My friend is a freshman in college and she is majoring in media and communications?

Question

but she also wants major in theater because she is very interested in acting and stage directing. She is skeptical about changing her major because she heard a lot about the myths by majoring in theater does not gurantee instant sucess plus her father believes theater is a waste of time but she really wants to study theater. I told her she can minor in theater but she wants two degrees plus she said the workforce does not look at the minor she believes double majoring gurantees more marketabilty. So I am asking anyone can she double major in theater and media business and how is double majoring going to be like for the college student especially for her pursuing two rigourous fields.

She is getting a Bachelor in Science for Media and a Bachelor of Arts for Theater will that make a major difference.

Answer 1

Theatre Doc and I disagree about college. I still don't see how an education is ever a waste of time. I do think that a talented person will get a job with or without a degree, but I do not think getting an education is ever a waste. Depending on where your friend wants to direct, she can start whenever she wants. Community theatres are always looking for new directors and once she gains experience (maybe she can start by assisting someone else) then she may gain a reputation, win awards, meet people and network, etc. Then move up to more prestigious theatres, but I do think she'll have to start at the bottom. It may be a great idea for her to act in plays, of course it would be awesome if she were good...

I do agree that majoring in theatre does not guarantee success. No matter what you major in, it's ultimately up to you and if you're actually good at what you went to school for in order for you to succeed. Theatre is a very difficult thing to succeed in. It's a very exclusive business, even more so than Hollywood and for a female director I would think the odds are even more against her. Having a stack of degrees won't help her if she's not good. She sounds driven which is great, but if it means she can't see the sky for the trees then she'll need to step back from that and remember what her original vision and goal is.

I absolutely wish her the best of luck. I would love to see another female director out there :-)

Answer 2

That was the same problem i had when I started college. I am a communication mayor and I am focusing in PR with a minor in Marketing, that took off a lot of the math classes for marketing. If you want to focus on advertising make sure you have a lot of digital imaging classes. Also if you can get a second language to focus on and maybe even do an internship with that right there will open a lot of doors. Try to get involve in your school's news paper and learn how to write well, and work with their advertising. All of these have been advises from grad students, professors and personal experience. Try talking to people on the field or your teachers, unfortunately advisors are sometimes clueless. Hope this helps and best of luck in school.

Answer 3

a BA in theatre will get you a job flipping burgers. two majors is not the same as two degrees. the only way to become a professional stage director is to get an mfa from yale in directing and then find a job as a stagemanager or go to NYC and find a job as a stagemanager and work your way up. you will have to pass the union test to be a director, maybe to be a stage manager as well. her father believes theatre is a waste of time because it is so very hard to get a job. it is a very small industry and colleges and professional schools have been lying for years telling their students that they are qualified to get professional jobs and that there are professional jobs for them. these lies have swamped the industry with thousands and thousands of unqualified people who think there are jobs for them. that makes it hard to get a job and folks like dad know all about all the unemployed theatre people.. the better route to being a stage director is to be a great actor then producers assume you are also a great director. but it is next to impossible to get work in NYC as a stage actor. I recommend those who want to be actors to skip college and get a head start on their acting careers, As I said above a college degree in theatre is not only ignored by the industry, it is a joke to be laughed at. I am about the only university theatre program director who will admit that. only yale and julliard would be viewed with respect by the industry with a few other colleges not far behind.