My son is not in this position yet, but if offers are extended, he has to take all of this into consideration and I really appreciate every ones thoughts on this issue. Question… isn’t it more advantage when you graduate, to have your equity card (by Senior year)? My thoughts are … at this point, this is the type of theater you should be associated with???
Do you mean, by senior year should you only be doing union theater? My thoughts: not unless you have to take your card. There’s TONS of good non-union theater out there. You can get a lot of experience playing meaty roles in those productions. My daughter had to take her card. She had a lot of weeks of EMC status from two regional productions and was cast in a national tour. It just wasn’t possible for her to stay EMC any longer.
It depends on whether you’re at a level where you can book equity work regularly. (For younger actors there will be lots of cheaper, non-equity competition for roles.) My guess is that it would help a lot in NYC which is very heavily equity, but it might be a detriment in regional markets like Pittsburgh and Chicago, where theaters might only hire 2-3 equity actors per show.
@MomCares - not much to report since last I wrote about this. The bulk of the year has been focused on school and school shows and senior showcases. Son w/ AEA card has used it to attend quite a few ECCs and EPAs in the city. That’s been the only real difference so far. It will be interesting to see what happens after graduation.
@MTTwinsinCA - I look forward to hearing how things progress for them over the coming years. Best of luck to them in their respective showcases!
One thing our D has realized since graduating is that it would be very difficult for her to accept contracts that didn’t pay equity scale at this point just for financial reasons. Between rehearsing, performing, auditioning, commuting and occasional weeks between shows, I honestly don’t see how she could pay her bills with anything other than equity-level contracts. I’m sure some kids must manage, but I’m not really sure how unless they’ve saved a lot of money before graduating or get regular financial help.
My thoughts on this have evolved a lot over the past few years. However, just as an FYI - auditions in New York are getting NUTTY. There are stories of Non-Eqs arriving at Open Calls for $250/week Summer Stocks in DIAPERS at 3AM (I wish that were a joke). The Signature EPA today had 250 Equity Actors in line before 8AM (that is unheard of).
If you want to get seen at an EPA/ECC nowadays in New York, you almost have to have your card. Being EMC helps, obviously, but you have to sit, wait, and hope.
That being said, I budget for seven equity contracts in my summer season. I cast my season from a New York call and hired a total of THREE (all women over 50). The rest were Non-Eq actors making $400ish/week, all from what we saw in three days in New York - there was a TON Of Non-Eq talent.
@TheaterHiringCo - do you think it is a trend for higher level summer stocks to be doing the bulk of their hiring in NYC/Chicago, rather than locally or at unifieds like SETC, MWTA, Straw Hats, etc? Perhaps putting out an open call to find their equity talent, but also “killing two birds with one stone” by filling the Non-Eq cast at the same call? This year, MUNY did all of its acting/singing hiring from Chicago - except for local community talent (open call for dancers). PCLO did most of its acting hiring in NYC (I think) and it appears that any other acting/singing/dancing ensemble hiring was reserved for community talent. These two are among the summer “big guns”, but do you think other summer stocks are also following this trend? Were your Non-Eq hires all from NYC?
@mom4bwayboy - I think it is a trickle down thing. The MUNY and PCLO are different beasts because they can hire literally anyone.
Regarding middle/lower summer stock, I dont know, everyone is evolving. Yes, we hired all Non-Eq from NYC this year. It worked great, because we got the early NYC grads, as well as students from Wagner, Pace, PP, etc. We just saw a ton of talent, a ton.
You won’t see many Equity actors at an Open Call, they just don’t need them - and if a theater is on an AEA agreement they have to at least pair the Open Call with an EPA. Maine State is a higher level Summer Stock - but they had multiple EPAs and Open Calls this past week in New York. Bob Cline did a great write up on AuditionUpdate about what they were looking for.
I did hear that the talent at SETC was the best it has ever been this year. (From multiple friends at theatres.)
Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts, all of your input is incredibly helpful!!!
@TheaterHiringCo … from your experience… I have 2 questions…
- When the student graduates from college and it is their first year in NYC and not just for summer theater, I assume it is more advantageous to have their equity card, or at the very least EMC, in order to obtain the better jobs/pay or is that too difficult to obtain their first? And any thoughts on getting an agent to represent them?
- Summer Theater for next year.... how do you find out the dates and theatres holding open calls? Is there a website or list, sorry I feel a little naive?
Thanks … 
Thanks @TheaterHiringCo for again sharing your knowledge/experience. It sounds like an ever-increasing number of ever-increasingly talented actors/singers/dancers are needing to adapt to trains that are pulling out of the station on different tracks than they may have used in the past. Hope these kids are figuring out how to build another station.
@Inspired59 ~ you don’t get better jobs with your card, you get easier access to auditions for those jobs. My son get his agent from the senior showcase in NYC.
@Inspired59 - @lojosmo is right, mostly. The key is getting SEEN at Equity Calls (EPAs, ECCs) and for that you need your card. An agent can get you auditions without your card, though, and that can be helpful. (Appointment Only Days - not on EPA days.) I would DEFINITELY get an agent asap. My actors get 10-20% more with agents, mainly because their agents won’t let them work for first offers, ever!
Regarding your second question - Most everyone uses Backstage, Playbill - and maybe Actor’s Access. I would just keep a constant eye on Backstage - it has pretty much every major call in every major city.
Well yes. But it’s not that easy, and can be much harder for some than for others.
@TheatreHiringCo How do you choose an agent? If you only get one agent interested in you @ the showcase do you go with them or how do you investigate the best agent for you? I don’t even know what questions to ask, let alone what the right answers are. What if multiple agents are looking to represent you? What are good questions to ask and what is considered top responses to look for or service they provide? Thank you for any insight with this!!
@tmygirl, this is one of those situations where it is important to have contact with previous grads who are working in the business. Word of mouth is important here. Not all agents are created equal, and you can usually get an indication from working actors as to which would be a good option and which to avoid. The grads I know who had several offers of representation, almost always did a ‘freelance’ bit of time with all to see who was able to best get them seen in the auditions they were interested in, and then making a decision as to whom to sign with. Fit is a word that gets thrown around a lot in college admissions, and it can also apply to a relationship with an agent. There is no one single answer that is going to be right for every grad/every situation.
@austinmtmom and @tmygirl -
I should have said that. Getting an agent CAN be hard, but isn’t always. There are a ton of Pay to Plays, and Workshops that get you in front of agents and CDs nowadays. It makes it a bit easier, but client lists are heavy.
Right now most agents have pretty standard contracts, so I would go completely off of reputation. You would need to ask current, NYC actors who the best ones are. Also, AuditionUpdate is the best source of information for that stuff, too.
Thanks so much @alwaysamom and @TheatreHiringCo
D’s agent approached her after seeing a professional show she was in during her Junior year of college, so that’s another way some kids get representation. She chose to skip her NY Showcase as she already had an agency she liked and the showcase timing conflicted with a great contract. Most of her friends found their agents through Showcase (both NYC and Chicago), though a few had started college with representation.
@theaterHiringCo - I’ve also been hearing dark stories about recent open calls in NYC, including actual fights breaking out among those trying to get on lists. Fortunately so far D has never had to attend one, but there absolutely has to be a better way to organize those calls by using online typing and pre-screening, or at least online signups.
Picking up on @MomCares post #77 as to ways some obtain agents, my daughter has gotten agents both the ways she mentions…via showcase, and also agents seeing her perform. First, while at NYU/Tisch senior year, she opted out of the guaranteed MT showcase in CAP21 studio (the MT studio at Tisch at the time) because of choosing something else that final semester. However, when she attended, Tisch also had a Tisch-wide MT showcase that only took 12-15 participants from all of Tisch and so it was by audition. My D gave up the sure bet showcase, but ended up getting into the showcase for Tisch by audition. She did secure an agent through that, after appointments with about 5 agents following showcase.
About two years later, she wasn’t that happy with her agent. At that time, my D had her first original musical produced professionally and she also starred in it. Her good friend and former classmate was the director/choreographer. He had a talent (actor) agent whom he invited to see the show. He told the agent that my D was interested in new representation. That agent came to see the show and ended up signing my D and that is still her current talent agent. The upshot is that while showcase is one good way to get representation IF it happens (and it doesn’t always), it is not the only way. Getting yourself out there performing in some capacity where an agent might come or you’re seen by those in the industry can result in representation or simply networking and new opportunities. As well, if a friend has an agent and can refer you or invite the agent to see your work (if they are also involved in the work, it can help), that’s another way.
(postscript on the former classmate who directed my D’s original show…he no longer is acting…he has had significant directing and choreographing jobs and next will be choreographing on Broadway!)
In fact, my D also has a second agent for Theater Literary. The way she got that agent was a song from her first original musical was selected to be part of a showcase at a major new MT festival in the city in which industry people attend. An agent saw this one sample of her work and signed her. Other significant opportunities also arose from that one sample being seen by those in the industry. So, again, getting yourself or your work on stage in some capacity in a market where there are agents and industry folk, can reap benefits.
As to taking the Equity card sooner or later…I feel this is a very individual thing and would never say one way is better than another. Like with many things, ,there are pros and cons of which option you end up doing. Others have already mentioned some of these pros and cons. But if you are based in NYC, like my D is, it can be helpful to be Equity in terms of being eligible to audition for a lot of things you likely won’t be seen for otherwise. If you are looking to do National Tours or theaters in some other markets, perhaps staying Non-Equity longer may be beneficial. My D is truly more interested in Equity work. As well, it usually pays better and there are benefits such as health insurance through AEA. As others said, if you have an agent, and are non-Equity, you can be seen for Equity shows/roles. My D has never done open calls. A huge benefit to having an agent is being submitted and getting audition appointments for a specific time slot and not attending any open calls. My D got her first audition through her agent she obtained through senior showcase, with a phone call about the appointment as we were literally in the car leaving graduation. She booked that first audition and got her Equity card through that job. She never considered not getting an Equity card. So, she has had it from the fall following graduation, right around her 21st birthday. I’m not saying that is right for everyone, but she is happy to be Equity. She doesn’t have interest in non-Equity tours, for example. She also never does summer stock. While based in NYC, she has done some shows in major regional theaters but these were all Equity contracts and the auditions were held in NYC. So, some of the decision may be centered on where you live and the type of work you may want to audition for.
My D truly doesn’t audition very often. I think she barely has at all this past year, mostly because she is booked in various projects solid all year and so can’t audition for anything that would conflict. The next time she is free is later in September (though that is her wedding too). But auditions for that period of time haven’t really gotten underway. Still, even when she is available, she doesn’t audition that often and as I wrote, doesn’t attend any open calls and never has, nor really can afford the time to do those very long audition events.
@MTTwinsinCA - just wondering if there were any updates for your Eq/nonEq Ss’ summer/post-graduation professional plans? I’m guessing they have graduated - or nearly - and had their senior showcases. Any new experiences to add to this discussion? Are you surviving this “culmination” (Ha!) of their two MT college journeys?