<p>i apologize for a very basic question, i just want to be informed because i'm a junior in HS considering different major options in college. what coursework does a theatre major partake of? are there any special guidelines for applying to college as a theatre major or is it just a normal admissions process, and on the same token, can you declare a theatre major after you enter college, later on? one last question, what can you do with a theatre major? once again, sorry for the rather novice questioning.</p>
<p>Everybody's gotta start somewhere! :) First off, you need to decide if you want to pursue a BA or a BFA degree. Heres a link to an excellent article on the difference from the Educational</a> Theatre Association. Here, also, is another [article[/url</a>] from the Musical Theatre Forum written by Doctorjohn who is the chair of an excellent theatre department. It includes a questionnaire that might help you decide which track is better for you. </p>
<p>Generally, youll have to audition for the BFA programs and be accepted to both the overall school and the program. These auditions are extremely competitive at the better schools with admit rates that are often lower than academic admissions to the Ivy League. You wont be able to declare for them later unless you want to go back and start at freshman level and take the full four-year curriculum. Transferring into the programs will also generally involve an audition. The coursework will vary a little between schools, but around 70% or more of your courses will be in acting, voice & speech, movement, directing, design, and theatre literature. There are also BFAs in directing and tech theatre that will have around the same breakdown except with an emphasis in their areas. The BFA is a pre-professional degree and, in theory, prepares you for immediate entry into a life in the professional theatre. </p>
<p>You can usually declare your major later for BA programs and there is generally no audition required. You just have to get accepted to the school as a whole. In those, youll essentially study the same things as in a BFA except you wont go into as much depth and the majority of your coursework will be in other things. With a few exceptions, its also easier to double major or minor in something else in a BA program than in a BFA. If you want to go pro with a BA, youll generally need to supplement your training in a pro studio or pursue an MFA in grad school. </p>
<p>With a theatre degree, you can go on to grad school in any number of things. Many go on to law school or MBA programs, for instance. You can also get any job any other humanities type major can get.</p>
<p>In case you haven't found it yet, there is a veritable book on the topic in the [url=talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=63432]Theatre/Drama Colleges Thread](<a href="http://www.geocities.com/musicaltheatercolleges/babfa.html%5Darticle%5B/url">www.geocities.com/musicaltheatercolleges/babfa.html) where I think we pretty much covered most aspects of being a theatre major over the past year. You can learn a lot if you'll steel yourself to wade through it all. Its up to eight parts now and Im hoping some rising seniors will keep it going. Theres an even bigger book in the Musical Theater Major Forum. Happy hunting!</p>
<p>one thing thesbo knows and didn't say because she is too nice sometimes is that there is a BIG advantage that goes with the selective bfa colleges. that is that all the kids in your studio will be just as talented or better than you and you will get better by just being around them all the time. the kids around you will be a mixed bag if you go to a ba at a state college that doesn't have auditions and you will take acting classes with kids that are not even drama majors who take it seriously. there might be some talented kids that started late or had to stay in state because they couldn't afford anywhere else, but those will be the minority and you might get an unrealistic view of where you stand. i don't want to name names on colleges, but there is one where i live where all the drama kids think they are total badasses that are going to go to broadway or hollywood and take over the world after they graduate. sadly, most of them suck and they don't have any way of knowing it. the teachers don't tell them because they would lose the students and money for their department. if you decide to go to a ba school, do yourself a big favor and research what its graduates are doing. thesbo wrote out a great way to evaluate ba colleges near the end of the theatre/drama thread.</p>
<p>thanks a lot to both of you, that really helped put things into perspective!</p>