Why do people go to college for musical theatre?

[freeadmission]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 7:42pm

It may seem like a strange question, but hear me out. We all know that theatre isn't the best paying gig in the world, so why spend so much money (sometimes INSANE amounts, depending on the school), leaving yourself in terrible debt, when you can get much of the same training through experience or a class here and there? If you think about it, studying just plain liberal arts at a small school (as they often are) could be more helpful for your acting than any technical training you may recieve while earning your BFA. Technical things can be picked up "on the job" (so-to-speak) while studying history, philosphy, science, and other such things can help so incredibly much with interpretation of characters, themes, and so on.

I mean, looking at the best colleges thread, people have listed the great stars to come out of thier schools, but what of those who didn't go to school? What of the Sutton Fosters? Are they somehow lesser because they didn't go to school specifically for theatre or acting or musical theatre or even not at all?

Does this make sense to anyone else, or am I just sounding like a nut?

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 7:47pm

Why not? Even if you never get a job in theater, you can always get other employment with a degree. Most positions don't require a specific degree, just a degree.

[kaboodles041]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 7:47pm

Why do people major in English, or any other thing? It appeals to them and they want to learn more about it. I know so many people who have majored in one thing, but didn't necessarily make that their career.

[iheartbeneakeley]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 7:51pm

I know of Broadway actors who have degrees in the most random areas, who got those degrees to please their parents. After/during/before they were working towards said degrees they got their musical theatre training via sporadic classes.

I personally am going to school for musical theatre because i love the arts, but I need guidance perfecting my craft and bringing myself to the level of the professionals. I chose this degree instead of sporadic classes because I honestly didn't want to waste my time or money doing anything else.

And about paying for it -- it can be done if you wait a lot of tables. trust me.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 7:52pm

I agree with both of the above. There is a big misconception that you can only get work in the field in which you get degree. Completely untrue. In fact, 70-something% (I forget the exact stat) of college grads end up working in fields unrelated to their degree.

For most positions (with the exceptions of jobs that require specific training such as teaching, nursing, etc.) a degree is all that's required and the major field is only secondary.

[GirlforTartaglia]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 7:56pm

Why do people go to college for musical theatre?

It's the passion of the craft. My heart is completely engulfed in Musical Theatre and just the attempt at making it my professional career is very tempting, so what's the harm in trying? I shall be doing this (hopefully, if the auditions this November work out) plus majoring in Journalism. A back-up is necessary for this 'risky business'.
I'm passionate about it. That's why.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 8:06pm

every actor has a different path. there is no right or wrong choice.

Posted: 6/9/06 at 8:22pm

If nothing else, after four years of classes and studying and balancing work, school, and a personal life, college gives you self-discipline that you might not otherwise learn.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 8:30pm

I personally would love to major in musical theatre, but my parents won't pay for exactly the reasons you stated. So I have to choose a different major I'm interested in, to sort of pursue as I pursue musical theatre on the side. But regardless, the key is knowing that getting a degree isn't going to guarantee you that job on Broadway.

You can't go up to a producer, show them your degree, and say, "Okay, so when do I start?" We all know that. It's all up to an individual, I guess -- some can get discovered at college theatre, while others may simply do it because that's where their passion is, and passion is worth the money, I suppose.

I'm minoring in it, and majoring in journalism. Both are very awkward majors for their vague fields in the real world, but they're both what I love doing -- writing and acting/singing/dancing. I'm not going to college for musical theatre. I'm going to college regardless, and musical theatre just happens to be there.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 8:31pm

In order to grow as a performer, you need education and experience. You can get those in many ways, from different sources and outlets... College being one of them.

I learned a lot in my college days... and a lot from other sources as well.

College can teach you about the craft, and the history and legacy of the craft. And it can give you a fundamental amount of experience as a performer. But remember that it's an academic environment. That seems to be the hardest thing for "young kids" in theatre to understand.

The "real world" of theatre doesn't operate the same way (not by a long shot), but you can use your college experience to prepare for a performing career.

Oh, and the degree means nothing out there... unless you plan on teaching or continuing to advance in "academia."

[Zachary Goldfarb]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 8:46pm

If you don't have it in you from birth, all that the best college in the world will do is make you a better candidate for a stellar career in community theatre...or maybe if you're really attractive and learn to dance in college, you can spend a few years in the chorus...
If you've got that innate ability to tap into whatever it is that people who work tap into, the reasons to go to school are not to "perfect your craft" - the reasons to go to school are to learn industry...but why go to school to learn industry when you can learn industry first hand?

[JustABroadwaybaby2]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 9:05pm

I think that even if you don't have many stage/tv.movie creds, the training is what matters. So, yes, if you took classes in your town, from professionals, then that is the equivalent of college, eh?
i think that you need something to fall back on, a safety. Are you good at cooking? Drawing? Buisness-ing? You can use that stuff to get a job.
But, hey, I'm getting this from my old, faithful copy from 20 years ago of How To become a Working actor.
Good read.
But, yes, if you had a degree fro something part-timne, you cna do auditions and stuff. Freeadmission, you don't sound crazy, you are totally right-minded!

[freeadmission]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 10:47pm

I just remember what the choreographer from one of my recent shows said, "By all means, be on stage as much as you can, but go to college for somethingthat will pay the bills." I thought she was crazy at the time (I was intent on going to Elon . . . mostly because I live in the area and it's a good program), but now I see that she has a point. I wouldn't take it to the extreme she does, but the fact is you can just as "easily" make it in musical theatre without a BFA as you can with one.

I adore theatre, but I am a woman of many, many, many, many interests (perhaps that's why I love acting so much) so -- since you can perform without a degree, but most schools won't let you teach without one -- as much as I love the idea of immersing myself in theatre for four years, it's just not practical. So I decided to go for a degree in education instead of musical theatre. It just seems to make more sense and I guess I was wondering if anyone else felt the same.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 10:57pm

I don't think a degree in the theater/entertainment field means much, but the knowledge that comes with it does. I don't really care to have a piece of paper saying I graduated, but I'd rather have all the knowledge I've learned over the years about techniques and the experiences I've had. What I'm doing is minoring in something else - that's not theater related - so I have something to do inbetween jobs or if I never get a job, that way I have something to fall back on. I don't want to wait tables for five years, I'd rather have a "real" job.

[WhenURScrap]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 10:59pm

"If you don't have it in you from birth, all that the best college in the world will do is make you a better candidate for a stellar career in community theatre...or maybe if you're really attractive and learn to dance in college, you can spend a few years in the chorus..."


I just want to say how offended I am by this statement, Zachary Goldfarb. I know of several actors working in the field, film and onstage that didn't have the talent back in school that they have in now. You don't have to be born with the talent. That's what education and practice is for. I can assure you none of these Broadway actors were born as leading actors on the stage.

Now my opinion...

I want to major in Musical Theatre because that's all I can see myself doing in the future. Well, besides waiting tables...

[freeadmission]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 11:05pm

See, the waiting tables thing totally pisses me off. After two years, I'm sick of it. It's the people. All the people. And all of them drink that sweet tea that's so damned sweet I'm afraid I'll get diabetes just from LOOKING at it.

So I can't wait tables. School will be my salvation in the fall. At least for a time.

[broadwaybaby221]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 11:24pm

My teacher has a BFA in musical theatre and now teaches musical theatre at the creative and performing arts high school. He was on Broadway for a bit but then had a family, moved back home and got a job. If you go and get your BFA you can teach, which is nice to fall back on.

[WhenURScrap]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 11:25pm

This is true...

[LostLeander]

Posted: 6/10/06 at 12:34am

Because I need some discipline.
I need to concentrate and make stronger the talents I have.
I need a way to approach work.

For me, my talent would only get me so far, college is stretching me, and preparing me for a career, and not just a couple of years of doing what I did in High School and seeing how far that got me.

Some people don't need that.
I know I'm not gonna learn everything I need to know, and that experience is the best teacher, but my training certainly will help.

[elphaba.scares.me]

Posted: 6/10/06 at 12:38am

People go to college for musical theatre because most people who want to do this professionally need to study it in a safe environment.

Very few are given the opportunity to earn professional, on-the-job experience while they are still school-aged. Those who are fast learners can pick things up, but there's not really any substitute for consistent acting classes, for example. Not a few weeks at an acting studio when you can afford it, or an audition clinic here and there, but real training and technique.

Music theatre is the easiest place to fake it, if you know how to put the polish on, but good luck doing a play if you haven't legitimately educated yourself.

I hate to be on a soapbox, but I'm an actor, and I work constantly, both in and out of New York, and I tell every young actor who asks that he or she should go to college if they possibly can. I majored in theatre and minored in music theatre, and it was the best choice I could have made. There are some shortcuts, but not everyone can make a career out of them.

This is a profession. Not a hobby. You'd go to school for whatever other profession you decided to pursue (even if, as some posters mention, you change your mind later) so why not this one? I think investing the energy in learning your trade is an invaluable pursuit. If you're going to do it, I say DO IT. If you plan to have a fall back career (a philosophy I don't believe in), you may as well just go with that.

[broadway_freak2]

Posted: 6/10/06 at 12:45am

Honestly, I will get a major in Musical Theatre because it is my passion, and I don't see myself doing anything else. Like many before had said, sure it's nice to have a certificate saying that I completed my education for my craft, to me it's more about taking the training the school has to offer and perfect my craft to the best that it can be. Sure I am planning on minoring in something else like journalism or interior designing, but my main focus is and will be musical theatre.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 6/10/06 at 3:02am

Dear Freeadmission,

I would say that it is because the days of having someone like George Abbott cast you as the lead in his new musical because he saw you in an open audition are long since over.

People have been going to college for it for about forty years and they are the norm.

[broadway86]

Posted: 6/10/06 at 3:10am

Personally, I'm going to college for acting because that's one experience that I want to have gone through. I'm also minoring in journalism, as a fallback.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/10/06 at 5:05am

I initially went to college for theatre because I burnt out academically in high school. I was sick and tired of having to prove myself, competing with other equally smart people for a top 5 ranking. It was disgusting. I chose musical theatre because I enjoyed it. Now that I'm actually in college, I've discovered that it is a true passion of mine. I can't imagine myself majoring in anything else. I love the theatre as an art form and the classes I take really help me explore all aspects of it. I'm getting lots of experience as a performer and as a musical director. I wouldn't have any of my current credits on my resume if I were focusing on a different major (or if I hadn't worked so hard to get into my college's program in the first place). Eh, that's my story, but I'm sure other people have similar ones.

~Steven