Student Blog: The Value of a Theatre B.A.

If you told my 17-year-old self that I wasn’t studying performance in college, she would, with twitching eyes and a strained smile, ask “What.” The bouncing vamp for Rose’s Turn would play and she’d spiral from there. 

I can see the relief in my mom’s face when I talk to her about my classes and internships. She’s the one who told me that I couldn’t study anything theatre-related without also studying something that could get me a ‘real job’. I’m grateful for this because I’d like to have a future where I can pursue my dreams while having some kind of financial stability, and it opens different opportunities for me.  The myth of the ‘starving and struggling artist is just that- a myth. Or at least now it is. 

Something I appreciate about Marymount is how all Theatre majors, BFA or not, must take a collection of tech-based classes like Stagecraft or Elements of Directing. This allows students in the Theatre Arts route to connect with those in the BFA cohort while also allowing the performance-based majors to develop skills and appreciation for the other work that goes into a show. 

But what exactly is Theatre Arts? 

At Marymount Manhattan College, Theatre Arts is a general theatre degree that you can choose a concentration of Directing, Stage Management, Theatre History and Performance of Texts, Writing for The Stage, or Theatre and New Media. When I first started, I had a Theatre and New Media concentration, which I quickly found was not for me due to its thin relationship with live performance. 

When I was in kindergarten and had to draw what I wanted to be when I grew up, I drew ‘director’. Looking back, I couldn’t tell you why. I just knew I loved making the wildest plots with my dolls- someone always had amnesia. When exploring my options moving forward, including transferring, I found an interest in directing. I spoke to one of my professors about it and was assured that even though it’s not what I wanted, a lot of actors find themselves in directing roles and the best directors usually began as actors. So I officially changed to directing, even though I had no clue if I would like it, let alone be good at it. 

But I did like it, I liked it a lot actually. A lot of my peers said it fit me. 

What do I also like? 

The flexibility that I wouldn’t have had I been a part of a BFA program. There’s a strong chance I can graduate a semester early, a year earlier if I want to. I’m not required to audition for Mainstages so I can spend that time building an out-of-school network in the industry and working internships. I still have to work on Mainstages, in Stagecraft and Assistant Directing, and some kind of show for Stage Management, but I have a lot of agency. There’s also a lot less competition, which honestly is a blessing in disguise. 

Along with that, it allows me to focus on my other interests as well, like Public Relations. It’s much easier to double major and ‘double dip’, or take one class for two requirements. I find it fascinating the way two different fields can relate. When I direct, I take note of what I’ve learned in my communication classes, especially with things like body language. You’d be surprised too how much being a director hinges on good communication- how to give clear and actable notes, how to create a positive yet disciplined environment, and how to communicate with the audience, the actors, and the crew. A lot of students at Marymount have a theory that everything goes back to theatre at the end of the day, and I think if you look hard enough, that just may be true. 

As someone who is an avid planner, especially when it comes to my career, it gives me the chance to be skilled in multiple theatre-related fields. As I mentioned before, one of my required classes is Stage Management even though that’s not my concentration. It’s an important skill and also allows me both as a director and actor to appreciate what the stage manager does for a show, which is arguably the most work. 

To be an ‘artist’ today is to be an interdisciplinary creator and worker. A Theatre B. A allows students to explore different aspects of theatre, honing different skills, and giving students the space to experiment with what they do and don’t like doing. While working my internship at Lincoln Center, I got to meet a lot of people who work there, many people who work part-time while pursuing careers in theatre. They don’t put themselves into this box of only being one thing and they reap the benefits of it. I find my peers limiting themselves to what they do and assuming the things I can or can’t do because of my major. The truth is, life is a lot longer than you’d think so there are many chances to grow out of these limitations you place on yourself.  So why not start now? An actor can live a thousand lives through a thousand performances, so why not live those lives now? 

Signed, 

J.F 

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