<p>Should a student take into account a college that doesn't do a senior showcase?</p>
<p>Many drama and musical theater programs participate in a senior showcase in which agents and talent reps are invited to a showcase to see graduating seniors perform., with the objective that students be seen and obtain representation. Most are done at venues in New York and Los Angeles, and sometimes schools will get together to do a showcase with multiple programs. At some programs, not all seniors are invited to perform, so that is something to look at. </p>
<p>Opinions vary on the importance of a showcase. My D graduated from a MT program that did do a showcase in New York, however it is not something that we included as a requirement when she initially looked at programs. Many programs have a lot of interaction with the professional world over the course of the 4 years, so that their students are exposed to professionals through-out the program. In addition, many students spend their summers in professional theaters and pick up agents and reps before they ever graduate. By the time they graduate, many students already have an agent. There are many ways to obtain representation, the showcase being just one. In my D’s case, I would not say the showcase made much difference with the majority of her class, it was just one more way to be seen. I would certainly not rule out a program that does not do a showcase, however, there are probably many who would disagree!</p>
<p>We weighed it as a factor in selecting schools but not as a deal breaker. I think if you are going to cast a wide net of schools of varying selectivity (a must if you are largely looking at BFAs), you can’t get too hung up on senior showcases.</p>