At my S’s school (BW), showcase is indeed a really big deal. The school puts a lot of resources into creating and producing their showcase - starting second semester Junior year. So far, all MTs are invited to do showcase so there isn’t the added stress of auditioning in order to participate. Now and then a VP major will also participate. For the past 5 or so years, all or substantially all of the seniors who are not already represented have gotten representation from senior showcase. However,showcase is not their first exposure to many of the agents; the students have been doing master classes with them since they arrived on campus so they are not relying exclusively on a 30 +/- minute presentation.
The more interesting question to me is how this initial representation has translated into work We’ve been able to follow a number of the graduates’ early careers through our S but I’d love to see stats on the graduates 0-10 years out!
Like most of us- I only have direct knowledge of one program - the one my kid is attending. There are some out there with kids at different schools (MTtwins etc) so they would have access to 1st hand knowledge in different directions - and that would be an interesting perspective. It seems to me that some schools make a big deal out of showcases, and some don’t. Some prioritize all participating, and some don’t. And you can see polar opposite approaches at schools where there are a LOT of grads working at any given time. So idk if there is a “right” answer. If it’s important to you- choose schools where that is a focus.
Um, yeah, I think a pretty good percentage of CCPA kids get Chicago representation out of showcase, IDK the exact numbers, but I know my S has mentioned half a dozen of them. Parents can’t even go, so it’s def. not a graduation ceremony.
@toowonderful, great point. I actually do have two different insights as my S goes to LAMDA. As might be expected when comparing a conservatory with a BA program such as NU, the two approach the Showcases differently. LAMDA’s is supported by the school and everyone attends. However, like other conservatories, it also brings in agents and casting people and other professionals throughout the last year, for all performances, so the Showcase is only part of the casting picture.
I actually think a bigger question -besides the ones mentioned here- is how much exposure, contact, and opportunity do the students get with outside professionals throughout the entire school experience? Or even from ‘inside professionals’ (that is professors who are also current working professionals)?
For instance, even in the one year my S attended NYU Tisch long ago, he had multiple opportunities to connect with these professionals throughout the year. Same for my D at NU. These opportunities might sound less splashy, but they can be very valuable and lead to many casting/performance opportunities, either at that time, or later on down the road.
“I actually think a bigger question -besides the ones mentioned here- is how much exposure, contact, and opportunity do the students get with outside professionals throughout the entire school experience? Or even from ‘inside professionals’ (that is professors who are also current working professionals)?”
Such a great point @connections and one I hadn’t really known to ask the first time through the college audition process with my S (although my S was more up the curve on this than was I). I was very pleasantly surprised to hear of all the master classes - the majority of Saturdays on campus - with agents/casting directors. Again, it makes showcase, in some cases, the “next” look at the kids rather than the first. It certainly can’t hurt.
@connections , yes, yes, and yes! This is one perq of attending a school in NY or Chicago. I’ve written here before about the opportunities to meet theatre professionals when she was at Tisch. It was a weekly thing in one studio class or another, and connections that she made in those meetings were largely responsible for her solid continuous paid work in the years since she graduated. She works hard but she is incredibly fortunate in that she has not had even a month without work solely in theatre.
My understanding is that most (or all?) of the kids who did the NU Showcases got representation and/or casting opportunities as a direct result, but my personal knowledge is limited to D’s closer friends as she chose not to attend the NY Showcase due to a conflict with a contract and already having an agent. While not all interested students can participate in the NY Showcase, all who want to can do the Chicago Showcase (remember many of the 100 Theatre majors are not performers and so are not interested in Showcases at all) and several Chicago agencies also offer solid representation in NY and LA, so a NY Showcase is not the only path to NY representation.
I absolutely agree that I wouldn’t pick a school primarily for their Showcases (two of D’s top three schools didn’t offer them at all) – in part because there are currently WAY too many of them – but also know that at least at some schools they can play a very important role in helping to launch young actors, so I wouldn’t totally discount them either.
From what I hear it is not always easy to find representation once you’re beyond college, and it is often not easy (or even possible) to be seen without it.
Agree very much with both. I was thinking about this earlier, but didn’t say it, as my kid also went to NYU/Tisch (not that this is the only school where this happens). But for some MT programs, the showcase is an event that is more than the showcase performance, but also a week (or different length) of an immersion of workshops and so on with the industry in NYC. But for those who attend a college in Manhattan (could be elsewhere too), this kind of thing goes on during the whole four years. Industry folks may come see performances, give master classes, and so on. Further, many of the faculty are working professionals in the industry right in NYC and so opportunities arise just through them (happened to my D before graduating). Lots of networking and connections just through the years spent in college in the city where it happens, and with faculty involved in that scene can be a nice plus.
My daughter’s school does a showcase on site and some agent types are invited but it’s really more for the students and parents. I’m honestly not concerned. My daughter wants to continue to do regional work for now unless she gets THE ONE internship she will audition for ;).
That actually brings up a question for me- for those with students in regional markets (Not LA/Chicago/NY) is it better to build work in regional theater after graduation- or jump straight into a larger market. Idk if there is a right answer, just looking for thoughts
@toowonderful, I don’t think there is a right answer since it would depend on each individual, but there’s a lot to be said about working in the regional market your college is already connected with.
It allows you to build on the ties you’ve hopefully already established in school; and even if you didn’t establish them while in school, your school & its professors will likely have many more direct ties to the regional market, so when you audition & make your connections, you’ll be able to piggy-back on college connections too. Also, it’s just frankly less competitive in a regional market than LA or NYC (btw Chicago is a top theatre town but I’d categorize it as a larger regional market), There are so many thriving regional theaters around the country in which it would be an honor to work.
Of course, there are compelling reasons to also start in NYC or LA, not saying there aren’t, just responding to @toowonderful’s question!
My D is near Chicago but the distance precludes her and her classmates from doing a lot of things there (plus their schedules are insane). I know what she ultimately wants to do (her dream job) would be to work for Disney, but as she is planning for life after college next year she’s looking at a number of options. One for sure she’ll be doing is auditioning for regional theater companies because she feels she’d gain a lot of experience that way.
We’ll know about showcases in a few months, but for sure she’ll be doing a Cabaret event in NYC that a current Broadway actor teaches and directs ( they do Skype classes with the Broadway person this coming semester to prepare). So one of the interesting things for me to watch and to see (and the more terrifying part for her) is where she’ll be and what she’ll be doing a year from now. I am confident she’ll land in the right spot, but her and her classmates are all feeling a bit of angst right now knowing the time to fly the coop is drawing near.
And now I have to go pay for the professional head shots taken this weekend for the upcoming auditions…
OK in post 13 I tried to be careful. And I was challenged and maybe I’m wrong but I can’t figure out how. Because I can point to REALLY talented recent graduates from some of the schools that people here are claiming everyone got representation from showcases when actually I know so and so didn’t and nor did such and such. And I do mean REALLY talented kids.
I’ve got no bone to pick with any of these schools and I’d LOVE to be wrong. Except well, I’m not because I have actual examples from actual students in some of the most favored programs in this forum and I can name names. (Obviously I won’t).
Point being, my advice is to NOT put all your eggs in the showcase basket. Ever. I know some of you are and I think you need to check that. If it works out… great. It’s a mistake to pick a school because of it and also to turn down opportunities that come up senior year while waiting for it. Be careful.
Yeah… it’s really not the end of the world either way. Not tooting my own horn, but there are people in my class who got great response from showcase (even agent signing/interest) who haven’t booked much since graduating for various reasons. Or signed for a year and dropped- or signed for a year and went to someone else. I got almost no agent interest, still don’t have one, and have been booked fairly solid since graduating. I focus on getting to know casting directors (that’s who called me in from showcases) and they are the ones who have been getting me in the room truly. I’d love an agent- someone on your side could be amazing- but it’s not an end all be all. I am making the way myself and forming those relationships that will hopefully get me jobs.
An excellent article by a young lady that interned for a prominent NYC casting director this summer on the inportance of relationships with casting directors.
Totally agree with @halflokum and @AlexaMT. (And good for you AlexaMT!!) So much depends on what you do with the connections you have. One of the wisest pieces of advice someone gave me is this: You can create your own connections. In other words, if you don’t land connections via Showcase or they don’t pan out to something you want, you have at your disposal many other connections you can use, nurture, or create. So much is word of mouth.
@Momcares, you know much more than I do about the MT world. I forgot for the moment when I wrote that about Chicago, that we were talking only about MT. I was thinking overall acting. I stand corrected
Btw my own D interned with a casting director last summer in NYC and would definitely agree with the author of the article, MTDadandProud. While interning, she saw many seasoned older actors with years of experience - you would recognize their names - still auditioning for commercials, voiceovers, etc. For the vast majority of folks, this ‘hustle’ never stops.
One more thing–Sometimes representation at Showcase isn’t about talent. It’s about marketability, which is based on your own type and the current need out there. This overlaps with talent–sometimes. But you can be incredibly talented and just not marketable at age 22. And you can be not that talented but be a high-demand type in the current market. This actually goes for any audition, of course, but it’s good to keep in mind whenever rejection is encountered. Just keep on going.
This is one perq of attending a school in NY or Chicago. I’ve written here before about the opportunities to meet theatre professionals when she was at Tisch. It was a weekly thing in one studio class or another, and connections that she made in those meetings were largely responsible for her solid continuous paid work in the years since she graduated. She works hard but she is incredibly fortunate in that she has not had even a month without work solely in theatre.