I like Theatre but I don't know if I should focus all my attention towards acting.

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>Hey all, really long post, but I need answers. Thanks!</p>

<p>I like Theatre and it has always been a dream of mine to be an actor in movies. Sort of like the next Jackie Chan, but me.</p>

<p>I also like Chemistry. I took an AP Chemistry class last year and although I didn't do so well on the end of the yr exam, I fell in love with the experience.</p>

<p>could never major in math
never in history
probably not in English</p>

<p>The reason why I like acting is because it helps put myself out there. I'm more of an introverted shyish-like person and so with acting, I force myself out there, outside of my comfort zone. Great believer of taking risks. Every time there's one, I try to take it. I also face an obstacle with stuttering a bit, and I did a play recently and found that stuttering is beatable for I did not stutter one word on the night of performance. Acting provides me with the chance to overcome that stuttering because it toughens up my comfort shell.</p>

<p>I don't know exactly what I want to do with my life. Parents support the idea of Pharmacist but decline acting. I really really really enjoy acting... it's amazing, but I'm not sure if I want to do it all my life, or at least picture myself doing it all my life as a career.</p>

<p>I'm a senior in high school now. Over the summer I took part in a Conservatory training for actors and had a super huge amazing experience. That was my first ever experience with acting and it was great. Worked on Shakespearean dialect, scenes, vocal exercises, movement and such...</p>

<p>I've applied to UCLA, UCBerkley, UCRiverside, UCDavis, Chapman University, but as a major through Psychology (just used psychology because it was the least impacted, and figured I faced a better chance getting into the schools... and later into the program).</p>

<p>It seems like all the students from the Conservatory know that they want to pursue acting for sure as a career. The senior students that I know have applied to the schools focusing mainly on Performing Arts (BFA). </p>

<p>I kind of feel like I'm left out. I don't know whether I should go to a performing Arts school or one that just offers a BA. I only applied to schools with like BA programs... cause am afraid if I do BFA I may quit and have no fall back plan.</p>

<p>I am in this Theatre Honors program for my school and one of the actors was telling me, "Go ahead and do a double major. Major in Theatre, and Major in Chemistry. It's good for an actor to be well rounded." </p>

<p>So yeh, those are my thoughts. I am in a cross about what to do with my life. </p>

<p>I sort of find it difficult to be my true self, but I am slowly putting myself out there and not being afraid of others judgement. :) One teacher from Conservatory said that actors should have a life outside of acting - which means a happy person. I have trouble being a happy person. Not depressed or anything, but if you asked me if I was a happy person, I'd say no, I'm just alright. How can I make it better? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Here’s another “mom” point of view… first, don’t worry that you don’t know what you want to do with the rest of your life. It’s okay and you have time to figure it out. Start out next year with your general education classes and see which ones you really like and let that be your guide. And honestly, unless you want to starve, you are probably better off not majoring in theater - HOWEVER - definitely get involved in community theater and other theater opportunities that your college might offer to non-theater majors. It will be a wonderful and fun outlet for you to enjoy. And sure, if you can make it work, a theater minor could be nice. But there will be more opportunities for you with Chemistry or any science.</p>

3

<p>KeepFloatin. It is really hard to make a decision about what to do for the rest of your life! It is great that you have found acting and that it makes you feel good about yourself.
I am not an actor but my daughter is. She has known for about 5 years that she wants to major in acting. (She is a junior in high school.) When someone asks her what she wants to do with her life she says “I am an actor.” There is no hesitation, and she actually can not even name anything else that she might want to be. And I have asked her on mulitple ocassions, believe me! She has a 4.2 GPA and could go to most any school she wanted to. But she is an actor. She doesn’t want to be an actor… she is an actor.
Acting is a very tough career, filled with multiple rejections and no stability. If you dont really want it, it is nearly impossible. If you are like my D, and can’t fathom doing anything else, than the path is clear. Tough or not, she’s doing it.
You may need more time exploring acting before you are ready to decide and commit. A double major could be a good idea, but you are less likely to find acting work than a student coming out with a BFA. You could do a masters program in acting after your BA, if the time in undergrad shows you that you really want to act. Then the masters will allow you to teach acting later on, and will help you get acting work. Directors and casting people like actors with BFA’s and MFA’s. It is a good backup plan.
The double major may also show you that you dont want to go into acting and then you have the other major to move forward with. Good Luck! I’m sure some of the other experienced folks on CC will weigh in with their advice too.</p>

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<p>Do you know how she knows that she’s an actor? “She doesn’t want to be an actor, she’s just an actor?” The thing is I don’t know what I can see myself doing. I enjoy Chemistry but can’t see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Sort of the same idea with acting. But it has been about my biggest dream to become an actor in filming.</p>

<p>"Then the masters will allow you to teach acting later on, and will help you get acting work. Directors and casting people like actors with BFA’s and MFA’s. It is a good backup plan. "</p>

<p>Can you explain that? I don’t necessarily want to teach acting, I want to be an actor and shoot movies and such.</p>

<p>And also I read that usually the people that don’t have a backup plan are more successful and determined because acting is tough and so with a backup plan people usually quit and feel it is safe to fallback on that. It’s so stressing… :(</p>

5

<p>I’m an actress that “shoots movies and such.” :slight_smile: I was also a lot like dramamom0804’s daughter and always thought it was a stupid question when people asked why I wanted to be an actor because it was much like asking a German Shepherd why it wants to be a dog. It’s not who I want to be. It’s who I am. </p>

<p>Is acting or making art in other ways your only way to not go crazy? Can you not envision yourself being happy doing anything else? Can you honestly say you feel like what Dustin Hoffman describes in his [Inside</a> the Actors Studio interview at 1:17:15?](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube) If not, maybe do like Klanders suggests. Get involved in community and non-major college theatre and see if you can get cast in some student and locally made independent films because you aren’t ready to commit at this point. </p>

<p>Acting is not a rational career choice for anyone. It isn’t a “bug,” either. It’s a terminal disease and you’ll know when you’ve contracted it. And when you have, you won’t be asking these kinds of questions.</p>

6

<p>i suggest that you stop worrying now about what you want to do with your life, and just go to college and learn all you can. Don’t get a BFA. Get a BA. Study Chemistry. Take acting classes and try out for shows. Sign up for courses you’ve never heard of in fields you know nothing about AND take courses in subjects you didn’t like in high school but might find you enjoy in college. I don’t know how the UCs work, but most schools don’t make you declare a major until the end of sophomore year. </p>

<p>You can also start out in life and give acting a try for a few years and then switch to something else entirely. Or, you can fall in love with acting and just pursue it throughout your life as a sideline, a hobby so to speak.</p>

7

<p>Keep floatin- fishbowl freshman explains it well. MyD just can not see herself doing anything else. When I ask the question, “if you had never started doing acting, what do you think you would do?” She responded with “I would have found my way to acting somehow.” She really can’t say what else she would do because she is an actor.
She also explained that she read a book by Chekhov, the famous acting movement teacher. Many of the things he wrote about that actors need to try and do, she said she does them automatically.
She has had training in NYC with professionals and college professors. She has also been in a lot of community theatre shows. So these experiences have helped her know this is what she is and what she will continue to pursue.
A masters degree can be part of a backup plan. Many colleges use adjunct, or part-time professors, to teach their acting programs. You can’t be a professor without a masters degree. (Well, sometimes you can if you have a ton of real world experience, but I digress) I think teaching part-time is a good source of income and is flexible, still leaving time for auditions. Also, of course, getting a masters degree gives you more training in acting and will make you more employable for acting work.
I see what that person is saying about a backup plan. However, we must be realistic. Even the best actors will have down periods between shows and that means no paycheck. My D and I are creating a backup plan that allows her to always have part-time work she can do from home, allowing her the flexibility to audition and be in shows when the opportunity comes up. (She is a gifted writer and plans to do writing and editing from home, as well as also maybe getting a masters degree in acting and teach acting.)
Create a backup plan using your skills that doesn’t make it impossible to look for and take acting jobs.
Hope that helps.</p>

8

<p>There are plenty of successful actors who didn’t even major in Theater in college. While a BFA is a concentrated degree with few credits outside of Theater, there are plenty of schools that offer a BA in Theater where you could double major or minor in it. I know plenty of students who aren’t majoring in Theater, but are involved in their school’s Theater program. They’ve successfully landed roles in both musicals and dramas. There are many different ways to arrive at a career in Theater. College is a time to find yourself, explore your interests, pursue your passions. If you aren’t looking to be in an audition select program, seek out schools that are non-audition entry programs, but auditions for performance opportunities are open to the entire student body. Schools with a Film Studies program offer another opportunity to perform. Student Directors are always looking for actors for films. Choose a school where you’ll be comfortable regardless of your major, but will allow you the chance to change majors should you wish to. In the meantime, keep learning new skills and stay active in Theater. It certainly sounds like you’ve caught the bug!</p>

<p>Sent from my SCH-I405 using CC</p>

9

<p>KeepFloatin - my son’s Theater Arts teacher and director in high school majored in Psychology as an undergraduate, but went on to get her MFA from Mason Gross/Rutgers. She attended University of Cincinnati as an undergraduate. I had presumed that she graduated from their renowned conservatory, but she did not - she was always involved with theater, though. She also studied in with Sanford Meisner in NYC. There are many paths and routes, and we sometimes stumble onto the right one by accident. I always use road metaphors: the scenic route is always more interesting than the interstate, and it often isn’t any slower. You already have an advantage in having several passions and interests.</p>

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<p>Agreed with DramaMamaZ and others, KeepFloatin-- I think it’s fine if you major in Chem or whatever you want. There are MANY successful actors whose path did not include BFAs in acting or even BAs in acting. And if you’re not sure at this point, there is no sense in focusing so early. You can major in your practical degree and continue your acting interests while in college. If you like MT, you can also take voice/dance lessons. As you do college or community shows, that should help you decide whether you want to do this for a stand alone career. You can also take summer acting classes/courses if you have the money. Your Chem degree may put you ahead of other actors financially too, who knows. </p>

<p>As far as whether you ‘are’ an actor–well, it’s true that acting, like any art, is extremely hard to succeed in as a career, and you sort of have to want to do it even if you were on a desert island, otherwise you won’t be able to navigate the rejections and the bumps on the road. However, that state of mind does not have to be reached at 17. You may arrive there later, during college, or after college. ANd you may end up not wanting acting as a stand alone career. YOu may simply pursue acting as a very serious hobby, landing occasional professional or semi professional show as you go on, but not relying on them for an income. Many do this. </p>

<p>Best of luck on your journey.</p>

11

<p>Don’t worry about “the rest of your life”. These days (and, I suspect, in “those” days as well) it is normal for people to change careers several times in the course of their working life.</p>

<p>Jackie Chan I believe studied with the Beijing Opera from a very early age, and also of course is a very talented Martial Artist. You are not going to get that kind of training in an American university theatre program. Jackie Chan I don’t really think of as an “actor”, he is more of a stuntman and a film director. Nothing wrong with that. You might want to look at how people become stunt performers and film directors, if that is more what you are interested in.</p>

<p>One option is to go to college as an undeclared major, and just take whatever courses interest you at the time. Then when it is time to declare a major, have a look at what courses you have already taken and use that as the basis of your decision. “Hey, I’ve already taken a lot of Theatre (or Chemistry, whatever) courses, why don’t I make that my major!”</p>

12

<p>I think it is okay to want to do theatre and be involved in theatre without pursuing a degree in it. The same goes for chemistry. You do not have to know what you want to have a degree in as a 17/18 year old student. You have time.</p>

<p>The major reason many people declare a BFA Acting major now is because declaring this major later on, often involves more time in school: many BFA programs do not take transfer credit, which is something to think about.</p>

<p>I am not sure if you are a resident of California, but UCs do not require you to declare a major until the end of your sophomore year, which means you have time to explore and take different classes until then if you are truly this confused about which path to take. You may want to see if, once accepted, you can change to an “undecided” major.</p>

<p>Also, think critically about why you want to be an actor. What is appealing to you? Fame? Money? These are not good reasons to dedicate your life to something as hard as a career in acting. You say that you like the confidence acting gives you, which is great! But if you take the opinions of others harshly, maybe acting isn’t the best career, as a lot of acting is critique, and you can still enjoy acting and the confidence it gives you in an arena that focuses less on training, technique or critique, like community theatre or an improv troupe.</p>

<p>It also seems that you are focusing on majors based on the things you learned in school (based on your grouping of majors into history, math, science, and English.) Remember, there are lots of majors that you probably haven’t been exposed to in your schooling yet that could be appealing to you: things like marketing, sociology, sound engineering, business, and film production to name a few. Also, you mention that you like acting because it helps your speech impediment. What about a career in helping others tackle this – things like drama therapy or speech pathology may be appealing to you.</p>

<p>Basically, just remember that you have the luxury of both time, and options. Take time to explore these, as well as yourself, and if you can’t find the answers you are looking for, that’s okay too. These things have a way of working themselves out.</p>

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<p>I had an interesting conversation with two English Teachers this week. They told me they had been Acting majors in College. One of them figured out it was the literature that had pulled them to redo their major. The other one said she decided to change her major after learning that she had no desire to go to LA or NY to pursue acting after college. My D on the other hand has told me since she was 5 years old that she is Supposed to be an actor. Her life is empty without it. She even tried a few months without it in High School and couldn’t handle it. I believe it’s part of who she is, just like her pretty brown eyes. It is who she is. The English Teachers I spoke of are wonderful, gifted Teachers! Their passion is in teaching the love of literature, just as my D’s passion is in performing the written word.</p>