Is it possible to have a decent acting career with only a BA in theatre?

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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<p>So I'm having second thoughts about a conservatory style program. I love theatre and always have and most likely always will. However, I want to double major in English Literature and I know that's very unusual for a BFA program. I am still applying to a few BFA programs which have more of a broad based curriculum and also ones that aren't completely opposed to double majoring (actually those programs are near or at the top of my college list) .... I am definitely leaning more towards a BA program in theatre (like the ones offered at Northwestern or Penn State or even the USC BA etc) but I'm just worried that without a BFA I stand no chance of having a professional acting career. I'm worried auditors or casting agents etc will look at my resume and laugh if I only have a BA... </p>

<p>Is there still a possibility at being an actor with a BA degree??</p>

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<p>Please excuse any bad grammar or spelling mistakes… I’ve had a long day…</p>

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<p>No degree guarantees you a career. Period. Lets face it, the odds are tough. But it is certainly possible to have a successful (and I think the definition of success is up to each individual) career with a BA. Just a handful of notable examples (and again, I don’t think you need to reach this level of fame to have a successful career):</p>

<p>Julianna Margulies- Sarah Lawrence
Josh Radnor- Kenyon
Julie Bowen- Brown
John Krasinksi- Brown</p>

<p>My own daughter also wanted a balance of liberal arts and theater applied to both BAs and balanced BFAs and in the end chose her BA school over a BFA program. We won’t ever really know what might have been if she went with the BFA. But she is very happy in her BA program. She’s taking two theater courses this semester- movement for actors and a lighting design course- ran lights for the musical, performed in a staged reading, and now has two callbacks for spring productions. And has taken the kind of liberal arts courses that she really enjoys. So far, knock wood, its going well. </p>

<p>You don’t need to decide now. Keep your list balanced and see what your options are in April. If you had told my daughter she would choose a BA over a BFA back in the fall, she never would have believed it. </p>

<p>While poking around I found this list which you might find amusing. I know I did!
[Education</a> | Celebrity Actors & Their College Majors](<a href=“http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2007/04/20/celebrity-actors-their-college-majors/]Education”>http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2007/04/20/celebrity-actors-their-college-majors/)</p>

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<p>Meryl Streep did okay.</p>

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<p>Here are just a few of the notable alumni from Northwestern who have done ok without BFAs… </p>

<p>Stephen Colbert
Julie Louis-Dryfus
Mamie Gummer - Daughter of Meryl Streep
Charlton Heston
Seth Meyers
Zach Braff
Chet Hanks - Son of Tom Hanks
Ann Margaret
Warren Beatty
Cindy Crawford
Jane Curtain
Zooey Deschanel
Anne Dudek
Ira Glass
Heather Headley
Jennifer Jones
Stacy Keach
Cloris Leachman
Laura Linney
Paul Lynde
Garry Marshall
Megan Mullally
Jerry Orbach
David Schwimmer
Jerry Springer
Lydia R. Diamond – author of “Stick Fly” currently on Broadway
… author of “August Osage County”
Denis O’Hare – Take Me Out and Sweet Charity, True Blood, Charlie Wilson’s War and Milk. He currently stars as Larry Harvey in the FOX Network show American Horror Story.</p>

<p>… and here’s part of the reason NU alum do okay…</p>

<p>Northwestern faculty members make TIME Magazine’s ‘Best of the Decade’</p>

<p>When the end of 2009 inspired TIME Magazine to count down the “Best of the Decade” on everything from new diet books to famous disappearances, TIME’s theatre critics also picked their favorite plays and musicals from the past 10 years.</p>

<p>Among them? Three productions by Northwestern University School of Communication faculty members.</p>

<p>In fact, the three productions all placed in the top five best stage productions of the decade.</p>

<p>August: Osage County, directed by Anna Shapiro, professor of theatre and director of the MFA program in directing, took the top spot in the list.</p>

<p>Shapiro earned a Tony for her work on the play. Scenic designer and Northwestern associate professor Todd Rosenthal also won a Tony for the production. Assistant professor Ana Kuzmanic designed the costumes, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.</p>

<p>The play earned its playwright, Tracy Letts, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. Before the show moved to Broadway, it premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre in 2007.</p>

<p>TIME critic Richard Zoglin said August: Osage County “has the psychological complexity and the emotional generosity to place it firmly in the ranks of the American theater’s great family dramas.”</p>

<p>At the number four slot in the list is Metamorphoses, a retelling of Ovid’s myths adapted by Mary Zimmerman, Jaharis Family Professor of performance studies.</p>

<p>The production premiered on Northwestern’s campus in 1996 as Six Myths and had a run at the Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago. With a change of title, the play opened off-Broadway in 2001 and later transferred to Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Zimmerman won a Tony for her direction of the play.</p>

<p>Zimmerman is an alumna of Northwestern University’s theatre and performance studies programs, earning her Ph.D. in 1994.</p>

<p>Zoglin credits Zimmerman’s “lyrical, low-tech theatrical efforts” with opening up new avenues of storytelling.</p>

<p>And at the fifth slot in the list is Boy Gets Girl, written by Rebecca Gilman, assistant professor of radio/television/film.</p>

<p>The play premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in 2000 and went to New York at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Despite good productions, the play was underrated, according to Zoglin, who called it “deceptively modest.”</p>

<p>Gilman’s adaptation of Carson McCuller’s novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter also made TIME Magazine’s “Top 10 of Everything of 2009” list.</p>

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<p>yes. it is possible to have a career as an actor without a degree, with a BA in Theatre, with a BA in another area, with a BFA, etc…</p>

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<p>I’m just guessing but there are probably more working actors with BA than BFA degrees. When I say working, I mean working career not necessarily acting as a side job. The flip side of that, there are probably more unemployed actors with BA than BFA just due to the fact more students pursue a BA than BFA. If you look at the Bios of current employed actors in popular TV, film, theatre, the majority will have BA and not necessarily from what many consider the top acting schools. In fact, many did not major in acting and were on a totally unrelated path.</p>

<p>As far as casting agents looking at BFA only, absolutely not. The BFA would indicate you’ve spent more hours in specific training but is no clear indication you are right for the part.</p>

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<p>LeftofPisa has it right with this comment. The vast majority of actors are unable to maintain a good, steady living from acting alone, regardless of the type of degree they have, or if they have a degree at all. There are actors at every level on the spectrum of success who have every type of degree imaginable as well as many with no degree. There is no magic formula. The best you can do is to research your options for a college degree that will work best for you, get good training, and take it from there. There is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing a B.A. rather than a B.F.A. if that is what works better for you.</p>

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<p>My kids have many friends (25 and under) who are currently acting in Hollywood or for Disney and none of them have BFAs and several (including one who has been in 2 Oscar Best Picture movies) didn’t even graduate from HS. I don’t really know about stage acting, but success in film requires lots of patience, perseverance and luck.</p>

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<p>Your talent and drive will determine the success of your acting career…not a degree. Training will enhance your talent and aid in its development; but no amount of training will make you a successful actor if you don’t have talent. I definitely believe that my degree from NYU helped me grow as a person, but it never helped me get a job.</p>

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<p>The only rule is that there are no rules. Some say it’s the Indian - not the arrow - although it’s certainly helpful for the Indian to have acquired a quiver full of very straight and sharp arrows somewhere and you can rest assured that you’ll get plenty of those from a quality BFA. </p>

<p>All my work since graduation has been on-camera and of the “successful” people I’ve worked with, only a small minority have acting degrees. In fact, most don’t have degrees in theatre at all. Especially the men. It’s about evenly split between actors who got a BA or BS in “whatever” and later got their professional training in non-scholastic studios or trained purely in the studios without ever going to college. I don’t think I know anyone who relied purely on the training they got in a BA program other than Northwestern or UCLA which are really more akin to a BFA. Also keep in mind that while some of these people are absolutely golden within a certain range, that range is usually fairly limited and I’m not sure I’d care to see their Shakespeare. </p>

<p>Most of the actors I know and know of who work regularly in straight theatre (not MT) On and Off Broadway and in the major regionals, however, do have BFAs or MFAs and the ones who have BFAs mostly come from a small handful of conservatory programs except for one who has an Ivy League BA but actually grew up in the business with a father who is a renowned teacher and director. The majority have MFAs which were preceded by a BA or BS - sometimes in theatre, sometimes not. </p>

<p>Again, no rules. Only trends and the real question might be if you can have a decent acting career period since the vast majority never get past the Off Off Broadway and ultra low budget indie film level no matter where they went to school or trained. If there’s any rule, it’s that you’d better be in it out of love no matter which route you choose because there are definitely no guarantees …</p>

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<p>To add to this interesting discussion-- It’s not just talent and perseverance–it’s also connections. We Americans leave that out because we like to see the world in terms of personal accomplishment, and cronyism and connections don’t fit in with this world view. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Of course, without talent and certainly without perseverance and professionalism and, yes, luck, you won’t really go anywhere, unless you’re Hollywood royalty. But MANY actors land jobs because of who they know. </p>

<p>What a BFA or an excellent BA program does - besides training you of course - is give you a foot in the door with connections. Sometimes you don’t really need a ‘top’ program. If you’re interested in local top regionals, for instance, then there are often college programs that are deeply connected with the regionals; often the faculty on the college is also working or affiliated with the regional theatre(s). </p>

<p>So the original question–it depends on which BA program and what your goals are. For instance, my D is interested in straight theatre, and would be thrilled with a regular regional or conservatory job. She is applying to some BA programs that are heavily affiliated with the local Shakespeare Festival and/or regional theatre. Some of them are not even well known nationally, but give excellent internships and equity points at their local very well-regarded Shakespeare Festivals. This leads to invaluable connections (as well as experience).</p>

<p>So it really depends on what your own goals are. I think if you view success as being able to support yourself by your acting - this is pretty incredible -then you can see there are many different routes to that goal, and having a BFA or a BA is part of that. It depends on you and your talents and goals. And as someone pointed out, don’t forget that you can go on to get your MFA.
Best of luck.</p>

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<p>My d has a BA degree in English with a theater concentration and a BA in Music, concentration in voice. She is an aspiring actress/singer and is among the many, many aspiring here in NYC. She supports herself in her day job as a nanny and has been in several productions-all either non-union, no pay or small stipend. She has had theater internships and summer training. It is perseverance, luck, connections, along with talent. My office employs several actors who work for us part-time so that they can schedule their time around auditions and regional shows and tours. Many of the more established actors I’ve known totally make their living from real estate-sublet their apartments while on the road and save money by living cheaply while on tour.</p>

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<p>Fishbowlfreshman, thanks as always for your “fresh” perspective.</p>

<p>The BA to MFA route is the path my D hopes to take as she pursues a career in straight theater. And its the path taken by Nina Arianda who is currently receiving rave reviews for her performance in Venus in Furs. It appears to be one of those seemingly miraculous moments when hard work, talent and a dream role converge. I think this article does a great job of showing just how much thought and hard work went into that miracle.</p>

<p>[Nina</a> Arianda shines in ‘Venus in Fur’ - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/21/entertainment/la-et-nina-arianda-20111121]Nina”>'Venus in Fur's' Nina Arianda has cast a spell)</p>