<p>Is a degree in theater useful? </p>
<p>Will I just be wasting my money on a theater or film degree?</p>
<p>How can I use a theater degree?</p>
<p>You can use at degree in theatre in many different ways, and it is most certainly not a “waste of money!” </p>
<p>Your question of “How can I use it?”, however, is a common one among many freshmen in college. I am assuming you are asking about a general Theatre Studies degree, and if that is the case, there is almost anything you can do with it, although many people do not know this coming in. In many Universities, with a Bachelor of Arts degree, you can focus on dramaturgy, which is the study of the dramatic composition and theatrical representation, criticism, playwriting, theatre management, theatre history, directing, stage management, and sometimes even Acting or Musical Theatre, which many times are a B.F.A. conservatory program. If you want to ensure that you get a job, you could certainly get a degree in the Design and Technical aspect of theatre, which is definitely a large group of people who almost always are employed! </p>
<p>Also, if you mean “would I have the same chance as someone else when interviewing and auditioning for a job in theatre if I they did not have a degree and I did?”, I would have to say that it depends. Plenty of people get cast in professional productions without having a degree in acting, but as always, having a degree in anything simply means that you have studied it and learned about it in depth. Whether that means something to your employer is up to him/her.</p>
<p>The same goes for you: if after researching degrees in Theatre in various schools you still feel that you would not benefit from studying the craft, going to school in this field of study is probably not for you. I hope this helps! I am a freshman theatre major right now so if you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them as best I can!</p>
<p>My husband got a degree in theater and worked as a theater manager, an independent filmmaker, a freelance photographer, and a journeyman carpenter. He was accepted into an MBA program 20 years later and more recently has worked as a financial analyst and a management consultant. One man in his time plays many parts after all. The theater may do a better job of preparing you for the constantly changing modern world than other departments.</p>
<p>I am a firm believer in education for its own sake, not merely for its potential remunerative value. Chances are, you are not trying to decide between theater/film and engineering or another technical degree (if so, there are some very interesting synergistic possibilities), but are wondering whether the degree will be more or less valuable than one in English, History, Anthropology, or Art History. Most theater majors probably won’t end up earning a living as full-time actors, but most other liberal arts majors end up in business, education, law, or almost any other non-technical field. Most college theater programs involve hard work, discipline, inevitable disappointment when one’s passed over for a role, close collaboration with peers and teachers/directors, and learning to participate and contribute to projects from their inception. Can you think of any better skills and experience than those?</p>
<p>There is SO much you can learn with a theater degree, and so much it will prepare you for. Here is a link to a great article:
[What</a> Theatre Majors Learn. What can you “do” with a theatre major? Plenty!!](<a href=“http://lecatr.people.wm.edu/majorslearn.html]What”>http://lecatr.people.wm.edu/majorslearn.html)</p>
<p>@momsterofm:</p>
<p>THAT LINK!!! was so helpful!</p>
<p>I am actually still deciding what major I want to pursue and I was
second guessing the theater design major because, all my friends
and family are telling me… “what could you possible do with that major?”
or told me I won’t make any money.</p>
<p>But I read the options, if I don’t get a job in design, I could try production,
management, there’s so many options!</p>
<p>And while I read the article, I kept checkmarking in my head, which of the 25
advantages, work towards me! :)</p>
<p>I am glad I came upon this article!</p>