Entertainment Industry Pros to Meet UA Theatre Students
The Showcase of Talent on Jan. 14 will connect theatre, film and television students with professionals. The result: high job placement rates.

By Lisa Pierce, School of Theatre, Film & Television
Jan. 11, 2012


Each January, the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television creates an opportunity for acting, musical theatre and design/technology students to show their work and/or audition in front of producers, casting directors, agents and representatives from some of the nation's best theatre companies and agencies.  

The school – one of the few of its kind in the U.S – has been doing this for 18 years.

This year's Showcase of Talent is scheduled for Jan. 14. It is a by-invitation-only event where industry professionals from New York City to Los Angeles will see UA acting and musical theatre seniors perform, and the professionals also will get to view the portfolios of juniors and seniors in theatre design/technology. 

These professionals – also referred to as auditors – share career advice with students and provide intensive reviews of performances and portfolios.  
 
"Approximately 70 percent of our acting and musical theatre graduates gained internships or employment as a result of our Showcase of Talent last January," said Lisa Pierce, director of marketing and development for the School of Theatre, Film & Television.

"The employment percentage for our design/technology students last year was even higher at about 90 percent – and that was employment, not internships."   
 
A reception will follow the auditions where students, auditors, donors and faculty and staff members will mingle with each other. The Theatre Program Advisory Board, along with David D. and Susan Cone, generously support the Showcase of Talent, and this year, the Jim Click Automotive Team is underwriting the event.  
 
A highlight of the event will be when auditors choose one student to be the recipient of the Jack Wagner Showcase of Talent Award, which enables a student to fly to Los Angeles to make a guest appearance on "The Bold & The Beautiful," a CBS soap opera that has featured Wagner for years.

Wagner, a UA theatre alumnus from 1982, provides financial support for the award recipient.

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Lisa Pierce

School of Theatre, Film & Television

520-626-2686

lisapierce@email.arizona.edu