<p>I know this thread started out focusing on joining Equity or not…for recent college grads. But it is also a discussion about working post college degree. </p>
<p>In that vein, I am sharing what I think is an informative interview in an article in today’s Playbill online. I think this is a very interesting article/interview with an agent in NYC. Lots of informative topics come up.</p>
<p>I am going to mention just a few of them and relate some personal experience. </p>
<p>Here’s one…</p>
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<p>I’ll comment that my daughter, now 5 years out of her BFA program, has done this a great deal since the day she graduated. She firmly believes in not waiting for work to come to you. She, along with many of her college peers, create work for themselves and their friends to be in…it might be concerts, new musicals, a musical comedy group, new theater companies, etc. I strongly suggest others to try this. She is not at the mercy of the “casting Gods” in order to have opportunities to perform on the NYC stage or concert venue.</p>
<p>Another thing this agent mentions is that he likes to attend shows/plays in NYC and discovers talent that way. Sometimes he attends plays his current clients are in and often discovers other talent. It so happens that my daughter’s current agent (not the one she originally got from showcase), saw her perform in an Equity production of her original musical at a theater in NYC because one of his clients was the choreographer (who is also an actor). He then signed my daughter who had left her former agency.</p>
<p>Even when asked about showcases, while he does attend them, he comments that he even prefers to see the college students in their productions over snippets in showcases. Of course, this is easier with those who attend BFA programs in NYC (not saying you need to attend such schools, but it is an added perk that people in the industry can and do attend shows and events at the colleges in the city) Another personal example was in my D’s freshman year at NYU/Tisch, she attended Strawhat auditions (the only year she chose to do that). I recall one of the theaters that expressed interest via a callback. She did not hear anything after that. But the next month, the artistic director of that theater came to observe my D’s class in studio (I think she was friends with the teacher) and saw my D “perform” in class. After that, she contacted my D to travel to their theater for another callback and she was cast for that summer. It really was due to being seen right in class at her college, in action, not in showcase.</p>
<p>soozievt, as always, thanks for sharing this article and D’s post-college experiences. S graduated H.S. last night and will be performing in a male friend’s senior project tomorrow night. Project is all-original comedy/song & dance/short scenes about what it means to be a “man”, totally written by friend - with lots of creative input from S and third male senior performer (yes, plenty of scatological humor, to be sure). The three of them are doing their own lights and sound design, piano accompaniment, costuming, with some “light” direction from their acting coach/director. S is totally hooked on this process and totally loved every minute of rehearsal and “producing” - a far cry from his usual experience in school-based productions he’s been a part of. S goes off to freshman year of college in August. I don’t think he’ll be happy being a “mere” MT performer for very long. Can’t wait to see how he evolves into a 360* creative ARTIST. Other two senior guys are going off to different theater colleges (one will be at NYU/Tisch ), but I really hope they get to continue their collaborations for years to come, and that S will find other like-minded collaborators at his own school.</p>
<p>mom4bwayboy…thanks for sharing what your son is involved in at the end of his high school career. Those are great early stages (no pun intended) for becoming a creator. It reminds me a bit of when my D was in high school. Our high school put on one play and one musical a year (quite good). The last two years of my D’s 3 year high school career, she initiated something never done before at our high school. She created her own review shows…wrote, produced, musically directed, choreographed, directed, and performed in. The music itself was not original, but the way the show was constructed (and it had an arc/theme) was all original. But nothing student run and created like this had ever happened at our high school. It was a big hit. I think the couple years after she graduated, kids tried to continue it but I don’t know if they still do now (she graduated high school in 2005). </p>
<p>But this turned into higher level things in college…musically directing an a cappella group, musically directing student run musicals, and eventually writing/composing her own original musical senior year of college. And it has mushroomed from there. She knows many others who have done this in fact. They are not just performers, but they are creators. And so they are always working basically. They are cast in things (she has been consistently cast in shows, but still does original work). For her first four years out of college, she was also in an original musical sketch comedy troupe, made up of all Tisch grads, and these kids not only acted and sang, but every single one of them wrote the original material. </p>
<p>Your son may also be inspired by a theater company called PigPen Theater Company (I think a mom of one of these guys used to post here)…they are all graduates of CMU and are very successful now with their own original theater projects. I am thinking of them as a shining example because just two days ago, they came to see my daughter in the show she is currently performing in (she knows them). </p>
<p>Your son is on the right track because he has gotten his feet wet in high school and it will keep growing in college. As this agent says, many successful people now in this field are not just waiting to be cast, but they create work to be in…could be a theatrical production, a concert, whatever. If you love to perform, create ways to keep doing it. Please keep us posted once your son is in college as I look forward to hearing what he is up to~!</p>
<p>I am lucky enough to the only professionally producing theater in my area, but I truly believe that the world needs more theaters like they need more holes in the head. I think the conversation in the American theater should be how to strengthen the theatres we have. All of the small theater towns are now seeing new companies pop up. They think they are creating their own work, but I really believe they are cutting off their nose to spite their face. Ticket buyers are a limited commodity, and the people attending the show at your pop up theater are not buying a ticket at the theater that you want to work at. </p>
<p>I realize I say this as a producer, so my opinion is slightly skewed, but I think its a valid idea. </p>
<p>But then, are ticket buyers doomed to see Pride and Prejudice or Anything Goes - great shows BTW - for the rest of there lives. In my neck of the woods, it’s rare to see anyone with non-gray hair (at least naturally) in the audience of our “established” theaters. Don’t pop-up theater groups bring in people that otherwise might buy NO tickets? Maybe it’s different in towns that don’t have cows and stray dogs wandering the streets. . .</p>
<p>I can just say that in a place like NYC, there is interest in new works and not just commercial theater like Broadway. There is the downtown theater scene. They are often able to fill seats. I understand that profit is important, but theater is an art, and I am thankful for new works, new theaters, and such where new artistic ideas are incubated.</p>
<p>Jim Parsons would probably disagree with the notion that “pop up” theatres are some sort of problem, having begun his career in such a company (I was fortunate enough to see him appear on the small stage, back in the day). Small theatre companies tend to come and go in our city in 5-10 year cycles (just like any small business). They fill important niches either “out on the edge” beyond what our local LOTR and SPT’s provide, or by presenting classic works regarded as “old warhorses” and now are largely beneath notice by the larger stages. They provide professional performance opportunities for young local actors denied them by the more established theatres, who seem to cast mostly from NYC or from established local names. They also provide an opportunity for young theatre entrepreneurs to gain valuable experience running their own company, instead of working outside the industry waiting for their “break” when someone finally retires in one of the larger houses. The well-run ones eventually move into becoming SPT’s, the rest fail gloriously (ok, sometimes not so gloriously).</p>
<p>As a theatre consumer, I think it is just as exciting to watch a production with emerging talent, scraped together in an old warehouse in a sketchy part of town, as it is to pay an enormous amount for tickets and parking, walk up carpeted staircases, sit in the very nicely padded chairs of our LORT, and study their very large org chart in the Playbill. It kind of reminds me of The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christianson.</p>
<p>To be sure, the legitimate theatre faces the significant challenge of being in a shrinking market, as do many businesses. But the solution is not the elimination of competition. </p>
<p>As Carmen sings in *Curtains<a href=“and%20I%20remind%20my%20d%20all%20the%20time”>/i</a>, “It’s a business.”</p>
<p>Totally agree, @soozievt and @EmsDad; we need all kinds of innovative, non-traditional theater; the more, the merrier, IMHO. My older (non-MT) S’ girlfriend is an actress involved with devised theater in Philadelphia, one of his former classmates just completed Naropa University’s expressive arts theater program and is hitting the NYC fringe scene this summer, and a former castmate of my MT S is about to premiere an original, Kickstarter-funded musical in Boston. These alternatives to “legit” theater may very well provide future jobs and inspiration for my MT S, who aspires to the kind of wide-ranging career @soozievt’s D has carved out for herself! </p>
<p>FYI - Last week Broadway shows hit record attendance numbers. Given the time of year it was a lot of tourists but all shows were breaking records. </p>
<p>Just noticed an interesting tidbit relevant to this thread in an article…</p>
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<p>It would be interesting to know how this compares to other schools, plus I wonder what % of incoming students already have SAG or Equity cards and/or agents or managers when starting various programs.</p>
<p>Probably a few incoming students are already SAG or Equity, but the one person I know of who will be attending UNCSA in the fall is not yet SAG or Equity. In fact, he will be in his first professional show this summer. </p>
<p>Are there predictable peak “audition seasons” in most markets, or do auditions just come up randomly throughout the year? I’ve heard summers in NYC are slow, but when do auditions really pick up?</p>
<p>Any added insight or tips based on this summer/fall’s experiences – recent grads or otherwise – would be most welcomed by those of us with kids on the precipice of graduation.</p>
<p>My D’s friend who graduated last spring had lots of auditions in March/April. She came home in July since auditions were less at that time and went back in time for the September round of auditions</p>
<p>Thanks! Based on the above, are there any generally accepted best/worst times of year for young actors to move to NYC (aside from the obvious “best” time being when you’ve signed a contract for the lead in a hit Broadway show… hah!).</p>
), but I really hope they get to continue their collaborations for years to come, and that S will find other like-minded collaborators at his own school.</p>