<p>When son started thinking seriously about going the MT route in college, whether or not a program has a senior showcase seemed to be an important consideration. Six months later it appears every program has some type of senior showcase. Am I over-stating this? Just trying to figure out a more distinguishing factor in choosing programs to apply to.</p>
<p>If you haven’t found it already, this thread has lots of comments about Senior Showcases:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1142504-what-schools-have-senior-showcases.html?highlight=showcase[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1142504-what-schools-have-senior-showcases.html?highlight=showcase</a></p>
<p>The bottom line is that it just about everyone has one, and it is probably not a factor that most people would put at the top of their list for evaluating MT departments for fit.</p>
<p>But if the senior showcase really matters to you, ask whether all the kids get to be in the showcase. Some schools (like Syracuse) have the seniors audition for the showcase, and only about half make it in.</p>
<p>On the other hand, keep in mind that some schools have other methods of getting the students seen by agents. For example, Baldwin Wallace has agents come work with the students on campus all four years (they also have a showcase, but…just saying a showcase is not the only way a student can be seen).</p>
<p>My gut feeling is that a showcase is only worthwhile to the extent that it attracts industry movers and shakers. If a showcase audience is packed only with friends and family, it is not much of a showcase is it?</p>
<p>The senior showcase thing looked important to us when choosing a school 5 years ago, but, as monkey 13 said, kids have many opportunities to be seen by agents and casting directors long before showcase. At the Boston Conservatory, workshops with casting directors are held almost every weekend in the last semester. While the showcase in NYC is well attended by professionals, I think many had already seen the kids and went in knowing who they wanted to talk to.</p>
<p>Fewer schools are going the traditional showcase route. Increasingly schools are bringing casting agents, agents, directors, choreographers, writers to their campus. This is far more effective in landing gigs and/or representation. Senior showcase should not a major determinant when choosing a program. Many schools do both the showcase and the visiting professional routes.</p>
<p>mtdog71, I have to disagree with you. </p>
<p>When choosing a school, the senior showcase should ABSOLUTELY be a major determinant. I’m going to quote Marla Mindelle, star of Sister Act and Cinderella on Broadway (who attended CCM’s MT program). When asked if she had words of advice for aspiring performers, Mindelle said, “Go to a great college with a great showcase that agents will legitimately come to. Having an agent that believes in you is half the battle in New York.”</p>
<p>Her words couldn’t be truer. Simply having a showcase is one thing. Have alumni signed with agents at previous showcases at that program? A good question to ask. Having representation makes SUCH a difference once you’re in the city.</p>
<p>Since so many of the schools now have a showcase how many talent agents and casting directors actually come to all of these? My guess is they will attend the ones for the schools that THEY FEEL are the really top college programs-- The Big Name MT & acting programs. Will they take the time to come to all the rest of these? It would be interesting to hear how well attended the showcases of all the schools are AND most important how many students get anything from the showcases.</p>
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<p>BRC127 - You, and everyone are free to use whatever criteria you would like to choose a school. CCM is just about the finest conservatory program in America for MT - I would maintain that the reason folks get great opportunities after attending CCM is the filtering that occurs in their acceptance procedure and then the truly outstanding training they get while they attend. The showcase - while always entertaining and well attended - is not the reason the kids get opportunities - they would do so with or without the showcase. CCM, by the way, does have visiting professionals at their campus and many students have their gigs even before the showcase. I do not like to drop names, I could cite literally scores of casting directors and agents who would agree - I will simply cite one. Jay Binder has stated he much prefers the campus visitation model over the showcase. Nobody casts more shows than Jay Binder.</p>
<p>I’m just trying to say, from experience of being a program that moderately attended showcase, was that you should certainly factor the senior showcase experience into which schools you see yourself at and ultimately attend.</p>
<p>I wasn’t meaning to use CCM as an end all, be all example or “name drop”. I just thought that specific quote had particular relevance.</p>
<p>Our tour guide at CMU told us that one of her classmates had 38 agents interested in her as a result of their NYC showcase. Of course you only need one agent, but how wonderful that she had so much interest immediately out of school.</p>
<p>Are agents and casting directors paid to attend showcases?</p>
<p>No, they’re invited. They will get paid though if they sign talent who ends up booking jobs.</p>
<p>I would side with mtdog (partly from our experience but mostly from the extensive informative posts that mtdog has provided in the past). I can’t imagine choosing a program based on senior showcases. Most programs anymore do seem to have a steady stream of agents and casting directors visiting their programs throughout the 4 years. In addition, most of the students are doing summer and other outside theater in addition to their studies, during which time they are often viewed by agents and casting directors prior to their senior years. In my daughter’s program, so many of the kids are already talking to agents well before their senior year- this seems to be the case at schools that her friends attend also. I would think that there are much more important criteria to look at when choosing a program.</p>
<p>It is not the only thing to consider when choosing a program to audition for or attend, most definitely. And it is certainly possible to work professionally and/or gain union status without representation (speaking from experience). A showcase at a theatre program is also DEFINITELY NOT the only way to get representation either.</p>
<p>But I don’t think a school’s take on a showcase, or how they market their students in general really, is something to overlook completely.</p>
<p>Friends - this not meant to be an argument. BRC is correct to say that the ability to place students after graduation is one element to consider when choosing a program. What I am saying is that the idea of “showcase” has developed a bit of a mythology about it that makes it larger the what it deserves. 20, 30 years ago the showcase was one of the key elements in marketing your seniors. Of course, back then there were only a few schools the taught MT, and fewer than that who had a showcase. Agents could attend all the showcases - it was good. Today there are too many showcases that happen in the same month. True - first string agents attend CCM, Umich, etc top tier school’s showcases and send minions (or no one) to schools that are deemed by the NY community as lesser. Still, the preferred style is to have on campus visits - they spend a day or two, they have time to talk, give individual feedback, they can see underclassmen coming along and developing, and it is in a time frame where they are relaxed and able to really “see” each student. Further they develop a relationship with the school - not just their one hour showcase - and that is a good thing. I wish everyone well on their journey.</p>
<p>Is Ithaca a top tier school?</p>
<p>It’s one of the good ones. Top 5 probably not, top 10 probably, but people will bicker endlessly about rankings. It’s definitely one of the good ones.</p>
<p>So would first string agents attend Ithaca’s Showcase?</p>
<p>I have to ask a dumb question here. Is it really hard to get an agent as an adult? My D was represented as a kid, and it was nothing – in fact, we were asked to come in by an agency when they found out she was not represented. Granted, we are in Chicago, which is not NY or LA, but I guess I didn’t know this was going to be such a big hurdle.</p>