<p>Does Emerson have a senior showcase? I have been reading some threads and it seems like they don’t have one which is kind of a turn off… Can anyone clarify for me?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Wheresmyvoice,
As far as I know, Emerson does not have a senior showcase. However, what has been done more and more frequently as time goes on is for students to create their own showcases. While this is a lot different, it is entirely student run. There is a school full of stage managers, directors, lighting designers and costume designers, so they all collaborate and create their own. Sometimes more than one are done, but the Emerson group is usually very close by senior year, so they tend to work together, depending on the amount of interest.
It is also considered impressive to the audience members (whether they be agents or simply parents and friends) that the students put it all together themselves.
However, many have complained at the lack of a permanent showcase, mainly because of the connections and options it can give students for their future.
The choice comes down to whether or not you love the school enough to give that up or if a Senior Showcase is important to you enough that you just can’t go there.
Good luck where ever you choose to go!</p>
<p>When we auditioned at Emerson, they were up front to say they were not claiming to be training the next set of Broadway actors, but rather professionals who will work in many diff aspects of the field of theatre.</p>
<p>I agree with womanofmanyhats (love that name) that each individual has to decide how important it is to him or her to have a Senior Showcase and if a school doesn’t have one, if that is a make or break enough issue. In my view, a senior showcase has some nice advantages but would not be the deciding factor in choosing a school but would just be one factor in the “plus column”. 98% of your time at the college and what you get out of it is gonna be everything BUT the senior showcase. So, in my view, I would put that large chunk of a program up against the same large chunk of another program and see which program is the best fit. THEN, add on the small fact of the senior showcase as one more plus for which school on your list has it. Remember, even if you are in a senior showcase, there is a chance you will not get an agent out of it but only that you will be seen. </p>
<p>Mom4X…in my view, what Emerson stated about not training the next set of Broadway actors but rather professionals who will work in theater…is realistically what all other colleges are also doing. I run into a LOT of kids who have “I’m going to college and my goal is to be on Broadway” in their heads. While Broadway is a nice dream, it is not the most realistic goal. In my view, a realistic goal for any student who pursues a BFA in MT at any reputable program, would be to hopefully have a professional career on stage anywhere and/or to work professionally in the theater world in some capacity. If the end all and be all is gonna be “I’m planning to make it on Broadway,” most will not succeed. If the goal is to be a professional MT actor, many will make it, and many won’t, but it is far more in the realm of possibilities than Broadway. I think a very very narrow view of success is a set up for disappointment. In any case, what Emerson stated, even if not stated by some other college at an information session, is truly indicative realistically of all these BFA programs. In my view, my kid’s college, Tisch, would state the very same thing.</p>
<p>Agree with Mom4X. At Unifieds in New York, they made a point of saying they should not be thought of as an theater school, but rather, as a liberal arts school where one can get good theater training. It’s a philosophical difference that has practical applications.</p>
<p>That said, we know kids in the MT program who are thrilled with the training and performance opportunities.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the help. I really like Emerson, even though they don’t have a senior showcase. They may not be as rigorous as some schools but all the MT’s I have talked to from there love it and their enthusiasm has made me excited for it too.</p>
<p>I’m still holding out for NYU, but realistically with finances and all, Emerson seems like an all around good choice for me.</p>
<p>Good reply, soozie! Emerson has the amazing Majestic Theatre as well - one for the plus side!!!</p>
<p>We visited Emerson a few days ago and they DO have a senior showcase that is staged in Boston. Two different people told us that they have good attendance from Boston area industry professionals, and said that (paraphrasing here except for the quotes) the people from New York who come down are the important people themselves “and we have them for the whole day,” while when at home in New York these same important people often send their assistants to showcases “for an hour or so” only.</p>
<p>There was more than a hint of defensiveness in these statements.</p>
<p>Well, IF any agents from NYC show up at the Emerson showcase, they go “up” and not “down” to Boston, ha ha. 
</p>
<p>I’m sure this question must be asked a lot at Emerson. A Boston showcase is not the same as one in NYC…very different agents and casting people would come. I also can’t imagine how many NYC agents would make the trek to Boston for an hour showcase. Other schools that have the showcase bring the showcase TO the agents, not vice versa. I’m not saying that a showcase is important but just explaining the difference here. </p>
<p>Also, it sounds like they are speaking about what other schools do (I really do not like when a college does this, but some do…I think they should stick with what THEY do well)…but since they are saying that agents often “send their assistants to showcases”…this is not necessarily true. I can only speak of my D’s recent showcase, and actual agents attended. Many of them were the owner or head agent for theatrical. My D was called in by five agents from the showcase. Four were the owner or head agent for theatrical in their respective agency. Only one agent/owner sent a “junior agent” who then brought her into see the owner agent. And even though the majority in her case who saw her at the showcase and have called her in were the head agent, so what if the person who attended is an agent from the agency who scouted at showcases and brought certain actors in to see the main agent? It is not like they sent their receptionist to the showcase! And what do they mean “for an hour or so” only? The showcase my D was in was an hour long! Many schools keep it to that length as they know that these reputable agents are very busy and are also attending many showcases and do not want to use up too much time. They get to sample each student and call in the ones they are interested in to their agency and meet with them further and go from there.</p>
<p>True, soozie :)</p>
<p>I don’t know what was meant by “we have them for the whole day,” but perhaps there are multiple opportunities for the industry professionals to see Emerson students onstage? </p>
<p>And I may not be remembering correctly, but I believe that the BA theater arts students are equal participants in the showcase, so that may add to its length.
A</p>
<p>I just went to mention that even IF Emerson has some agents for the whole day…the comparison that the person made at Emerson is not accurate to other programs (again, they need to tout their own program rather than tell what other colleges do or don’t do). At my D’s program, they bring agents and casting directors into school for an entire week at a time to work with students and into classes all the time (not on the showcase days). They used casting directors to even conduct the auditions to get into the showcase and to select the students. So, the showcase is not the only time agents or casting directors see or work with the students. Also, add to that, since they are in NYC, such people sometimes also attend productions on campus. So, if Emerson invites these agents or casting people to work with their students for a day, that is NOT unique. Several programs, including my D’s, bring in such industry folk to work with their students BESIDES attending showcase. Maybe Emerson makes a day of it on their showcase day, but some programs have these agents in at other times of the year. For instance, CAP21 has an entire semester working with agents and casting directors prior to the showcase. In fact, one of my D’s best friends and college roommate her first two years, with whom she has been doing theater since they were kids, during her CAP showcase semester, obtained an agent who was one of the agents brought in to work with the kids during the semester (this is the thrust of their final semester in that program) and was cast as a lead on a National Tour on her last day of school (she graduated mid year this school year). She had all that in place before she even performed in the showcase…all because the agent was working with the class during the semester.</p>