Thinking of becoming a teacher

[hhslights]

I am thinking about becoming a technical theater teacher at the high school level as a career. I am still in high school myself and I am looking into colleges. I am still trying to decide where I should apply to school. I also want to know how current teachers got into teaching.

Current teachers, how did you go about getting to where you are now? What schools would you recommend, specifically in Michigan? Did you get a degree related to technical theater first then go back for teaching or did you do it all in one shot? I am interested in how one gets into teaching technical theater at a high school level.

[Footer]

I just left a teaching gig at a performing arts high school. I did not set out to teach theatre, and right now I am not teaching and don't entend on teaching at the HS level in the future.

Don't get a degree in education. You don't need it. Get a BA or BFA in theatre. Build your portfolio just like you would for anything else. Go do summerstock. While your at school if you want (though I didn't) go volunteer at a local high school. It will give you a feel for whats going on.

After school, start job hunting. These jobs tend to have pretty high turn over. However, finding a full time one with benefits might be an issue. Some districts make this position a regular teacher, others make it a staff position. My position was a teacher, which meant I had classes all day and still had a full production load. On top of that is standard teacher stuff, like in-services, staff meetings, and a whole bunch of other stuff that does not at all apply to you. The staff route has better hours but sometimes does not carry benefits or might not be full time.

Certification is usually the big issue with this position. It depends on state to state, but most states have an "alternate" route to certification. Due to the teacher shortage, this is a pretty easy thing to do. Its meant for professionals to be able to teach without all the haggle of getting a certification. In Georgia, you had 5 years to get your certification before they kicked you out of the classroom. In the mean time, your on a temporary cert. based on your ACT score and your degree. I never got my full cert, but all it involved was about 6 credit hours of classes and a few child development classes.

All and all, if you like teaching and want to be king of your castle its not a bad way to go. Budgets can be great or terrible. Equipment can go either way as well. Getting new things can be a pain. Students can be a pain. Working inside the school system can be a pain. You will work twice as many hours as any other teacher in the school and get paid the same.

But... if you want to do it.... do it. Its a solid gig that won't have you traveling. Benefits are good. If you actually stick with it for 10-20 years you can be making some pretty good money.

[ruinexplorer]

Let it be known that I have never been a teacher in a school, never trained to be a teacher, but have taught many workshops.

I recommend that before you go right from being in academic theater to teaching academic theater that you gain some real-world experience. If your college brings in guest directors/designers, you may get a decent amount of differing experiences. However, if you want to really teach your students, they need to know what to expect after they leave your school. Professional theater can be qite different from academic theater. I am suggesting that you get different types of professional experience like reperatory theater, concerts, working in a roadhouse on touring Broadway style shows, corporate a/v, etc. Some of this you may get doing internships while in college, but it is vital, in my opinion, for you to be well rounded in your experience as well as your education prior to attempting to shape young minds.

[Tex]

I agree completely with the above post. I've been teaching for 16 years. I started out at 18 trying to be an actor with very little training. I got some jobs, but I knew that if I wanted to succeed, I needed to truly learn my craft.
I went to college. When the money ran out, I went back to work. After 12 years of alternating working as an actor and going to school, I finally got a BFA in acting. I was 30 and suddenly realized that my goals had changed. I didn't need just the theatre anymore; I need some security as well.
I didn't know anything but theatre, so teaching seemed a natural fit. I got a student loan and spent two years working as a graduate assistant in a theatre department so that I could afford the education classes. That time I spent as the scene shop foreman was invaluable to me as a teacher!
I love teaching theatre. The relationships that one builds last a lifetime. It's a very satisfying, meaningful, time-consuming, exhausting, frustrating, wonderful way to make a living.

[gafftaper]

First thing you need to do is decide where you want to teach then find out what the state requirements are for being a teacher. Check out your state Superintendent of Public instruction's website and/or contact a local University's school of education for information on state requirements (maybe on the university's website).

Footer's advice works in some states, in other states (Like my own) you would be completely out of luck if you follow it. Around here the ONLY way you can get certification is if you get an education degree from a university. Furthermore I only know of two programs in this state that aren't Masters of Education and certification combined programs (the state requires you to get a masters degree within 7 years of getting certification or they take it back). You can't even transfer your certification in from another state without attending a in state university to get re-certified. So you really need to research the rules for the state you want to teach in.

Not to burst your dreams, but you need to research how many jobs there are that actually do what you are talking about. Are there any full time high school tech theater teaching positions? I don't know of any in this state. I know of a few schools where there is one tech class a day... but what are you going to fill the rest of your day with? The person teaching tech is usually also the drama teacher, some sort of theater manager at a large performing arts center attached to the school, or maybe something like the music teacher or activities director. They spend the day running the PAC or doing other jobs and then teach one tech class along the way. Here in Seattle... a decent sized district with 11 high schools... I believe there are only 2 full time drama teachers and I don't think there are any tech theater specific positions (there used to be one but I think it was cancled with budget cuts a few years back). SO, you need to do your research and thing about "WHAT ELSE am I going to do?" as the odds of a full time tech theater position in a high school are way against you. Personally I went and got a history degree to go with my theater training so I could teach history and drama. Again this is something that a university department of education counselor could help you with.

As has been said, you really want to try to get as much experience as you can outside of school. No matter what you do be sure to be involved in things like community theater productions and summer stock as much as possible so that you can make lots of connections.

[Footer]

Originally Posted by gafftaper

Not to burst your dreams, but you need to research how many jobs there are that actually do what you are talking about. Are there any full time high school tech theater teaching positions? I don't know of any in this state. I know of a few schools where there is one tech class a day... but what are you going to fill the rest of your day with? The person teaching tech is usually also the drama teacher, some sort of theater manager at a large performing arts center attached to the school, or maybe something like the music teacher or activities director. They spend the day running the PAC or doing other jobs and then teach one tech class along the way. Here in Seattle... a decent sized district with 11 high schools... I believe there are only 2 full time drama teachers and I don't think there are any tech theater specific positions (there used to be one but I think it was cancled with budget cuts a few years back). SO, you need to do your research and thing about "WHAT ELSE am I going to do?" as the odds of a full time tech theater position in a high school are way against you. Personally I went and got a history degree to go with my theater training so I could teach history and drama. Again this is something that a university department of education counselor could help you with.

Tis true. In some states you can not even teach tech theatre because the standards do not exist. We had standards in Georgia, but they were far from decent. I was one of two tech theatre teachers in a district of 18 high schools and 110,000 students. The other tech theatre teacher was part time at another school with a large drama program. I was one of 4 in the Atlanta area. I know of maybe 10 positions in Chicago. The positions are out there, however there are a lot of people that are sitting on them. If you are OK teaching drama classes, odds are you will be able to pick up something. On Artsearch and Backstagejobs.com there was one full time Tech theatre gig that came up all summer, and it was the one that I left. There are about a 100 true performing arts magnet schools in the country, most of them if not all of them have a full time TD. Most private Performing Arts Schools also have a TD.

So, diversify. You might have to wait to get the gig you want. I would look at what state you want to teach in and figure out what you have to do to teach there. I would shy away from the theatre ed degree if you can. Most Magnet programs out there (and I have talked to a pretty good number) want working professionals instead of trained educators. It makes for higher turnover, but they believe they get a better product. Theatre ed degrees also have a stigma in the professional world. Not saying they don't know their stuff, but the stigma is there.

[gafftaper]

In many ways your odds are better at getting a T.D. job in a college/university. You also usually get a bigger budget, more toys, and better facilities. I taught high school for 5 years. Now I'm part time at a community college. While I enjoyed teaching high school (and may go back some day), I'm really loving the freedom, the students, and the resources I have at the college level. I have the ability to do so much more than I could do in high school. I don't have to deal with idiot students. I can focus much more on creating the magic of theater than I could in High School.

How to get a college university job? You should try to get a M.F.A. in tech theater (although I don't have one) then get out and work as much as you can.

At your age I would encourage you to not try to limit yourself just yet. Find a college with a decent education school and a decent theater program... you're going to have to give up a little in one area probably. Get involved and learn more about both. While you are at a great age to be dreaming, it's a little too soon to focus quite so specifically in my opinion. You really need to get some training and then get out and work in the real theater world for a while before you start focusing on getting the T.D. gig.

[hhslights]

Thanks for the info. I was planning on getting some real world tech theater experience after college anyways. What degrees should I be looking for in a college that would work for anything in the field? Something that would give me flexibility after college.

[Footer]

Originally Posted by hhslights

Thanks for the info. I was planning on getting some real world tech theater experience after college anyways. What degrees should I be looking for in a college that would work for anything in the field? Something that would give me flexibility after college.

A traditional BA program will give you the most broad experience, IE make of it what you will and you get to take more classes that are non-theatre. If you want to be a "theatre generalists" you probably want to look for a smaller BA or BFA program. One that has students doing everything and anything. That is the kind of program I graduated from. Though everyone had an emphasis, that did not keep me from working in the costume shop, taking make-up classes, building scenery, hanging lights, designing scenery, designing lighting, and who knows what else. Larger conservatory programs tend to pigeonhole you in one area. Smaller programs tend to let you do anything you want to do. In order to teach at a HS, you need to be a jack of all trades. After you design the scenery... you have to build it... after its built... you have to paint it, after its painted you have design lights for it.... then you have to hang those lights, then you have to cue it.....
Obviously students are doing most of the work along the way, but your still the guiding light.

When you start looking for schools, ask questions like "If I want to design lights, can I also design costumes?" "How much student produced work is put on?". Look for a program that will let you experience as much as you can and do as much as you can. If you want to specialize, go to Grad School.

[gafftaper]

Great advice there from Footer. As he said, ask around to find a program that will give you the largest variety experience.

Here's an interesting alternative you might want to consider. A community college with big theater department and a good T.D. This is how I basically got all my training. I worked under a T.D. who was a true master of the craft. I spent a couple thousand hours over 3 years volunteering after class... and after I graduated. Then he got sick and was out for a couple months so they hired me to fill in for him. I learned everything and I had the opportunity to do it all side by side with my Jedi Master. The problem with many 4 year tech programs is that the Jr.'s and Sr's get all the cool work. When I was in college there was about 8 of us doing tech work. The one on one learning at a wide variety of tasks was awesome! I now teach at a community college. If a student comes in to me and says, "I want to learn how to design lights." I sit them down with them right there and they learn to design. I've only got 2 years with them. I don't have time to build up a hierarchy. If they are eager to learn and good at it, they'll work every show. If you find a good T.D. to teach you and match that up with 2 years and a good general technical degree you'll know it all.

As far as what degree to pursue it really depends on what the university offers. Some have lots of very specialized degrees others have very general ones. If you want to teach think as broad as possible because you will be the whole show. Better take some directing and acting classes too!