Do you have to get a BFA to make it "in the buisness"?

[alwaysamom]

<p>thespianed, it seems that everyone has covered the answer to your question very well. I will add that one thing to be cautious about is to define ‘making it in the business’ as performing on Broadway. Most actors will never set foot on a Broadway stage, or an off-Broadway one, for that matter. Being an actor is creating your art wherever possible and, hopefully, being able to sustain a relatively good standard of living. </p>

<p>Here is a post that vocal1046 shared with us about Equity members and the amount of work they get. It’s sobering but should be information that every prospective theatre student understands.</p>

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A little reality check here from AEA’s reporting: Of Equity’s 43,000 members, only about 17,000 achieve any (even a single day) of employment in a calendar year. Of those with reported earnings a couple of years ago, about 40% earned less than $5000, another 30% between $5000 and $15,000. 79% of the working members had annual earnings of $25,000 or less under Equity’s jurisdiction. About 11% of those with reported earnings fell into the $25,000 to $50,000 range. Approximately another 10% earned between $50,000 and $200,000. The remaining group – 70 members – earned over $200,000 during the season. That’s 70 out of 43,000 and that 70 includes all the TV and film names who spend hiatus in the theater, so the number reaching middle class (for NYC) earnings, is minuscule

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