No, I definitely understand what you’re saying…but there have to be opportunities somewhere for the next group of us theatre artist to start paying our dues somewhere. And not necessarily on stage. NYU is big on the whole package; we learn just as much off stage as we do on. And I paint a mean set. Most of us, I think, have other skills that we would gladly donate just to have a place to go and be a part of something. And perhaps it isn’t going to lead to being cast, but it would probably teach us something. It would probably teach us a lot.

And I just lament the number of groups I have tried to volunteer for who haven’t seemed to have much use for me. I find it sad.

Thanks for the tips! I will look into voice for sure. And so far, zero mileage out of the name. But, I guess it’s still early…

The major problem with small companies fostering young talent is the resources to do so. With Praxis for example, there are a lot of people who have put shitloads of their free time into building this thing. If we turned around now and offered roles in our once-a-year-prtoductions to recent grads, there are some company members that would beat the crap outta me.

That being said everyone knows NYU is one of the top programs in The States and you should get some mileage outta that.

@Ian Mackenzie

I, too, do not really understand Twitter. I am on it, I think it’s kind of fun, but I don’t necessarily get it…

And I am also familiar with both of those websites. I check Work in Culture religiously. They’re great resources but there aren’t tons of auditions. And, in looking to have a life in theatre, I would gladly accept just about any job in the arts, but they are hard to come by…if I had a dime for every time I’ve heard the “not enough experience” line…well, I wouldn’t be writing this. Even organizations I have offered to volunteer for have been briefly interested, only to fade away…

@Michael Wheeler

1 You are absolutely right. You can’t wait around for phone calls. And paying the bills would be nice, but just doing something is immediately, I think, the greater issue. I guess on this front, I just don’t know where to start…yet. Where do you start in creating your own work?

2 Right again. Although challenging on a limited budget.

3 I actually have a degree in theatre. I guess I should have specified that my lack of preparedness for theatre in Toronto is a result of having gone to school in the U.S. Training is extremely important (and I couldn’t agree more about the fundamentals being the difference between stage and film acting) but the thought of sitting through another acting class, frankly, makes me want to gouge my eyes out. I’ve covered all the theory I can digest in the last four years. At least, for now. The best teacher is experience and I would love to try my skills by actually doing something…I imagine there are other recent grads who feel similarly.

This being said, know where to find a good voice teacher?

4 I am so glad to hear Theatre Ontario recommended! THANK YOU! I am familiar with the website but have been a bit hesitant about the fee. I went to school in New York; I was taught to be skeptical of anything with a fee.

My training prepared me to launch a theatre career in NYC—I studied at NYU—but I decided that I couldn’t afford to live there and that I wanted to come home (another brilliant prof told me that when making decisions, err on the side of having a life). I guess what is most difficult for me is my lack of connections here. I don’t know anyone in Toronto’s theatre world…and I don’t mean someone who can get me a job, just someone to talk to. A mentor, if you will. Or a friend. Whichever. And how are things different here? I don’t know the nuances of Toronto’s theatre scene.

Do you believe theatre companies have an obligation to foster emerging talent? Or that artists individually have an obligation to mentor the next generation? We are, after all, supposed to be a community, right?

In the meantime, I think I might like this imaginary theatre land in Vancouver–@Simon, that would be so wonderful! Also, I think I will have to come see Stranger. Various forces in the universe are conspiring to get me there…apparently I know someone who knows you? In my inbox: “I have attached the web link to Mike’s Theatre Company’s next production.”

Seriously, though, the discussion here is good and deserves expanding - you guys should do a series of “Letters to a Young Theatre Artist” posts - interview people from all areas of the industry specifically about how they got started, and practical things young theatre school grads can do to build their careers.

If you build/write it they will come.

Amazing offer. Thank you! I just might take you up on that one of these days.

What should you do?”

Hey Mike, happy new yee-ah.

The answer to this question is easy, you just roll down to the Vancouver Independent Theatre Alliance office in the heart of downtown and check out the huge board of upcoming auditions and company position openings. Then you talk to one of the helpful staff members and give them your headshot and particulars for the data base, which includes your secondary skills besides acting which might be useful to a production: marketing experience, construction, sound tech, graphic design, the ability to sew a hem, whatever. Then you grab an easy-foam hazelnut cappuccino and a scone and wait for the monthly meeting of all the indie theatre companies in town to start so you can kibitz as their representatives each talk about their upcoming productions and fundraisers and hand out promo materials so that everyone can help each other in casting a giant promotional net over the city for all the unbelievable edge-cutting original work that they’re doing, and when something excites you so much that you can’t sit still you stick up your hand and offer to help out in any way you can until you have to prepare for an actual acting role.

Nah, I’m just kidding. You pretty much do exactly what you’ve detailed above, except for #4, which will hopefully soon be filled by the Vancouver Independent Theatre Alliance.

I can dream, can’t I?