[omgtoast]

I am in my junior year in university, and I am a theater student.

In a passing conversation (context: customers at my register at work making small talk), people will ask me
"Oh, what do you go to school for?"
And I reply, "I am going to teach high school Shakespeare and theater."
Too often, their response is one of the following three:

"Theater? That's a dead-end career. Why not do something useful, like accounting/business/nursing/etc?"
"Theater? Really? You're so much smarter than that. That's so lazy. Why do you want to be a starving artist?"
And this one, that I look forward to hearing every day as a teacher:
"You know what they say: those who can't, teach."

It's offensive beyond words: People have this preconceived notion of what the Theater is all about, and they don't want to hear otherwise. In fact, I've had people who will stand and argue with me on it if I dare to disagree with them.

People who say this, the ones who know me better, ignore the stack of playbills I have from shows I've built/directed/performed in. The ones who say I'm lazy or working beneath my mental capacity ignore my 3.4 GPA, the essays, the books, the studying, and the long hours I've put in on the set...

I'm tired of explaining myself to people; Is there a nicer way to say to somebody, "If you're just going to stand there and trash on my career, get the *explicative* out of my face"?

[justcurious55]

Ugh. I hate customers like that. Sometimes the easiest thing to do, not just with customers, with anyone in general, is to change the subject. I'd just shrug it off and ask a question of your own. "so what did you major in?" depending on what kind of store you work in, talk about what they are buying. I work in a grocery store. It's pretty easy to change the topic to food. "hmm...looks like you've got all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies!"

[Synnen]

Oh, I'm a smart aleck.

My answer to the "those who can't, teach" would be "Oh--you're a teacher too?"

Or "Do you really think that only those who are NOT at the top of their class should teach?"

Or--and this is probably best--"Do you really think that those people you watch on television and movies have never had a theatre major teach them more about acting?"

[omgtoast]

Justcurious: yeah, changing the subject usually works, but you wouldn't believe how often people take it as a personal offense when I tell them I don't want to discuss it any longer.

[J_9]

"Theater? That's a dead-end career. Why not do something useful, like accounting/business/nursing/etc?"

Accountants and nurses had teachers. What do you think they learned it on their own?

[Catsmine]

You could simply say that you'd rather be Spielberg than Warren Buffet, or Bernie Madoff

[jmjoseph]

Just tell them that you are going to be an art professor.

Theater is a performing ART, and a PROFESSOR is a type of teacher.

Either that or tell them nothing at all.

Change the subject, to them.

This is your life, never do something that you are either ashamed of, or you have to explain.

Go do what makes you happiest. If it is theater, then I wish you luck.

[rockie100]

Its great you have chose to further your edgucation. Most of the people asking you probably wish they had. You really don't need to answer them at all... You could say "Me? What did you go to school for?" People love to talk about themselves... (Or they really don't like to, and make stuff up.) Either way you have segwayed the question. 'Next costomer please' lol

[omgtoast]

jmjoseph : I agree that professor would have a more "impressive" ring to it, but it's sort of a lie... and I wouldn't quite call myself lazy (work hard, not to death), but I'm not the sort of person who would consider the amount of work involved to earn that title! Lol

Lately I have been simply telling people I will be a Shakespeare teacher; that seems to answer the question for most people and they have nothing to respond with except that uninterested nod that says "oh, how boring..."

And even among other artists, people just don't get it... months ago I was on a blind date with a photographer/graphic artist, and we were getting along fantastically until he found out that I'm a patron of a "dying form of entertainment." Gave me an earful for the entire last twenty minutes I put up with him.

[justcurious55]

Oh I believe it. I've had people take personal offense to some of the most ridiculous things. Here's how you need to go about changing the subject though- don't tell them. Just do it. If you're changing the subject with a friend, it may be a good idea to tell them you don't want to talk about it, otherwise they'll probably keep bringing it up later. But if you just start talking about something else, they're not likely to go back to the subject.

I also loved catsmine's answer. And rockie's. You could cut them off before they even have a chance to say anything about your education.

[hheath541]

Toast, I know exactly how you feel. I get all kinds of stupid comments and looks when I tell people I'm an art major who hopes to one day be an art teacher.

I have had people assume that I'm just too dumb to major in anything else. For those people I usually just bask in the knowledge that I'm probably smarter than them. If it's someone I'm going to see again or hang out with, I generally just let them figure out for themselves that I'm smarter than your average art major.

The people who figure that since I want to teach art I must not be able to create it usually get an explanation of exactly what kind of art I do make. As soon as they hear that I make tiny ceramic miniatures, they usually either want to know why or just figure I'm nuts and leave me alone.

Most of the time it's enough for me to know that I enjoy what I do and that it's not that only aspect of my life that matters. I know I'm smart. I know that I'm good at what I do. I know that they will probably never completely understand that.

As far as theater being a dead art form; I think it's far from it. I love theater. I've worked lights and sound and built sets for more than a dozen plays. Theater often has an impact that film just can't have. Nothing quite beats going to a play, sitting in the theater, watching the curtain open, being transported into another world for a couple hours, then being able to meet the cast afterward. Not to mention, more and more popular plays are being turned into films.

You should quote a passage from shakespeare to anyone who questions your intelligence and then see if they have any idea what you just said. Shakespearean theater really is an entirely different artform and you have to learn an entirely different way of speaking and understanding the english language and seeing the world. I will be the first to admit that I don't have the patience to take the time to learn how to interpret his writing correctly.

[Synnen]

Honestly--I don't see how theater (as compared to cinema) is a dead art any more than photography (as compared to cinema) is a dead art.

I don't know that ANY art is "dead". Except maybe the "art" of having tact or the "art" of following etiquette.

[Synnen]

Comments on this post
hheath541 agrees: cave painting is a dead art form ^_~

Not necessarily--what would you call murals or graffiti, except a modern version of painting on the walls where you live?

[hheath541]

Not necessarily--what would you call murals or grafitti, except a modern version of painting on the walls where you live?

But it's not CAVE painting :D:p

[dontknownuthin]

You are choosing one of very few professions where you will be applauded, given flowers and accolades, be given press and where your friends and family come to see and enjoy you at work, so focus on that when these naysayers are crapping on your dreams! Most of us don't get so much as a "good job" at work, so even with these insensitive remarks, you are getting more positive feedback than most.

Know that they are probably not having half the fun, or building a fraction of the close relationships that are available in a career in theater.

It takes courage to go for difficult dreams and take a different path, and courageous people usually are swimming upstream in pursuit of those dreams.

In response, I'd just say something very droll like, "I'm sorry you feel that way" and let the person marinate in their own clumsiness.