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.