Confessions of a Theatre Major

When people learn what I do for a living, I quickly become quite popular at parties.  Inevitable questions about college selectivity, preparing for college, and “so what really is the best school” ensue.  The most popular question I get, though, is “so what did you major in for a career in higher education.”  The answer is often a surprise:  I was a theatre major.

Yes, I was a theatre geek (along with a double major in English, the degree that receives an equal amount of praise as major most likely to lead to a job at McDonalds:  see also Garrison Keillor.)  I picked up the acting bug when I was 16 when I got talked into doing a summer musical production of Sound of Music.  Fellow thespians can relate to that first experience on stage – the exhilaration, the fear, the sense of accomplishment.  It actually offered me the same high as I feel on the soccer field, except I’ve never felt stage fright before a soccer match.

Soon I was heading off to college.  I told my parents that I was going to major in Political Science and get a law degree.  Needless to say they liked that idea.  But, it wasn’t long before I realized I wanted nothing to do with political theory and what I really wanted to do was spend as much time as possible acting and singing.  After all, the people involved were pretty cool and what could be easier than a Theatre major, right?

Here’s a little secret:  being a Theatre major is HARD.  If you are in a liberal arts environment (which I highly recommend, but more on that later) then you are balancing Theatre courses with traditional curriculum.  You still need to take science, etc. as well as your acting and voice.  Not only that, Theatre majors study a lot of history, and Theatre History and Art History courses are quite extensive, along with literary criticism, art, design, and technology.  Then there are the practicum hours.  These are hours spent outside of regular classes and rehearsals honing the non-acting skills in areas of lighting, costuming and scenic design and construction.  Believe me, anyone that doesn’t understand why they need to learn higher math in high school figures out the reason really quick when applied to these skill areas.

And this is the point:  when you are in an undergraduate liberal arts environment, your specific major isn’t as important as what you study.  Yes, this is a highly nuanced statement.  What I mean is, if you major in music or art or history, you are still taking courses in science and math.  But what really makes liberal arts education work is the opportunity to apply that knowledge across different fields.  Musicians will back me up on this – the most successful musicians, composers and producers understand math and science, they have just learned to apply that knowledge to an artistic endeavor.  It is no wonder that I know a number of former music majors who are doctors, lawyers, and even a couple engineers.  The same is true for my Theatre major friends; doctors, lawyers, business owners, corporate leaders.  Did I also mention that Dr. Wife is also a Theatre geek?  How do you suppose we met?

A couple years into my first job out of college, I decided to test the waters and apply for a corporate job.  I interviewed with an international management consulting firm in New York City.  At the conclusion of the interview process, I met with one of the VP’s.  We got to talking and it turns out that this corporate VP actually majored in Dance in college.  He graduated, worked for a number of years on Broadway, went on for his MBA and now he was running a company.  With an undergraduate degree in the arts.

So, when you (or your son or daughter, depending on who is reading) decide you might want to major in the arts, don’t run away from the decision or let someone tell you it isn’t ‘practical’.  Arts graduates get jobs, even good paying ones.  Some do so in their artistic field, but many more pursue careers outside of the arts.  I’m reminded of the NCAA commercials that air during championship games:  going pro in something other than sports.  They are also satisfied with their choices as this recent study suggests:  http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/06/19/arts-graduates-are-generally-satisfied-employed.

Pursuing a Theatre major gave me a number of tools that have helped me be successful.  Critical thinking.  Communications.  Writing.  Creativity.  Problem solving.  Not to mention the ability to accept failure (every Theatre major faces rejection every time they audition for a show) and to persevere.  I’m comfortable in front of large groups of people (useful in my line of work) and I think well on my feet.  Though I never fully pursued a career in Theatre, I use my Theatre major every day in almost everything I do.  Not to mention meeting Dr. Wife.  It is good to be a geek.

College Cost, ROI, Student Loan Debt, and Mass Hysteria

George Orwell truly understood the nature of our society.  In 1984, Orwell creates a society where three ‘states’ exist and the ‘state’ of the protagonist is perpetually at war with one of the other states, thus creating a sense of fear in the populous designed to keep the masses in line.  This approach is not too different from Presidential politics and the usage of higher education as a pawn in this current Presidential cycle to illicit fear and manipulate the electorate.

Lest someone label me some sort of anarchist, let me explain my position.  In an effort to curry favor amongst voters, the candidates have launched predictable salvos at each other designed to create emotional responses from the middle class.  This year’s cause celeb is higher education.  Why?  Because higher ed is an easy target.  Everyone knows it is necessary for success in today’s economy, and everyone knows that it requires an investment.  However, in a down economy, that investment can seem quite daunting.

To stir the pot, the candidates and their surrogates are prone to hyperbole.  They spout scary statistics about the increase in the overall student loan debt without explaining the information behind the statistics.  They bemoan the rise in college tuitions but don’t look at what students are actually expected to pay.  And, they suggest that somehow a college education is less valuable because people are having a hard time finding a job.  This creates hysteria and scares many away from the most important investment they can make in their futures over an unfounded fear. 

So, let’s examine these arguments and infuse a little reality.  We’ll start with student loan debt.  Yes, overall student loan debt has reached record amounts (passing $1 trillion this year).  However, what no one is talking about is why.  Here’s the answer:  more students are going to college, which means there are more students borrowing.  In addition, the student loan debt total is the sum of ALL student debt including graduate school programs and professional programs such as medical school and law school, not just undergraduate.  To put this in perspective, my doctor wife had over $100,000 in medical school loans when she graduated which counts in that $1 trillion.  However, with those loans came pretty great earning potential and, by the way, loan forgiveness programs to help lessen the burden. 

What about the rising tuition question.  Have tuitions gone up?  Yes, they have.  But, when you buy a car, do you pay sticker price?  Hopefully not.  The same is true with college tuition.  Check out this graphic from the NPR Planet Money blog:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/05/22/153316565/the-price-of-college-tuition-in-1-graphic.  What you will see here is that, while ‘sticker price’ has gone up, net price (what you actually pay) has actually gone down as colleges give out more grant aid.  So, over the last 10 years, college actually HAS NOT GOTTEN MORE EXPENSIVE.

Finally, has a college education become less valuable?  One could argue that earning potential has indeed dropped recently for college graduates, but this is not an indictment of the value of the degree, it is a reality of an economy slowly emerging from recession.  In other words, EVERYONE’s earning potential has decreased, but it won’t stay that way forever.  A better question is whether you can afford NOT to get a degree.  Look at unemployment.  The national unemployment rate is 8.3%.  However, the national unemployment rate for college graduates is under 4% while it is over 15% for non-college graduates.  Today’s global economy requires education, and education isn’t free.   It costs money to provide first-rate facilities, keep up with rapidly changing information technology, hire good teachers and, by the way, feed and house students.  Residence halls aren’t tents – they are your home away from home and need to not only be comfortable but conform to codes and regulations for occupancy and safety. 

Let’s go back to my doctor wife.  She comes from a decidedly blue color background.  In fact, she grew up in a trailer.  Today, she is a doctor.  Think the investment she made in her education wasn’t worth it? 

Before you consider running away from higher ed, examine all the facts and consider the investment you are making in yourself and in your future.  If you want to own a home, have a family, be able to take vacation and climb the economic ladder, you need an education.  And now is the best time to go to college.  Why?  Net cost is down and, if you don’t go, do you think you will get a job in this economy?  But if you wait until the economy gets better, you’ll be enrolling in school when you should be graduating and getting the benefit of graduating in a good economy – that is return on investment.