Online Degrees in the Theatre Arts: Training for Actors, Performers, and Crew Members

Do you aspire to be the next Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, or Angelina Jolie? Maybe you prefer to express your creativity offstage, like famous set designer Bob Crowley or choreographer Bob Fosse. The theater arts is a diverse field that offers a wide variety of job opportunities for every type of creative spirit. From those with a flair for the dramatic to technically-oriented individuals who like to work with lighting or build sets to fashionistas who design wardrobes, a theater arts degree can open up career possibilities.

The theater arts have been around since at least ancient Greece and flourish all over the world. Anywhere there are people, you may find the performing arts. However, major centers for theater in the U.S. include New York, Chicago, or Hollywood. Internationally, London, Sydney, and Moscow are home to rich performance traditions. With the tremendous range of careers in the performing arts, you can enter the profession from a variety of backgrounds and degree programs. Here are but some of the many career opportunities in theater and the performing arts.

• Actor/Actress. As the star of the show, you bring stories and characters to life. Well-trained performers are needed on stage, in film, and in the video industries as lead actors, character actors, and cast members.
• Choreographer. Performers with dance experience may become choreographers, teaching or directing the dance performance of other students or professionals on stage or in film and designing dance sequences.
• Director. It's your responsibility to find the right script or play, interpret the production for your theater or film audience, lead auditions and rehearsals, and sculpt the performance of your actors, stage or production staff, and musicians.
• Scenic Designer. From initial sketches and ideas to the development of sets and props, you'll lead the visual look of the stage or set where actors bring drama or comedy to life.
• Stage Manager. You're a well-trained, experienced member of the backstage crew that steps up to run all aspects of the production of a play or film, including sets, auditions, lighting, sound, rehearsals, and live performance.
• Costume Designer. You'll work from research and design ideas to create and coordinate the apparel worn by every cast member in the theater, film, or video production.
• Theater Teacher/Coach: Imagine working with professional and amateur actors, providing training in voice, gesture, and technique. In a school setting, you're often the director, stage manager, and choreographer rolled into one!

Working in the Theater Arts
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that actors, performers, and other theater arts professionals who have completed professional training or earned a bachelor's degree will have the greatest number of job opportunities. Online schools offer courses in arts and humanities as well as film or television.

For professionals, wages and rates are often determined by agreements between employee unions and on-stage or studio producers. The principal organizations include the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Other professionals in stage production, lighting, sound, and other fields are typically represented by their own organizations.

Producers and directors earned a median annual salary of $64,430 in 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while actors were paid a median hourly rate of $16.59.