OurStage Partners with Back Stage to Bring Actors Career-Launching Opportunities

OurStage Partners with Back Stage to Bring Actors Career-Launching Opportunities

Two New Actors' Channels on OurStage to present monthly prizes and showcase opportunities

CHELMSFORD, Mass., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- OurStage, the only 100% democratic competition for emerging music and film talent as decided by the fans, announced today its partnership with Back Stage, America's most trusted actors' resource. This first-of-its-kind partnership in the actors' field kicks off in the month of September with the introduction of two co-branded actors' channels on OurStage.com, which will award exclusive actor prizes on a monthly basis. As of September 1st, actors are able to showcase their talent on the new Back Stage Stand-up Comedy and Back Stage Actors' Reels channels on OurStage.com and compete for numerous career-launching prizes. Participation in these new channels is free and accessible to performers of all types.

The initial prize line-up offered by Back Stage and its affiliates to top- raking actors on OurStage includes one-on-one mentoring sessions with industry professionals; the opportunity to be featured on BackStage.com; and free yearly subscriptions to Back Stage and Ross Reports. Back Stage is also offering exclusive incentives for selected top-ranking actors on OurStage in September, such as free access to workshops and audition opportunities at Back Stage's yearly expo, Actorfest, taking place October 13, 2007 at NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom.

"We are thrilled to offer such a unique and career-defining opportunity to our actor community," shares Luke Crowe, National Casting Editor with Back Stage. "For 45 years Back Stage has been the most trusted place for actors to find performing arts and casting information -- it's great that we are now able to offer actors a solid new way to take their careers to the next level."

Prizes provided by OurStage to top-ranking actors include opportunities to be a guest EJ (entertainment jockey) on OurStage.com, along with a chance to win all other prizes offered to film- and videomakers on OurStage on a monthly basis, including OurStage's monthly Film Grand Prize of $5,000, as well as mentor sessions with industry veterans under its Artist Access initiative. For a full list of artist prizes offered by OurStage and its partners, please visit http://www.ourstage.com/about/prizes .

OurStage, which earlier this month emerged from beta with the debut of its Artist Access program, has made it its mission to help emerging music and film artists connect with a growing community of true fans, while gaining critical industry exposure. Its Artist Access program provides top-ranked OurStage acts with advice from well-known industry professionals such as John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), David Burke (Law & Order: SVU), Matt Dentler (SXSW), Sarah Diamond (Slamdance), and Chris Gore (Film Threat), among others. Grammy winner John Legend, G. Love and Special Sauce, and Tears for Fears head up the Artist Access music component.

"Back Stage is a great partner for OurStage on a number of levels," adds Ben Campbell, CEO of OurStage. "They are the longest-standing and most respected actors' resource, with vast reach into an audience of thousands of emerging talented actors who are looking for a proven way to break out. We

are honored to offer these actors the most fair and democratic way of actually launching their careers."

For those actors and comedians interested in uploading their work on these channels, please visit http://www.ourstage.com/go/backstage .

About Back Stage (http://www.backstage.com/)

For more than 45 years, Back Stage has been the most trusted place for actors to find performing arts and casting information. Founded in December 1960, Back Stage quickly became required reading for actors who came to New York to cut their teeth in the film and performing arts industries. With the launch of California-based newspaper Back Stage West in Los Angeles in 1994 and the launch of BackStage.com in 1997, along with its annual Actorfest trade shows, the Back Stage name came to signify something more: Back Stage is where actors and performers across the world now find "Casting You Can Trust" in print and online along with a wealth of career advice, industry-insider entertainment news, exclusive interviews, and online casting tools; while directors, casting directors, and producers find that Back Stage quickly connects them with the best talent around.

Back Stage is owned by The Nielsen Company, whose other brands include The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Film Journal International, Adweek, Mediaweek, Kirkus Reviews, Watson-Guptill books, the Clio Awards, and Ross Reports (the "definitive pocket guide" to casting directors, agents, managers, and television and film industry info). Nielsen also owns media measurement company Nielsen Media Research. For more information, visit Nielsen.com, NielsenBusinessMedia.com, BackStage.com, Casting.BackStage.com, and RossReports.com.

About OurStage, Inc. (http://www.ourstage.com/)

OurStage is the only purely democratic online competition where the fans decide who's the best in emerging music, film and video. The OurStage mission is to help talented artists achieve critical exposure by solving the greatest challenge on the Internet today: sorting quality content from the sea of mediocrity online. OurStage provides a neutral, trusted, game-free platform, in which the true judgment of the fans drives the best content to the top. Through its wealth of partner programs, including Bonnaroo, Virgin Festival, Bumbershoot, Paste, CMJ, PLUG Awards, Pops on the Edge Fest, Slamdance, Relix, Gen Art, Noise Pop, Videomaker, IFFBoston, and many others, OurStage offers worthy artists real opportunities to actually launch their careers.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: OurStage

CONTACT: Meg O'Leary of InkHouse for OurStage, +1-978-779-9884,
meg@inkhousepr.com

Web site: http://www.ourstage.com/
http://www.backstage.com/
http://www.ourstage.com/go/backstage

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Profile: International Entertainment