Colleges in Tennessee worth attending?

[lightingguy1]

Hi Everyone,

Well it's about that time! I'm beginning to look into colleges in my home state of Tennessee and need some suggestions.

Middle Tennessee State University has been recommended to me by a few locals. Anyone have an opinion?

I have also heard Belmont has a strong program, however, I would like to attend a non-religious affiliated school.

I've been eyeing North Carolina School for the Arts, as well. The out of state tuition is pretty outrageous.

This brings me to my next question - What scholarships are available? I'm hoping to earn my BFA in lighting design if that helps...

 

[chawalang]

Is there a specific reason you want to stay in State???

It is way less expensive obviously to go to school in state then out of state.

In my opinion look at schools that dont have a grad program. That is a quality that means undergrads will do a lot of hands on work. To my understanding most schools that have strong/ big grad programs have their grad students do all the hands on stuff. Under grads dont usually get a lot of chances to get their hands dirty.

I wouldnt be worried about attending a religious school. I went to a private catholic university and it was a great hands on undergrad program were students got to fill all kinds if production roles and learn from the experience. A lot of times religious schools have more free money to give away then public because of private individuals donating money to academic departments.

NCSA is a sore subject for me.( sorry if I upset anyone by saying this) I have had friends go check the school out for under grad and grad work and none went. To my understanding its a glorified trade school when it comes to an education in technical theatre. Is that a bad thing??? No, not at all it just depends what kind of environment your looking for? As well and a lot of colleagues I have worked with over the years agree with me, NCSA has a stigma to it. Its nick name is North Carolina School of the Attitudes. Everyone I have ever worked with from there really knew their craft but the pompous arrogance I have gotten from them was a huge turn off.



Do you want an environment thats more art based and you study the theories of Josef Svoboda using an ETC Ion and all conventional fixtures. Or do you want to study how a Grand MA console works, how to repair moving lights and understand how a lighting network functions?

Or do you want both?

You need to understand modern technology to be competitive and know why you would use a VL 1000 tungsten over a VL 3500 Arc when desiging the lighting for a symphony in a symphony hall. At the same time you should know how to use color theory to you advantage when desiging the lighting for a symphonic version of The Flying Dutchman by Wagner in that symphony hall.

There are questions you need to ask yourself but in the end keep in mind you need to always consider three important points.

1. You need to go some where that wont put you into $ 100,000 worth of debt.

2. You need to go some where that will have a suppportive and healthy environment where you can learn from your mistakes. Screw up as much as possible in school because in the real world you will be fired if you mess up.

3. Realize you wont learn everything in 4 years and thats ok. Do stuff outside of school to supplement.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

I went the small state college route - no debt - and then grad school. Served me very well.

Once toured East Tennessee State - seemed like a good place.

I would not count on a career in theater based on an undergraduate degree from anywhere. And not to be a snob, but if you want to really make it in lighting you need entry's to the NYC environment - like practicing lighting designers who are in or commute from the city to teach. Surest route in any case.

 

[chawalang]

To chim into what BillConnerASTC said, he is right if you want to try and make it in the NY industry. Keep in mind though NY and Broadway is only a part of our industry, in my opinion, people may disagree with me, not the cornerstone of entertainment. Look at Nashville for the rock and roll and country industry. Vegas as well, there are many diverse routes to go there as an LD. Also keep in mind there is more to the industry then being a theatre LD. The music world is a whole other money making part of our industry. The same thing is true about being s corporate LD who does trade shows and corporate events. There is way more to our industry then just NY and plays and you can make really good money doing it. There isnt just one ave for success.

Just some food for thought.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Very true. Much more than Broadway. I fell in love with the business as a result of Strattford Ontario festival and personally feel that lighting "drama" is the pinnacle of the art form. Others obviously find their satisfaction in other segments. I didn't say I wasn't a snob about it, just that snobbery is not my motivation.

Add television to chawalang's list, and the whole supply side of manufacturing and selling entertainment lighting. Those guys always seem to be having fun. Architectural and architainment. Tech service. Teaching. So many options and avenues.

And I'm not suggesting you need to choose now or ever. Take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to the fullest and have fun. Life is short.

 

[standup]

I am currently an audio engineering major at Belmont. I also do a little bit of concert lighting. I can tell you that Belmont doesn't offer a degree in lighting design, there is a BFA in Theatre Design, but there's only a couple of lighting classes listed on the course catalog. The program is designed to give you a general knowledge of all aspects of theatre design. There are opportunities to do theatre lighting (if that's what you are interested in) but not many. There are lots of opportunities to do concert lighting, but it's mostly learn as you go or you're expected to know what you're doing when you start. There isn't a lot of formal teaching that goes on.

A lot of local churches and theatre groups look for Belmont students to do their technical work, so there are opportunities off campus. But as far as getting an educational foundation in lighting design, Belmont isn't the best choice.

That being said, Belmont is a good school, but not the best choice if you want to focus on lighting. There is a student run concert series where we work with touring audio, lighting and video vendors and put on a show. We do several shows with Bandit Lites (Kieth Urban, Carry Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Garth Brooks, Shinedown to name a few of their clients) and Morris Light and Sound (Kenny Chesney, Eli Young, Jake Owen, Big & Rich, Florida Georgia Line). It's a really cool opportunity to get hands on experience and meet industry professionals.

As far as religious schools, don't let that be a factor in where you go. Every school has religious organizations on campus, you can be a part of them, or avoid them. At Belmont, the only time that you really notice the Christian aspect is that most emails end with "God Bless". There are opportunities to get involved with Christian groups on campus, but you can chose not to be a part of them just as easy.

I can't comment on the quality of MTSU or other Tennessee schools, but I don't think that Belmont is the place to go if you only want to study lighting design. There are better opportunities out there.

 

[Pie4Weebl]

A certain large Nashville based shop I used to work for got a lot of kids for Beloit, so there are some good opportunities there.

 

[usetedaj]

I went to Vanderbilt, in Nashville, and I'd be happy to talk to you about it. I didn't go there with the intention to study Theatre originally, but I got involved, got hooked, majored in it and immediately started to work professionally after I graduated. I always leaned more toward scenery, especially after school, but it's a small enough program that you can really dig in and do a lot with your time there. I served as an ME, ATD, TD, etc, and was very involved. Not sure if it fits what you're looking for, but the professors are top notch and it was a great community. The facility is unique (it's sort of a black box, but bigger, and better equipped than any black box I've found professionally), and I got great training there.