Reflecting Forward on Theatre School

Episode 152:  Reflecting Forward On Theatre School Grae Greer is in the middle of her last semester of her theatre program at Marshall University. Why did she choose Marshall?  What were her expectations and how were they met, or not met? What are her tips for high school students looking at programs? Where does she want to take her theatre degree next? All this and more in a look forward from theatre school into the real world. Show Notes Theatrefolk Conference Calendar Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening! This is Episode 152. You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode152. In our last podcast episode – number 151, you can find all you need to know about that episode at theatrefolk.com/episode151, of course – we looked back at theatre school twenty years after the fact – twenty years later. Today, we’re going in the other direction. Today, we’re talking to Grae Greer who is at the end of her theatre school experience. She is in her last semester. This is it! School is almost out! So, what’s it been like? What were her expectations and how were they met or not met? Where does she want to take her theatre degree next and what’s her advice for high school students looking at programs? I’ll give you a hint; if you’re in senior year, it’s kind of too late. So, all this and more as we reflect forward on theatre school. Let’s get to it. LINDSAY: All right. I am so happy today to be talking to Grae Greer. Hello, Grae! GRAE: Hi! LINDSAY: Now, Grae and I sort of know each other because I know Grae’s mom quite well – Carolyn Greer who is a fabulous teacher. But, Grae, you kind of were off to college by the time I started sort of harassing – oh, I mean, spending time with your mom. GRAE: Yes, I was, I was. LINDSAY: Awesome. So, what we’re going to talk about today, Grae, you are in the last semester of your theatre degree? GRAE: Yeah! My undergrad, yeah. LINDSAY: Yes. And so, we’re going to talk about what that experience has been like for you, what your expectations were before you started your program, and then sort of where you are now and where life is going to lead you because I know that we have a lot of folks who listen to this who have students who are themselves just getting ready to make that choice – to make that college choice – and lots of folks are like, “Yeah, I’m going to go get that theatre degree and I’m going to go take on the world with it.” GRAE: Yes. LINDSAY: So, look back to when you were in high school. You did a lot of theatre in high school, yes? GRAE: Yes, I did. LINDSAY: What made you decide that you were going to pursue that further beyond high school? GRAE: It was an easy choice, actually. I had always done theatre. When I was younger, I mean, I wanted to be a chef for a really long time. And then, I think it hit me in middle school when I realized that theatre is what I wanted to do. I mean, I remember telling mom that I wanted to do theatre and she was like, “Are you sure? Are you sure this is what you want to do?” and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. When I was in high school – well, not every year – almost every year, we went to SETC the Southeastern Theatre Conference. As a junior,