<p>Maybe I am a little crazy to already be thinking of next summer, but I like to have my ducks in a row. My D will have finished Sophomore year of her BFA-MT program. She wants to go on her school's 6-week London Study Abroad program which is wholly theater-oriented. This summer it will run from about May 2 - June 14. Will that preclude her from summer stock? Are there any other theater-related opportunities she should consider for mid-June thru August? TIA.</p>
<p>It may get in the way of some summer stock opportunities, but some may not start until middle to end of June… or even later depending on the length of the contract. </p>
<p>The London Study Abroad seems like a terrific opportunity not to be missed! That experience will influence her growth as an artist more than a summer job at a theatre or theme park might, and she still will have one more summer to audition for summer stock after that. </p>
<p>That is not to say that she may not find a job opportunity that could work with the study abroad. Some of my students have summer theatre jobs this year that do not start until mid-June or the beginning of July. </p>
<p>If she is looking for other opportunities… Goodspeed in CT usually has a dance intensive in July or August. As do some of the studios in NY. She may also find an acting intensive that is geared towards college students. </p>
<p>Thanks so much, KatMT! Everyone who has attended the study abroad program in the past says it was life-changing so we are completely supporting her interest. It’s just that colleges have such long breaks and I know she wants to do something meaningful with the remaining 2 1/2 months of the summer. I want to start researching now and point her in a direction. Preferably one that will not cost us money after spending on London!</p>
<p>Is there any sites that list summer stock opportunities and audition dates/locations? </p>
<p>I haven’t found one yet. SETC and Straw Hats provide a list of their recent attendees but there isn’t an easy link to their websites and the websites often don’t list the date requirements.</p>
<p>That won’t preclude summer stock hiring, it will simply limit her options. I had six contracts that start with my second show this summer, and the move in, on June 15th or 16th (I think).
Your daughter will just have to be specific in her search. STILL GO TO SETC, STRAW HATS, or NETC!</p>
<p>Thanks so much, TheaterHiringCo! Straw Hats is very convenient for her since we live in NY and this year’s auditions were during her spring break. Now I will just cross my fingers that she is invited to audition and lucks out with a booking within her time constraints.</p>
<p>I think that StrawHats will likely be earlier next year… or possibly later. This year the weekend coincided with NETC which was not ideal. </p>
<p>SETC might be difficult for her, since she would have to pre-screen in NY or TN (in the fall to be passed on to SETC in March). I coordinate the VA pre-screens and we do have quite a few students Out of Region (residents of or students of states where VA is the pre-screen location. She will have to pick a screening location based upon permanent residence of college attended – <a href=“SETC Professional Screening Auditions | SETC”>http://www.setc.org/setc-screenings</a></p>
<p>StrawHat (<a href=“http://www.strawhat-auditions.com/”>StrawHat | Home), NHPTA (<a href=“http://nhpta.org/?page_id=68”>http://nhpta.org/?page_id=68</a>), and NETC (<a href=“http://www.netconline.org/netc-theatre-auditions.php”>http://www.netconline.org/netc-theatre-auditions.php</a>) are paper applications… But they seem to be hit or miss in terms of securing an audition appointment, particularly for sophomore women. </p>
<p>She may also want to look at the MWTA (<a href=“http://www.webster.edu/fine-arts/midwest-theatre-auditions/”>http://www.webster.edu/fine-arts/midwest-theatre-auditions/</a>) There are also the Outdoor Drama Auditions (<a href=“http://www.outdoor-theatre.org/”>About Us | SETC), and Ohio Thetare Alliance (<a href=“http://www.ohiotheatrealliance.org/auditions.html”>http://www.ohiotheatrealliance.org/auditions.html</a>). I believe these are also paper applications. </p>
<p>This is super helpful!! Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I should have said that she would need to pre-screen in VA or TN. :-)</p>
<p>@shaun0203, I’d highly recommend going for the sure thing (the 6 week study abroad in London) vs. hesitating about it because of concern for summer stock work. Summer stock work is hard to come by (especially for females) even without that limitation. Same applies to getting audition slots at the regional auditions. It can be done but the sophomores I know really have been scrambling to secure summer work and some are still looking. Hopefully your daughter will end up with the best of both worlds in any event. </p>
<p>Thanks, halflokum. There is little doubt that D will attend the theatre London Study Abroad program in 2015. I am just trying to figure out if there are meaningful opportunities for the remainder of her summer. I suppose she could try to go for it for summer stock but she should be prepared with other options…working is not such a bad option.!</p>
<p>I am glad to have this reminder for next summer. My son would have to come home for a weekend to do the SETC prescreening, since his school is in New York State and he can’t do it there. I have a feeling that if he is cast in a fall show he won’t be able to take the time off. </p>
<p>@prodesse and @shaun0203 and anyone else who is interested… the logistics of securing summer work are really tough. If you can’t miss studio or you can’t skip out of town briefly because of a show you are in, then you can’t audition for the work. It is a terrible challenge even for students in NYC where many theatres do come to audition. (Probably other major metros too like Chicago.) Even if you are in those major metros, the competition is intense because not only are you competing with fellow students, you are also competing with working actors or graduates who have just come off national tours and are also looking for their next gig - etc.</p>
<p>I watched my own daughter chase it this year for the first time and many bus rides, train rides and one cross country flight later, she has something but she had to move mountains to get it. Most of my friends with MT students around the same age (sophomores) are reporting the same including for the males. You have to keep swinging which requires the time to be at bat. That’s a challenge for these busy MTs. It’s good practice for the real world though but it’s stressful. </p>
<p>Very good to know!</p>
<p>halflokum, I’m glad you brought this up. My own D (a Sophomore) is also having a very tough time securing a summer internship. Last year she had several offers, and this year, she has one waitlist, a few rejections, and is still waiting for one more. I don’t really understand what has changed this year, but from what I’m hearing all over, it is definitely a lot tougher this year. Several classmates who secured excellent summerstock last year landed nothing this year. And that’s for students who can afford the time and money needed for auditions.</p>
<p>I would absolutely not plan on summerstock–definitely have a back up plan. If my D doesn’t land anything, she’ll stay home and work, which really isn’t a terrible thing; she is planning on going to the UK for training next summer, and it’s not clear how much (if at all) her college will pay for it, so it would be good to save for now. Working in a ‘real’ job is a good experience in and of itself anyway. Not only is it a good thing for them to earn money, but they will need to be able to land ‘regular’ jobs in this business even in the best case scenarios, so I feel it’s good to gain these skills now. </p>
<p>@connections you are describing exactly what I’m seeing too. I know of several very talented students who got summer stock work last summer and are just not finding it this year. One who was called back maybe 9 times for a lead role in a tiny theatre (this is not Broadway people), only to not get it in the end. My own daughter went from a red-eye flight from an audition and callback on the West coast right to NETC auditions with no sleep because that was the only way she could schedule it. (Note to self and everyone else for future… the Monday of NETC auditions is NOT worth it. Most every theatre worth seeing has left by then. Wish we had known.) Then there were the long bus rides including the one from a callback in northern New England that got into NYC at 5:30 AM in time for her take the subway to the home, drop her stuff get to her 9 AM tap class which was the start of a full day of studio classes with once again, no sleep. Then there are all of those open call auditions. Where you wait and wait and wait. Well for her the effort and persistence finally had a happy “beginning” (not ending) but she is still chasing more because she must to make the summer work.</p>
<p>She also must have a job that pays better for rent and food. In fact, she has applications out all over the place and is at an interview for a hostess job right now as I’m typing this. I sure hope she gets it because she will need it or she won’t make it in NYC this summer. It’s serving as a reminder that so much of this crazy field is not glamorous but yes, she is gaining valuable survival skills right now. On top of all of that, finals are this coming week and… her summer stock rehearsals started last night at a theatre that’s a 50 minute train ride outside of NYC. I don’t know how she and others like her do it. I’m exhausted just writing about it. Makes me proud though. You’ve really got to want it.</p>
<p>PS: on a more hopeful sounding note, I do have another friend whose daughter is a current junior and she is beating off the summer opportunities with a stick. Her mom swears this is the first year this happened so maybe junior year is the magic year? Here is hoping!! :-)</p>
<p>Junior year is the magic year here! Son booked summer stock Freshman year; nothing Sophomore year and four shows this year… not much different from the college audition process… can’t figure it out!!!</p>
<p>@lojosmo, you give us all hope. </p>
<p>@lojosmo -still got goosebumps reading it again! So happy for him!</p>