Position:Home>Theater & Acting> My cousin does technical theater instead of acting...?
Question: My cousin does technical theater instead of acting!.!.!.!?
My cousin has just entered high school!. I think she's a little shy and I know that going to the same high school she did, I was able to really transform myself socially in a lot of good ways by immersing myself in activities and developing a couple of talents!. The problem is my cousin doesn't want to try out for the school basketball team, doing club basketball instead and she took drama but she didn't chose to act in the play!. Instead, she's working on the technical side!. I think if you're going to sign up for drama, you might as well try acting in the play!. I know that actors get more attention and are seen as cooler and stuff, and I thought she should just try acting in the play!. Maybe she was too embarrassed to tell her family she got caught!?
Anyway, I'm not really a meddlesome relative, I don't say any of this out loud, I was just concerned!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I know it may be hard to believe, but not everyone wants to become an actor! Working on the technical side is very skilled and perhaps your cousin is more interested and better equipped for those tasks!. The great thing about working on the technical side of theatre, is that you get to work on some great shows, have the benefit of knowing that you contributed to them and that the actors couldn't do without you!. It doesn't matter (within reason!) how tall you are, what you look like, whether you are blond or brunette!. You are wanted for your skills more than anything else!. I get a buzz when working on a good show, just as much as the actors, but the great thing is I don't have to learn lines!. Confidence comes from knowing that you are good at what you do and your cousin may gain her confidence by learning new skills and being good at them!. Communication is a very important part of technical theatre, so she will have to get used to talking to people anyway!. Who knows, one day she might end up on Broadway!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I'm in tech teahter at my school and I have many friends that I have made through this!. If she doesn't like acting, then it may make her even shyer if she doesn't want to stand out!. I'm glad that you are concerned for your cousin, but there are other ways she can combat her shyness!. ANd who know, she might see that she does like acting and take it next year!. That's what I'm doing!Www@QuestionHome@Com
I agree with TR and BlackGrumpyCat!. As someone who joined Tech because I didn't like to act but still wanted to hang out with my friends who were actors, I don't understand why you are trying to push your cousin into acting!. I'm now studying tech theatre in college and it's so much fun!. And I've already got jobs lined up before I graduate!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Your concerns are not only misplaced, they're backwards!. You should be worried if she wanted to do acting!
The real-world situation is this: in professional show biz, 90% of the people who start out wanting to be actors wind up pursuing a different career!. Of the people in New York City who call themselves "actors", 90% made more money from some other job last year than they did from acting!.
Technical theatre professionals, on the other hand, are in huge demand!. In my college's theatre program, tech majors with only a couple years worth of classes got excellent summer jobs running tech at amusement parks and summer outdoor theatrical venues!. Then they graduated and found good work immediately!.
For every actor you see onstage, there are over 10 tech people backstage!. Yet, when students go to college to major in theatre, and you explain to them what the job prospects are for tech vs!. acting, and you ask them what they want to specialize in, they almost all say "acting!."
So she's working right now on something that could lead her to a terrific career, one that can't be outsourced, one that gets her invited to the terrific cast parties!. As for her shyness--let her grow up a little and do some things, she'll get some confidence!. And if she pursues the tech!. theatre degree, the program will require her to take a little bit of acting, directing, even dance--it's essential for everyone in show biz to be able to understand and communicate about all aspects of it!.
So I'd go to the shows, praise her lighting/scenery/costumes or whatever she worked on, and encourage her to find a top bachelor of fine arts (BFA) program when she's off to college!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Not everybody is meant for the spotlight!. The fact that she is involved at all is proof that she is trying to mingle and be part of the action!. Some people do not wish to be actors, and that is fine!. The show could not go on without the techs!. So, even though she is not taking bows, memorizing lines, obsessing about character development, plagueing herself with self doubt and hiding her own personality in an artificial character every night on stage, she plays a vital role in the production, and that may be all she needs or wants!. Grabbing the applause isn't what theater is all about anyway, it's telling an effective story, and you need good sets and lights for that almost as much as you need good actors!.Www@QuestionHome@Com