<p>I know that D is prepared for a life of auditions- but I think one of the nice things will be that if you don’t “get it” (which will be often- no matter HOW good you are) there is always another theater, another show etc…You can work, improve, and kill it the next time. Part of what made college SO stressful was that it felt so “do or die”</p>
<p>Hate to tell you but part of what makes summer stock auditions so stressful is that they happen over a limited window of time and are about work contained in a specific period of time when one is on break. It tends to make the securing summer work feel a bit “do or die” too. It also involves considerations like temporary housing, transportation, deciding between options if you are lucky enough to have more than one or think you might be but don’t know for sure yet after the 9th callback if that show you think you are about to get, you’ll actually get. Sure in life when you aren’t trying to stuff all of that into a specific period of time, there is always another show and another audition but when you are, it’s stressful unless you are lucky enough to land something great early which does happen, but not for everyone.</p>
<p>I agree with SoozieVT that it gets way more competitive than college auditions because you are no longer just competing against other prospective students, you are also competing against current students, former students, never been students but packing a heck of a resume, etc.</p>
<p>Also agree with theatrehiringco that analyzing audition results will indeed drive you crazy. Not sure why I even brought it up. I guess just to provide an example of how the uncertainty doesn’t end with college admission by any stretch of the imagination. </p>
<p>@actingmt: “Here’s the question. She’s not a dancer and after the singing audition and some chatter at the table she was asked if she was a “dancer-dancer”. So, she told the truth and that was the end of that.”</p>
<p>She definitely did the right thing. I think it’s always a mistake to misrepresent yourself. You are either a rigorously trained dancer or you are not. It’s very obvious. And you’ve wasted their time. And you’ll be embarrassed (a lot) when they have the dance call. A dancer-dancer has had many years of rigorous training, and it shows. </p>
<p>As theatrehiringco says as well, for ensemble in MT, they are almost always looking for a) dancers first b) a particular look/type/height (that you can’t control). So when they asked her, they were most probably asking to see if she’d be potential for their ensemble; saying she was a dancer-dancer may have gotten her the dance call, but it wouldn’t have gotten her in the ensemble. if she’s not a dancer, she simply cannot be ensemble in certain MT shows. It is what it is. </p>
<p>My S once went to a cattle call for the original Newsies. Because the show is so dance heavy, the first string of auditions were dance (not even singing and certainly not acting!). My son had several years of dance training, but supportive to his MT, and it quickly became obvious that no way was he a dancer-dancer. You should have seen the level of dancing there. It wasn’t a big waste of time for him because it was his first cattle call ,he went with friends, and he had fun. But he learned his lesson.</p>
<p>A friend a couple years older than D went to the newsies tour call held this spring. He IS a “dancer-dancer” been studying since he was 10- and HE was stumped by the call. Said he’d never seen anything quite like it (and he’s toured in Wicked- certainly been around the block)</p>
<p>@connections and @actingmt, I agree. Usually when somebody asks if you are a dancer-dancer and you know you are not, don’t waste anyone’s time. Just as an aside though, one of the auditions my daughter did this summer had leveled dance sessions. It was for a well-loved and long running summer theatre actually in our state but hours from where we live and one she had never worked for. The work was steady, would last the entire summer and paid so she flew home to give it a go as the auditions conveniently coincided with the start of her spring break. When they asked her if she was a mover or a dancer, she had her New York state of mind in her head and said she was a mover which is the right answer in her world. She went to that dance call and very quickly was told she needed to stay for dancer session. In that session there were a handful of dancer-dancers (just barely) and the rest were like her or actually less trained. Her take away from that was that when the question is asked, it helps if you have context about the theatre to know what to answer. It’s a big country. </p>
<p>Another difference with the real world of auditioning and college auditions, is that for college auditions, all the decisions or the time frame for the start date are close to one another (and the reply date for the actor is all the same…May 1). In the real world, the auditions and offers don’t all come at the same time and so you have to juggle it and also decide on an offer not knowing what else may happen with other opportunities because you have to reply pretty quickly and don’t know what else will happen next week with this or that audition, etc. and so it really is tougher. </p>
<p>~~~~</p>
<p>I do agree with “connections” that it is best to be honest about one’s skill set. What’s the point in saying you are an advanced dancer if you are not and then it will be obvious down the line in the audition. But halflokum has a point that you need to know the context/level of the theater where you are saying that!</p>
<p>Dance calls are tough. You can’t overstate your ability, but can’t understate it, either. It works both ways. Don’t say you are only a mover if you are a dancer. </p>
<p>What is your advice if you have the choice to audition as a dancer or as a singer, if called back as a dancer you have to be able sing? Say you are equally as good at both, is there any advantage to going in as a dancer first? </p>
<p>^^interesting question @mtmajorcook. I know there are summer stock auditions specifically calling for dancers but I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen any that say they are specifically calling for singers. Isn’t the basic assumption when you are casting for a musical that you can sing or at least dance well enough that nobody will care? (Not a rhetorical question I honestly don’t know the answer.)</p>
<p>Dance calls are tough and it isn’t truly always easy to gauge how you should describe yourself. For example, I know movers in a general description that can out tap highly trained ballet dancers but obviously cannot out tap the highly trained tap dancers. Sometimes that also applies to certain jazz moves too or hip hop. I guess the dance ability answer is not only specific to the company you are auditioning for, but also to the likely needs of the show. </p>
<p>I suppose like anything else, with time and experience you get better at knowing how to answer those kinds of questions. Meanwhile, you stumble along. </p>
<p>MTMajorCook, there are several different types of auditions. Here’s my own impression, and someone please correct me if I"m wrong:</p>
<p>Most theatre calls are not a choice of dance calls versus voice calls. You are just called, and usually in the call they’ve specified they need dancers. For instance, say the theatre is doing Gypsy and Sweet Charity and 42nd Street, and you are auditioning for their season in a female ensemble call. Since these shows require serious dancing (of different styles), the ensemble call would involve dancing–you wouldn’t choose whether to do it. Sometimes they weed ensemble out by having the dancing call first, followed by singing. So in that case your D would just audition and then strut her stuff when/if they asked her. The same would be true for a call for a specific theatre. Say the theatre is doing 42nd Street and is holding auditions in NYC. The call would be for ensemble who can dance and sing. They’d choose the order of the audition.</p>
<p>Some shows do have a separate dance call for specific parts. For instance, say they’re doing Fiddler on the Roof. They might have a separate call for male dancers for the ‘bottle scene.’ </p>
<p>But there are also proper separate dance calls for certain shows or regional calls.</p>
<p>Overall, my take is that if you are a serious, trained dancer, then yes, 100%, show them. It is rarer to be a dancer-dancer (with an ensemble look) than a strong singer, and rarer still to have these skills in combination.If they want to hear you sing, they’ll ask you.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I ask because the Pittsburgh CLO is set up just that way, there is a choice for non equity ensemble positions. S auditioned as a dancer first on the advice of one of his coaches because he’s well on his way to being a dancer-dancer. We assumed he wasn’t ready for the CLO but it was a good experience for him. He then auditioned for the WV Public Theatre which didn’t give a choice, he sang and was called back to dance. So I was just wondering if you have the option whats the better way to go. He didn’t book with the WV Public Theatre but they did call him for a show at a 2 day festival they are having this summer. </p>
<p>Thought I would jump in and give some info from our experience. S is a BFA MT at Pace and already has his Equity card. He auditions often at the NYC Equity calls - both EPA’s and ECC’s and just so you don’t walk away with the idea that these are not real auditions please know that people DO get callbacks and DO book from these auditions. There may be some cases of a required call and a theater plans to cast locally instead, but I would say that has been the exception and not the rule in our experience. Some of the calls are for future replacements on Broadway or National Tours and they may not be casting at that moment in time - these calls are required x times per year for shows on these types of contracts. However, CD’s will file actors they are interested in and you may get the callback call months later when they are casting.</p>
<p>As far as separate dancer vs singer auditions that can vary by theater and region. We are from the West Coast and out here calls are more typically singer calls first and then asked to dance at a callback. In NYC it is very common to have separate ECC’s for singers and dancers. If there is interest the singers will be called back to dance and the dancers will be asked to sing. Also, the Muny’s open auditions are separated into two weekends - a singers weekend and a dancers weekend.</p>
<p>Video auditions can be succesful. S booked a 7 week guest artist contract this summer at a respected West Coast theater completely via video auditions - initial auditions and callbacks.</p>
<p>^^Agree with all of the above in that informative post.</p>
<p>@MTMajorCook I don’t have much experience with this, but I have always sort of assumed that it might be a little easier as a Non-Equity to get seen at a Dance ECC than a Singers ECC or EPA. I figured that they can see a lot more dancers at a time than singers, who they have to see individually. That might be completely untrue though - it also takes a while to do a dance call because they have to teach the combination, so maybe in the end they see the same number of singers per hour as dancers. My S would always rather go to a dancer call first, since he figures if he doesn’t get a callback, at least he got to learn a new combination and spend some time there - at a singers call you can wait all day and then be in and out in under 2 minutes!</p>
<p>Everything @MTSD322 said is correct. </p>
<p>It all depends on the level of theater it is. ECCs have calls for singers and calls for dancers (most shows do at least). </p>
<p>I am hesitant to agree that the required replacement calls lead to many job offers, but being seen is being seen. </p>
<p>If given the choice ALWAYS go with your strength, at ANY audition. </p>
<p>I have never been to an ECC Dancer call - so I can’t speak to how many EMC/NonEq get seen, but those numbers usually depend on the show, the time of year, etc. </p>
<p>So I’m realizing now I was somehow in my mind converging two threads into one from my late night insomnia CC reading - LOL. So the first part of my post really was meant for another thread. </p>
<p>Is there summer stock work for straight actors?</p>
<p>Yes, but maybe not as much. My S is doing a Shakespeare in the Park thing this summer, for instance. (There a ton of [insert state or city here] Shakespeare Festival auditions in late winter/early spring in Chicago and NYC and other audition hubs.) </p>
<p>My D is doing a Shakespeare Festival this summer too- a production of Midsummer with only 10 actors who are triple parted. She is playing Helena, Flute, and one of the fairies</p>
<p>Can someone explain summer stock? Like, is any theater job that pays something to it’s actors considered “summer stock” these days. I always thought that was a more specific category of work. </p>