Anyone with a theatre degree?

[sam_gordon]

Is being a theater "tech" different from being a performer (as far as finding jobs out of college)? It sounds like most people responding are coming at things from the performer side.

I'd think (hope?) tech jobs are easier to come by. After all, there are theaters across the country along with traveling shows that would employee techs.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

So my dd14, is a big theatre nut... tech. This being freshman year, I was shocked by the level of commitment required for High School Theatre vs Jr High. It is 6 days a week, and you pretty much have to give up everything else.

She is passionate about it. And how can I discourage her passion? All the talk last night at Theatre open house about being a Thespian, and getting a degree in theatre... and well, I have some questions.

My daughter wants to get a college degree in theatre. Not in teaching to maybe teach theatre, but an actual Bachelor/Master Degree in Theatre.

I have to ask, is there anyone here who has a degree in theatre? How did it turn out?

I was a theater major...of my friends, a couple are theater teachers, a couple are making a career of acting/directing in a regional theater, another is high level management at a regional theater, one had a minor role on a big tv show about ten years ago (big enough that he can travel to sci-fi conventions to do signings) but is now working for a computer game company, and most others are working in non-theater jobs of all ranges (many are doing quite well).

I think what she does with her theater degree depends a lot on her drive and motivation.

What killed my desire to to pursue a career in theater was my first three years after graduating...working many hours a day, mostly into the evenings and only having Mondays off, with no vacations, burned me out. I like my 9-5 Mon-Fri. two+ weeks vacation a year with 401k and paid healthplan.

 

[drinkme]

Darn! I posted a long reply and it got "lost."

Anyway, to make it short, I wanted to say you should have your dd audition for everything locally. And not just in teen productions at school, nor teen productions at community theaters. Have her audition for larger regional theaters in your area. When she shows up at the auditions she will see the level of talent it takes just to get in the door. It will be hard to find open casting calls for kids her age, but they are out there. If she gets a role, then she will see if this is something she wants to pursue.

Is she taking voice, dance, & acting lessons now? And not from the local community center. These are things the kids need now. She may be getting the leads in her high school musicals, but that doesn't mean anything if she were to span out to even just a good community theater company.

Good luck with this. My dd15 has been doing theater since she was in 4th grade (mostly all community). She's the kid that usually gets the lead, but she's been working with great actors (adults) and knows the level of talent you need. She isn't going to study musical theater in college. She's just going to stick to community theater. Many of the adults she performs with have musical theater degrees. They sell insurance, teach, & do whatever, but perform in the community, not making a living off of it.

 

[Pigeon]

A lot of my friends in high school were theater people and most of them went on to major in college in performing arts. I'm in touch with most of them on Facebook.

Most of them are involved in theater or performing arts in some way, mostly by doing community theater as an all consuming hobby. They generally have low paying jobs with non-profits, some of which are arts related, and we are in our mid-50s now. One guy ran the local animal shelter, but he just got laid off. None of them seem to earn a good living or has a solid employment history. Most have decided not to have children.

I have a nephew who graduated a few years back with a degree in music technology. He is living in NYC, sharing a tiny apartment in Queens with six other guys, cobbling together a few different part-time jobs. His parents still subsidize him. He is starting to get sick of having no money and no solid job.

My dd is a talented musician and would love to major in music. We aren't forbidding that flat out, but we are making sure she is very informed about the dreadful market for music majors. She's very aware of how difficult it is to make a living as a musician. She's planning to go into the health field as a result, but will play in the orchestra in college for her social outlet.

 

[happily single]

She is still young and has another three full years before she has to decide what to major in in college. By then the grueling schedule and lack of social life may make her change her mind.

If not maybe suggest she double major in college with something that will allow her to support herself

 

[mom2rtk]

I think what she does with her theater degree depends a lot on her drive and motivation.

........ and willingness to go where the work is.

 

[okeydokey]

If I had money set aside for my child's education, I would NEVER tell them they could only use it for majors I felt were suitable.

My daughter has thought about performing arts as a career, also law and writing. There is no way of knowing where they end up, but I sure as heck want her to enjoy the journey there and I will encourage her to follow her dreams. We have talked about a double major as a fall back plan, but ultimately the decision is hers.

 

[mom2rtk]

If I had money set aside for my child's education, I would NEVER tell them they could only use it for majors I felt were suitable.

My daughter has thought about performing arts as a career, also law and writing. There is no way of knowing where they end up, but I sure as heck want her to enjoy the journey there and I will encourage her to follow her dreams. We have talked about a double major as a fall back plan, but ultimately the decision is hers.

My niece is graduating in December with a theater major. Her parents encouraged her to get a business minor. I think she plans to go into the management side of things, but probably secretly hopes to perform.

Ask me in a few years and I'll let you know how it works out for her!

It would make me very nervous as a parent, but I would never tell them they couldn't do it. I would, however, make sure they knew the real life implications of their choice.

 

[mom2rb]

My son is in the process of auditioning for dance scholarships. After he is done with his dance career he wants to be a lawyer. What we are researching right now is the academics that go along with the degree. Some schools the classes are all dance with very little academic classes. We are making sure that he will have the education to move on after dance. This way he can follow his dreams and I know that my son will be able to take care of himself in the future.

 

[Arkansan]

My sister has a Theatre Degree (BA) from a private Liberal Arts college. She moved to NYC a week after graduation and did some off, off, off Broadway things and was an extra in some TV shows, but nothing that would pay the bills. She eventually went back to school and is now an ASL Interpreter--a PERFECT fit for her and a good use of her acting skills as well. She is a pretty animated interpreter. She is well respected in her field and has even signed some Broadway and off-Broadway performances--a VERY difficult job to do and get. She has lots of friends who work in the theatre/tour/summer stock, etc. she also sings in a choir and has sung for weddings.

My DD is considering a Theatre major as well. I would NEVER mandate that my child major in an "acceptable" area. My own DH has a Philosophy degree--always one of the "worst"/lowest paying degrees to get depending which survey you read. He had the second highest starting salary of anyone in our graduating class (and we graduated into the horrible economy/downsizing era in 1992) and is a successful executive with a major American company. Talent and hard work (and some luck/good decision making) are what can make anyone successful, no matter what field entered or degree received. Success is never guaranteed.

 

[DopeyDame]

My sister has an MFA in theatrical design (undergrad degree in Architecture and was briefly a professional architect, but hated it). She is a professional set designer and teaches technical theater at a college. She has a husband and a child and they are comfortably supporting themselves. She has worked pretty steadily since graduating.
Some things I've observed:
1. Performance theater and technical theater are two very different fields. A college with a great performance program (or musical theater or opera or whatever) may not have a great - or even any - technical theater program, and vice versa. It sounds like she's interested in the technical theater part, so be wary of general performance-theater related advice.
2. Being a professional artist doesn't mean being Angelina Jolie or designing sets on broadway. You can make a decent living and work consistently in regional theaters, schools, even in museums or stores or malls, and still be practicing your craft. Any way you can, give her a chance to see professional artists actually at work, rather than having her headfwill up with broadway theater. (Of course, also experience and enjoy broadway theater! Just make sure she learns about the breadth of artistic opportunities.)
3. Education is important, but practical experience and connections are even more so. People are going to be far more interested in her portfolio than in her GPA. Any opportunities she can find to be involved with a production is great and she should jump on it.
4. Being a professional artist looks different than working 9-5. I know this is a 'duh' statement, but it's important to remember. My sister works insanely hard, 18-20 hour days, in the weeks leading up to a production. Then when she's between jobs, she has a lot more flexibility. The traditional ideas of work hours and vacation schedules is totally irrelevant in her life.

Hope this helps!

 

[AprilRenee]

My husband and I both have theater degrees. His is tech, mine is performance.
He works full time in technical theater in St. Louis. We own a house and raise a child on his salary.
I teach/direct musical theater classes for ages 5-18 and love every minute of what I do. Not many people are able to say they're excited to go to work but I am.
Don't discourage her. My parents were nothing but encouraging. They helped me find the best school for me, supported me every step of the way, and I ended up in a career that I love immensely AND one I can do while raising my son. (I work part time and am mostly a stay at home mom, but bring home 10,000-15,000 a year to help supplement my husbands full time income).
We're doing well and both of us talk at least once a week about something we learned in college and how glad we are that we made the college choices we did. We learned much more than just our trade during our college experience and would do the exact same thing in a heartbeat!

 

[mjkacmom]

We gently encouraged dd18 not to major in theater/music. She's been very involved in theater since she was in elementary school, just local community theater and in school. She's had a voice coach for the past 7 years (opera is her favorite). She participated in All State and Regional choirs. She's the kid who, if there is a solo, gets the solo.

She is currently a business major at a large university that has a great music program. She just auditioned into one of two choirs there that allow non-music students to participate (she'll get college credit). She's planning on doing what DH did, and take a lot of music electives (DH ended up with a minor in music). We can afford to pay for about one year of college ($25,000 a year). She will graduate with loans to pay back, and will need a good paying job.

My neighbor, a very talented young lady, graduated from Pace a couple of years ago (also got into NYU, but Pace has a better theater department, and is cheaper). She is a true triple threat - amazing voice, great actor and dancer - plays the piano, flute, violin/fiddle - and has a lot of drive (she's been in a bunch of neat bands, and would be taking the bus into NYC for gigs at the age of 16). I "think" she might be working in some production now, and got to callback #10 for Once. However, every 3 months or so, I get calls from daycare centers in the city, asking for a reference.

Anyway, I expect that music and theater will always be a part of dd. If she ends up living around here, right outside of NYC, there are PLENTY of theater companies she can be a part of. She could even end up using that business degree in some way in the industry.

 

[AprilRenee]

Is being a theater "tech" different from being a performer (as far as finding jobs out of college)? It sounds like most people responding are coming at things from the performer side. I'd think (hope?) tech jobs are easier to come by. After all, there are theaters across the country along with traveling shows that would employee techs.

Yes. It's much different! Most techs I know who continued to want to do theater after school are working in tech theater. There are many tech jobs AND tech theater easily translates itself into other career fields if needed. (Carpentry skills, electrics skills, sound engineering)

 

[Arkansan]

I should add that my original college major was Fine Arts--music, theatre, dance, and studio art. I had performed onstage from age 5, performing in up to 6 shows per year all through jr. High and High School--everything from school shows to community theatre and even one with a professional company. In college, I worked as a performer at a theme park (singing and dancing) during the summer. I performed in a couple of college productions, but ultimately decided that I wanted more time to study for my other classes. I wasn't happy hanging lights or rehearsing or programming the sound board at 1 am. I didn't want to live with 5 roommates in a NYC apartment (like my sister did for years). I still enjoy theatre and will audition again some day--maybe my DD and I could be in a show together. It has enriched my whole life! I was 5 when I auditioned for my first show and was hooked then, but I didn't end up majoring in it. I don't regret that.

 

[lizabu]

I would encourage you to support her in following her dreams. You don't want to be the one she blames for not trying to do what she really wants to do. Who's to say she can't be successful? If she graduates and the work is not in her hometown she can go to where the work is. And like a PP said the skills are transferable to other fields. She will have a degree of any kind which can only help even if she decides to go after a job in a different field. And say she gives it a shot and hates it or fails miserably...life isn't over she can still go back and take something else. There are a lot of people in life who will tell her she can't....don't be one of them.

 

[stsomewhere]

Both of my kids want to persue Fine arts degrees. My husband said that it is fine. They just need to get a college degree.

My husbands opionion is that most jobs want a college degree. It doesn't matter what it is. He is in the computer/ management field. He said that most people working for him do not have computer or buisness degrees.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

DS16 is planning to pursue a theater degree. His focus will be on performance, although he's also interested in the tech side. We are encouraging him to get a teaching credential as well. He would love to do tons of shows and then possibly settle into a teaching job. He performs with a youth theater group and several of the directors have told him he can work tech for the shows they do with younger kids. I cannot picture this kid being happy at a desk or behind a computer screen all day. As long as theater makes him happy, he works hard, and is fully committed to it, we are all for it!

 

[HM]

Both my kids took Tech Theatre classes all four years in HS. They weren't interested in it as a field of study in college though. The work they did HS made them realize it wasn't how they wanted to spend their grown up years.

OP, your daughter may 'get sick' of it and decide something else in HS interests her more. She's got four whole years ahead of her. If for some reason she keeps it up and likes it, there is hope. Some of my kids friends got part time jobs working right out of HS doing the things they excelled at in Tech and are pursing degrees. One does lighting, one is a scene designer/painter.

 

[wilkeliza]

Also even in tech theater it depends on what you know and what your emphasis is. You are much more likely to get a job if you have a specific degree and quirk in that field through school. Like I said my degree is a BA in Theater Arts with an emphasis in Lighting Design and tech. I came it if school with a decent NYC resume as a light board programer and can work any electric crew I'm put on. However, I don't eat to be a techie my whole life I want to design. That is why I am the 1 out of 10 from my program bit working in the field. Designers get much less work than techs so I have an officr job and do theater during the festival season here in NYC. I've also consulted fire a few other friend's high school classes and have dabbled in party design. Currently I make the most but would say out if the ones I kept in course touch with I'm the least fulfilled in life. Yeah I make enough to enjoy Broadway, runDisney trips, abs cruises but everytime I see a show I'm reminded of what chances I gave up for the ability to live my comfortable lifestyle biggest one being fireworks crew at Disney World.