Bypass the Open Call

Play readings can offer actors a stage-door entrance into New York’s best theater companies

 

By Christopher Zara

 

To the young performer on the outside looking in, New York’s theater scene can seem about as impenetrable as an armored truck. Countless beginners learn this exasperating lesson every year, after their first few months of cattle calls and headshot submissions yield numerous disappointments but few tangible results. Along the way, the maddening road to meeting the right people in show business is enough to discourage even the most determined actor.

 

Time and again, however, theater industry professionals assert that acting is a business of networking, and all too often, young actors forget that professional relationships are not built sitting in front of a computer and clicking the Direct Submit button. To meet the right people, actors have to go where plays are being developed. 

 

One surefire way to get in on the ground floor of plays in development is to attend play readings, which playwrights and theater companies use to iron out the creative kinks inherent in any work in progress. For actors looking to meet people involved in theater, readings — particularly those at established theater companies — are a veritable gold mine of networking prospects.

 

“Actors should attend play readings at quality theaters to see who the up-and-coming playwrights are and to get to know people connected with a given theater,” said Brian O’Neil, author of the seminal acting guide, Acting as a Business. “Readings at good theaters provide one of the best networking opportunities for the New York actor. There are contacts galore to be made.” 

 

O’Neil, a former talent agent who offers career development and coaching services for actors, said readings can be a window into future casting opportunities. Today’s works in development are tomorrow’s full-scale productions, and down the road those productions will need talent. Savvy actors should strive to have a handle on what new works are in development, and there are many ways to stay one step ahead of the open call, even after the reading is over. For instance, O’Neil suggests that actors set up Google alerts for the title of any play whose reading they attend. As an actor in search of leads, the alert will keep you updated on any progress in the play’s development, including audition announcements. If the play has a role for which you think you are good fit, you can contact the playwright and explain that you had seen the reading and would like to be considered.

 

O’Neil is quick to point out, however, that starring in the play down the road is a long shot, and that the true benefit of attending play readings is the opportunity to network. “Whether or not the play ever makes it to the theater’s main stage — which in most cases it won’t — is entirely irrelevant,” he said. “This business is about forging quality relationships. Meet good people at good theaters. This is far more effective networking planning than hanging out in bars where show folk supposedly gather.”

 

Meet the Writers

Play readings are a kind of hybrid between a theater event and a social gathering. Many theater companies hold play readings as a way to offer playwrights a chance to hear their work read aloud by professional actors and gauge an audience’s response to the material. Readings are often free and open to the public, although some nonprofit theaters ask for a nominal donation at the door. Many readings also include Q-and-A sessions, which allow the actors in attendance to ask questions about the play, thereby making their presence known to the people involved.

 

And how do you meet the people involved? In theater, as the saying goes, everything starts with the writer, and actors looking to break in should do the same. “Find your playwright,” advised Kara Manning, literary manager of the Irish Repertory Theatre. “Get to know the writers who are writing the kind of stuff you know you’re good at. Seek them out.”

 

As literary manager, Manning oversees the Irish Rep’s New Works Reading Series, a program designed to encourage the development of new plays about the Irish and Irish-American experience. (The free readings take place about seven times a year at the Irish Rep’s Chelsea theater. Plays are announced at least one month before the scheduled reading.) Manning said playwrights often begin to develop long-term professional relationships with the very actors who take part in their play readings. “The actor/writer relationship is one that definitely needs more attention,” she added. “When you look at a lot of off-Broadway playwrights today — Annie Baker, Adam Rapp, Lucy Thurber — all of these people are good examples of writers who tend to work with the same actors over and over again.”

 

Manning, a graduate of Columbia University’s MFA playwriting program, and a playwright herself, sees readings as integral to the development process of any new work. Last year, for instance, her romantic dramedy Killing Swans had a reading at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and her play Sleeping Rough had one at Baruch College as part of MCC Theater’s PlayLabs. For her readings, Manning said she prefers to work with actors she already knows, and sometimes she will even write characters with a particular actor in mind. “As a playwright, you get these actor crushes,” she said. “You become enthralled by their work, and you just want to write for them.”

 

For actors wanting to introduce themselves to a particular playwright, Manning suggests a little basic PR: “If you’re appearing in something, give a writer a comp,” she said. “A lot of times, writers don’t have much money, but they’ll go see a show for free.”

 

First Impressions

Getting to know a playwright may not sound as daunting a task as landing an agent, but actors still need to remember the basic rules of professionalism when submitting themselves for a play reading. David Staller, who produces and directs Gingold Theatrical Group’s reading series, “Project Shaw,” said actors who submit their headshots should treat readings as they would any other potential acting gig. “You’d be surprised at some of the things I get — pictures on torn pieces of paper and whatnot,” he said. “If you can’t present yourself professionally with a submission, how can I expect you’ll be professional in the reading.” 

 

Still, Staller cites the sheer number of submissions he receives as proof that readings can be a valuable professional outlet for actors at all levels. “I’m constantly hearing from actors — and their agents — who want to get involved,” he said. “Readings are a great way for actors of all kinds to stretch those acting muscles, even if they’ve been in Broadway shows.”

 

While nothing will ever replace the audition process, play readings can nevertheless offer an often-untapped opportunity to meet people working in all aspects of theater. And in an industry built around the adage, “It’s all about who you know,” the value of making new connections can never be understated. “Artistic directors and successful actors are all people my clients meet over and over again at play readings,” said O’Neil. “It’s just a great way to meet people.”