Story time! When I was nine years old, my fourth-grade music teacher asked me if I would be interested in joining chorus. I didn't give it much time before I decided that I would love to do this. The thought of being on a stage in front of an audience never made me uncomfortable. I'd never experienced "stage fright". Something about being in the center of the of the room with all eye sides on me gave me a thrill. So naturally, when I was asked to, I said yes and I haven't stopped since.

My name is Tiffany Lewis, I am a musical theatre major at William Peace University. (Raleigh, NC) Usually, when I tell people what I'm studying, I'm greeted with:

"You'll never make any money!"

"Oh...well what's your backup plan?"

And my favorite:

"So you were too stupid to get a real job?"

When people hear that I have decided to work towards what I've been passionately doing for years, they don't have a lot of support. Don't get me wrong, plenty of people encourage my goals and stand by me any way they can and I'm extremely grateful! People who don't know me personally, though, tend to make a lot of assumptions. Ask any arts major, they will tell you the same thing! Regardless of what others say, there is a multitude of reasons why someone with a passion for theatre should seriously consider entering the field and not be afraid to fall flat. It is a job, after all.

Reason One: Self Expression

This probably sounds corny, but we have had a problem in our society with how we handle mental health. Despite the fact that 25% the entire world will experience some form of mental health issues in their lives, it's a topic we push under the rug. Often, we are encouraged to keep negative feelings we may be having to ourselves. That makes it hard to find a way of expressing ourselves. I struggled with this growing up and I can guarantee you the only comfort I ever felt was on a stage. I've been in over 20 productions and have taken on many different roles from children and grandmothers to animals and witches. The only thing some of these roles had in common was that I played them, and transforming into different characters has helped me understand who I really am. Understanding who you are is the biggest step to expressing yourself. This may not make much sense to someone who hasn't experienced it first hand but trust me. That creative outlet helps mold artists into the people they are.

Reason 2: Excellent Partnership

There are few careers I can list off the top of my head that don't require teamwork. You're always going to have a crew that you have to be able to work with, whether or not you like them, and theatre is such a personal way of connecting with strangers like you would in a work space. There are some days where everything is great, but then you have a tech week or late rehearsals, or maybe even your cast isn't getting along. When theatre becomes your life, these situations become a big deal and your number one goal is now to overcome whatever the dilemma is. Theatre has a lot of room for mistakes, so it's common to have issues backstage. Working through them and building a show together is something that you put work into every day. I started a new job recently and on the first day, I got to know everyone and learned to work with the team. Within a week I felt like I'd been there for months. Every time we get a new cast, it's our job to become true members of the group. After a time, this is a skill we learn to use in everyday life.

Reason 3: It's Fun!

As I mentioned above, most people don't think a job is worth much if it doesn't bring in a lot of money. I have always said that theatre makes a perfect side job and you don't have to force yourself to try to live off of stipends just to pursue a theatre career. I credit that stigma to the reason why people are quick to judge an arts major, they think that we have no intentions of finding other means of work besides whatever shows we can get. That's not the case, full time actors have other jobs. Maybe not ones in New York with their names on signs, but college actors from Raleigh? I promise you we aren't that unrealistic. We are willing to put in whatever time we need to do what it takes to do theatre because we love it. It's fun! Theatre means many different things to theatre people, but we can all agree it's the biggest thrill we've ever had. It's faster and higher than any roller coaster and an experience you can't recreate. No matter how late you have to stay, how tight your costume, or how sweaty your makeup is, we go through whatever we have to go through because this is what we want to be doing. I couldn't imagine spending my time another way. It's shallow to believe that your occupation has to be boring. There is nothing impractical about my career choice just because I enjoy myself.

Regardless of what I say, people will look down on the career I've chosen. The ones who are supportive are loved and appreciated, but some people will just never understand. I don't know when I'll be tired of performing but it won't be anytime soon. This is all I want to do for the rest of my life. This is my future and no one else's, so who am I to do something I don't really want to do. I'm so grateful that I discovered the arts. If you're considering doing something that may not seem “practical” to others, do it anyway. You're not doing it for them. How can you shine if you aren't standing in the best light? In the end, you win the moment you decide to do what makes you happiest. May you have good luck with any decisions about for future. You know what to do!