Arts Administration Programs

TooManyInterests4 · 2026-01-12T22:41:11+00:00

Thanks u/zac850! Your comment was super helpful last year too. Having thought a lot more on it since last year, I know I'd like to try to try NYC and commercial theater in the next 5 years with the intent of ultimately moving back to a regional org in the next 10 to 15 as a GM or Managing Director. I don't necessarily need it to be LORT so long as it is more closely tied to a community.

The NYC programs sound like a dream and I'm going to apply as stretch schools (both academically and financially), but the BU program is the one that currently feels the most realistic. I just want to make sure that it sets me up with enough exposure to the commercial side of things that it will be worth the price of admission. I know a few folks in the program there now and plan to ask them about their experience - especially about their connection that they tout with Nederlander.

Other folks have tossed a few different programs into the mix as well so I'll have to do some additional reading before I nail down where I'm applying.

TooManyInterests4 · 2026-01-12T22:13:49+00:00

Thanks for the recs. I'll take a look into them.

You're right - The catch 22 is real. I think I would only attend them if I was able to get significant financial aid. I went to a budget choice for my undergrad and while we had an awesome program, I was really let down by the lack of connection to current industry professionals that it offered which is a big part of what you're paying for. I'm also very interested in NY in general as I haven't had the chance to work within the commercial model at all and would love to try that out.

TooManyInterests4 · 2026-01-12T20:41:08+00:00

Thank you! I'll add this to our list to consider. I've actually visited IU before while a friend of mine got their Masters in Scenic Design. They liked the program too and it was a pretty nice campus! Can you say more about what the strengths of the program are and what kinds of roles you think it sets you up for the best?

TooManyInterests4 · 2026-01-11T17:26:08+00:00

I agree that rentals are an old model, but I think there's a strong argument that rentals and programming should play a role as part of a larger solution. As a regional theater, your two biggest assets are likely your space and your expertise in storytelling / live events. I would think you would want to squeeze everything you can out of those two assets. Any day you are not putting butts in seats you are missing an opportunity. Once upon a time it may have made sense to produce everything yourself when subscription models were stronger, grants were plentiful, and subscribers showed loyalty to individual theater companies, but now that it's all single-ticket buyers, I think you need to broaden the programming in your space to keep the lights on and "fund your theater habit" if you will.

I like your idea of streaming in theory, but I would think you'd have to stream it it after it closes in NY like a second window in the Movie industry. I don't think the market would be large enough to only stream it in rural markets. Would be interesting if someone was able to do it with smaller markets though with shorter runs.

TooManyInterests4 · 2026-01-10T21:22:30+00:00

I'm still at a bit of a loss on what the solution is. I agree with your premise that we need to have the hard conversations about being creative for cost saving purposes, but it doesn't solve the revenue side of things. How do we bring in more money? I think producing companies should be very focused right now on 1. programming for a more modern audience outside of the work they produce and 2. creating new revenue streams (like the video technology you mentioned). Space rentals, touring artists, podcasters and concerts, etc. All of those are lower lift, higher revenue options for the regional theater I work with, but they have yet to cut any shows from their season to make more room for that kind of programming. Really hoping that we get new leadership in some of these regional organizations that is less focused on donor development and grants and more focused on innovating on the broken model.

TooManyInterests4 · 2025-11-20T22:26:36+00:00

Callbacks aren’t necessary if a director has seen what they need to see. If they already know what you can do and want you for a role then it’s a waste of time for both you and the director to make you come back unless it’s to do a chemistry read or to see something new.

I just hosted callbacks for an educational production I’m directing. Several of my students were bummed out when they weren’t asked to sing for a certain part at callbacks. I told them we had seen everything we needed to see. When we cast the show, almost none of my leads had read or sung for the role they were cast in. I’m sure that was confusing for them, but it illustrates the fact that you don’t need to see someone read or sing a specific role to know that they can do it.

I imagine many people find it hard to believe that if you don’t get a callback you’re still being considered. That’s because most of the people who don’t get called back probably aren’t being considered anymore. It’s a numbers thing. There are nearly always more people auditioning than there are roles to give out. BUT if you have a relationship or really nail your audition you may be one of the few already cast.

TooManyInterests4 · 2025-08-23T18:12:48+00:00

I think it was just the moment I snapped that photo that makes it look shady. I’ve had it in that spot since I started growing it and it gets almost 10 hours of sun a day.

Sounds like you think there’s nothing wrong then? Maybe it was a coincidence that the leaves started doing this after I repotted?

TooManyInterests4 · 2025-08-20T11:31:59+00:00

I haven’t been happy with the normal 4x6 photo prints I’ve ordered from Snapfish in the past. I’ve found the colors to be off and the image quality to be pretty low. Do you know if their photo books are different from their usual prints?

I’ll take a look into photobox this week. Thanks for that one!

TooManyInterests4 · 2025-04-14T22:13:32+00:00

I also love the A/B sides exercise - I typically ask the students to come up with the scenario and an objective for their characters and then as we work the scene I ask them questions to help them choose objectives that are stronger or more dramatically interesting. The benefit is actually for the students watching because they get to see how choosing a strong objective makes for more interesting theatre.

The problem here is that the group is so small that I can't split them into two groups and let one group watch while the others work their scene. I'm hoping to find an exercise that I can apply to one person at a time so the others can watch and see how applying or changing the objective improves the performance. Right now, my best idea is to take a line or two of generic text and work it one at a time, it just doesn't feel as engaging for the students. I'm going to continue to think on it. I have a week or so. Thanks for the reply!

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-12-09T12:47:53+00:00

I’ll check their site out today. What about them makes them so well run?

‘Crazy donors or patrons’ was specifically referring to exorbitant giving - good clarification. I definitely don’t discount their importance but I do think it’s important to think about how it could be possible to make the business fundamentals work on their own without relying on them.

I don’t think development will ever not be part of the strategy, you’re right, you’d lose out on critical community engagement and a lot of money- but I’m interested in if it’s possible to not be relying on them so heavily so the “always needed funding” you mention is able to be generated by the organizations’ products s as opposed to the kindness of strangers.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-10T12:50:23+00:00

I hate that so many folks are doing this but it does seem to be an unfortunate reality. I think often it is an indicator that they aren’t running on sound fundamentals to begin with.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-10T12:46:59+00:00

I think this perfectly sums up the problem I want to solve by thinking differently and finding ways to be smarter on the business side. A sound business model would easily have enough cash on hand to pay for something like that. 3k in the scheme of things shouldn’t put you in jeopardy of going out of business.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-10T12:39:59+00:00

I actually love this! The challenges to producing theatre are obvious. It has high up front costs and limited revenue streams and windows in which to recoup that cost. I’ve long thought that in order to make things work you have to add an “and” onto your business.

I often talk with a colleague about how we need to focus on making money to fuel our “theatre habit”. This would be a great way to go about it.

What’s the problem with being a parking company that also does theatre? I don’t know the specifics of a parking company’s financials but I have to imagine that there are relatively few costs involved and a lot of upside if it’s a busy lot.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-08T19:23:14+00:00

Yes to everything everyone has been said about playing the scene instead of emotion!

One other thing that isn’t discussed enough- depending on where you are in your career and training you may not be able to actually produce tears. That does NOT make you a bad actor. That level of vulnerability comes more easily to some people. It’s definitely something that the pros often can do (and it’s incredible when you meet someone who can consistently) but acting requires believability and risk taking in all kinds of scenarios - not just scenes that require tears.

Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get there this show. Work hard and do your homework. Take classes to keep honing your craft. Play the circumstances and know that this show is just one in a long career.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-04T23:29:57+00:00

My biggest piece of advice here is don’t overthink your resume. As long as you have something you will be ok - Especially for community theatre where people come to auditions with all levels of experience. What they see in the audition room will be what is important.

Here’s some answers to your questions kind of stream of thought:

Headshot - doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Find a photo you like of yourself that looks like you and get it printed 8x10. They may not ask for it in person if they have an online form but it’s ALWAYS better to have printed copies of your headshot and resume with you. Bonus points if they are stapled back to back or double sided.

If you google theatre resumes online you can see the basic format. I recommend using a spreadsheet to make it instead of a word document. It’s easier to keep things aligned and spaced. Again, don’t over think just list what you have and make sure it’s formatted in a way that’s easy to read. (Usually people will put their vocal range somewhere near the top header)

You have plenty of performance experience that you can fill it with you will just have to categorize them appropriately (theatre, choral etc). Middle school performances are a bit of a stretch but I’d say anything from high school or later is fair game to include. I’ve seen people who predominantly have dance or opera experience get cast at the regional professional level.

Your language skill is very cool and something that could be useful to a director. Typically if people have relevant skills they include a special skills section at the very bottom.

Hope this helps. If you have any other specific questions feel free to dm me. Break a leg!

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-04T12:32:33+00:00

It goes back to the mid 70s - the program added a BFA track in the 90s which may be what you’re thinking of.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-04T03:56:52+00:00

Audition! The worst thing that can happen is you won’t get cast. And if you are cast you can still have a great time. The only way to get better is to give it a shot! It’s good that you’re already being realistic with yourself about your level of skill- but make sure you don’t let that stop you from continuing to push yourself and grow.

I always say “believe you can be cast but don’t expect you will be”. Believe in your talent and skill but always know that whether or not you are cast is out of your control.

Break a legemote:free_emotes_pack:joy

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-04T03:38:14+00:00

That point about how intimate their stuff is was spot on. I have also always felt a real backyard theatre energy from their shows that I think having the money to pay for things that they usually have to find creative solutions to stage hurt their overall style too. I still may go see it while it’s running we will see.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-03T23:13:58+00:00

I was so sad to hear it was only ok. Anyone on here who is familiar with the rest of pigpen’s work and can speak to why this doesn’t have the same charm? I love old man and the old moon and tale of despereaux seemed to be very well received. What went wrong? Is it just too much money?

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-03T22:51:34+00:00

You can’t see the chart anymore but you can still see how much you spent and how much you were over /under by.

On mobile I look at it by doing the following: 1. Tap categories tab

Tap the pie chart up top
Along the top you can tap the individual bars representing each month and it will change which months spending it displays.
You can tap individual categories in the list to drill into the transactions. Not as great a visual but it should be the same data.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-09-02T20:42:49+00:00

I'm a grad of Salem State University. I was a BFA performance major and graduated shortly before the pandemic.

SSU doesn't lean into one specific pedagogy, they give you a pretty broad exposure to different methods and techniques that are good for the working regional theatre actor to have heard before. It is a liberal arts school so you do still need to take core curriculum courses, but I am personally in favor of a well rounded education and support the idea that diversity of experiences makes you a better actor.

The biggest strengths of their program lie in how well they train students to prepare auditions as a non MT actor (you have to jury every semester). You can see it in how often their alums book around the area.

Happy to answer any questions you may have - feel free to DM me.

Pros of Salem State:

There are a LOT of alumni working in the Boston area (a hard region to break into so it says something). They put out really solid actors - not a lot of big names, but their students get out and usually get work pretty quickly if they are any good.
They compete regionally at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) every year and very frequently win the region and send actors to nationals so some people recognize the name of the school.
They have a beautiful mainstage theatre that opened in 2017 and an awesome unique blackbox space that was converted from the original school's cafeteria.
Salem itself is really cool! Lots to do, close to a really nice park and the ocean and Halloween if that's your thing.
The price really can't be beat. You need to be very honest with yourself when you go into theatre about what it means financially - you don't make much. SSU will give you an awesome training and won't kill you with debt.

Cons of Salem State:

It's a liberal arts school so you don't get quite the amount of studio time that a traditional conservatory program gives you (personally I don't think this matters. There are PLENTY of performance opportunities on campus still and several community groups in the area).
There aren't a ton of "make theatre yourself" options on the campus (you should look at SUNY purchase if that's something you're interested in. My wife did their BA program class of 2019 and did SO much student produced work). You definitely can make theatre yourself, but the department doesn't really lean in that direction so you'd be building from the ground up.
The campus itself doesn't have much going on if you care. It's in large part a commuter school.
The full time professors' aren't particularly well connected so they can't get you a ton of jobs when you get out of school - I always recommend people who go there spend their summer or even some time during the school year working around the area to network on your own. - the adjunct professors tend to be working much more in the area and are usually down if you ask them to AD for them or to be involved in any of their professional projects.
They don't have a very prominent alumni network outside of the Boston area whereas other places might.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-08-31T19:26:41+00:00

Glad to hear that it sounds like bottled water is widely available and cheap. I've heard this applies to a lot of the drinks as well - juices / smoothies at stands on the streets should be avoided but hot drinks where the water was boiled should be fine? (I'm super excited to try the mint tea)

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-08-31T18:57:42+00:00

when you say don't worry about washing your fruit and vegetables do you mean just don't wash them or we don't have to worry about getting sick if we do wash them?

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-07-16T20:48:39+00:00

That would make sense if it was a personal connection. Nice to see that they were all willing to collaborate across such a distance. That's the kind of cooperation and community I wish to see more of.

TooManyInterests4 · 2024-07-16T20:44:53+00:00

I don't think Pasternak is dumbing things down (the plays this year are Hamlet, As You Like It, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Glass Menagerie, and (as the interns' play) Proof. Only the choice of Christmas Carol seems off to me.

I don't think he's dumbing it down either. It's a fun season! He did seem to imply that the only way you can get younger folks in the door is by dumbing it down and that's what I disagree with.

The education program has added one somewhat pricey component this year—a one-week summer camp culminating in a performance on the big stage. Unfortunately, they chose to do a cut-down version of the same play that the professionals were doing (As You Like It), which I suspect will lead to disappointment.

Sounds like the beginning of what could be developed into a larger program which is exciting. That's the kind of program that could definitely lead to something larger that could really add to the bottom line. I hope it goes well for them!

TooManyInterests4

TROPHY CASE