School Theatre vs. Community Theatre

[faithzilla]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 10:54pm

In your opinion-
How does community theatre stack up against high school theatre on a resume for college?

[SamanthaisFierce]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 2:44pm

It's about the same level I would say. Community would be half a notch higher. Neither are a bad thing though, experience is experience!

[Necromancer07707]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 3:02pm

It really depends on the theatre, show, and role. In certain regions there are well established semi-professional community theatres that would look great on a resume. It also comes down to if the roles on your resume are right for you. If I'm looking at a resume that says someone performed as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes and she's clearly not a Sweeney, the credit is disregarded anyway. I'd rather see a resume credit in a small, appropriate role in a high school production than an unfitting lead in a community theatre.

[faithzilla]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 5:05pm

I assumed community stuff would be more impressive. The way I see it, you are not invaluable to the community. They could cast tons of other people. (Unlike high schools, whose shows revolve around who they have.)

My friend, a senior who is attending UNCSA next year, said otherwise. He said that colleges see community theatre as community theatre and that being involved with your school is more important. I'm just not sure...

Necromancer- The problem is that a college audition panel up north isn't necessarily going to know what the good theaters are in Texas. And couldn't the fact that someone looks wrong for a role possibly show they can really stretch themselves?

Basically, I'm trying to figure out if it's going to look bad to turn in my resume with a million high school credits and only a smattering of community theatre credits. What did your resumes look like? Thoughts?

[faithzilla]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 11:32am

Ok I don't want to be annoying but I'm bumping this because I'm really curious about people's opinions.

[taintedxl0ve]

Posted: 3/22/09 at 8:01pm

I'm curious as well, since i have the opposite situation. most of my credits are community theatre, with 1 or 2 school shows, because my school's theater deparment is terrible. i know for a fact that schools aren't too impressed with people getting the lead in every show at the same theater over and over, though.

[Necromancer07707]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 12:11am

In that case, it all comes down to the roles. There's a fine, fine, line (pardon me, I had to) between roles that "stretch" the performer and roles the performer just shouldn't be playing. If you have plenty of high school shows already, go ahead and expand the resume by working with community theatres and showing that you can work in more than one environment.

[amanda44x]

Posted: 4/5/09 at 9:39pm

hey i saw this thread and wanted to give my 2 cents.

i think it depends on the school. but personally, i never did any community theater, any professional theater, or took a single acting class prior to getting into NYU. yes, i was in a handful of shows from my high school, so i had experience, but i wasn't that kid who got the lead in every mainstage.

i think your audition/interview is really the meat of it all. they want to see potential, a willingness to learn, skill to take direction, and most importantly PASSION - because that's something you can't be taught.

and honestly? schools that judge you only by a resume, especially at such a young age....it's like...screw you. haha i don't know, i just never got that.....

hope this helped.
Updated On: 4/5/09 at 09:39 PM