Unified Professional Theatre Auditions--Or the best weekend ever

 I did it. I flew across the country after months of planning, arrived in Memphis, TN for the first time ever, and successfully (and within the allotted time limit) completed my first UPTA audition.

I've heard a lot about the UPTAs over the years. Especially when I was in school, it was lauded as one of the best auditions to go to, over the NETC or SETC. Originally I believed that was because it was much closer to my midwest college, but after much research I learned it was because of many other factors.

I never did attend any regional auditions in college. I had plans to move to a market and build a resume. And I, truthfully, probably didn't trust my audition 'package' to get me anywhere. Now, a few years later I can say that waiting paid off. Here's what I learned from my UPTA audition:

1. The UPTAs are the most highly attended, and most difficult to get into of the larger regional theatre auditions. They also boast that they are the largest regional theatre audition in the country, with the most companies attending to offer paid year round work.

2. The reason it is the 'hardest' to get into is because of their new policy for 'qualifying'. If I had gone when in school, I would have needed an instructor approval and would have been on my merry way. Now, there's a highly selective screening process for pre-professionals, which (luckily for me) gives first dibs on attending to Equity and EMC candidates. Though, there were a ton of soon to be graduates there!

3. It pays to be a singer. But we all already knew that. For those of us that aren't singers (or as is the case with many of us, choose not to be interested in performing musical theatre though we may have the capability) there is much less opportunity for you here. Out of the 85 companies attending UPTAs this year, 30 were also casting non-singers. There was ONE group of non-singers on my day of auditions, and when I got on stage to audition there were approximately 15 auditors left in the audience. Though 30 companies had signed on to watch us, many of them either did not stay for my afternoon, or had called back so many singers who can act that they didn't feel the need to stay and watch us--actors who don't sing.

Beale Street

4. If you aren't a singer, most people don't care that you do Shakespeare. And they don't want you to do Shakespeare. (For the record, I didn't do Shakespeare, I chose a Restoration Comedy. Though I did whip out a Shakespeare monologue for a callback--always know multiple pieces! But I digress.) The majority of the companies staying for the non-singers were for touring children's theatre. Yes, I love children and doing theatre for them. Yes, I would prefer my resume read credits that don't all come from a beloved child's bedtime story book. However, there happen to be some really cool children's theatre companies out there doing great works of literature, or who choose to do children's theatre on a more sophisticated level. Basically--

5. I learned a lot about the different styles of children's theatre. Any profitable, long running theatre company has an educational component. Meaning--everyone does children's theatre. And most of all--it's important to do children's theatre. Because, let's face it, we can't be in this business just for ourselves, and if you are then at least think about your future in this business. There won't be one if we can't help the little tikes see how important it is to support our art. They're going to be making money some day, you know? Also, it's just a great communication and coping tool. I could write endlessly about why I think theatre for young audiences is important though.

6. But I also learned about some awesome companies that are interested in hiring me for not just children's theatre. Which is what I really wanted to happen at these auditions. The best of both worlds. I'm just so happy and excited about this.

7. Yes it does suck when the Texas Shakespeare Festival stays for every group but mine.

8. This is perhaps the most important lesson: your resume is just as important as your audition. Yes there were so many college kids attending. Yes, they do get called back. But regardless of how great your audition is--what you've done so far, how experienced you are in certain areas is what makes companies look at you seriously. I have Shakespeare, I have Sarah Ruhl, I have classical literature adaptations, new works, fringe festivals, and experience as a teaching artist. This experience above all else, is, I think, what resulted in a lot of my callbacks. But I like to think it was my audition...

9. I am young in the world of theatre. My resume is longer than some, shorter than others. I have known credits, and unknown credits. But what I do know is that I know people from very few places. I need to make more connections out in the theatre world to continue to work the way I want to--which is outside of one market. I want to travel, and I want to see what theatre is like everywhere. I want to know how different companies run their business, and what it's like to work on a beach as opposed to in a barn. I want to see what builds successful relationships with a community and most importantly I want to learn how to replicate all those things when the time comes.

Best BBQ I've had outside of Texas!

10. These auditions made me look at my market in a new light. I was able to compare my pay scale here to the pay scale that other companies were offering me. It's interesting how much people think your time and your work is worth. And far more interesting how much you think your time and your work is worth. And there's the other side of that coin which is just about how much they can afford to pay you and other actors on their business model.

11. I recommend the UPTAs to anybody looking to do contract based work, who wants to build their resume, or who is tired of living in one place. Hey, most everybody offers free housing! It definitely makes you look at the world of theatre differently.

If you have any questions about the UPTAs, my experience with them, or want to share how you felt about your own experience there, please leave a comment below!

And enjoy some sight-seeing pictures!

I found this written on an old building on the same street where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed.

National Civil Rights Museum

Rosa Parks

Cast twice in one night: Embracing Seattle!

It's official:
I've signed on for my next two projects! I've been cast in an improv show that will be modeling itself off a classical script, and I landed the role I was hoping for in the fringe festival show.

It's difficult for me to believe that after everything I was pushed towards in college, that my first large scale professional production in the city was a comedy, and my newest will be an improvised version of a classic play.  I was never given the opportunity to do comedy, and I was way too intimidated to try my hand at improv in school. I was always told my niche was drama. And I know my passion lies with drama and realism because it soothes my soul. Drama is the reason I fell in love with acting. It allows you to go to all the places you wish you had the courage to go to in real life.

Having the opportunity to really stretch myself creatively, artistically, and fundamentally through different genres of theatre since I've moved to Seattle has to be the most amazing feeling, though. I've learned that just because I haven't had the experience of doing comedy or improv, doesn't mean that I'm not capable of it. And it certainly doesn't mean people aren't willing to take a chance on me--apparently. I feel so grateful to have become part of such a welcoming community that will look at my audition and say "I believe in you."

It's definitely something that has only brought theatre closer to my heart since my move. One more lesson to add to my list from last time, I suppose. Embrace yourself and you will be embraced.

Now onto the details:
I was terrified walking into the improv auditions.  I didn't really know what I was doing. I was lucky enough to read with a very sharing partner who made me feel incredibly safe and therefore experimental and daring. I wasn't afraid to try things with him. Even luckier for me: He's been cast opposite me! I'm really looking forward to working with a cast of experienced improv performers. What am I looking forward to more, you ask? Clowning.

That's right. In this show, we'll be learning clowning techniques to build our characters and create movement patterns. This is something I've been interested in for quite a while since I discovered my first year in college that many masters programs cover clowning because it's become such a popular method in our post-modern world. I'll also be delving deeper into commedia dell'arte than I've gone before, I expect. 

My audition was solid and I walked out thanking myself and my wonderful friends that pushed me to challenge myself and not turn down the callback. Who knew it would wind up with me getting cast?

My Fringe Festival auditions and callbacks went very well, too. I had a great scene partner in callbacks and we received a really interesting scene. It had so many levels to play with, and the characters were so obvious the second you read the side, but I felt like I had all the control with where I wanted to take the scene. It's been a long time since I've come across a play that I've enjoyed reading for as much as I enjoyed this one. 

Not only was the script great, but I had a wonderful experience working with the director as well. Different styles of directing work for different people, but I immediately felt as if I clicked with this director. His insight was exceptionally impressive, and I can't wait to dive into the script with him and the playwright (who will hopefully be working on the project as well).

We performed four shows this past weekend. Friday was the most interesting with a smaller crowd, no backstage covering, and torrential winds that carried our voices and our tents away.  We learned some lessons that night, but every show this weekend was a great show and it felt good to be hitting our stride early on. It feels like we've been doing this show for months and we're only on week two! This week we'll be performing in the parks closest to me, so I'll have an enjoyably short commute for once.

We've been getting great attendance, and have thankfully had very few mishaps. Besides bruises, some stumbles, and one unfortunate swollen ankle from a ladder incident the cast has been fortunate for an outdoor show that deals with ever-changing terrains, temperatures, and weather conditions. We did have a bout of food poisoning on Sunday with one cast mate. I was incredibly impressed with his stamina and stubbornness. Not a single patron knew he was sick, and I wouldn't have either. It was very inspiring to watch someone be so committed to a project. Because of the nature of the rehearsal process and the budget, we don't have understudies for our show. If he had decided he was too sick to perform we probably would have had the stage manager go on with book in hand instead of cancelling the show because our audience was so large. Luckily, it never came to that. 

Coming up this weekend I have a film audition that I'm looking forward to! And next week I'll be taking some much needed time off. It's going to be absolutely wonderful.