<p>soozievt, I have heard only raves about this show. You must be bursting with pride!</p>
<p>I second shaun0303’s kudos. I saw it too and the show is so much fun! SoozieVT’s daughter is indeed, fantastic. My friends are seeing it for a second time this weekend!</p>
<p>Thank you both as well! A big billboard just went up for it in Times Square which is sorta cool when I think of her going there so many times as a kid. It has been a great opportunity for my daughter and she has enjoyed it a lot. It’s not the only thing she is involved with right now, and her life is jam packed…but, fortunately with all good things.</p>
<p>soozievt - sorta cool, it’s super cool! Is she on it cause that would be more than super cool lol?</p>
<p>soozievt, it’s extremely comforting to hear a success story such as the one your daughter has to tell (and you because, well, you’re a mega proud mom)!! I think the whole college experience no matter what the major is what the student makes of it and your daughter has made the absolute most of her experiences. Congratulations to her and your family!</p>
<p>MTMajorCook…well, I think it is sorta cool, but it is not as cool as if her own photo or name were up in lights in Times Square! But this is plenty good enough for now. </p>
<p>By the way, my D plays a supporting role, not a lead in the show. It’s considered Off Broadway, not a Broadway house. Being in the show is certainly really wonderful, though lately her other accomplishments outside the show have been exciting. Her life would be plenty with being in a show 8 times per week, but she has a lot more on her plate going on related to her singer/songwriter career and musical theater writing/composing commissions. It is a lot to juggle. </p>
<p>But for those of you with kids coming up, things to keep in mind are having a versatile skill set, as well as not focusing solely on being cast in shows, but creating, initiating, and making your own work happen. My D has never put all her eggs in the “auditioning for MT shows” basket. It so happens, she is in the midst of a 12 month period where she is continually cast in shows, but has plenty of other kinds of music and theater work going on, even if she were not.</p>
<p>What show is it? Or does that break the “confidential” to say?</p>
<p>^^^I’ll use the email function to send it to you!</p>
<p>Hello, everyone! Although I’ve spent hours and hours and hours in the past 6 months pouring over this site, particularly the MT forum, this is my first post. </p>
<p>I’ve heard SoozieVT say before that her d’s work included areas related to theatre, but not always performing in theatre. For SoozieVT and others who know people who earn their livings completely in the arts, what do those people do outside of performing in the traditional way? Also, how did they get to the place where they could earn money doing whatever that is? In other words, what training background did they pursue for it, when did they start building those skills, etc.? Also, in what city/area do the people you know who work entirely in the arts world but not totally in theatre performance live?</p>
<p>I’m asking this for my d, who is a high school junior who will be auditioning for conservatories next year.</p>
<p>From what I’ve read on here ( my D is just a college freshman!). In addition to being hired for shows, MTs can find work as voice instructors, dance instructors, yoga/Pilates/fitness instructors, drama coaches, audition coaches, song writers, playwrights, lounge/cabaret singers, youth theater instructors/performers, movie extras, commercials, modeling, etc… I think there are naturally more opportunities in all these areas in larger cities like NYC, Chicago and LA but certainly can be explored wherever you happen to live. As an aside, we also have friends who have made great contacts working as ushers/concessions in Broadway theaters, answering phones for casting agent offices and jobs of that nature. I think they are very resourceful and many out together several smaller jobs to earn the income they need.</p>
<p>If you want to have the flexibility to be available for auditions, the “other” jobs you have must have the flexibility to allow you to be available from approximately 8am to 4pm on most days to audition. That does not mean you will necessarily be auditioning most days, but it means that you can.</p>
<p>Other means of earning a living need to be flexible or need to begin in the evening or weekends. </p>
<p>So in general that rules out office jobs that are related to theatre. If you make a commitment to a 9 to 5 job, you will not be able to audition. Plus many casting offices/ theatre groups discourage their employees from auditioning.</p>
<p>Not all musical theatre majors have the ability to be accompanists, composers, dance or fitness instructors. Or if they do, it often does not provide enough steady income to support oneself. Many, many of my D’s friends take jobs as bartenders, waitresses, hostesses, party hosts, instructors to children’s after school programs or nannies to make ends meet.</p>
<p>Thank you, both, for your replies. You both gave great information. I’m trying to brainstorm with D areas she can start developing now that may help her support herself flexibly in the future.</p>
<p>I had no idea that auditions are mostly during the day. Here, even the regional auditions are in the evenings or weekends.</p>
<p>I’ll chime in. </p>
<p>First, to answer what other sorts of work does one do besides performing in theater, if they do work in the arts. I can only answer for my own kid, who graduated her BFA 4 years ago. As I have written before, ALL of her work since graduation has been in the areas of theater and music, including all of her survival jobs. This work has included performing as a singer/songwriter (and recording CDs) at clubs, writing/composing musicals that are commissioned, musical directing musicals for college programs and teen programs, teaching and coaching in BFA programs, accompanist in BFA college classes / musical productions / teen programs, teaching in teen MT programs, leading mommy and me music programs, private MT coaching, performing in a musical sketch comedy troupe, various concerts/cabarets. My D’s most recent “survival job” was teaching/coaching/accompanying in a BFA in MT program, but she had to give it up this year because her schedule is so full. </p>
<p>My D has a career in three distinct areas and so has not put all her eggs in the “performing in musicals” basket. She performs in musical theater, is a singer/songwriter (not MT genre), and writes/composes musicals (but only by commission and not speculative). </p>
<p>I think it has been good to be diversified because if one area is not taking off, another may be. Currently, all three of my D’s “areas” are going full steam and so it is almost too busy (a good problem to have). Having a varied skill set really helps. </p>
<p>You ask what skills might be good to develop while in high school and college besides singing, acting, and dancing. Again, I can only speak for my daughter, and since I told you the kinds of jobs she has done since college graduation, I can explain some things she did prior to that, besides training in acting, singing and dancing. For one thing, she grew up studying three instruments. This was never with a career in mind, but I can’t begin to tell you how handy it turned out to be in her field. Being able to play piano has had so many benefits including helping her in MT, but also being able to accompany others and shows, write music, musically direct shows, and simply understand music so deeply. Even through piano lessons, it allowed her to not have to take the MT theory classes in college. She also can play guitar. Actually some MT roles have required instrumental skills! In fact, the current role she plays Off Broadway requires her to play accordian, which she could not play but learned one month before she joined the show, but the fact that she already plays instruments made this come easily. Another skill set is leadership and initiative. Throughout high school, my D created and led various things. For instance, she created two musical revue shows that were student led (never had been done at our HS before) in which she wrote the revue, produced, directed, musically directed and choreographed the shows. She choreographed for her dance troupe too. When she got to college, this continued such as musically directing student run musicals and being the musical director/arranger for her college’s award winning a capella troupe. Another thing is that she loves to create. You can’t really make someone do this but it is an inner drive she has in that area. So, even in college, she created her own projects. She wrote her first musical in college as something she wanted to do before she graduated (and played a lead in it), never intending to ever write another musical again, but this musical went on to be selected for some important events and led to an Equity production in NYC, getting a theater literary agent and more. Subsequently, she was commissioned by other places to write/compose musicals after they had seen this one. She also was mentored by college faculty to musically direct their professional works during her college years and so she gained a lot of experience outside of school in the professional realm in that area, already building her resume for that sort of work. My D truly believes one should not WAIT for someone to cast you as a performer, but to go out and create your own work…which she has done full force as a singer/songwriter (not MT genre), performing regularly in cabarets and a political musical sketch comedy troupe, and writing musicals, etc. In fact, for one of the musicals she is currently commissioned to write/compose, she has written in a role for herself to play! If you want to perform, she believes just do it. Don’t wait to be cast. So, the upshot here is to create work, gain some instrumental music and leadership skills before and during college, etc. </p>
<p>There was mention here of leaving one’s days free to audition. I only somewhat agree, but not to the extent mentioned here. My D rarely auditions. And she NEVER attends open calls (if you do open calls, yes, your days have to be free as these take up a LOT of time). She has an agent and so auditions are by appointment and take up less than a half hour of one’s time, though they are during the day (and require some flexibility). But my D’s days are not truly “free.” I don’t know how she fit in three auditions last week with the very intense schedule she is keeping lately, but she did. I just came back from seeing her in NYC (she could not come home for Thanksgiving due to her performance schedule). My mind spins when I think of the schedule she keeps. She told me that one day this coming week, she has these four things going on in that one day alone: rehearsal for her upcoming concert at a theater where various MT artists will be singing songs all written by her, a formal “reading” of her new musical in development for a NY theater, a callback for a lead in a Broadway musical, and performing that night in the Off Broadway musical she is currently in. </p>
<p>So, I don’t know if this helps answer your questions, but it is a glimpse into the sorts of work and the prep that came before it that a fairly recent MT graduate is doing. I think it requires a lot of internal drive and motivation and not just relying on auditioning and being cast in order to make a life in theater and music.</p>
<p>soozievt - it’s always great to hear more about your lovely D’s many successes!</p>
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<p>Is this typical for kids in New York City with agents? I know in our local market D recently gets most of her work from a phone call rather than by cold auditions, and have wondered if it’s the same elsewhere.</p>
<p>Whoah! I need a nap just reading about your d’s multiple and diverse activities, SoozieVT! Good for her. :)</p>
<p>My D has some experience directing and choreographing, so I could see her doing more of that sometime along with, of course, performing. It sounds like one experience and interest just led to another for your d, SoozieVT; I’m sure my d, who has always strongly followed her own passions and interests, will do the same. I know she wants to stay in the arts, or perhaps combine them sometimes somehow with nature studies and science. It’s interesting to hear how these creative people can find creative ways to completely support themselves.</p>
<p>MomCares,
You ask if it is typical for New York actors to work without auditioning much. I don’t know if that is typical, but it has been the case with my son and his theater company. I was recently talking to a regional theater producer who said today’s actors seem to go in one of two directions - either the traditional auditioning route or making their own work.
My son (who knows soozievt’s daughter, by the way, the New York theater world isn’t that large) and his company have also made work in many various ways. They performed an original show off-Broadway for four months last year, which they just finished doing in Chicago as well. They also tour as a band, have produced a CD and are working on another. They have a commission to write another play, they are writing a children’s book, etc. They have toured in schools. My son has also taught at a summer theater camp, and even given an occasional accordion lesson. This is all combined with living very frugally, but it seems it can be done. It helps that they have a good agent.</p>
<p>Pennmom, did your son’s theatre group exist before he came along, and he auditioned to join, or is it a group of colleagues/friends that decided to form their own group? If it’s the latter, they did begin to think about forming their group during or after college?</p>
<p>MomCares - I’m not certain what you’re asking but if you have an agent then you generally have your auditions by appointment and it doesn’t take all that long, as soozievt said. However, for many starting out, even with an agent, there are often shows that these kids are “dying” to perform in and have been rejected either when their agent submitted them or their agent had a “better” candidate to submit so the agent never submitted them. In these cases an actor (especially one out only for a year or two) might attend an open call which would be an all day early morning affair. </p>
<p>Theatre is different than film/television, however and it is extremely rare in film/tv when an actor can audition without having an agent submit them.</p>
<p>Like Pennmom’s son, some work my D does is self-created. So, she performs because she creates opportunities to perform. For example, she is a singer/songwriter and has regular concerts at significant venues in NYC. Some of the musicals she writes, she includes a part for herself in it (this is the case for a musical she is commissioned to write now and has a reading this week in fact in NYC). Also, for four years after college, she was in a musical sketch comedy group that wrote and performed their own material every Sat. night in NYC at a venue. She is in concerts (and sometimes musicals) of her own creation. Sometimes friends create concerts or shows and ask her to be in them too. </p>
<p>Sometimes she may have an audition because the people doing the show asked her to come in for it (she may have gotten the audition for the current Off Broadway show she is in that way, but I am not sure…I know those involved with the production were familiar with my daughter). </p>
<p>But the auditions through an agent submission are live auditions and not a phone call thing. I think the show my D is cast in this spring happened that way. She has a callback this week for Broadway that was via agent submission. </p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with open calls. Certainly if one doesn’t have an agent, this would be a way to go. And you can do an open call, like amtc mentions, if your agent hasn’t submitted you or you did not get an agent appointment for the show. My D, however, just does not have time to attend open calls. She doesn’t audition on a regular basis actually. She is busy working! </p>
<p>My daughter is a firm believer in not waiting around to be cast in something, but rather create your own opportunities to perform and work in music and theater. This year, she is constantly cast in something, but is still creating her own work as well.</p>
<p>I just want to add that many of my D’s peers from NYU/Tisch where she attended, also create theater companies or original works. She is not unique at all in this way. She sometimes is in their works and she hires them to be in her works. Also, for three semesters at Tisch, she was in the Experimental Theater Wing studio, where creating original work is very encouraged. Her boyfriend is also a graduate of this studio and for example, he is a sketch comedian and creates many performances of his own, in addition to other work he does such as being in a performance group geared at schools/kids, and is in national commercials. But creating work is almost the norm among my D’s Tisch alum peers.</p>
<p>myloves,
My son and his friends actually formed their theater company their freshman year in college, when they wanted to produce their own play for the college’s annual theater festival. They’ve been together ever since. They brought one of their shows to the New York Fringe Festival while they were still in school, and another the summer after they graduated. A few of them have been on some outside auditions, but generally they are to busy to audition.</p>