College/University With Technical Theatre Major

[Spader]

I've been having an extremely bad time trying to find colleges that offer Technical Theatre or Theatre Design as a major. I want to go on and focus on Lighting design, and I won't even consider a college that simply puts "Theatre Arts" down as a major.

So, I was wondering if anybody knows of good schools in Northern California/Oregon/Washington with good technical theatre departments.

[cdub260]

Originally Posted by Spader

I want to go on and focus on Lighting design, and I won't even consider a college that simply puts "Theatre Arts" down as a major.

Why not?

There will likely be those that disagree with me on this, but at the undergrad level, whether your degree lists a specialization is not really all that important to your future career.

I am a graduate of UC Irvine, class of 1998. While in college I specialized in stage lighting and lighting design. My degree just says Drama, not even Theatre Arts or Technical Theatre, just Drama. This has not hurt me one bit. To take it a step further, I only spent my last two years of college at UCI. I did my first couple of years at Orange Coast College, a community college in Costa Mesa, California. I'm glad I went this route, as I was able to get much more hands on experience at the community college level than I did at UCI. This was in part because I did not have to compete with upperclassmen for the coveted tech positions on the various shows I worked on at OCC. For that very reason, I strongly recommend that prospective theatre majors at least look at their local community colleges rather than dismissing them out of hand.

I've been in my current position since January of 2000, but while it was a contributing factor, it was not my degree that got me my job. Instead, it was the time I spent doing overhire work at the Pageant. In that time, my current employer learned what they could expect from me in terms of work ethic, skills, attitude, creativity, and a whole host of other factors, such that when the Master Electrician position opened up it was offered to me. There are plenty of better lighting guys out there than me. There are also plenty of better electricians than me out there. But the Pageant wanted me, not because I was the worlds greatest lighting guy, but because I was familiar with their operation, and I was not an unknown. They knew what they were getting when they hired me.

Now I'm not saying that you're wasting your time trying for a degree. Far from it. I use what I learned in college all the time. You probably will too. But I think you're giving far too much importance to the title on piece of paper that the university gives you at the end of your time there. You should really give far greater consideration to the quality of the program. A degree that says Lighting Design is completely worthless if the program behind that degree does not teach you what you need to know to become a lighting designer.

Just something for you to think about.

[themuzicman]

Yea, get over that quick.
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The only schools I know of where your degree will say technical theatre are conservatories. I know Bobgaggle is going to Point Park, and I am pretty sure his degree will say Technical Theatre on it, but other than that, you should probably get over that.

When I came into my college, my degree was going to say "Theatre Arts" on it, but we got the memo last week that we are merging with cinema so my degree now says "Theatre Arts & Cinema". It makes you look like a more versed person, and we have amazing specialists in their respective fields.

What your degree says doesn't always equate with the education you get.

[waynehoskins]

Yeah, Design is a focus of study within the department.

The university I went to has a department of Theatre Arts. It only became an official department during my time there, and it's been around for many years. It's been under both Communications and English in the past. The Department has two focuses of study: Design and Performance .. and in my last year they added a General Theatre focus, less specialized. No matter what you choose to specialize in, your degree from there reads either BFA Theatre or BA Theatre.

If you refuse to consider any school that does not have a completely separate Technical Theatre Department and Major, then you're ruling out some very good universities and departments. Almost all of them, in fact.

[derekleffew]

For more unsolicited advice, Spader, see this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/e...w-schools.html, and this post, which I'll requote here as I feel it bears repeating.

Originally Posted by derekleffew

I just found Gilbert Hemsley's tribute site, and feel some of his words, written thirty years ago, are just as important and pertinent today.

[bhallerm]

I'm a Technical Director at a high school as many of you know from my post in the Ed forum. My degrees are as follows:

-Associate of Applied Science in Music Production/Audio Engineering

-Bachelor of Music Education.

They were looking for someone that had a lot of audio experience due to all the concert recordings and weekly activities on top of the productions. Most of my previous theater experience is as a trumpet player in the pit. Not saying it's the way to do it. Just my 2 cents.

BJH

[Cheever]

I don't know if you can find a place with a "Lighting Design" major.

I plan to attend Winthrop University in SC. They offer a technical theatre major and you gradually create an emphasis in a certain area.

[themuzicman]

I would have to disagree with the idea that someone needs to undergrad in anything but theatre, I feel that is a huge mistake!

The way my school puts it, in terms of our general education requirements and our in-major requirements, they are not training us for our first career that we will use our major on, they are training us for our 3rd and 4th and 5th career change way down the line!
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Now, I am also an English major, but for my university we are required to take a lot of math and science (we're a technical school =/ ), a lot of history, and weird off the wall classes. This is all to teach us about life and such. Within my major, I am required to take performance classes, history of theatre (2 semesters!), design classes, and directing classes. All of this is to provide an overview base for us to learn off of.

They want us to understand what the institution of theatre is, and how it fits in to the modern world and the past, as well as get a grounding to do whatever area we choose!
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To digress a little, everyone should read Steve Job's commencement speech that he gave at Stanford University a few years back. He was talking about the development of the first mac, and why it was so groundbreaking, and he talks about how when he dropped out of college, he stuck around to take random classes. He took a caligraphy class, and this is how he made the default typeset on the mac, he took other classes to learn how to arrange stuff. None of it was computer related, but when it came time to make his computer, he was able to apply these random bits of knowledge to make something new!

[erico3456]

Hey
I can't comment that much on what degree you should go for because
i'm still a young one but I have found a website that I find useful, it has a large listing of schools that have technical theater like programs and degrees. It doesn't have that much information on it but has a list of many schools and what technical theater degrees they offer.
Academic Programs in Technical Theater

I hope you can find it useful. Also I do believe that you have to visit a schools department and meet with its teachers to really get a good idea of what kind of education you can get there for what your looking to get like i have started to do.

[Spookz]

Originally Posted by Cheever

I don't know if you can find a place with a "Lighting Design" major.

They're out there. I'm attending DePaul University as a Lighting Design major.

A lot of choosing colleges depends on the quality of the education you're looking for and what kind of degree you're seeking. There's nothing wrong with going to a college without specified majors like "Lighting Design" or "Costume Technician." If you feel like you would excel in a conservatory setting, then go for it. But remember, conservatories are harder to get into and there are plenty of schools out there that have programs just as good.
And remember, you can always go back to school and get a Master's Degree if you feel like you need more education.