Cities for actors

New to the chat board, pursuing acting in musical theatre on the west coast, but it is a very slow process. Where are some of the best cities to live for musical theatre performers that don't have their equity card? Does not having your equity card disqualify your for roles. Any help to get my feet off the ground is welcome. -Finding motivation to continue.

^^^ I've lived here all my life and I 100% agree. Aside from NYC we probably have the most theaters and certainly the most comedy clubs, improv groups etc.

Excellent! Somewhere, I will possibly look. Thank you for your feedback!

Chicago is by far the best regional theatre city in the country. I was there for eight years and miss it dearly. Other good ones are San Fran, Seattle, Boston, Washington D.C., and Philly. Denver, San Diego, and St. Louis are also up there. Anywhere but NY and LA being non-Equity will actually work for you rather than against you in a lot of ways.

I'm now in Phoenix, and it could be worse, but there are only about five professional theatres here, only two of which are Equity.

Thank you for the all this feedback, great suggestions that will help me on my next step. I'm currently in San Diego, but most of the local paid spots get cast with neighborhood Los Angeles, actors which takes a lot of opportunities away from sd talent.

I live in Philadelphia, which has a terrific, fast-growing theater scene. It also has a fairly reasonable cost of living. It definitely skews more towards plays than musicals, though, if that's a consideration -- since you said you were trying to pursue a musical theater career.

Updated On: 9/25/17 at 08:10 AM

While it isn't a city per se, I would also add South Florida to the list. There are a surprising number of theatres there and some specialize in musical theatre.

I did a whole project on this back in the day so here's what I can say, although a few of these cities my info might be outdated.

Obviously NYC is the Mecca, but SoCal is pretty decent in this respect. Non union doesn't have near the trouble they do in Nyc getting seen at Union calls, BUT I've been told being Equity in this city in terms of work is hard because once again, everyone is skimping on Equity actors when legally possible to save money, and sometimes it is legit to keep a theater afloat. Also, maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see the big Broadway shows here auditioning over there, so I don't think this happens as often as people think. If they are, it must be secret or something. I know Telsey has an office out there, so I've seen a call or two for their shows, but I really haven't seen all that many others audition out there. The people I know who are based out there who have gotten some big tour gigs and even a Broadway show or two, I also know they have agents so...yeah. But that's my observation.

Chicago-Great regional city BUT it's still very much more of a straight theatre community than it is a musical theatre one. It's the biggest reason I've never even considered living there.

DC-Also great regional city, but many sources tell me it's incestuous to the extreme and to be aware that if you do live there, be prepared to be patient to get your career there started.

Orlando-Ok, I know someone who knows more is gonna have to add to this, but it's struck me as a city that has decent theatre but it's not called the theme park capital of the world for no reason. I don't think I need to remind everyone that the three biggest names in the theme park industry all have parks/resorts there. It's also struck me as more of city that better for dancers, and a few dancer friends of mine confirmed this to a few years ago, but if that's changed, someone feel free to say so. I'd considered moving there at one time, but when I'm a singer/singer who moves ok, combined with that fact that these theme parks are more dancer based and not a whole lot of singer positions compared to the **** ton of dancer positions, and not a whole lot of theatre itself to chew on (although those theaters are GREAT) I wasn't about to do that.

Philly-GREAT city. I have quite a few people I know who live there, one is Equity and she's seems to be doing just fine for herself there, but I also know there was some luck involved, BUT that one lucky streak has helped keep her employed. Another few aren't Equity, but some of them are still working pretty regularly. Philly itself is pretty great, but its also part of a larger community since you can easily-ish commute to Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware for the theaters there also, such as The Eagle, Candlelight, Compass Rose (if you can stomach it, I've heard be wary of this place), among a good few others.

Atlanta-This scene has really exploded in the last 5 or so years, and I have a friend who has been living off and on there and really hasn't stopped working completely. He's had to supplement himself with a day job for the lower paying theater ones, but I honestly don't recall the last time he wasn't doing a show with at most, a small break in between them. I did my theater city project on Atlanta back in the day, and it was pretty good then, but it's only gotten bigger and better since then.

Updated On: 9/25/17 at 12:21 PM

Agreed - people who go to NY or LA right out of college - and without an AEA or SAG card - are often setting themselves up for disaster.

My advice to any young actor would be to spend your first several years in a regional city, and then move to NY or LA only when you are older, more experienced, and have both a decent resume and a union card.

Your goal is Broadway, right? Go to NYC and get started asap. Most regionals cast out of NYC anyway. If you don't have an equity card, you aren't guaranteed a spot at Equity auditions but if you go anyway and hangout, they may see you at the end. And many shows, including those on Broadway, have open calls so that anyone can audition, equity or not. I moved to NYC in 1995 without an equity card. I picked up Backstage (now you can get it online) and went to almost every audition that I was even kind of right for. Every dance call even though I wasn't an awesome dancer. Got up at 5am to make sure I was seen. I ultimately got my equity card when I was cast in a show at an equity theater. After 5 years in NYC, I went to an open call for the JCS Broadway revival. After 6 auditions over a 6 week span followed by 8 weeks of waiting, I was cast and made my Broadway debut. You can do it too. You just have to zero in on the goal and go at it full force and never give up.

Also- when I went to LA 5 years after JCS and WITHOUT a SAG card, I was cast as a series regular on a network TV show. It's a HUGE myth that you need to be in a union to get work. Just audition like crazy and you'll get your card when they hire you.

CollegeDreamer said: "Seattle! We have a great theatre community. The 5th avenue is especially awesome. So many classes, workshops.... they put on many productions a year including new work, old and new favorites, and 1 or 2 touring shows. They hire both equity and non equity actors.Hairspray, Shrek, Catch Me If You Can all started there. So many classes also throughout the city."

But those shows were cast out of NYC. Seattle's awesome though.

"I disagree. You only get to be Young and Fresh ONCE. Go to LA or NYC immediately after college. Being Young can get you notice (and roles) that you won't get when you are older no matter how great your resume is."

I think your kind of story is the dream that happens to only a lucky few. Also, non-dancing character actors like myself are in a different category and do better in regional cities when young. I've played roles professionally in Chicago and Phoenix that I would never even get considered for at a New York audition.

Updated On: 9/25/17 at 08:48 PM