<p>bdwaybound...This topic comes up here often and I understand why. The notion that a degree, let alone a BFA degree, in theater is risky in terms of job prospects down the line...that's the school of thought I hear often in the general public. And it is true that getting performance jobs involves very difficult odds, no doubt about that. </p>
<p>But I look at this quite a bit differently. I'm a parent, by the way. I don't care WHAT subject my kids major in when they are in college. I want them to study whatever subject interests them. Who am I to tell someone else what to study? It is crucial to me that a person picks what THEY want to learn about in college, not what someone else tells them to or not to have someone else tell them they can't or shouldn't go into a field because the prospects for work are slim even though that's what they love to study and do more than any other area. Why would I stop that? I wouldn't WANT to. As well, later in life, someone can resent not getting to have studied or gone for a field they truly wanted to do. (side note....the parent of one of my oldest D's very close college friends has both an undergraduate and graduate degree in architecture from MIT...both these degree programs were heavily demanding....she told me she NEVER wanted to go into that but her parents wanted her to...she never practiced architecture and in fact, is now an accomplished choreographer and founding and artistic director of an opera company that puts on original operas and she has worked for some well know arts production places....nothing close to what she spent years studying in college and grad school) </p>
<p>To me, you go to college to learn...for the experience and the education. What you major in is not the end all and be all. You gain an education and you also delve deeply into a specialty (in this case, musical theater training). Many people major in something in college that is not the same as their eventual career field. But they have that education. They become an educated thinker, skilled in certain areas, etc. They are employable by nature of being educated and skilled. Many skills learned in theater transfer to many job areas in many fields. I once posted here a list of skills learned in theater that transfer to various careers...from an article given out at the Syracuse auditions in fact. So, I don't worry in the sense that I know my children got an education and that is worth many things....the experience itself.....the learning....and that an education can take you places that someone without an education may not be able to go (though it is true in terms of theater, that one must not have a college degree). </p>
<p>Anyway, talking from personal experience, I have a kid who is also a very good academic student like you are. Optimally, her college criteria was to have conservatory style training but in a setting that allowed for some liberal arts, and that the academic setting be a more challenging/selective learning environment. That was ONE of the appeals for her in NYU/Tisch on her list of college criteria. While a BFA student does not study the same amount of liberal arts courses as a BA student, her program does allow for a significant number of liberal arts courses she chooses. Conceivably you could double major though that is very difficult (some do do it) but you can minor in another subject as well. I don't know that my D will do that. But again, another personal reflection that doesn't necessarily apply to every other individual but it is just an example...my D LIKES other things and is skilled at other things....being a musical theater actress is not the ONLY job she will be able to do after graduating even though that is what she will be striving for ideally. But she happens to excel at writing and loves it. She likes to create shows, produce them, direct them, musical direct, choreograph, and so forth. She is an accomplished pianist and is into songwriting and performing material outside the MT genre. Piano bars, cabarets, concerts....also appeal. She arranges music and has worked as an accompanist. She also works teaching MT for children. She's involved in and enjoys leadership in the arts and also social change through the arts. She is only 17 and so I don't know what else she will be interested in or be skilled at but I KNOW she can do more than perform on a stage. I'm not worried if she will ever be able to get work in a general sense. I know it will be VERY difficult to get continual work on stage but if that is not steady for her, she can do other things. Her education will never have been a waste either for the experience, the learning, or the preparation it gave her to take on all sorts of work. </p>
<p>Success is not narrowly defined in such a linear fashion that a BFA in MT is only worthwhile if one gets on Broadway or something. Few will achieve that. But I do believe that her BFA in MT and her education at NYU/Tisch will be a catalyst in her background that will be beneficial to her in her pursuits down the line. </p>
<p>Ask around at these BFA programs about what graduates are doing five years out...many will be working in theater jobs...some on stage, some in related areas...and some will be doing other things. I could say that probably about ANY college major! </p>
<p>One thing, however, is if you are NOT sure about it....a BFA may not be for you. But if you can't imagine studying anything else as your focus in college and where you live, eat and breathe theater every day, then it might be what you HAVE to do because you are driven to do so and nobody could talk you out of it. Frankly, I feel nobody should. For my D, a BFA program in MT is a perfect fit for what she wants to do now and later, but also MT is the core of her being and there is no way to rip that core out...it is who she is. I wouldn't attempt to change a thing about that. I also don't see a degree as being about a ticket to a job. Nothing is certain in any field. But an education NEVER hurts. </p>
<p>Susan</p>