Kitagawa repeatedly has employed a standard formula in the development and marketing of his acts. Johnny & Associates holds open tryouts for potential performers. The production agency recruits boys as young as ten into a talent pool known as Johnny's Juniors. Successful applicants live in a company dormitory and attend a company-run school. They train to hone their showmanship in the form of singing, dancing and acting. Kitagawa holds an annual summer festival known as "Johnny's Summary". Promising members of Johnny's Jr. appear alongside of established members of Kitagawa's fold. The junior members act as background dancers for the major acts to allow for name recognition prior to being launched as a separate group. The members of the Juniors also appear in on "Hachi-ji da J", a weekly television variety show. Members sing, dance, and perform in comedic sketches as they further develop the skills to graduate to a major act. Kitagawa's focus is on the development of his group as complete entertainers. Shonentai, for example, did not release a single until it had been together for more than seven years. "I'm not very interested in records," Kitagawa said in a 1996 interview. "Once you release a record, you have to sell that record. You have to push one song only. You can't think of anything else. It's not good for the artist."