I’ve heard that some theatre departments often cast faculty in the plays or cast visiting artists in lead roles.
I’ve been lurking for awhile here, but I’m new to posting. I’m in the Midwest–when I’ve seen visiting artists cast, it’s usually with a professional regional theatre affiliated with a university. In those instances, a few of the parts are cast (sometimes the lead, sometimes not) and some directing or tech spots are filled with equity professionals they recruit from NYC or Chicago, etc., and the rest of the roles are filled with students. The pros also teach master classes or do Q & A’s. It actually works out really well. The students get to interact, be mentored by and work with real industry pros, and they have the opportunity to earn EMC points if they’re ready for them. My son is at UNL–in addition to opportunities to perform with the regional professional theater, they also have a student run theater only casting students, so they also have opportunities for lead roles.