<p>This is my first time here, I hope i can post this correctly…my daughter is in her third year at csu. Shes a theatre major and her interests are mainly Childrens Theatre. Shes got a wonderful resume. Stays very busy acting in plays for the Theatre Dept. and also performs locally. She also is taking 19 hours of credits. Alot of her credits did not transfer over from another school and also because of her busy acting schedule it is taking her longer to graduate. Most of her friends who majored in other fields are graduating this year. We support her 100 percent when it comes to following her dreams. Shes really good at what she does. She does suffer with her grades tho except for all her theatre classes. Shes very motivated tho when it comes to performing. She loves musical theatre as well. She works for Disney during the summer months. As good as she is as a parent I am worried about her future. Disney pays 7 dollars an hour! I dont really voice my opinion to her because I dont want to discourage her. We are always telling her to make sure she is happy with whatever she choses as a carreer. I guess Im just a little nervous when it comes to her survival after graduation. I know she is making wonderful memories right now but sometimes I wonder is all this money for school going to pay off for her future?</p>
<p>First, her education might be a perfect starter for her future. That will depend on what she does with it.</p>
<p>Second, the performing arts are a tough business. I know a little more about the movie and television businesses than live theater, so my comments may or may not apply to theater. Of course, you and daughter probably know this already, too. Show business is brutal if you want to be an actor, writer, or director. The competition is unbelievable. Your daughter might be the best actor in the whole world and never make a living at it if she isn’t in the right place at the right time, or doesn’t have the pig-headed stubbornness to keep going to auditions, or even doesn’t have the “right look” for what would otherwise be a perfect part. A close friend of mine from high school theater has now had a successful career in feature films and on television. To get here, she starved for ten years, acted in some films that she won’t even put on her resume, acted in three or four television pilots and two shows that were canceled in their first season. Ultimately, at nearly 40, she hit the jackpot for a working actor – she landed a regular role in a television series that ran for more than five years. Until then, her life was a constant financial drama where she tap-danced on the edge of ruin. The difference between my friend and most people who try to make a career of acting is that she eventually made a living at it.</p>
<p>The difference between acting and being – for example – an accountant is that you can be a great actor and starve, whereas a mediocre accountant will always be employed.</p>
<p>We don’t even need to go into the sleazier aspects of show business.</p>
<p>I share your concerns. My 15yo son (WashDadJr2) is set on becoming a film maker. He is very talented for his age, but it’s just as hard a path as becoming an actor. The difference is, I suppose, that someone who wants to make movies could always make a living in show business in cinematography, art direction, asst director, producing, or the other dozens of business and craft specialties involved. That’s what I tell myself, anyway. Good luck!</p>
<p>As the father of a visual arts major, I feel your pain. My D is pragmatic about the future. She doesn’t expect to be rich and famous from her art, but she can’t imagine not making art. She is realistic enough to know that she may need another job, even full time, to do so.</p>
<p>I imagine it is even harder in the acting world. We can steer them out of the nest, with some basic flying lessons, then they are on their own. That, for me, is the hardest part.</p>
<p>Best of luck. Sounds like you have raised a passionate young adult.</p>
<p>welcome dianeualfly,
May I suggest that you also post your thread in the special forum for musical theater majors and arts majors? There are many parents who have been “in the same boat” you are in who are frequent contributors to those forums. You can find the link to these forums on the main index page under the heading “College Majors.”</p>
<p>I just got back from Disneyland. Do all those talented singers and dancers really get only 7.00 an hour? Bummer . . .</p>
<p>My talented D just graduated from Rice as a vocal performance major (BMusic). She landed an excellent job ($$$) with a top insurance company in environmental claims! She interviewed well and used her poise that she has developed through performing for so many years to get this job. She had great grades and graduated cum laude. She plans to work for a year or so and then attend seminary. There IS hope for performance majors!</p>
<p>My background is in improvisional theater, and after many different types of jobs in which my skills being able to talk and respond to various types of clients, I’m now in marketing, doing tons of creative writing and sharing my “gift” of being able to spontaneously respond and interact. Majoring in theater doesn’t have to mean you pursue acting as a lifelong career. And oh yes, as noted above, my interview skills are far better than most due to my performing background.</p>
<p>Hey, don’t misconstrue my post. You can learn a lot of valuable things in any course of study. My only caveat to a young actor is that making a living as an actor is incredibly difficult, and reallyreallyreally wanting to be an actor still may not be enough.</p>
<p>My d sort of took a different tack on this. She is a dancer and loves to perform. However, she also loves the “academic” side of things and attends Barnard in NYC and is currently studying neuroscience. She also auditions in the City when her schedule allows and has done well, landing a summer job last year and definitely getting second “looks” at some major auditions. Thing is, she is able to approach it all with a pretty relaxed attitude because she has other pursuits she also values. In fact, if she did get some of the gigs she has come “close” on, it would be a really tough call as to what she would do. </p>
<p>I totaly understand where the op is coming from, though. I have another child trying to “make it” in the music business and that is so very, very difficult! Hang in there, they will find their way!</p>
<p>There is nothing scarier than sending your child out into the world into a profession where 95% of the people are unemployeed. And most of them don’t have a “Plan B” because there is nothing else in the world they want to do beside act. Or in our case – dance. Their heads understand the world out there, but they think with their hearts. All you can do is give them your love and support. And probably some money.</p>
<p>from a parent of a kid majoring in Theater and Dance</p>
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<p>My d grew up looking up to a particular young woman as a role model for becoming a dance professional. When my d was very, very young, this young woman was touring in national tours, playing large regional theaters, became a Rockette, and was in a Broadway show (Producers). But then my d got a bit older and realized that this (now 30-ish) young woman was still getting a great deal of financial support from her mom. </p>
<p>It is, indeed, a tough, tough life. I am forever grateful to this young woman for providing a role-model (good and bad) for my d.</p>
<p>This topic comes up now and then over on the music majors’ forum, too. Two of my 3 kids are music performance majors (rising senior and freshmen), so this is a topic near and dear to us. Although it is certainly true that the number of folk who actually get to become “rich and famous” are limited, there are a variety of related jobs out there. </p>
<p>Every once in awhile, I browse the staff bios on the Juilliard web site. Juilliard likes to hire folks with performing arts backgrounds. Many of the people – from admissions, to wardrobe and set design, to box office, to administrative assistant – have arts degrees. And many of them are still performing. Just not full time. A friend graduated this year from a small, non-audition school in Georgia as a theater major. He starts a 9 month job at a small theater in Pennsylvania next month. It’s not Hollywood, it’s not Broadway, but it will pay some bills.</p>
<p>It is a standing joke with my S2 (the rising senior at Juilliard) that he has no back-up plan. He has very definitely put all his eggs in one basket, and is pursuing his dream whole-heartedly. Like your D, he is doing this with our full permission and support. I do believe he will “make it” one way or another.</p>
<p>I have a friend who consistently made $100k or more each year as a speech and “acting” coach for lawyers. He didn’t make it in acting in his 20s and 30s, as he was no “heart-throb”. In his early 40s, he seems to have been rediscovered as a villian/hard-edge type, and now makes big money in the Boston theater market, teaches at one of the colleges there, and still has his coaching business. He is doing very, very well.</p>
<p>My son is preparing to audition next year for music school, with the goal of receiving a BM in music performance. </p>
<p>There are clearly majors that will more likely yield lucrative careers, but like Binx’s son, mine is going to put all his eggs in one basket as well. He would not be happy any other way, and so we support him 100%. I also think he has the talent and personality to make it doing something related to music, even if it isn’t only performance.</p>
<p>I do completely understand the OP’s concern, however.</p>
<p>I supect my soph d will follow some type of artsy/performing/music path. I have been quite clear about the odds, and will not be converting our home into a mother/daughter anytime soon. She’ll have to give violin lessons out of her apartment between waitressing jobs if a career doesn’t materialize. I have not yet whispered the following into her ear at night as she falls asleep: “It’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man.” Perhaps I should start?</p>
<p>She’s a top science student, but has no interest in that. In fact, H is mentoring a friend’s son involved in a science reasearch program that will lead to entering Intel and other science competitions. I suggested she tag along on some of the cool experiences & research opportunities with our friend, just to see if it would inspire her. No dice. I think because she’s had so many music teachers/mentors who have been able to pursue their love part-time, she’s not too stressed about a full-time career not panning out. Or maybe she’s just overly confident that she’ll be the one in a million to make it.</p>
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We’ve been telling our S2 for years to marry a doctor. :)</p>
<p>binx, better switch that to investment banker. Docs are no longer rolling in it like they did in the old days.</p>
<p>Pursuing theatre as a career is a tough road to be sure. But going out into the world after a college career that’s taught you to communicate well verbally and non-verbally, summon poise in front of an audience, and assess how to connect with others is an unparalleled asset. As a college administrator with daughters who are very invollved in theater, I used to tell my daughters that a B.A. in Theatre might be the most practical and useful major of all (though neither of them seem to be taking me up on the suggestion).</p>
<p>This topic comes up on CC quite often, either on the Parent forums or on the Musical Theater or Music Forums. I think I have written about it several times. </p>
<p>I have a daughter pursuing a BFA in Musical Theater. I can’t imagine her NOT pursuing this field. It has been a lifelong passion and she is skilled at it. I have never questioned it and do not have qualms about it at all. Yes, it is a difficult field to make it in. Some of this depends on what you call “making it.” If it is narrowly defined as getting onto Broadway, then very few will “make it.” </p>
<p>However, I have no doubt she will work in some capacity, at some level, in her field. She is going for it full throttle as a musical theater performer. However, she has other talents and skills besides performing (as I imagine many do). In her case, she is skilled at musically directing shows, creating shows and music, and piano accompaniment, as well as being a gifted writer. She is already paid to do jobs in these areas and is currently 18 and a rising college junior. She knows if she doesn’t get work on stage, she can do this related work which she also enjoys and can earn money doing, even while on the audition circuit. </p>
<p>Besides jobs in her field, she will have a college degree. I believe a college degree is a big plus in employment in most any field. Many people don’t work at jobs that are in the field in which they majored (though I predict she will) and are skilled at thinking and writing and have a strong knowledge base to do a variety of jobs. In fact, there are a myriad of skills that a theater major possesses that translate well into the work force. </p>
<p>We are truly behind our daughter 100% of the way. I also do not see a college education as having value simply as to what jobs it enables one to get. In her field, a person can be cast on Broadway with no college education at all. A degree is not a necessity to get work. However, her degree will enable her to have an educated mind and an educated mind never goes out of style. Further, she is getting professional training as well in her field of passion and that training does prepare her to be competitive in the field, as difficult as it may be. So, her education is worth every penny, particularly when I hear her tell us how fantastic she finds her program/college and how much she is learning and growing. As they say, priceless. </p>
<p>While there are many parents who are not into their kids pursuing the arts, and that is very common, we are not among them. We never even discussed whether our D would pursue this field. It was a given as it is inextricable to her being. I also think this is hard for those who are not parents of artists to really understand that the arts is at the core of these kids’ being and that their gifts cannot be squashed. I could never hold my kid down and would not want to. I also know she won’t be having to waitress to earn money. She already earns money working in her field, and at a decent rate and doesn’t even have the degree yet.</p>
<p>Our D has been passionate about all aspects of vocal performance and musical theater for many years, but also has a very practical and “academic” side. While applying to college, she always said she wouldn’t major in music because it was impractical. So, with her NMS in hand, she got into a top competative school with a major in International Relations. Within days of arriving on campus, she auditioned for a made the premier co-ed a cappella group and chamber singers. Her initial advisor (they are somewhat randomly selected) was head of the dance department and thus D ended up in a dance and acting class. By second semester, she was declared double major, IR and Music. She took advanced music theory, continued singing both a cappella and chamaber and then, to top it off, auditioned for and got the lead in the musical…As she finishes her first year, she is planning on audtioning for the musical in the fall. </p>
<p>Bottom line, despite the small voice inside telling her to be practical, the passion is winning. We continue to support and congratulate her on her music related accomplishements, but want her to stick with her double major in International Relations. By doing so, she will have a broader education than if she only majored in music. She will have experiences, such as internships and study-abroad that will continue to enrich her learning and hopefully, in the end, provide her with options and choices. We have always told her to get her degree in something “marketable” or applicable to a career outside of performance. Then, when she graduates, if she wants to try and pursue a career on stage, she should go ahead and try. </p>
<p>Funny thing, she got two jobs this summer; Working in the CSU Administrative Offices in contracts (thru a connection) and as a part time Cantor at a temple in the area! She also has a few private voice students from the local middle and high school. I think she “gets it!”</p>