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What To Learn

High School

What high school courses should you take if you're interested in this career? Get your answers from the Arts, Audio-Video Technology and Communications cluster Audio and Video Technology and Film pathway, Performing Arts pathway.

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Students should consider a good theater program in a college setting. After that, get some experience, even if you have to volunteer to do it. Summer theaters will often take on apprentices, and sometimes that will give you a leg up on the competition.

Most directors have some experience as actors, but that's not always the case. Some stage managers also become directors.

Melanie Sutherland, a New York director with over 20 years of experience in the business, says if you really want to get ahead fast, the trick is to make as many contacts as possible. Also, get your master's degree -- you'll meet the playwrights and producers who will help your career later in life.

"Truly, the older I've gotten, the more I've realized it really is about who you know," she says. "If you have talent, that's great to fall back on. But I wish I had gone to grad school, because then I would have met the people and been able to cultivate those relationships."

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