Student Blog: The Major That Is Often Swept Under The Rug: Theatre

How can my 15-credit semester be busier than my usual 20-credit semester? I am still searching for an answer. Throughout the semester I find myself working harder and harder to get my work done each week. Days are filled with classes and nights are filled with breaking down the scripts that we are analyzing in my classes that week. I strongly believe in setting personal routines. I wake up, leave for class, eat meals, do my work, socialize, and go to sleep at the same time everyday (except Fridays). Fridays are dedicated to me. I will sleep in late, make myself a nice breakfast and take time for myself.

 It is common for a theatre student to be told that being a theatre major is so easy. I am here to tell all of the non-theatre major readers that that is not true; we make it look easy because we are incredibly driven and passionate individuals who love what they do. Not only do we go to our classes that are significantly smaller than a traditional lecture every day (which means we have to constantly be on our A game and participate), our evenings are filled with late nights filled with rehearsals or extra hands-on classes like technical classes. On top of that, our workload often consists of watching full plays or reading 200+ page plays and taking quizzes and/or writing papers on them (sometimes these plays are not in English). If you take technical theatre classes a lot of the work you need to complete after class hours has to be done in the classroom on your own time. This is because that's the only way to have access to the equipment needed. These are just some examples of the kind of work we are assigned throughout the week. 

On top of homework, theatre majors often need to participate in a certain amount of rehearsal hours to graduate. For someone on the acting track of getting their degree in theatre they can be found preparing for auditions, going to hours of rehearsal night after night, learning their lines, and constantly refreshing the material they are given. For someone on the technical track a rehearsal schedule might mean preparing the space before and after the cast comes into the space, constantly designing looks for many different shows sometimes at the same time, and working collaboratively with people varying in different schedule conflicts. With long rehearsal nights and a ton of work given in class, the seats in a theatre classroom are still always filled. 

As a current junior theatre major, I have gone through many trial and errors to find the right balance when my semester becomes packed and crazy. I’ve learned that doing my work in a location other than my bedroom is really important to my academic success. I have found that I get less distracted when I am in a different location and work is my main focus during that time. It is also extremely important to set time aside for yourself. During my personal time I like to go on walks outside or even watch some TV (I am currently rewatching Smash for the millionth time. I highly recommend it!). Lastly, I make sure to have fun. It may sound cliche, but this experience goes by so fast. My fun consists of hanging out with friends as we watch movies or just talk about the most random topics. 

I truly mean it when I say theatre students are built differently. We are preparing ourselves to break out into this highly competitive community of amazing artists. Through this we are learning to work hard with a full plate as we create and watch our dreams come true one day at a time. To my fellow, incoming, and previous theatre students: you’ve worked hard to get to where you are and you did it! Your peers are there to support you like you are there to support them. Keep working hard. For my non-theatre majors: the next time you wish you had an easier major like “theatre”, I don’t blame you because studying theatre is amazing, but think again because there is so much that goes into being a theatre student.