Figuring out a concentration

[sstev31]

Hey everyone! I'm trying to figure out which concentration I would like to pursue right now. My university offers the following:

• performance
• film and television
• arts administration
• theatre studies
• design and technology

I'm currently concentrating in arts administration, thinking the business side of theatre is more practical. However, my heart is in stage management and it's something I've always wanted to do. I'm excelling in my SM class right now and not doing too hot in my business classes. 

So I'm wondering if I should stay in arts admin or switch into something like theatre studies or design and technology. For those of you looking to hire a Stage Manager or ASM, what would you recommend?

Thank you!

[PSMKay]

If I were in a hiring position, I'd want to see a resume with a diversity of real production experience. It doesn't matter what coursework you've taken. Your university experience will take up about 2-3 lines on your resume at most.

[On_Headset]

Kay's got it. I'd hire someone with 5 years of experience over someone with 5 years of coursework in a heartbeat.

The dirty little secret of education is that, from the very second you've got your diploma in your hand, nobody cares about your grades. Don't take the path of least resistance: take whatever you need to take in order to acquire the skills necessary to build a post-graduation career.

In fact, the conventional wisdom ("Do whatever you're good at") doesn't really apply to professional programs like theatre: if you're getting an easy A+ in a course, you may not be learning a whole lot from the experience; if you're working your butt off and only clearing a C+, you're clearly exploring new territory and are being challenged in new and unexpected ways. In many respects, the latter course will be more helpful to your professional development, if not to your academic average.

[KMC]

Kay's got it. I'd hire someone with 5 years of experience over someone with 5 years of coursework in a heartbeat.

Yes.  Hell, I'd take someone with two years of good, solid experience over five years of coursework. 

The dirty little secret of education is that, from the very second you've got your diploma in your hand, nobody cares about your grades.

In general I agree with this, but to play devil's advocate - if you're planning on a master's degree (I am assuming OP is discussing BA or BFA options) they will somewhat care about grades.  That said, I still would not base my courseload off of the easy A.  Even still a master's program worth the money will weigh your experience and career much more than grades.

[PSMKay]

Of course none of this is answering the original question.

So, to clarify, here are some questions that would float through my mind if I were hiring for a pro SM or ASM position and received a resume from a recent college grad:

- Do they have experience in dealing with cast members of all ages and backgrounds, or only college kids?
- Have they worked in the type of house that we have here? (e.g., Arena, Thrust, Black box)?
- Do they understand the budget constraints of professional theatre or have they only worked in environments where money is no problem?
- Have they worked in a situation where designers are not all immediately accessible and on hand?
- Have they worked in a situation where they don't have a prop shop and/or costume shop nearby to pull rehearsal props and costumes?
- Are they familiar and practiced in dealing with union regulations?
- Do they have the aesthetic skill and sense of timing necessary to maintain the types of shows we produce? (e.g., script analysis, character preservation, timing for audiences, training & putting in understudies)

Now, when you say "concentration" you could mean either of two things. One, your college (like my alma mater) calls the traditional "major" a "concentration" instead. This means that I "concentrated" in theatre arts. Alternately, your college may have a "theatre arts" major, with any of the concentrations you listed as sub-options to delineate your focus. If you were to define my college experience this way, I "majored" in theatre arts, but "concentrated" in surrealistic French marionette theatre of the early 20th century. Note that I did not "concentrate" in stage management. However, by the time I graduated I had probably 15 university stage management credits, 8 professional stage management credits and 2 pro directing credits on my resume.

As for which is the best to choose? Go with the one that gives you the most connections and hands-on experience with third-party performing arts groups. If none are available, go with the one that leaves you enough time to pursue these third-party connections on your own. Work on some school productions - the connections you make with your classmates while doing them may come in handy later in life. But make sure you find a way to diversify that experience so that you can bulk up your resume and have opportunities to apply your classroom learning in real life situations.