There’s a conversation about post-secondary education in performing arts. In particular, vocational training or the idea of “going to theatre school”. There is an argument that says we should have fewer theatre schools, fewer theatre school programs, fewer BFAs in Acting. And of course these arguments come up as we watch programs being shuttered, or paused.

This argument presumes that we’re graduating too many actors for an industry with too few jobs and also that we (the schools) are somehow deceiving these young actors by taking them into a program and training them, and then pumping them out into a world where they will have no work. If there were fewer programs, if programs were smaller, more elite, more selective, there would be less wasted time, wasted money, broken hearts and broken dreams. We would redirect some wide-eyed, hopeful young people into more lucrative and more stable careers than the ones many of us navigate in our professional lives.

While I understand the logic of this argument, and while I empathize deeply with my colleagues who have also found it to wear on their hearts and souls that it is impossible to make a living wage as an artist in Canada, certainly on any long-term basis, I have to say that I disagree entirely and vehemently with the notion that we should have fewer theatre performance training programs in this country.

I think that this argument fundamentally misunderstands the very function of theatre school.

First of all, theatre school is not, and should not be a filtering system for the industry. I am well aware that not all of my students can “make it” in this industry, but I must teach them as if any of them could. The industry has its own filtering systems and doesn’t need post-secondary education programs to do that work. Theatre schools are filtering for those who can benefit from their program, and this is different from what the industry is looking for.

The industry has auditions. Actors, performers, singers, go to auditions. Auditions are a level of filtering when it comes to who works in this industry. In fact, it’s the main level of filtering. Another filter is of course casting directors, who decide who gets to audition. We also have agents, who decide who to represent and who to submit to auditions. This industry filters out participants in any number of ways.

There’s a certain lack of accessibility. There’s a certain lack of flexibility. A lack of true inclusion. There’s a lack of work-life balance. There’s a lack of job security. A lack of usable health benefits. There’s a lack of retirement potential. There’s a lack of living wage. A lack of access to grant money. There’s a lack of roles and opportunities. There’s a lack of stimulating roles and stories that make people want to invest in this work. All of that creates very narrow, layered, and functional filters.

You want fewer people choosing the arts? We’ve got that already.

Then there’s how to survive if you make it through the filters. You need to be able to maintain life and sanity independently of your acting income. And you need to do that in a way that you can pause everything to be on set for any number of days. Or leave town for any number of weeks to go and do a show that is going to pay somewhat minimally (because, let’s face it, our pay structure is built to be quite livable if we’re working all year round, and in no way reflects the seasonal work that the vast majority of actors will engage in).

All this to say, this industry does a great job of filtering out people on its own.

So, as someone who works in a theatre school, I don’t feel a need to be yet another filter for the industry.

Secondly, the very suggestion of theatre schools accepting fewer people and graduating fewer people so that fewer people are disappointed when they don’t work in the industry presumes that theatre schools should be able to determine not only who can and can’t succeed in their program, but also who can and can’t succeed in the industry. It presumes that these two things should be in perfect alignment, and also that the industry’s needs are static. If that were the case, then I suppose the safest bet would be to take the most conventionally attractive applicants who display the highest skill levels at the time of their audition.

But the thing is: that’s not what we’re looking for.

Sure, some schools are probably looking for that, as I said, I think it’s the safest option. And I’m not saying we turn down highly skilled and/or conventionally attractive students if they want to come to our school. I simply think it shows a lack of conviction in your own curriculum if high skill level is your main requirement for entry.

Theatre school students are not solely future professional performers. People who go to theatre school love theatre. So they become people who see theatre. They also become directors and stage managers, designers, administrators, educators. They become people who donate to the theatre, people who participate in community theatre. Theatre school is not just for making professional, working actors. It’s school: it’s for learning. And learning is a valuable and worthwhile activity on its own.

So, what are theatre schools looking for if not just skill? What are they doing if not filtering people for this industry? Well, I can’t speak for all of them, but I can tell you what I’m looking for. I’m looking for heart.

I want students who light up when they perform.

I want students who sparkle, who love doing this, and I want that for a number of reasons. One, is that I think it is the most important thing. Two, is because I believe in our ability to teach the required skills. And three, is because I believe that people who love what they do are the kind of people that we want in a room. I believe that they create the joyful, magical, wonderful work that we all want to be a part of. And because those are the things that we’re looking for, I don’t think that adjusting our search parameters in order to align with a marketplace that frankly, doesn’t seem to know what it wants most of the time anyway is a good idea.

A lot of theatre schools have done some great work towards inclusivity, and we have a lot more work to do. Eliminating these programs is the fastest way to undo that work. It means we’re not casting as wide a net as before. The reasons why most of these programs are being shuttered isn’t because there aren’t enough students applying, it’s because running these programs costs more than running other programs. Because theatre schools need more than just one lecturer, they need space to make theatre, they need stage managers and designers and technicians, they need lights and costumes and sets. These things cost more than having one person speak to a room full of infinite students. Putting on a show costs more than writing an exam.

Performing arts programs do and should cost more to run than other programs.

If you work in the K to 12 sector, or in after school programming, or if you run your own studio, I’m sure you’ve noticed your students disappearing as they hit high school. They don’t have time for lessons, they’re too stressed with homework, they need to get into a good university. They’re in Grade 9 when this happens, by the way. They’re 13-14 years old and they stop doing things that they love to do because they’ve already been told that it’s not feasible, it’s not a real career. Don’t worry about theatre schools filtering out young people, it’s already happening before they hit puberty. I am deeply concerned that a number of young people have little to no connection to the performing arts whatsoever. And I’m concerned about whatever connection they do have being severed earlier and earlier in their education.

I’m sure many of us can identify high school theatre as where we caught the bug. Where we started to realize that maybe we could do this. Many of us can point to a drama teacher who cast us in that role that changed everything for us. Shuttering BFA programs limits the number of people who will be qualified to teach drama in our public and private school systems. Without a BFA in Acting program, without enough performing arts courses being offered at a university, where are teacher-candidates supposed to get their teachable credits in drama? Is that what we want? Fewer qualified drama teachers in our education system?

I get it, I worry about them too. Work is scarce and precarious in our industry. And sometimes we feel angry or sad because this is not an easy path to walk. Sometimes we forget that we can get off the path at any time. We forget that this work is an act of service and we can say “that’s enough now, I’m done.” Sometimes, we want to spare others our pain. We want to tell them: “If you can do anything else and not be miserable, go and do that thing.”

Trust me, we do tell them. We tell them all the time. We all tell them. This society has told them how hard it is to do what we do, they can see it, they know.

They don’t come to theatre school because it’s a sure thing. They come because they want to try.

Whether or not our graduates end up trying to navigate this profession they are highly skilled individuals. We are not simply an economy, we are a society. I don’t see a downside to training a young person to use their voice, to move their body, to express themselves, to empathize, to show up on time, to work hard, to care deeply about something, and to energetically and passionately have fun.

Theatre school is not a pipeline. Theatre school is a haven. We are a way station. We are Neverland. A place where dreamers go. Dreamers who are not yet ready to stop believing. And whether or not those dreams materialize, the time spent dreaming is worthwhile.

Besides, when you were their age and said you were going to do this with your life, was anyone able to stop you?