<p>We actually don’t worry about much future employment. D is well-informed about the industry and understands what she is facing as much as an 18-year-old can (and she is much wiser and more mature than I was at 18). The odds are completely stacked against her, she will likely never set foot on a Broadway stage unless it is on a backstage tour, she probably won’t be able to pay subway fares with acting earnings, but she actually relishes the challenge. She knows that luck and fortunate circumstances will play as much a role in an acting career as talent and training, but with persistence, passion, and hard work, you can, to some degree, create your own luck and favorable circumstances. And she is very persistent, passionate, and hardworking (and at least slightly talented). Plus, the professional world is still years away. A lot will happen between now and then. If she ends up back in Texas teaching Middle School Theatre, I am confident that she will ultimately be happy as a clam (job prospects for theatre BFA’s from her PAHS are actually pretty good in Texas - fracking pays for lots of teachers and she already has the start on the right pedigree and connections for our area).</p>
<p>We know to avoid at all costs letting her be saddled with any significant amount of college loan debt.</p>
<p>As parents, her mom and I aren’t worried about what school she attends, just that she will be disappointed if she does not get an acceptance from an audition-based program. At this point in d’s life, the college audition process has a certain formality and air of finality about it that seems to elevate the fear of rejection into some foreboding, dread and not a little terror. She has some experience with professional auditions (Equity role, major opera house, got down to the final 2) and she faced them with a lot more aplomb than her college auditions. </p>
<p>I am sure that by May everything will work out for the best and d will be busy rounding up a roomate and picking out bedspreads, but, for now, d and her friends (and all of us parents at her school) feel kind of like Frodo and Sam looking at the Black Gate of Mordor.</p>
<p>But, like they say in Avenue Q, “It’s only for now…”</p>
<p>I must say that we have definitely had the talk of “what success means” at my house. Yes, the dream is to perform, and hopefully one day on Broadway, but reality is that even the Suttons, Kellis and Idinas of this word who make it big there are only there for a short time. My child is very grounded on this topic, and while she won’t keep herself from dreaming “Big” and pursuing her goals, she is ready to keep all of her options open and just be happy working in the entertainment industry. At one of the colleges we visited last year, the head gave a fabulous talk about how all kids enroll in MT programs as Performance Majors but in college many discover (or hone) other talents that help them either focus in a new direction, or simply diversify to maintain employment in the business (doing choreography, accompanying, etc, etc…). I like to think most of our kids are simply artists at heart and will find a way to make a living in the industry they love. As long as mine ends up employed (ha!) and happy, I will be one happy momma! Performing on Broadway is not the only definition of success at our house. It is simply the cherry on top. </p>
<p>At any number of times through bfa audition process “what if none of this works out” may become the elephant in the room. When D was doing this last year that was my single largest concern, and I admit I let it get the best of me more than I should have. (while NEVER showing that face to D!) It reminds me of fears I got a LONG time ago when pregnant with D, “what if I am a terrible mother, what if child has a health concern, what if I can’t handle things”. You can’t change fear, and this process is scary, because all our kids want this SO much.(and we want them to be happy) But you can decide if you will allow it to dominate the journey. You will hear the “kids end up where they are supposed to be” thing a million times - and I totally agree with it - but it didn’t help during the waiting process last year. But you have to keep going, and try to stay positive. After all, the universe is unfolding as it should… </p>
<p>I think the creation of the ensemble and the “slots” available is something to really be aware of. My D has been told she looks “exactly like” Acting Dad’s D. (They are at the same school, one year apart.) And then they both resemble a certain junior, etc. So there is this one type or “slot” and you either fit a slot or not. And if you do fit the slot, quite a few other students probably do too and then it is down to talent.
When students come to the end of this process and don’t have the result they are hoping for - “the worst case scenario” - one thing you can do as a parent is remind them they were not competing for 20 slots, or 30 slots or whatever the number of the class was. They very well may have been competing for that one slot; their very precise type. To not be chosen for a spot of one is easier to handle than a class of 30 for some kids.
Not all schools work this way, but some do and I think I can guess that if my D was a short redhead like me she would not be where she is right now! Because short redhead is not the slot UNCSA had open…</p>
<p>This is why pre-screens can be so valuable. If there are slots to be filled, and you are what they are looking for you may pass the pre-screen. If you aren’t what they are looking for and aren’t invited to audition, you can move on to the next school. </p>
<p>I started this thread less than 6 months ago 100% sure my D would pursue a BFA. Now here we are in the BA camp and not because she doesn’t want a future in the arts but because she does, and she wants to support her artistry with exposure to a wide variety of topics. She is just as strong an actress now as she was when she was pursuing a BFA. She is just as committed to her art as she was. BFA v. BA doesn’t mean anything in terms of talent or dedication. Just like not getting a BFA slot does not mean your child is not talented or dedicated. My point is the journey will change for many of you as you go through the process and it is so easy to get caught-up in the frenzy. Don’t get caught-up in the labels, they really don’t mean anything :)</p>
<p>@evilqueen - As someone whose D made precisely the same last-minute BFA to BA switch several years ago (and not because she was rejected by any BFA programs but for reasons that sound very similar to your D’s) let me assure you that as a BA senior she is getting submitted for auditions and landing some roles with the Big Dogs, so so far her choice seems to be working out very well even in the short term - which was when we thought a strong BFA might help most. Any future as an artist is uncertain, but so far, so good. Fingers staying crossed, and wishing everyone the very best as the “choosing season” continues!!</p>
<p>My daughter did the same thing as @evilqueen and @MomCares … she decided a BA was what she wanted to pursue after auditioning for several BFA’s and before the rejections started coming in. </p>
<p>Somewhere near the beginning of my D’s sophomore year we discussed the type of schools she would be interested in. She said I think I will only apply to BA programs. When I asked her why she said because everyone keeps telling her she needs a backup plan. I then told her not to pick a school based on what others think. If she thinks she would be interested in a BFA or conservatory then go for it. Don’t spend so much time and effort working on the backup plan that you never get to pursue your dream. The backup plan will always be there. It’s not going anywhere. Pick the schools that you feel will be best for you. So far as we are making it through her junior year she seems to be attracted to BFA programs w/liberal arts settings and BAs. Who knows where we’ll be this time next year. But I just wanted to get across to her that we will support whatever decision she made.</p>
<p>I understand why people are insistent on having a “backup plan” - but it bothers me to no end.</p>
<p>No one ever asked my other daughter what her backup plan was if she didn’t end up being a doctor. But they ask my youngest all the time. </p>
<p>I get it. But I don’t agree. </p>
<p>Is performing for a living a goal? Yes. But it’s not necessarily her end game. Life is funny the way it works out … she may end up running a community theater somewhere, teaching, on a cruise ship, blah blah blah. Whatever happens I have no doubt performing, in some capacity, will be a part of her life forever. </p>
<p>Life is far too short to not pursue what you love. </p>
I’m pretty sure it was the chair of CCM MT who said, during the year our D was selecting schools, “the world always needs more doctors, but there are already too many actors.”</p>
<p>It’s possible that D gravitated towards a BA in part because we made her aware of the limited market for MTs, but it was completely her choice - we were fully supportive of BFA, Conservatory or whatever – and I think it had far more to do with the type of college experience she wanted than with any backup plan. She attended MPulse the summer after her Junior year and realized she preferred not to spend 4 years with the same 20 actors, and that she wanted to continue pursuing academic interests as well as theatre. I don’t think every actor needs a backup plan (though most will eventually at least dabble in other things to make ends meet), or that a BA is best for everyone, but wanted to reassure @evilqueen that her D’s performing prospects wouldn’t be diminished by getting a BA rather than a BFA if that fits her college objectives better.</p>
<p>@momcares, out of curiosity though, to what extent do you feel the other things that your daughter was able to study while in college as a BA actually prepared her any more or less than she would have been had she been in a BFA program to do something other than theater after college? I mean where the rubber hits the road for work (outside of theater) as much as anything else. </p>
<p>Full disclosure to anyone who is reading. Asking this here in CC though I could just as easily ask it privately to momcares who is a friend of mine. I think it could be an interesting discussion that is not specific to momcares (nor to me specifically) but meanwhile, her daughter is a very academically capable kid in a BA program at a great school that will let you “dial up” the theatre training to near BFA hours. My daughter is a very academically capable kid who is in a BFA program that will let her dial down the BFA to near amped up BA levels if desired. I think both are majoring and also minoring in something else or perhaps hers is double majoring (I forget). Both will graduate with very good theatre training and both are talented as far as the theatre stuff goes and to the extent that matters in terms of finding work in a sea of… everyone is crazy talented. Discuss… </p>
To answer your question about what she was ABLE to study to be prepared to do something other than theatre I can point to her theatre peers who chose to double major in pre-med, engineering and studied marketing and finance as a few examples. Those folks will all leave school able to land better-paying survival jobs if they choose to. I know of at least one Theatre friend (also a current senior) who has already landed a very lucrative non-theatre marketing job for after graduation based on internships, and know of a Theatre grad a few years ago who went directly to work in Public Policy in the White House based on a double major. I’m guessing there are many more examples but haven’t asked D what non-theatre jobs recent grads have landed. I’ll ask her when next we talk!</p>
<p>As I mentioned, in her case she wasn’t seeking a backup plan, but rather a richer academic college experience. I doubt her second major (History) will have employers beating down her door, but she has certainly enjoyed the heck out of those courses. ;)</p>
<p>It is certainly an interesting topic- one of the things I love about my D’s school (Same as halflokum’s D) is that she has “more” flexibility than some BFA programs would offer- though I must say, thus far (1/2 of her 1st semester) she ADORES her studio classes and is “tolerating” her academic ones. But I like the idea that there is room built in for other experiences. I fully support her love of theater, but there is merit to being a well rounded and educated human too- right? @momcares- history majors rock </p>
<p>D has had a passion for history as long as I can remember, so for her it’s just another piece of following her bliss. She’s really enjoyed combining her loves during college by doing some dramaturgy and in directing classes. None of these are likely to become careers, but they’ve all contributed to making her a more interesting person and as a result maybe a more insightful actor.</p>
<p>As others have said, it’s rare to know at college age where your future lies, but it will certainly be an adventure for all of them as it unfolds! And her most successful actor-friend so far is the one who dropped out of his BFA the first semester and moved to LA at the urging of his agent, so go figure.</p>
<p>@MomCares thank you for the support and encouragement. My D has been getting more work then ever and I really agree that the letters on her degree won’t make or break her. The social aspect of a larger program also weighed into my D’s decision, sounds like our girls would be friends.</p>
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