Grease: thoughts on Equity Actors auditioning for the lead roles! — Page 2

"some hopefuls out there who wish to perform on Broadway spend thousands of dollars towards a college education majoring in Acting, Musical Theatre, and or Dance. So I feel on a college student's level it's disconcerting about all this when selected people all over the country are in training for a job hopefully on the Broadway Stage."

It would probably be even more disconcerting for those majoring in musical theatre to know that a lot of Broadway icons: Sutton Foster, Bernadette Peters, Donna Murphy etc. - didn't graduate or even attend college.

Having a degree in musical theatre doesn't really make getting a leading role on Broadway any easier.

The EPAs that took place were for all the other roles except for the 2 leads. It was stated in the notice that if you want to be considered for these roles you have to go to the open call.

I think Marshall will get the ones she thinks can handle this job to the final rounds where the nation voices.

John actually they couldn't do that under equity guidelines. In the first place, it is a broadway show performing under an equity contract so there isn't much room for variation in the audition procedure, second the filming aaspect had to be covered under a rider filed with Equity so all the rights of the Union performers and the jursidiction of equity and its sister unions could be preserved
The EPA was actually a preliminary audition under equity guidelines. The open call was a preliminary audition as well. Everyone had to audition first before they got to be in front of the three judges.
If you were a Danny or a Sandy type and wanted to go to the epa you still were considered for danny and sandy. If they liked you they called you back
There also is nothing stopping an equity performer from going to the open call. Although I wouldn't want to do that considering that the equity call was a lot more organized.
There were also agent submissions for this show that the Tv show doesn't talk about. I know because I saw the breakdown.

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Juliana Hansen (Thoroughly Modern Millie Tour -- Millie Understudy) being one of them.

To rehash what a friend told me, it shouldn't work that someone out of the blue decides to go onto t.v. and magically have their dreams come true. Equity actors struggle daily for their next job and it SHOULD be an equity actor who wins this. I am not planning on seeing Grease anyway, because I despise the musical, but I at least hope someone from the background, who does this as a profession gets it.

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First of all, this is "Reality TV" not reality, its planned and contrived. They are focusing on certain people right now but I can assure you there are more professionals in the lot than you know of yet, they're trying to make good tv not a televised EPA down at equity. The 'winners" are only to be contracted for a month in order that they be quickly removed should they suck. The show is a joke but if it gets people to the theater, all power to them.

lildogs- I agree. I hope that it didn't sound like I was saying Equity actors are "superior." I just think that since it's an "Open Call," all actors/actresses, regardless of union affiliation, should be allowed to audition. As for who gets the parts, let's hope that they go to the most suited (once again, regardless of union affiliation).