Q:I totally agree with how you answered that last question. In college, theatre is definitely not a hobby. You will live in the theatre (especially as upperclassmen). But you definitely don't need to have a theatre related major if you have an understanding program. I know many non-majors who participate in our classes quite a bit (mostly CS majors, but they're insane... The amount of work they put in is literally crazy). Student run productions tend to be less intense as well.
Q:(1/2) I'm in highschool right now, and I've wanted to get into technical theatre for ages. The problem is that I only have room for a one-semester class in my schedule. The theatre teacher has okay'd my joining Tech I second semester, but I'm really upset about missing all the "this is what the rigging does" lessons. I've been told that in college, technical theatre is much more intensive, and you can't take it as an "interesting / hobby class;" you have to have a theatre-related major. [...]
(2/2) Sorry for the long ask, but I was wondering if anyone could give me some information or anecdotes about technical theatre in college.
Before I start my rant, if anyone wants to share helpful stories, please do! Starting college is scary, and I know I could have used some help.
The thing about being a freshman (and a sophomore) in college is that you have gen eds to do, right? You have to fulfill science reqs, and math reqs, and language reqs, etc. I am assuming that’s why you’ve got very little room for other things. This is perfectly fine. It seems disappointing right now, I know, but you’ve got four years to take classes, maybe more!
And you’re right, if you want to work in the theatre (technically or otherwise), you can’t bullshit through it. You’ve got to put in the time, and the sweat, and the four-coffees-and-a-few-Monsters nights. That said, you don’t necessarily need to pursue a major to do theatre. There are plenty of opportunities outside of The Department. I don’t know where you’re going to school, but look into student-run productions or even department-run ones. I’m sure any production you find will be more than glad to get the help, and it certainly can’t hurt to ask (you might be able to get class credit for working on a department-run show, depending on your school’s policies). And when you do work on a show, upperclassmen will be there to help you, I swear. They won’t expect you to know everything (in fact, they might think you know nothing, and you can surprise them when you run the board or coil wire properly). In some ways, the experience of working with other students is more helpful than classes because you’re getting help from people who were in your position a couple years ago. My first college production was amazing. We had a Junior for a ME and a Senior for a SM. Then we had grad students for a director and an LD. The rest of the crew were mostly underclassmen. We got to know each other really quickly (tech weeks tend to help that process along), and I felt really welcome. And AND I had only taken an acting class that first semester (not very helpful in terms of working backstage).
The thing is: Everyone is learning (that’s what you’re there for), so if you don’t know something, like what the rigging does, ask someone! They might talk your ear off about it (it is their major…), but at least you’ll know, and you didn’t even need to step foot into a classroom for the information. Theatre is a hands-on trade, and while theory helps, you have to experience the work first-hand to fully understand it.
Organizing with Altoids Tins by matthew_moss on Flickr.
This labeled Altoid box system from Flickr user Matthew Moss makes my OCD happy. All he needs to do is sort them alphabetically and I would probably give him a cookie.
A great storage idea (you’ll just have to eat a ton of mints first)!
Source: storagegeek
The theater beats me and starves me and forsakes me but I love it.
(via fuckyeahgreatplays)
Source: strongerxthanxyesterday
Click to see how the house in Clybourne Park ages 50 years in 15 mins.
Source: fuckyeahgreatplays
App Store - myGobo
Rosco has a free gobo app.
You can search, compare, and save and share lists. You can even rotate the images. I think it’s a cool little app.
American Theatre Wing - In The Wings
This site has a bunch of short videos of technicians talking about their roles in the theatre. These videos are also available as free downloads on iTunes.
*Unfortunately, you have to download the videos. There is no streaming option
@liftedmefromlonely asked: I am a senior in High School and I have college interviews coming up to get into technical theatre programs. I want to go into set design and I was wondering if you had any advice about the interviews or my portfolio.
(Tumblr is not posting my answer the normal way, so this will have to do)
Now because I am long-winded, let me start by saying: If anyone has advice, you can send it to icarryawrench, or you can talk to liftedmefromlonely directly.
I am not a designer, but I did get to sit in on a set designer’s college interview, so I know a little (a little little). Here’s my best advice (as taken from a previous post):
Colleges will want to see everything, even things that haven’t been built yet. Include your best designs, and if they have been built, include the pictures of the finished design as well. It’s important to convey that you’re versatile in your designs and abilities, so include things from many different shows (if you can). You just have to show some workable talent. It would also be wise to make sure the whole vision is there. Don’t include a design that you wouldn’t know how to build because that could easily come up in an interview.
It might also be wise to talk to an art teacher about portfolios because an artist’s portfolio isn’t much different from a designer’s. They’ll probably have some good ideas about how best to present your work.
The interview seems daunting, but it’s really just a piece of cake if you don’t panic. The interviewer will probably ask about your designs and the shows you’ve worked on. They will probably want talk about some of your designs in a bit more detail (how you did something, how you’d go about building something that has been built,what the space was like, etc.). They’ll probably talk about their program, and your interest in it, and they’ll turn the questioning over to you. It’s not as terrible as HS counselors make it out to be (at least mine did).
It’s just important to know your own work and capabilities, and be honest.
This.
This is what theatre is about.
I think that being a technician ruins our suspension of disbelief when we see shows. We’re looking at lights and marveling at sets, and we forget what it’s like to be an audience member, to see real people doing real things rather than actors hitting their marks. So we assume the “normal” people see the same things we do, and we beat ourselves up when a scene change is slightly choppy or a cue is half a second late, but it’s not about us, it’s about the people in the house. They don’t care if you made a silly mistake because they’re just enjoying the magic.
Sometimes, I think we forget that.
Source: screamingaaaa
When you’re bored in the control booth and have no capos, you improvise!
This is a page dedicated to theatre technicians and the work we do. 