In 2005, I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area, and had spent a couple of years gaining EMC points as a young company member of a small theater company called 42nd Street Moon (which does Encores-style revivals of Golden Age Musicals), and a few other Bay Area theaters. I remember reaching the 50 point mark with a long summer production of Much Ado About Nothing with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. I was contemplating buying my own way into Equity, when San Jose Stage Company fortuitously offered me an Equity contract to play Tiny Tom and understudy Bobby Strong in their production of Urinetown. I often tell young performers that EMC points go hand-in-hand with your professional stage experience—be patient, earn your points, and when the time comes you'll be ready for someone to give you an Equity contract!
