A dramatic existence: Undergraduate preparations for a creative life in the performance industries

Abstract

<jats:p> This article focuses specifically on drama and theatre higher education (HE) programmes and preparation for potential graduate work. The article investigates working in the creative industries and in the performing arts (particularly within acting) and how HE students in the United Kingdom prepare for this life. The growth of the creative industries and successful applied drama in the public and private sectors has also brought business interest in how drama and theatre processes can benefit other workplaces, outside of the creative arts. The article addresses current policy, initiatives and partnerships to broaden inclusion and access to creative work. The research explores drama undergraduate degrees and the university’s role in supporting a successful transition from HE to graduate work. Students perceive the university world as safe and the graduate world as precarious and unsafe. The research findings have resonance with other undergraduate degrees, outside of the arts and the role the university plays in student transitions from the university to the graduate environment. </jats:p>

The role of higher education in sustainable creative careers: Exploring UK theatre graduates and theatre careers

“…What is striking is that 45% of D&T graduates are employed in non-creative non-graduate level work compared to 35% for other creatives and 27% for non-creatives. As highlighted by Higdon and Chapman (2020), performing arts graduates are exposed to a very precarious labour market as soon as they graduate. There is also quite a gender difference in terms of the % who go into performance occupations, with 24% males compared to only 14% females finding work in the performance sector.…”

“…While the data highlight the challenges of transitioning from study to work, in the accounts of many graduates, drama schools often acted as the first performers' professional network, easing their way into the industry. Overall, HE can be essential in facilitating the transition (Higdon & Chapman, 2020). Often teachers, or as for Actor 1 in the following comments, the principal himself, recommended the performer to someone in their network.…”