<p>Thanks so much to all who have responded! This information is all very helpful for kids like mine (and for we hapless parents as well) who are planning for their possible future moves to NYC.</p>
<p>So helpful . . . thank you all for sharing.</p>
<p>To get back to the original post question, my D would ideally like to work for Disney for a while and then hopefully do touring Broadway shows. I think ultimately she’d like to have a family and at that point do regional theater. So she wanted a program where she’d get strong overall training and especially get a lot of dance. She starts at Ball State in two weeks, and that program will be perfect for her.</p>
<p>I guess I’m not too worried about how she’s going to pay for things, etc down the road. She’s smart enough to figure that out. Plus at her age I would never have dreamed I’d be doing what I do now, so I know plans can change quite a bit over her next decade of life.</p>
<p>It seems that it may be harder now to change plans due to the exorbitant costs of education. DH and I paid for our 6 degrees by working part time, but that no longer seems possible. I guess not all course correction requires a different degree.</p>
<p>I just read that Aaron Sorkin started out with an MT BFA, yet another example of a successful future unfolding in unexpected ways.</p>
<p>Thanks, EmsDad, for finding that. :)</p>
<p>As I said in the linked thread, those numbers were from a Dartmouth grad who had a well-paying job awaiting her in Manhattan, not a theatre grad. She also graduated close to ten years ago so those numbers are low for 2013.</p>
<p>I just re-read this thread and had forgotten it contains a ton of useful information about a wide range of subjects, some of which may be useful as folks are finalizing school lists.</p>
<p>Two questions. </p>
<p>1) All the MT BFA programs springing up around the nation may be a source of some (distant) future employment for our MTs. Does anyone know if where you got your undergrad degree and/or which courses you took will influence your future ability to get work teaching in a college MT program? I expect this varies by program, but at schools you are familiar with does it seem that folks are hired based more on professional experience or on academic pedigree?</p>
<p>2) I think someone recently posted about someone who just got a FULL RIDE to the Yale Drama MFA. Does anyone know if that would be based on financial need (and if so, would the parent’s income still be considered for an MFA?) or talent?</p>
<p>I am a graduate of a BFA MT program, have an MFA in directing, and teach in a college Musical Theatre/ Theatre program. I will try to answer your questions based on my experience.</p>
<p>1) Almost all college programs will require full-time faculty to have and MFA or Phd. The exceptions are usually professional “stars,” in this case the high level professional experience and notoriety can trump the degree. Generally speaking, while college faculty search committees will look at where someone went to undergraduate school, where they went to graduate school, professional experience in the field, and publishing (for certain positions), and teaching record are looked at MUCH more closely. Full time college faculty are expected to maintain professional work and connections while teaching (this work is often done in the summers). So, the more professional experience and connections a potential faculty member has when hired the more likelihood that they will be able to maintain those connections once teaching full time.</p>
<p>2) Graduate students are considered independent for FAFSA. There are no government provided grants for graduate study, but graduate students do qualify to take out federal student loans. </p>
<p>Grant funding for graduate study generally comes directly from the program. Sometimes in the form of assistantships (teaching, or providing administrative support), sometimes in the form of tuition waivers, sometimes in the form of grants/ scholarships. A university could choose to look at financial need when offering grant packages and assistantships… but, most graduate students are “poor.” Most programs will offer scholarships and assistanships based on talent. Some programs offer scholarships, assistanships, and/ or tuition waivers to all graduate students, some only to as few. It really depends on he school. </p>
<p>For example, when I was at Penn State for grad school all graduate student in the MFA Theatre Arts programs had a full tuition waiver, and an assistanship which at that time amounted to about $11,000 per year. We also had a summer study tuition waiver, and an assistantship (I think about $5000), and were sent to London to study for 6 weeks between our first and second year of study with all airfair, housing, some transportation, and tickets to about 11 productions covered. Pretty Good Deal!! :)</p>
<p>@KatMT - Thank you so much for shedding such firsthand light on all of this! It’s all on the distant horizon from D’s perspective, but she’s finishing up required coursework and will have lots of academic freedom next year (senior year) so I’m interested to know if there are certain types of courses she should consider adding to her mix. </p>
<p>Are there certain undergrad courses and/or experiences that make someone more likely to be admitted to a top MFA program? Have most MFA applicants spent a few years working professionally after getting their undergrad degrees before they apply? If one is finding steady professional work performing do they wait to get an MFA til there’s a break or just take time off to go for it? </p>
<p>I know two people who obtained masters degrees (neither in theatre) while appearing in Broadway shows - but it would take a long-term acting job to allow for that possibility.</p>
<p>MFA programs are really looking for potential excellence in your craft, marketability, etc… I do not think there is specific coursework that would necessarily make someone a more attractive candidate for MFA programs, other than taking more skills based courses in your area to build your skill level. Possibly trying to work as a student Teaching Assistant could help with qualifying for assistanships? But, not necessary. </p>
<p>Some students do go right to graduate school out of undergraduate school. But many will take at least a few years out of school working in the profession before applying to graduate programs. This can help a student clarify what they are looking for in a program, whether they actually want to make a shift to s new area (ex. I was a performer in undergrad and first part of professional career post undergrad, but transitioned into directing, and went to graduate school for that. I worked for 6 years between undergrad and graduate school. Designers, Actors,and PhDs will sometimes go on to graduate school more quickly, but there is really no one model that all follow. Directors tend to be out of school longer before going back, since most programs accept very few directors and want you to have been out working for a while before returning for your MFA. </p>
<p>I know some actors who have gone on for an MFA very close to completing undergraduate school as a way of getting more training, and kick starting their career to the next level professionally. I have know actors who have had successful professional careers in musical theatre for a few years, but really want to move more into roles in straight theatre and choose to go to graduate school. I have known actors who have been working professionally for a long time and would like to transition into college teaching and choose to go to graduate school… etc… many different people and paths :)</p>
<p>@MT4Life and @KatMT - Many thanks for the helpful responses!</p>
<p>Sorry to resurrect another older thread, but I just saw an interesting article that seemed to belong here.</p>
<p><a href=“Cost of Earning a Living As an Actor”>Cost of Earning a Living As an Actor;
<p>Here are some brief, unsurprising and more than slightly depressing snippets…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
Read more: <a href=“How to Start a Career in Acting [My Story Making the Numbers Work] - Part-Time Money”>How to Start a Career in Acting [My Story Making the Numbers Work] - Part-Time Money;
<p>And here I was planning for my husband and I to be able to stay in the guest suite of S’s NYC penthouse apartment and sit in front row seats at all the best theaters courtesy of all his comp tickets. Sigh. . . </p>
<p>Oops… I just saw that @sopranomtmom already linked to this article elsewhere but it’s too late to delete mine. Ah well, guess our penthouse dreams can’t be dashed too often (hah!).</p>
<p>I just want to reassure those of us whose kids were/are MT or bust: I think the mistake we can all make is to think the only thing you can pursue after college with an MT degree is MT. So not true. Many go on to graduate school in a variety of fields. (Law, teaching, art or music therapy, medicine, psychology , etc…). Yes they may have to take a couple of undergrad classes before applying, but so could other liberal arts majors. I have a friend who was an econics major who is now a dentist. She had to take science courses before applying to dental school…it would be no different for an MT grad. Actors can also do well in sales, special events, arts administration, stage management, public relations, marketing, etc… Your child does not have to limit their future to being on Broadway! But by allowing them to pursue an arts degree they do get to go to school to study something they are passionate about, be surrounded by like minded peers and best of all - go for their dreams. No regrets! As long as everyone knows the realities, just remember they are going to get great training, make great connections and will have a college degree in the end. What they do next is up to them, but it by no means will be a waste of time or money no matter what they choose to do down the road. I know it can be scary at times, but you all are fantastic parents for supporting their passion. And they will become productive embers of society. It will be fascinating to watch their journeys :)</p>
As many of our kids approach the Senior Showcase end of college, others are approaching the “pick your college” phase and still other friends are just starting to assemble possible school lists for next year I’m once again interested in hearing how either you or your kids envision their futures. Is this something you talk about?
In spite of the odds I think many people envision careers centered on Broadway. Is that how you think your child is proceeding, or do they have a different (or no) vision of their future? Has their vision (or yours) evolved as they’ve gone through college auditions or college itself?
My daughter vision has nothing to do with Broadway. She doesn’t particularly like very large cities. She would like to perform regionally eventually, but would like to start out on cruise ships. She understands that just performing for a living is not likely. She is and has been studying American Sign Language and would like to be a translator for theatre performances if she herself is not performing.
My child’s goal is to be a working actor. He understands the wide range of employment that is encompassed by that term. Since he has grown up as the child of a working actor he has a realistic vision of a future filled, if he’s fortunate, with a constantly changing patchwork of jobs in theatre, film, television, commercials, books-on-tape, animation, promos, industrials, and so on. He realizes that this level of success is extremely unusual and expects that he may, at times, need to teach, coach, music direct, or do other jobs “in the business” that are not about performing. He’s aware that all the talent in the world is no guarantee of employment - that luck plays a huge role - and that all he can do is work hard, be a lifelong learner, and cultivate flexibility in all areas.
Son is not of the Broadway or bust mindset. Where we live, many have seasonal jobs, side jobs, as well as their main income job, and I told him he will probably be living a similar life and he seemed fine with the idea. He would love to get a crack at voice acting, live theatre, film, TV, writing, etc. and is open to many possibilities. He is a freshman at a great school, has made many friends and has already grown in so many ways. No matter the outcome, his time in college will have been well spent.