From /www.stemjobs.com/how-theatre-can-help-you-in-stem/

STEM disciplines are based in the strictly factual and measurable, while theatre is an art based on illusion and effect. Theatre depends tremendously on STEM, however, and many STEM fields could benefit from borrowing theatre’s techniques to communicate and promote their advances and principles.


STEM in Theatre

Anyone who has participated in a high school play knows that the technical side of a production can be as demanding, if not more so, than the action on stage. Memorizing lines and finessing blocking challenges actors and directors, but any play, revue, or even one-act depends on highly trained technicians whose work is increasingly based on STEM principles.

Lighting, sound design, set building, and other aspects of theatre depend on technical staff and volunteers with strong bases of knowledge in STEM. Knowing how to paint a flat or carry props and sets on and off stage does not suffice in college and professional theatre, when large productions depend on skill sets as diverse as engineering, physics, and chemistry. Complex sets, effects like fog and false fire, and lighting that is as technically reliable as it is artistically striking are the kinds of details that define a professional theatre production. These are all bases of knowledge both STEM students and theatre students start developing in high school, and the bases of transferable skills overlap even more than specific facts.

While it makes sense that understanding chemical reactions, principles of engineering, and technological systems ranging from soundboards to mechanical sets’ controls is necessary for theatre, few people might assume that the skills students learn in a high school play or a theatre class can be just as useful in a STEM lab or classroom. The core principles of theatre – effective communication, preparation, and improvisation – apply in STEM fields as well, and can make learning them and advancing the field easier.


Bringing Theatre to STEM

Many college professors and employers complain that STEM students rely too much on hard research and not enough on their ability to communicate it to a variety of different audiences. Theatrical training or even just thinking more of the needs of an audience can help students avoid this deficiency. On a very simple level, practicing presentations, regarding teachers, students, and classmates as audiences whose attention needs to be held, and paying attention to small aesthetic details can improve a science fair presentation or discussion of ideas in a seminar. On a discipline-wide level, learning to play to varying audiences and communicate at different technical levels can help make STEM fields more accessible to the general public.

Any STEM student understands the importance of material and intellectual preparation for a test or a research project, but fewer may consider the importance of flexibility and improvisation. Theatre students are taught from the earliest parts of their careers to improvise, practicing this skill in impromptu drills and classes, so that they are prepared to respond to any situation as it arises on stage. A level comfort with improvisation helps STEM students feel comfortable taking more risks; the knowledge that they can adapt to a changing situation as it evolves makes them more confident as well as more capable.

[Tweet “It is the ability to take risks and think creatively that propels the most ground-breaking discoveries and the most exciting personal exploration”]; the principles behind theatre can help STEM students bring a renewed spirit of curiosity and accessibility to a demanding set of disciplines.

​Sourced from:
www.stemjobs.com/how-theatre-can-help-you-in-stem/

This article is from ABC News and writtem by By Scout Wallen. See the link here www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-04/qld-university-humanities-hecs-fees-help-fees-study-costs/102294428

Excerpt here:
​Are humanities graduates valuable? Almost 73 per cent of humanities, culture and social science graduates had secured full-time employment within several months of graduating, according to the 2022 Graduates Outcomes Survey.
That is a 15 per cent increase on the previous year and on-par with the rate of full-time employment for science and maths graduates, which is 72.5 per cent.
According to Nick Bisley from the Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, this counter's one of the justifications for the JRG.
"The government made the fee changes on the spurious basis that students were less likely to get jobs and therefore, so if they wanted to do this, they had to pay for it themselves," he said.
In discussions with employers about what they look for in graduates, Mr Carah said they were overwhelmingly seeking skills that humanities and social sciences graduates possessed.

This article is from The Conversation 
https://theconversation.com/why-arts-degrees-and-other-generalist-programs-are-the-future-of-australian-higher-education-203046
theconversation.com/why-arts-degrees-and-other-generalist-programs-are-the-future-of-australian-higher-education-203046
Published April 14, 2023

There is a persistent idea that a generalist degree, such as a Bachelor of Arts, is less likely to land you a job when compared to a specific qualification. This is personified by the stereotypical arts student as a directionless young person who has chosen to explore sprawling and eclectic subjects with no clear outcomes.
This was reinforced by the introduction of the Job-ready Graduates package in 2020, which made most arts and humanities subjects more expensive to study from 2021. The cost of a Bachelor of Arts degree rose by 113%. (Incidentally, Universities Australia called for Job-ready Graduates to be scrapped this week, noting, “price signals as a driver of student choice simply do not work”.)
Either way, the idea a generalist degree just leads to overqualified graduates serving coffee Reality Bites-style is not only wrong, it is also a misguided understanding of what we need from graduates today and in the future.

Arts degrees do lead to jobs
Research shows social science and humanities graduates are getting jobs after their studies.
The 2022 Graduate Outcomes Survey found almost 73% of humanities, culture and social sciences graduates were working in a range of government, non-government and business roles within several months of graduating.
This was an increase of 15% on the previous year, and was noticeably better than the overall average increase of just under 10%.
Arts degrees are not just about sitting on the grass talking and having long discussions. 

Why are we so fixated on ‘vocations’?
Since the 19th century, “work” has been understood through types of “occupations” that were undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life, with opportunities for improvement and promotion, and potentially framed as “careers”.
But the idea individuals train to learn a set of skills or knowledge that prepares them for one stable career is outdated.
What US professor Frank Parsons (considered the father of careers counselling) called “choosing a vocation” in 1909 has been supplanted by employers who want people who are good at problem-solving and analytical thinking, have digital skills, and can demonstrate leadership, initiative and resilience.

A new definition of ‘employability’
We also need to reposition our understanding of “employability” by considering the uncertain future university graduates are heading into.
Along with the pandemic and climate change, we face increased global conflict, and important questions about how to support displaced peoples around the world and in our own region. There is also growing anxiety about what artificial intelligence will mean for our lives and workplaces.
Employers are increasingly looking for people with analytical and problem-solving skills. Research shows our society will need the skills, deep knowledge and understanding to reframe what it means to create cohesive multicultural and diverse communities. It will need to support all lives – including the very young and the aged – with meaning and purpose in order to forge humanity’s future.
To do this, we should reimagine the future workforce through values, competencies and skills, not “professions”.
The rapid social change we are undergoing means future graduates will need to be highly flexible. Vocational degree training as we have understood it could leave students stranded and without the critical capability to understand how to adapt to new roles. For example, leaders in the profession of social work have predicted the vocational degree may need to be replaced by agile skills.

This is where the generalist degree comes in
This is why the generalist degree has a big part to play in the emerging higher education landscape for graduates. Humanities, social science, general science, technology and creative industries fields such as design can deliver adaptable, flexible mindsets.
Generalist graduates learn to argue, debate, discuss, engage with ideas, write and present.
These degrees also offer the so-called “soft skills” such as emotional intelligence, communication and teamwork.

A bold idea
What if the upcoming Universities Accord decided that generalist degrees, not vocational qualifications, were the future for university learning in Australia?
This could see more public-private partnerships to increase work experience and practical opportunities during study. This could create experiences in the community, industry and government.
In doing this, we should embrace the possibility of the broad curriculum that is offered by arts, humanities, social science and science degrees, but insist on elevating their transferable skills to set students up for a lifetime of work and learning.
However, a shift towards revaluing – and even elevating – generalist degrees will require a radical unpacking of degree structures, ways of teaching and learning, fee structures and models.
More students in Australia could be encouraged to expand their learning in a wide range of areas, but specialise and choose pathways by their second and third year of studies, with postgraduate credentials to follow.

Valuing young peoples’ choices
Recent history tells us human adaptability will help us face future threats.
Young people want to engage in learning that will prepare them for futures we don’t yet see. Valuing the generalist degree – with graduates able to enjoy learning, develop the courage to think, reflect, interpret, evaluate, humanise, respond and create – will give young people confidence and a sense of their own agency.
Such a model could be world-leading.

By Dana Hougland
​
All areas of the performing arts, from theater to concerts to media, were substantially hurt by the pandemic shutdowns, but the future for events of all types looks very promising. Students who study and participate in the technical aspects of theatre go on to serve the entertainment industries as designers, managers, and technicians. They support not only live theater, media, and movies but also political rallies, sporting events, concerts, documentaries, radio programs, amusement parks, conferences, tradeshows circuses, and museums.
Transferable skills are relevant to a wide variety of careers including architecture, construction, management, computer programming, animation, special effects, and engineering. 

Technical theatre encompasses the design, construction, and management of props, set pieces, make-up, advertising, and costumes. Students learn about the operation, safety, and programming of lighting and rigging systems. Technical theatre is truly an integrated approach to learning as students must use math, art, geometry, physics, history, electronics, and language skills while at the same time learning to use power tools, paints, materials, audio-video, lighting, and computers.

The students in black behind the curtain, running the spotlight or operating the sound, are an incredible, mostly invisible team working together to bring productions to the world. Yes, there are aspects of theatre production that are dangerous, but proper training care, and attention to good safety practices are skills that apply to innumerable fields and daily life.

Given the high value of skills that are transferrable into both academia and directly into a secure job market, theatre and performance art programs deserve our attention, support, and funding. It is critical that we provide students with the opportunity and proper tools to succeed.

​Sourced from:
https://www.smwllc.com/behind-curtain-importance-technical-theatre-high-school/

From
https://saytheater.org/the-magic-of-technical-theatre/#:~:text=Technical%20theatre%20sets%20the%20tone,necessities%20for%20a%20quality%20storyline.

Imagine a stage filled with spooky noises and mysterious shadows within a creepy alley way, the tension building and the audience wide eyed on the edge of their seats. Now imagine a stage with absolutely no music, no lighting and no props. The difference between the two is incomparable. Technical theatre sets the tone for a performance and tells the audience where they are, what time it is and what kind of day it is- all necessities for a quality storyline. It allows for expression without spoken word and gives artists and technicians, young and old, the opportunity to create the fantastic and the magical.

Technical theatre is like a machine, in order to run smoothly all parts must work together. From lighting and props to acting and choreography, each part is essential to creating the performance. The technical elements act as the engine. When running efficiently they often go unnoticed, however they are absolutely vital for a successful show. Technical theatre is what makes a carpet fly and a pumpkin turn into a beautiful carriage.
Technical theatre also has the power to impact our youth. Aubrey, a member of SAYT, shares her inspiring story, “Before working behind the scenes in youth theater, I was really shy and did not know how to deal with myself in social situations. I would try to cling to a close group of friends from school wherever I went to feel more comfortable. I would often just stay home and not socialize with anyone, making me feel unaccepted and unwanted.”

“When I did tech crew for my first show, it opened me up to a new world. This new world had kind and accepting individuals, a fun environment, with plenty of time and space for me to learn new skills, enhance my work ethic, and break out of my “shell”. Doing theater completely changed me as a person, and I will always be grateful to it for helping me to be my best self and helping me to find great passion in doing tech crew.”


The people working behind the scenes have the power to make magic onstage and truly set the “mood.” There aren’t many times you hear “wow that lighting was really amazing” or “those props were wonderful,” but without these elements the performance would not be the same.
Above all, theatre is a collaboration of many creative and practical ideas. Each element is important to creating the final product. It teaches us to work together as a team toward something that is bigger than any individual. Next time you are a part of a cast or are an audience member, imagine what it would be like without the sound, lighting and props. Then take a moment to appreciate and compliment those working behind the scenes as well as those on stage.

https://www.artshub.com.au/news/career-advice/why-drama-is-the-most-important-school-subject-2527005/

Well yes, based on Australian demographer Simon Kuestenmacher. 
Collaborative learning? Yes. Problem solving? Yes. Creative thinking? Yes. Applied Science and maths? Yes. 

Tech Crew may just be the most important subject for students to propel them into life.

With the technical upgrade of Clubbe Hall, Frensham has been able to formalise the technical training of students.

Throughout this year, students in Years 8 to 12 have been developing an understanding of the technical aspects associated with the theatre industry. The units of work studied include workplace health and safety practices, working effectively backstage and developing audio knowledge.

During training sessions in Clubbe Hall, students have learnt the theory part of the course while simultaneously developing the practical skills associated with productions. The students have developed technical skills for shows and practiced emergency and evacuation drills to understand how to manage an audience in various situations. The skills taught are preparing students to be part of a technical team for real-world productions.

Students have developed an understanding of their rights in the industry and knowledge of workplace safety. They discuss the roles and responsibilities of the Technical crew and exciting opportunities for work experience and careers for the future.

Last term, students met Stage Manager, Marianne on Zoom who talked to them about her role as a Stage Manager for the show, Come From Away, who discussed the difference between school and professional productions. Most importantly, she encouraged students to understand the importance of collaboration when working with others in the production.

See more: 
https://www.frensham.nsw.edu.au/community/news-events/news/details/~board/news-page/post/message-annual-appeal