blueskies1108

MomCares - very possibly! My D will be attending CCM in the fall as a freshman. When we met with Aubrey Berg last week - his message was (not a direct quote) - if you can imagine yourself doing anything else - please go run and do that. If you have to do this, our mission is to challenge you and train you so that you have a better chance of working in this industry. He made a point, of saying that doesn't necessarily mean broadway.

MomCares

@blueskies1108 - We cross posted! Based on D's friends at CCM, your D will get some of the finest MT training available anywhere and with one of the most reasonable pricetags going, so I think you made a FANTASTIC choice and congratulations to her!!

MomCares

>> And, honestly, if I thought my D might discover a love of neuroscience, or law, or business - I would be much more likely to push for a school where those choices would be an option.


In the interest of full disclosure, D is in the third quarter of her freshman year and hasn't yet discovered her inner neurosurgeon. ;-D

She did, however, call in tears last quarter because she had signed up for an extra academic class, planning to drop at least one after she got a feel for the various profs, but had fallen SO in love with EVERY class that she couldn't figure out which one to drop. Her words were "not only is every textbook interesting, but the professors WROTE the textbooks!" We saw that as an encouraging sign that in her case pursuing broad interests was a great choice

blueskies1108

Thanks MomCares - she certainly feels very lucky!

soozievt

I agree with AlwaysAMom's points.

I agree that many professional actors might say to get a degree in something else for the reason that they know how hard it is to make it in theater and so might encourage someone to pursue another educational path in order to have better odds of being employed in a field other than acting.

I agree that not all BFA kids have a narrow focus! My kid obtained a BFA and I don't think she is narrowly focused on just performing in musicals. For one thing, her BFA program included quite a bit of academics (NYU). She did not only learn to sing, act, and dance there! Further, her professional life includes many facets of the arts....performing in musicals/theater, singer/songwriter, MT writer/composer, musical director, and so on. I don't feel her life is narrowly focused! Not to mention she has many jobs and is constantly working 24/7 in her field. And since Disney was mentioned, I will add that a couple of hours ago, my D was just hired by Disney as a writer/composer!

A BFA or BA.....neither one means a career that is totally narrowly focused or that a graduate can only do ONE thing.

MomCares

>> ... a couple of hours ago, my D was just hired by Disney as a writer/composer!

Congratulations on your D's latest adventure!! We have friends who have composed songs for Disney films and it was rewarding and fun work for them. Plus even Brent Wagner at UMich credits Disney with helping to save the American musical art form. ;-D

soozievt

Thanks, MomCares, this is for the division that creates musical theater works for Disney theme parks and cruise lines, not the films.

However, a local girl a little older than my D (who was in school shows with her), wrote the song at the end of one of Disney's most recent hit animated musicals. Yay for the girls from our little rural town (the other young woman is known nationally at this point). Neither of them are trained as composers or songwriters.

churchmusicmom

Well, maybe they were just being nice, but these particular people (who were Broadway veterans) were telling our D (and us...we were at the wrap party with her when the show she was in with them closed) that they were impressed with her and felt she would get more work if she wanted to pursue that without majoring in MT or dance, etc. I do know that they were also offering this advice from their vantage point....and saw that our d had an opportunity by going to school in NYC to pursue other interests if she so desired.

I must admit that a big part of me WISHES she had "gone for it" and was still performing. And part of her does miss it terribly. She has a dancer friend who met her husband while performing on a cruise line (he is a musician). They spent a few months last year together performing on a cruise ship in Europe and of course we all got to see all the beautiful and exciting photos on Facebook. She commented that if this neuroscience thing did not work out, she'd love to be a dancer on a cruise line.

I admire all of you who are supporting your kids as they pursue their dreams. And I think it's wonderful that there are so many different dreams out there to pursue!!

soozievt

^^Well, THAT's the key......go after your dreams, whatever they may be.

Even better is having parents support your pursuits.

And don't worry about what others say to discourage you.

srw

I certainly wasn't trying to discourage anyone, I just feel that there is more than one road to "Rome", and was passing on some info we had experienced into the mix.

And I do feel that it is important to go into this with your eyes wide open, hopefully by understanding and accepting the reality of this field it may soften future broken hearts.

-Said by a mom with a son with a performance degree.

amtc

churchmusicmom - it's never too late! We have a friend who is a nuclear physicist, then a stay at home mom, now at age 40-something, a cabaret singer with a growing audience! Things do change.

jeffandann

Very helpful input here. It's amazing how you can get completely opposite opinions on things depending on who you talk to!

Gwen Fairfax

D has been told exactly this, over and over-- in fact it seems the more successful the actor, the more likely he/she is to say this.

But D is D-- she sees the world through theatre-- which is a pretty wonderful literary/historical lens. She feels as if she has waited all these years and NEEDS to immerse herself in theatre now.

As amtc points out, lives are so long now they not only have second acts, but third and fourth and fifth acts. I'm figuring she will go where theater leads her--(she is also very funny about what she's doing for the world by not trying to become a brain surgeon.)

mtdog71

I have to agree with others (in fact I have never heard any not-for profit MT educator disagree): If you can remotely see yourself in any other career besides that of a performer, please go do that other thing. This business is way to competitive, there are way too many persons trying to be performers - there are not enough job opportunities. there is very little stability.
Okay - we got that out of the way. Next to consider a path if you do want to perform. Yes there are cases of persons having wonderful careers with no academic training at all, yes there are those who attend mediocre training programs, or who just keep their foot in the door and still go on to have good careers. However, by and large and on the average, students who attend really good training programs are better prepared and fare, on average, much better than those who attempt the same course without concerted study and preparation. This is true in life - some of the richest people in the world dropped out of school - but, for the most part, folks with higher degrees make higher wages. Performing arts is a tough and often dicey game - which is why I say do everything you can to increase your odds. Some say "luck" is what happens when a good opportunity meets good preparation. So in terms of the discussion at hand, I offer this - go into this whole hog, jump in with both feet - do not have a back-up career - that usually assures you will go into the back-up career. Along that line, if you find (after a four year degree and two years trying to "make it") at age 26 you are not going to make it as a performer - you could then do 2 additional years in pre-med, spent 5 years in med school, and at age 33, have a 35-year career as a doctor. The bottom line, in my opinion, if you really want to do this - get into the very best four year BFA university that you can afford - go for the gold! Good luck and best wishes...

kylerkays

Very good stuff here!