So I wanna design lighting, but do not want to waste my time.

[Colin Bishop]

Hello Controlbooth! This is Colin again and this is basically a continuation of my thread from last year, https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/what-to-keep-for-a-college-portfolio.40521/. So since I made that thread last year I have done tremendous amounts of lighting (including timecoding, busking, training and much more) and video work for my church and will continue to do more this year as we move into a brand new building/sanctuary. At my school I essentially designed the lighting entirely by myself for our last 2 major productions. And this summer I have been working at my local rental company testing/prepping lights and coiling cable. But of course, I don't want that to be the end.

My current dream career has shifted to be a tech director/lighting designer at a church (not a traditional church, an awesome 'rock n roll' type of church with haze, like my current one) full-time. And every now and then being a freelancer and going out on gigs/tours with artists and bands every now and then. Is this unheard of? Then even perhaps taking the lighting instructor roll on at a local high school if time permits. (My current high school, and others in this district, hire guys part-time to be in charge of lighting/sound.) I do not see myself in a theater full time, I want to be designing lights to music, rock and worship and I have loved doing that over the past year. That's the type of career I envision right now.

So the question becomes how do I get there? My family of course, and I, want to go to college, but it has to be the right program. Being that I want to work in touring and a church, is a degree in technical theater, what most colleges offer, a smart move? I visited a Bible college (They have a 4 year Live Production program) in the spring and while I thoroughly liked the college itself I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the level their students were working at (I saw them preparing and running a concert type of event at the school.) I do not want to go to a college and not learn what I need for what I want to do, but it also has to be able to challenge me and allow me the opportunity. Not to sound full of myself, but I already do has significant experience working with lighting and video and have a general knack for learning anything technical, I don't want to sit through basic level courses going over what I already know. I have thought about an electrical engineering degree or something similar with a minor in Tech Theater/Production and continuing to spend time time at my church and HS.

With all of that said, any and all advice is appreciated. I love this industry but do not want to waste my time (or money for that matter) to do what I love and want to do. I know I wrote a lot above, probably not very well organized, I just am trying to figure out what to do.

Colin

 

[icewolf08]

You might consider looking at programs at schools like CMU, CalArts, and Emmerson. While the majors are "theatre" they certainly lean heavily on skills that are useful in the live event world. I know many who have gone from all of those schools on to pretty cool freelance gigs including things like awards shows, and the Boston Pops 4th of July Spectacular.

I would also strongly suggest that you don't "decide what you want to do" before you get some school under your belt. The reason being, you may get there, take some required courses and realize that you want to be doing something totally different.. However, if you go in with a narrow focus thought of what you think you want, you may not allow yourself to experience and enjoy other things. You might discover that you really love scenic painting or something. For that matter, you may take a gen-ed class and discover that you totally love biology. Make sure you allow yourself the possibility that what you think you want now may not turn out to be what you really want. Our little industry is a lot bigger than it seems, and you may just discover some other interesting part of it. Then again, you may finish school feeling the same as you do now, and that is OK!

 

[Quillons]

On the engineering side of it...

An EE degree should keep you pretty busy which will limit your free time to do theatre stuff. The general trend that I noticed as I looked at engineering schools is the larger the school, the more likely the program is theoretical. A bigger school will have both an engineering program and a theatre program, but the engineering is likely to be a lot of theory. You would also then be competing with the theatre majors for design work.

Engineering can sometimes offer different opportunities though. My school doesn't have a theatre major, but I can basically minor in pyrotechnics.

Whichever way you decide to go, I'm guessing that you're going to have to work your way up to the big, really awesome shows.

Good luck!

Edit:
Re-reading your post you mention continuing to work at your HS and church. That might be a good option, but it could severely limit your college options.