What Can I Do with My Theater and Performance Studies Major?

The theater and performance studies program seeks to educate students on performance literacy, the study of drama, theater history, and the use of the body to convey meaning. Concurrently, the faculty encourages the development of critical thinking skills and imagination. The theater and performance studies program provides unique focus on adapting, devising and developing new work, interdisciplinary research-to-performance projects such as senior theses, cross-cultural performance studies, and innovative approaches to design and multimedia, as well as playwriting, directing, dramaturgy, ensemble, and solo performance.

Graduates of this major will learn to build relationships, experience empathy, and appreciate diversity. Students apply their skills of intuition, creativity, imagination, empathic listening, and expression to a variety of careers, both on stage and off, including the arts, education, public service, and cultural criticism.

The study of theater facilitates the development of a core set of skills sought after by employers in a wide range of occupational settings. Throughout your experience in the program, you will obtain the following skills:

Self Development

  • Self-exploration
  • Self-knowledge
  • Personal creativity
  • Flexibility and openness to new ideas
  • Imagination

Creative Expression

  • Independent thinking
  • Appreciation of aesthetics
  • Taking risks
  • Attention to detail
  • Presentation skills
  • Seeking diverse perspectives
  • Interpretation of writings through acting, directing, and design

Human Relations Skills

  • Cultural awareness
  • Empathy
  • Listening intently
  • Communicating with others
  • Assuming multiple roles
  • Group artistic collaboration

Problem Solving Skills

  • Assessing needs
  • Defining problems
  • Understanding alternative perspectives
  • Gathering information from a variety of sources
  • Weighing alternatives
  • Generating creative solutions

You can use the examples above, and experiences from classes or research projects to enhance your resume. Try plugging in some of your experiences or skills gained into this formula: Accomplished (X) as measured by (Y) by doing (Z).

Sample Resume Class 1, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Member of Class, taught by Prof. _____

  • Developed critical reading, analysis and writing skills through a study of plays from a variety of periods, cultures, genres and styles including (insert plays) in TPST 130 Play Analysis course.
  • Cultivated imagination, focus, embodied creativity, self-awareness, vocal range, collaboration, and script analysis through acting projects including scenes, monologues and other acting exercises in TSPT 120 Acting I course.
  • Investigated public speaking and oral communication through the lens of performance techniques including skills for voice, breath, body awareness, listening, relaxation, collaboration, and improvisation in TPST 121 The Art of Comm. and Pres.

Georgetown Alumni have taken their theater and performance studies degree across multiple different industries and have applied the skills they learned in theater and performance studies across multiple disciplines. 

Additional information about these outcomes can be found in Cawley’s Post Graduation Outcome Report

Helpful Keywords to Improve Searches

There are lots of ways to find good keywords to help your job or internship search process, or even just to learn more about the types of jobs you can do within a specific major. One way to explore this is by checking out the job search tool on Google. 

Once you are in, type in something generic like your major and the world internship afterward. Once you hit enter, it will give you lots of options to explore, but if you want to explore titles, possible career paths, or keywords, hover your mouse over the ‘Title’ tab on the top of the page. This will give you a ton of ideas and options to explore possible keywords. 

Sample Internship Opportunities

  • Design (e.g., New Horizon’s Theater, Duke Ellington School of the Arts)
  • Publications (e.g., National Geographic, Washington City Paper)
  • Radio (e.g., XM Satellite Radio, ABC Radio/Mix 107.3FM)
  • Schools (e.g., Juilliard School)
  • Television broadcasting (e.g., McLaughlin Group, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Viacom)
  • Theater (e.g., National Theater Institute, Source Theater, Kennedy Center)

The Georgetown Performing Arts Department Website is rich with additional information on studying Theater and Performance Studies.

GU Performing Arts Department

Professional Associations are a great place to go to dive deeper into Theater and Performance and learn more about what post grad life might look like. 

Vault is a fantastic resource to learn more about specific career fields in Theater and Performance. Vault has information such as salary information, work environment, education and training requirements, outlooks, and specific tips for entering into the field. 

Professors & Academic Deans
Georgetown professors and faculty members can be a wonderful resource for Georgetown students. If you are still curious to learn more about the disciplines of a specific major, we’d encourage you to connect with your professors! Outside of office hours, Georgetown has an online interface called GU360 where students can explore and connect with faculty members that are eager to mentor and support students. You can use this interface to learn more about specific department research, specialties, and areas of study within a major.  

You can also connect with your academic dean or counselor to further discuss opportunities within a given major. 

Lastly, each department has a dedicated Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS). This is the individual in charge of coordinating the major program or department as a whole. You can find the Director of Undergraduate Studies by exploring the faculty and staff pages of individual departments websites.

Alumni 
Connecting with alumni is a fantastic way to explore a day in the life of any given major student. There are several different ways to connect with Georgetown Alums. Hoya Gateway is Georgetown’s premier networking platform which connects alumni and students to have meaningful conversations and build a strong network of support. This is a platform alumni opt into with the sole purpose of supporting current students, which means there is an extremely high response rate. 

You can also utilize LinkedIn to connect with Georgetown Alum. A simple alumni search on Georgetown’s LinkedIn profile will help you get connected to approximately 130 thousand alumni, which you can then filter to meet the location, major, industry, or skills that you are interested in exploring.

You can also check out our Post Graduation Outcomes to learn more about what Georgetown alumni in specific majors are up to after graduation. We survey our seniors at the end of each year and into the following year to learn about jobs they secured, service opportunities they committed to, or graduate schools they decided to attend. You can filter by first major to get an idea of what life after Georgetown looks like. You’ll see in many cases that alums are using majors in a wide variety of ways, and your major doesn’t always equal your career path. 

Career Center Staff
You can also connect with career center staff to talk through the possible outcomes of one major over another. In short, there are endless opportunities no matter what major you choose. However, connecting with someone might help you navigate your decision making process a little bit easier. 

At the career center, you have the opportunity to meet with either a Career Exploration Counselor or an Industry Advisor. Career Exploration Counselors can help you talk through concerns, goals, the big picture, and strategies to move forward. You can think of them as generalists and a great place to get started. Industry Advisors can help you think through specific questions about a given career path and provide specific industry information and trends. You can think of them as specialists for once you start to narrow down your possible path. If you think an appointment with one of these individuals would benefit you, you can make an appointment on Handshake.

  • American Musical Culture
  • Art (studio)
  • Art History
  • Classics
  • English
  • Linguistics