The British Columbia Thespians will host a virtual audition portal where students can showcase their talents for partner agents who may elect to call them back or represent them to start their professional acting careers. Participating Agents:
Lloyd Talent
Shine
Lucus Talent
Jeff Turner Film
Jeff Turner Voice
Carrier Talent Management
VA Management
BookIT Talent
Alpha Artists
InMotion Talent
Requirements:
Students from British Columbia – Grade 6 to 12 only (Gap year students are also welcome) Application fee: $15 (payable in the secure registration site via Credit Card).
All students are welcomed and encouraged to participate in the BC Thespians Star Search – Find an Agent Portal. If you have questions or need special assistance or other accommodations to be successful, please contact the Program Director Grace Owens at grace@educationaltheatre.ca
Timeline:
Online registration window: MAY 25th to JUNE 15th
AGENT audition viewing window: JUNE 15th to 24th
Callback Invite Day: June 24th
Callbacks, interviews, and next steps: Schedule on your own directly with the agents who call you back.
Performance Audition Video Requirements: Auditions must be solo presentations--other students may not perform with you.
You will begin your audition with only an introduction: name, school, title of selection(s), playwright/composer/lyricist. You are allowed a maximum of three minutes (not including the introduction) for your performance. In the performance category you may perform for a max of 3 minutes of material. Either two contrasting monologue selections or a musical theatre song or one song and a monologue. If doing two selections, please film the entire audition as one continuous video with a pause to transition between the pieces.
Musical auditions must have accompaniment—a cappella singing will not be accepted. Your accompanist may be live in the room with you during filming or you may sing along with a recording. It is strongly advised that you arrange for a pianist to provide you with accompaniment--recorded or live. Do not sing over a cast album.
When choosing your performance piece, please avoid selections with dialects, accents, and any classical material unless you have been specifically trained in these areas. Costumes, scenery, and hand props are not permitted. Dress neatly—it makes a good impression.
Do’s and Don’ts for Self-filmed Video Submissions: There are many tutorials and articles you can search for to help you create a strong video submission. Here are some key do’s and don’ts:
Do perform in a well-lit space with a neutral background. Test the lighting and sound!
Do check the frame so that all of your physical choices are captured, but you’re not so far away that your facial expressions are lost. Above the knees is usually good, with your face near the top quarter of the frame.
Do not have fancy camera panning, zooming in and out, or editing. This is distracting and unnecessary. Simply editing your video to start right before you introduce yourself and ending after you say ‘thank you” will do!
You don’t need to spend a fortune on equipment. The reps are looking at YOU and what you can do. That being said, researching tips for getting the best lighting and sound quality in your home setup will pay off.
Try to deal with any potential distractions (pets, doorbells, phone rings, people walking thru, etc.)
Don’t perform directly into the lens. Focus beyond it or on an unseen other character if performing.
Step by Step Registration Procedure...
Setting up your profile in our Star Search Portal - Step by Step: Step 1 – Go to our portal to register and click on the light blue coloured box titled "Start Tracking your Points!". It can be found at: https://www.thespianpointtracker.com/
Step 2 – Create a login/student account by clicking on Register on the right hand side menu - top menu item.
Step 3 - Once you have registered an account, build your profile. Some parts are not important and can be ignored (like GPA and class standing) and other parts are important like contact info, headshot, personal information, artist intention statement, etc. Please note that it is important that you complete the school information section. If you do not list that you are from a school in BC, when you get to step #5 and click on the "available auditions" page, the star search event will not show up as an option to register for. This is because it is geographically locked to our region so that others from outside of Canada will not be able to apply. PS -- You can still apply for the Star Search if your school does not have an ITS troupe - but you should encourage your school to become an International Thespian Society troupe so that you can be inducted to the most amazing honors society for talented drama students!!!
Step 4 – Once your profile is built go to the menu on the right-hand side and click on “Upload Audition Video” and submit your video self-tape. For Performance Audition Video Requirements and details on what to do when presenting your performance self tape please review that here: https://www.bcthespians.ca/2022-star-search.html - preparing and filming your self-tape is the most important element you need to prepare for the BCT Star Search Portal – you will really want to WOW the agents so pick materials that showcase your talent.
Step 5 – Once your video is uploaded find and click on the “Available Auditions” along the bar on the right hand side of the screen.
Step 6 – Then click the box beside Star Search – selecting it as the audition you are registering for and then click the green “Apply” box in the bottom left hand corner.
Step 7 - Then pay the $15 registration fee with a credit card. If you can't get to the payment page it is because some element of your profile and/or video audition is not in the system. There will be a text dialogue at the top of the page explaining what is missing. You can always edit your profile to add in the missing information so that you can proceed to the payment page. Then once you have paid you are finished and your profile and self-tape video will be sent to the 7 agencies for their review. If you have any questions feel free to ask by emailing: events@educationaltheatre.ca
