Despite the fact that winter is still hanging on with a firm grip, it is not at all too early to start making your summer plans. In fact, literally this moment right now is precisely when you should be paying mind to filling those sweltering three months—but you have a lot of options and choosing poorly can be a waste of time, money, and valuable training opportunities.
Prepare before you get there.
“Work with an acting coach to select and prepare monologue material and/or a singing coach to select and prepare song material. Some programs will give you scenes or songs to work on in class, but you should have your book ready to go with material for master classes and cabarets.
“If you’re at a pre-college program that offers a chance to audition at the end of the summer, make sure you have selected and prepared the appropriate monologues and/or songs with before you head off. You’re going to be incredibly busy and will have a hard time finding extra time to work on this material once you get there.” —Tom Morin, actor, acting coach, and Backstage Expert
Remember, you’re carrying on a tradition.
“Summer theater has long been an important part of the American theater landscape. There are theaters around the country that do plays and musicals in the summer, and these provide great opportunity for actors to do roles that they may not have the opportunity to do otherwise.” —Maria Somma, Actors’ Equity Association national director of communications
Celebrate—don’t despair—that you’re not in the city.
“Indulge in whatever the local community has to offer. Take up hiking, biking, running. Find something historical to look at. Make out with a colleague in an old cemetery. Why not? Summer stock is all about #makingmemories! You may at first want to murder yourself because the height of entertainment in the boondocks (where your jazz hands are also used to build sets) is an ice cream shop—but you know what? I’ll bet that ice cream shop is cheaper than in New York.” —Annoying Actor Friend, Backstage Expert
Remember: A summer credit means something.
“As a professional person, you want to be able to say that you’ve worked under those challenging conditions. Summer stock really is a romantic notion because you’re working very intensive hours, and you’re achieving almost impossible artistic things in very short periods of time.” —Bob Shea, artistic director at the Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, New Hampshire
Looking to get cast? Apply to casting calls on Backstage any time of year!