Kenosha Academy of Dance, Music, Drama

THE ADVANTAGES THEATRE STUDENTS HAVE FOR ALL JOBS

What Can You "Do" with a Theatre Major? Plenty!

By Louis E. Catron

25 Special Advantages YOU Have.

Of course theatre students can "do" theatre.  But they also develop a neatly large number of highly valuable skills that make them valuable employees for any job.  This article seeks to help you recognize your special advantages as a theatre student... more advantages than almost all other liberal arts grads have.

In somewhat different form, this was first published in Dramatics magazine.  It has since been re-printed in various other publications, and it also appears on Internet sites hosted by colleges and universities.

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I spoke to a group of business leaders about our college's theatre program not long ago, and after my remarks we had an interesting discussion about what theatre students do and learn.

The executives were particularly interested in hiring people with qualities like discipline, dependability, loyalty, and leadership, qualities that theatre students learn because they must to be effective members of a production team.

One CEO told the group that her company has found that theatre-trained applicants are valuable employees because they're energetic, enthusiastic, and able to work under pressure. She pointed out that they generally have polished communications and human relations skills, and they're experienced at working as members of a team toward a common goal.  Most importantly, she said, theatre graduates have a can-do confidence based on their experience of successfully meeting difficult challenges.

"Theatre students have done extremely well with us," she said, "and we usually hire them because they're well-disciplined workers who learn quickly and give of themselves to the company."

Another business leader agreed:

"We like to hire theatre students," he said, "but it is a shame that when they apply to us they don't seem to realize their strengths and advantages." (Note his last phrase!)

Not all managers are as enlightened as those executives  about the value of a theatre education in many apparently unrelated kinds of work.  (When you apply for a job, you'll have to teach the personnel manager what special advantages you offer the company.)  But the conversation started me thinking about what theatre students learn.

It seems to me that, quite apart from the special skills that they learn to use onstage and backstage, theatre graduates enter the job market with important points in their favor.

First, theatre classes give them the broad vision that all liberal arts students are supposed to acquire in college;

Second, theatre's special hands-on, learn-by-doing environment gives them training, experience and skills that can be valuable in any number of careers.

An examination of a theatre degree's value in finding work outside of theatre is important both for

(a) students who are determined to study theatre and make it their life's work, and

(b) those who are only considering a theatre major among a number of other options.

For group "a," it is highly likely that at some point in their lives they'll have to seek non-theatre employment, either permanently or as a way of keeping body and soul together while they pursue a theatre career. For group "b," "What can you do with a theatre major?" is a question of fundamental importance.

The "two types of jobs."

John Munschauer writes in Jobs for English Majors and Other Smart People that there are just two types of jobs:

Theatre training can be valuable preparation for many of the innumerable careers that fall in the second category.

You need to be aware of the many skills you learn as a theatre major.  Really.  You're a better candidate for employment than perhaps you know.