MT is my life, and I honestly couldn’t picture myself being happy doing anything else. I will go on to study MT after high school, and hopefully make a career out of it, but there is one huge problem, money. It is no secret that MT is super competitive and that it’s not the ideal profession for making money. My only concern with majoring in musical theatre is that when I get old and am no longer able to perform, how will I make a living. My question is how can I make money in theatre? I am also interested in being a psychiatric nurse, but that is a little weird combination of theatre/psychiatry? Would it be wise to major in MT and minor in a mental health field? I don’t want to double major because I feel like that would be completely overwhelming. ALL ADVICE AND OPINIONS ARE WELCOME! Thanks!
My opinion… You may technically get too “old” to kick your leg up like you can now (and heck, too “old” could be 75!), but I see no age boundary to singing and acting. Act 'till you drop!
That being said, many people will say that if you can see yourself doing something other than MT, then pursue that. There are numerous opportunities to perform in MT in local theatres while working your day job.
Day job - 8:30-4:30
Theatre rehearsal - 7-10.
@daja2016 - you are not alone in your concerns. There are multiple past threads on this very subject. This is just one.: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1318265-what-future-are-our-mts-training-for-p1.html
If I recall correctly, last year fewer than 20% of Equity members booked any work, and the average annual pay of those who did was under $8,000, so clearly even most professional actors earn the bulk of their income doing something else. I think it is very rational to give thought to survival skills, and nursing sounds like it might be a good one.
Also, double majoring in 4 years is possible in some schools. I know kids in D’s program who graduated in June and have already taken or will soon take the LSAT and MCAT. And those same kids are already booking solid MT contracts, so splitting their focus in college doesn’t seem to have limited their performing skills.
By the way, I don’t consider facing the financial realities of the profession as being negative since the rubber will eventually hit the road for most actors whether they plan for it or not, and those who survive long term will likely need a flexible skill set that extends beyond performing.
A thread with lots of statistics about the realities of trying to make a living on stage:
Well the above post #4 referring to that thread with all the statistics makes me want to start bringing home brochures on teaching and nursing and any job but MT…
My daughter has decided to get extensive training in stage managing, stage combat and props to help her find a job after graduation. There are tons of artistic things one can do while auditioning and in between gigs.
My son is sort of already doing this in the summer…he’ll have some kind of low-paid acting gig, a part-time job and set construction work/catering/whatever anyone will pay him for work when he can get it. Of course he’d love to have the kind of acting job where none of that was necessary, but in the meantime,it works.
@daja2016 I’ll let you in on a little secret: I am a psychiatric nurse and have tried to get my MT daughter and my musician son to go that route for some security, to no avail. However, I think it is a FANTASTIC idea. You can make quite good money working a few shifts a week, and off hours, allowing plenty of time for auditioning. And if it interests you, there is the bonus that it might be a survival job you love. I live in quite an artsy community and a lot of the psych nurses I know are artists on their off hours. It really is a fine life! :-bd
Another benefit is that studying psychology seems like it could be extremely compatible with acting, which involves inhabiting other people’s realities.
In full disclosure, since a year ago July our MT D has beaten the odds and earned a very decent living performing, without survival jobs, but none of us assume this will always be the case.
I’m not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere in this thread but (while not exactly “theatre”) film and TV are probably the best ways to make money performing, so if you are suited to film it may be wise to add training in acting on camera to supplement MT income.
Double majoring (BFA; 4 years) and doing well enough to get into med school isn’t likely. It would take an extraordinary amount of effort. The first cuts for schools are based on MCAT and GPA. Plus you need to have shadowing opportunities. No idea where you would possibly fit all this in with a BFA. I cannot speak to nursing requirements.
@Walker1194 - The MTs I know who have taken the MCAT and LSAT attended Northwestern University and completed double majors in 4 years. They were fully involved in the MT program including many shows plus involvement in a cappella groups, and they have graduated and have booked professional MT work. I can’t say if this is possible in other programs, but I know it can be done at NU.