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It is very difficult for new actors to find all the theaters that are beginner-friendly.
It is even harder to find out what you have to do to get paid work. There
is no one way to get a part.
Most new actors start at the bottom, with little parts or none at all.
It never hurts to volunteer to work backstage. You get to meet actors and
directors as well as get a feel for how things work. You can call any theater
and ask if they have work nights. Some of them are a little cliquey. You
might want to try the Wilmington
Drama League or Chapel
Street Players; both seem to invite newcomers to work with them. Professional
theaters usually hire interns, but volunteers can be ushers, and that gets
you in to see good plays.
Some theaters do shows that use a lot of actors. This is a great chance
to get on stage. Both Chapel Street and the Drama League have a one-act
play festival. This is a good chance for small roles. The Delaware Theatre
Company has a young playwrights festival. City
Theater has a 10-minute play festival every summer; it has 25 plays
in 5 days. All of these are great chances to get on stage, and two of these
are with local, professional companies. Go
to open auditions. Audition policies are different at each theater. Some
hold their auditions with everyone in the room and some don't. If
they do, this is a good time to watch other actors work and learn from
them. The Wilmington Drama League and Chapel Street both use this
format. back