Purchase

random question, NYgaff, do you still attend Purchase? if so, do you mind posting your last name?
 
A PM or E-mail is probably a better place to disclose last names... but again that's up to the person involved.

On another note.... Just to update my post in this thread from WAY back... I am now going to WPI and loving it. We have a very active Technical Club that is run just like a rental house where we do multiple events of all types each week, and even do BIG shows several times a year, (including names like Steven Lynch and the Drop Kick Murphies) If anyone is intrested in learning more about WPI please feel free to PM me or ask on this thread!
 
I think in that list of the top schools you missed CalArts, Now with Don Holder as our head of lighting we definitely rank up there in the top 5. I feel that to say going to a school means you will work is asinine if your bad you won’t work... It is simple. But on the other hand if the screening process is so rigors that you do not let in people who are bad then why does more then half of the first year class drop out.

My first year at calarts we had 5 first year lighting students (two of which were transfers from sunny purchase). Now we have 4 plus one transfer. That is a great retention rate. I feel we get worked just as hard have equal facilities we just have a different focus which is more avant-garde theatre. Good or Bad this is calarts I wonder how all of this compares to Sunny and if allot of S4's make up for a great attitude from teachers or small focused classes
 
I wouldnt think that having 1000+ S4's means its a better school. I would say the fact that all of our professors are current broadway designers and they teach us what they learn in broadway and other theatre experiances as what makes it a good school. not to mention every professor and student has an increadible drive to move this program forward. true, we have a high dropout rate. but most of the actual dropouts are because of family reasons or so. theres also a lot of people though who are kicked out during review or for other reasons (such as getting a semester grade lower then a B in any TDT class) while it sucks, and it makes all of us know that we may not make it to next year, it also drives us termendously, and thus the people who do graduate from this program will get jobs, and keep them. also, I would be willing to bet that the two people that transfered to Calarts, didnt transfer because they wanted to leave purchase. i would bet that they left because they didnt make the cut during Review.
 
very possibly, I have never asked them why they transferd. So my realy point in all this has nothing to do with which is the better school. In my opininon they are equal but have differnt focus.

My question is about why the school and the students feel the need to exclame that they will get a job and keep it.

First lets examine what job your affter, If you wish to be a lighting Designer you are talking about being a freelancer thats not a job thats a career. Ok so what job are you keeping. Shows are few and far between especialy on broadway. I urge you to list more then 20 lighting designers who have designed the lighting for a broadway show! Then compare that number to the size of your graduating class and every class before yours and tell me truthfuly how could every purchese grad end up working. They may work in other fields but we dont need 20 grads a year who can design one of the 10 or 15 shows that opend this year.

So lets examine this statement i think we will find flaws in both sides. I do think though that if you are sure you will get a job you might be unprepared for a huge suppriese when you graduate. This is not to say YOU wont work but peoplle from your class will its just life.

Furthermore, as a freelancer there are times of the year that have no work it just doesnt exist. If you have learned film lighting or convention lighting or even architectural lighitng, you will be able to fill in the gaps. But to be closed minded is an negitive thing.

Last about your teachers working broadway. At all the big name schools all the teachers are professionals. They work in the field they are most comfertable with. But the tricks are the same broadway or small black box the only differance is the scale. The tricks are transferable; what is not is a bad attitude you cant do big shows and small if you cant work with the little people once and a while with out driving them crazy. So mabey look into taking a class in experimental design or lighting or architectural lighing you might be supprised when this comes in handy.

JH
 

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