Any Greek Theatre Majors?

[PhdGirl]

Hey All!

So I'm going into a theatre program which I know is going to be very demanding, but I've been really interested in Greek life. Are there any theatre majors who have balanced these two worlds?

[SWTXBelle]

I was a theatre major when I pledged - switched to English my junior year. It's tough if you are in/are working on a production, but my sisters (including at least one other theatre major) were very supportive. There are many majors which are very demanding in terms of the hours they require - just be up front about your major and try to give your GLO as much notice as you can if you have to miss an event. When you are at a sorority event - REALLY BE THERE. Give 100% - which you should do any way, of course - but make a real effort to contribute when you can.

[Smile_Awhile]

Me!

For two semesters now, I have managed to balance having roles in school productions and holding offices in my sorority (one of those offices being vice president). My theatre program is also extremely demanding of my time and energy. Was it always easy? No. But, I've developed killer time management skills (mostly), and I feel like it's really prepared me for life.

As SWTXBelle said, there will be times you have to miss an event. I was out of most sorority events for about a month during the worst part of my show (including Homecoming!). But, your sisters should understand that academics come first- and because your major is theatre, that is an academic thing. Your degree and future always come first. Be up front with the sororities that you're a theatre major, but if the sorority has any theatre majors in it, they should understand.

Also, being in my sorority has helped me gain confidence- something that is essential to anyone pursing a career in the arts. You have to know that you can do this, and while you may not be perfect for this part, you are perfect for some part. I wouldn't be as confident as I currently am without the confidence and support of my sisters.

If you want more details or anything, PM me!

[dgdramadawg]

I double-majored in theatre and education, and I managed to be in a sorority without any major conflict with my production involvement.

It's absolutely POSSIBLE to be Greek and a drama major, but I did have friends who planned to do both but ended up either switching majors or dropping out of Greek life. It depends on how understanding your sorority is about how much time your major will take.

You can PM me if you have any questions about it.

[PhdGirl]

It's good to see that it's definitely feasible. I know that I want to be active in whatever organization I choose to join but I really dont want it to effect my performance in classes or during productions. I don't want people to think I'm flaky if I choose one over the other from time to time

[dgdramadawg]

Originally Posted by PhdGirl

It's good to see that it's definitely feasible. I know that I want to be active in whatever organization I choose to join but I really dont want it to effect my performance in classes or during productions. I don't want people to think I'm flaky if I choose one over the other from time to time

At a highly competitive theatre school, a director would likely think a student was flaky if she chose a sorority event over rehearsal unless she listed the specific conflict at the time of auditions. Since you said your program is very competitive, that bears mentioning.

Like Smile_Awhile said, since theatre is your major it is an academic commitment, and your sisters should understand that academics come first.

[StarryNightASA]

It is definitely possible with a lot of hard work.

I'm a technical theater major at Christopher Newport University with a focus in stage management. I'm also a proud ASA and serve on E-board as secretary. My sisters are very understanding that I have a demanding major and school comes first no matter what. I've stage managed shows while being in ASA and I must admit, it is hard to balance but if your brothers/sisters are supportive enough and you have a good head on your shoulders, you'll be fine.

[sapphirekey]

I'm a drama/history double major with a minor in English, I've had both roles and stage crew work in school productions, & I've been very active in my sorority this year (my 1st) with an officer position and involvement in our songfest cast. It's possible - but it is, as everyone has been saying so far, tough. Mainly I'd say give your chapter notice as far in advance as possible when you have to miss things, and then don't skimp on the things you CAN attend. Also, school comes first. I decided to major in drama, and those requirements have to come before sorority events. My sisters understand - I'm not the only drama major in our chapter, so I'm not alone in having to choose sometimes - and like I said, academics are the priority.

[motter3]

I'm a theatre major and part of ADPhi society. it was hard during my pledge process when a lot of the events conflicted with shows which i was envolved in. luckily my society is small (we had 17 actives last semester) and my pledge class even smaller(6), my siblings were able to work around my schedule. they moved formal bid night later than usual so that i would be able to attend. they also worked initiation around time wise so that i could attend. i am well aware that this is extremely lucky since with a larger greek it would be much harder to accommodate everyone.

[naraht]

When I was at Carnegie-Mellon 20 years ago, it was an unwritten rule that the Social Fraternities did not pledge freshman drama majors. I think it was a combination of the fact that they tended not to have a lot of time and drama was the only major where the profs would schedule things that would conflict with normal pledge meeting times. I don't know if anything has changed, but the student activities staff certainly knew about it and didn't stress over it. I have no clue on the Sororities.

[AGDem]

I was a theatre major while in school. I guess a lot of it depends on the climate of your school's greek system and theatre departments. I won't lie, I had a very tough time balancing the two and unfortunately, it came to a point where I was forced to focus on one over the other. When I got to be an upperclassman, my efforts were concentrated on my major instead of my sorority, as I felt academics should come first.

I found that both the theatre department and my sorority were pretty accepting of me being involved in both, but when I tried to balance the two, I felt like I was giving neither my full commitment or potential. I had a sorority sister who was also a theatre major and had the same problem, we both ended up gravitating to our theatre department.

There were other girls in our theatre program who rushed and or/pledged, but ultimately never joined an organization because of the conflicting commitments. It is POSSIBLE to do both, but be advised that it is very difficult. I've seen girls not get offered parts solely for the fact that they had too many sorority events that conflicted with the rehearsal schedule. I also know of another girl who wasn't offered a role because she was going through rush, which would have forced her to miss a week of rehearsal. She got a bid, but decided not to pledge.

Really think about this decision. When I joined my sorority, I wasn't very active at all in my theatre department. By the time I graduated, however, it was the exact opposite.

[alum]

Originally Posted by naraht

When I was at Carnegie-Mellon 20 years ago, it was an unwritten rule that the Social Fraternities did not pledge freshman drama majors. I think it was a combination of the fact that they tended not to have a lot of time and drama was the only major where the profs would schedule things that would conflict with normal pledge meeting times. I don't know if anything has changed, but the student activities staff certainly knew about it and didn't stress over it. I have no clue on the Sororities.

I was at CMU in the 80s and from what I recall, there was a lot of anti-Greek animosity in the College of Fine Arts. The Drama Department only chose about 36 dramats (our term for the Theatre majors) for a freshman class and cut it down at the end of each semester so by the end of sophomore year, it would be whittled down to 18. Some students who got cut from acting would go into a different focus within the department, ie directing, others would leave Carnegie Mellon completely. In any case, the first two years in the Drama Department meant extremely long days, ie building sets, sewing costumes so they would learn all facets of the business. Being a dramat was considered more difficult than being an ECE major.

We all had engineers in our memberships and each of the sororities had at least one voice major, but when I was there, female MT majors were not joining Greek Life.

A few girls from the other departments in CFA had joined but unlike the rest of us from the other colleges within the university who wore letters to class and around campus, they NEVER wore any afffiliation item to classes as the professors had the reputation of being biased.

[naraht]

Originally Posted by alum

I was at CMU in the 80s and from what I recall, there was a lot of anti-Greek animosity in the College of Fine Arts. The Drama Department only chose about 36 dramats (our term for the Theatre majors) for a freshman class and cut it down at the end of each semester so by the end of sophomore year, it would be whittled down to 18. Some students who got cut from acting would go into a different focus within the department, ie directing, others would leave Carnegie Mellon completely. In any case, the first two years in the Drama Department meant extremely long days, ie building sets, sewing costumes so they would learn all facets of the business. Being a dramat was considered more difficult than being an ECE major.

We all had engineers in our memberships and each of the sororities had at least one voice major, but when I was there, female MT majors were not joining Greek Life.

A few girls from the other departments in CFA had joined but unlike the rest of us from the other colleges within the university who wore letters to class and around campus, they NEVER wore any afffiliation item to classes as the professors had the reputation of being biased.

I was there from 1986 to 1990. Most of the Science and Engineering students that I knew just assumed that the Drama Profs were either sadistic, insane or *both*. I don't know too many departments at any college that would brag about students who had started in the department, dropped out of the University because they assumed that the Industry had to be easier than staying in the department and made it big.

Sometimes I think that the Drama Department had an element of Boot Camp to it in that the professors felt they had the responsibility of getting the students to the point where when their alumni went out into the business that just about any director they dealt with would be easy compared to the professors.

Hmm. I wonder whether any of the Fraternities that got kicked out of Carnegie-Mellon over the years tried the argument that they were abusing their pledges less than the Drama Profs abused their students...

OTOH, I still wish that the Beaux Arts ball had survived.

[alum]

^^So true. Blair Underwood (LA Law) was supposed to graduate in 1985 or 6 but left about halfway through (I don't think he was cut). I remember all of us watching the Cosby Show on a Thursday night in the big tv room in MG because he was getting a big break as the boyfriend of one of the daughters. The Thursday lineup on NBC was full of Tartan dramats. Cheers (Ted Danson '73) was on as was Hill Street Blues (tons of '60s grads) and LA Law (more 60s grads and of course Blair).


However, cutting is not unusual for drama departments. I was reading on a college admissions website that drama departments at several schools do that.


I find it interesting that there are drama-specific CMU Alumni Clans in both LA and NYC. I wonder if the dramat alums ever associate with the rest of us?

[naraht]

^^Blair Underwood was the one I was thinking of...

The actors playing the Boy/Girlfriends and Spouses of the Cosby kids were definitely a good looking group.

I know that CMU is routinely ranked in the top 10 in Drama Dept, I wonder how many of its competitors cut as well.

I doubt they associate with us mere mortals...