“Make sure you have a ‘plan B’ in case you don’t make it in theatre.”
This is a phrase too many people have repeated to me throughout my life. Only rarely does it come from my parents, close friends or artistic educators. Usually it’s from random people I run into on the street, teachers at school or extended family members who I just happen to strike up a conversation about my ambitions with. Some mean well, but others just want to make me feel bad. Now, I am writing this to let those people know how offensive it is when all they seem to care about is plan B.
When you ask me about my dreams only to ramble on about how unpractical they are, it’s like you’re assuming that I’m not intelligent enough to have thought out my career path. I am absolutely certain of my passion for theatre. I am more certain of it than I’ve ever been of anything. And because it’s so consumed my life, I know very well that making it in the industry isn’t going to be easy. It already hasn’t been easy. But do you really think anyone should choose my career path based on what’s going to be easiest? That’s not a fulfilling way to live.
Making it in show business isn’t as black and white as most people think it is. There are levels of achieving it and there are alternative avenues to go down. If I never perform on a Broadway stage or book a major TV series (and it’s very likely I won’t), that doesn’t mean my college education in theatre will have been a waste. I could be an acting teacher. I could own a political theatre company. I could be casting director or a talent agent. The possibilities are endless. And I actually do intend on declaring minors in Creative Writing and/or Business. Many of the people who harp on me about plan B also assume I’m into the arts just because I don’t like academics, which again is downright wrong and offensive.
I know it can be hard to understand why someone would willingly pursue a career that doesn’t pay very well. But artists have passions like no one else. When we aren’t doing what we love, we feel empty inside. Please don’t let plan B be the first thing you ask me about when discussing my future career, because I honestly don’t really have one. My plan A is to do what I love, and I know that will be achieved whether I end up a Broadway star or a high school drama teacher. Sometimes when you don’t have something to fall back on, you just don’t fall back.
