Glad to find this site

Absolutely! I remember trying to pick a college and how stressful it can be. I ended up ignoring my acceptance packets until pretty late in the game and picked a small local college in Montana. Despite my small and unknown alma mater I haven't had very much trouble finding the work and internships I've wanted, in terms of people judging my college's reputation. My professional demeanor and communications are what have helped me get there. People say it's all about who you know, and while that isn't 100% true, it is definitely 100x more true than "all that matters is alma mater"

As long as you work very hard to get every thing you can, academically, out of a program then, from what I can tell, it doesn't mater to much where that program was. What will make the difference in your portfolio and resume is that you worked hard. Beyond that what matters is actually getting that portfolio in front of people.

There are some great resources for that, this website being one that has served me well. In addition there are national conferences and organisations like USITT that love helping students. Here is USITT's mentorship page. http://www.usitt.org/mentoring/

In short: how hard you work, academically and at networking, will mater much more than where your degree is from.

*not that this is the simple formula for supreme success. That doesn't exist, or at least I don't know it.
 
In short: how hard you work, academically and at networking, will mater much more than where your degree is from.

Amen to that. I believe it has as much to do with what other students are around when you are there and what you get exposed to while there. I went to a small state school with no particular reputation for theatre, and was given a lot of opportunities that I doubt I could have had in a larger program.

Consider the opportunities for experience at a school with no theatre major. Design and tech major shows as a sophomore.
 
The assumption of Full Sail is that their program is touted for people who want to go and be things like concert lighting designers. I personally feel that they are a waste of money for most of their students while a great opportunity for a few of them. I based my suggestion on your previous statements. As @TuckerD pointed out, remember that forum communications are less than perfect as any written communication in a similar vein. We are here to offer advice, which you can accept or ask for clarification.

I just did some workshops at Mesa Community College for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and they may also be a good start, especially as you get your general education out of the way. They may not have the biggest facilities, but I think they might offer you a good start as well.

As a result of the advice on this site, I looked for internships yesterday and found some in Mesa and for the PHX Theatre. :)
 
Absolutely! I remember trying to pick a college and how stressful it can be. I ended up ignoring my acceptance packets until pretty late in the game and picked a small local college in Montana. Despite my small and unknown alma mater I haven't had very much trouble finding the work and internships I've wanted, in terms of people judging my college's reputation. My professional demeanor and communications are what have helped me get there. People say it's all about who you know, and while that isn't 100% true, it is definitely 100x more true than "all that matters is alma mater"

As long as you work very hard to get every thing you can, academically, out of a program then, from what I can tell, it doesn't mater to much where that program was. What will make the difference in your portfolio and resume is that you worked hard. Beyond that what matters is actually getting that portfolio in front of people.

There are some great resources for that, this website being one that has served me well. In addition there are national conferences and organisations like USITT that love helping students. Here is USITT's mentorship page. http://www.usitt.org/mentoring/

In short: how hard you work, academically and at networking, will mater much more than where your degree is from.

*not that this is the simple formula for supreme success. That doesn't exist, or at least I don't know it.


Thanks for the mentorship page link. I'll look into it.
 
Awesome! Something like that would be a big benefit to your portfolio. Much more so than saying "I went to X great school";

Good luck and if it doesn't work out this year try, try again. There was one place I wanted to intern at that I applied to three years in a row before getting an interview.
 
Awesome! Something like that would be a big benefit to your portfolio. Much more so than saying "I went to X great school";

Good luck and if it doesn't work out this year try, try again. There was one place I wanted to intern at that I applied to three years in a row before getting an interview.
Tucker; Where are you at in your career now in the sense of are you still at EtC; back in school or out working in your chosen field?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
Thanks for asking Ron. So far I am pretty happy with my career. I'm graduating from college in a few weeks and am very happy with the job offer I've signed. After graduation I will be moving to Los Angeles to work with VER (http://ver.com) on their in house LED display panels. It's a technology that I am very excited about working on and I really liked the team when I met them in December.
 
@BillConnerFASTC When you were in your early career what were some tricks that you found helped you make the right business connection or helped you advance? Is there anything you wish you had known sooner?
 
Good question. You may not like my answer. In undergraduate school - SUNY Potsdam - I somehow became enamored of the idea of going to the Yale School of Drama. That was all the connections I ever needed. It wasn't easy or cheap, and I immersed myself in it, working crew or work study or some assignment on about every Rep show while I was there.

So, maybe the tip is get attached to a LORT theatre, have no ego, volunteer for every experience, don't be afraid to attempt things you have no business doing.

And don't ever stop.
 
Good question. You may not like my answer. In undergraduate school - SUNY Potsdam - I somehow became enamored of the idea of going to the Yale School of Drama. That was all the connections I ever needed. It wasn't easy or cheap, and I immersed myself in it, working crew or work study or some assignment on about every Rep show while I was there.

So, maybe the tip is get attached to a LORT theatre, have no ego, volunteer for every experience, don't be afraid to attempt things you have no business doing.

And don't ever stop.
@BillConnerFASTC . While you were at Yale, did you meet Robert, Bob, Scales or Anne Trites MacArthur?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
I know Bob Scales, not sure if from Yale or other wise. I only know the name Anne Trites MacArthur as working at YSD.
 
Not quite the answer I was expecting, but still a very good answer. Thanks.
 
Not quite the answer I was expecting, but still a very good answer. Thanks.
It was not an easy question. I'm curious as to what you were expecting.

Maybe I should have said - in my best Clint Eastwood impersonation - do you feel lucky? I feel I've been very lucky. Being in the right place at the right time, having great advisers and mentors, and things just turning out very well. I had a couple years in a college teaching setting that I probably would have skipped in retrospect, and where I did not learn much other than the about the typical town-gown division from the gown side, but overall even the less good times proved instructive. The older and more experienced I become the more I realize I don't know.
 
I know Bob Scales, not sure if from Yale or other wise. I only know the name Anne Trites MacArthur as working at YSD.
Bob Scales departed the Stratford Festival as Production Manager mere days prior to my being hired as the IA Head Of Sound in the Festival Theater early in 1977, February or March possibly. Another person, Roger Gaskell, was at the Avon and Head of Sound at the Third Stage was a very temporary position which local 357 was fighting hard to create as a unionized position. Anne Trites, a young native of Stratford, had married becoming Anne Trites-MacArthur. Anne's recent marriage had vaporized shortly prior to her arrival at the Festival in an administrative position. It took about two seconds to realize Anne had a brain in her head, knew how to use it, was good people and a great fit in theatre. The non-IA electronics technician, Chris Wheeler and myself shared many a lunch break with Anne in the green room. Anne Trites-MacArthur quickly became Anne T-M soon pronounced as Auntie Em, similar to how @dvsDave became devious Dave.
Anne Trites; Good people. Our paths crossed again while I was working on an A/V & show control project for Tussauds in Vegas at the Italian themed place with the indoor and outdoor canal and gondoliers back in 1999.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 

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