10 Tips from a Theatre Production Major
1. Don’t make your whole life about theatre
It is so easy to get sucked up into the realm of theatre between your lectures, show calls, your Spotify playlists, going to check out all the plays happening in the city, etc. But there is so much more out there! It can definitely feel draining but don’t be afraid to listen to different music genres or take classes in other subject areas.
2. Take elective courses you’re actually interested in.
Okay so you can go into Google and type in “(your school’s) easy elective courses” but that is wrong on so many levels:
The workload may be easy but if the subject is so mind-numbingly boring you’re not going to do well.
You’re spending all this money on post-secondary education, why not use it to study something you have an interest in?
I personally took U.S. American history because I love history and partially because of Alexander Hamilton but I’m also taking French and Mandarin courses because I enjoy it and it’ll be useful for me in the future.
3. Make friends outside of your program
If you’re in a small theatre program (I have around 50 people in my year) and you’re all taking the same required courses you can definitely get sucked into only socializing with the same people you’re stuck with. However, it is so refreshing to be able to talk with someone not in your program and not about theatre. I meet up with a few of my non-program friends once a week/every two weeks in order to get a break from my program. Strike up a conversation with people in your elective classes or join clubs to meet people who won’t always be talking about the next show or upcoming assignment.
SO. SO. IMPORTANT. My program recognizes the terrible work/life balance the entertainment industry has so every Sunday our theatres go dark in order to implement some sort of balance for us. In a similar vein, you have to look out for yourself. Especially during tech and show weeks, make sure you get enough sleep every night. If you’re a commuter like me, see if you can crash at a friend’s. Bring lots of snacks so you’re not starving when you need to be alert and learning. Also try your best to work on assignments beforehand so you can relax a bit while you’re stressed out of your mind. And for your elective classes, let your professors know what’s going on and see if you can get extensions on assignments. Usually they’re pretty sympathetic but just don’t know how time-consuming our program can be.
5. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses
When I was in high school, and there were 5 tech team members, I thought I had to be good at stage management, lighting, audio, and everything else in order to make a show run. THAT IS NOT THE CASE! When I got to university I realized there were so many different aspects that there is no literal way that someone could be good in every single thing. I definitely struggled with not excelling at everything, I realized I’m pretty bad at costume and I have a lot to learn in carpentry but I’m okay with that! And I have plenty of people I can ask for help, and I can help them with lighting and audio.
6. Everyone learns at a different speed
Everyone has different experiences in theatre production coming from into university. Some are coming straight from high school and have been heavily involved in theatre for 5+ years (mE), some are more interested in film/TV but are here anyways, some have admired it from afar but have little to no experience. My point is, everyone’s path is different and your first year is an introduction year to get everyone to the same level. If you’re more experienced, don’t be annoyed that you’re back to learning the basics because you came here to learn and that is what you’ll be doing. I promise you’ll be given more responsibility and opportunities to show off how much you know but for now, be patient and let others catch up and learn.
7. Yes theatre history can be boring
I don’t know about you folks, but I love political/social history so I thought theatre history would be lots of fun! Unfortunately, not so much. My history courses were taught together with the acting and dance programs so it explored a lot of acting and dance history with a little production history sprinkled here and there. There is only so much you can pretend to care about how revolutionary some French writer from the 1700′s was and how he cHaNgeD tHe gAmE. Anyways, we’ve all been there, I promise it will end in eventually and after that you probably won’t ever have to think about it again.
8. Don’t get involved in drama
Again, if your program is small, that means word gets around. (This is also true in the industry; theatre is very small and if you have a bad rep it’s definitely hard to get rid of it) This means that if there is drama (and there definitely will be who are we kidding) try your best not to stick your head into it and stir the pot. If you really have to, vent to someone outside of your program so no one can trace it back to you.
9. DO. NOT. DATE. IN. YOUR. PROGRAM.
I don’t care how cute you think that person is the first week of classes, do not go for it I promise it will not end pretty and you’ll feel super awkward until you graduate and then end up working with them. There are 50 000 other people at your school/in your city/in your life that you could date so go find one of them.
Okay I understand how cheesy this sounds but stick with me for a second. You’re here because you really really like theatre and live entertainment and it’s fun! So why shouldn’t your education experience be? For the first time in a long time, I truly looked forward to going to school and that’s how enjoyable it should be for you. And if you realize theatre isn’t for you? That’s totally fine and you should be chasing what makes you happy instead of sticking it out just because you chose it when you were 17. If that means taking a year or two to discover yourself and find out what you want in life, do it because you’ll be living a long one.
