Short Summary
Hello! My name is Tony Garcia. I am one of a group of seven University of South Dakota students that were selected to be a part of an event called The New York City Senior Showcase. What is this you ask? It is an opportunity for a select group of senior theatre majors to connect with industry professionals. We have the chance to attend workshops, network with professionals in theatre, and audition in front of agents to help us jump start our careers in theatre. In the past several USD students who have attended this event received callbacks, interviews with agents, and some even were offered jobs. This is a huge opportunity for us, but it does not come without a cost.
What We Need
Traveling in a large group to New York is not cheap. This is where we need your help! The total cost for traveling to New York and attending the showcase comes to $1200 dollars per student. Earlier this year our group applied for a research grant through the University of South Dakota and we were awarded about half of our total costs. However, being students, $600 dollars a person is hard to come up with.
All the money we raise goes directly to us! it is deposited directly into the University of South Dakota's Theatre Department account and then is distributed evenly to the seven of us. Our department keeps none of the money, nor does the school.
Any amount of money you are willing to contribute to us is immensely helpful, and we are grateful for your help.
The Impact
As I mentioned earlier, several USD students who attended the NYC Showcase had great things sparked in their careers. Every student who has attended has received a callback with an agent. A few students earned representation from professional agents. One student, Cody Strand, had his Broadway career sparked through this event and went on to star in both the Broadway and touring productions of The Book of Mormon. As you can see this has the potential to help out our careers, and we have a very talented group this year. We have a wonderful mix of Acting and Musical Theatre Majors, who have starred in many of the productions at USD over the past 4 years.
Other Ways You Can Help
Once again all 7 of us cannot express how much we appreciate your support to get us to New York. Every penny counts! Thank you for supporting us, but more importantly thank you for supporting theatre in general. Keep the arts alive!
Check out our Twitter @USDNYCShowcase and watch us in action our department's YouTube page: Department of Theatre University of South Dakota
Even if you aren't able to donate to our group, help get the word out there about us! Share our IndieGoGo page on your Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, Everywhere! Talk about us on twitter at #USDNYCShowcase.