Over the past couple years I've come to realise that while I love to perform, my passion lies in creating theatre and helping others improve their talents. My dream is one day be the owner of a successful part-time performing arts school, however I'm not so sure what steps I need to take towards this goal.
I'm currently 16 and in fifth year (Scottish equivalent to year 12), and I take all the usuals (maths, english etc) as well as Drama and Business.
In my free time I take acting, singing and dancing classes, I do YMT in summer, I am a youth arts leader in my city (Aberdeen), a young programmer for the main theatre venues in Aberdeen, I work part-time ushering in my local theatre, and I've just cleared it with my head teacher that I will be running a drama club in School for the 11-14 year olds next year.
I believe I'm talented enough to go to a drama school when I'm eighteen (last year for N5 Drama (GCSE equivalent) I received 95% for the written paper and 59/60 for the practical exam) and I've also recently retained Grade 6 musical theatre with distinction.
Getting to the point, should my future steps be to go to a drama school and then do a teacher training course, or what?
Thanks for all help and apologies for the long-windedness x
Nowadays you have a number of pathways. If you wish to run a performing arts school, then I doubt it can remain part-time, but even if it could, you need to be good at business, so you will need to have all sorts of skills, not quite in the performing arts usual line. Lots of performing arts people try to set up dance schools and acting schools, that are essentially for paying people, and find the admin a real chore - especially the accounts side - yet you can't afford to pay someone!
So - do the usual dance or acting specialist route, or do a drama/music/acting degree, and follow this qualification with a PGCE. With your school stuff you're going in the right direction. If you really want to teach 'properly' then do you really need to do a performing course? Most drama teachers in schools aren't (and have never been) performers. I guess the thing to do is a skills audit. What can you do now, and how well. Then look at the destinations you are considering and try the audit again - what extra value will you have added after 3 years, maybe even 4 getting the HE qualification that allows you to teach. (Frankly, the PGCE is often a rubbish qualification - I don't think I learned very much at all. A few useful bits, but generally an amazingly dull and boring time!).
One thing you need to know is that your desire to create can be really dulled by running a school. I still do some supply teaching, and hate anything music or drama - my real subjects - because working at the low level the school age people are at is truly soul destroying. Until 16+ is reached, and then only rarely, can you do anything substantial and rewarding. It's really awful when people can't do it. Many dance teachers love the time they spend with the older ones but put up with the beginners. It's just how it has to be. working in a college is better. Running your own school means that paying the bills is more important. I don't want to put you off, but passion is frequently severely dented by having to teach low level stuff - and make a profit.
At the moment, you have a great idea, but the reality is that what you have in mind is a business, and your business course at school probably misses out many of the bad bits. My accounts are 4 weeks behind again, because I hate doing them. You have VAT to do as well, and the constant need to generate money.
That all said, I've been 100% working for myself since 2004 and would hate to work for somebody else now - but nobody taught me how business should be run, simply trial and error. If you have this real passion for teaching - and want to work for yourself, it will be hard work, but worthwhile.
Not sure this helps much really. what does seem very clear is that teaching in a school is not that nice - so unless you really want to do it, don't! So many of my own old students did it, and either left, hated it, or became very, very jaded with it! Being your own boss is nice - just not sure how the part-time thing will work, because it may be part time on paper, but it won't be behind the scenes!
Thank you very much for all feedback! (And yes I did mean as part-time for the pupils!)
I think for now I'm going to continue to keep my options open, I'll get a feel for teaching and directing young people next year. If I decide it's really not for me, I'm enjoying ushering very much and I've learnt a lot about what goes into the running of a theatre (Shrek's in atm ). As well as that I was asked to model at a photo shoot last weekend at the Aberdeen Music Hall, so, I was able to speak to some of the creatives behind the shoot and I had a look into how the events programmes are created etc, which I also enjoyed very much.
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). As well as that I was asked to model at a photo shoot last weekend at the Aberdeen Music Hall, so, I was able to speak to some of the creatives behind the shoot and I had a look into how the events programmes are created etc, which I also enjoyed very much.