A group of 11 seniors will be traveling to Los Angeles just days after graduation to get their foot in the door of Hollywood.
Actors Searching in the Stars will put on a showcase for talent scouts on May 6. Each of the actors will take part in a personal narrative, monologues or scenes he or she has been working on for months.
Theatre professor Rodger Smith, who is instructing the talent, created ASIS two years ago. At practice sessions he gives advice to the seniors and critiques their work.
"The best piece of advice I can give you," Smith told the group, "is to enjoy this."
Taylor Burris, one of the actors traveling to Los Angeles, is one of the two actors who will also be going to New York for even more exposure.
"I was excited and obviously nervous," Burris said, "because it's very nerve-racking to imagine these people you've only heard about your whole life seeing you."
"We're pretty much taking care of everything ourselves," said Kim Enlow. "All the students are pretty much in charge of it."
The group of students is raising its own money, making travel plans and putting together pieces.
But each student has to try out to be in this showcase, and each realizes the weight this carries.
"There were quite a few students who tried out for it this year," Enlow said, "so no one had a secured spot. It didn't matter how many shows or films you've been in; it all depends on your audition."
But the thing that all 11 actors will agree on is that this will be no walk in the park.
These actors were given the opportunity to choose their own pieces so they can show their strong points.
"Luckily, the professors here are great, and they give a lot of their time," Burris said. But it's not only the faculty who is helping and encouraging these aspiring actors. They are also getting encouragement from their acting partners, their peers and others in ASIS.
This group has been working since before Christmas to raise funds to cover traveling and lodging expenses. Katie Shawger, the fund-raising chair for the group, said they have several more fund-raisers planned to help raise even more money.
"Our goal is to get a hundred more dollars for each person." Burris said. The extra hundred dollars will pay for food and other expenses the actors may have. Since the juniors have been helping with the fund raising, the seniors are trying to pay back the underclassmen for their help.
They've been raising funds at least once a month since they found out that they were going to be going. The next fund-raiser they have in mind is a topless car wash for sometime in mid-April.
The atmosphere around this group of actors is excited, nervous and anxious. Shawger, who is also in both the Los Angeles and the New York showcase, said it's a lot of work, but it gives her a lot more opportunity.
"It's really expensive, but I wanna open all the doors," Shawger said.
Even though these actors are excited about getting a chance to get their foot in the door, they said it's also a little scary having to leave everything at home.
"It's hard," Shawger said, "because I have a boyfriend that's still be here for another year."
But she said she understands how important this is to her and that it's almost vital to her career.
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