What does new entertainment bring to job market?

New, large headliner and production shows are the latest trend to hit the big local venues, shining a bright spot onto an otherwise bleak employment stage. Could these new names to Strip marquees help the unemployment rate slip below double digits?

Through the next 18 months, large shows that employ thousands, such as Rod Stewart and Shania Twain at Caesars Palace, who will both move into the returning Celine Dion and Elton John's existing space in a seamless rotation, and the opening of Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson-inspired production, to the smaller one-man critic darlings on the Strip, will definitely continue to add jobs to the local market, say entertainment insiders. Good news considering that one quarter of the Las Vegas population directly works for the hospitality industry, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

As of April, nearly 13 million visitors trekked to Las Vegas this year, according to the convention authority. Many of them took in at least one major production show and tended to pop in to smaller venues along the Strip as well. In 2010, 68 percent of visitors attended at least one show, up from 63 percent in 2007, the convention authority notes.

One of more prodigious show companies locally is Cirque du Soleil, which worldwide has more than 5,000 employees who work and perform in all of its 21 productions, its corporate headquarters and creative studio in Montreal as well as its regional headquarters in Las Vegas. Cirque has productions in performance or creation in Tokyo, Japan; Macau, China; Los Angeles; New York; and Orlando that employ artists, ushers, marketing teams and front-of-office staff among other vital positions.

Cirque currently has 548 artists in seven shows in Las Vegas, comprising more than 200 onstage disciplines stemming from sport, circus arts, acting, clowning, dance, music and singing. Cirque's talent scouts in Las Vegas are constantly at the ground level, searching for new local and visiting talent. They attend numerous local events and performances, hold private auditions, specific auditions at shows and open auditions, as well as speak at artistic and educational conferences around Las Vegas and the Southwest. One opportunity that has grown into a common business practice that gives local performers the opportunity to work for Cirque for short-term needs is an on-call contract.

"In many cases we find that these on-call opportunities can lead to temporary or permanent positions," said Lou D'Angeli, director of marketing and public relations for RSD (Resident Show Division) in North America at Cirque du Soleil.

Nearly 1,000 technicians are employed in the Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil shows and there is always some level of recruiting under way.

"We are very successful at moving trained technicians where they are needed the most, and in 2011 with three new shows in production across North America, opportunities have presented themselves for technicians from our Las Vegas shows to spread their wings in New York, Los Angeles and on tour," D'Angeli said. "This, in turn, presents opportunities in all technical fields right here in Las Vegas."

Cirque works closely with its hotel partners in selecting the best qualified technical candidates to work backstage at each of its shows, he said. The technicians come from many different types of experiences from around the world: from Broadway or touring shows, rock 'n' roll, other circus acts or from the world of automation, to electronics repair, prop fabrication or carpentry, wardrobe maintenance, costuming crafts and dressing, makeup application, maintenance of wigs and headpieces, as well as audio and sound mixing, and other theatrically relevant fields.

Most of the technicians hired run show tracks (meaning they work backstage during the show) or are specialists in maintenance and repair of the equipment for the shows. "KÀ," as an example, has 150 technicians working backstage to support the artists on stage, and most are hired from the local talent pool.

"We also find stage managers, performance medicine staff, acrobatic coaching staff and other artistic management staff in the local market from time to time," D'Angeli said.

The use of the theater demands third-party support from fabricators and local vendors. The volume of orders placed locally for elements such as rigging supplies, special effects and lighting supplies all help to try and maintain a healthy economy for local businesses.

"Add to that, of course, the boost in local economy when we begin theater construction and show creation," he said. "Las Vegas is home; our kids go to school here, so we are completely invested in the long-term economic health of the city, not just our shows."

And the shows are healthy. The Beatles' "Love" at The Mirage recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, "O" recently performed 6,000 shows and "KÀ" recently completed 3,000 shows. More than 100 million spectators (47 nationalities and 24 languages) have seen a Cirque du Soleil show on six continents (all except Antarctica), according to Cirque.

Cirque's next creation is the Michael Jackson tribute, "The Immortal World Tour," at Mandalay Bay in 2013. Cirque has worked very closely with the Jackson family to bring the King of Pop's signature moves, music, style and spirit to the stage for fans of the legend as well as Cirque. The Jackson show will portray his "global messages of love, peace and unity," according to Cirque.

"The day the announcement came out about Cirque partnering with Michael Jackson's team, our main switchboard at the Resident Show Division in Las Vegas lit up," he said. "We know there is a lot of excitement about the show as well as the prospect about working on the production from both our current staff and from people throughout the world. We are going to create an environment with Mandalay Bay that puts you, the audience, right at (the) heart and soul of Michael Jackson and his music."

Each employee goes through a training program to learn the individual aspects of Cirque's support or technical positions. Artists train extensively in specialized or general formation on specific acrobatic skills or "acts" prior to being cast in roles in a show. Some artists have individualized and specialized training if they are cast directly into a role based on the needs of the show. Corporately, there is an organizational development team working from Cirque's Montreal headquarters, which designs specialty topics of management, leadership and supervisory skills training.

"We have so many fields of expertise on the shows that we are always on the lookout for people who can bring an understanding of theater and live entertainment to their particular profession," he said. "Someone who can work in a large team environment and apply passion to what they do every day."

The massive company is always on the lookout for unique, qualified and passionate team players, and current open positions are posted online at www.cirquedusoleil.com/jobs.

D'Angeli suggests that if you are interested that you make sure to select the America's link. There you'll have an opportunity to review the casting platform, which lists performing positions; or the technical and show support page, where they source backstage, theatrical technicians, stage manager, artistic management and performance medicine positions.

There is also a link to corporate services positions, or jobs that assist in providing support and service to the shows, like marketing, finance, human resources, IT and more. The company has a relatively low turnover of cast and crew as well as its corporate team members.

"It's an honor to work for Cirque du Soleil and have the privilege to represent our world-class acrobats, artists, technicians, artisans and professional staff," he said. "In recruiting new employees we look for candidates who aspire to contribute to our unique culture by bringing passion, team work, personal accountability and a sense of responsibility and service to our local community to their work, and understand that everyone's role matters to make our productions as successful as they have been in Las Vegas for 18 years."

MGM Resorts International employs thousands of people on the Strip at each of its 10 properties, said Richard Sturm, president of sports and entertainment for MGM Resorts International. Each new large show that comes to roost in Las Vegas creates more jobs locally, no matter its length of stage time.

"Our MGM Resorts International shows dominate that number as we offer guests the opportunity to see any one of 16 resident shows at our 10 properties along the Strip, including six Cirque du Soleil shows," Sturm said. "Understanding these numbers, I think it is safe to say that we are able to contribute to a higher employment index by providing prospective employees with a tremendous number of options if/when they're interested in working in the entertainment industry."

The major resident shows featured at MGM properties are the six Cirque shows, including The Beatles "Love" at The Mirage, "Viva Elvis" at Aria, Criss Angel's "Believe" at Luxor, "KÀ" at MGM Grand, "O" at Bellagio and "Zumanity" at New York-New York; as well as some of the other popular shows along Las Vegas Boulevard, including Disney's "The Lion King" at Mandalay Bay, the entertaining Jabbawockeez at Monte Carlo, David Copperfield at MGM Grand and Terry Fator at The Mirage. MGM continues to expand its stable of hits and its reputation for solid entertainment with new, large production shows planned through 2013.

"In terms of future shows, the two we have coming right now are the recently announced Michael Jackson production with Cirque du Soleil, currently slated for opening in 2013 at Mandalay Bay," Sturm said, "and we (recently) announced our partnership with Blue Man Group, who will be moving to the Monte Carlo Theater in fall 2012."

While these large productions increase local employment and create excitement with tourists from around the world, the company also has a wide variety of entertainment constantly coming to town for its state-of-the-art arenas and venues.

"The readers and fans alike must keep in mind, however, that the theater/production shows are not the only 'major' shows which help support the employment index," he said. "The MGM Grand Garden Arena and Mandalay Bay Events Center also are home to the biggest sporting events and top concert entertainment in the world, and those events require a large number of stagehands, production managers and various other roles crucial for the success of those events."

The beauty of having so many Broadway hits, Cirque wonders and much sought-after concerts is that guests often come for one and stay for a few.

"All of our shows at MGM Resorts do very well on an annual basis so I'd honestly say it's too difficult to pinpoint one show that is truly more successful than another," Sturm said. "A large number of our guests not only see one show but our data tells us that some of these same guests buy tickets to multiple shows along the Strip. Once again, the shows which employ the largest number of individuals are most likely the Cirque shows simply due to the fact that they have the most intricate staging, lighting and overall productions."

These large shows have a trickle-down effect, offering a lucrative spillover to smaller shows on the Strip, said John D. Bentham, president and chief operating officer of Ivory Star Productions, which runs "Defending the Caveman" at Harrah's Las Vegas, "Marriage Can Be Murder" at Fitzgerald's, "Kevin Burke: Fitz of Laughter" at Fitzgerald's and the "Country Superstars Tribute" at the Golden Nugget. His company employs 50 people, which includes the performers and musicians.

"I think any time a show comes to town it is good for local employment, let alone our economy in general," he said. "Sometimes a national act will bring their own crew but it is always supplemented by a local crew."

It's also good for the surrounding area.

"When you look at the bigger picture it's even better for our economy because those traveling crews stay in rooms, eat at the restaurants, shop in the stores and probably even gamble here and there," Bentham said. "With all that in mind, they help the economy tremendously. That doesn't even take into account the people who come to town just to see that specific performer infusing more dollars in to our economy, which again translates into jobs at every level."

Larger shows along the Strip have made his bottom line a bit healthier, as has the good word of mouth about his four shows.

" 'Defending the Caveman' is closing in on 9 million tickets sold worldwide and here in Las Vegas we are celebrating our fifth anniversary as well as our star Kevin Burke's 3,000th performance of 'Defending the Caveman,' " Bentham said of the comedian who does double duty with his show at Fitgerald's "We recently relocated to Harrah's Las Vegas inside the Improv showroom, which is so ideal for this show. The room was built for comedy so 'Caveman' really fits perfectly in to the space. The Harrah's employees have been so supportive and welcoming and have really embraced the show."

Ivory Star Productions plans to hire through 2011 and is currently looking for a group sales person, promoters for the show, ticket agents for the box office at Fitzgerald's as well as a few tech positions.

"I look for people who are self-motivated," Bentham said, "and have a positive 'can-do' attitude."