www.thestage.co.uk: Drama school is an institution in which you are given a certain status by the staff and your peers. There will be favourites who get all the good parts and people who will spend three years standing at the back holding a spear. Don’t let this worry you. When you enter the professional world of theatre, none of this will matter. Your place and status in drama school is forgotten as soon as you leave. You are a new actor, with a fresh slate, a new face – and the possibility to be the next Dale Winton. Good luck, dear!
15 comments:
It is a great idea to put together a list of lessons that fall between the cracks of drama school. There are many life lessons to be learned to create a well rounded human being. However, I was rather disappointed that the only real life lesson was about taxes. I felt like the other points only observed the reality of an actor. That being said, the title says, “drama school” but upon reading the article the advice is almost completely unrelated to designers, dramaturgs, and directors.
Although this is a report from the UK, it sounds like it is really applicable to anyone in drama school. It is still more directed at performers but with a little analysis and thinking it can be converted to work for us PTM folk. I also like that the article was on “The Stage.” I have been on this site a lot recently scouting out potential internships during my time abroad. The website is just like Playbill.com so I am not surprised that there is an article like this on this site. It is also nice to see that the industries are fairly similar and what I will learn in the UK will be applicable when I come back (so long as I re convert from metric to imperial measuring systems). But back to the substance of the article, I think these tips are pretty cool and I will keep them in mind when I get out of this bubble that is drama school.
Reading this article was like a grandma/grandpa/any old person that you know relatively well, sitting down with you, taking your hand, and talking to you about a business that they have been in either a long or short time or just when they talk about life in general. It is really, really, feels like they are ‘preaching to the chore’, but at the same time comforting, especially at the end. There was a lot of humor in this article, more than I was expecting, and it wasn’t exactly informative, because I basically knew everything beforehand/it wasn’t exactly a surprise (I think the old dream of ‘Going to Hollywood, and become famous’ has been proven to most people a lot more difficult than originally planned). However, especially for the last three points, I had a feeling of bittersweet hope that although I’m entering a job that is non for its instability, I’m going in knowing the fact that there will be ditches and road blocks, and I’m not alone. It is difficult for everyone, but as a friend says “It wouldn’t be worth reaching if it was easy.”
Though most of this article was directed towards actors, some of the points do apply to people on the production side of theatre. First of all people do not make a lot of money doing theatre. Many people often try to convince you to not do theatre because you will have to be a waiter and you will live on the street. Yes, it is a fact that people do not make nearly as much money in theatre as they do in TV or film, but it is not absolutely impossible to make a living doing theatre. It is nice to know that stage managers make more money on average than actors do and it is easier for us to get jobs since there are fewer stage managers in the world compared to the vast amount of actors out there. I also liked the advice to get someone to help you with your taxes for the first few years of your career, because doing taxes is often the thing people leave school knowing the littlest about.
A lot of this sounds like everything I was told by family friends when they found out I was going to drama school. That being said I think this author did a much better job of it, managing to find a nice balance between realism and not crushing hope and dreams, that they added some comedy was an unexpected bonus. I’m not sure how informative this article is for people already in a drama school (but I’m guessing not very) since they’re probably heard most of these in some form or another about a hundred times. However for someone who was still looking at colleges and trying to decide if they wanted to go to a theater school this could be a good read, especially for actors since the article seems aimed at them. But people on the production and management side of things will probably be able to get something from it as well.
Some of this came as a surprise since it was written by a British author, however much of it is applicable to what we as managers are learning. One of the most important points I think the author hit on was that “the hierarchy in drama school means nothing when you get into the professional world.” So often, at least at CMU, we are guilty (myself included) in how caught up we get in the politics of it. I wish that it was reminded to students more often that yes we all engross ourselves in these roles and positions to learn about possible interactions in the future, but we often forget that we are students learning how to do all of this. Organizations that you want to work for do not have a turnover rate of ¼ every year (even if that is an overgeneralization it still applies). Make sure you are aware of the larger picture within the drama school and outside of the drama school. All things in moderation including moderation.
This article is definitely aimed at performers but the last point the author made definitely applies to pretty much any industry. The hierarchy of your school doesn't matter once you have a fresh start in the industry. Your accomplishments and leadership positions taught you things you probably need for your future career but a big ego can effect your work and relationships with others if you don't humble yourself coming in as a bottom ranking position. This article wasn't so much informative (teaching me things I don't know) but enlightening (realizing these are things I will deal with in reality.)
The part of this article that spoke to me the most was when it said expect to be treated like a child. When you walk into a theatre for the first time, there is already a relationship that the people on staff have formed. They trust each other and understand what each other knows. I know when I am in charge of a crew and a new person comes in on deck, I personally expect them to not know much about what we do. It is human nature to have that expectation. I do think that people should try to avoid being condescending at all costs, because that is when people typically become offended. I try to simply ask what they know and about how much help they will need, and try to be as understanding as possible. I also think that this article was geared more towards actors due to the agent comment and I believe that technicians will have less problems with finding work. But I do believe they face the childish issue on more occasions.
Though I'm sure what I am experiencing right now is schadenfreude, I do find a little relief in the fact that only some of these things apply to me as a manager. The general idea of the article, "don't get caught up in your fantasies and how well you did in drama school," absolutely rings true, though I can't say I often worry about it. Luckily, my career is not based on a talent that thousands and thousands of people have and want to use in the exact same way, in a role on the West End or Broadway. My career, I imagine, will be more like the rest of America's: searching for jobs that I know I have the skills for, going through the interview process and either getting it or not, moving on if I don't and working if I do. I do not worry about not finding work when I get out of school, which I feel very fortunate to be confident about. But some of these things absolutely do apply to me! I am still fairly clueless on how to handle my own taxes, and I'm sure wherever I am housing will be an issue in one way or another. And of course I will always need to stay motivated regardless of where my career is.
I would like to preface my comment by saying there were several words and phrases in this article which confused me greatly, I’m assuming due to the fact that they are British theatre colloquialisms. So a lot of what I read I used context to determine the meaning. To start, I’m not sure these are things drama school doesn’t teach you, but it was good to read them anyway. I think sometimes theatre programs try so hard to create this idyllic theatrical habitat where everyone gets along and has unlimited resources at their disposal, that they forget that the real world doesn’t usually work that way. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge supporter of a screw-the-real-world attitude because nothing changes unless we train people to change it. But still, it’s nice to give people fair warning. I can’t speak for any other program, but I think CMU has found a pretty nice balance. If anything, they lean toward the more ‘real world’ side and less on the ‘idyllic theatre’ model (sometimes to the point of allowing pretty awful stuff to slide by because ‘it would happen like that in the real world’). But at the very least, we are getting a pretty realistic view. I read a lot of these points and thought ‘But my professor just explained this to us last week’.
Just because this article is about things that you won’t be taught at drama school, it doesn’t mean that you won’t learn them in school. I think we all know that going into theater means we may not make that much money, although it doesn’t mean we’ll be on the poverty line either. And while some actors may have the thought that they’ll get a leading role on Broadway right after crossing the stage at commencement, most know that it won’t happen – at least not right away. I think the three best tips in this article are about taxes, housing, and creating your own work. Taxes can be complicated, especially if you work in a lot of different states and sometimes as an employee and sometimes as an independent contractor. I know first hand that some theater housing can be dismal, at best, so it is great to know, if you can, what you’re getting yourself into beforehand or to make sure you get the best housing. As far as creating your own work goes, I think this article makes a good point of keeping up with your craft while working to have income to pay bills.
How very true and cruel. This article is mainly aiming at the actors (or designers) more than managers in theatr school. Some of the ten advices are highly relevant to be awfully honest because I think actors in theatre schools in general, are treated with extra care and attention. They are almost always the center of the programs, whether you or the professors want to admit it or not. For them, they need to deal with the same disappointment, or put it in a nicer way, they need to prepare themselves once again for situations where they are not the center of the stage and they are not treated with extra care, just like many of them dealt with their feelings when they entered the college program in the first place. They were probably the single most talented kid in their high schools and not they are surrounded with many single most talented actors in their own high schools and it's hard to swallow the feelings somehow. Entering the professional world will need much more courage and adjustment.
As managers, even if only a few apply to us, some of the advices also need to be given attention like don't be more intelligent than the directors. Probably not take this literally but this drives home the technique of dealing with professional relationships and personnel management.
A few points really stood out for me about this article. The first being about understanding the change in hierarchy from college into the real world. Honestly, the actors should already know that the director should not be questioned from college, but I think that it is important that any theatre person — in front or behind the scenes — should understand about how the hierarchy in college really only matters college and there is a completely different one once you get into the workforce. “Creating your own work” is another section which jumped out at me because I have spent a lot of time doing designs of shows just for myself in between when I can do actual designs. I’m surprised by how few people do stuff like this, to the extent that I do at least. I’d be interested to see if actors ever do similar projects with scenes or acts of shows in order to explore something which interests them between work.
Interesting, and wildly cruel read. Though directed at a performance reader audience, this article is wildly applicable to most in the arts. In drama school we are told to focus on 'the art.' We are pushed to take risks and fear little the consequences. However, that idea does not always sit well with me. In my future, I want a family of my own. I want to be able support and give my family the support that I am so lucky to receive from my family. So where is the balance? Yes, I want to make meaningful art and work in the business, but I also deserve to be happy in my personal life and should not have to sacrifice everything for my career. I am slowly finding that this balance can be reached through a few different paths. For one, this article was written by what seems to be a successful producer. There are also designers that do make enough money to support themselves and families above the poverty line. So I guess my response to this article, is why limit my goals? And why leave drama school with the expectation of making no money? I understand that it isn't going to be rainbows and daisies and buckets of money, but I won't starve.
This article was funny and very entertaining until I came to number six. After reading number said I was vexed and honestly offended by the fact that people believe that biting your tongue one is better than giving your opinion when involves the director no I do not openly support young at the director or contradicting everything he says as a form of power-play, but I find it offensive to say that you should have no opinion because the directors is king. The doctor is intelligent and he has a plan for the show, but theater is about collaboration. If we are expected to bite our tongues and not collaborate on a work then what is really to be gained? By putting in your in put in a respectful and kind way you were able to make an impact I show that may make something more clear or create a better solution to a problem. I agree the directories key but we have to draw the line somewhere or we will no longer be collaborators instead we will be servants. Maybe I'm not even saying this and maybe I just haven't learned it because I'm not out of school yet, but I do hope this is something I never have to learn because I'm surrounded by coworkers who understand and support my opinion on the matter. Perhaps this is something for the future decide but at this moment it was kind of irritating to read in this article.
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