Should you get your MFA?
P. Carl, an amazingly smart person and the founder of HowlRound recently posted this article on deciding whether or not to get your MFA.
Carl makes a lot of really interesting points in this, and I agree with most of what they say. Although I continue to believe that our lives are all very different and our "careers" in this field (yes, quotes are necessary for that) are all over the map.
I read this article on the heels of a couple of things going on in my mind...
The first is that I, as a teacher of undergraduates, think a lot about the value of education. We had a faculty meeting yesterday, our college now costs students 22,000 a year. Without room and board. I went to the same school, it was half that much when I went there. Even less my first year. And lots of students are dropping out because of cost. And lots of students are taking out exorbitant amount of financial aid without even realizing what they are getting themselves in to.
And then they blow off classes. They half ass homework, they don't care enough to be paying so much. They don't. And they shouldn't.
The American Dream has told us all to get our college degrees. The college degree has become the new high school diploma, and the graduate degree has become the new college diploma. (And I guess that 30 is the new 20.)
But here's the thing: you have to want it. You have to crave the education. You have to respect what you're paying for ESPECIALLY IN THEATER.
Why? Well, if you go to school to get a job that will make you a steady and decent income, and I'm not just talking doctor or lawyer, I'm also talking about business, marketing, administration, and whatever those other jobs are that have some definition and you get to have a life of making a playcheck, liking what you do hopefully, and having some free time to make a family and all of those things...it MIGHT make sense to go through school as an exercise to get to your chosen career. I would still argue that for the dollar, the education should be appreciated as much as possible, but it is also means to an end.
Education in the theater is NOT means to an end. Education in the theater is something you must want, something you must love, something you must crave, because it will not get you the things that career in business might (not that I think it's easy for those people in this economy either, but it's a whole different thing.)
You have to love it enough that all of those years when you are barely making ends meet that you don't regret the student loan bill for keeping you from getting a car or having a nicer apartment. You have to love it enough to know that you as an artist and a person got so much from that degree that has nothing to do with money. Because our chosen field has nothing to do with money.
I have my MFA. And even with a full ride, cost of living student loans are what I'm paying back. Along with some still from undergrad, I pay $500 a month. I don't have a car. I'm lucky to have a Canadian husband who has a Master of Music but doesn't have student loans because of Canada's amazing educational system (and really, more so, his parents who supported him while he finished school--I didn't have that privilege)
But getting my MFA was something I craved. It was one of the best growth experiences of my life. I wouldn't trade it for a car. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I got it because I wanted it, not because I thought it would help me in some "career". I got it for myself. Education in the theater is a personal experience. If you want it, seek it out, if not, there are so many people who are doing great without it.
I also said there was another thing: I recently sat on a panel with 3 amazing directors at Victory Gardens, representing Women Directors...I was the only one with my MFA. And while I'm the youngest of all of them...they are all "more successful" in their careers than I am. If you look at it that way.
So, again...do you need it? No. Do you want it? That's for you to answer...
Carl makes a lot of really interesting points in this, and I agree with most of what they say. Although I continue to believe that our lives are all very different and our "careers" in this field (yes, quotes are necessary for that) are all over the map.
I read this article on the heels of a couple of things going on in my mind...
The first is that I, as a teacher of undergraduates, think a lot about the value of education. We had a faculty meeting yesterday, our college now costs students 22,000 a year. Without room and board. I went to the same school, it was half that much when I went there. Even less my first year. And lots of students are dropping out because of cost. And lots of students are taking out exorbitant amount of financial aid without even realizing what they are getting themselves in to.
And then they blow off classes. They half ass homework, they don't care enough to be paying so much. They don't. And they shouldn't.
The American Dream has told us all to get our college degrees. The college degree has become the new high school diploma, and the graduate degree has become the new college diploma. (And I guess that 30 is the new 20.)
But here's the thing: you have to want it. You have to crave the education. You have to respect what you're paying for ESPECIALLY IN THEATER.
Why? Well, if you go to school to get a job that will make you a steady and decent income, and I'm not just talking doctor or lawyer, I'm also talking about business, marketing, administration, and whatever those other jobs are that have some definition and you get to have a life of making a playcheck, liking what you do hopefully, and having some free time to make a family and all of those things...it MIGHT make sense to go through school as an exercise to get to your chosen career. I would still argue that for the dollar, the education should be appreciated as much as possible, but it is also means to an end.
Education in the theater is NOT means to an end. Education in the theater is something you must want, something you must love, something you must crave, because it will not get you the things that career in business might (not that I think it's easy for those people in this economy either, but it's a whole different thing.)
You have to love it enough that all of those years when you are barely making ends meet that you don't regret the student loan bill for keeping you from getting a car or having a nicer apartment. You have to love it enough to know that you as an artist and a person got so much from that degree that has nothing to do with money. Because our chosen field has nothing to do with money.
I have my MFA. And even with a full ride, cost of living student loans are what I'm paying back. Along with some still from undergrad, I pay $500 a month. I don't have a car. I'm lucky to have a Canadian husband who has a Master of Music but doesn't have student loans because of Canada's amazing educational system (and really, more so, his parents who supported him while he finished school--I didn't have that privilege)
But getting my MFA was something I craved. It was one of the best growth experiences of my life. I wouldn't trade it for a car. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I got it because I wanted it, not because I thought it would help me in some "career". I got it for myself. Education in the theater is a personal experience. If you want it, seek it out, if not, there are so many people who are doing great without it.
I also said there was another thing: I recently sat on a panel with 3 amazing directors at Victory Gardens, representing Women Directors...I was the only one with my MFA. And while I'm the youngest of all of them...they are all "more successful" in their careers than I am. If you look at it that way.
So, again...do you need it? No. Do you want it? That's for you to answer...
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