This post was inspired by a thread in the Educational Theatre Association’s (EdTA) Open Forum, in which a teacher wanted ideas for a class on possible careers in theater besides the obvious ones of acting, directing, and tech. Two members provided excellent responses, and, with their permission, I’m quoting them below.
This is one of the things I really wish had come up when I was in school (one community college and two university training programs). We were learning theater, we were thinking theater, we were living eating and sleeping theater, and we were looking forward to a career in theater. It never occurred to us that the skills we were learning could be used in other fields too; in my case, I ended up in architecture for fifteen years (mostly doing corporate facilities and courthouses), and, later, worked on numerous theme park projects. Over the years I’ve noticed, repeatedly, how true this is in fields besides theater. Many lawyers (for instance) end up in areas other than law itself: they go into business, politics, public relations, finance, and lots of other fields where they still use their legal training. The same is true for doctors and other professions.
Interestingly enough, all the time we were in school, we were thinking of live theater as “the entertainment industry.” The term “the arts” rarely came up.
So here are the two posts. The first one is from Elizabeth Rand, a lighting designer, high school theater operations coach, author, and owner of PRESETT.org.
High School Theatre Management.
A high school theatre student recently asked me what advice I had for someone who wanted to be able to practice his craft as a lighting designer and who also wanted to eat. My response – go into education or management.
Or – combine the two. High School Theatre Management is an emergent profession. More and more high schools are finding out that – with everyone in the school, the district, and the community wanting to use the theatre – their school theatre is starting to operate as a “road house”, and that highly qualified management and staff is needed in order to set up the operating systems, create a safety program, maximize student learning, and determine building performance and academic outcomes. It’s becoming essential to hire a High School Theatre Manager, along with specialized technicians, to run a high school theatre. For some examples of high school theatres which are well managed by a High School Theatre Manager, please visit the Gold Standard Schools page on my website at: http://www.presett.org/gold-standard-schools.html.
The job of a High School Theatre Manager is a rare hybrid job that combines three specialties – education, management, and a tech theatre background. A High School Theatre Manager does not necessarily have to be a specialist in every technical aspect of the theatre, but they do have to know enough in order to hire and manage people who do. They have to be organized and self-motivated. They have to be good at maintaining stacks of paperwork. They also have to have a good grasp of how a theater operates and what policies and procedures will make it operate more smoothly. (A TM is different than a TD or a technician. A Theatre Manager does not always actually run tech for the shows – just as in a hospital, the administrator does not perform the surgeries – but they must have enough specialized knowledge to manage the facility.) And, because this theatre is on a high school campus, and a High School Theatre Manager will be working with students, so they should also have some sort of background and experience in education.
Unfortunately there are no know universities which have a degree in High School Theatre Management, despite the market for these specialists. The closest I’ve found is the Entertainment Business degrees at Full Sail University in Florida (both BS and MS, offered both on campus and online). These degrees can be viewed at: https://www.fullsail.edu/degrees?business=1
The second one is from Stanley Allan Sherman, a custom theatrical mask maker, actor, director, producer, and owner of Mask Arts Company.
In NYC there was, until a few years ago, The Association of Theater Artists and Craftspeople. They included people that create props, costumes, do sets and more for the theater. One of my specialties is I am a Mask Maker, creating custom masks and my line of stock Commedia dell’Arte masks. Creating custom masks for the entertainment industry around the world. Just had a young man fly in from over seas for a custom fitting. Some of the other unusual specialties, a woman that knits and weaves specifically for the film and theater, she is busy. Have friend a that makes swords and weapons for the theater. Sculptures that specialize in paper meche – they also create a lot of the fancy creatures in window displays around the holiday time.
Have a good friend, that besides acting, his main livelihood is made as a publicist specialist for the Off Off Broadway and variety of theater companies. He has developed relationships with all kinds of media that do reviews of shows. He writes the press releases and take the photographs that go into the press. For pre-publicity or reviews. There are people that do the PR public relations. They get all kinds of PR for a show in unusual ways and do things like get the star or director a spot on a TV Show or interview on a well know local or national talk show. They can also create some kind of special event or get the cast to march in a parade.
There are photographers that specialize in the theater. One friend specializes in the world of clowns, variety performers, mimes etc. There are other specializing in only creating photographs for Broadway.
There are also stage crews that specialize in popular music show. They load in and put up all the rigging for major music festivals and road shows. There is a whole monthly magazine devoted to this line of work and it is interesting reading.
There is a costumer, she sews costumes. Has a job with a major city theater company and it is a union job IATSE. That means she has benefits like heath insurance, over time pay and more. When the theater is dark, her union calls her for other jobs. This is in a major city in the NW.
Entertainment law – lawyers that specialize in all aspects of the entertainment world. Putting together the legal paperwork so the producers can raise money. They deal with union contract law. Copyright law for plays, films and media. They can represent a famous actor or performer. Solo or small companies they have a lawyer to write all the contacts and sometime negotiate.
Theatrical accountant, book keeping for the theater and help put together the budgets. It is a specialty. Knowing what you can write off on the taxes and what you cannot. This is a specialty and the good ones get top dollar.
In the film industry there are caterers and craft services. Film and TV production companies are very large. You can compare to an army. The saying goes, “an army travels on its stomach”. Meaning everyone needs to eat. There is competition among film shoot as to who has the best caterers. These are the people that serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then there is craft services which serve all the snacks between lunch and dinner. Sometimes on long shoot that go for 16 hour plus. These people are vital.
Stage make-up. Film make-up. These are specialties. They will travel with a film crew.
Hair is an art. In every television or film studio there are several people all they do is hair. On film productions they will have their own trailer. Sometimes sharing it with the make-up people.
There is a non-profit organization that specializes in health and safety in the entertainment industry. Covering what is toxic and you cannot or should not do, to any kind of safety concern you have. They are feared and loved in the industry.
Film and television studios are there own small cities.
Then outside the union and established theaters, are people that have solo shows, I did this most of my life, touring all over the US. There are small companies and solo performers that tour. Actors and musicians that tour with circuses. People that specialize in party entertainment. Know one women does balloon twisting. Creating more things than you can imagine. One lawyer quit his job as a lawyer and does balloon twisting for parties, mainly law firm parties. There are birthday party specialist and know several women that are excellent at this. One friend an excellent actress, her main money comes from face painting. She is a professional at this.
Do not forget the street performers. There is a large variety of them and some well known performers got there start in the street. It was my first paying job on the streets of Paris, France when I studied there at Ecole Jacques Lecoq, it is partly how I was able to eat and pay my rent.
My first performing job in NYC as a mime, clown and juggler; my spot was Wall Street and Nassau in front of the Federal Treasury building, the steps created a natural theater. Heads of major firms would come to see me. One left me a note with a photograph of me performing. It said, “This is on my desk. It is what helps me get through my day”.
What we know as “theater” involves, and requires, a lot of different skill sets (not to mention mindsets). which can be applied to a lot of different professions. Theater is a perfectly good career field in and of itself, and many people thrive in it, but it’s not a world apart as we sometimes think while in school. Those theater skills can lead to some very interesting alternative careers.
Set Design and Tech 