Headin' West! UPTA in Memphis--2011!

On February 3 the TheatreVCU Seniors, a few fabulous alumni, and I attended the Unified Professional Theatre Auditions, better known as "UPTA", in good ole Memphis, Tennessee. As an actor/director, I had the opportunity to participate in both the acting auditions, as well as the job services interviews.

Actors from all over the country are each given an audition number and sectioned by groups as auditions span over 3 days. They have 90 seconds to showcase themselves in their best light. Personally, I did 16-bars of a musical song followed by a contrasting contemporary monologue. Some actors did two songs and a short monologue. A lot of actors who auditioned and didn't do a song, found that companies were less likely to call them back, as the majority of companies present were auditioning for their musical-heavy season. Within the next hour after each groups auditions, callbacks are posted all around a room. Excited and antsy actors walk around the room marking down companies that have further interest in them and what hotel room they are in. Now actors must go to each hotel room and sign up for a second audition--and the race around the Marriott begins!

 L to R - Gentry Roth, Sarah Pruden (Alumni), Walid Chaya, Elyse Thaler

One of UPTAs sponsors was REDBULL, and what a better way to get a conference running than by giving away mass-loads of the "energy drink that gives you wings". Chatty elevator conversations and hyped callbacks made the experience zoom by. For our VCU actors, auditions and callbacks were all finished by Friday night, but I stayed for the Job Services interviews. On Saturday, theatre technicians, directors/choreographers, and administrative personnelles had the opportunity to sign up for interview times with companies that have openings for jobs they are qualified for. I personally interviewed with several theatres from positions as a casting intern to the assistant to the company manager. This was a great chance to network and meet the executive faces in the theatre scene.

Memphis is a great time and UPTA was a quick, smooth sail from start to finish. In our time outside of the conference, many of us ventured into the city for great music and even greater BBQ! There was a blue-grass and country music festival playing on Beale Street, a main attraction in Memphis, for around the clock fun. Closer to the hotel we found neighborhood restaurants where we could run to for a quick meal or spent quality time together at the end of the day. Tennessee and UPTA were a fun start to our seniors travels, as straight from UPTA most of us flew directly into Los Angeles, California for our Actors Connection conference. Our journey westbound only continues!