Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Want to be a Theatre Major?
OnStage: Seniors in high school: Majoring in theatre is the ultimate dream for some- you’re training to do what you love, you’re learning new things to improve your performance, and most importantly you meet people that are just like you. It’s no secret that having a career in theatre is incredibly difficult to pursue. You’ll be hearing “no” all the time, and sometimes you won’t hear from anyone at all. So why are we so adamant to take on this career that cannot guarantee us a future? After an entire year of being a theatre major, here are some things I learned to keep me going.
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While this article pertains to being a performance major, I do believe that it applies to technical theatre design majors as well. It's only been one full year since I decided that I wanted to go to college for Theatre. I was always involved with theatre backstage all throughout high school but I never saw it as a feasible career choice-- it was always just another extracurricular activity of mine. I grew up knowing that I wanted to go into the creative industry but I always thought it was going to be Illustration or Graphic Design. However, the more I learned about myself the more I realized that I didn't want to spend 8 hours of my day sitting in front of a screen (now I spend 10+ hours a day working on hand-drafting and designing, but that's besides the point). It sounded so sterile to me and being a social person, I craved connection. That's when it struck me that theatre was sitting here right under my nose the entire time and that "Hey, wait a minute...I could do this FOR A LIVING." Theatre gives such an amazing and collaborative artistic environment and that was what really attracted me. I needed to work with my hands and graphic design wasn't going to give me the amount of hand-to-paper that tech theatre at CMU is currently giving me. Yes, this program is working me like a damn dog and yes, I'm sleep deprived but damn. I wouldn't have wanted to end up anywhere else.
Like the comment above mentions, I think that all of these tips can be true for lots of jobs in this industry and even beyond. Nothing worth having is ever really easy so taking risks can be very vital to pushing the bar and achieving goals you never thought you could. I think the article also adds a sentence about not missing opportunities and that is also some great advice. Every chance you get to be a part of theatre, is a chance to grow. Having a backup plan is smart for everyone. Back up plans can also help you to open your mind to many different opportunities. Trying new things is always a good way to learn and grow. I think one of the most important rules the article mentions is to not be rude. As you grow up you realize that your chances of getting a job are way more reliant on your personality and etiquette than you thought. Overall, this article gives some great starting tips for those who want to be a part of this awesome industry.
As someone who was one of the first people from their high school ever to go to college for theatre, or rather technical theatre, this list is interesting. When applying to schools, I knew very little about the application process or the interview process. I had always liked theatre in high school and seen professional shows, so I did have some idea, but no nearly as much as some of my peers most likely. I think that these tips are helpful on more life-advice scale, rather than specifically deciding if you want to major in theatre for college, which is a pretty large decision. I wish that it gave more specific advice in relation to college, but these tips can still help people who are early in the process. I think that the most helpful advice from this list is to see as many types of theatre as possible, especially when choosing schools that are doing experimental productions, like CMU.
I don’t know how I feel about this article, it seems to give good advice but it also seems to contradict itself, and the good advice it does give doesn’t go nearly as deep as it should. It feels to me as if someone had to write an article like this, so they just thought of the first 7 steps they could and said about 3 cliché and overused sentences after the tip to flush it out to the point where it could pass as decent advice. There’s little depth, reflection, or honest and developed thought put into any of these 7 pointers.
That all being said, some of the advice is decent, and that’s probably why we hear it passed around so much. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the professors of ‘Amy Needs a Name’ say “take risks” then I’d have an easier time affording this education. But it’s good advice, doing something new is a learning experience and even if it fails, which it very well could, you’ll at least be able to dissect how it failed. All in all, this article felt like 15-20 I’ve seen on the green page since beginning classes last year. Not bad advice, but not advice that we haven't heard a million times.
I actually don't agree with a few of the key foundations of this list. First and foremost, I don't think it is commonly known that getting a degree in theatre is really hard work. I think it's actually a very common misconception among high school students that working in theater is always fun and relatively easy going like it was in high school, mostly because not enough high school theatre programs offer education that is closely related with a collegiate program. This is not to say that those programs don't exist, or that if you are a theatre major you chose it to slack off forever. However, I will say that if I had been more informed of what I was really getting myself into, I probably would have made the same overall choices, but they might have been made differently and with more care. He's right about a lot of the personnel information, but I get caught up again on the "have twelve backup plans". I feel like too many people are quick to assume that because they aren't getting jobs in their specific field, that there are not jobs available in theater. There are plenty of jobs in other fields that might fit your needs with you deciding that theater simply won't pay the bills. And finally, I don't think that changing plans is only related to being a theatre major. More people that got 'normal' degrees in undergrad went on to do something different, and he's right, that's fine, but that doesn't have to be expected just because you're a theatre major.
Overall I just really felt like this article was unfortunately mislead in the "this life is hard and you will mostly likely be like everyone else and fail" category, which is pretty disheartening.
Yes I agree with some of the former comments that this author seems to just be rehashing old cliches. But there is a reason that cliches are cliches. I would be shocked if any of us made it into a highly competitive theater program without having been told to "take risks" least a million times. Everyone knows that they should take risks but the hard part is in recognizing what risks to take and when to play things safe, advice on that would have be much more concrete and helpful. However, I think the most helpful cliche on their list was the last one. "Enjoy yourself." I've seen how hard people in the program work, and how devoted they are to doing the best they can on a given project or assignment. I know that personally when I'm working really hard on something, or feeling stressed or overwhelmed, it's really useful to remind myself of why I want to be here. The most perfect thing I can do in that situation is go and see a performance or show of some kind, because it reminds me of why I am passionate about theater and the worlds and art that I want to create.
I really wanted to like these tips- I really did. However, it did seem a bit ambitious to be writing an article about what college is like after you've only completed your freshman year so maybe this whole idea was a bit derailed in the first place. Most of these tips were really just for anyone who's going into college, and I think thats fair. Only two, maybe three of the tips actually focused on "doing" something that would help you specifically within a theatre degree program. I think that any kind of degree has its risks and challenges, and drama degree's definitely aren't alone in that respect. There are a few more particular challenges, like an almost laughable amount of job security, but I think that anyone who is considering a degree in drama would probably be considering that fact in the first place. I know I did, and it got to the point of annoyance when I was constantly told that I would "never have a job".
I agree with most of the ideas and statements that were said in this article. However, I don’t think all of them are necessarily true. For example, I don’t think that it is necessary to have multiple backup plans, or at least not call them that. As a theatre artist, I think that it is extremely important to be one hundred percent dedicated to your work, and, at least for me, this isn’t really possible with a small voice in my head saying “ Maybe you could do this instead!”. I think having a backup plan can make it easier to stop trying. I do think it is important to recognize the realities of life, that starting theatre artist may need to take on extra jobs to make an adequate living, but that does not mean that it is a “back up”. I think it kind of demeans what we do; when I tell people that I am majoring in theatre, they usually reply with “make sure you have a backup plan!” as if I would never be able to life a fulfilling life after college with this degree.
Although it’s a bit cheesy, I do appreciate the sentiment of this article. While it is more performance- major based, I think the overall points the author makes are just as applicable to students who want to major in design/ production. However, while I think it’s important to be reminded to have fun and enjoy your college experience, regardless of the unorthodox nature of a theater major (especially a BFA/ conservatory style), I was kind of surprised that this article didn’t mention the idea of hard work; I think the point “take risks” touches upon this idea, but I think the amount of effort required to be successful in an artistic educational environment is taken for granted. I know that when I would tell people I was going to major in theater, many had a lot of preconceived ideas of how “fun” and “easy” it would be, and I’m pretty sure that everyone going to school here would argue that it isn’t easy, and that the “fun” of it comes from passionate hard work. Someone I went to high school with really wanted to major in musical theater, but never participated in any school or community theater productions; sometimes, I think a lot of people have grand ideas of their artistic dreams, but aren’t willing to put the difficult work into making those dreams realized; everyone I’ve met at CMU so far is going to all of those extra steps to make a theater career possible for themselves.
This was an interesting article for me to read as a freshmen intending to declare stage management. I can relate to a lot of the topics the author hit on, but some really just do not apply to the non performers. The author takes about how it is important to take risks, and I agree but the way the author intends - to take risks during scene work does not apply. I wish I could see someones view on this same kind of subject from a production point of view. I think what the author mentions is also just a general guide to any career and can be universal. I think that the author is also not much of a realist, as much as I am a proponent of following your dreams and passions, it is not always that easy. The most important thing that I have learned as a college freshmen so far that the author makes no mention of is hard work and dedication to this craft, because that is what makes the biggest difference.
I agree with 5 of the 7 of these “pointers”. I feel like I was always told to put 1000% into what I wanted to do, sure people might end up changing what they want to do. But I don’t think you should plan it to happen that way. What’s the point of doing something if you are just going to change your mind 12 times? I am a student a CMU school of drama and I have seen classmates that decide they went to take a different path, I wouldn’t say it is very common but people do do it. Now I’m sure there are many people that would say I’m crazy for saying this but I just have a hard time spending all that time and effort on something to decide that you don’t want to do it. As far as everything else in the article goes, it pretty much spot in, the biggest thing that I learned throughout my interview process was to be confident but not cocky. My last grain of salt is to bring work that you have completed, besides your portfolio.
I never really thought I was going to be a theater major. I did not know that was something people could actually do. I knew it existed but I thought you had to study bio or psychology or in my case engineering or pre-law, even architecture seemed more realistic than theater. But now I am here and couldn’t be happier. People have a preconceived idea about what you must do in college it seems. I do not think people think it is wrong to study theater, but people kind of assume that college is a time to take classic “academic” classes. But there are so many lessons and skills you learn from drama school that you cannot learn in a typical college environment. I think the most important lesson is how to express yourself. Whether this is in an acting class, design presentation or working on a technical design, expressing your ideas and being confident in yourself is vital. So no, I am not going to take a geology class, and no I am probably not going to read philosophy or psychology texts, but I will be able to create theater and that is what I want to do.
Although this is a good list of advice I am a little jaded that it’s coming from some one who just finished their first year of college. When I started college I was a Physics and Math double major. I soon figured out that was not the life for me and made my way back to theatre. It was a huge risk for me and I had to convince my parents that it was the right thing for me. The thing is there was never a back up plan for me. I put my heart and soul into what I wanted and didn’t/haven’t looked back. I think thinking about a back up plan distracts you from your work. There are many ways to work in our industry without distracting yourself from the industry. The arts are the kind of career that if you can see yourself doing anything else in the world that maybe you should go do that instead.
Honestly I think part of my problem with this article is that it simultaneously complains about the struggles of finding jobs but also seems to encourage you not to commit. In my own personal experience, at least in technical theatre, being a decent human being and putting 200% of yourself into every single thing you do. Weather its sorting doorknobs for three days of an internship or any other of a thousand mindless tasks along my path here I think really committing to the idea that if you’re going to do theatre you might as well be the best you can possibly be to help you both be successful and have a career to love. It really pisses me off actually when people try to tell me that I’ll never have a real job working in theatre. Often times here at Carnegie Mellon at least most of the students in drama have more work experience in their field and better job prospects than people in liberal arts programs. In short I wish this article talked more about how to actually reach your goals than encouraging a safety net over everything else.
While Ziegelman has only been a theater major for a year, and is speaking to high school students his points can apply to your whole career in theater. I have been involved theater since I was 10, and have been lucky enough that my parents have always supported me as I moved around. I fully believe that you should take risks, in life and in work, I have always just picked up and moved to a new place when I got offered a Job. Having a back up plan is important and ties to knowing you can always change plans, even if you don’t work in theater. The entertainment industry may be a little more unstable than other industries, but the possibility of things not working out is always there. In an ideal world, you will have a job that you want out of school, but having back up plans may mean that you wont have to do a temp job you’ll hate.
Let's first acknowledge that Rikki Ziegelman is a musical theatre and journalism major at Marymount Manhattan University. This is not a BFA program, and she is clearly living her tip of having a backup plan. Therefore, while this is an okay list, it has a few fundamental flaws, apart from being remarkably simple. The major one is that we should all have a backup plan. This is true, from a base level standpoint, everyone should have the potential to apply their skills to another job, and know when to jump ship. However, in my opinion, if you have something else you also want to do besides theatre, go do it. It is WAY to difficult to make it in this business, and the fact of the matter is that if you don't want it enough, you won't get it. Therefore, if you go to theatre school and graduate with another career in the back of your head as a possibility, you will spend a year or two trying to make it in theatre, while working as that other career, and sooner than later you will stop trying to make it in theatre because you have a situation that works for you. The sense of danger and necessity for work is the reason that work happens, and if you absolve yourself of that, you absolve yourself of the ability to make a career in one of the most difficult industries in the world.
Many of the above commenters discuss how these tips can be applied to their non-performance majors, and I totally agree with them. What I think we're missing is that these tips can be applied to almost every major that has ever been offered at a university. These tips also make me wonder whether the author is actually a theatre major or just had a roommate in college who was. "Be sure to immerse yourself in all kinds of theatre and stay away from just Wicked or RENT?" I hate to put too much expectation on the people who go to college to study theatre, but this seems an incredibly, overwhelmingly obvious piece of advice. I would love to find someone at CMU who got their parents to pay for their theatre education based on their child's love for Wicked and RENT. The author also tells us to study our theatre history, not because it is important to understand the intentions of playwrights from different times, or know the social climate of a play you're performing, or generally be a more informed designer, but because he really liked a musical theatre history class he took freshman year... Right. Okay. And then he ends the article with...wait for it..."All the world's a stage." I swear I can just see this man sitting at his desk thinking, "What's something that theatre people quote a lot?"
I decided fairly late in the game that I wanted to do theater, going as far as to declare other majors on my college applications and write essays about my high school experience that only mention theater in passing. However, after realizing how much time and effort I've put in to theater, and how I kept coming back for more, even after having lackluster to downright unsafe experiences, I decided what I wanted to do, with more certainty than I'd approached anything else in my college-applications saga. Reading this article, I realize how prone I am to each of these things, how my character traits make me a willing risk-taker (pointer number one), and my unique background makes me well poised to both have back-up plans (there's several long stories there, but now I can more or less fulfill point number 2). I realize, after reading my own words, how much theater has shaped me. Who knows what would have happened if I'd decided to major in Scandinavian Studies, or Linguistics? I don't know where I'd be right now, mentally, emotionally, or physically, but I do know I wouldn't be nearly as happy, or nearly as engaged.
Articles like this always make me cringe because even though they are rooting for theatre as a major I still feel like they are talking to children when listing the points on why to do theatre. I think if someone is wavering on pursuing theatre there is not much you can say in a standard article that they haven’t already heard. You have to get personal with the person and talk to them about their thoughts and ideas. It can’t just be surface points but personal ones. If I ever wavered on my future and what I wanted to do the people around me talked to me about my goals and dreams and that is what helped me decide not an article posted online that lists what every other major lists as well. Theatre is unique and special and that is what we have to promote to each person individually.
I have mixed feelings towards this article. Some tips are not so helpful and quite frankly self-contradicting, such as tip #1 (Take risks: Just do it) and tip #2 (Always have a backup plan, or three, or twelve). Having a backup plan just makes it ten times more likely for one to fall back to the backup plan when s/he experiences a failure, while those who don't have a backup plan will be more likely to push through. Failure and rejection is inevitable in order to succeed in this industry, and having a backup plan is playing safe - something that the author rejects in his first tip. However, I do think this article offers some good advice, particularly #4 (don't be rude). Being in a setting where everyone comes from different backgrounds but all have the same passion, the worst thing one can do is to look down upon someone else. Although this is something that's not often explicitly taught to us (but it's also a given), it actually makes a big difference since collaboration and impressions play a huge role in this industry.
I felt this article might have been more biases toward the general theater major interested in pursuing performing. From that view point the article was valid on trying to keep the readers with a realist mindset with job prospect. On the other hand I wish the article could have spoken about the tech, designer, and director side of being a film major more because I know we are all in the same boat. It is very important to emphasis taking risks because at the end of the day we are all artists and artists who constantly play it safe often don’t go anywhere and in reality we are all have chosen to be in the theater industry which is a risk of itself. Another point I strongly agree with not being a jerk to work with. Theater in order to be successful is contingent on collaboration and no one like to work with someone who is going to take the fun on why they decided to go into this field in the first place.
This article is your typical theatre major article with all of the obvious information in it. This does not really help you becoming a better theatre major, but it is basically saying how to be a good person in general and be smart. Theatre is a tough business and you should not be in it if you do not truly love it. People who are grumpy and do not like theatre but continue to do it, ruin it for everyone else. If you do not like it then you should quit. I always encourage people to try theatre and pursue it in college if that is what they truly love and they are talented at it. Theatre is very competitive but it is still not that big of a career choice. Theatre programs are generally small because they are selective but also because there is not that many people pursuing it compared to a communications major or a business major. A lot of people are scared of pursing theatre and failing. I think it is worth the risk because it is an amazing art form, but it is not for everyone.
This article serves no better purpose than the millions of other advice articles on being a theatre major. I understand that sometimes as a theatre major we become fearful of what will be next for us or if we are on the right track.. However, this article doesn't really reassure anyone. If anything at all, this article serves as a reminder TO ALL LIVING PEOPLE to be passionate about what they are doing or what's the point in doing it. It also reminds us to be nice to people. I think if anything that is what you should truly take away from this piece. Being nice gets you so far in life, and especially in theatre. Now, being nice does not mean that you should let people walk all over you, however, it does mean that you should remain calm, and collected in as many situations as possible. And finally, this article reminds us that we must be passionate as theatre artists or simply, this isn't the career choice for you.
Such great tips for aspiring theater students. To say that studying theater is a leap of a faith is definitely not an understatement. Perhaps all one gets from this article is to just be happy with the choices that you have made, and no matter what, realize that the passion you have for this craft has lead you to where you are at a given moment--frustrated with a scene, up late at night finishing a project, or struggling with coming up with a unique design. Especially with conservatory-type programs, students often forget that their life is not defined by the choices they have made or plan on making--learning in college isn't all about what's on the blackboard, you learn about yourself and this info is often the most vital, for it can possibly change your perspective on what you want to do with your life. We often close ourselves off to change, and in order to be successful at whatever we do we need to explore that adaptability.
For some reason this article came across as naive to me, and I'm not exactly sure why. It might be cause this student is only in their first year, but it just gave me the impression that they didn't really know what they are talking about. I feel like the author didn't discuss the hardships that come along with being a theater major very much. She didn't talk about the long nights you'll be working or the struggle to balance being social, working, and sleeping. Obviously being a performance major is a completely different experience to being a DP, but it's something that someone going into theater should be aware of. This list might be good for someone who has just become interested in studying theatre, however I feel like once you've done your research these things become obvious. If she were to write it again I think she should focus on specific ways to help students rather than general and generic advice like "have a backup plan".
Reality: 57% of Actors Equity members did make a dime in theater last year, and nearly 90% made less than they'd have made flipping burgers. Learn to self-produce, and do it somewhere other than NYC. Don't wait for gatekeepers; don't think like an employee.
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