Jan 17 — The League of Washington Theatres has announced that its annual open call for actors, known as the League Auditions, will not be held in 2008. For many years, the League Auditions had been an opportunity for union and non-union actors to show their talents to a large and diverse group of area casting directors. In recent years there were so many registrees that the League was forced to close its doors before everyone had a chance to sign up.
“The feedback we have received,” from local theaters “has led us to believe that in order to improve the usefulness of the League auditions, several changes should be further examined and implemented before moving forward with the next auditions cycle,” League President David Snider said in a memo directed to LOWT membership. “The Executive Committee therefore voted at its December meeting to postpone the annual auditions until February or March of 2009.”
Among the changes that Snider says are under contemplation is the provision of an accompanist for the auditions and limiting the auditions to actors with requisite academic or performance credentials. Auditions chair Danisha Crosby will be charged with developing recommendations. She is accepting suggestions a [email protected].
Why is it that chat boards always seem to deteriorate into somebody claiming to be Batman?
I think there’s a middle ground here. I also have attended Leagues, although it’s been a few years, and I have to agree that by and large, the performances were less than impressive. HOWEVER, it’s so exciting when someone gets on stage who is new to the scene/industry/town/ or whatever, and gives an exciting 90 seconds. THAT’S what League auditions, in an ideal world, should be all about. The question is, how do we put the most people with the potential to provide those qualities onto the Leagues stage?
I can offer two easy suggestion…if we’re still taking suggestions. I actually came here to see if a date had been set for Leagues next year 🙂 My first suggestion would be to open Leagues to people with even a single professional theater credit on their resume. They don’t need an equity card, but they have to have been in at least one professional production. (Professional production = AEA stage manager and a few actors).
I know this is something of a catch 22, but there will have to be some kind of catch 22 in order to weed out some of the people who probably shouldn’t be there at all. It would mean this actor put in a certain amount of ground work on their own, and was able to obtain at least one job at a professional theater w/o Leagues. I think that’s setting the bar at just the right height to let some of the new actors pass over it.
The second suggestion is to qualify for Leagues with an MFA/BA in theater, within the last 5 years.
Remember, there’s no universally fair solution. I think it’s actually quite unfair to the more talented and hard working actors to let anybody and everybody audition, and ultimately we should try to be fair to the ones making an effort towards working in the business. Leagues aren’t community theater auditions. Maybe community theaters should hold their own Leagues!! That’s an idea. But there needs to be some kind of minimum qualifier for Leagues, and I think one professional credit or a recent MFA/BA should do the trick.
Ok Batman.
you freak. lol
Cause I’m Batman, Bill. I’m Batman. That’s why.
Sure it would be great if all the theaters in this town hired AEA actors only. It would wonderful.
But then if every theater in this town only hired aea actors there would be maybe a total of three to five theaters in this town becuase the opthers couldnt afford to stay open.
Oh by the way “Actor” why hide? Why not use your real name?
Theatres can get non-pros (an offensive description if I may say so, I’m non-union and quite pro) for pennies on the dollar, absolutely. In your defense though, the roles these theatres will give us non-equity performers are small, and very often thankless. Servant 10 off the left? You really want to play that role, Mr./Ms. Super-Pro AEA actor? I know I sure wouldn’t want to if I were union.
Personally, if a non-equity actor out-auditions his AEA peers (and I’m sure it happens often), they should offer him the bigger role.
Too often, especially in this town, people will turn AEA instantly, off one contract, or one tour. You really think they’re ready for big time off of one show, where they were probably singing and dancing in a big bird costume?
I think the naive thing is to argue that everyone should have the opportunity to perform in professional theaters, where audiences pay a lot of money to see a show. You wouldn’t insist that anyone who wants to could be paid to re-wire the electrical system in your office, or paint your house, or write your will for you. You would expect trained and professional people to do it. Like those skills, acting is a skill and a craft, and while AEA membership doesn’t guarantee quality – there’s no guarantee in any field for that – it almost always speaks to a certain level of professionalism.
As for auditioning better, “And Also An Actor” missed the point. The point isn’t the quality of performance, it’s economics. Producers decide BEFORE seeing auditions what number of AEA actors they will use, and often in which parts. Theaters can get non-pros for pennies on the dollar, and they do so. It’s not as if producers sit around saying “Let’s see if we can find that extra couple thousand dollars someplace to hire that AEA guy, cause his audition was great.” They’ll hire non-pros to keep costs down because they can. I’m just saying that I wish they couldn’t, that they could only hire AEA. You can’t hire non-union people in a lot of fields, I wish theater was one where the status of professional actor was taken more seriously.
I think “Actor’s” comment is a little naive. I agree with Also an Actor. How is an actor supposed to turn Equity if they can’t be seen for Equity shows. I think everyone deserves the opportunity to audition for Equity shows. I do believe however that there should be stricter rules regarding who an Equity Theatre can cast. If they want to cast a non-Equity actor they should give them the opportunity to join the union. Now this doesn’t apply in every case but many theaters get away with cheap labor. Take Studio Theatre Secondstage as a perfect example. From what I understand their current show Jerry Springer has close to 40 actors and a great deal of them are unpaid interns or really underpaid non-eqs. Now I know that the point of Secondstage is to showcase non-eqs, but what Studio gets away with is murder. This show is in their main theatre and they are charging full price tickets and paying their actors next to nothing. There are definitely theaters out there that abuse actors, whether they are Equity or non-Equity.
Actor, I an non-union because I chose to be. I had two opportunities to become Equity but turned those opportunities down because of personal issues and also financial issues. AEA members are not automatically ‘qualified actors’. There are plenty of fantastic non-Equity actors who choose to remain non-equity for a variety of reasons. Your opinion is jaded. If you are having such a problem earning money as an AEA actor, may I suggest auditioning better?
And therein lies the problem. How can you become union, or get equity points, without getting a part in an equity show? And how can you get in an equity show without being seen by equity theatres? The catch 22 is tremendously frustrating for non-union actors trying to become union (which most of the non-union people attending League auditions are trying to do).
Wow, am I crashing this party late. The last post was in March! Still, I want to weight in on the DC Leagues.
Most of the discussion here centers around the concern that non-union performers won’t get seen as much after the League auditions are revamped. My response to that is this: WOO-HOO! Personally, I wish every part in every theater went to an AEA member. The fact that theaters can hire non-pros is what keeps actors salaries down, and keeps theaters from using professional actors. I know the people weighing in here aren’t union members, but if they were they’d feel differently. Try making a living as an actor, not as a part-time actor, and you’ll feel the same way.
Isn’t it precisely the people without AEA credits who are most in need of the exposure and opportunity that Leagues give?
Furthermore, why stop with AEA credit? Are we now, collectively, saying that having acted for a company such as Longacre Lea or Catalyst doesn’t count as professional experience?
Mr. Krentzlin, I agree with you COMPLETELY. Talent cannot be taught. I know people with EXTENSIVE book smarts as far as theatre goes and they are the most UNNATURAL actors on stage. I think a lot of the most talented performance artists don’t get the chance they deserve to show off their goods and quite frankly I’m getting tired of seeing the same actors in shows.
I won’t name the play or actor, but I recently saw a local production where the sole Equity actor in the cast gave the weakest performance in the show, very amateurish and one-note. Let’s face it, when it comes to the performing arts, sheer, raw talent is what ultimately counts. During my 30 years of working in theater, I’ve seen people who have taken acting lessons since they were children and still couldn’t act their way out of a paper bag. Conversely, I’ve seen people at auditions who had no acting experience at all, but could pick up a script and act rings around the other actors. If live theater reaches the point where people with genuine talent are forced to sit on the sidelines while the roles go exclusively to those with union affiliations or academic credentials, it will be the beginning of the end. (Unfortunately, it seems to be heading in that direction already.)
I have worked with Studio Theater in D.C. as an intern and had the opportunity to sit through the League auditions. I think it’s a good idea that changes are being made to make the process better for everyone. I however hope that the requirements which will allow actors to participate or not participate does not come down to union v.s. non-union, or big named school v.s. small named school. It’s an honest truth that union actors do not always equal higher quality actors. During my sit in at a day of auditons I have seen union actors or actors from “big name schools simply not deliver due to whatever the circumstances may have been.
I agree with Bethany. The level of perfomance/professionalism/talent does not automatically increase for AEA or fore one with many credentials. DC theaters may miss out talent if leagues automatically cut out a huge porportion of auditioners. It is understandable that Leagues are becoming a little painful, but the only way to find the right talent is to see everything out there. Also if you have a separete day for interns, no one would come. It’ll be a waste of time.
I am afraid of the auditions becoming so much about AEA actors that non-AEA actors get overlooked. Let’s be honest DC is a small town and the amount of AEA actors who attend leagues is small because all the DC theatres know that talent pool.
So while I agree that leagues could use some screening (the lady in front of me last year literally read mother courage off a napkin) I just hope they can find a way to allow non-union talent to be showcased and seen by real casting directors, not put on a seperate day for interns to see or taken out of leagues all together. It seems to me that seeing non-union or newer talent would be more useful for all involved.
I agree with Jesse. Requiring an AEA credit would be absurd, especially in this area seeing as some of the most talented actors in the region are non-union, nor have worked in union shows. Also, several local non-union companies hold open auditions, so at least young actors just starting out would have a chance to get their foot in the door. (Besides, why would non-union companies want to participate in the Leagues if all they’ll see are union actors?)
I don’t think you need an AEA theatre credit to audition for the Leagues. Some actors prefer acting at non-union theaters for financial or artistic reasons. I do think they need some credits, though.
I take it you mean that if they dont have at leat one credit they shouldnt be allowed to audition. I see your point but think that is too extreme.
I would be in favor of some type of screening process of head shots and resumes by the theaters involved. But that me almost impossible due to the large numbers of auditionies.
As someone who has sat through the League auditions for the last two years, I can tell you they’ve become painful. You sit through what seems like thousands of actors a day, almost none of whom are qualified to be cast in any sort of play. I don’t know about EMC points or professional recommendations (What do you consider “professional”?). I think anyone without at least one credit at one of DC’s AEA theatrs should be allowed to audition. If that takes the number of auditioners down to a hundred, so much the better.
Moving the dates up will make the Leagues part of the “Audition Season,” with NETC’s, SETC’s etc., and perhaps attract more entries from across the country. Also, this will make casting summer shows a lot easier since there would no longer be a year between the audition and the production.
I agree that the Leagues will be more useful (for actors and theatres) when they become more selective. Auditioners should have (or be working toward) an undergrad degree in some performance-related field, some EMC points, a professional recommendation, or credits with a LOWT group.
I don’t mind velvet ropes, as long as I can get past ’em! 😉
It’s to bad that League’s will not be held this year, however, it seems like the reason is very valid. There should be a better screening process for participants. I hope the changes will be helpful not only to the operation of the League Auditions, but to the theatre’s and the actors. Look forward to the new set-up in 2009.