What can you do with a theatre degree? A lot more than you’d think
Piedmont College
Were you ever a theatre student? Then this will probably sound a little too familiar. “How will you make any money?” “What are you actually going to do with your life?” “You know theatre is competitive, right?” “Isn’t that just a hobby?”
We’ve all heard it before. A lot. I’ve gotten it from relatives, from friends, from teachers, and even from complete strangers who I’ve only talked to for maybe 30 seconds.
And of course, we know how to respond. But honestly, it gets old pretty fast. So here’s my response to those who ask these questions, to those who support cutting arts budgets in schools, and to those who shame others for following their passion.
In thinking about this idea, I decided to turn to social media, and I asked people to respond to a simple question: “How has a theatre degree been useful to you outside of the professional theatre industry?”
The response was overwhelming! I received over 50 replies, including people so passionate that they asked if they could speak to me over the phone. In fact, I received so many answers that I couldn’t even begin to fit every single skill into this one article.
What follows is my analysis of how a degree in theatre can prepare you for pretty much anything. Here are eight career-making skills that you can learn by training in theatre:
Public Speaking
Okay so let’s start with the obvious. Learning how to perform in front of people literally trains you in public speaking. How is that helpful? Let’s take a look. Teachers speak to full classrooms every single day, constantly having to make sure that they’re keeping their students’ attention. And what about lawyers? Arguing on behalf of your client in order to convince a jury? That’s a performance. And anytime you give a presentation for work or even interview for a job, that theatre training is getting put to good use.
Memorization
If you can memorize a full-length script, then you can definitely memorize whatever comes your way. Theatre students have tons of tricks and tips to help memorize difficult information. For instance, when I was a student I would actually print out my lines, put them in a sheet protector, and tape them to the wall of my shower. That way I could work on memorization without taking any extra time out of my day. Of course, if anyone overheard they probably thought I was super weird… but it worked!
Staying Calm Under Pressure
One of my favorite social media responses came from professional performer, Natalia Soto. She wrote, “An actor's head could literally explode and the stage manager would be like, ‘HOLD. Everyone we're going to take a quick 5 so we can sort out this technical issue. Be back at 6:46’ and everyone would say ‘thank you’ and be punctual to the minute.”
It’s truly amazing what kind of crises we have to deal with on a regular basis. But instead of freaking out and giving up, our theatre experiences have taught us to stay calm, do what we have to do, and keep the show going.
Improvisation
Let’s talk about rolling with the punches. Learning to improvise both on and offstage is a crucial skill for a lot of reasons. I literally lost count of how many teachers reached out to me to share that their improv training is something that they use every single day.
What happens when your students aren’t responding to your lesson plan the way that you expected? Or if something unplanned happens in the middle of class? The ability to pivot and think on your feet becomes second nature in a theatre environment. Preschool teacher Jenn Book Haselswerdt described it as the “‘yes and’ attitude towards whatever’s thrown at me!”
Collaboration
A production is not going to make it onstage without a dedicated team putting it together. Theatre trains us not only to delegate and work collaboratively but also teaches us to work with all different types of personalities. And above all, as School Administrator Elizabeth Garcia emphasized, “We understand the dynamic that working in a community will actually produce a better product than working alone.”
Project Management and Event Planning
Let’s be real here: putting on a theatre production is basically just glorified event planning. In fact, London Docherty wrote, “I work in the events industry now, and every event is just a giant theatre production!” In order to work with a team to put together a production, you must have leaders who are organized, meet deadlines, delegate, and communicate effectively. If the team isn’t coordinating with each other and getting things done in time, a production could be headed for disaster!
Creative Problem Solving
I think it’s safe to say that practically every theatre person has dealt with a seemingly insurmountable problem at least once in their experience. In theatre, we are champions at coming up with creative solutions even in the midst of chaos and crisis. How can you put on a production with barely any money to do it? What if a script calls for a scene that takes place in the middle of the ocean? How are you going to make that happen? We are trained to look at a situation and brainstorm solutions, and we aren’t afraid to try something that might fail.
Handling Rejection and Accepting Criticism
Finally, it is no secret that theatre can be competitive. It’s not always a world that feels kind and welcoming. In order to succeed in any aspect of this profession, you must put yourself out there and prepare yourself to hear the word, “No.”
We are also constantly performing in front of people at our most vulnerable only to receive criticism and then do it all over again. Seriously, what other degrees ask you to reveal your deepest emotions in an 8 am class and then give you a grade on it?
As Elizabeth Garcia commented, “Performers know how to take critical feedback without it crushing their entire soul, particularly in the rehearsal process. We are trained in how to do something, get feedback, and try it again and that’s a muscle we have.” By accepting criticism, applying it to our work, and moving forward, we are practicing skills that can be used in essentially any other profession.
Now that may be the end of my list, but I genuinely believe that I’ve only barely scratched the surface. Here is a list of many other skills that were suggested to me while I was putting together this piece:
Multi-tasking
Communication skills
Meeting deadlines
Active listening
People skills
Attention to detail
Budgeting
Dedication and perseverance
Adaptability
Patience
Knowing when to be a leader and when to follow
Being able to hide your emotions when you need to
Analyzing other people’s emotions
Stamina
Building community
The ability to do fun accents to amuse colleagues and students (Thank you, Mary Schaugh for that one!)
Austin Howeth wrote, “It also kind of helps with ‘fake it til you make it’ like when I worked in the Athletics Department at my school and knew nothing about the sports I was working on!” And Angel Maimone shared, “When I worked at a coffee shop, my customer service was all an act!”
So if you’re a current or former theatre student, I give you this list to send to people whenever they question your choices. And to those who still question whether a theatre degree is the right choice, think about these skills and how they apply to careers outside of the theatre industry, and I truly hope that it helps to change your perspective.