BA Musical Theatre graduate career prospects

[Bubj]

Does anyone have experience of how easy it is to get roles as a BA graduate in Musical Theatre from a top drama school? Is there enough work out there for these graduates? I suppose the upside is a BA graduate in MT can get acting, dancing, singing or teaching roles. Any thoughts or experiences would be very much appreciated.

If RADA, LAMDA or Guildhall, maybe. Otherwise v hard.

My daughter graduated from one of the top London schools several years ago. She's now a lawyer as is one of her flatmates. Several others in her year not in the industry now.
If you get a great agent at the beginning you might do well for several years. Maybe 1/3 of the year has done ok. One played Elphaba, others have gone from one job to the next. She had a handful of good jobs but it was really tough. Be prepared to change direction but it's really tough out there. But I have no regrets supporting her through the training as she has many great skills from it

Can I ask which school she went to?

It was ArtsEd

Very very hard - there’s a lot of luck / contacts involved in getting regular work in that field which earns enough to cover rent and living expenses. For many getting a job with a cruise line is like getting the golden ticket as its regular income with accommodation and food thrown in. One doubts whether that kind of job was the dream scenario.

So, she did a BA in MT at Arts Ed? That's impressive. It has a very good reputation doesn't it. Does Italia Conti have a good reputation for triple threat in your opinion?
One other question. When you say be prepared to change direction, am I right to say that you will be ok if you have a degree ( BA) I MT? Is that enough to change direction or do you need A levels as back up?

Typically you can’t do a degree without A levels or equivalent so that’s moot surely?

Not remotely. Some never work in the industry, and it’s really hard to get a sustained career.

I got my BA in musical theatre from a top drama school 20 odd years ago. I'm still in the industry but am not continually employed in MT or acting and have a career I run alongside it. The drama school training however gives you the best shot at success as does the showcase for agents that happens in the third year. Sustaining a career however is down to luck, talent and contacts/agent. The BA qualification has little to do with a successful performing career unless you want to gain a side hustle in teaching or want to go on to retrain in something else. I would say however that the training I received has benefitted and enhanced my life in unanticipated ways and continues to do so.

I am a Talent agent and currently freelance at a drama school providing future career support.

Can they get auditions/work? Absolutely but hard work
Is it easier with an agent? Absolutely but not impossible without.

You don't need to have gone to the Drama schools mentioned. ArtsEd is well respected especially for MT

Feel free to PM for private advice or response

You can get a degree in MT without A levels. Either a diploma level 6 leading to a top up year to obtain a BA or by doing a 2 year FDA in MT followed by a third year to.convert it into a BA.

I can't seem to PM anyone. It says private messages are disabled. Does anyone else have that issue on here?

I know a few who went to Bird and Laine. Two have worked in the west end for a few years (in chorus roles), but one has now given that up to teach. Another two worked on cruise ships for a few years but have now gone into other jobs altogether.

I studied English and Drama, then masters in Library Science. The first degree has always been as useful as any more traditional degree.

My SIL studied music at Birmingham Conservatoire and is a singer. She was in the chorus at ROH Covent Garden and has sung professionally for many years. She's 60 now and also teaches and was director of a cathedral girls choir until fairly recently.

My best friend graduated in MT and has spent most of the time since graduating singing on cruise ships.

He was unemployed during Covid and worked as a teaching assistant in a primary school just after the pandemic.

It's incredibly hard. Even from the top schools.

One of the things worth doing - although it is incredibly depressing - is to go onto the alumni pages of the top colleges and click on the Spotlight links for their graduates.

You will be able to see who has an agent versus who is self-repped. And you will be able to see all their professional credits (or lack of).

There are over 1k grads a year and realistically a handful of roles available. I can think of very few types of vocational training with so little actual opportunity at the end. It really is like a lottery.

The vast majority end up doing something else, a decent handful go for cruise ships and a teeny percentage end up doing what they trained for.

Meanwhile, while you are working your bill paying job that fits around auditions and potentially landing a contract, you are still having to find the money to keep your skill set up, pay for Spotlight, headshots etc.

Lots of them work in the industry in some way, but usually supplementing their income with teaching (for months/years) in between jobs. Lots go onto cruise ships, local shows and pantos, touring companies, Disneyland Paris, these are some of the destinations of my kids’ school mates in recent years.

They have to be super resilient, to carry on going for auditions after lots of knock backs, it’s a hard career.

A relative did drama at a respected establishment- she never had a breakthrough and is now a teacher, as are a significant number of her classmates.

When it comes down to it, there are many more graduates than there are roles, so obviously the people on the west end have raging natural talent regardless of where they trained. People I know who trained in MT have fulfilling roles in:

touring cast
stage management
cruise ships
teaching (private voice/dance/acting)
voice rehab therapist
SLT
working actors eg extra work, ads
Session singer
physio

Like any degree and career, it’s not linear and not forever. Sounds fun!

Which schools are considered " Top schools" for Musical Theatre? Surely graduating from one of those must be worth something.
Also, is it better to be represented by a small or big agency?
Thank you for your honesty. Has nobody had a positive experience?
What kind of jobs do people do between jobs?

Yes, people in my post have had a positive experience.
The only person I know who is currently on the west end is a child, and her parent is a west end musician - a lot of it is who you know and was ever thus.
Unfortunately I think the path to success starts long before uni age - look at the output from Sylvia young etc

I would be very cautious and, if she does pursue it, put money aside for a second degree or retraining at a later date.

Alternatively, she needs to marry well!

Mountview
Arts Ed
Guildford School of Acting (GSA)
Laines
Italia Conti

You want a high quality very selective agency.

Also depends if you only want to do MT or if you are interested in screen acting as well.

Graduating from one of those colleges means something in the sense that you should get good training and the more desirable agents are more likely to attend the showcase.

But when it comes to getting cast, nobody cares what piece of paper you had, or where you trained. It's all about being the right fit for the role. It's not even about being 'the best'. You could be the best dancer in the room but 2 inches too tall to fit with the other cast members. Or technically the best singer but you just don't look right for the role.

There are also plenty of successful MT performers who didn't go to college at all. Most of them were very successful child performers who just transitioned straight into adult work. Obviously most take classes, but they haven't spent 3 years at college.

In terms of what people do between jobs - teaching, waitressing, bar work, retail. Whatever is available and flexible.

You need to be incredibly resilient, hard-working and need to do this like you need to breathe. A huge amount of your time is sat waiting for an email with an audition, waiting to hear if you are recalled, waiting to hear if you are through to finals... and generally you only hear if you are through (so you spend your time trying to find out if others have been so that you can stop dreaming about it). MT slightly easier as they often cut in the room - literally ask 2/20 to stay behind and the rest can go.

Are you considering applying?
It's worth looking at just how few places a lot of colleges have - GSA have just 22 places on their MT course and iirc it was 4,000 applications this year.

Just to add, I speak as a parent of someone who was a West End child performer, has been training since they were 4 and is still aiming at this as a career but taking a slightly different route in order to have more options.