Atlanta Unifieds returns after years-long hiatus, ready to connect performers with theaters

After several years being off the scene, Atlanta Unifieds returns next week, with several hundred performers and creatives looking to make quick impressions on Atlanta’s theater community. The event, co-produced by the Georgia Theatre Conference, is set for January 26 and January 27 at the Alliance Theatre.

Atlanta Unifieds was created over a decade ago by C4 Atlanta, a nonprofit arts service organization that equipped local artists with tools and skills to prosper. According to Georgia Theatre Conference (GTC) Executive Director Jono Davis, it was a big cattle call audition — the biggest opportunity for artists in the Southeast to impress professional theater companies — all gathered in one room and eager to see new faces. During the pandemic, however, C4 dissolved, as did Unifieds. 

As part of the 62-year-old Georgia Theater Conference, a job fair of sorts used to be held annually. With rotating locations, it was hard to track professional auditions, but Davis came up with a plan. “We had this epiphany this year — why don’t we just nix this and start Unifieds again, something that people know in a more centralized location?” said Davis. “We tossed [the idea] out to a few different companies and asked if there was interest in reviving it, and everyone said yes. So Unifieds is now a program of GTC.” 

It was not difficult to round up all the local theater companies, said Davis. “The city has been without Unifieds for so long, they were hungry for it. Every single local theater company said yes.” No one balked at the pay threshold either. Participating theater companies must pay their artists a minimum of $250 a week.

In all, 26 theater companies and casting agencies will be present, including one in Valdosta — Peach State Summer Theatre — and one in Florida — Emerald Coast Theatre Company.

Every participant has a strict performance/display guideline of 90 seconds, whether it’s contrasting monologues or a snippet from a song. “Someone in the room will be timing them. That keeps us on track,” said Davis.  

The the event will host 330 performers, designers and technicians onstage during the two-day event. They are required to have two professional credits on their resume to be able to participate. Some college students and youth are also allowed, but they, too, must have credits. It’s an opportunity for performers to be in the same space as those who could potentially hire them.   

The more than 600 artists on the waiting list can submit their auditions virtually. “There is so much authenticity to a live audition,” said Davis. “Having said that, virtual auditions are a great opportunity to be in everyone’s database and for theater companies to have 900 new faces.”

Rachel May, artistic director of Synchronicity Theatre, believes she and her organization have participated every time Atlanta Unifieds has been held in the various iterations.

“We have used [the event] all the time in different ways,” she said. Sometimes that means developing a list of people they find interesting, and other times it’s seeing actors before casting a show and offering callbacks for those that may fit a role. The designer showcases have been valuable to May, too, spotlighting craftspeople who may be new to town or just out of school.

“I think [Atlanta Unifieds] is a critical part of the theatrical infrastructure,” she said. “It provides comprehensive and open access. The way it has been designed with the virtual submissions is a huge boon to the theaters. You have that searchable database [to] look at people I wouldn’t see normally.” 

The event is particularly beneficial for actors who don’t know how to access audition notices or callbacks — or be available for general auditions that a theater may host just once a year. 

“For existing actors, some people just don’t work consistently because of day jobs, so it’s a way for them to be re-introduced into these companies and say they are still interested in being hired,” said Davis. 

Davis himself went through the process in 2012, auditioning the musical theater track with a monologue and a song, and he feels it opened many doors for him. “I thought: I’ve never worked with half of these theater companies, and I’d love for you all to see the work I do.” It took him some time to get work, but he was eventually contacted by Aurora Theatre prior to the company’s original staging of Les Miserables in 2014. 

Atlanta Unifieds doesn’t guarantee jobs or callbacks. At a minimum, though, it gets artists documented at theaters. “The hardest thing to do is get your foot in the door — and this is the ultimate networking event for an artist.” 

Where & When

Atlanta Unifieds will take place January 26 and January 27 at The Alliance Theatre. Entry fee is $20 per artist.

::

Jim Farmer is the recipient of the 2022 National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award for Best Theatre Feature and a nominee for Online Journalist of the Year. A member of five national critics’ organizations, he covers theater and film for ArtsATL. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has written about the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival, and lives in Avondale Estates with his husband Craig.