<p>We are so excited!! My D decided at the last minute to audition in NYC last week for a theatre group which was in the city to audition for their company in the far northeastern U.S. Since she is at Montclair State, she can easily go back and forth to New York. Anyway, she got a bunch of callbacks and was thrilled with just that alone, but she got the phone call today that she has a job!! They were extremely complimentary in the phone call, and we are ecstatic!! She was late sending in her application for Strawhats so we thought she would be home this summer (which we are kindof sad that she will not - well for about a month she will be anyway). At any rate, as we talked about today, this is what is so great about her location. She has the ability to audition like this, plus she has a voice teacher in the city as well as her teacher at school. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have already been figuring hotel and air fare and mapping out the route - 10 hours - arghhhh!!!! There are four productions, so that is a lot of trips!!</p>
<p>That's so exciting, dancermom! Your daughter must be so thrilled, and you so proud. You'll miss her, but will have a blast visiting for the shows!</p>
<p>Yeah dancermom! That is FABULOUS! I am so happy that things are working out so wonderfully for your daughter! :)</p>
<p>Dancermom! Hooray and congratulations!!! That's really great!</p>
<p>Thanks all! There is nothing better than when something great happens for your children, right? We are happy campers!</p>
<p>Absolutely, and depending on how far north she is as well as where you are traveling from, I have the scoop on an amazing airline you should know about with incredible fares! PM me if interested...ASAP!</p>
<p>So much for my fabulous airline....skybus just shut down operations! COME BACK!!!!</p>
<p>Still looking for summerwork anyone have any suggestions? worried that it's too late</p>
<p>I would suggest that your D (I think you have a D and not and S in theatre) keep an eye on Backstage for companies still auditioning... there are some companies that will audition later, and some that will hold auditions for specific roles that they were unable to fill at earlier auditions. I also would suggest looking for unpaid opportunities that could dovetail with a paid summer job -- some summer theatres will have local performers in productions and work around work schedules. The theatre in NH where I work does this -- we only have so many paid positions, and then fill out the company with performers who live locally, and can work our rehearsal performance scheudule with another job.</p>
<p>Yes I do have a D, thanks for your good advice, hope we get lucky</p>
<p>Since my last post on this thread, several CCer's have PM'd me asking how my D made out with her Strawhat callbacks. Out of all, she was in negotiations with two (not because she was holding out for $, but they were indecisive). One was in NJ (singing), and the other in Maine (multi-performing & working at hotel).
In the meantime, D decided to continue auditioning on her own. I prefer not to post details as others have mentioned, for safety reasons, however, I'm PROUD to say that she not only has been cast in a musical this summer, but has the lead to boot!! Although it's non-equity she will be getting a wonderful experience working with some pro actors, and doing what she has always loved. A win win situation.
Needless to say, she has written back those above mentioned to say thank you, but no thank you. ;-)</p>
<p>Since this thread has been revived, I thought I would update my D's info. She was cast in 3 plays with the summerstock company I discussed before, and got a supporting lead role in a 4th! She knew that she got multi-callbacks for that role, but did not expect to land it! She will be in a nice area also, so we are happy about that, and several of her friends from school have been cast as well!</p>
<p>My D got cast in 2 shows at an Equity Summerstock Theater. She is over the moon excited.. Now the great debate rages over whether or not to take the Equity Card. She has spoken with faculty at her program and with some of her mentors here at home, as well as older friends who have and have not taken their cards. She has received a lot of contradictory advice!! I am searching for the thread from last year about the boy from Illinois Wesleyan who got, I believe, the Disney job and left school right after he got there bc that thread had a good "card" discussion on it. If anyone has had this lovely dilemma, please pm me with how it worked for you or your child. She is just completing her freshman year. Thanks.</p>
<p>I would like to understand that process better as well, so if anyone has that thread info or knows more about it, please either pm me post it. Thanks!</p>
<p>There are some older threads on when to take your AEA card... try the search function and you should be able to find them -- ultimately it is a personal choice. The thing to remember is this -- once you are AEA you can no longer do non-AEA work. </p>
<p>For good or ill many of the touring companies that offer many young musical theatre performers their first year round paid performing experiences are now non-AEA. If a young performer takes his/ her AEA card (s)he is no longer able to audition for these opportunities. This is most likely the reason why some young performers choose to turn down work that will give them an AEA card early in their careers. </p>
<p>If someone is still in school and has an AEA card (s)he may still perform in school productions by obtaining an AEA waiver for educational training purposes. </p>
<p>The pros of having an AEA card -- when you work you are covered by AEA -- work rules, pension and health contribution, collectively bargained agreements with many producers. You can get into all AEA open auditions to be seen for AEA shows. </p>
<p>Cons -- You can only work AEA -- which can be a negative for a young performer -- many regional AEA companies are allowed to hire a certain number of non-AEA performers. Because there are so many talented, well trained non-AEA performers they will often use these contracts to fill younger roles. Also, the whole non-AEA tour issue mentioned above.</p>
<p>Generally speaking -- AEA performers (particularly young ones) MAY find that they work less often than there non-AEA peers, but when thy do work they will usually be paid more, receive pension and heath weeks, and have more "protections" than their non-AEA peers.</p>
<p>It is an exciting decision to have to make!! :)</p>
<p>Best of luck!!</p>
<p>Musicmom1215 found an earlier post I had made... THANKS!! and bumped the thread -- I cut and pasted the post here... it is more detailed than the one above, but covers many of the same issues.</p>
<p>Joining Equity
I searched the forum and couldn't find an earlier thread on this.... although I am sure it is there... I just can't find it.</p>
<p>I am a member of Actor's Equity and believe that the union is a terrific organization. That being said, for a young performer, AEA membership can offer some challanges to obtaining work.</p>
<p>The good news...</p>
<p>...as a member of AEA your daughter would be able to petition the union for a waiver to perform in her school shows. So, AEA membership would not hinder that part of her training.</p>
<p>...as a member of AEA your daughter could earn credits toward health insurance, pension (since she is young, retirement is a LONG way off... but as they say, it's never to early to start!), and if there were any problems with a producer, the union will offen work to settle those problems, keeping your daughter out of the middle.</p>
<p>...as a member of AEA your daughter could audition for Equity productions, including Broadway and off-Broadway shows.</p>
<p>The not as good news...</p>
<p>...As a member of AEA you are prohibited from auditioning for, or accepting non-AEA work. For young performers many of thier opportunities are (a) like your daughter in Hairspray and Christmas Carol - as non-union cast members in union productions. It is much harder to find strong, older non-AEA performers. It is relatively easy to find incredibly strong, young non-AEA performers, so many companies will use their AEA cotracts to fill older roles, and fill the younger roles with non-AEA actors. (b) in non-union production companies (summer stock, regional, etc...), and on non-AEA tours - AEA has had a difficult time organizing the non-AEA touring market. These days many national tours (even the first tour going out after a production closes in NY) are non-AEA, so as an AEA member your daughter may miss out on some professional opportunites that could aid in her further development as a performer.</p>
<p>Another bit of good news...</p>
<p>...international tours and cruise ships are not bound by the same AEA laws, so an AEA member can audition for, and accept jobs in those markets.</p>
<p>One more thing to check into...</p>
<p>...unless the bi-laws have changed significantly since I was an EMC candidate years ago - once an actor in the EMC program has earned 50 points they cannot accept work at an AEA theatre without being under an AEA contract. So, if your daughter does audition for an AEA theatre in the future, and they want to hire her, she may have to join AEA. Also - I believe there is a certain number of years after which your EMC point expire... so, if you do not join AEA within that time period you lose those points. I am not sure if those rules are still the case, so you should check with AEA.</p>
<p>That is very exciting that your D is performing in two great production of terrific shows at an AEA theatre. When push comes to shove the decision to join AEA is a very personal one. There is no specific formula as to when it is the right time to join the union. Doing what you are doing... gathering information, and weighing the pros and cons is the way to go!</p>
<p>Congratulations!!</p>
<p>My S was the boy from Illinois Wesleyan who took the year off to work for Disney. We greatly benefited from all the discussion on this board as well as from many pm's I received from posters who had faced this same dilemma. After lots of research and talking with local actors he had worked with in professional companies here, he decided to take his card. The benefits seemed really to outweigh the drawbacks. He knows that in the future he may have fewer opportunities to audition and thus possibly work, but the protections to actors and the access to AEA auditions made up for it in his mind.</p>
<p>It was also an eye-opening experience to see the way Equity/non-Equity performers were treated at Disney. Overall, everyone was treated well but Equity performers had a lot of protections. For example, their hours were much more reasonable (hot sun, mega-crowds, six live shows a day are very wearing!), they couldn't dance on concrete, they had towel delivery and frequent fresh costume changes, etc. </p>
<p>Next summer will be the test to see if/what kind of work he gets. He's taking this summer to catch up on credits and teach one more time. (Since had a whole year of performance experience he thought he could take a break this summer!) So we'll see...it's obviously a personal choice but great to get the facts beforehand.</p>
<p>Good luck to all with your decisions.</p>
<p>ttmom, has your D been hired with an Equity contract? Often, summer stock productions hire a mix of Equity and non-Equity actors for their shows. Are they requiring that your D join Equity? This is certainly an issue where you will receive conflicting opinions. My opinion is that a young student should think long and hard about joining Equity before they finish college. As Kat has said, many/most of the national tours these days that hire young performers, are non-Equity, and in recent years, it has become increasingly prevalent. That would eliminate many opportunities for a young actor.</p>
<p>Another consideration is the ability to work in regional or even some summer stock productions. Many of these hire, as I said, a mix of union and non-union actors and often, the few Equity contracts available are reserved for older, more experienced actors. </p>
<p>I'm actually surprised to hear baymom's comments about Disney's treatment of Equity vs. non-Equity actors in their employ. I have never seen that happen in any of the actual true theatre companies that I've been associated with over the years, or that actors who we know have worked for, either. I think this says more about Disney itself than about the differences between union and non-union. Every production that I'm familiar with which has hired both, has not distinguished with basic working conditions like she has described. Very disappointing that a company like Disney does this.</p>
<p>alwaysamom,
Yes it is an AEA Stock Jobbing Contract. Included in the packet is a sample letter to the regional Eq office should she choose to opt out of joining so it is not required..pay is Eq pay either way. She is leaning towards taking her card bc in 3 short summers she plans on moving to NYC ( along with millinos of other hopefules!) and knows she wants it for then.. She knows she cannot count on Eq jobs at summerstock every summer( but is hopeful) and she goes to school close enough tø the city(NYC) that she has been told by profs and classmates that this will allow her to go and aud if something comes up. Someone pmed me to search "theatermom" threads but after an hour last night I tabled it- need to wait till I can find some time. ;') Thanks for the input so far. Go Baymom!! Keep us posted on his progress.</p>
<p>And KatMT, I really appreciate all of your insights, here and everywhere you post. They are thoughtful and very informative. THANKS!</p>