Piggy-backing on a recent thread in the Musical Theater forum, I would love to hear from graduates (or parents with children who graduated) with a degree in one of the technical theater disciplines. Are you/they continuing to pursue a career in that field? If so, has employment been more project-based or on-going? Have you/they been able to be financially self-supporting, or have you/they needed to take on a secondary, “survival” job? Or have you/they decided to move into a different field, related or unrelated? Is there anything you would do differently, if you had the opportunity to do so? I would love to hear your stories!
My daughter is graduating in May with a degree in theatre. She has a concentration in acting and stage managing. She sent out approximately 26 internship/apprenticeship applications for SM. Some were for the summer and others were year long. She is waiting to hear back on most of them. Meanwhile she applied and got a real job for the summer for a theatre company’s summer season in Colorado. Had two in person interviews in NYC and was offered the job. Paid position, housing provided. Job found on Playbill.
We’re in the midwest, in flyover country (that is, not Chicago)
FRIEND #1, currently late 20s – went to a local university originally for something like piano performance but switched into tech theatre, emphasis in lighting. After graduating, worked for 3 years at a local after-school arts school, where he was in charge of all their tech theatre, plus taught classes to high school and middle school students interested in backstage (my kids took classes there, which is how we met and how D got interested in lighting). Got additional work with local community theatre groups and private schools; was the local liaison for a large concert tour that comes to town every year.
He did these things for about 3 years, and then quit to do something he really wanted to do – cruise ships. He worked for 2 different cruise lines during this time. He also kept up with one of the community theatre groups and a private school via Skype, continuing to design for them.
Then worked for an east coast theatre for about a year … as I recall, he was actually hired for piano, but obviously made lots of contacts with their tech people. Continued long-distance design work for a couple of places here.
Now based back here, his current main job involves a lot of travel, and I’m perpetually vague on what it is, other than that it involves a lot of large equipment and lighting, but not design work. He does design work for a community theatre group and a private school he kept in contact with all these years. Self-supporting,
FRIEND #2 currently mid 20s – went to a different local university in tech theatre. Works at that same local after-school arts school (took over the job from Friend #1) designing, teaching, building. Does other local events on the side. (SIde note – it’s interesting to see two people from different schools do that same job – there are big differences in how they approach things, which is partially different personalities, but also partially what they learned in school.) Self-supporting.
D will be graduating in tech theatre emphasis lighting from a different university (out of state) this May. She has a summer internship lined up that will provide housing plus pay. This will last until early Sept. At that point she plans to move on to other short-term jobs (eg, Sept to May). She wants to spend at least a couple of years doing this sort of thing, making contacts around the country, before settling down. Her logic is that she doesn’t want to be 40 and wondering what it would’ve been like to live various places. Not interested in cruise ships, but will possibly try a tour.