I think my S would very much like to be one of the remaining villains on Gotham. (We think Killer Croc and Mr. Freeze are still available.) 
But also, as above, he just wants to work, whatever, whenever…
My D is now 9 months post graduation. She made the move to NYC in August last year. She was able to find 2 great part time non-performing jobs, both in the industry, so that she has been pretty much supporting herself since she arrived. That would not have been possible though without the money she had been saving for the move.
I was in NYC last weekend to see her first NYC show. It was off off Broadway, actually at the same location in Times Square that she had her senior showcase. To say that I had a blast would be an understatement. Friday night a large group of us met for dinner and the show. Some of her friends from college were there, along with some of my friends, including some parents I met on CC when our kids began this journey way back when. After dinner we walked to the theatre. Wow - the talent on that stage was incredible. The play is incredibly emotional and intense, and the journey those actors took all of us on was one I will never forget. I saw the show 3 times and got more out of it each time I saw it. It was like Donkey’s onion - layers and layers of meaning. I left simultaneously wondering why this Pulitzer prize winning play isn’t produced more often, and totally understanding why it isn’t. As we walked through Times Square to get post show drinks and desserts, I am sure people thought I was the village idiot with that crazy smile on my face.
Her show closes this Saturday, and Monday morning she goes into rehearsals for a spring TYA tour. She’ll be on the road with that until early June. Her life for the next few weeks will consist of rehearsals, work, and auditions. She is hoping to book summer work, and fall work, and holiday work…you get the picture. But she is really excited about this tour, and can’t wait to hit the road. The tour is booked in some really great locations so she is looking forward to exploring some new places along the way.
Would she love to book a Broadway show? Of course!! But she would also love to book a national tour? Or another NYC show? Or a regional theatre gig? Well yes, of course. So she will keep working hard, going to auditions, working on her material, and living the life of a working actor. At least HER version of that life.
She isn’t the only one from her class working. A number are working regional theatre gigs, going in and out of the city. One just left for a 9 month gig in Japan. Another booked a year-long regional gig so has been working at the same theatre since August, doing some fabulous productions. They each have their own journey.
Thanks so much to everyone who is sharing plans AND progress to-date! I find it all very interesting, encouraging and inspiring.
Lately I’m particularly curious to what extent people’s kids plan to move to NYC. It seems that statistically actually making a living performing in Manhattan (not on tours, cruises or in regional theatres) is quite rare, yet it seems that most MTs plan to live in NYC which I find a bit confusing. Since the overall odds of earning a living as an MT seem comparable to working in pro baseball (albeit at lower salaries), it’s as if most people plan as if they will play for the Yankees.
I do understand that a lot of auditions are centralized in NYC, but do some young actors plan to live elsewhere and fly in for key auditions, or even to make their living in a different regional market?
My son says he’s not moving to NYC until he’s got an equity card and an agent. In fact, I think he’d be okay with staying in Chicago until and unless he gets an offer he can’t refuse elsewhere.
NYC is good for theater actors because in addition to opportunities to perform in New York itself, regional theaters hold EPAs and open calls in New York constantly. So it’s kind of “one stop shopping” for auditions. Also, New York has a lot of theater opportunities aside from Broadway and off-Broadway, so it’s a good place to get experience and make connections, even if you’re not making a full time living from theater.
That doesn’t mean you HAVE to go to New York, of course! Chicago is also a thriving theater city, so Jkellynh’s son is smart to stay there and build a career there. I also know a woman who went to Ball State for MT and then AADA in NYC, then struggled in NYC for two years without getting any traction. But then she got married and moved to Chicago, and has built a successful theater career there (she was in “Million Dollar Quartet” in Chicago, got her Equity card, and started her own small non profit theater company).
But if you’re from a small town that doesn’t have professional theater and isn’t near any major theater (or film or TV) hub, you’ll HAVE to move to have an acting career, so you might as well move where the action is.
Just as an illustration, go to www.actorsequity.org, click “Casting Call”, and where it says “Auditions,” select “Eastern” under “Regions.” That will show you all the Equity auditions being held in New York (as well as in Connecticut and other East Coast places).
As you can see, even though most of these auditions are being held in New York, they are auditioning for shows in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Washington DC, Montana, Minnesota, and Georgia, as well as for shows in New York.
It’s true that there are lots of regional auditions in NYC, but it is very difficult to get seen without at least an EMC card. My son went to an equity audition in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and was seen (with 9 EMC points) within an hour; his friend without EMC got in after another hour. In NYC, you get up at 5:30 and line up in the cold and fight for a spot in line (and again after you go up in the elevator) and often spend several hours with no audition. Why not get your card somewhere easier and then deal with all that?
That’s true. As I said, I know a woman who had that exact situation: struggled in New York, but moved to Chicago and is doing great. The key really is to be in a city with a thriving theater scene, which Chicago certainly is!
You should know that theaters are required to hold EPA’s. That’s not necessarily where shows get cast.
My son can not wait to get to New York. He has a lot of friends there and can sleep on a few couches. We live in central NJ and my parents are 30 minutes from the city so it is not necessary for him to live there but he loves the city (always has) and that’s where he wants to be.
D also loves NYC, and has lots of friends there, and I’m guessing that’s true of many of our kids. Those families near enough to offer the occasional couch are in a great situation! We can only offer a VERY long couch-commute.
I’ve recently been seeing lots of reminders that there is still a market for Singers who Move, and that at a certain level when Dancers are needed they bring in the big guns (from ballet companies) and aren’t looking for girls with 4 years of solid college dance trainng. Don’t get me wrong - I think being a full-on triple threat is fabulous, but for those who either didn’t start dancing seriously by age 4, or who just have an extra left foot, it seems that all is not lost.
^^Agree with you, @MomCares. While my D did grow up taking a LOT of dance, her professional life in MT has involved very little dance so far. There are lots of shows and roles that are not full of dance. I do think dance is very important and it certainly is involved in many shows, but not all. It is also important if you do chorus/ensemble work. My D never felt she’d be a chorus girl and is only 5’3" (and she never attends ECCs). It is important to have an extensive skill set including dance, but not every MT job involves dance.
My D is thinking Chicago in two eyars more than NYC, but of course a lot can change before then. What I’m hoping for is that there will be a market for soproanos who are of a more classic MT style vs the pop/rock belting we hear now a lot (although she is picking up that style, she is much more the Shirley Jones type).
Oh, and if directors could cast ladies that are 5’9", that would be great as well!
@jeffandann - I have a 6’+ boy to match your tall girl. He wishes he could sing all the John Raitt, Alfred Drake, parts and dance the Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly dances, but alas, he too has come to realize he will have to learn pop/rock to survive - and, God forbid, hip-hop. 
Probably too tall to take up serious gymnastics at this point, but clowning/mime is right up his alley - as done by Charlie Chaplin or “modern” guys like Donald O’Connor. At some point, there must be a backlash against screlting girls and diminutive, squeaky-voiced guys, right??
@mom4bwayboy - only if we stop paying to see them!
So true.
Just as the world is filled with all kinds of people, there’s room for all types in the theatre world as well. I honestly think good screlting conveys many emotions that are underserved by classical performance, and vice versa. Much as I think one person’s dream school is always someone else’s nightmare (no matter which school it is). Vive la difference!
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