What a Theatre Degree Can Do for You in the Real World:

It's that time of year again. People are graduating left and right, and confused 20 somethings are wandering around the streets wondering what the hell to do next. (Well, maybe not the engineering majors, but they picked a smart major from the get go. They were already ahead of us.) Some, I won't say who, graduated with what a lot of people might deem as a useless major such as Theatre: Tech/Design and Administration. Yes, that is a very specific major and no, it was not mine, and yes, I am a liar. Sorry.

But I wanted to quell some fears for people who may have graduated with a degree in theatre, and let you know it's going to be okay. Probably, you have no idea what to do with it, or have no idea what to do with it because you know you won't be paid to do theatre for a while, and you have student loans and bills, so you're going to need a day job. But the skills you have acquired from theatre will help you immensely. So this post is wonderfully titled:

What a Theatre Degree Can Do for You in the Real World:

1. Time Management- Having rehearsals, classes, and then  a job to pay for all those things makes a person really good at managing their time. They have mastered skills like; memorizing lines while also going to their history lecture, working their office job and also finishing a paper, and eating while also doing anything else.

2. Working as a Team- All of the directors, designers, managers, and actors have to come together and make a production something. It's not always easy working with all of these different types of people. At the beginning, none of them speak the same language, but quickly they learn...that the stage manager knows all and that everything will get done if they just talk to them.

3. Organizational Skills- It takes a lot of effort to put a production together. If one thing gets thrown off, the whole thing goes to hell. Theatre majors learn quickly to be organized because if they don't, they will most likely end up on stage naked while odd sound effects play in the background.

4. Public Speaking- That one is kind of obvious. Theatre, if nothing else, trains you to be able to speak in front of others. And that is not just for actors but for directors and stage managers as well. They must have a commanding voice that captures a room to make the actors actually shut up and pay attention for three seconds.

5. Creative Problem Solving- "Does it work? In Theory." It's a techie motto. Theatre has no big budget to get everything you need. Sometimes duct tape will have to get the job done regardless of structural integrity. As long as it lasts the amount we need it to, it's fine. With that ingenuity, problems of the workplace become as simple as using a paper clip.

6. Building Things- We build sets and make costumes. Give us a tool box and tell us what you want, and we can probably give it to you, but remember number 5, not everything will be made exactly how you expect it, especially Ikea furniture.

7. Endless Patience- Nothing helps at a day job, whether it be in customer service or in an office, more than patience. And theatre teaches you well. By the time you can make it through a production without trying to strangle someone, you know you have become completely zen.

8. Creating excuses on the spot - This is a skill from our improv friends. Ever have your boss walk in and ask what you're doing and you don't want to say reddit or tumblr? Improv helps you have answers ready to go, so you won't get fired. And most likely these excuses will be so creative, no one will ever question them. They'll think, no one could make that up. Improvisers can and will.

9. You can keep up at the office Christmas Parties without being "that guy"-  No one can survive a show without drinking, so theatre majors quickly learn how to handle their alcohol. You won't need to worry about being the one who is spoken about in hushed tones on the Monday after the holiday party. You'll actually be the only who is fully functioning on the Monday after the holiday party, and if you're lucky, the only one who remembers. Knowledge is power.

10. Not being tired after a 8 hour work day because you've worked four 12-15 hour days in a row because tech was behind and things needed to get done, so you gave up sleeping. - No matter how crazy your night was before, you can still give your job 110% because you'll never be as tired as you were during your last tech week.

Now these are just to name a few. There are many more lessons to be learned from being a theatre major. So new graduates, do not fret about what is ahead. You'll be fine. Just remember that there is always a show somewhere that can help ease the craziness that is the "real world"

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And yes we did just re-read that and said, "Who let's us talk to people!" 

Nerdgasm #20: A New Addition to the #Trainwreck Family

No, it's not a baby......it's a Tardis! The #Trainwrecks totally had a Nerdgasm on Saturday (April 20th for those of you paying attention) when a fellow nerd/techie/our lighting designer gave us this as a thank you for working on the show. The unofficial goal of working on this show was to put as many Doctor Who references in as quietly as we could.

Hey, when working with 100+ middle schoolers you've got to have your fun where you can.


Needless to say, we were thrilled when he handed this to us and instantly knew this had to be shared with all of you.....as well as displayed prominently in #Trainwreck Head Quarters. And so there it is:

My Open Love Letter to Starkid

Dear Starkid,

I am not writing to ask for a job, nor am I writing to explain why we should be best friends (although side note, we would be awesome friends). I am simply writing this to shower you with my fan-love.

See the first time I had seen anything you guys had done was during my Sophomore year in college when a friend (and my co-writer on this blog) and I decided to watch A Very Potter Musical to see what our friends had been talking about/we had always meant to but hadn't gotten around to it yet. 

We were both hooked.

I can't speak for her (although it does happen to be one of my favorite things to do) but there were a few things that really got to me. One was Harry taking down the dragon by singing to it, that song is just so adorable and a little heartbreaking at the same time "The truth is in the end, I'm pretty useless without friends" seriously tears at my heart-strings every time I hear it. It also doesn't hurt that my best guy-friend is they guy who brings his guitar to parties and sings songs to people and Harry reminded me so much of him at the time.

I don't want you to think that "Hey Dragon" is the only song that I love. I would go so far as to say that "Not Alone" is the best song about friendship that I've ever heard. But I equally love "Voldemort is Going Down" and "No Way" so that may not be fair. I'm not even bringing the "Holiday Club" into the discussion because it's technically not a Starkid song. I will say though, that "Holiday Club" has been passed on to all of my closest friends because I feel like it's a song that we should all know together.

You're shows are well written and have catchy music. Not to mention that they are hilarious. I was in a break between classes when Holy Musical Batman came out but had to stop watching it because I was laughing so hard that it looked like I was distracting my fellow students.

That might also just be a personal problem. I'd tell you that I was working on it, but that would be a lie. I have no intention of doing that. Somehow I feel like you understand that.

I guess I'm just writing this to tell you exactly how much these shows mean to me. It goes even deeper than that for me actually. See I am very, very into theatre tech and during my first year of college a few other tech-inclined students and I started a student run theatre tech group. There were four of us at first but it quickly grew and even though I left after two years, I did get to watch my friends do amazing things with that group.  It was about that time (as I mentioned earlier) that my co-writer (who was President of that club for almost the entire time she was as school) and I found  A Very Potter Musical and so to watch all of you become so crazy popular just by doing a thing that you loved and sticking with it really got to me. Not to mention that I could draw parallels to my own life. Both Starkid and the Techie's Union founders were just college kids wanting to do a thing that they loved. It just felt so similar to the journey that we were on that I couldn't not fall in love with Starkid as a whole.

It really didn't hurt that you were making witty, clever and catchy musicals either...and that you actually liked each other

I think I'm done, I just had to write to say thanks.

Also, we (the trainwrecks) were ecstatic when you moved your home base to Chicago because that just so happens to be the place where we live as well. I truly cannot wait to see what you have next for us fans. (And Airport for Birds is so soon! We can't wait to see it.)

Okay, I'm actually done.
With love, The #Trainwrecks

And because I haven't made a fool out of myself enough, and by that I mean you have been completely taken by my clever wit and well written letter that you just have to follow me on social media sites, you can do so here:

Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora)

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I Actually Have to be an Adult Now...What is This?

So it has finally come to and end. There is no more kidding about being a child or ignoring adulthood because I live at home and have no expenses. I have to be an adult now. Why you may ask? Graduating college was not enough? Oh no, it all begins now.  I just started my first job where there is no ending in sight.

Yes, I have had big girl jobs since I was 16. I worked in offices as receptionists, interns, marketing assistants and things like that. I did work retail and others too, but just making a point that this is not my first time in the "office" world. I have been in this thrilling world for a while now. Thanks to connections. (My Mom)

However, this time it is different. There is one major difference between those office jobs and this one. No, it's not the pay (not really). It is not more professional. I am not viewed any differently. The only major difference (besides not being called intern even though I'm doing the same things.) is that there is no end date for this job and that is a first. Every job I have ever worked has had an end date. A time to look forward to when things would change, and all the bad things of this job would be left behind. Don't get me wrong, not all of the jobs were bad (mostly it was the getting up early part which this job does not have. 1-5pm! Woot!) But every one of those jobs was either a Summer Internship, when the cooler months of September hit, I was off on some new adventure rather than stuck in that routine; or it was a school job. Once the semester ended, I could look forward to some relaxing time without worry of homework or being somewhere on time other than my friends house. Now that luxury is gone. Now, all I can see in front of me is what is in front of me now. This desktop, at this desk, with these people, in this building. I will be here for an unknowable amount time and frankly that is terrifying. I have no plan besides this. I have nothing else going on but this (and this wonderful blog).

I am not sure exactly why I wanted to write about this. But it is a really weird concept for someone my age. This could be something that never ends. That has never happened before. Everything in my life ends and ends fairly quickly. First each quarter of high school is different. Then each semester of college is different; with different teachers, classes, shows (Theatre Geek. What can I say?) Then each year is different because of similar things like classes, but then you also gain new people with the old students leaving, and the new ones taking their place. Then to add even more to that, High School ended in 4 years and so did college. What we deemed a lifetime is such a small amount of time. When you were younger and watched all those teen shows about high school. It seems like that part of life never ends but in reality, it's only 4 years. That is such a small fraction and yet that felt like such a long time. High School felt like it never ended (Well, for me at least). But we all could not wait for the day we graduated from either college or high school. We crossed off days, finished projects, all to get here. We had to keep moving and keep changing. Always thinking the next semester will be better. The last year of college holds something we have never seen. That was life. It was ever expecting the next thing would be better.

Now though, who knows? I can't base my happiness on getting through this period of time, hoping the next will be better. There is no set time. There is no end until I make it so. I don't know how I feel about having this power. "With great power comes great responsibility" (Yay! Spider-man. Yes, I am talking about becoming an adult and using comic books to help me. You know I am not ready for this.)

There really is no way to end ramblings so I am just going to say thanks for reading this insanity and I hope it may have helped you feel a bit better about not knowing what the fuck to do next with your life.

Cheers!

Make sure to follow us too on:

Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora)

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