Some Theatre Teachers Really Need to Learn the Difference Between Teaching and Killing Dreams

by Chris Peterson

I have never understood why some theatre educators believe their job includes deciding which students deserve to have careers.

Most performers have heard a story like this. A professor pulls a student aside and tells them they should consider another major. An acting teacher announces that someone does not have what it takes. A director suggests they find something else to do because theatre clearly is not going to work out for them.

Sometimes this is presented as tough love. I think it is usually just arrogance.

Teachers should be honest with their students. In fact, pretending someone is doing well when they are not can be just as harmful. A student may need to improve their technique, choose better material, work harder, become more reliable, or seriously reconsider how they are approaching their training.

But there is a major difference between telling a student where they need to improve and telling them they should give up.

One is teaching. The other is making a prediction that no educator is qualified to make.

Theatre careers are strange, unpredictable, and rarely built in a straight line. Some people are obviously talented from the moment they enter a classroom. Others need years to develop.

A professor only sees a student during one small period of that person’s life. They may see them in one class, one production, or one particularly difficult semester. That is not enough information to determine what someone will become.

It also lets the teacher off far too easily.

Writing a student off takes no effort. Helping that student identify the problem and build the skills to address it is much harder. That is the actual work of education.

A good teacher can say, “You are not ready yet.” They can explain why. They can make it clear that professional theatre is competitive, exhausting, and often unfair. They can even ask a student whether this is truly the life they want.

What they should not say is, “You will never make it.”

Maybe the student eventually chooses another path. That is perfectly fine. But it should be their decision, based on experience and an honest understanding of the profession.

No teacher gets to turn one opinion into someone else’s destiny.

Your job is to help students grow. It is not to decide when they should stop trying.