psfrench76
Member
Hi all,
I'm 24, graduated in 2012 with a degree in Theatre and a concentration in design and technology. I spent most of high school and college doing lighting. I have a portfolio about like you would expect -- maybe a dozen community/student/storefront shows designed, several years worth of crew work, an electrics apprenticeship just out of college, a couple summer stocks, a couple ME credits from my school, and that's about it. I quit theatre cold turkey in the summer of 2013, and I've been working as a computer programmer ever since.
So here's the deal. What I have always enjoyed about theatre is Lighting Design. I'm not opposed to grunt work, but it's not what I want to do as a career -- I'd rather keep on being a keyboard monkey than swing a wrench and run cable all day. But I miss designing a lot, and my current job isn't anywhere near as enjoyable or fulfilling as lighting design was. I'm really considering a switch back over to the theatre world. I know that career-building as an LD is ridiculously difficult -- it's part of the reason I quit -- but now I'm here to ask:
Assuming I went back to get an MFA in Lighting Design (it would probably take a bit more work on the front end to make my portfolio URTA-ready, but that's okay), is there a "typical" career trajectory just coming out of grad school? I know everything depends, ultimately, on who you know, and your attitude, and the quality of work that you do, etc... But the real question is, will an MFA program generally move you forward on the path to making a living as an LD? And how far forward? I'm not looking for any exact answers, just experiences and impressions are great.
I'm 24, graduated in 2012 with a degree in Theatre and a concentration in design and technology. I spent most of high school and college doing lighting. I have a portfolio about like you would expect -- maybe a dozen community/student/storefront shows designed, several years worth of crew work, an electrics apprenticeship just out of college, a couple summer stocks, a couple ME credits from my school, and that's about it. I quit theatre cold turkey in the summer of 2013, and I've been working as a computer programmer ever since.
So here's the deal. What I have always enjoyed about theatre is Lighting Design. I'm not opposed to grunt work, but it's not what I want to do as a career -- I'd rather keep on being a keyboard monkey than swing a wrench and run cable all day. But I miss designing a lot, and my current job isn't anywhere near as enjoyable or fulfilling as lighting design was. I'm really considering a switch back over to the theatre world. I know that career-building as an LD is ridiculously difficult -- it's part of the reason I quit -- but now I'm here to ask:
Assuming I went back to get an MFA in Lighting Design (it would probably take a bit more work on the front end to make my portfolio URTA-ready, but that's okay), is there a "typical" career trajectory just coming out of grad school? I know everything depends, ultimately, on who you know, and your attitude, and the quality of work that you do, etc... But the real question is, will an MFA program generally move you forward on the path to making a living as an LD? And how far forward? I'm not looking for any exact answers, just experiences and impressions are great.