For those with students already in MT programs, what options do you suggest they explore for their freshman summer? I know there have been some posts on this before, but I cannot find recent ones. My D is open to consider both top-level training or summer stock performing, even if only for a short-term stint, but especially if it will give her good resume building experience and opportunities for networking. Making money is not the priority but don’t want an expensive program either. She is already a strong singer/dancer, so (I think) she could be a candidate for ensemble summer stock. Looking for good experiences your student has had and/or where to probably cross off the list. I know about A1 Unifieds and StrawHats, but what other national auditions/programs would you suggest? She is open to location, but anything on the West Coast would be a bonus. If you even want to point me to old discussions, that is fine. TIA!
My daughter is a MT junior. Just applied to A1 - hopefully will pass the prescreen! A1 is supposedly surpassing Strawhats from what I have been told by people in the know. My daughter didn’t have a great experience at Strawhats last year. Try local theaters- google summer stock links on this site for more info. Very competitive, to say the least!!The audition madness continues!!
@loribelle, My daughter is a MT sophomore and attended (after passing prescreen for her state) SETC last Spring. She was blessed to get a few callbacks at SETC for summer work and also found the conference to be an excellent learning experience. One of her callbacks was from a theatre group in MA where she applied to and was accepted to an intern program. Although we had to pay for her to attend, it was SO worth the $. She was in 2 shows, was an understudy for an equity show (earning equity points), attended many masters classes, and overall had the time of her life. One of her friends attended SETC also and had a summer job at Hershey Park which she loved. I highly recommend attending one of the summer stock audition conferences as a freshman, if nothing else for the experience of it. Also as @duxellen said, google summer stock and look at all the opportunities available. Something else we looked at were summer camps where they hire counselors to lead the campers in theatre, dance etc. Some places start taking applications as early as December. Good luck!
Hello, would you mind telling me where your daughter interned in Mass. last summer? It kind of sounds similar to The Williamsburg Theater Festival in the Berkshires?? I was researching that last night, and although it’s pricy, looks like you can get college credit, possible equity points, and make lots of valuable connections.
@duxellen , I sent you a message.
Our D, along with several OCU classmates, did BDCs professional semester the summer after freshman year to amp up their dance training. Although they get wonderful dance training at school, she usually had one dance class per semester. To be competitive, she felt she needed more intensive training. OCU does have 10 different levels of dance in each discipline, and when she leveled at the beginning of her sophomore year after doing the BDC program, she had jumped a couple of levels in each. So she felt that intensive training was invaluable. She also was able to work for a temp agency while in NYC and got a good idea of what it was like to live on a survival job and fit her training in around that. Since they did that (about 5 years ago), it has become a very popular and recommended thing to do in the summer for kids from this program.
I think after being away at college for a year too there is much to be said for going home and spending time with family, perhaps being involved in local theater during the summer in some way. After all, for most, this is probably the longest they’ve been away from home. There is nothing wrong with going home for the summer!
Subsequent summers found her doing summer stock at various theaters. She participated in A1s, Midwest Theatre Auditions, the MUNY, Music Theatre Wichita, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Casa Mañana, The LEX< SETC, UPTAS and Strawhats – different years, different times. She also reached out directly to some theaters. I would say most of what she learned about summer work came from students a grade or two ahead of her They kept them informed of when the registration sites were going live, helped find group accommodations and shared car travel when possible, etc… School helped prepare their actual audition material, but did not do a lot in the way of securing summer work. There were some, like MTW and The LEX, who held auditions on campus. But other than that, the kids were on their own to decide what was best for them.
I would say hands down A1, although the newest, was probably the best experience of the big unified type auditions. She probably got the most offers, however, from SETC. You can audition for the MUNY at A1s now so it would not be necessary to make that a special trip unless you just wanted to.
I know several of her friends at Michigan chose to stay in Ann Arbor for certain summers and took academic classes to help free up their schedules during the school year Our D stayed at OCU one summer to be a counselor for their summer musical theater camps so that is something else you could look into – what needs does your school have during the summer, or what classes can you check off your list? If I’m not mistaken, a lot of kids at Utah stay that first summer because it establishes their residency which qualifies them for in-state tuition. So each school is probably different as to what it’s students choose to do.
I think Baldwin Wallace probably does the most at actually helping place students in summer jobs. They seem to be well connected and do make a concerted effort to place some (not all) of their students in highly regarded summer gigs.
Other things to be aware of: D got offered a contract at Hershey that she had to turn down because the contract dates extended past when OCU started back to school. She would not be allowed to miss. Some people turn their noses up at theme park work. It can be long hours and you really have to learn to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. But I think for college kids its great money to do something they love, and a fun place to be for a couple of months. I would not discount them. As far as those scheduling conflicts go, friends at BW had a similar contract issue and were allowed to start their Fall semester a few weeks late in order to finish their contract. So different schools will have different policies about this. Check before you sign any contracts!
Also, if you get offers, make sure you understand what is expected of you. At some places, actors just act. At others, they can be expected to clean, wait tables, teach classes, etc… All of which is fine. Just make sure you are clear as to what will be expected of you. Also clarify if they provide housing and if so, find out more about it. Some housing is great, some is kinda awful. If that is important to you, ask the questions before you sign the contract! There are also some intern companies where you actually pay to participate. In addition to getting to act, some of these have interns take classes. And/or teach classes to youth. Oftentimes you are limited in what MainStage experience you may get. But you may have the opportunity to earn some EMC points. So to some, they can be worth the expense. Some of these are fantastic (I’m thinking Williamstown, Weathervane, Hangar, etc…) Others not so much. So again, really check out the places under consideration and make sure you are happy with what you will be doing
if you go to a site called audition update they have a section there called gig and tell. There there is a list of all sorts of theaters and summer stock places. Check it out and see what’s been written about any prospective employers. Just be mindful, sometimes one disgruntled employee can write something really bad when everyone else has had a great experience. So don’t let one bad review turn you away. Just check each place out thoroughly.
There are lots of wonderful summer opportunities out there. Enjoy the process!
My daughter spent a month in Germany training with Music Theater Bavaria. It was a great experience for her and she learned a ton.
@vvnstar What’s BDC Professional?
@MI3rdClosingAct Broadway Dance Center in NYC (BDC) has training programs in the summer. and throughout the year You must find your own housing. But schedules are somewhat flexible which did allow for a job in between classes to help cover some of the cost.
@vvnstar Great Thank you very much
My son was accepted to audition at A1’s for his 3rd year, but for the past 2 summers had offers in CA and was in 2 Newsies productions. This past summer he did Newsies with McCoy-Rigby/La Mirada Theatre (produced by Cathy Rigby and husband Tom McCoy) which he absolutely loved and was able to be home for the summer and earn EMC points. The summer before he did Newsies with PCPA in Solvang and earned EMC points as well. McCoy Rigby is doing Beauty and the Beast next summer and they cast through Flores Casting and you can submit a video, but will have to be seen at callbacks in order to be cast, and PCPA is doing The Addams Family and you can audition in person or submit a video. I would highly recommend both if you are in Southern or Central California. He also did Hairspray at The Muny 3 summers ago through the Muny Emerging Young Artists program, and auditioned there the past 2 years but was not cast. He also did StrawHats this past year, but had to fly back to LA for Newsies callbacks, so missed some of the StrawHats callbacks held the day after he auditioned. 3D Theatricals will be auditioning for Shrek in late May. Those are all of the So Cal theatres where you can earn Equity points that I am aware of. Being from the LA area, it has been great having him in productions closer to home so friends and family have been able to watch him perform.
Thanks, @Troykat - very helpful. We are in S. Cal and I would love to have my D stay close to home for summers since she is in NYC during the school year. This info will help! 
For what its worth, and I am sure many students experiences are different, my son says he will not do A-1s again this year as he was very disappointed in it. He had a blast but he said it was marketed as only being a couple hundred auditionees and ended up being close to 1000. He also said many of the theatres they were told would be there were only there the first day or two and then left and didn’t see a good majority of the kids.
Here’s a thread we used last year to talk about summer and year-round audition opportunities: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2016564-2017-2018-audition-calendar-for-summer-and-year-round-work.html#latest
Each student has his or her own journey, but I can tell you a little about my daughter’s experience. I think summer is a good opportunity for student’s to build their resumes. For some students, they can get show credits through summer stock – as company members, apprentices, interns. Summer stock can be great performance and general theater experience. Another way to build a resume is through training programs as you mentioned. When my daughter was a senior, she was looking for year-round work – having a resume with good professional credits and solid training really helps. Getting EMC points while still in school if possible is also beneficial. At my daughter’s school, the students are encouraged to drop educational credits from their resumes as they gain professional credits (again this will vary). When students audition for professional work, most everything comes down to the actual audition (so audition experience is crucial), but a professional resume can also speak volumes. However, summer is also a good opportunity to earn much needed money (or take a much needed break), so students might choose shorter show or training commitments. to allow them to earn money to help with college expenses. It’s wonderful to have a performance job or contract upon graduation, but many of those early jobs come with small salaries or stipends. It’s important for students to have a good handle on their finances. It’s all a balancing act!
Parents with older MT kids what do you think of internships vs. summer stock? Internship in & related to musical theater. My D really likes to use her summers to earn spending cash & summer stock pay isn’t that great. Which theaters pay better &/or provide housing? Do you find that out after the fact if lucky enough to get cast out of A1 or Strawhat auditions? Internships are starting to pay more & more. But still pay not terrific pay. Thoughts???
My daughter worked her first two summers of college at Interlochen. She did summerstock last year as a rising senior.
It’s probably too late this year, but Music Theatre Wichita is a well regarded summer program that pays relatively well and gives a bit of extra money for those coming from out of town https://mtwichita.org/opportunities/audition_information/general_information
Wichita held their last auditions on Saturday in NYC. I believe Strawhats is this week but again it is too late to signup/ be seen. I think a lot of summer stock opportunities become available in January and you have to sign up. I know you didn’t specifically ask about summer stock but I was just riffing off the above posts.
Strawhat was this past weekend. Yes all summer stock plans, registrations have to be done pronto when they become available and live. December, January, etc. I know a lot of individual theatres that audition at their location seem to be tying those up this month. D’s friend just went to one last weekend and I know of some others in march but some are already past and were in February etc.