<p>Hello everyone! It's been a few years since I've posted here and I've found this a great resource in the past. I would have posted this in the graduate school section but I figure it would be more worthwhile to post it in a section where people know about this specialized area.</p>
<p>I recently graduated from Marymount Manhattan College with a BA in Theatre Performance, magna cum laude (3.73 GPA) and have been trying to make a go at being an actress. Unfortunately for me, I am a very hard to cast type. I look much younger than I am and would be considered a 15 years younger Melissa McCarthy type. Being that type there are even less casting opportunities for someone my age and I've come to terms with that before I graduated. I have a really good paying survival job that is incredibly flexible so no Ramen everyday for me. But I may not get steady work as an actress until I'm in my mid-thirties at least.</p>
<p>The logical side of me is of course thinking worse case scenario. I keep auditioning, hopefully build up some credits and when I get older start making some strides in my career (I hope). Then again I could wait all that time and I don't get work, then I'm in my mid-thirities with nothing to show for it. So the idea of going to graduate school has started to become more and more appealing to me, but I want to stay in theater in some capacity, which brings me to Dramaturgy.</p>
<p>I'm a huge history buff, a great writer, I love to read and I love research. If the whole acting career doesn't work out, a job in Dramaturgy is something I would seriously consider as a backup without feeling like a failure if you catch my drift.</p>
<p>Either way I'm staying in NYC because that's where my life is now so I've been looking at schools exclusively here. I currently have undergraduate loan debt of about $25,000 and don't want to make that number too much bigger so I am looking at the CUNY schools, Hunter and Brooklyn Colleges.</p>
<p>I saw an outdated LMDA listing of Dramaturgy graduate programs that listed Brooklyn College as having an MFA program in the field but I'm assuming since it's not on their website anymore that it is now defunct. Hunter apparently has a concentration in their MA program. Another reason I'm leaning towards the CUNY colleges is also because through my research I found that the CUNY Graduate Center has a doctorate program that allows theatre doctorate students to also study film studies, which is another area I am equally interested in. I know I'm crazy for thinking as far as PHD but the thought has definitely crossed my mind. I'm an academic at heart and though I'm happy I'm out of school a big part of me does miss learning. I do have specified interests in theater that I would like to explore. I'm actually doing Rosetta Stone in German because German and Viennese theater in general I find very interesting and being bilingual would be a big advantage.</p>
<p>So I suppose the end of this long explanation is to open the floor for any advice, thoughts, musings on these programs and more specifically the concentration in Dramaturgy in general. If you've gotten an undergrad in these departments/schools I'd also love to hear from you. My knowledge of the CUNY system is pretty limited to their websites which obviously doesn't help too much. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Here are my opinions and they are only my opinions.</p>
<p>You are giving up too early. If you have a job that is both flexible and provides a livable salary, why would you want to change that? Looking younger than you are is an incredible plus in this business, being overweight, not so much, but when a producer/director/casting director/etc. is looking for that, you’re the go to girl! </p>
<p>Perhaps you’re no longer really interested in pursuing acting as a career, that’s okay. You’ve discovered your true love is academia which is great. If you are interested in the CUNY schools I suggest you contact the department and speak to someone directly about what they offer in the areas you’re interested in. That should help with some decision making.</p>
<p>If you are still interested in pursuing acting then here are some questions:
What are you doing to continue your training?<br>
Have you tried to put together a group for support and to rehearse scenes?
What resources are you using? They should be way beyond College Confidential at this point.
Do you subscribe to Backstage? And, since you like website forums, do you read their forum?</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with discovering that acting professionally isn’t for you, it’s so competitive and so full of rejection, I don’t know how anyone can pursue it! You seem to have almost decided on a tangental route so I suggest you pursue that for a little while by contacting the appropriate people and see where that might lead. Good luck!</p>
<p>I do subscribe to both Backstage and NYCastings, but as I said there are VERY slim pickings as far as my type is concerned. I could go days without seeing something I would be type appropriate for. I transferred to Marymount so I am not 22, just coming out of school age, I am a few years older than that. </p>
<p>In the Spring I plan on taking improv at UCB and if my funds allow, I’d like to add voice lessons to the mix. </p>
<p>No matter what I still need to take the GRE exam before I can even think of applying to graduate programs. So the earliest I could possibly start (if I do go that route) would be Fall 2013 anyway. The fact that I’m already older than my peers means that I may be too settled in my life to go back to school for an advanced degree if I wait too long to do so.</p>
<p>So I don’t know if I’d say I’ve given up but the longer time goes by without a credit since graduation, the less likely I’ll be taken seriously. I wasn’t cast in anything at Marymount, got a final callback to mainstage but that was the closest. One of the biggest flaws of Marymount is their lack of performance opportunities.</p>
<p>My husband went back to school in a completely different field in his early 40s. He did well, made a number of younger friends, and got a job in his new field when he graduated. I don’t think starting over in school should be one of your worries, even if you are older than 22.</p>
<p>I do question your choice of dramaturgy as a fall-back profession. While there are certainly many fewer dramaturgs than actors, there are also many fewer jobs, and in a lagging economy, I would imagine the dramaturg would be one of the first positions eliminated since he or she is not essential to staging a show.</p>
<p>If you really love it, then go ahead. If you’re looking for a safety net, though, I would think twice.</p>
<p>I know this is an old thread but I’m new here so I just can’t help adding my .02…</p>
<p>In my opinion (of course) serious dramaturgy is not for the feint of heart, nor suitable to be considered a “fallback” career. If you are still auditioning and taking classes your head probably isn’t where it needs to be to focus on the serious academics of dramaturgy. Most good schools (Brooklyn College included) are going to ask you to push yourself beyond your (possible) comfort zone as an academic. I think it’s great that you have all the bones of an academic, but ask yourself if you are willing to completely give up pursuing an acting career? I know some dramaturgs who act, but they do it in their spare time with no aspirations of professional success. Would you be OK with that? </p>
<p>As for theater mom’s assertion that dramaturgical jobs are lacking I would counter that there are many many more jobs open than many would think. As academics they are already in positions to take jobs as educators, especially at the collegiate level. Again, I know quite a few dramaturgs who work in college programs who also serve as staff DTs for their program and feel quite satisfied by that. Unlike my freelance friends, they have health care, benefits and a steady schedule. They don’t seem to mind that they have to teach theatre history, criticism or survey courses. In addition most schools love applicants with PhDs, a terminal degree for DTs.</p>
<p>My son is taking a dramaturgy class this semester in his BFA program, and he says the students have been told that it is a growing field, with opportunities.</p>
<p>If you are open to the idea of going somewhere quite far away from NY for grad studies, you should check out the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - 500 miles north of Great Falls, Montana). We’ve got really amazing grad programs, and they specifically target mid-career professionals - so being 25-35 is perfect age range to be looking at our programs! [Home</a> - Drama - University of Alberta](<a href=“http://www.drama.ualberta.ca%5DHome”>http://www.drama.ualberta.ca) . The U of Alberta is considered one of the best university theatre/drama schools in the country and we attract stellar faculty members (who have degrees from places like Yale, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, etc.). It might be surprising to hear but the theatre scene in Edmonton, Canada is really great…It could be worth it to look in to it!</p>