Hmm. I don't know how theatre works. But I suspect that it will be a tough thing to be an academic.

I can only speak from my background in an STEM field. Even though funding is easier to get, (professors rely on slave worker grad students to do research), faculty positions in the stem are elusive. At least in my field, 70% don't remain in academia. Given our skillset, it's a little easier (only a little) to find a job in industry but the route is certainly less efficient than if we had taken a job right after a masters or the bachelors. 

You have to talk to your professors.  Get them to talk honestly about post-graduate study.  Also you need to ask to them to be honest about the average number years it takes to get a phd. Also how many faculty positions do they anticipate opening in the next 15 years? I suspect, that  theartre is lot like a humanities where there's an overproduction of phds, but very, very little faculty placement. Right now, at in America at least, a lot of the baby-boomer faculty are retiring, so there's a been rash of positions opening up.  But who knows in another ten years? And in the humanities and social sciences, at least in the US, departments depend on temp, underpaid adjuncts to avoid to hiring  more expensive tenure-track faculty.

I wondering if in theater, the departments hire mainly those with significant theatre experience or from those with phds? 

One thing's for sure, if a school isn't willing to fund your studies, then I'd think twice, ten times, about paying out of pocket. You have to take into account that with a theatre phd, you're basically unemployable out of academia. 

I secured funding first and then chose my topic. If you do the same, the resulting restrictions will likely not be as bad as they might seem to you now. A thesis topic usually has lots of room to maneuver. Avoid leaving grad school owing money!

@Crazy Fish - Yes i very good viewpoints Thanks! I will think all this over. They tend to go for those with academic precedence. And also, yes paying for it out of pocket is a bad idea. I wouldnt be stupid lol

@knotme - Yes, funding is a very good idea. I think the thing is they expect you to choose your topic there and then when applying for funding its annoying.

Thanks guys given me room for thought. Anyone else is welcome to comment still

John