HowlRound: For the last three years I have participated in that sacrificial rite of passage that so many theater artists have undertaken (and so many more theater artists have questioned): an MFA program. In my twenties, I was cobbling together a living as an “NYC-based director” (which means I lived near Manhattan and was predominantly working out of town). During that time, I saw several of my friends head off to get an MFA then return to the city. For some, the experience was positively transformational, but several of my friends simply returned three years laterolder, poorer, and more disillusioned with the profession than when they left. Many were quietly humiliated to have to return to the temping or the barista counter—the only difference now being the three letters behind their name and a percentage of their infrequent artistic paychecks going to union dues and their new-found agent/manager.Am I being unfair? Perhaps.
How Grad School Changed (and Didn’t Change) My Life
1 comment:
Being a freshman, I can't see beyond my undergraduate degree. Being an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon, I can't see needing a masters degree.I mean, we are working the same calls as the grads and will be in some of the same classes as them next year. I feel like I will be so prepared for the real world that I will just go out there and go for it. I'm sure there are lots of degree plans that warrant a masters degree. I also think it depends on the school you went to. I am lucky enough to be at a top school that instills the best in us. My life has changed so much already as an undergraduate here. I feel I will be ready for anything.
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