Too Young for Summer Stock??

[nd925a]

I'm graduating HS this year and I saw the wiki on summerstock. I was wondering with little experience in any field and not being a legal adult till august should I hold off another year, start my tech theatre degree. or should I apply and interview, etc.

P.S. I need at least a stipend to keep my car on the road.

 

[rochem]

If you want to work, then apply. It's not like you need to pay an application fee, and the absolute worst thing that can come out of this is that you get lots of experience preparing a resume and cover letter and get your name into the pool. I sent out my first summerstock applications after my Junior year of High School, but I didn't turn 18 until November of that year. Most places didn't get back to me, but a few actually did call and say that while they liked my stuff, they could not legally hire someone under 18, but that I should definitely reapply for the following season. And guess what - the next year, one of them hired me. I'm not saying there's a connection, but I'm sure it didn't hurt me at all.

Chances are, you won't actually end up getting a job - while not every theatre explicitly requires you to be 18, I'd be surprised if any job that offered housing and/or a stipend would hire a 17-year-old. It's unfortunate, but that's how it is. If there's a theatre within driving distance of you, you might be able to get a per-hour job just for things like changeovers and times when they need a large crew.

But hurry up - most theatres are starting interviews right now, if they haven't already. I've already had two phone interviews, so if you're gonna send out your stuff, do it sooner rather than later!

 

[meghanpotpie]

Rochem does have a valid point that most companies won't hire under 18 but I have worked at a few that will take on high school interns for $75 a week. They usually won't provide housing though. Are there any summer stocks around where you live that you could commute to?

 

[xander]

Like everyone has said, it can't hurt to apply. Even just getting interview experience would be a great opportunity. But, yes, it will be harder being under 18. However, not impossible. I worked a summerstock where they hired a 16-17 year old intern. It didn't turn out well. It wasn't necessarily because he was young, though. In my personal opinion, I don't think that summerstock is really the right environment for high school kids, but I don't run a summerstock theater, so what do you care about my opinion?

 

[PFMSound]

I have worked for a summer stock company for the last four years, and each summer we have ranged from 1 to 4 interns, in various positions. Some of them have been under 18, while that creates problems, such as amount of available work hours, DO NOT let that stop you from applying anywhere and everywhere that you can. This is a business that is all about who you know, and the more times anyone sees your name, the more likely they will be to remember you, with in reason of course.

 

[rochem]

Now that I look again, I see you're from Western New York. Mind sharing exactly where that is? I'm fairly certain that the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca NY will often hire High School students to run follow spots and small run crew positions when necessary to supplement their summer staff. If you're within driving distance of Ithaca, try contacting them and asking for work. While it's not a full-fledged internship and is pretty temporary, if you get your foot in the door and impress people, I'm sure they'd be willing to let you come back for more work.

 

[nd925a]

I'm in Batavia. Two hours might not be too bad, know of anything closer?

Thanks for all the opinions. I'll apply to some to like you guys said "get my foot in the door." the only ones I've found so far are out of state though.

 

[Footer]

We have a pretty large internship program at the Opera Company I work for in the summer. I had 2 interns last year and one of those was a HS student. We do supply shared housing to interns, however there is no stipend. We have interns in carp land, electrics, wardrobe, and wigs. We will always take more interns. Its not a bad season, only about 7 weeks, 2 shows in rep. No double headers. We have a posting on backstagejobs.com for carp positions.

 

[rochem]

I'm in Batavia. Two hours might not be too bad, know of anything closer?

Thanks for all the opinions. I'll apply to some to like you guys said "get my foot in the door." the only ones I've found so far are out of state though.

Oh hey, I was just in Batavia a few hours ago for a meeting. Cortland Rep is the only other one on this side of the state that I know of, but I could be mistaken.

Considering your proximity to both Buffalo and Rochester, I would seriously consider trying to get a job in a rental shop. In many ways this can be more beneficial than working at a traditional theatre. There's Applied in Rochester and Unistage (although I thought they got bought out...?) in Buffalo, and both would give you a chance to get your hands on some gear. You'll be making minimum wage and spending a lot of your time slinging cable, but you'll get to know the other guys there and you can probably learn some maintenance and programming if you show interest.

 

[nd925a]

That's an idea I'm already looking into, for a program I'm in at school I get two technology related internships. The guys at Applied said they should be able to work something out, and my teacher says it might turn into a part time job

 

[Traitor800]

For production shops theres Illusion in Buffalo (Lighting and Sound), Hard Hit in Elmira NY (Mostly Lighting), and Hard Hits Sister company whose name escapes me but they do Sound and are also based in the Elmira area.

For theatre in the finger lakes area:
Merry-Go-Round playhouse, Auburn NY - equity mauinstage and I think they just turned it into a festival all over auburn so lots of jobs.

Cortland Rep, Cortland NY

Hanger Theatre, Ithaca NY

Bristol Valley Theatre, Naples NY

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head, Im sure theres more summer stocks in the area as well as I know theres a ton of community theatres in the area that you can always get experience at.

 

[echnaret]

I just worked at Merry-Go-Round last summer. Unfortunately, the musical theatre festival won't really be taking off until summer of 2012. Once it does start, well, I have heard tell they might hire carpenters year-round.

For production shops theres Illusion in Buffalo (Lighting and Sound), Hard Hit in Elmira NY (Mostly Lighting), and Hard Hits Sister company whose name escapes me but they do Sound and are also based in the Elmira area.

For theatre in the finger lakes area:
Merry-Go-Round playhouse, Auburn NY - equity mauinstage and I think they just turned it into a festival all over auburn so lots of jobs.

Cortland Rep, Cortland NY

Hanger Theatre, Ithaca NY

Bristol Valley Theatre, Naples NY

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head, Im sure theres more summer stocks in the area as well as I know theres a ton of community theatres in the area that you can always get experience at.