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What State RU in RJ??

For theater in particular, you must go to college. I grew up in theater, and I'm a film and television actor. I'm also a Harvard alumni.

Talking business, theater isn't a big money maker, so it's typically produced by foundations with a lot of money to burn. Every college has a theater program.

The other part of it is, being in a theater program will help you gain experience. When you submit for a role without experience, your chances of even getting the audition are slim to none. It doesn't matter if you can sing, dance, and act if you don't have professional experience.

And there are at least a thousand other reasons an actor should go to college.

Do both. Why not. What could possibly stop you from doing both? You can also start college, and if you land a great gig then leave and go back later. Once you're accepted, that's it; you're a student there forever.

You want to be in theater, then you better be prepared for the harsh realities of the judgment game. Acting is the most judged occupation you can pursue. You are literally judged on the most superficial things first, talent second. So, unless you are super hot and sexy (and I don't just mean the kind of girl who people want to get your number from, but the kind of girl people want to buy you a cell phone to call you on) then you are immediately relegated to second tier pools. In either the top tier or second tier pools, you have to be a triple threat to have a prayer of making it on Broadway (singing, dancing and acting). Knowing this, you will face competition from hundreds of thousands of people who all think they are better than you. All this while living in the most expensive city in the U.S. You actually stand a better chance of becoming a YouTube sensation than landing a major role on Broadway.

The better alternative is to go to California or Toronto and try to land small parts in television. However, since you are not coming out of the British or Canadian theater scene, this will be a struggle for you as well, but still far more likely than trying to compete on Broadway. Again, it will depend on whether you are "hot" enough, and since you are female, frankly, your willingness to do nudity. Very few famous actresses get out of doing nude scenes these days.

People have already pointed out the merits of going to college and majoring in Theater. It will not land you any acting rolls, but it will give you the opportunity to become a triple threat. So, make sure you are choosing a college that has as strong a dance department as a theater dept. You will also probably need to consider getting a Master's to make the degree viable in the working world. An MFA could land you some decent jobs as a stage manager or director at some of the more prestigious theaters. More likely, though, you will use it to get a job at another university working as an adjunct professor in a theater dept. This will afford you an income so you can work in local repertory theaters as an actor.

If you can afford it go to the U.K. and enroll in a conservatory. There are far more opportunities to get stage roles in the UK than the US. There are some decent conservatories her in the US, like Julliard, but the competition is steep. Canada has a lot of great theater and endowments for arts, but getting there as a US student is difficult. You will receive no student loans to do so.

I have a theater degree, I also have three other degrees. I have not used my theater degree once since graduating. Not to say it is worthless, but it does not afford you an income in the way my other degrees do. You should go to college, but whether you major in theater is up to you. If you are serious about getting into the business, better to major in business, marketing, or law, and then audition for university theater productions. You receive no academic credit for them, but you will get as much acting training as you would if you were taking acting classes, and you won't have to pay for them. In the meantime, the education you get could be advantageous in procuring solid paying gigs because you will be a marketing or business expert. This is incredibly important, because by the time you are 40-45 years old, as a woman, the acting gigs start drying up. You will need a second career if you are not highly successful as an actor by age 35.

So, in a nutshell, go to college, don't give up on acting as a dream, but know that it is far more likely to be just that; a dream, not necessarily a reality.

First I would pray. Ask to be lead in the right direction. And then try both. Your parents are telling you to go to school because they don't want nothing bad to happen to you. That's what good parents are supposed to do. But you should take the opportunity and try out if there are any auditions available that you know of. Talk to your parents about the stuff that they need to hear about like how are you going to survive, where are you going to live, and sit down and seriously talk those things out. And pray some more because you really want this. I wish you the best!

I think it is absolutely wonderful you want to work in entertainment!! College is important and it will give you something to fall back on during tough times during your acting career! There are great colleges out there with programs that I am sure will even help you with the ultimate goal you have in mind! It just may take a little extra looking around is all! I wish you nothing but the best! BP

I know that one of ten guidelines to becoming a Muslim is honoring your parents, in that, you should talk about your choice with them. Mazzal Toph and Kamchatka

RJ,

I would never tell someone not to follow their dreams or strive to reach their goals but maybe you can do both go to college and start your acting career.

Everyone has to start somewhere even in acting and making it big. No superstars are made overnight. You will probably start with small parts which leaves a lot of down time for you.

Anything can happen throughout your journey to becoming a big time actress which could possibly prevent that from happening. It is always safe to have a back up plan with anything you are attempting to accomplish. Your parents saying you need to go to college is so you can have that back up plan if things do not go your way or even if you end up not enjoying it. Moral of the story is go to college while starting your acting career so you can have a backup plan for a "just in case" purpose.

I wish you the best of luck and hope this was helpful for you.

I think that if you want to go to school, you should look at Regent University because it has a lot to offer an actor like yourself. First the teachers know their stuff, because they have acted or found actors that could act in feature films. Second you get to work with the film students to star in their films, as well as, work on stage productions like Broadway hits. One that they did that was really good was The Man Who Came to Dinner. You can try going the Broadway root however I think that this root would be good for you.

RJ,

Getting your education will strengthen your acting ability and give you a broader range of the field.

My minor is in Theater Arts and I focused on the technical backstage aspects but also had to be on stage and act. That experience helped me because it gave me a better understanding of how to support what the actors were doing.

That knowledge became critical when I was put in charge of pyrotechnics for a show and had to explain the blocking to keep everyone safe.

Plus pursuing your education also allows you to network so you could do things like Summer stock shows.

Break a leg and post a copy of the playbill for your first show!