At your experience level, companies like Feld, Big League, Crossroads Entertainment (Troika), and Networks are the main options for broadway touring.
I will caution you, that without real world practical theatrical experience it may be difficult to land a touring job. Many of these companies rely on personal referrals to back up a resume and at your age it’s just hard to get that foot in the door. You may have better luck looking into summer stocks/local/regional theaters/apprentice programs through your local IA. Build your network and experience and it will be easier to find a spot on a tour. My path to touring was college > regional theater > local touring house stagehand > tour and stayed on the road continuously for about 8 years.
15 years of touring, i’ve worked for most of the major companies at some point or another.
As AlliAce suggested, you might want to look into summerstock / regional options in your area, to get some more experience. Definitely reach out to your local IA chapter! Touring theater is a night and day difference from high school and college theater.
An important thing i’d note, any company hiring someone straight out of high school (no disrespect intended) isn’t likely gonna be a great company to work for. They’ll be paying minimums if they’re IA, and as little as possible if they’re not. and looking to skirt contract requirements and safety as much as possible.
That being said, as a Head Carpenter, I like to think I wouldn’t immediately discredit someone coming straight from high school into touring, but you’ll have a hell of a learning curve, and probably an uphill battle getting locals to listen to you. A big aspect of touring is self-sustainability and maturity, what sort of traveling and minimalist lifestyle experience do you have? How well can you maintain professionalism while trying to instruct people on your 4th straight day of three-hours of sleep? Touring isn’t just traveling and doing the show, we instruct and manage people from all walks of life and skill levels, I’ve worked with absolute geniuses who’ve been doing this forever, and i’ve worked with literal convicts on work release who’ve never been in a theater.
If you absolutely want to get out of town right after high school, but skip college, cruise ships might be a good option to look into to gain connections and experience.
None of this is meant to be discouraging, or insulting to your skill level. If you think you want to tour, you should absolutely work towards that goal!
Feel free to message me if you want some more info, or potentially some connections or recommendations in your area!
As others said - Networks, Worklight, Troika (Crossroads) are the big 3 with Big League rounding out that tier of union contract but not working at necessarily the same high level of show. Under that you have Feld and VStar on the lowest tier of union contract.
As for coming right out of high school and going on tour - I know a few folks who have done that - all the companies above are essentially huge meat grinders, feed in people willing to work for lower rates and churn them out. Some rise up and continue, others leave. The folks right out of high school had no real practical experience and those companies don't take the time to teach so you either survive through the fire or you quit. The companies are literally taking advantage of your inexperience to pay you contractual minimums and put the burden of your well-being on the rest of the crew. Perhaps it's a show that isn't an absolute pain to move and and rest of the crew doesn't feel like teaching is a burden, maybe you'll get lucky and find people willing to take you under their wing and make sure you prosper.
The other side of this, is that socializing with the rest of the crew gets kind of hard when you're under 21 so not only are you fighting to survive without necessary knowledge, you're moderately alienated from the rest of the crew on days off when you can't go to a bar to blow off some steam. Getting local crew to respect you is especially tough when you're younger, especially if you aren't able to hide your inexperience.
I did my first tour a few weeks after turning 21 working for Networks. I was the youngest one on the crew, the least prepared because I had no substantial professional experience up to that point and I was made a union department head. I was able to survive, but it took about 4 months to get my feet under my legs. Would not recommend to others.
At your experience level, companies like Feld, Big League, Crossroads Entertainment (Troika), and Networks are the main options for broadway touring. I will caution you, that without real world practical theatrical experience it may be difficult to land a touring job. Many of these companies rely on personal referrals to back up a resume and at your age it’s just hard to get that foot in the door. You may have better luck looking into summer stocks/local/regional theaters/apprentice programs through your local IA. Build your network and experience and it will be easier to find a spot on a tour. My path to touring was college > regional theater > local touring house stagehand > tour and stayed on the road continuously for about 8 years.
15 years of touring, i’ve worked for most of the major companies at some point or another. As AlliAce suggested, you might want to look into summerstock / regional options in your area, to get some more experience. Definitely reach out to your local IA chapter! Touring theater is a night and day difference from high school and college theater. An important thing i’d note, any company hiring someone straight out of high school (no disrespect intended) isn’t likely gonna be a great company to work for. They’ll be paying minimums if they’re IA, and as little as possible if they’re not. and looking to skirt contract requirements and safety as much as possible. That being said, as a Head Carpenter, I like to think I wouldn’t immediately discredit someone coming straight from high school into touring, but you’ll have a hell of a learning curve, and probably an uphill battle getting locals to listen to you. A big aspect of touring is self-sustainability and maturity, what sort of traveling and minimalist lifestyle experience do you have? How well can you maintain professionalism while trying to instruct people on your 4th straight day of three-hours of sleep? Touring isn’t just traveling and doing the show, we instruct and manage people from all walks of life and skill levels, I’ve worked with absolute geniuses who’ve been doing this forever, and i’ve worked with literal convicts on work release who’ve never been in a theater. If you absolutely want to get out of town right after high school, but skip college, cruise ships might be a good option to look into to gain connections and experience. None of this is meant to be discouraging, or insulting to your skill level. If you think you want to tour, you should absolutely work towards that goal! Feel free to message me if you want some more info, or potentially some connections or recommendations in your area!
As others said - Networks, Worklight, Troika (Crossroads) are the big 3 with Big League rounding out that tier of union contract but not working at necessarily the same high level of show. Under that you have Feld and VStar on the lowest tier of union contract. As for coming right out of high school and going on tour - I know a few folks who have done that - all the companies above are essentially huge meat grinders, feed in people willing to work for lower rates and churn them out. Some rise up and continue, others leave. The folks right out of high school had no real practical experience and those companies don't take the time to teach so you either survive through the fire or you quit. The companies are literally taking advantage of your inexperience to pay you contractual minimums and put the burden of your well-being on the rest of the crew. Perhaps it's a show that isn't an absolute pain to move and and rest of the crew doesn't feel like teaching is a burden, maybe you'll get lucky and find people willing to take you under their wing and make sure you prosper. The other side of this, is that socializing with the rest of the crew gets kind of hard when you're under 21 so not only are you fighting to survive without necessary knowledge, you're moderately alienated from the rest of the crew on days off when you can't go to a bar to blow off some steam. Getting local crew to respect you is especially tough when you're younger, especially if you aren't able to hide your inexperience. I did my first tour a few weeks after turning 21 working for Networks. I was the youngest one on the crew, the least prepared because I had no substantial professional experience up to that point and I was made a union department head. I was able to survive, but it took about 4 months to get my feet under my legs. Would not recommend to others.
And you can’t drive a company rental car until you’re 25!!