Should I major in MT??

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>*I am 18 years old.</p>

<p>*I am a community college student, who went to community college instead of a 4 year because of several unavoidable situations (I don't regret it!)</p>

<p>*I played classical piano for 11 years before I quit, so my musicianship is at least average (compared to the average yahoo on the street...).</p>

<p>*I have been in two musicals my whole life, once a school production in the fifth grade (a musical written for children, about baseball) (where for some reason I got switched to the main role (who is a boy) halfway through rehearsals, probably because I read better than my peers, and I often joke the ACLU made me the lead because I was the lone Asian in a predominantly white elementary school), and once a year ago, in a community theater performance (Annie Get Your Gun), where I was ensemble.</p>

<p>*I am a good singer. I have extensive choral singing experience (both in high school and in the community). Altogether I have had private lessons for appx. 3 years.
*I have excellent agility and accuracy in hitting the notes, perhaps due to my piano training.
*I have a pretty good range - low E to probably D# after high C without cracking. If the notes aren't held longer than one beat I can go to an A, which isn't really saying anything. The average yahoo could probably do that. I'm an alto but can sing some soprano2 and most tenor parts.
*The only thing I don't have is a clear-cut, brilliant vibrato, but that's something I can keep working on. I'm not going to force it out, or something bad will happen to my voice.</p>

<p>*I have almost no dance experience, except for the two years of ballet and jazz in kindergarten~, and two community college classes. one in tap, and one in jazz.</p>

<p>*I have never studied acting (but I think I'll be good at it with instruction, because I'm a very empathetic person, and I always put myself in other peoples' shoes, whether they be real or fictional or imagined lol)</p>

<p>*I'm terrified of telling people I'm interested in theater, because I'm surrounded by theater geeks, but I've never expressed much interest in it. Theater seems to be very cliquey.</p>

<p>*I'm terrified of the thought of majoring in musical theater, because I feel like I can't do anything with it, so I figured, okay, a B.A. sounds nice, but then, I get terrified that that would bind me and I wouldn't be able to double major or minor in anything unrelated to theater, since the major is so specific.</p>

<p>*So I thought, perhaps I'll just get the MT certificate for the A.A. in MT at the local community college (which I attend), and get a B.A. in something else, but then I feel like I'll be a student forever</p>

<p>*The only other things I feel like majoring in are typical "useless liberal arts degrees" aka communications, psychology, sociology, etc</p>

<p>*If they're both going to be useless, why not pick theater?</p>

<p>*I don't feel like I have much aptitude in dance. My hand-eye coordination is terrible. I feel like I'd be good at acting if I had proper guidance, but I don't see a future for my dancing. But then again, I'm a total newbie. But then again, I am as flexible as a wooden board. Being totally unflexible is very demoralizing.</p>

<p>*I'm terrified that even if I start ballet (and other forms of dance) now, and it comes time to transfer, I still won't be good enough at dance (two years is nothing!) so they'll reject me and then what will I do?</p>

<p>*I love watching dance, and I long to move like that, and I dance around a lot for fun (music make you lose control!), but when I get instructed to move a very specific way in sequence, I am completely lost. I do have rhythm though, thank goodness.</p>

<p>*I have always wanted to be more active in community/school theater ever since I was in elementary school, but it was always one of those things that my parents had to say no to because of rehearsal schedules (I had two younger brothers too) and I also went to a different Japanese school every single Saturday for nine years which was sometimes more important than church... MT was and is very special to me though, in the depressing way, where I would sigh reading audition notices </p>

<p>*I love watching musical theater; It's like being in a dream - Watching it makes me want to be in it. I figured out a year ago in my practically first show that being in it means I can't watch it. So then I return to the watching side and I find myself wanting to be in it again.</p>

<p>*I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, and for some reason, I feel like I still won't know when I'm 80</p>

<p>*I'm terrified of how much preperation this is going to take if I decide to do it - I'm in community college, after all. I have no clue how it's going to work.</p>

<p>*But I love it, I'm so in love with it, I want to embody characters, I want to sing, I love that feeling that everyone's working to paint this gigantic piece of artwork, and I want more</p>

<p>*But I'm afraid of commitment - no, not in the marital problems sense</p>

<p>*I feel like my strongest point would be singing, while my competitors would be triple threats</p>

<p>*I'm so lost</p>

<p>*I have always been an outsider looking in to the theater community, but not really by choice</p>

<p>*I live in SoCal</p>

<p>...Can you give me some advice for this lost little sheep? Should I take this step? Or would I be wasting my time? Do I have any misconceptions?</p>

<p>Oh why God why?</p>

2

<p>
[quote]
Should I major in MT??

[/quote]
Can you see yourself doing anything else with your life? If the answer to that is yes, the answer your question is no ... at least for now. Maybe you should take an acting class, audition for some more musicals and see how things go. If you become "ate up with it" to the point that you can't see yourself doing anything else with your life, then will be the time to think about majoring in it. People pursue this field because some flaw in their wiring tells them they have to. It's not necessarily a rational decision.</p>

3

<p>I will tell a bit of my story, not because it is that interesting, but because it has something to do with this.
I studied viola in college as a music major with the intention of being a professional musician. As I went through college, got a day job and feverishly answered every phone call for freelance work, never daring to say no to any job I realized I wasn't having fun at it. (The problem was once you said no they might never call you again). I got a promotion at work, finished my senior recital and stopped playing the viola.
Wfter my S was born I went back to viola, played in community orchestras and continue to this day to play as a happy amateur. I get the occasional paying gig, and enjoy it, but don't regret the lifestyle. Many of the people I know who are professional musicians at elite levels in major symphony orchestras are not that happy with their lives. They struggle to pay the bills (money even at that level frequently must be supplimented by teaching and freelance work), they go into their jobs and play "another Mahler Symphony...or whatever is put in front of them.
On the other hand I know many passionate talented amateurs who play both chamber music and orchestral pieces simply for the love of it. They do it on their own terms, without the constraints of trying to make a living at it. I have been told that the latin root of amateur is for the love of.....</p>

<p>For that reason, if you can find another way to make a living and still pursue your passion through community theatre I would recommend doing that. Not because I don't think you are good enough, or because you lack training, but because every student here should think of majoring in MT as the only alternative. If you can picture yourself doing anything ese, do it. You can always enjoy being in community shows just for the love of it.</p>

4

<p>I think that both of the other responders make good points. A career as a performer is a hard path to follow. This does not mean you shouldn't follow it if it really is your passion. You raise so many questions in your initial post that I will choose a few to touch on:</p>

<p>**The list of terrors... I am not good enough, theatre is cliquey, if I tell people I am interested in theatre they will laugh at me, I have never danced, but am afraid if I do take dance I still will not have enough dance to get into a program, then what do I do, etc...</p>

<p>Risk is scarey... but if you really want to do this you need to find the courage to blast those fears aside and put yourself out there. It sounds to me that self-doubt is getting in your way. Audition for a show, work as an assistant stage manager on a production to meet more people involved in theatre, take an acting class... put yourself out there.</p>

<p>*<em>I'm terrified of the thought of majoring in musical theater, because I feel like I can't do anything with it, so I figured, okay, a B.A. sounds nice, but then, I get terrified that that would bind me and I wouldn't be able to double major or minor in anything unrelated to theater, since the major is so specific.
*</em>So I thought, perhaps I'll just get the MT certificate for the A.A. in MT at the local community college (which I attend), and get a B.A. in something else, but then I feel like I'll be a student forever
**The only other things I feel like majoring in are typical "useless liberal arts degrees" aka communications, psychology, sociology, etc</p>

<p>From the above list it sounds like you may be happier in a BA program than a BFA program. (1) Most BA programs will alllow you to double major. (2) A BA degree is a BA degree... and can prepare and qualify you for many different jobs. A BFA can do the same (depending on the school), but in general people who pursue BFA degrees in performance are pretty sure (at least at the time) that they want a career as a performer. Some may change their mind later (I have a BFA in MT Performance and am now a professional director... people I went to school with work as counselors, lawyers, producers, advertisers), but they are looking for a dgree with a more professional focus at the get go. Also, a BA program is more likely to accept your community college credits, making it more realistic that you could graduate in 2 - 2 1/2 years. There are some really good posts on the transfer thread about this.</p>

<p>If you think that you want to pursue a career in the performing arts the only way to get there is to train. This can happen in a BA or BFA program or by you pursuing all of the training on your own outside of a formal college program. Whichever way you look at it you will be training and growing for the rest of your life. Even professional performers continue to study and train in their craft.</p>

<p>No matter what you decide to do academically or professionally it sounds as if you love theatre and want it to be part of your life. Good luck.</p>

5

<p>Thanks so much fishbowl, anothermom, Kat... you really brought me down to ground level. I'm thinking more clearly now.</p>

<p>What really struck me was when fishbowl said that majoring in MT isn't really a rational decision. I guess the verdict is, if I don't feel like I HAVE to do it, like, I can't picture myself as anything other than a performer, I shouldn't. </p>

<p>I'm just so equally passionate about so many things... and I think a B.A. in MT would be good because it is a nice middle ground, because I can't pick what I want to actually major in. Sure, I can picture myself in the future as a performer, but not just that. I would be a writer. An artist. An interpreter. A teacher. And whatever else comes my way. </p>

<p>More pondering! Like Kat says, I must put myself more out there and see where it goes from there.</p>

<p>Thank you all so much.</p>

6

<p>Read about Cal State Fullerton on the MT board. It may be near you and may offer some of the things you are interested in.</p>

7

<p>Ericsmom: Thank you much!!! I'm totally going to devour all the posts on this board. Yay!</p>