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Career Planning and Resources

So many possibilities! If you are looking for a career in film and television, you might consider a double major with a degree from the Department of Media, Journalism and Film. If you are interested in a career in design, you might consider a double major or minor in studio art.

The Center for Career Exploration and Success

Known as the CES, our career center serves students with a mission to put them on their ideal path for professional excellence. Here, you can connect with dedicated career advisors and fellow students pursuing similar tracks and professions; you can immerse yourself in information about compelling industries and roles; and you can prepare for life in the work force with interview coaching, career assessments, recruiting tools and more.

Visit the Center Explore our career toolkit

What can I do with a major in Theatre?

Performance and Direction

Stage Actor
TV, Film Actor
Radio Talent
Motion Capture Talent
Voiceover Work
Comedian
Audiobook Narration
Stunt person
Casting
Dialect Coaching
Stage Director
TV, Film Director
Artistic Director

Education

Teaching Artist
University Professor
High School Theatre Teacher

Administration and Writing

Producer
Company Management
Management
Agent
Marketing and Advertising
Fundraising and Development
Volunteer Coordinator
Arts Administration
Box Office Sales
Promotionss
Patron Services
House Management

 

 Event Planner / Manager
Entertainment Critic
Literary Manager
Dramaturgy
Playwriting, Screenwriting

Design and Production

Technical Direction
Hair or Make-up Design
Hair or Make-up Artist
Set Design
Production Design
Art Director (film and TV)
Stage Management
Production Management
Prop Management
Property Design
Property Artisan
Project Manager
Special Effects
Console ProgrammerLs
Lighting Designs
Sound Design
Events Management
Rigging
Electrician, Best Boy
Scenic Fabrication
Scenic Artist
Costume Design
Costume Stitcher, Draper
Wardrobe Supervisor
Stagehand
Draftsperson/3D Modeling
Stage Automation 

Auditions & Jobs

Group Unified Auditions/Interviews

In most of these, you audition or display your portfolio before a group of different producers and/or schools, then producers call you back for individual interviews. They are a great way to cast a wide net. ALL REQUIRE APPLICATIONS, usually due in late November! See websites for specifics. Also look at the bulletin board across from the CPA elevator for information.

URTA University Resident Theatre Auditions. Auditions and design/tech/directing interviews once a year in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Mainly representatives from graduate schools.

SETC Southeast Theatre Conference. Auditions and interviews each spring, with over 80 professional companies attending. Held in a different city each year.

MWTA Midwest Theatre Association. Auditions and interviews in mid to late February each year.

NETC New England Theatre Conference. Auditions/interviews in mid March. Mostly represents theatres in New England.

Straw Hat Auditions (and tech interviews. Held in New York each spring, and attract producers from small theatres all over the country

On Line Job/Audition Listings

Artsearch (tech, design, management internships and jobs, get the password from the theatre office)
Playbill (audition notices, tech, design, and management)
Backstage Magazine Online (auditions and tech positions)
Offstage Jobs (jobs in tech, management, and design)
PLASA Job Board (entertainment technology jobs)
Entertainers Worldwide Jobs (performers for cruise ships and entertainment venues)

Nearby Theatres

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Know Theatre (Cincinnati)
The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati
Cincinnati Black Theatre Company
Queen City Queer Theatre Collective
Human Race Theatre (Dayton)
Actor's Theatre of Louisville
Stage One (Louisville)

Scripts and Theatre Books

Dramatists Play Service
Samuel French
The Drama Book Shop
Stageplays.com

Unions & Organizations

Actors Equity (AEA)
Screen Actors Guild + American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)
United Scenic Artists (USAA)
United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT)
Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
Black Theatre Network (BTN)

Internships

Internships are a great way to become familiar with careers in theatre. Students have completed internships with local theatre companies and organizations like

  • Victoria Theatre Association
  • CIncinnati Playhouse in the Park

and national companies like

  • Nederlander Theatres (New York)
  • The York Theatre Company (New York)
  • New Jersey Shakespeare Company
  • The Curious Theatre (Denver)
  • The San Francisco Mime Troupe

You can use an internship towards your Theatre Skills electives in the theatre BA, or as free electives towards your overall 128 required credit hours.

Finding an internship

The theatre faculty and your advisor have contacts in the profession and can help guide you. Check first with your advisor or a faculty mentor.

  • Internship opportunities are sent out on the Department Listserv
  • Internships are posted on the "Internship" bulletin board across from the elevator in the Center for Performing Arts
  • Check online sites like offstagejobs.com or playbill.com
  • Check the latest issue of ArtSearch kept in the Theatre Office

Starting the Process

  1. Apply for the internship with the company. When you have been accepted, then move on to the following steps.
  2. Find out how many hours and how many weeks you will be working. This helps you determine how many credits you can register for: 40 hours of work equals 1 credit hour.
  3. Provide your advisor or a faculty mentor more closely connected with your internship field of study with contact information for the person that will be your supervisor at the company. Your advisor or mentor must contact the person to make sure they will provide an evaluation for your work, what is expected, etc.
  4. Make sure you find out as much as you can about the internship. Does it provide a stipend, is housing included, etc.
  5. Discuss with your parents and/or financial advisors how you will finance Miami’s tuition for the internship credits.

Registering for Credit

You need to fill out two forms to get credit for your internship:

  1. An Independent Study Permit (available for download from the OneStop website)

On the Independent Study Permit enter the following information:

Department: THE

Course Number:340 (the Registrar will create the CRN number and SECTION, so you won’t be able to find those numbers ahead of time because they won’t exist yet!)

Number of Credits: Take the TOTAL number of hours your employer expects you to work and divide by 40. Enter the nearest even number

  1. A College of Creative Arts Application for Independent Study (available from your advisor, mentor, or from the theatre administrative assistant in the Theatre office)

On the College of Creative Arts Application for Independent Study form, provide much information regarding the internship, including

    • Project Description
    • Project Outcomes
    • Tentative Timeline that includes the number of meetings between the student and faculty member

This form must be signed by the student, Faculty Supervisor, and Department Chair and will remain on file in the department office. Please submit with an attached hard copy of a current degree audit report (DARS). 

The form states that “students may register for 1-5 credits of independent study per semester”, so the faculty need to explore this more if you are going to register for 8 credits at one time.

Choosing a Term

Add the registration for your internship to whichever semester schedule your will COMPLETE the internship. If you are doing a summer internship, but completing it in the fall (with presentation or written report for example), add it to your fall course schedule. If you are completing all of the work for the internship over the summer, add the internship to the four summer term you will be completing the work.

You will be billed for the credit in whichever term you add it to your schedule.

Registering Through Another University

You can complete an internship for which credit is given by another degree granting institution. You MUST enroll for credit from the sponsoring university and have the credits transferred to Miami University AFTER receiving a grade. This is clean and simple. CAUTION: You must be receiving credit for an internship, NOT for taking classes.

The Checklist

Before you go

❏ meet with your theatre advisor.
❏ provide your theatre advisor or faculty mentor with a written job description for your internship.
❏ provide your theatre advisor or faculty mentor with the name and contact information of your supervisor on site for the internship who has agreed to provide written evaluation of your performance.
❏ Establish expectations (in writing) for your collaboration with your theatre advisor or faculty mentor, including pre-internship meetings, communication during the internship & post-internship meetings.
❏ complete & submit the INDEPENDENT STUDY PERMIT & COLLEGE OF CREATIVE ARTS APPLICATION FOR INDEPENDENT STUDY. This registers you for credit.

During the internship

❏ Complete the appropriate number of hours.
❏ keep a diary of observations, activities, discoveries etc. This may include writings, photographs, programs, and any other information you wish.
❏ Document number of hours worked (must be signed by your internship supervisor).

Upon completion of the internship

❏ Write a paper summarizing your experience including learning experiences, the value of the experience overall, your frustrations, most memorable moments, and other important observations.
❏ Submit to your advisor or faculty mentor: your diary and paper.
❏ Prepare a short presentation of your internship experiences to share with peers.
❏ Your faculty mentor will request a written evaluation from your on-site supervisor, will meet with you and will then assign a grade for your internship.

Department of Theatre

Make Theatre. Make a Difference.