"The theater, the theater, what's happened to the theater?
Especially where dancing is concerned
Chaps who did taps aren't tapping anymore
They're doing choreography..." - Danny Kaye, White Christmas
Theatre is the collaborative art form, combining performers who develop either real or imaginative story lines that are displayed in front of a crowd or audience. Theatre is challenging and a very high achieving area of study. For most college programs an audition is necessary. Theatre can combine singing, acting and dancing all in one performance.
Similar to a music major, the theatre major provides you with many great transferable skills (or advantages) that can work for many other careers. Just to name a few:
Major oral communication
Problem solving abilities
High motivation
Ability to work well with others
Adaptability
Ability to work under pressure
As a theatrical performer of many transferable skills, the doors of other opportunities will also be opened. Number one on the list for individuals interested in a theatre major is: Acting! (not a shocker)
What's also involved in the major is learning about screen writing/ screen play writing, as well as theatre technology, producing, editing, directing, stage managing, and teaching.
Some non traditional careers outside of actually performing:
Hair and Make-up designer/director
Scenic Artist
Agent
Light Designer
Marketing Specialist/Director
Acting Coach
Recruiter
One channel to YOUTUBE would be : Inside the Actors Studio to learn more about how some actors got their start.
For more information on other careers besides acting click here.
Music, Theatre, and Dance...These are three large topicsthat we will be outlining in a series form over the next three weeks. The first of the three is Music.
Music is a form of art that involves tones, notes, instruments, beats, sound and silence. Musicians are lovers of music. They create it, edit it, compose it, direct it, teach it and love it. Music is everywhere! Radio, television (shows, commercials), therapy; we use music for mnemonic devices, for praise and worship in churches, for teaching in schools, for expression of emotions, and for many other reasons.
Majoring in music can provide you with an vast experience with various genres, exposing you to the differences amongst cultures and parts of the world. Music majors can learn more about techniques, theory, how to teach it, writing music, and directing music. Musicians can perform music either solely or in a group. Traveling also may play a role in this major if one has the chance to perform or learn in different locations around the world.
Because music comes as a natural gift for some, it is important to know if you actually have it or not. Even those who are trained in music still lack some of the natural talents of hearing music in the artistic way. However on the flip side, one must also practice to stay talented and musical skills can be taught as well. Music doesn't have to be just melodies and tunes, it can be as different as garbage can beats. The opportunities are endless!
Hello! How are you? (English) I hope you enjoyed reading the last entry on Majoring in Success. The topics for this Tuesday's talk are modern foreign languages and also the study of languages, linguistics!
This will be jammed pack so please, keep up.
There are all types of languages around the world.Through cultural integration, we have immensely grown in the way that we communicate. Oakland University currently offers some of the more popular languages such as French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. There are also a number of modern language minors that can really supplement a major.All of this is great, and learning a language sure has some major benefits, like being able to speak and work with a variety of people, or even just further developing your knowledge. However, with a major in a foreign language what exactly can you do?
Some of the more typical jobs are teaching (foreign languages, or teaching English as a second language) or interpreting (individuals, churches, organizations, government, speakers, etc).
What if you have an interest outside of those two? Have you considered the following:
Foreign trade and affairs
International studies and relations
foreign business
International marketing
Health care overseas
Travel Agency/Agent
Research of population
Skills to possess:
Oral ability
Listening Skills
Acceptance of other culture
Interest/ understanding in diversity
Having a major in a foreign language of choice can really prepare you for working in very diverse locations. If you are one that really likes different cultures and has dreams of traveling, this can become a reality. Please note that although foreign languages can set you a part from others that are only mono-linguistic, having either a concentration or minor in another area may better prepare you for other fields of work outside of just teaching or translating.
Please check out more info here on foreign languages.
Also for more ideas on what to do with a major in modern foreign languages, please click on this link.
Linguistics is pretty similar to the major of a foreign language. Both fields have language as their center focus. Linguistics is the study of language, its origin, its meaning, the development, dialect, and the human body as to how language is projected and also the expansion of new languages and forms. Included in this would be sign language as well.
Majoring in linguistics means that you will learn about many aspects of human language, including sounds (phonetics, phonology), words (morphology), sentences (syntax), and meaning (semantics). It can involve looking at how languages change over time (historical linguistics); how language varies from situation to situation, group to group, and place to place (sociolinguistics, dialectology); how people use language in context (pragmatics, discourse analysis); how to model aspects of language (computational linguistics); how people acquire or learn language (language acquisition); and how people process language (psycholinguistics, experimental linguistics).
There are a few subcategories for linguists- (those who study and explore language)
Theoretical linguistics is the most general discipline of this field. People involved in this area basically examine how languages work.
Historical linguistics looks at the development of languages and how languages got to be the way they are today.
Sociolinguistics focuses on language and how it influences and is affected by the structures of societies.
Psycholinguists are people who study how language is implemented in the brain. Occasionally, psycholinguists may work for advertising firms, using their knowledge of language to write texts for various kinds of ads or for hospitals, helping patients who have language disorders.
Applied linguists use their knowledge of the mechanics of language to teach and translate foreign languages. Applied linguistics specialists may contract their services as translators, either for person-to-person translation or for translating literature.
Consider also, linguistic majors can work with a number of areas, all very similar to the career fields of a modern foreign language graduate. One area not mentioned however is speech pathology. Although post graduate work will be needed, many students who have an interest in speech pathology may start with a major in linguistics.
If you have any interest in languages, foreign or silent; verbal or non verbal, feel free to check the bottom links out! :)
It's been 10 weeks so far, 8 major entries, and lots of information. This week, take time to reflect on your major and career life choices or what you've learned so far.
Here's some thoughts I've been wanting to share or re-share:
- You major in college is an educational focus, academic discipline, that can be combined with a minor concentrated area. Your main focus should be maximizing your time (whether it be 4, 5, 6, etc. years in college) getting the most out of your experience. That may include work experience, internships, student organization affiliation, networking, volunteer experience, and service learning.
- Sometimes you have to take a risk to know if something is right or wrong. Try out an introductory course to figure out if a certain career path may work for you.
- People change careers numerous times! Please don't get bogged down worrying about where you will work for the rest of your life. Try to simplify it-- short term goals.
- Choose a career path that you both love and are motivated to do, as well as have skills for it.
- If you have a super cool job/career in mind but aren't sure how to get there, maybe look up company job descriptions and work backwards; see what they suggest as a major.
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I've been reading a book called Major In Success by Patrick Combs. I wanted to share with readers some of the great insight and motivating words from this excellent book.
"Ultimately, college gives you the opportunity to increase the quality of your life, both now and in the future. Warning! Unfortunately, a lot of students do little, if anything, to actively increase the quality of their lives while they're in school. Many students seem to think college is some kind of rehearsal and that they won't start improving their lives until after graduation. They don't seem to realize that life isn't a rehearsal-- neither is college.
From day one in college, your future resume starts to take shape whether you want to put anything impressive on it or not. Your career path begins, whether you're directing it or not. Even your future lifestyle starts taking shape whether you're consciously trying to shape it or not. This means it's dangerous to be in college, just to achieve in academics. You may get good grades but still not get a good job. On the other hand, it is also detrimental to focus only on getting a job while you're in school because you'll miss out on the richness of your studies.
The most dangerous way to approach college is with the idea that all you need to do is pay your dues and get your degree. If you approach college with this mindset, you shoot yourself in both feet. After graduating, you'll discover that you were paying dues to get into a club of people who missed the point. The point is that you're not in college to work for your professors, or your parents, or anyone else. You're there to work for yourself and your future."
