Hello my beautiful and lovely readers 💜
I was on Twitter the other day and a friend of mine had replied to a viral Tweet about how gen-ed (general education) classes were simply a scam for your money. The tweet (and my friend's response):
And I completely agree with her.
And it got me thinking about the age old question in theatre:
BFA vs. BA?
For reference, a Bachelor of Fine Arts is more specialized in your field and typically does not "force" you to take classes outside of your major. A Bachelor of Arts on the other hand, tends to give you a more well rounded education as it has you take a base of classes outside of your major and an array of classes inside your major as well.
I personally got a BA in Theatre and Dance from James Madison University (#GoDukes) and I could speak for years on how much I loved my education and degree (#BA'sareB.A.). But the purpose of this blog post is not to sell you on choosing a BFA or a BA.
I have instead gathered a list of classes that my friends/colleagues/professors have all taken outside either their specific major or specific area of focus that have helped them become better theatre artists and practitioners. So take a peak at this list, see if any catch your interest, and maybe try one out next time you pick your schedule.
To start off the list, I want to recommend all stage managers take a voice class. I was volun-told I would be taking a Voice for the Stage class the fall semester of my senior year by my advisors (hi John and Kate). I went into the semester DREADING it, but it ended up being one of my favorite (and most successful #RIPdraftingandtap) classes of the semester/my entire college career. It even influenced my senior thesis project. For more information on this class/ my senior thesis project, click the photo below (it's another blog incase this one wasn't enough).
PS. Thankful for these humans always. I miss rolling around the floor with you all.
Click the photo below for the rest of the list (in the form of a Google Sheet) because so many wonderful people responded and I couldn't easily format it in the text of a blog post. This way the list can also continue growing and act as a resource for young theatre artists in the months/years to come!
Disclaimer: I hate pigeonholing (or defining a theatre artist as simply doing one thing). Many of the people listed do many many things and are incredible at all of them. I listed people by their primary focus (to my current knowledge) to make it easier to search. Feel free to edit/adjust as you see fit!
I hope this list inspires you to take a step outside your comfort zone and take class outside your major or area of focus. Or maybe it will inspire you to may more attention in your general education courses because they may have more impact on your work than you think.
Except astronomy, nobody needs astronomy 💫😜
Much love always,
Chelsea