If money is a problem there is a lot of good theater going on at SOME community colleges. Some have no theater at all. If you find the right one it can be a great place to start. In the "
Intro to Tech theater" class I teach, last quarter we went on tours at two major regional professional theaters. Close to 2/3 of the people we met did not have an MFA (Including the T.D. of the largest theater north of San Francisco). Probably about 1/3 of the professionals we talked to on our tours didn't have any theater degree at all. They volunteered at community theater and worked their butts off to
gain a reputation.
Should you try to go to a great grad program? Yes, of course you should. But don't be fooled into thinking it's your golden ticket. It's not. It's one path to consider.
I've told this before but here goes my boring life story again... feel free to click next thread. I started doing tech in 4th grade at my school and church continuing on through High School. I went to community college and found a GREAT T.D. who new everything. I figured out I could learn more by volunteering than by taking classes. So I spent several years and probably thousands of hours just helping around the shop. I went on to pursue my teaching degree and got a B.A. in History and a Masters in Education... with an endorsement to teach Drama as well. Since then I've taught 5 years of High School Drama. Now I'm working part-time in a Community College Theater Program (We still don't have a theater... construction will be done in about 6 months). Next Fall that theater will become a full time gig and I'll be doing tech and teaching.
Back when I was doing all that community college volunteer work there was a team of 5 others students working with me. Of that group:
1 guy got an MFA and is T.D. at a very large theater in the area.
2 people have no theater degree and now run large High School performing arts centers.
1 guy has no theater degree, works part time in a H.S. performing arts center and spends his time hot air ballooning.
1 guy has no theater degree and is the T.D. for two small community theaters and works in the shop for a scenic studio.
And there's me a college T.D. without a theater degree.
There is a HUGE amount of luck, hard work, and who you know involved in the world of theater tech. Degree's definitely can help but often places higher from within and it's just as good to be the guy who started out volunteering to help with
load-in.