Things I Wish I Knew as a Freshman Theatre Major
Majoring in any form of theater is very different from a typical college experience. From the very beginning you are thrust into a tight-knit group of people whom you spend almost every waking hour with for 4 years. You are expected to deep-dive into emotions most people work hard to avoid, you compete for roles, cheer each other on, and work in groups and partners almost every day. This is a difficult environment to navigate, so I wanted to help! I reached out to some of my friends from college as well as current colleagues to find out: What do you wish you knew as a freshman theatre major? Here’s what we came up with - enjoy!
Just because he is straight does not mean you should date him. As a general rule, do your best to date outside the department (this goes for everyone). Theatre departments can be quite incestuous, so why give yourself the headache!
You are allowed to have friends outside of the department. Sometimes, this can feel impossible because WHEN?! But, it is so important to put in the time and effort to cultivate friendships outside of the theater world. At the very least, they will be safe people to confide in when you need to vent and at best they will become lifelong friends who open your world to more things. I made some of my very best friends by accidentally joining a sorority (more on that another time). It is healthy to have friends with different interests, don’t narrow your scope and deprive yourself of some incredible people!
You do not need to always get the lead to be a good actor. Most of us theater majors tend to have been big fish in small ponds in high school, but this is no longer the case when you get to college. You can learn immense amounts about acting and productions by being in the ensemble. Some of my best acting happened in class rather than as a lead on stage. Being a lead is awesome and you learn a ton there too, but don’t let yourself get caught up in how “big” your part is - you have a lifetime of huge and tiny roles ahead of you, they are all worth it.
Sleep is important. There is will always be a mountain of work and tons of socializing to be done, but sleep is vital to success. Honestly, this goes for all college students and humans in general, but especially as a theatre major when you don’t get out of rehearsal until 11 and THEN you have homework and a potential date - when is sleep even supposed to happen? I’m not saying to skip homework or that you can never go out, but prioritizing sleep will get you farther than an all-nighter every time. You retain information (like lines) better, you feel better, and you are overall better prepared to live through your day when you have plenty of sleep. Sleep is when your body and brain rejuvenate, reset, recover, and get ready for the next day - don’t deprive yourself!
Procrastinating sucks - don’t do it. Again, this goes for all college students, but when you have a syllabus that tells you when tests and papers are happening, why not use it? I can’t tell you the number of times I saw people in the library literally crying because there was too much to do and not enough time to do it, all because they didn’t start a paper early enough. I know I sound like such a nerd right now, but I don’t care! No one ever regretted getting assignments done early.
Your professors can tell when you didn’t rehearse and they aren’t afraid to call you on it. College is magical place in which your teachers will feel perfectly comfortable humiliating you. Like I said, procrastinating sucks and your professors will make sure you know it. It’s easy to tell your scene partner you guys can just memorize on your own and see what happens in class, but your professors expect more than that - you auditioned for this spot, make the most of it.
Your professors have your back. While that last paragraph made it sound like your professors are out to get you, they are absolutely not! Now, I can only speak from my personal experiences, but I was lucky enough to go to a school where all of my professors expected my best and wouldn’t settle for less. I am beyond grateful for this because now I expect my best and nothing less. They will push you and challenge you and embarrass you if they have to in order to make you the best version of yourself. That being said, if you are overwhelmed or going through a tough time, let them know. Most likely, they will be happy to help and even give you a day or two off to rest and work through whatever you need - you just have to communicate with them.
It’s okay not to be 100% in love with theatre every second of every day. That’s right, I said it! Theatre is magical and inspiring but can also be utterly exhausting. It takes vulnerability and immense amounts of perseverance to do what we do, so if you need a breather, take it! I thought that when I felt like all I wanted was to do or talk about anything NOT theatre-related that meant I had made the wrong choice, that I shouldn’t be a theatre major, maybe I wasn’t cut out for it. I was entirely incorrect. When you are working so hard at one goal day in and day out, it is TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY NORMAL to get a little sick of it sometimes. Take a breath, go do something just for you, and come back rejuvenated and ready to work.
Alright everyone, there you have it. I hope you found these to be helpful and hopefully got you even more excited for your journey into your theatre major. Feel free to add your thoughts or things you wish you had known in the comments below!