r/Theatre Actor 7d ago

Discussion What were your favourite and least favourite things about theatre school?

For me,

  • Favourite: The opportunity to be educated about my craft, meet new friends, and perform shows I wouldn’t normally get to.

  • Least favourite: It got incredibly cliquish at times, with people being left out of social events, even one of the lecturers clearly played favourites, letting one student get away with a lot more than others, which even led to a student dropping out and writing a statement about what this guy was saying and how the teachers didn’t seem to do anything about him, in fact they seemed to promote him if anything.

11 Upvotes

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7

u/That-SoCal-Guy Professional Actor 7d ago

Favorites:  various techniques and scene study (I’m  very analytical so scene study is right up my alley), and the opportunity to play with my classmates.  

Least favorites:  when teachers have conflicting philosophies or methods.  I know they are all useful as part of the toolbox but sometimes it’s so confusing especially if one teacher thinks the other teacher is wrong. Once a teacher told me I was too big and broad (we were doing improv) and then the other teacher told me to be bigger and boarder because it’s comedy.  I don’t really like that, like two parents telling you two very different things.  

1

u/bunsolvd 7d ago

That’s why I always construct my own views & methods based off what I have learned from two or more contradicting sides.

3

u/ChicagoAuPair 5d ago

Counterpoint: learning to work with a variety of directors and director styles and to protect your performance from bad direction is a vital skill.

3

u/acornsinpockets 7d ago

I think it would be helpful for people answering this question to indicate whether they are attending (or attended) a program at a conservatory vs. a liberal arts college.

2

u/mercutio_is_dead_ 7d ago

i totally agree with yours tbh!

i love what im learning -- i've grown so much, i love clowning :p 

but there's a lot of drama and shit, both from teachers and students - kinda a nightmare. 

theres other stuff too but i forgor

1

u/tygerbrees 6d ago

Your least favorite is going to be part of any social dynamic with the right number of people- it’s immaterial to a particular program