In high school, senior Courtney Long always knew she wanted to go to college. After landing the lead role in her high school’s production of Aida, she knew what she would major in: theatre.

At the top of her list was Ithaca College. After going through the auditioning process, her anxiety about her future subsided when she was notified that she was accepted into the theatre program. Now Long is only a few months from college graduation, but she is unsure if she will secure a job in theatre.

COVID-19 caused many people to lose their jobs and, in general, made it difficult  for people to find new employment. With theatre already being a competitive field to break into, the pandemic made it even harder for prospective college graduates to find jobs in the profession. Long is now experiencing how hard it is to find employment in theatre amid the pandemic.

Long said that it is even harder to try to find a job due to the fact that it’s not only 2021 graduates applying for them, but those who graduated in 2020 – the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic – as well.

“Now the pool of people auditioning and just trying to get booked is a lot larger than usual,” Long said. “So it’s really competitive now.”

Long also expressed that it can be hard to stay positive when it seems like something she has  dreamed about for years and devoted her college education to seems unattainable.

“I have to continue to keep reminding myself that I am here for a reason,” said Long. “I’m worthy. I’m great … It’s so important to have positive affirmations especially in times like these, because it’s just hard,” Long said.

Students seek out other options

Now that Long realizes she might not get a job in theatre, she said she is considering teaching as a backup option. Long is not the only one considering this. Senior theatre studies major Emily Jimenez said they are considering going into education as well.

“I was exploring different opportunities to try and get into the field, like apprenticeships, fellowships, and lots of them aren’t available because companies don’t have the money to fund new prospects coming into the community,” they added.

Prospective graduates aren’t the only ones struggling

Hannah Thien graduated in December 2019. She was a working actress as well as an administrative assistant at the Choice Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, New York. When the pandemic occurred she lost her job. The Brookings Institution estimates that at least 1.4 million jobs will be lost in the fine arts, partly due to the pandemic.

Thien now works in a completely different field as a secretary in a medical office. She said that she learned a lot from the pandemic, particularly in terms of believing in herself.

“You have to believe in your skills for other people to believe in you,” Thien said. “I have to be fully confident in my skills and know that, I can bring 100% to the job.”

Theaters are finding new ways to reach audiences, an example being virtual shows. Thien said she believes the theatre will always come back.

“I’d be really curious to see how technology gets used in theater now that we have this capability, and like, if COVID stories are going to be starting to, like, show up on stage,” Thien said.

Long shared similar sentiments and agreed that theatre will be back.

“There is hope for theatre,” Long said. “I’m really grateful for that, and I’m just trying to stay hopeful, but theater will be okay.”