Vol. XIX No. 2
October 2003

Surf's Up!
Surfing the Web for Jobs, Auditions, and Information

Today, I'll take you on a short tour of some valuable resources on the Internet. (It would be impossible to write comprehensively in this space on all the Web sites I frequent in the course of a day, so this is merely an introduction.)

Are you looking for a grant to perform in Europe? Are you wondering what support exists for starting your own dance company? Are you curious about what artist residency programs exist for your discipline? Then take a look at what the New York Foundation for the Arts unveiled this summer at www.nyfa.org/nyfa_source.asp?id=47&fid=1. The N.Y.F.A. developed a career resource database for all types of artists, including performing artists. Don't let the "New York" in the name fool you; this is a national database that contains career-development information for artists working across the U.S. But, before you begin randomly plugging in a keyword search, I strongly advise going through the brief tutorial and developing "advanced search" strategies. This will save you time and direct you to salient information that you might miss on a random fly-by. (An adscititious detail is their help line at 800-232-2789. They are very eager to assist you in your search, as well as hear some of your feedback.)

My next recommendation is a listing of rehearsal and performance spaces for musicians in New York, www.nycmusicplaces.org. This will be an especially important Web site once you graduate, as space in New York is hard to find. They now have over 700 listings in the five boroughs. The downside to this resource is that it is geographically confined to the New York metropolitan area. I am hopeful that, within a few years, there will be similar databases for other major cities.

E-mail newsletter services are becoming increasingly popular. The efficiency of waking up each morning to a mailbox full of audition notices beats frequenting the same Web sites every day. There are some drawbacks, however: As e-mail services proliferate, so does the advertising that pays for them. At the moment, most of the free e-mails that I receive from performing arts subscriptions are "ad-free," but I am confident this temporary hitch will soon be remedied by marketing firms.

Two of the more prolific e-mail services are www.backstage.com and www.showbiz.com. Backstage is a print publication that is the widely read by actors, musical theater professionals, and models. You can subscribe to their free e-mail casting newsletter service via their Web site. I receive between three and five casting notices per day from the service. (Don't get too excited; you still have to visit their Web site to find the good stuff.) Still, the e-mail announcements remind me to visit the site regularly and keep a vigilant eye on the casting boards.

Web sites can be used for more than entertainment—they can help you find jobs, grants, and more.
Showbiz.com is a rival publication to Backstage. There is a certain amount of overlap and each site is struggling to create its own unique niche in the market. As with Backstage, you will find casting calls and audition announcements. But here is a word of caution: They both give you an option to post your resume and headshot. Beware of such a strategy. I rarely hear of someone landing a role through an online resume and headshot connection. Think about it from their perspective: Is a serious director, conductor, presenter, or choreographer likely to search a mega-database for a lead in their next production or concert? I doubt it. However, having your resume and headshot online has one merit: It allows you the convenience of forwarding your material directly to a casting agent within minutes of seeing a job posting. Still, I am weary of this methodology. Be extra cautious and forward a copy of your material by "snail-mail" to the agent, employer, or audition committee.

There are several industry-specific services that charge for e-mail subscriptions. If a service will yield some strong leads, our office is likely to try it for a year. For jobs in administration, teaching, management, publicity, and fundraising, www.artjob.com and www.tcg.com (which is the web address for Artsearch) are among our most coveted subscriptions. Online subscription cost for both artjob.com and tcg.com is $40.00 for six months. If you are unsure of whether these services would be valuable to you, call them and ask to see a sample of their listings.

My final recommendation for e-mail service subscriptions is College Music Society (C.M.S.), which is located at www.music.org. Subscription to their music vacancy listing is $55.00 per year. They also have a student rate of $25.00 per year. This publication is the bread-and-butter of faculty positions in higher education. Many people ask us about the Chronicle of Higher Education listings found at www.chronicle.com. Although the Chronicle is the industry standard for all faculty positions in higher education, more teaching positions in music can be found in C.M.S. For dance and theater faculty positions, the Chronicle, Artjob and T.C.G. are extremely useful.

If you would like to learn more about the performing arts resources available on the Web, stop by the Office of Career Development in Room 476.

Derek Mithaug is Juilliard's director of career development and an alumnus of the School.

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