I don’t believe there is an economic component… I believe they only hold auditions on campus… and those are the campuses that they go to. I have no idea how they selected the schools where they will audition.
@alwaysamom I didnt mean odd in some disparagement to those schools. I mean just odd to choose certain schools out of all the MT programs. Seems like you would just let anyone in a BFA MT program audition . That’s the way most theatres seem to do the performing intern thing from what I’ve read. But yes after reading some stuff on their site it seems to be they only travel to those schools . Who knows why.
Yes I’m sure they’re excellent at what they’ve been doing “since the 1930s” …I know nothing about the theatre. Never heard of them till this post.
Weston refuses to see kids who live in the area who don’t go to those schools, including some who have been going to those shows their whole lives and were inspired to pursue musical theater by them.
Weston is not a theater that attends the big summer stock cattle calls. They go to these BFA programs in person to recruit/audition actors and so it is not like they hold an audition and limit who can come. They hold auditions ON CAMPUSES and can’t go to every college campus. They have had long affiliations with recruiting on these particular college campuses. It is not all that different than companies (non-theater) who go to certain colleges to recruit new employees.
Weston has been around a LONG time.
Hmm @Jkellynh17 that’s interesting. I can’t say that I’m surprised by MT theatre things that make no sense. I will say if I lived in the area my whole life , supported the theatre and my kid did too I’d be fairly annoyed if they weren’t able to be considered for their intern program once they entered college .
@theaterwork - A1 auditions went to MANY college campuses - but they didn’t go to ALL of them. To be fair -there were regional slots, and kids could submit videos etc… but to me, it is the same basic principal
Also - I think there are others - didn’t there used to be restrictions on the schools for the Chautauqua summer acting fellowship? (I may be misremembering…)
@theaterwork, it’s not really my fight, since my kid is an actor, not MT, and has essentially zero interest in coming back to New England, but it sucks for others.
Yes lol @Jkellynh17 it’s not my fight either . D has no interest in New England to my knowledge.
Thank goodness we don’t have to fight ALL the fights, right?
RE: Weston. The administration has/had been there for a long, long time. However, they are in the midst of hiring a new Artistic Director and I would imagine you will see shifts in that practice.
That was a very old (but tried) summer stock model…exclusive relationships with universities. It saved money and energy. The schools loved it because it gave them a way to (almost) promise work. And although there weren’t always specific economic considerations exchanging hands, the benefits were always clear - props, costumes, etc. If you go back to the 80s into the 90s this was 75% of summer stocks model of hiring. Many actors in their 40s and 50s now gained their card through this method. (Bust your hump for your first few years and we will get you your card after graduation.)
Hence, theatres with artistic administration that has been around 25+ years cast in ways that reflect this system.
Thanks @TheaterHiringCo for clearing that up me w/ all of us with an explanation.
Perhaps if they are hiring a new person there then they may change things up a bit. Especially with the ever changing MT programs pumping out kids.
That’s so true @TheaterHiringCo . Weston may seem like an anomaly now but it wasn’t that long ago that their method of hiring was the norm. 
@theaterwork I know these kids all have their preferences but I’m curious why your D would have no interest in NE. There are some fantastic summer opportunities there, some of the best!
I don’t know if she would ever go there or not. I guess if given an opportunity. I am also seeing a trend though that a lot of the tuition based theatre internships are in New England. I’m not familiar with all the other summer theatres in that area. We live closer to DC, VA ,PA , MD etc.
I’m sure if she goes to a unified audition next year for summer stock she will be interested in who ever would have interest in her. That seems to be what you have to do.
I also know she had issues getting to a prescreen location for A1 this year since it was go to either nyc or somwhere in the south? Alabama maybe? Anyway that wasn’t logistically possible at the time . She does not like to send video as she thinks you have a better chance in person. But there’s really no other way to audition for summer work really unless you hit several unified auditions. Which is hard to do from school.
One other possibility that came to mind when I was thinking of NE options is Quisisana. It’s a bit different, in that it’s a resort in Maine. I know several MT kids, as well as musicians, who have worked here for more than one summer and who truly loved the experience. It’s been a while so I can’t comment on how they audition/hire but if you google it, I’m sure there’s info on their website.