Relating Theater to My Major

Theater can be connected with all facets of life. One way is to make connections with the major I have chosen to pursue throughout my college career. My major is Entrepreneurship and Management through the college of business. At first glance it may be hard to see the similarities but if one looks deep enough you can find necessary business skills, practices, and methods that can all be taught or learned through the art of theater.

Connecting theater to my career choice or specific field that I want to work in is difficult because I am not sure of what I plan to do when I graduate. This is part of the appeal for getting a business major for me because it is very broad and there are a lot of options in that area. I like to work with my hands and I see myself being my own boss some day so perhaps I will open my own business at some point. The road to getting to that point, and once I do can all be connected with theater. In becoming a business man at some point I will have to present myself and my ideas, either in a job interview, a loan office, or to potential clients, and when I do skills and knowledge learned in theater will be a very useful tool in doing so. Being able to sell my idea to someone is much like a theater performer trying to sell their act to the audience. In both cases you are really just trying to communicate an idea in a way that people will like it. Depending on what part of theater you are involved in there are many other ways that theater can relate to business. Play writers are very creative and obviously are good writers, and being a good writer is a very useful skill to have in business. When trying to start your own business you need to come up with a detailed business plan and it would help to be creative and to have it well written so people would want to invest in your company which is a skill that can be honed by writing plays and working in theater. Even skills learned as a set designer could be useful depending on the line of work I decide to get into. If I opened a restaurant for example, it would help to have an idea of how to lay out the restaurant so that it is appealing for customers. The inside of the restaurant, from the lighting, to the scenery, to the comfort of the seats all add to the experience of a nice night out just like those things make all the difference at a play as well. As a director you need leadership skills and ambition to be able to lead a group of people towards a common goal, which are also great qualities to be found in someone pursuing business.

Business is an industry wear, to get your foot in the door, it is all about how people view you and their first impressions of you. A suit to a business man is like a costume to a theater performer, both of which give their audience an immediate impression to their character. Whether you use improv skills to think on your feet in a job interview, or you use design skills later on in your own business or for the company you work for, the connections between the business world and the world of theater are endless. Theater has proved itself to be a useful way to learn and practice skills needed in all aspects of life to be successful person. One way or another, no matter what I decide to do with my major, possessing knowledge about theater I’m sure will prove useful in the career future that I see for myself.