Showcases - The Insanity Continues...

<p>U of M is in May I believe… I will see if I can find the exact date…</p>

<p>UC Irvine
BFA MT & MFA Acting Students… 3/31 & 4/1 NYC, 4/7 & 4/8 LA </p>

<p>I know that the Tisch MFA industry showcases are in April and May. I’ll see if I can find dates for the BFA.</p>

<p>As for all the conflicting dates, this has been a complaint in the theatre community for many, many years. I’m surprised that the schools haven’t tried harder to accomodate other dates. It is one main reason that some showcases are less well-attended, and also why some lower level agency employees attend.</p>

<p>Would your kids go to a school that didn’t provide a showcase?</p>

<p>Mine might…depends on the other potential offers that hopefully come in. </p>

<p>Last year OCU’s was offered at two different times on May 14th. I don’t know dates for this year yet.</p>

<p>Showcases are nice but schools offer other ways to get in front of agents. For example Michael Cassara,who was mentioned earlier in this thread, was at OCU earlier this year. Many other achools host industry pros on their campuses too. , Elon likes to bring agents to their campus instead of having a big city showcase.
Another thing OCU does is have a spring break program in NYC and the classes and workshops offered are with all sorts of industry pros. It seems like it is a less stressful way to start networking and learn how to navigate the whole process before you graduate. OCUNYC is open to OCU students in all grade levels. I believe Otterbein and Syracuse have semesters in NYC that would also allow students to start networking. And I’m sure other schools do also.
So I definitely would not say a showcase is a deal maker or breaker. It’s just one of many factors to consider when choosing a school. </p>

<p>Adding UC Irvine.</p>

<h3>2014 SHOWCASES - NYC</h3>

<p>******** March 4th (Tuesday) *****************************
Muhlenberg – 7pm</p>

<p>******** March 10th (Monday) *****************************
Ball State – 4 and 7pm
CMU (MT/acting) – 3 and 5pm
Ithaca – 3 and 6pm
U of Miami – 5 and 7:30pm
Missouri State – 7pm</p>

<p>******** March 11th (Tuesday) *****************************
CMU (MT/acting) – 12, 3 and 5pm</p>

<p>******** March 24th (Monday) *****************************
CCM (acting only)/Otterbein (MT/acting) – 1, 3 and 7pm
Northwestern University (MT/acting) –
Otterbein (MT/acting)/CCM (acting) – 1, 3 and 7pm</p>

<p>********* March 25th (Tuesday) *****************************
Northwestern University (MT/acting) --</p>

<p>********* March 26th (Wednesday) *************************
Northwestern University (Songwriters) --</p>

<p>********* March 31 (Monday) *******************************
UC Irvine (BFA MT/ MFA acting) --</p>

<p>********* April 1 (Tuesday) *******************************
UC Irvine (BFA MT/ MFA acting) --</p>

<p>********* April 3 (Thursday) *******************************
Cal State Fullerton – 1 and 6:30pm</p>

<p>********* April 7 (Monday) *********************************
Baldwin-Wallace/IU – 7
CCM (MT) –
Coastal Carolina (MT/Acting) – 3:00, 7:30
IU/Baldwin-Wallace – 7
Kent State/ Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – 4 and 6pm
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland/ Kent State – 4 and 6pm</p>

<p>********* April 8 (Tuesday) *****************************
Kent State/ Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – 4 and 6pm
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland/ Kent State – 4 and 6pm</p>

<p>********* May 5th (Monday) *****************************
FSU (MT) – 4 and 7:30pm
Fordham – 6pm</p>

<p>********* May 6th (Tuesday) *****************************
Fordham – 6pm</p>

<h3>2014 SHOWCASES - LA</h3>

<p>********* April 7 (Monday) *****************************
UC Irvine (BFA MT/ MFA acting) --</p>

<p>********* April 8 (Tuesday) *****************************
Baldwin-Wallace/IU – 2:30 and 7pm
CCM (acting)/Otterbein – 1, 4 and 7pm
IU/ Baldwin-Wallace – 2:30 and 7pm
UC Irvine (BFA MT/ MFA acting) –
Otterbein/CCM (acting) – 1, 4 and 7pm</p>

<p>********* May 5 (Monday) *****************************
CMU – 3 and 7pm</p>

<p>********* May 6 (Tuesday) *****************************
CMU – 12, 3 and 7pm</p>

<p>********* May 8 (Thursday) *****************************
FSU (acting) – 3:30 and 7:30pm</p>

<p>********* May 12 (Monday) *****************************
U Miami – 6 and 8pm</p>

<h3>2014 SHOWCASES - CHICAGO</h3>

<p>Northwestern University (MT/acting) – </p>

<p>Speaking of Michael Cassara (who is an Otterbein grad by the way!), . . . I just saw a post of his in my FB feed saying that he is at Elon. I’m not sure if he’s there to see the seniors, or do a master class, but thought it might be of interest since you all brought him up. </p>

<p>Thank you for starting this post @zebrarunner. My daughter is a sophomore at Otterbein, and I appreciate the posts about non-Equity, Equity, showcases, etc. It’s nice to get information past the audition-for-college-stage. </p>

<p>One department head told us during a visit that she felt that showcases were a waste of time and didn’t bring any real benefit to the students. This school stopped doing them. </p>

<p>^^I think I know to whom you are referring. Kaitlin Hopkins? If that’s who it is, if I recall correctly, I remember her saying that she did her homework and asked the agents for their input on showcases and came to the conclusion that you said, that Texas State wasn’t going to do them. She also mentioned the hundreds (or dozens!? - this was 2.5 years ago which seems forever!) DVDs sitting on the agents’ shelves from senior showcases and she asked them what they did with them, to which they replied, “Nothing.” She definitely said that she wanted Texas State to take a different approach . . . maybe they’re bringing agents to the school? I don’t know or recall what she said beyond that. </p>

<p>It actually was a different school, but interesting that other schools are feeling the same way…</p>

<p>In its Winter 2013 “Southern Theatre” newsletter, the SETC had a wonderful article on showcases from the perspective of the agents and casting directors who attend - or don’t attend - them. They had some very clear criteria for what they look for in a “good” showcase - also mentioning the value of going to the schools and doing workshops with the students on-site. After reading that article, I looked at some posted videos of showcase clips from various schools. In my very IN-expert opinion, it looks like there are quite a few showcases out there that are examples of what NOT to do. It makes you wonder if the faculty who put the showcase together - or “supervised” the students who created their own - are still “in touch” with the industry and its needs.</p>

<p>One of the schools my daughter is considering attending doesn’t do a showcase in NYC but brings the agents and CD to them… interesting take on things. So much to think about ….</p>

<p>Honestly, getting an agent right out of school from a showcase does not happen to many students. It should probably be a minor consideration if that for most of these kids. imho.</p>

<p>My impression is that most students from D’s school do get agents after Showcase, but I might be mistaken. The way her school (Northwestern) handles selecting Showcase students – by special audition – isn’t typical (tho agents in bisouu’s article say it is preferable to showcasing all students). </p>

<p>@bisouu - That was a really interesting article. Thanks for the pointer!</p>

<p>Here are some things in the article that I found interesting;</p>

<p>*) Some schools make kids pay to produce showcases (pay-to-play).
*) Some producers make $ by selling access to agents through showcases (“Predatory” showcases).
*) Better if schools “weed” talent to showcase. Not everyone in most classes is “ready”.
*) Max of 20 performers is best. (one school brought 53 kids!!).
*) Grads should only showcase in market where they plan to live/work.
*) Most agents said they invite 1-5% of students they see in showcases to meetings. Varies a lot by school.
*) On-campus showcases are nice for some agents, but draw far fewer agents and so generate far fewer contracts.
*) Schools with longer history and established reputation of showcases draw better attendance (duh).
*) Schools with stronger alumni networks draw stronger agents (alumni invite their agents/contacts). </p>

<p>*) Most agents said they invite 1-5% of students they see in showcases to meetings. Varies a lot by school</p>

<p>One to five percent is not very many. That means 95 - 99% of showcase kids leave with nothing. Unless, perhaps, I’m misunderstanding something. That’s always possible.</p>

<p>@Flossy - You understood it the same way I did! But it might mean at most showcases they ask 0% of the kids, while at one school they invite 50%. Also, ideally many agents attend each showcase, not just one. Twenty agents inviting 5% of the kids could mean 100% get meetings.</p>

<p>I agree that having a showcase probably shouldn’t be a deciding factor in choosing schools. I think D viewed it as a plus, but not a necessity. From what I understand, kids who can get work get agents with or without a showcase (in fact many seem to be “poached” before showcases ever happen), and kids who aren’t ready to work won’t get agents even with a showcase. </p>

<p>Another thing to consider is that even if your kid does get invited to meet with an agent or manager after a showcase he/she must still pass that meeting (surprisingly some do not). Even then, some kids are just not ready for “professional” life; moving into the city, finding an apartment, living with the uncertainty of daily schedule, finding a survival job, etc. It can be very overwhelming, regardless of their college experience.</p>

<p>Even the best have difficulty in the beginning and often it can take six months to a year until a real, paying job happens. They are an unknown entity and it’s the old “you don’t have experience so we won’t hire you until you do have experience” maxim. This also goes back to the Equity question, sometimes building your reputation in low/no paying roles puts you in a better position when you’re first starting out. College roles don’t count all that much professionally.</p>

<p>Not a pessimist, just a realist. </p>

<p>Goes back to what Equity question specifically amtc? </p>