<p>Probably a silly question to you veterans but why is the Muny like the holy grail of summer stock? Does it pay the most? The most opportunities? Now that the college auditions are over I need something to obsess over so LOL</p>
<p>Also wondering how many of you veterans have kids that worked theme parks in the summer and your thoughts? S could've booked a theme park gig but they needed him too early, he couldn't get out of school.</p>
<p>I know this is off topic but I do think its helpful to college freshman possibly auditioning for the first time for summer jobs.</p>
<p>My daughter has never auditioned for The MUNY. She has also never auditioned for a theme park. She only chose to try summer stock one summer, the one after freshman year of college, and she attended Straw Hats and got a professional summer gig in another state. One reason she would not have auditioned at The MUNY is that it would cost money to attend the audition in St. Louis and we did not pay for job hunting. </p>
<p>So, my comments are not from someone with direct contact with The MUNY. </p>
<p>That said, the MUNY is one of the more prestigious summer stock gigs. If you get cast, you can join Equity. The leads often are well regarded NYC actors. I think The MUNY Is the largest outdoor summer theaterâŠ11,000 seats and has been around a long time. I think it is one of the first summer stock theaters in the country. It has a much higher production budget than some smaller summer stock venues, allowing it to stage more lavish productions. It is competitive to get cast as a college student there. I donât know that it is the most prestigious summer theater gig, but it is among the best regarded ones and more competitive ones. </p>
<p>The people we know who have done theme park work have usually enjoyed it, and it pays pretty well. However, we did receive advice from a singer/actor/teacher/director in the MT business to choose theater work over theme park work if that is an option. In her view, you donât develop theater skills in most theme park jobs and you really can only list such jobs on your resume as âother.â In fact, she felt that theme park performance may lead to bad habits for theater. On the other hand, if you have no other professional performing experience on your resume, theme park jobs do show that someone is willing to pay you and that you are working in a professional environment.</p>
<p>I am certainly not an expert on this. I am reporting one opinion from someone I respect, but itâs just that - one personâs opinion.</p>
<p>Also, it probably depends to some extent on what specifically the theme park job involves. This can range from being a costumed character to being a dancer or singer to acting in a skit-length show to acting in a longer show. We know someone who had a lead in a long-running musical at one of Disneyâs parks and I think that was definitely a good experience for many reasons.</p>
<p>Some companies like MUNY, Pittsburgh CLO, Ogunquit Playhouse, Maine State Music Theatre, Merry-Go-Round, Flat Rock Playhouse ⊠and others that I know I am forgetting, so please no one jump on me ⊠offer those in the summer company the opportunity to work with pretty high level working professional from major theatrical markets, in generally high quality/ larger budget productions. Some offer those working there their AEA card, others EMC points (although other theatres will do this as well), so that is a benefit as well.</p>
<p>I think some companies have more of a âholy grailâ presence depending on the part of the country where you live/ go to school. </p>
<p>In terms of theme parks, I have students who have worked in theme parks and have had good experiences. In theme park work, the performer needs to be very aware of vocal and physical health. They are doing MANY shows per day, and the shows are sometimes in outside venues⊠often in large venues singing pop/ country music. NONE of this is necessarily bad. In all jobs the performers needs to be aware of their limits, have solid technique to meet the demands of the situation, and know how to take care of themselves. I have just seen theme park âsurpriseâ the performers in terms of the demands of the repertory and schedule, and some get into vocal and physical trouble. </p>
<p>The best jobs are artistically/ educationally fulfilling, monetarily rewarding, and meet professional development goals like connections, EMC, AEA, etc⊠when weighing options looking at them in terms of these three categories can help narrow down the option to making the best decision for the artist at that particular time. Sometimes one area may weight higher than the others, but each ob can be evaluated by these factors⊠in the end going with the âgut factor.â </p>
<p>One thing to consider with the MUNY which, for some, may make it less Holy-Grail-ish is that unless Iâm mistaken their contracts are VERY short. I think some kids take Equity cards there for less than a monthâs work, then find themselves unable to consistently book future Equity contracts. </p>
<p>As always thank you all for the good prospective. I need to have my S read the equity vs non equity thread Because I think MomCares brings up a really good point and I want him to really think about the direction he should take in the future.</p>
<p>Location is a good point, for some reason even here in Pittsburgh the Muny is a hot topic in his circle. I find myself saying âUmmâŠwhat about the CLOâŠyou know 15 minutes away in our beautiful theatre districtâ. Theme parks seem so fun to me. I know he would love to work at Cedar Point but I am sure if given the choice he would take theater work first.</p>
<p>If your goal is to work in equity productions after graduation, it would be great to start earning EMC points before you get to the big city. For a new actor, the EMC program may be the best of both worlds as it usually allows you to be seen at equity calls but also leaves you free to pursue non-equity work as well. I have heard about many calls in NYC where non-equity actors wait for hours at an audition only to never be seen - or just told from the start that they wont be seen at all. EMCs are not always seen, but they have a better shot at getting
to audition at an equity call than non-equity candidates. (A lot of this depends on how much time has been allotted to see auditions and how many show up for the call which will vary from call to call).
There are a number of theaters around the country that offer EMC points as part of their contracts throughout the year. So when determining summer stock options, you may consider that when deciding which job to take if being able to audition for equity shows will be important to you.</p>
<p>Agree about EMC. My S is getting a handful of points this summer. I think heâs trying out his EMC card at an equity call today for the first time. (I hope it goes okay, but the stakes are pretty low now as opposed to after heâs graduated, so itâs a good time to get used to the process.) </p>
<p>Other than Straw Hats and actually auditioning at a venue (i.e. at MUNY), what are some other places that college students can audition for summer stock? If we can get the logistics to work, weâre going to try to get S to audition at SETC next March. Since his school is out of the SETC region he will have to do a qualifying audition first. And March seems kind of late in the hiring season to me. I know Kingâs Island theme park auditions at Wright State in November, as well as other places. CCM and others post audition mailers in the their dance/theatre hallways. Short of going to each venueâs website, how else can a college student find out about these auditions and opportunities? Is there an optimum time of the year for these auditions?</p>
<p>^^That is a good list of combined auditions. Those are good to do when time is limited for a college student and they can be seen by many theaters at once. I donât think March is late for summer stock auditions. </p>
<p>As mentioned, there are auditions taking place right at many of these theater venues (not just at The MUNY). That, of course, means more travel. </p>
<p>As well, many summer stock theaters also hold separate auditions in NYC (again, hard to get to if not going to school near NYC)âŠand can be found on various sites that list NYC auditions. Late winter and early spring are when a lot of these take place. </p>
<p>Those summer stock auditions are hard to get to even if you are in school in the NYC area. Often they are held on weekdays when you canât miss studio classes to go to them. If you are lucky, the planets will align properly over spring break. Thatâs your best hope. </p>
<p>My kid hasnât chosen to do summer stock, except the summer after freshman year and she attended college in NYC. She went to StrawHats that yearâŠBUT even then she had a schedule conflict. She had her StrawHats auditionappt. lined up well in advance. But then her college a cappella group landed in the semi-finals that year (national competition for collegiate a cappella) and that conflicted with her Straw Hat audition day. Since she was musically directing and had written some of the arrangements and performed with the group, she did not want to let them down and she was able to arrange with Strawhats (and this was very close to the audition date) to switch her audition to a different day (they have three audition days)âŠbut there was a hitchâŠher headshot and resume were going to be in the âbinder bookâ given to all the theaters for the wrong day and so she would be announced before entering her audition verbally, but the theaters would not have her headshot or resume in front of them on her audition dayâŠa distinct disadvantage. She did get several callbacks anyhow. Then, a few weeks later, and this is due somewhat to attending college in NYC, the artistic director of one of the theaters she was called back to was visiting and observing her acting class at Tisch/CAP21 (knew the teacher) and noticed my daughter in class and then contacted her afterward asking her to come to their theater (it was in CT) for a callback and so she took a train there and did it and was cast for the summer. So, on the one hand, even though she lived in NYC, she had a convict with her Straw Hat audition, and on the other hand, due to attending college in NYC, a lot of theater professionals attend things at her college and she luckily was observed in class which led to her eventually being cast in summer stock. Thatâs the only experience my kid has had in the summer stock world. </p>
<p>Actually, I can think of one more time freshman year like this. She got submitted for an audition for a professional theaterâs summer production (not really a summer stock theater) via an agent and it went well and she got a callback. The callback was over spring break!..BUT, over spring break, she was set to go on a free trip with what was called Tisch Scholars, to Appalachia where these students worked with people in this arts organization there and so she could not attend the callback and thus could not be cast. </p>
<p>My S did ITAs (Illinois Theater Association) last winter and got nothing directly from the audition, but he did a few invitations to audition afterwards (weeks afterwards) from theaters that were represented. Itâs just another way to get seen, I think. It may pay off right away or later or never. </p>
<p>@SooozieVT, your story although true makes it look too easy and sort of makes me uncomfortable. It isnât representative of what things look like for most mere mortals on the ground. Either that or Iâm the only parent of a mortal in this forum. </p>
<p>For my two cents, it is important to keep it real about the quest for summer stock work or frankly any theatre related work and letâs throw in theme park work (which I know nothing about) during the summer. It takes a lot of effort to secure it and some people put in the time in all of the right places and still come up short because like everything else in this crazy business, the supply of opportunities exceeds the demand for them or the places where there is potential demand the access to contest for the work is logistically impossible or will cost you 10 times whatever you would earn. Even before you get to play, you have to get an auditions slot and at some of the regional auditions like Strawhats and NETC, donât count on it especially if you are an underclassman female. For every person that can tell a tale of getting a slot, being able to reschedule it because of a cappella conflicts, etc., there are 10 more that never even got up to bat. Apply early for best odds of securing an audition.</p>
<p>Many of the students that I know really look forward to performing in the summer which is why they choose to move heaven and earth to find the work instead of choosing something else. Unless you are very lucky, well connected, a much needed type or I guess an exceptional talent, you should assume it could take a lot of effort and get on it early. If you book the first thing you touch, count your blessings. The same may not hold true the next summer and the next. So goes the business. </p>
<p>One thing that students should keep in mind that, although some look at MUNY and PCLO as âholy grailâ type experiences, there are many others that will provide a student with a good summer experience. Many of the smaller theatres, some of which may not be on everyoneâs radar, may even be a better option than one of those elusive âholy grailâ positions. Donât let your student be discouraged by ending up at a smaller theatre in what may be a small town. I know lots of actors who had experiences like those while in college and many have very fond memories from those summer jobs.</p>
⊠offer those in the summer company the opportunity to work with pretty high level working professional from major theatrical markets, in generally high quality/ larger budget productions. Some offer those working there their AEA card, others EMC points (although other theatres will do this as well), so that is a benefit as well.</p>
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