What is it like being a theater major in college?

Answer 1

It's a great experience...a lot of hard work but a lot of fun, also. :)

Answer 2

It depends a lot on the theatre program you're in. We've got four completely different variations of a "theatre major" at the college I attend.

Three of them are conservatory programs. They're basically
professional training programs.

The acting conservatory graduates about 12 students each year. They're in classes and rehearsals from about 8:30AM until between 10pm and midnight 5-6 days each week during the fourth year of the program (and very little less in the first three years). About 20 students are accepted to the program each fall, and those who can't cut it are kicked out of the program. (This is also one of the top acting programs in the country, so...).

There's also the design/technology conservatory program. These students have even less free time than the acting students. After the first year, they choose an area of concentration- lighting, sets, costumes, or stage management (I may be forgetting one). They're in class, rehearsal, or one of the shops all day almost every day (and often much of the night, especially when a production is coming up).

The last theatre conservatory program is dramatic writing. This is the closest one to a liberal arts program, and a lot of their work is done independently outside of classes (the upper level classes tend to be a lot of workshopping pieces they're working on).

The non-conservatory theatre programs we've got is called "drama studies" (this one's mine). It's a variation on a dramatic lit program- a lot of the required courses are centered around reading and discussing/analysing play scripts. There's also a practical theatre element. There is one required practical theatre class- a production/direction workhshop; and quite a few other optional practical classes (like acting, stage management, production/technical theatre, etc). Students in the program also do a lot of independent study productions. The time commitment depends a lot on which classes you take and how involved with student productions you get.

I'm in my fourth year in the non-conservatory program. I've generally been doing between 14 and 18 credits each semester, which means about 12-16 hours each week in class. Work outside of class has usually been an extra 1-2 hours for each hour in class (nothing like sitting up all night during tech week reading badly translated, 18th century French comedies...). Since I've done a lot of the practical classes in production/stage management/technical theatre and I've done several stage management independpent studies, I've spent a lot more time working to earn my credits than someone who focuses entirely on the text-based side of the program. When I'm working on a show, it's usually an extra 12-16 hours each week in rehearsals, 4-6 on maintaining my production book and what-not; and during tech, I've done shows where I've been in the theatre working upwards of 30 hours during that week alone.

Most of the theatre programs I've talked to people about fall somewhere between the lit side of drama studies and the conservatory programs. Either way, it's a LOT of work for the credits you get. I personally think that any good theatre program will be like actually working in professional theatre in that if it's not something that you really love you won't make it.

Answer 3

You'll learn if you have thick enough skin to do it professionally! Part of the job of a professor is to teach you what it's like in the "real world". That is rarely nice or pretty.

That being said, if you're prepared for long hours and hard work, it's a wonderful experience. I wouldn't trade mine for the world!

Answer 4

Long hours and few credit hours. Beware the production lab. One credit hr for 4 hrs work. Although that's where the learning occurs in theater. Can you say 'Voice & Diction"?

Answer 5

It's a lot of work, but very rewarding. You will have friends with other majors and you will wonder what they do with their spare time.

Lots of work outside of class, rehearsing, practicing, working on shows. But it can be a great environment, because you will be around other people who are passionate about theatre!

Don't forget your "core" classes, though!

Answer 6

Being resilient, because not only must you overcome the constant pressure from those who believe theater is one step below prostitution, but also your own fear of failure. Stay confident and don't sacrifice your idealism.