<p>One of the best trial attorneys I know was a theater major!</p>
<p>Theater major to trial attorney is a very natural progression, and not because of public speaking and the usual guffaws about presenting fantasy with panache. </p>
<p>Actors are trained to listen extremely well. They must be in-the-moment present emotionally with every other actor onstage, to react to them. A trial attorney with training in acting would listen for surprises in testimony during every deposition or trial, and quick enough to redirect those surprises effectively.</p>
<p>Also, good actors are expected to do serious character research (Psychology), along with understanding the context of every play (History, Literature…). When handed a script, my son doesn’t just memorize lines to deliver them accurately. He also tears apart every word of every line, using a blend of Linguistics and Anthropology, to recognize and claim the character’s intention for each word spoken. The logic and language analysis that underlies preparation for a character role would also be relevant to preparing a case for trial.</p>
<p>Give your parents some credit for knowing you. They may know that you live, live, live for your acting opportunities now – but have known you long enough that they remember the ballerina and/or dinosaur passion when you were five and the frog/boy/motorcycle passion when you were eleven. </p>
<p>Think of football for a moment (a great passion for many but perhaps not for you). Literally millions of kids play football from age 8 to 18. Then the ranks start to narrow rapidly, with just a few thousand playing college ball nationwide. From college to pro ball the field narrows even more brutally with just a few hundred employed – and even fewer that make it beyond year Two. </p>
<p>So what would you advise an 18 year old who declared he loves, loves, loves football and has every intention of making that his career?</p>
<p>Chances are you would see the potential problems with this plan and would encourage him to broaden his base with some . . . business classes (or some other really employable major). You can “believe” in him and his passion – but also be aware of the harsh realities of the field. </p>
<p>So don’t be snotty. Be shrewd. At the very least YOU (not parents) come up with an income earning scenario that will support you while you make all those post college auditions so they don’t have to lie awake at night thinking “We paid $100K for college and she can do a great Chicago Hand but she can’t make rent”. Be it webpage design or “manny” or UN translator, have a plan to get a skill set that pays the rent reliably. Then you might find that the parents are both relieved and more optimistic and supportive of your path.</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone for the posts. </p>
<p>I’m almost finished with my commonapp stuff and don’t worry, NYU wasn’t the only college I applied to. To be honest, now I realized that I’ll be happy in whatever I land on to (whether it’s Tisch, or Northeastern, or Emerson, etc). I’ve made my choices - Business or Theatre, and I am happy with it.</p>
<p>I haven’t looked at the OP’s stats, but isn’t Northwestern an obvious choice for a student interested in both theatre and business?</p>
<p>Not really, consolation – the theater program is so intense you really couldn’t do both theater and an economics or similar major.</p>
<p>But a student could still get a tremendous education that would serve them well if they chose to go on to business after majoring in theatre at NU. Not sure why someone has to major in business. There are still alot of liberal arts requirements at NU even for theater majors.</p>
<p>Well, you can’t major in business anyway at NU, unless you’re in the graduate program :-). I just mean I never heard of anyone who was a theater-and-econ major (can you double-major across the 2 schools? I don’t know).</p>
<p>I don’t know about at NYU but DW majored in Finance and Math at two schools at a regional U.</p>
<p>I looked through the four pages and it doesn’t seem like there’s a clear answer to one of the original issues mentioned yet, so </p>
<ul>
<li>if you’re in Tisch, you can double major in any major, or minor in any minor, offered by the College of Arts and Sciences, provided you can fit all the classes you need. Not all majors are created equal in terms of number of classes: International Relations is a tough one, requiring around 14 classes (including an honors thesis) and a semester abroad, for example. Another exception seems to be journalism, due to the requirement that all journo majors double-major within CAS (a wise policy, imho).</li>
<li>the wording is a bit wonky on NYU’s forms but I think Tisch Drama and Dance majors cannot double major within Tisch. Tisch Film, Photography and Recorded Music majors cannot double major in each others’ departments. It doesn’t leave that many combinations (Film + Dramatic Writing / Film + Cinema Studies seem to be the most common).</li>
<li>Tisch students cannot double major in any other NYU school - not Stern, not Steinhardt, not any other school.</li>
<li>I’m pretty sure you can minor in BEMT as a drama major. I’m not sure about other non-CAS minors.</li>
</ul>
<p>You’re wise, I think, to want to develop skills in another area besides acting. You might not mind waitressing, but if you can develop the skills to carve out another niche for yourself while going to auditions and building up a performing career, why not? It could also help to assuage your parents’ doubts.</p>
<p>Besides - let’s be frank. I’m from the little red dot, and I know how it is for actors there.
(By the way, OP, feel free to drop me a PM - I’ve worked in SG theatre a lot, and can give you advice on that if you think you might return to Singapore after graduation. I’m in Tisch film, and might be able to help with some admissions/academic questions.)</p>
<p>Edited to add: Can I also add that if your predicted IB score is accurate, you shouldn’t have any problems double-majoring. I think you can handle the workload.</p>
<p>Your parents know you very well - and they have a lot of life experience. Perhaps they see that, in time, you will be equally passionate about eating and paying the rent.</p>
<p>One of the options in the Drama Department is to do an internship for credit. This can be in arts management. As I said earlier, there are plenty of opportunities to get hands-on experience and education about the business aspect of the arts at Tisch (which upon graduation can easily be transferred to a different industry).</p>
<p>I agree with the posters who say to develop additional skills, but personally, I don’t see that this needs to mean from academic book learning. My D is developing different artistic skills that she might be able to use either as a teacher or as a free lancer in something that has a bit more control than acting. </p>
<p>This will enable her to stay connected and immersed in the arts world, while still pursuing stage dreams.</p>
<p>Agree with you, SDonCC. Having additional skills doesn’t mean a second major or another academic subject or career area. Like your daughter (though mine has now been out of college for 2.5 years with a BFA in Drama from Tisch), she has varied skill sets, but all within the arts. Most actors/performers have “survival” jobs on the side. But my D’s survival jobs are all in the arts and utilize various other skills besides performing. She is involved in many facets of the arts. She did not double major at Tisch or even minor in another subject. </p>
<p>When she is not performing in musical theater, or as a singer-songwriter (though she is constantly doing both of those things as well), she has jobs doing the following: accompanist (such as for college classes, or shows/performances or on recordings), teacher (of musical theater programs for youth/teens), musical director (for both college productions and other productions in NYC), private vocal/audition coach and piano teacher, and has been commissioned by a major theater to write a musical, and also is selected as an artist in residence at another theater in NYC that includes a commission to create a new work for that theater. All these jobs are at the same time she is involved as both a musical theater performer in shows and also is working as a singer/songwriter performing in NYC in venues and has an album out. She still performs in NYC on average a couple times per week (even tonight she is performing in a concert with a slew of Broadway performers even though she is the only unknown). So, yes, it is good to develop a range of skills but these do not all have to be in another field entirely but can all still be in the arts. And yes, many at Tisch get involved in jobs such as arts management and the like.</p>
<p>To correct Pizzagirl, you absolutely can double major with Theatre and Economics or some other major, many, many Theatre kids do. MT kids also double major, some even double major and minor. It all depends on how much of each you want. </p>
<p>My daughter decided that she wanted to take as many MT and Theatre classes as possible (including dance) and then take classes that she loved outside of her major for “relaxation” and “fun” and not double major or minor. As a result she’s has taken at least 6 classes in Theatre/Mt each term (trimester) and usually 1 or 2 “fun” classes like multivariable calculus and other advanced math classes I can’t even spell plus a history class. She’s a junior now and has enough credits to graduate but has not, of course, completed the sequencing for Theatre and MT so she’s decided to continue with even more difficult but “fun” math classes as pass/fail to alleviate pressure.</p>
<p>That is the beauty of NU in particular and a BA program in general.</p>
<p>SDonCC and soozievt: I agree with you about “survival” skills not needing to be outside of the arts (though as a film major, it’s definitely easier for me to see the latitude the skills I’m developing provide in a potential job search than to see how actors’ skills can be similarly applied). I’ve worked short stints in arts management and I agree it’s a great way to be involved in the arts while picking up business/project management skills (budgets, purchasing, liaising with various parties, event planning, corp communications, etc.) that are transferable to almost any industry. An added bonus: since even major arts companies/institutions are often small and have very flat hierarchies, there’s a good chance you’ll get more responsibility at those places as a student than at a company of similar stature in a different industry. That’s been my experience in Singapore at least.</p>
<p>However, on the subject of picking up these skills through academic classes (whether in the form of electives, a minor or a second major) - I notice that the OP has already expressed an interest in business, and is genuinely considering going in that direction as well. Her academic record suggests she can handle the workload of an additional major or minor. So in this case, I’d say - why not? As a minor/major, she’d gain the resources of another department in terms of internships, career advising and contacts, and that’s before you factor in the structure and rigor that those classes provide (ideally, at least).</p>
<p>Many actor’s skills are transferrable. Scroll down below “Tasks” to read about the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Work Contexts of actors, as described via the US Department of Labor. </p>
<p>[27-2011.00</a> - Actors](<a href=“http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-2011.00]27-2011.00”>27-2011.00 - Actors)</p>
<p>The financial profile for actors makes one go “ouch” but there’s no doubt the training generates a useful skill set.</p>
<p>p3t, great list! I’ve seen some others like it before too. I think too much emphasis is made as to college major. Many people in the work force don’t have jobs directly related to their college major. People who major in theater, psychology, political science, anthropology, English, history, economics, French, etc. can hold many jobs. Not only that, but a major is well, just your college major, not the whole of your college education. While my kid did major in musical theater and drama, she took many other courses in liberal arts and became an educated person who is capable of doing many things. In fact, even some of her work in the arts involves her skills as a writer. She is paid to write.</p>
<p>Thanks - I didn’t know that double-majoring across theater and econ was so common.</p>
<p>[27-2011.00</a> - Actors](<a href=“http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-2011.00]27-2011.00”>27-2011.00 - Actors)</p>
<p>There’s more…scroll to end of page, for “Work Styles” and “Work Values” - interesting~!</p>
<p>Hey OP, have you considered Fordham University, their Lincoln Center campus has a great theater dept (very competitive) , walking distance from Times Square.</p>