ABSTRACT
What are the employment prospects for job seekers with theatre training or a background in performing arts? Pretty good, actually. In recent years, researchers and journalists have addressed this topic, publishing studies and statistics analyzing the business acumen and marketability of artists. Providing ample evidence to silence naysayers, these studies give theatre-makers a plethora of reasons to be optimistic about their chances on the job market: the sheer number of artists succeeding in various businesses, including 15 percent of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization; 1 the recent focus on “soft skills” like self-awareness, risk-taking, and playing well with others, which theatre practitioners possess in abundance; 2 and the assorted ways that theatre is utilized by everyone from business school students honing their soft skills through collaborative drama classes 3 to medical residents exploring empathy through theatrical techniques 4 and body language. 5 While steady employment is never guaranteed in any economy, it appears that employers appreciate and utilize the talents of theatre artists now more than ever. As I weighed my contribution to this volume on dramaturgy, I found that my personal experience with dramaturg colleagues provides a remarkable example of this subject. We are all intelligent, talented people who are highly employable, if I do say so myself.
