Dear People Who Think Theatre Is a Useless Major,
Hello. My name is Madison, I am a theatre major, and I am proud of it! You may think that it is useless because it isn’t practical. But let’s be real here – tons of majors that you probably would “approve of” aren’t practical. According to Forbes…majors like Archaeology, Religion, Physical Fitness, Graphic Design, and History are also terrible things to major in. Don't believe me? Check it out: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fgek45hg/the-least-.... Yes, I know that theatre is on that list, as well as music, other fine arts, and liberal arts. But let me tell you why theatre is amazing.
People with mental health issues, like myself, can use theatre to help them cope. I know for me, I can get up on stage and love life and be totally mentally stable because I am not myself, I am my character. My character may not have the best mental health, or maybe they do, but stepping out of my own body into someone else’s is a way for me to try and ignore what is going on with me personally for a while. Even if it is for five minutes of me not being in my body, it still is five minutes that I am not thinking about the things driving me crazy.
Theatre gives people some amazing life experience--and quickly. With theatre, you need to know that it is competitive. It is so competitive that you will get 1,000 no’s before you get a yes. And you need to be okay with that. Being in theatre gives you a thick skin that you might not develop as quickly if you weren’t in theatre. You need to not be knocked down to your feet and give up when you get a no. You need to smile and get back out there. This is useful in so many aspects of life. You can’t just get yourself down every time someone tells you no or you don’t get what you want. Theatre teaches that just because you might not work for one person, you will fit perfectly for another. Going back to the competitive thing, you need to be okay with going up for something against your best friend and be okay, and not be mad at them, if they get the part while you don’t. Since theatre is so competitive, you will need to learn to not be spiteful of people you love since you will go up against someone you love at least once, if not 100 times. You just need to be happy for them and still support them and love them. That takes some serious skill to do.
Theatre also is something that doesn’t really do any harm. Theatre can be expressive of what is going on and give some serious social commentary on trending/relevant things, but it isn’t harming anyone.
Theatre is a great way to learn about history. As I previously said, theatre can be huge on social commentary. Let’s look at Rent! You can watch Rent and learn about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s. Let’s look at Hamilton! Lin Manuel Miranda wrote Hamilton true to the story and it is being used to teach kids American History.
Theatre teaches creativity. Theatre helps develop our creativity in tons of ways. You may have an idea for some blocking or a different way to deliver a line. Not only that, but theatre can help you later if you want to write it. Having experience with scripts can help you if you want to dabble in it a little bit at a later time.
So, next time you say that theatre is useless, I want you to think back to this article. The next time that you want to watch a movie, don’t. There’s actors in that who probably have a theatre degree. The next time you want to go to a play, don’t. There’s actors in that who probably have a theatre degree. Next time you want to watch TV, don’t. There’s actors in that who probably have a theatre degree. Theatre has become so relevant in our daily lives and you can’t avoid that. The live arts are not dying. You may not think of it this way, but almost every single thing you see or hear is somehow related to art. Theatre is not a dying art and it is important. Don’t say that theatre is useless, unless you want to stop appreciating the things you love like movies, television, and plays.
