Boston Singers' Resource News Bulletin, June - 2006

SO YOU WANT TO BE A MUSICAL THEATER STAR: THE HARD FACTS FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS AND STUDENTS by Lynn Shane

Young singers often dream of becoming Musical Theatre stars. It’s not an unusual dream; perhaps you have been thinking about this for yourself? It is easy to be captured by the lure of the lights, the artistic satisfaction of creating a convincing character, the thrill of exploring a different persona, the joy of singing a story, the costumes, the crowd, the camaraderie with other artists, etc. All these things, combined with previous success in High School and Community theatre, can give the young singer (and their parents) the sense that a career in Musical Theatre is the right choice.

But is this a realistic goal?

I’m not saying that we should discourage talented singers who want to follow their performing dream nor am I saying that we should try to convince these young hopefuls to choose something else. But, as parents and music educators, we have a responsibility to prepare our young performers with some hard facts before they spend hundreds of dollars on auditions, travel and training.

The following statistics are excerpted from the December 2005 Employment, Membership, and Finance Report published annually in Actors Equity News (www.actorsequity.org).* Actors Equity Union represents the majority of professionally employed stage actors in the United States. These statistics give us some information about current financial trends in Musical Theatre. Please note that these statistics do not include non-union performing opportunities, SAG or AFTRA. BSR wishes to thank Actor’s Equity for permission to reprint this information.

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2004-05 Season Equity Employment Highlights:

Membership and Demographics: There were a total of 39,443 Equity members in good standing in 2004-05 - 62.4% Eastern Region members, 8.4% Central Region members, and 29.2% Western members. The age range of the majority of equity actors was between 31-50 years with eighty members under the age of 10 and thirty-eight members over the age of 90 (wow!)

Weekly Earnings: Each week an average of 5,673 actors were employed on an Equity contract – just about the same number as the prior season. The median earnings paid to all working actors this season was $541 a week and performers worked a median of 11.9 weeks per year – that is, half worked fewer than 11.9 weeks and half worked more. The average number of Equity actors employed weekly has grown by 39.7% over the past 20 seasons.

Annual Earnings: Of the 17,795 persons (45.1% of the paid Equity membership) who worked at least once during the last season, 63.7% were employed on principal contracts, 21.2% on chorus contracts and 15.1% as stage managers. The majority of equity actors (42%) earned between $1-$5,000 annually. The second largest percentage (approximately 30%) earned between $5,000-$15,000. Only 792 equity actors earned over $75,000 a year. Total earnings for the season reached a record high of $292,451,822 but this represented only a growth of less than 1% over the prior season. Median earnings per member for the 2004-05 season was $6,675.

Venues: The number of companies that were operating each week grew this season to a record high of 512 companies, an increase of 2% over the prior season. Broadway Production theater employed Equity actors for the highest amount of workweeks (23.1%) followed by Resident Theatre (LORT) (20.1%), Small Professional Theatre and Letter of Agreement Contracts (16.9%), Stock and Dinner Theater (7.2 %), Off Broadway (4.8%), Disney World (4.4 %), and Theatre for Young Audiences (4.2%). Other production types that hire Equity actors include Cabaret, University Theatre and Guest Artist contracts, Small Regional Theatres (LOA, NEAT, OAT, CAT, NOLA, WCLO, HAT, BAT), and Casinos.
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Are these ratios and percentages unusual? Not according to equity. Their records show little change in the employment and earning ratios of equity workers over the past 20 years. Despite these grim odds, however, there are some things a singer can do that may increase the chances of having a full-time career in music theatre. Special thanks to my brave friends and colleagues who 'live the life' in NYC. It is with humble admiration that I share their advice:

1. Be prepared – This includes everything from reading this article to keeping up with your training. “Be as in touch with, and on top of all the related skills, after singing, for theater performance - dance classes, jazz classes and any dramatic classes - whatever work can be done to make sure that you are coming in as absolutely desirable as possible.” Says John LaRock, Associate Producer of the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA. Keep your audition materials current, memorized and ready to go. Observe and critique your competition at every opportunity (usher, look for free ticket opportunities, attend Master classes, attend competition semi-finals and finals (like NATS). Keep up with your sight reading skills or buy a small recorder. Learn how to prepare and practice music on your own – don’t wait for music directors to pound notes for you! Buy a subscription to Backstage, the career news bulletin for actors, (www.Backstage.com) and check out the audition listings – plan cheap routes to NYC and places to stay for auditions.

2. Be a versatile singer – Your audition book should include selections from all different styles and time periods. Use audition pieces that fit the company/show you are auditioning for. “A big mistake actors make is to not consider the show or season they are auditioning for when choosing their audition selection,” Mr. LaRock says. Also, be prepared to read lines and dance. “Traditional singing chorus and dancing chorus is a thing of the past because of costs.” LaRock says. “You can’t hire people just to do the singing and other people to do the dancing. Everybody has to do everything. Certainly in the regional model, you have an ensemble of characters who are also going to do a lot of roles in the show.”

3. Know thyself – Choose material that works for your voice, your personality, and your body type right now. No one is going to hire you in a professional company based on ‘potential.’ Don’t sing ‘Wicked’ if you’re not a comfortable belter. Don’t sing ‘I feel pretty’ if you don’t have a well-trained classical voice. Don’t sing ‘Norma Desmond’ if you’re only 18. Don’t sing ‘Chicago’ if you’re not a dancer. You get the picture. Do what you do best, what you can do consistently 8 shows/week and what you could be cast in right now. Example: A former student of mine was hired out of college to play ‘Eponine’ in the Broadway production of Les Miserables. Over the 48 hours that she was being seriously considered, they had her sing ‘On my own’ approximately 10 times for different groups of people. Most certainly she was being tested to see if she could sing that piece perfectly and exactly the same every time.

4. Keep up with your classical singing training - You will make yourself more marketable. Another story – three former high school students of mine, all exceptionally talented, decided to pursue careers in musical theatre. One soprano and one tenor decided to concentrate only on their belt voice technique as they attended reputable musical theatre programs – 8 years later they are still having trouble finding consistent performing work. The other student, a tenor, was convinced to attend the Carnegie Mellon opera program even though his heart was in Musical Theatre. He received his Equity card one month before graduation five years ago and has been working ever since. Because of his classical training, he can sing all of the light opera and Rodger and Hammerstein repertoire as well as the Schwartz, Lloyd Webber, and Schoenberg musicals. He occasionally dips into oratorio solo work (hurray!) and he has also tried some opera chorus work.

5. Do summer stock when you’re young – Often times college students don’t take advantage of summer stock because either a) they don’t know about it or b) they can make more money doing other types jobs. True, you don’t make much money performing in summer stock but you get loads of experience, points towards your Equity card, and contacts for the future. And here is the most important part – all of your serious acting competition is doing it! That means your competition that has been performing every summer while you were checking groceries is already heads above you when they finish college. Think about it – who else can afford to perform for little or no money during the summer months? – only students (and possibly teachers) and career actors. So here it is, for those of you who can financially afford it: If you are a young singer and you are not going to attend a summer training program, you should attend one these leading summer stock combined auditions and get some experience– New England Theatre Conference (www.netconline.org) Southeastern Theatre Conference (www.setc.org), Strawhat Auditions (www.strawhat-auditions.com). For a list of other combined auditions as well as all the individual summer theatre companies across the country, purchase a copy of the Summer Theatre Directory – a comprehensive guide to summer performance opportunities published each year http://www.theatredirectories.com/

6. Consider a flexible lifestyle – Searching for acting work is a never ending process for most career actors. Only a very few can sit back and wait for opportunities to come to them. You must factor in the time and money that you will need to constantly set aside for auditions and travel (even if you get an agent). You will also need to make sure the people who live and work with you every day will be somewhat supportive of your lifestyle choices. Always be open and honest about your goals but don’t expect people to change – if a friend or family member is jealous or resentful of your theatre time, most likely they will remain that way. Can you live with that?

7. Create your own opportunities and be prepared to work your way up the ladder - Create your own performances, work on your self-marketing skills, look for windows of opportunity with professional companies. Do not wait for someone to ‘discover you.’ Be assertive and independent with your pursuit. This is especially true for younger performers who are used to being coddled and tend to take a ‘backseat’ approach to life and auditions. Do not wait for the perfect time or the perfect opportunity - you will easily be surpassed by your peers. Be discerning with your choices, yes, but go after opportunities.

8. Be wary of scams – Always check references thoroughly before giving anyone your valuable time or money (training programs, agents, managers, photographers, teachers, etc.). There are some excellent ‘pay to perform’ opportunities in the music theatre world just as there are in the opera world, but you must BE CAREFUL. Never give money to an agent or manager ahead of time for their service. (You may be asked to pay the costs of updated materials such as a new photo shoot, however. This is legal.)

9. Keep other interests - Studies have indicated that the audition ratio of a typical working NYC actor is approximately 9 auditions for every 1 acting job. With odds like these you must develop other interests to keep yourself happy during non-performing times. It is important for you to think of yourself as a person beyond your performing. It helps your perspective and it also makes you a more interesting person (how many conversations about performing can you listen to in one day, anyway?) Also, if you get a traveling job, life in hotels can get rather boring after awhile so it helps to have a hobby or other avocation to bring along.

In closing, I give you this brilliant summary from Actors’ Equity:

“A career in the performing arts is not an easy one. Younger performers (and many others) are still continuously surprised to learn that only 14.4% of all members are employed in live theatre in any given week or that their median earnings are less than $7,000 each year. Yet, despite this, each year thousands of individuals remain undeterred in their desire to become part of the artistic and cultural life of America. Why? Because they instinctively know that the arts have the power to enhance not only their own lives but to illuminate the human condition and that a life in the theatre is not just about entertaining – it is ultimately, about the power to elevate and transform the human spirit.”

Lynn Shane is a voice teacher and performer in the Boston area. She is currently on the music faculty of Salem State College in Salem, MA. A veteran of nearly 50 musical theatre and opera performances, she is a graduate of the Crane School of Music and the University of Colorado. Ms. Shane is the Founder and President of Boston Singers’ Resource www.BostonSingersResource.org - a networking organization for classical singers in the New England region.

Actors' Equity Association ("AEA" or "Equity"), founded in 1913, is the labor union that represents more than 45,000 Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans, for its members. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions.

* For more detailed information about the Actors’ Equity or the 2004-05 financial report mentioned above, please go to the Actors’ Equity website: www.actorsequity.org