Theatre graduates face tough competition

The ratio of new actors just graduating from college that get jobs falls somewhere between 1-to-50 and 1-to-200 according to Audition, one of Richard Walters's text books used for intro theater classes.

Those that do make it in the business do not hold financial security and live on a project to project income, with the average show holding a two month employment and a seasonal contract holding a nine month employment, Walters said.

When employment ends and contracts are up, there is no guarantee an actor will get rehired, and actors may have to go from theater to theater seeking work, continued Walters.

"We act because we love it and believe it's a contribution to the world, and talented folks with perseverance will make it," Walters said.

And some Viterbo graduates have "made it." Arbender Robinson, an acting major that graduated in 1999, has seen success in New York with constant work in Broadway musicals, Walters said. Robinson is currently cast in the musical "Ragtime," but he has also appeared in the musicals "Hair" and "Hairspray." Likewise, Linda Balgard has seen over 25 years of success in New York after graduating from Viterbo in the 1980s.

Jeremy Day, a senior soon to graduate with a double major in music theatre performance and arts administration from Spencer, Wis., feels that his education from Viterbo will help him succeed in such a competitive market. "Most theaters do not require you to have a degree, but with my degree I have learned so many things that an unskilled actor would not know" he said.

The arts have been a big part of Day's life, and he plans on being an active member of the theatre community whether it be acting, producing, or just watching. "I think that you have to truly love what you are doing in life; life is too short to be part of something that isn't a part of you," he said.

Viterbo's theater program holds eight different emphases: bachelor of fine arts in acting, in music theater, in stage management, in design and technical production, Bachelor of Arts in theater studies, and Bachelor of Science in theater education. The most popular programs of freshman coming out of high school are acting and music theater, Walters said.

While the two most popular emphases are in acting and musical theater, jobs in design and technical production, stage management, and teaching are the most secure. Stage managers are usually hired under year contracts which are easily and frequently renewed, Walters said.

As a theater major, students will learn a variety of skills including critical thinking, problem solving, communication skills, and artistic appreciation. Because liberal arts degrees put emphasis on imagination, employers value workers with a liberal arts background as they think and handle problems in a different manner, Walters said. The skills theater graduates possess will help them find other forms of work should they have problems making it in the acting business.

Viterbo's theater program prepares students by choosing plays that fit their learning needs, Walters said. Plays are chosen based on genres and writers, and once a play is picked, it takes between five and six weeks to prepare for show rehearsals. Students practice their parts between three and four hours a night, and the final week layers in costumes, lighting, and sound.

Students in acting and musical theater are required to audition for everything, but they are graded on their performance only twice in their Viterbo careers. Though students aren't graded on the majority of performances, "getting cast demonstrates success in the classroom," Walters said.