BWW Blog: Not Majoring in Theatre

I never did theatre in high school, I always appreciated and enjoyed theatre, but I never had the desire to do it. When I went to school at St. John's University, I was dragged to the first meeting one of the theatre organizations had, and I had not looked back from there. To be honest though, I was intimidated because of the intense schedule and being surrounded by people who had been doing theatre their entire lives. However, I learned the ropes behind the scenes quickly, and have continued forward from there.

As a junior I get asked a lot how I manage the schedule of theatre, my classes, and my social life. If I am being honest, I am not sure how I even do it. Before the pandemic, rehearsals for shows were six days a week, for four or five hours each night. During tech week, those hours could even go to the early morning hours of 1 am, but we did it because we loved it. On the other hand, because of these hours, a lot of people assume we all major in theatre. However, St. John's University does not have a theatre major. They have a theatre and a musical theatre minor, but not a major. Everyone who does theatre has a separate major outside of what they do in theatre. Every major you can think of from homeland security to advertising to psychology to biomed to television and film and education. Everyone has a different major, and surprisingly, not many people actually minor in theatre, a lot of people consider theatre their outlet and their sanctuary, a place away from the hustle and stress of schoolwork.

I think the great thing about being so involved in theatre while having other majors, minors, and interests, is it diversifies your hobbies and activities, and allows you to meet new people. I would have never met some of my best friends if it was not for doing theatre in the first place, and I think that is a wonderful asset to it. Also, it means I get to meet people of all different backgrounds, I get to meet people who have done theatre their whole lives and love being onstage, I know people who love being backstage, and I know people like myself, who are completely new to theatre, but love every second of being involved in it. I think that's a beautiful thing, knowing so many people with so many different perspectives.

On the other hand, when no one majors in theatre, I believe there is less competition in auditioning for shows. Obviously, there is still friendly competition because people want certain roles, which is completely normal. However, we do not depend on it, we all do this for our own entertainment and to be with our friends, and I think that is wonderful. People will do different things just to be involved and work with great people. I was a freshman when I got my first role ever in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was the most nervous I had ever been for something in my life for my audition. I was shaking and I wanted to cry, but I knew I wanted to perform and I wanted to be a part of a show for the first time in its entirety. I took a breath, and did what I could at the audition, and I got the part of Mrs. Beauregarde and had the time of my life performing for the children in the audience. The next position I had was a production assistant backstage for All Shook Up, to completely opposing parts, but both essential in the production of the show. As a production assistant I was an essential part of the stage management team that helped behind the scenes for the entire show. To this day, that is one of my favorite positions that I have ever held in my few years doing theatre.

I think there is something beautiful about the diversity that comes with not everyone majoring in theatre. There are so many people of different majors and backgrounds coming together to tell one common story and put together a show, and I think that is the beauty of theatre and the arts, is that it truly brings people together, and I think the dedication that people have is amazing to see.