7 skills you need to succeed in performing arts

As well as having a natural talent for your chosen discipline, you'll also need to demonstrate and hone these seven skills and attributes to make it in the competitive performing arts industry

What are the performing arts?

The performing arts is a collective term for arts performed in front of an audience.

They primarily focus on dance, drama, music and theatre. This means there's often overlap with the film and media industries.

Performing arts careers

Popular jobs in the performing arts field include:

In addition to the typical performance roles, design, production and management also falls under the umbrella of the performing arts industry.

Many universities and specialist schools offer performing arts courses in production lighting, stage and prop design, costume construction and stage management.

For instance, you could choose to work as a:

With the right experience and qualifications, moving into teaching and tutoring is also an option - for instance, by setting up as a private music teacher. You could also find work in health and social care as a dramatherapist or dance movement psychotherapist.

Remember that talent can only take you so far when attempting to make your name in this industry. As well as having the physical skills in drama or dance, or other technical performance skills, you'll also need to possess the following attributes.

Confidence

Acting, dancing, playing or singing in front of other people can be an incredibly nerve-racking experience. Stepping onto a stage and performing in front of an audience requires a huge amount of confidence and self-esteem, as you're displaying your talent and inviting judgement.

In these situations, it's natural to feel a certain degree of nerves, but as a professional performing artist you need to harness and use these nerves to better your performance.

Those who aspire to work in the wider industry, perhaps in a technical or management role, will face stiff competition. A confident, can-do attitude will help you stand out in job interviews and may help in securing work experience.

If your self-confidence needs a bit of a boost, there's plenty you can do. Join university clubs or societies, or local groups such as choirs, orchestras, dance or amateur dramatics groups.

You could also consider entering local or regional competitions or talent contests to build your confidence.

Taking on part-time work in a customer-facing role can really help your communication skills and self-esteem.

The ability to network and market yourself

Lots of people working in the performing arts are self-employed, and actors, dancers, singers and musicians all need to audition to find work, so it's vital that you're able to sell and market your abilities to potential employers.

To get your name recognised and to help secure future work, you'll need to employ your networking skills to make as many industry connections as possible.

Join professional associations and attend industry events, sign up for classes, workshops and short courses to meet like-minded people and follow relevant casting directors, dance companies, choreographers, musical directors and repertory and commercial theatres on social media.

Many of the best jobs are attained through connections and knowing the right person at the right time can pay dividends.

Resilience, self-discipline and stamina

Due to the competitive and highly skilled nature of the industry, it's likely that those working within performing arts - even those in technical or managerial roles - will experience rejection at some point in their career. Similarly, they'll also receive criticism in some form, at some stage too.

To cope with these challenges, resilience and tenacity are essential. You need to be able to use these experiences to hone and develop your craft and bounce back better than before.

This is where self-discipline and stamina come in useful. Performing artists are required to work long hours during rehearsals and in the run up to a show and are expected to give 100% to every performance.

Much of your time will be spent practising and improving, and the work can take its toll both mentally and physically - especially on performers who work additional jobs to pay the bills.

An analytical mind and the ability to self-reflect

Perhaps not the most obvious skill, but those working in the industry need an analytical mind.

If you're involved in drama, you'll need to be able to scrutinise and interpret a role and script, while dancers need to be able to break down and analyse choreography, and musicians need to be able to dissect and interpret a piece of music.

You also need to be able to apply these skills to your own work when critically analysing your performances.

This skill can be developed by reviewing university or professional productions, concerts and recitals for academic publications, local media or industry magazines.

Flexibility

Performers need to adapt and apply their skills and talent to a variety of roles, genres, techniques and styles. For example, actors may be cast as a hero in one role and a villain in the next, while dancers may be required to perform classical ballet for one job and street dance the week after.

Flexibility is essentially about being able to multitask, and working part time during your studies will give you lots of practice as you seek to strike the right balance between your university, work and personal commitments.

Indeed, the majority of those working in performing arts also have portfolio careers, often subsidising their salary by taking a second or third job, typically in teaching, arts administration or other technical roles.

Therefore, adaptability and flexibility come in useful when maintaining multiple jobs and switching between roles.

If you're still at university, read our tips on putting together a creative portfolio and how to get media work experience by making a showreel of your best work.

Teamwork

The performing arts are a collaborative effort between many different people coming together to create a successful show, play, broadcast, concert or recital so the ability to work well with others is vital.

See our tips for successful group work at university.

Organisation and time management

Successful performing artists are often required to work on more than one project at once and work schedules can become hectic. Strong organisation and time management skills are therefore a must.

Your day-to-day role may involve attending multiple auditions, keeping track of rehearsal timetables, travel arrangements, promotional engagements and performance times.

You may also need to juggle a second or third job.

Find out more

Search for postgraduate courses in performing arts.
Discover what you can do with a degree in performing arts.
Learn more about creative jobs.