It was summer in Boston and I had spent enough time pursuing college to know that it wasn’t for me. During a self-induced break, I had secured my EMC card through a production of Richard Kramer’s play Theater District at a Boston company called SpeakEasy Stage. I was excited at the prospect of being seen at Equity-only auditions in New York, so I started traveling to the city on the weekends to audition for as much as I could. It was a rude awakening to find that although my EMC status got me a foot ahead of my non-Equity colleagues, I still had to wait for Equity members to finish auditioning before I could even be considered for a slot.
I had to get my Equity card.
One of my auditions eventually came through and I was flown to Philadelphia to be in of a production of Hair at Prince Music Theater. My points began adding up – but I still had a long way to go. After Hair I was cast in a production of A Little Night Music at Seacoast Repertory in New Hampshire. During tech I noticed a breakdown on Equity for a musical called The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin. In a twist of fate, it was the same company I had received my EMC card for, SpeakEasy Stage!
I HAD to go to this audition.
But how? We were in tech every day and the audition was miles away. I scrambled my brain trying to find a way to do both, but the distance made it impossible. Finally, I resorted to speaking with our director after rehearsal. I explained the situation and how passionate I was about going to this audition. To my great surprise, he allowed me to come to rehearsal late!
That morning I sped like a madman from New Hampshire to Boston. I auditioned, was asked to stay and dance and by that afternoon was offered the principle role of Gregory. Because I was an EMC member, the artistic director called me and asked if I would be open to accepting my Equity card for this production. As an Equity theater, they needed six Equity performers and they had only cast five. I couldn’t believe my luck! I said yes and signed my Equity contract the following day at our first read-through.
And that’s how I got my Equity card!
