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Thursday, October 22, 2020
'Death of a thousand cuts': theatre degree closures could wipe out future generations of Australian performers
Australian universities | The Guardian: Teachers are warning that the future of the Australian arts and entertainment industry is under threat as theatre degrees are cut across the country.
Among the wide staff and course cuts prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, multiple theatre and performance degrees have been closed or suspended indefinitely in recent months.
Reading this article was extremely disheartening as it seems as though arts education is always on the line of being cut, and now it is actually happening. This is unfortunately not the first article I have seen in recent weeks that has discussed the cutting either arts or humanities degree programs. This article touches on the many areas that will be impacted as theater degrees are eliminated, but also university faculty and staff and the surrounding area of the university that widely benefits from these programs. It is absolutely infuriating that theater programs and art programs in general are always under threat of being eliminated or defunded. From government campaigns to get people out of the arts industry and into STEM related fields to the defunding and removal of theater degree programs, it is alarming to see the lack of support the industry is getting at a time when it is very necessary.
While I definitely think that it’s a shame they had to close down a department I’m honestly not too worried about it. I know this happened in Australia and I don’t know how much collage is there but In America it is debatable if a formal college education is even worth it. I think gaining knowledge and an education is so important and it’s a reason why we are alive in the first place. I think it’s just a western idea though that we need to get a Formal college degree to succeed. Particularly in the arts, it used to be that you got an apprenticeship to learn the skills. And honestly in the age of the internet, you can learn most industries online, especially the arts. It’s true that governments and colleges want money-making degrees so the arts will always be less funded then other disciplines and that is a shame because so many industries are enriched by and need creatives. I might just be a pessimist but I really don’t think it’s worth almost 80,000 dollars a year for an arts degree. Because the market demand for artists isnt that high but we pay the same amount for a law or engineering degree when they are going to make so much more money right out of college. I don’t know about most artists but that is disheartening, especially when you don’t have a parent helping you. I have to pay for college on my own but I think the whole college system is messed up and I almost didn’t come to college because tuition is insane.
I remember reading an article about a similar situation weeks ago and thinking "this is sad, maybe they could follow examples of other schools and save the department that way?" But here we are, at the beginning of what seems like a much too common thread - the cutting of "unessential" performing arts out from our lives. This nicely connects to the other article I read about "Nicety, not Necessity" - it explained the situation that everyone was experiencing by pointing out how we all want theater to be a necessity, especially as theater people, but it's not. And this pandemic as opened our eyes to how social justice and reform, movements of solidarity and revolution are possible without theater being prominent. Even though there have been so many nails in the coffin of theater over the years, like film and TV and the internet, it seems like COVID-19 is giving everyone excuse to pack it up for good. Not that I think that will ever happen completely, but it is really disheartening to see how people seem to be giving up.
3 comments:
Reading this article was extremely disheartening as it seems as though arts education is always on the line of being cut, and now it is actually happening. This is unfortunately not the first article I have seen in recent weeks that has discussed the cutting either arts or humanities degree programs. This article touches on the many areas that will be impacted as theater degrees are eliminated, but also university faculty and staff and the surrounding area of the university that widely benefits from these programs. It is absolutely infuriating that theater programs and art programs in general are always under threat of being eliminated or defunded. From government campaigns to get people out of the arts industry and into STEM related fields to the defunding and removal of theater degree programs, it is alarming to see the lack of support the industry is getting at a time when it is very necessary.
While I definitely think that it’s a shame they had to close down a department I’m honestly not too worried about it. I know this happened in Australia and I don’t know how much collage is there but In America it is debatable if a formal college education is even worth it. I think gaining knowledge and an education is so important and it’s a reason why we are alive in the first place. I think it’s just a western idea though that we need to get a Formal college degree to succeed. Particularly in the arts, it used to be that you got an apprenticeship to learn the skills. And honestly in the age of the internet, you can learn most industries online, especially the arts. It’s true that governments and colleges want money-making degrees so the arts will always be less funded then other disciplines and that is a shame because so many industries are enriched by and need creatives. I might just be a pessimist but I really don’t think it’s worth almost 80,000 dollars a year for an arts degree. Because the market demand for artists isnt that high but we pay the same amount for a law or engineering degree when they are going to make so much more money right out of college. I don’t know about most artists but that is disheartening, especially when you don’t have a parent helping you. I have to pay for college on my own but I think the whole college system is messed up and I almost didn’t come to college because tuition is insane.
I remember reading an article about a similar situation weeks ago and thinking "this is sad, maybe they could follow examples of other schools and save the department that way?" But here we are, at the beginning of what seems like a much too common thread - the cutting of "unessential" performing arts out from our lives. This nicely connects to the other article I read about "Nicety, not Necessity" - it explained the situation that everyone was experiencing by pointing out how we all want theater to be a necessity, especially as theater people, but it's not. And this pandemic as opened our eyes to how social justice and reform, movements of solidarity and revolution are possible without theater being prominent. Even though there have been so many nails in the coffin of theater over the years, like film and TV and the internet, it seems like COVID-19 is giving everyone excuse to pack it up for good. Not that I think that will ever happen completely, but it is really disheartening to see how people seem to be giving up.
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