Does anyone have information good or bad about Dave Clemmons casting? There is a non-equity tour of Oliver with pay (but not stated what that is). Just curious if these calls are crowded and any info on the reputation of this casting company.

dave clemmons casting is a company that you could easily do a google search on and find hundreds of articles on. he even has a website with his credentials. i dont remember it being updated in quite some time, but i haven't been on it for maybe 2 years.

dave clemmons himself actually "began" as a broadway actor. i dont know if he still acts, but he casts tons of plays and musicals. their office is the main casting company for Troika (ie Oliver, as well as the SOM that I am currently on), but they cast hundreds of projects. nearly half of every non-"production" (AEA contract of a current broadway show) tour on the road right now has been cast by Dave Clemmons for Troika.

do a search if you need to to get his website or his IBDB profile.

it's rarely ever the casting director you need to worry about. it's the contract you will get from the producer- which casting has very little if anything to do with, and the company you are working for, that you need to research. dave isn't your issue. you always need to research the company you are planning to work for.

i'm not trying to give an opinion about troika, just that i think your concerns are a bit misguided. always worry about the contract. that comes from the producer, not from casting, so you need to always concern yourself with the company you plan to work for, troika or otherwise.

your questions make me wonder if you are more concerned about the audition process rather than what happens once you are hired. don't worry about the audition. go, do your (your child's) thing, and book the job. you'll get the offer from the producer's office, and that's where you should be asking questions, again regardless of what producer you are working for. you need to worry about whether the producer is reputable, whether the pay is decent, what rights you have as the performer, etc, the details of the contract.

and yes, it's oliver, the calls will be crowded. any audition involving kids will be crowded, especially if the audition is in a major city. and especially when you have a casting director like dave and joy- everyone wants to be seen by them, they cast a ton of things.

much luck if you plan to go!

PS I just wanted to add that i think i remember seeing joy's name in the breakdown. she is absolutely lovely! i've auditioned for dave himself serveral times, but haven't really "met" him. but it's a very accomodating office, they do try to see as many people as possible and be as helpful as possible. somewhere, you can do a search for my thread for how SOM follow-up on how i was cast. and you can also search for the main thread for SOM where lots of people posted their experience for SOM. i think i had posted how my audition process was in one of those threads. oliver will be the same process.

Thank you for the very helpful information, and Congrats to you. I now recall seeing the SOM threads. Oliver is being produced by Music Theatre Associates which I could find nothing on. I did find Clemmons and recall them from past audition notices, searches, etc. and find all to be good, but just wanted to ask on the boards because so many like yourself are so knowledgeable and helpful.

I just wanted to learn whatever I could before making travel plans. I am trying to figure out if I can go out and back the same day since they said callbacks would be the same day. After reading the SOM thread, I am concerned that they may have many auditioning and go into a second day, so the info was helpful.

Good luck to you and thanks again.

oh you are right... different producers. i'm used to associating Dave Clemmons with Troika. i dont know anuthing about MTA, but they are who should be researching

oy, reread my first message. i was clearly distracted while writing that. sorry, i said the same thing like, 8 different ways.

do they have a website?

as for the audition, unless you get there VERY early (for example, 7am for a 10am audition), expect to be there the better part of the day.

i doubt callbacks will end up being the same day. but you never know when it comes to open calls.

i was suprised when nearly 300 people showed up for a basically fully cast SOM audition. and yet the ECC for spring awakening recently, i went just to be seen for future reference, and i was not signed up on the AEA list, and ended up being number 27, which is LOW, esp for a show like that one. ECCs usually have over 100 AEA members actually show.

you just never know. with open calls, always plan on a full day.

-------------

i couldn't find anything on the producer either, but this is your director. check his resume: http://www.claytonphillips.net/

I've auditioned for Dave Clemmons Casting several times recently, with Dave and others from his office. I've always had an appointment, they've always told me everything I needed to know, and never rushed me off the phone. Sides and music are often available on their web site and the auditions ran on time. I've always been seen within 15 minutes of my scheduled time. The folks I've met in the room have always been warm and accomodating, I never felt rushed, and I actually felt like they valued my time. That's always a nice feeling to walk away with. I imagine that calls with kids might be a little more hectic, but that's to be expected.

Funny coincidence, my last call with Dave Clemmmons was next door to the kids auditions for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. There I am trying to get into a Sweeny mood and I was awash in moppets! Hard to be brooding and foreboding when you're surrounded by kids singing Truly Scrumptious. I love that movie...

Thanks for all the info. It is a big help. I am still trying to figure this all out as we are still so new, no agent, etc. I thought a non-equity audition may give him a better opp. to at least be seen. Only thing I don't know - if he would get a role, what to expect in a contract, touring schedule, pay scale, how to prepare, etc. I guess I will worry about that if the time comes.

Good luck to you JactressK with SOM. It sounds exciting.

mom....i say go to the audition and worry about the rest if he books...break legs.

Hello,

Has anyone found out anything about the producers, Musical Theater Associates? I can not find anything on them, just curious. Thanks!

CAMI, CAT & MTA are all related.

I've noticed that Dave Clemmons casting is beginning to have a monopoly on the non-AEA tours! They cast not only Troika productions, but also NETworks and Phoenix, too.

For each of the the three producers named above, there are about five major 'booking agencies' that route the tours. CAT (Columbia Artists Theatricals) is one of those booking agencies (until recently CAT was a part of CAMI, but the theatrical division seems to be separate from the classical (CAMI) division now).

Some Troika shows are booked through CAT. And sometimes, CAT will produce their own tour! When they do that, they use the name MTA (for Musical Theatre Associates). The recent Evita tour was MTA produced, I believe. And they had high hopes for Gone With The Wind, which they helped to produce in London (and which flopped).

Hope that sheds a little light.

Here's a link to the CAT website. Remember, they are a booking agency - they don't produce all of the shows listed there.

http://www.columbiaartiststheatricals.com

I've worked at a theatre where Clayton Phillips was the Artistic Director, so he's "legit"

Thanks for the info. Just wondering if anyone has an offer yet for the Oliver tour...I have heard they are starting to make the offers....anyone?

Yes.

Tavener, do you have an agent or no? Just curious....about getting the offer....just wondering. Thx.

I too auditioned for the Oliver tour and was wondering if they had started offering parts to people. If so are they calling you? How is the process working?