College for a Light Designer

[kevinz]

Hello,

I an currently a junior in high school and I would like to go to college for light design. My parents have decided that we should start touring some colleges this year and I was wondering if any of you know of any good schools for this, if so please help me out. I'm already thinking about B.U, N.C.S.T.A, and UArts, so if anyone knows about any other good schools or whether or not the ones mentioned are any good, I would really appreciate advice.

[LightingPenguin]

Do a search for colleges and read the education section, there's plenty of discussion about colleges
Especially this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/e...r-schools.html

Also, I believe there's a CA about where CB members went to college, check that out as well

[mstaylor]

Wyatt gives you good advice, just remember not to limit yourself to a narrow carreer path too early in college. Learn about all aspects of tech including lights, set building, sound, video and stage managing, among others.

[cbenjes]

Check out Towson University in Maryland.

[LightingPenguin]

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/c...ographics.html

[Nate1714]

Depending on your needs/wants: College search is something you need to think a lot about. How are you going to pay for it, how much "work" are you going to do on the shows?, How far from home are you willing to go, ect... A lot of state schools are good in theatre no matter where you are. They will teach you the basics and from there you can eithre hone your skills in grad school or in the professional world. Most schools (from my experiance) wont let you design till your a Jr. or Sr. many even wont at all (because its reserved from teachers or Grad students). Also realise that Yes I went into college to be a lighting designer but those costume design classes did help a lot and thats true with everything about theatre, its all realated and tied together. Work hard and if you have questions just ask!

[Jinglish]

I'm working on my college applications now, and I'm wondering if you guys had any advice on choosing a college for lighting design. These are the schools on my list to far:

Definitely applying:
Cornish
UM Missoula
University of Washington
UN Las Vegas

Might apply:
Western Washington University
San Diego State University
Southern Oregon University
Linfield College

Cornish's program sounds great, but I think I might go for a BA instead of a BFA and minor in something like Computer Science or Sociology. I'm trying to stay on or near the West coast if I can. Any suggestions?

[ReiRei]

I've been considering CalArts, I haven't heard anything bad about it and it has a program specifically for light design.

Not so much on the Southern Oregon University for technical theatre. I'm friends with people who go there, I've worked with people who went there, and I live near it. I haven't heard good things about it.

[Jinglish]

Originally Posted by ReiRei

Not so much on the Southern Oregon University for technical theatre. I'm friends with people who go there, I've worked with people who went there, and I live near it. I haven't heard good things about it.

Yeah, I know someone who's going there too (he's majoring in Theatre Arts but concentrating on acting). He doesn't know about their tech program yet, but their IT department is utterly incompetent. Since I might minor in Computer Science, that's a bad sign.

Also, does anyone have thoughts on the tech programs at Purdue, Rocky Mountain College, and UT Dallas?

[museav]

Originally Posted by Jinglish

Also, does anyone have thoughts on the tech programs at Purdue, Rocky Mountain College, and UT Dallas?

It's been many years and I was not a Theatre major, I was an Engineering major, but I found Purdue's programs quite interesting. They do not have an undergraduate Theatre Technology major, rather a Theatre Major with a Theatre Technology minor. However, they have undergraduate and graduate programs that let you combine Theatre and Engineering for those so inclined. For example, they offer an MFA program in Theatre Engineering and a BS program in Theatre Engineering Studies (the Acoustical Engineering BSE program can also include numerous Theater courses, which is how I was involved).