Showcases - The Insanity Continues...

<p>OCU’s 2014 showcase of Music Theatre and Theatre seniors will be Monday, May 12th at Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre at 2 pm and 6 pm. Not all seniors participate. They audition to be a part of the showcase group. </p>

<p>From a Producer’s perspective…
<a href=“The next gen of performers (and their schools) are serious, yo. - Ken Davenport”>The next gen of performers (and their schools) are serious, yo. - Ken Davenport;

<p>Thanks for link MT4Life.</p>

<p>Thanks for sharing. I found the comments section interesting too. Jared, who refers to himself as a grumpy old naysayer at 29, makes a great point about the “homogenous talent pool” and seeing so many that can “sing their faces off” but can’t act very well. He makes hits the nail on the head if you ask me. This doesn’t just go for women. Even with a lot of guys who are going into MT, acting seems to take a back, back seat to singing and dancing (and looks in some cases). There are lots of good singers, but very few good singers who are also very good actors.</p>

<p>Cool article…great shout out to BW and IU!</p>

<p>Can I get an AMEN @CollegeSearchDad?! Please give me actors who can ACT! </p>

<p>Another AMEN! Weak acting by musical theater performers has become a pet peave. Unfortunately, we seem to see it more often</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
Webster – 5:30 and 7:30</p>

<p>******** March 17th (Monday) *****************************
Hartt – 1 and 6pm</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, 7:00
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>********* April 9 (Wednesday) *****************************
Coastal Carolina (MT/Acting) – 1:30PM – Added Show</p>

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

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

<p>********* May 12th (Monday) *****************************
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) *****************************
Oklahoma City (Musical Theatre/Theatre) – 2 and 6pm</p>

<h3>2014 SHOWCASES - CHICAGO</h3>

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

<p>S heard from Dr John, from Otterbein, via email yesterday. Dr John was with the Seniors in NYC and reported “responses have been great”. </p>

<p>Any more feedback on how this season was, now that most schools are wrapping up showcases?</p>

<p>Pace Senior Showcase is Monday, May 12 in NYC.
Musical Theater - 1pm & 6pm; Acting - 2pm & 5pm</p>

<p>In the last month I have talked with three agents and one casting director about showcases. Here are some thoughts worth sharing.</p>

<p>-Smaller agencies need specific talent, for instance an ethnically ambiguous female who is 5’0"-5’4". In order to find that person, they will attend showcases. They will only call back those students that fit their needs.</p>

<p>-Larger agencies have the same needs but they may also have other motivations. All three agents mentioned that some larger agencies will sign students who may compete with others on their roster to keep them off the market. (Record labels are notorious for doing this). </p>

<p>-Some larger agencies will sign as many students as they can to see if they can get lucky. One client on Broadway will bring in around $180 a week or $720 a month. So if you sign thirty and four land gigs, you have a good month. </p>

<p>-If the student fails to book a job within 90 days, the agency can kick them out. The student can also choose to leave the agency after 90 days with no job. </p>

<p>-Why do agents spend all of this time if they may kick the client out or the client may leave? Because over the course of a year, casting directors have seen most of the talent that is available. Agents earn a living by helping casting directors do their job. The agent has the best chance of doing that job if they have plenty of new talent to send in. Enter senior showcase. </p>

<p>You need to remember that the agent only recommends the performer to the casting director for a certain role. The casting director will then look through the 30-100 submissions from ALL of the agents in NYC to decide who they want to call in. If the performer makes the cut they will get an appointment to be seen. Then they need to land a callback, and then work their way through several more callbacks until they get put in front of the creative team (the director, music director, etc.). They repeat this process over and over again in order to land gigs. </p>

<p>Senior showcases can be great, but remember the student will still have to do A LOT of work to land a gig. The agents open doors, but they don’t make miracles happen. </p>

<p>~VT</p>

<p>Well said, VoiceTeacher. </p>

<p>Thank you so much, Voice Teacher. I’m sending your post to my son right now. </p>

<p>

Well there’s a depressing thought! I guess a 90 day escape clause could get you out of this situation, but if an agency was this unscrupulous might they also book you in “meh” work to keep you bound by a contract? Do you have to accept whatever work you are offered?</p>

<p>No, you don’t have to accept whatever work you’re offered, but if you keep declining work for no compelling reason, the agent will release you. </p>

<p>Makes sense, @connections‌ . I was mainly thinking of the case @VoiceTeacher‌ described above, where someone might WANT to be released.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Agents don’t book you into work, meh or otherwise. They will submit you for auditions and then it’s up to you to do well enough to be offered a role. As for not accepting work, doing that too often would not be a good idea and I’m not sure why anyone would do that after auditioning and being called back. The agent won’t be happy and neither will the casting agency.</p>

<p>^^Agreed, alwaysamom.</p>

<p>Showcases are so confusing. @VoiceTeacher has all the right answers, for certain - so there isn’t much more I can add, but I have two points:</p>

<p>1) Watch out for the the wink/nudge meetings set up between schools and agencies that have a relationship. A school can say “We sent 16 students to showcases and EACH of them had at least one meeting with an agency.” A school did that recently, and then I looked at the agencies they met with. At least 7-8 of them met with only one agency, and it was the same one. Look deeper. The guy who ran the agency was close with one of the professors. Great selling point, though, isn’t it? </p>

<p>2) Remember that meetings aren’t signings, and there are about a dozen different types of people at these showcases: Agencies, Casting Directors, Managers, etc. You need to go into these things with a clear vision of what you want as an actor, and what you need as a person. </p>