not sure this matters to most, but he is a specific type and it wasn’t hard to figure out what they were calling him back for when he knew the season. He would have at least familiarized himself with shows he thought he could possibly be called back for. Overall well run and a great experience for his first summer Unified.
@IfYouOnlyKnew I’m glad your son had a good audition experience at Midwest! My daughter was there on Sunday. It seems like at all these unified auditions it is a rush to get to the dance call, signed up for call back appointments, get through the dance call, and then on to call backs. The more auditions like this they attend, they get used to the busy pace but it can be hectic!. At UPTAs my daughter went to one of her call backs at midnight! And she couldn’t get in to another call back, but she fortunately was able to see that company the next day. At Midwest on Sunday, things seemed to go very smoothly. Fingers crossed for job offers! At least one company said that offers would not go out until after SETC and another company said they plan to continue casting at StrawHats. Keep us posted on your son’s journey!
@janne006 were there a lot less companies there on Sunday? It seemed with only 15 to start with and some leaving, kids could miss out on opportunities. Plus I noticed from the schedule that Sunday is a shorter day.
Fortunately, he had his audition very early and had the time to investigate his callbacks before the dance call, but had his time been later, this would not have been possible. It is the only unified he signed up for this year, but several of his classmates are also heading to Strawhats and some did A1 in January. Your D seems to be hitting many of them, does she see a lot of crossover?
I was worried about my daughter going on Sunday too – the companies have seen so many actors by the last day, and some companies do leave. But my daughter was lucky to get a slot – she missed the first sign up by minutes (like so many people!), but she got her spot later when Midwest opened up a few more slots. She had a really good day – and she didn’t feel like it hurt her to be seen on Sunday. The funny thing is that she auditioned in the afternoon of one of the first days at UPTAs – so we thought that would be a great spot. It turned out things were running late and some companies left before the end of the day. She had to scramble to get to the dance call and get signed up for her call backs – her callbacks went from 10:30 to 12:30 that night. She said that as rushed as she was that day, the next day they were even more behind. I think there is good and bad about different days and different time slots. Yes, there is overlap. One of the companies at Midwest that she saw last year didn’t see her at UPTAs because they had left for the day before her time slot. So she got to see them at Midwest and will see them again at SETC. And another company that called her back at UPTAs and Midwest is also planning to go to Strawhats. It is nice when theatres and casting directors remember you from previous years and previous auditions. Most of the companies and casting folks are friendly and encouraging.
When do most places get back to the kids? Do they ask that you come out for another call back? First time with this process. Anyone know when Hershey makes their decisions?
@janne006 Very good point about not being able to predict when to audition. Thanks for all the information today!
@MomofMTBoy are you asking about Midwest specifically or just in general when summer stock notifies?
@MomofMTBoy When do places call back about casting? It all depends on the theatre. The best thing is to ask during the callback when the company will be making casting decisions. One way you might be able to tell is to go the company’s website and see where and when they audition. Companies will usually make their casting decisions after their last audtions, although they can always extend offers earlier. One year my daughter heard back within a week. The company asked for a follow-up video, and then they offered her a contract within the next week. Then the next year, my daughter went to a unified audition in January and did not hear one thing back from the company until mid-March, when they messaged to say they would be casting in April. Yikes! She was holding another offer and had to politely ask them to extend an offer if they could – and they did. This year a company she is interested in and saw at Midwest said they will be contacting people after SETC. Another company, also at UPTA and Midwest, said they won’t finalize casting until after StrawHats. Sooooo, the hope is that a company is smitten with their amazing talent and extends an offer right away before they lose out on an amazing actor . . . but that hasn’t happened here yet!
Offers from at least some of the theatres at Midwest Theatre Auditions are going out this week. My d and her friends at Western Michigan have received offers from several of them.
It’s SETC weekend! Break a leg to all who are in Mobile auditioning! Let us know about your experience! First report form my daughter is that the Convention Center is “stunning” and right on the water!
Break a leg SETC folks! Anyone else have a kid going to the New Hampshire Professional Theater Association auditions on Saturday, or has done that one before? It is much smaller (120 spots and 10-12 theaters). My D is going for the first time and I am curious if it is worth the drive (about 3 hrs each way for her).
BAL SETC people!
@gingersnap97 just from a quick glance of the theaters attending list, there are several EMC theaters on that list. One has even had a NYC EPA recently, so I think the opportunity for her to work with quality theaters and great talent is there. I’d suggest you review the seasons and see if she actually fit the shows (my S is a specific type, so this is always a factor for us, maybe not for you) and if she does she should go.
Thanks @IfYouOnlyKnew - she is going. I agree about knowing if the season is a “good fit” but she had to register for it before many of the theaters posted their upcoming seasons anyway (I understand why, but it is frustrating). The list of theaters is decent, but some are ones that audition directly at Hartt, or that are going to Strawhats, so definitely some overlap there, but the requirements are the same, so she figures it is a good change to run her Strawhats audition package and see how it works. Every audition is good experience. I am just curious if other people with kids in the NE had heard of it, or had anyone participate. I am not sure it is super well known among performers.
I truly understand wanting to make sure it is worth it. I guess I was just trying to convey that even if it isn’t well known, the caliber of theaters are quality and well known, so they aren’t showing up to waste their time. Now, the overlapping thing… ugh. No answers. I so wish the seasons had to be set before sign up deadlines, but just one more of the many unknowns in this field. Once the theaters started posting shows, I was checking OFTEN hoping I would find something he could even be considered for. Thankfully it worked out for him at MWTA. BAL to your D.
My D is headed to SETC/Mobile today, auditions on Sat! Then Sunday we are all meeting at the beach for Spring Break! BAL to everyone else attending SETC!!
My D attended NETC last year and is attending again this year. She thinks it is worth it - smaller than others but organized and well run.
Can someone direct me to where you find the list of theatres attending NETC?
@Raam1012 - I just looked and couldn’t find it on their website. My D is attending NETC as well. I am curious to see how many different places there will be. I wonder if A1 has cut into how many theaters attend Strawhats and NETC this year.