Professor Hardlen teaching Intro to Theater-photo by Jasmin Shirley
By Jasmin Shirley
- Defining your position for your career in theater.
- Build your portfolio on Backstage.
- Making connections and how to network.
According to experts, navigating post-graduation survival as a theater arts major demands resilience, creativity, and adaptability. While some actors say graduates must harness their skills onstage and off, networking, freelancing, and pursuing diverse opportunities to thrive in the competitive entertainment industry landscape.
Embracing Your Talent: Choosing Your Career Path
As a theater major graduate, the post-graduation landscape can be both exciting and daunting according to theater magazines. Pursuing auditions and internships to honor your craft through continued education and networking, the path forward is filled with opportunities to showcase your talent and passion for the performing arts. One of the major decisions a student has to make is finding the career choice that fits you according to theater magazines.
Backstage, an American entertainment industry magazine describes the different fields that a person with a theater art degree theater arts graduates can pursue depending on what interests them. Examples would be actors, dancers, musicians, directors, stage managers, set designers, and other fields that connect to theater.
“The best way to go about pursue a career as an actor is to get connections, and build credibility to get notice from a producer or director when you audition or if you stay in touch with people who have got a position in the field,” said Tom Marion, chair of the Performing and Fine Arts Department at York.
How to Network and Make Connections
With that in mind, Marion also mentioned keeping an open mind about looking for auditions because the amount of opportunities is limited and sometimes hard to find. He suggested that between auditions waiting time for a call back from any audition, have the student try to take an acting class to brush up on some skills or even take technical theater classes, pick up some technical theater or backstage work to help out behind the scenes until you can be in the spotlight. Some examples of acting class studios that are available in New York from Timeout Magazine would be The Barrow Group Acting, HB Studio, and The New York Acting School for Television and Film.
Building Your Portfolio
In a theater publication(Backstage) it says that another step a student should take is building a portfolio. A portfolio in the sense for a theater student is almost similar to a resume but it is more so toward advertising why a director/producer should hire you as an actor.
In Another article on Backstage, gives an example of what a student would need for an actor’s portfolio: Headshots, demo reel, bio, contact info, reviews/testimonials, online presence, training/education, special skills, and regular updates. This helps producers to have a sense of individual talents. He is excited to team up with a newly refurbished film studio in Communications Technology where theater arts majors will be able to create professional quality material for their demo reels.
“Sometimes production companies are looking to find an actor to play a specific character that has a type or trait,” Marion said. Many parts are described by “type,” and it helps to understand how casting agents will see you. Type is a troupe physical look that some characters have to which fits depict their personality. Like when it comes to a father and son role, most producers try to find a father type who looks not only older but also taller and much older than the actor cast to play their adult son, even though, in real life, men often grow up to be taller than their fathers. how the son looks. So when you audition just keep in mind that producers might be trying to find people that physically fit that role.
Engaging with the Theater Community
Erica Jeudy, a York college graduate of class 2023, currently works a part-time job as a direct support professional and a stage manager for the company name Negro Ensemble Company. “The reason I was able to get this position was because of another former graduate who reached out to me about the company and told me that they were looking for a stage manager,” Jeudy said. “Because of my experience with doing a production at York, the company made me work with them until I was needed for my current position I have today.”
With Jeudy’s experience, she was lucky enough to have that connection to get the position that she was in, but she also mentioned that a person should build their reputation by doing small skits either at the college or outside or out of college. Posting short skits, scenes, and performances that you have done during the school semester can help to find a connection with someone who can possibly steer you in the right direction.
Gearing For Up For The Future
Sweta Ambati, a Theater Arts Major said, “I have started building a profile and have started networking towards my goal. Pursuing theater arts in college allows me to gain experience daily.” So far she has taken many acting classes and has participated in many school productions (both backstage and as an actor).
She also was able to meet many people who helped her learn how to improve her resume. For one of her classes, she is currently working on a play that she plans to do for my TA 490 class(Independent Research). It’s been a project that she was passionate about for a while and also plans on acting as the lead for this play as well.
In an article called Medium, an online publishing platform home for human stories and ideas says theater arts play a vital role in society, offering a platform for expression, storytelling, and reflection. It is also a space for cultural preservation, experimentation, and community engagement. Overall, theater arts contribute significantly to the enrichment of human experience and the advancement of society.
Theater Art presenting their play for next month. Photo Credits by Jasmin Shirley
