A few questions in regard to agencies....?

Question:

A few questions in regard to agencies....?

Hi there! I'm 16 and want to get into theatre, hopefully one day Broadway. I keep getting told there's no way, but still, I can hope, right? Point is, I need an agent, and I have no IDEA where to start or where to look for any information on how to start, so I turned to you guys. The thing is, I'm learning ballet right now (7 classes a week to get to where I need to be..) I've sung in the local opera company for a year or so, but I really want to do some serious acting/dancing/singing etc.

Thanks for any help you can give,
Cassie

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I don't know why anyone would tell you there's no way... it sounds like you're off to a great start! Ballet is a great dance foundation, but you should expand your horizons a bit, if not now, soon. Jazz and tap should be part of you repertoire. Don't forget acting and voice lessons (I mean in a different style than opera), also very important. The agent will come later, since most theatre auditions are open calls you don't need one yet. Opera is a great skill to have, but it's not necessarily the vocal quality you're going for in most Broadway leads... there are Gilbert & Sullivan shows of course and some Andrew Lloyd Webber shows such as Phantom of the Opera, but widen your repertoire in that area as well and make sure that you aren't only singing opera. Sing contemporary musical theatre and make sure you sing them as the character would and not an operatic Diva :-)

Personally I think it will be much easier for you to make the transitions I've suggested that it would be for others just starting out. I think you have a great chance of having a career depending on your actual talent level in these areas of course. Get yourself into acting classes, musical theatre workshops, or better yet some musical theatre productions. The best thing for you would be a combination of workshops and actual work experience.

For theatre auditions, you can go to backstage.com or http://www.actorsequity.org/castingcall/... If you find the audition on the Equity site, you still may be able to go, as long as their not taking appointments from equity actor's only :-) On backstage.com you have to pay to get all of the info, but the initial search is free and you may be able to see enough info to find out the rest on your own without paying OR you can go to your local bookstore or newsstand and look at their print publication (new every Thursday) for free, that is if it's available in your area.

Break a leg!