<p>I am a sophomore in college, studying acting in a BFA program based in New York.
I have been consumed with a steady babysitting job for the last 2 years and, would like to
explore a job in the field I study. I would love to act or be in a production, where do I begin? I appreciate and welcome any advice or suggestions. Is it too late??</p>
<p>It’s sort of too late - most of the deadlines for major group auditions for interns and paid summer stock talent have passed. You could go on Backstage.com and see if you can find their list of summer stock and internships (might be two separate lists) and contact those who don’t participate in the NETC or Strawhats. You can also get a list of all theatres in NYC (and there are so many) and contact them to see if they have anything to offer, you’d be surprised at how many small theatres can use office staff in exchange for a small role in a summer production. </p>
<p>Missing the deadlines for group auditions just means you’ll have to do a lot of research on your own. Something great may come out of it though!</p>
<p>It might be too late to find any kind of paid job in theatre for this summer, but if you could combine an unpaid internship with some sort of other paid work, that might be something to consider.</p>
<p>Probably there are people associated with your BFA program who could help you find something, if you ask around.</p>
<p>I disagree that it’s too late for internships. Many are still taking applications. YOu can target individual theatres and look up their own internship opportunities, then apply. These can be acting internships or overall internships. Many are unpaid though. If you are fortunate to live close to a theatre community it’s easier; you can simply live at home and do the internships. However, I do know people who do the internships and also work. Furthermore, you can contact the individual theatres and ask them for any advice. Some give you links to housing or have special help with that.</p>
<p>Well, if you’re in New York you could always try your hand at finding an agent if your school will allow you do to outside projects. Even if you can’t find an acting internship, maybe you could try for internships in fields that still get your face and/or name seen like communications or PR or maybe at a casting office? A girl in my class has a sister that helped make ends meet in New York by teaching vocal lessons (she graduated from CCM’s Musical Theatre program, so she knew how to sing). You could probably make bank doing that or teaching acting lessons since it’s crazy $$ to take lessons from an agency in NY. Next time though, I would consider hitting the road a little earlier and auditioning for summer stock programs, which would also help you get your Equity card.</p>
<p>While many of the combined summer auditions application deadlines have passed or the auditions are full, today is actually the deadline to apply to NETC. I know several of my D’s classmates have booked their summer work through NETC.<br>
[NETC</a> Online](<a href=“http://netconline.org%5DNETC”>http://netconline.org)</p>
<p>There are other theatres that accept applications via online submissions or who have their own open calls. So it isn’t too late to try and book something for the summer.</p>
<p>Sorry if this is a dumb question, but isn’t NETC mostly for musical theatre?</p>
<p>NETC has both types of auditions. It is true that many summer stock opportunities are for musicals, but not all. And my D has friends who auditioned acting only at NETC and booked work.</p>
<p>I once got a summer internship just by walking into a theater and talking to the guy in charge . . .</p>
<p>I don’t want to start a new thread for this but can I ask a tangential question. We’ve compromised the pocket book quite a bit over the last three summers to compensate for the fact she does not have those opportunities in her school and to get to the point where she has the skills and confidence to pursue this in college. I think it has been money well spent. They have been great experiences and developed her as an actor. </p>
<p>My though process on summers when she was in college was that she’s actually be working a “real” job. After all, the other nine months would be full time devotiion to her craft. Obviously, if she could an acting job and get paid that would be the best of both worlds. I supposed after Junior year, it might be different as the transition to acting career needs to take a bigger focus. Are most BFA kids in internships/summer stock, etc.? Or is there still a large contigent that just heads home for a “job” as unnattractive as that may be? Mine hasn’t done much of the traditional job thing. I have gotten her a job at my lawfirm this summer doing such glamarous works as organizing files. She’s thrilled … But I think is important. She needs to see contribute to this and to see what life is for the rest of us.</p>
<p>My son knows students who have done summer internships, or have worked…or both. I don’t think there’s any general rule about this. Not to belabor the point (which is currently being discussed on another thread), but he doesn’t know anybody who has done summer stock per se.</p>
<p>Depending on the training the student is getting in college, they may or may not feel that they need summer work of a theatrical nature to supplement their training and experience.</p>
<p>Possibly the summer after freshman year in college is the best time to try to do a summer acting internship. It could help compensate for any deficiencies the student may still have in his or her abilities following a year in a college program…especially if it is the kind of program that is a bit light on training in the first year.</p>
<p>My D has been fortunate to do a mix of both each summer. Last summer she came home and worked at her old nanny job for a bit, then headed to Mt. Gretna PA to do summerstock, then came back home and worked as a nanny again before heading back to school. She was paid at both jobs - as a nanny and at the theatre. Some theatres cast for the entire season, while others cast on a show by show basis, which means you are not working at the theatre for the entire summer. </p>
<p>She made really terrific connections working at Mt. Gretna. I think that is something that people don’t always recognize. Not only in terms of the creative team she worked with, but also the other actors. She is still in contact with most of them, including Barry Pearl who directed her in Grease at Mt. Gretna and directs at theatres around the country. I know he has emailed her other opportunities that have come up to work with him. So far they haven’t fit in with her school schedule, but hopefully they will keep talking as she would love to work with him again.</p>
<p>You all understand that your kids are NOT going to get paid acting work the moment they graduate, right? With their undergraduate theatre degrees in hand, they are qualified to wait tables while they go out and audition for different things, and constantly get rejected.</p>
<p>Since it’s so hard to get paid acting work WITH a degree, I don’t know why folks think they are going to find paid acting work WITHOUT a degree!!!</p>
<p>If you could get that paid acting work, why would you even NEED a degree?</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>KEVP - Some kids DO get paid acting work the moment they graduate, that’s what showcases are for and I’ve seen it happen numerous times over the last three years at the NYC showcase from NU. And of course there are the few who audition while at school and get cast so they leave school for the production. I personally know 2 people where that happened and one is in her 50s and has never looked back.</p>
<p>Casting in summer stock is different, especially non-Equity summer stock. Yes, there are more opportunities for non-paying (or even you pay) internships but there are possible paid summer stock opportunities. </p>
<p>I would agree that neither possibilities are remotely guaranteed however.</p>
<p>My son spent several summers working at the Gretna theater, which is just a few miles from our house, even while he was in high school. He did some acting in the main stage shows, some acting in the children’s theater, and a lot of helping build set, running the soundboard and doing whatever else needed to be done. It was a great learning experience, and he got paid for it. During college summers, he worked teaching theater at a summer camp on Martha’s Vineyard while developing his own original shows with his friends. So it is possible to get paying jobs that are theater related. It seemed many of his classmates got theater related jobs, although others also got more traditional summer jobs.</p>
<p>It is not terribly difficult to get paid acting work right out of college. The problem is, they are generally not jobs that pay very well. (Not enough to live on without supplementary income.) However, they let you build up your resume and gain valuable experience.</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who replied. You have elightened me and,
gave me some valuable information to think about. I need to start
much earlier and be organized. It seems difficult to find acting
opportunities without musical theater. I love to sing but, it’s not
my strength. The problem is I need to build up my resume and
get experience with acting and, have not been successful in finding
much. Being a full time student, my school does not want us seeking outside work. It’s hard to ask for help. I will definately walk into some theaters to see if they are hiring. If anyone has any great ideas,
please pm me. Thank you :)</p>
<p>Maggie, if your school forbids you from seeking outside theatre work, they should still be casting you in shows AT school! If they are not putting you in shows at school, and won’t let you be in shows outside of school, then it may not be a good place for you. I agree that you should get some shows to put on your resume.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>