Career Advice Aspiring stage manager transitioning from Korea to States/Canada

Sunny Kim

Member
Hello!
I'm a California-raised Korean currently finishing up stage management internship at the National Theater Company of Korea. As my internship comes to an end, I'm wondering if I should explore my options in the Americas again before deciding to stick around in Korea for good. But to be frank, I've no idea how to even get started on the search in terms of jobs and I was wondering if I could get some advice on couple concerns I had:

1. As a foreign national is it possible to work on union productions?

2. Are there theater companies/rental companies/tour teams that could sponsor a work visa?

3. Is there a website for theater job listings?

4. In Korea, experience on productions abroad don't always necessarily "count" unless its with a production with high name value. Should I assume this to be the same if I do decide to look for a job in the States/Canada?

These aren't really specific questions and probably not questions that are frequently asked..? So If anyone has any general thoughts and comments even remotely related to the questions I've posed, I'd really appreciate it :)
 
Hi. Welcome to the booth!

Not having to deal with payroll in over a decade, my understanding might be a little off. Yes, you could work on a union production with a proper work visa, but unlikely. A friend of mine (Korean, educated in California) has been able to extend her stay after graduation and continue working. That being said, I think that if she takes a break and goes back to Korea, she will have to start over to work in the US.

Most companies don't sponsor work visas unless there is some extraordinary reason, such as a touring position.

One of the most popular websites is www.offstagejobs.com. However, if there is a specific company that you are wanting to work for, try looking up their specific webpage as they may not advertise as much.

In the US, the only reason you would need to "count" a production is if you are trying to qualify for union membership. The rest of the time, your experience will help you in production sizes similar to what you have already worked. For instance, you probably won't get a job on Broadway if you have only worked community theater.

Hope this helps.
 
Work visa could be hard... those are getting expensive to get these days.... you'd really need to convince a company they need you. I'd say try to leverage your advantage and go after Korean based productions in the US or that need really fluent English speakers who also know the business. There are tons of US companies who want work in Korea, use that to your advantage and apply to them. I'd throw my hat at any group that also hire Korean performers in the U.S.
 
I echo both the comments above and to be honest you would probably have a better chance of finding work you could get than luck actually getting the work visa since nearly all work you could find would be contract/per production and will not likely sponsor a visa.

Depending on how established or connected you are in Korea, it may be wise to consider staying there and really building you're experience and resume and then opting to explore the America's once you either are in a position to find the rare job that would sponsor a work visa or opted to emigrate to the us on a regular visa/green card/etc. (Forgive me if those aren't technically the right names for it - basicallly if you moved here with the goal to gain citizenship)

Hope that helps!
 
I actually have a couple friends who have been working on figuring out similar issues (both from Japan, came to US for school, have been trying to stay) the answer is complex. (I also know very little about how union crews effect this)

Also I am in no way an expert as I only know what has been discussed over beers, consult an immigration lawyer if you are serious about this (it's expensive)

There are different kind of work visas. The most relevant (if i remember everything from talking to them) are the O-1 the H1B or the EB-1

All visa you have to have significant amount of experience. Internship mostly doesn’t count as “experience”

H1B is for Specialty Occupations, which 1 of my friends is on. It requires being sponsored by a company the company has to pay to apply (you may be able to pay)
-they have to prove that you are the best option over an US citizen,
-it has to be a job the US labor department recognizes and pay you a a certain minimum salary. (production manager (depending on the contract language counts, Stage manager does not)
-just because the company is willing to go through this does not mean your application will be accepted, it can take a while for the process and there are caps on the amount given out every year with most of the pool being taken by people with masters degree or PHDs.
-you are only allowed to work for the company who sponsored you
-it is a temporary visa that has to be re done every few years.

O-1 is an artist visa, so you have to prove you are an artist of exceptional quality
-stage management while part of the art of theatre may (if lucky) qualify according to the US gov, technicians like carpenter or electrician do not
-most likely to work if you are a designer or performer of some kind, with some sort of awards or other recognition to prove you are "exceptional"
-this does give you the ability to not have a specific job but instead able to freelance
-i suspect similar education quotas are in effect but don't know for sure
-still only a temporary visa

EB-1 is the green card permanent version of the O-1 and very rare to get

It's very expensive, I think the applications fees are $5,000-10,000 and this does not even include the costs of the immigration lawyers

(while typing this I got one of my friends dealing with this too look over it and she says it's close enough to get you started)
 

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