Theater Major
 

I had a good talk with my baby sister. She is 16 and starting to think about which college and major she wanted to go to. Well, she wanted to go into theater. However, not the acting portion, but the set design. Question is, which schools have a good set design program for the undergraduate? Will she need a portfolio? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The school I went to for undergrad, SUNY New Paltz, is well known for its theatre program. Don't know too many specifics about different concentrations. She'll have to check out their site www.newpaltz.edu. Good luck!

Pretty much any theater program you will need a portfolio. First off a resume type list of all productions that she has been involved in ever. Then if she has any pictures of sets or lighting designs. Any blue prints that she might have done up would also be good. I will ask some of my techies what are the good schools for set design, i know mostly the preformance side.

My DH is a drama teacher and he's had students go to Carnegie Mellon University on the East Coast. They are studying Tech theatre/stage management and getting some of the best education in this arena!

Lol, CMU is in Pittsburgh, PA. I guess to West Coaster's that's close enough to East Coast. Just laughed at the thought of CMU being "on the East Coast".

CMU is a GREAT school for this sort of thing, but VERY hard to get into. Point Park University, also in Pittsburgh, is also pretty well known in this field.

When I was thinking of becoming a theater major, I was really intrigued by the University of the Arts. It is a sort of liberal arts university, but it is really strong in the Fine Arts area (dance, theater and art).

LOL...Yes...being from the West Coast, any state that borders the Atlantic
Ocean is considered East Coast...Maybe CMU isn't ON the East Coast, perse, but it is MUCH closer to the East coast than I am! LOL

I was a theatre major in the beginning of my college career, then I switched to Communication. The colleges that I have seen that are good in all aspects of theatre are Northwestern, NYU, Dartmouth and Penn State. I applied to Northwestern and got in, received a scholarship, but couldn't handle the rest of the expenses. They gave me a shotty scholarship that didn't cover ANYTHING because Northwestern ain't cheap. Unless your parents are rich, be ready to pay big bucks for NYU, North and Dartmouth, because their scholarships don't cover much!

Just my recommendations!

I don't usually recommend NYU cuz the cost of living in NYC is so damn expensive, especially if you are an undergrad without major income coming in ;). Unless I meet someone who is in their grad school of SW I generally assume that the person comes from a well-to-do background or scored some really great scholarships.

When I was in HS I thought I wanted to be a Theatre major too, but making money won out.... Anyway, I can suggest a few colleges with great Theatre programs.

Emerson University in Boston - I have a friend who gradutated from here with a degree in Technical Theatre (pretty much what your sister is looking for).

Southern Methodist University (Texas)

Florida State University

Carnegie Mellon University

I am sure there are others, but these are the ones I am most familiar with.

Carnegie Mellon is an amazing school for theater and performing arts (and fine arts for that matter!)...but it has a HUGE price tag. It's an amazing university though, and I'd venture to say you'd get a lot of bang for your buck.

Not to toot our horn, but Otterbein College (where I go) has a very competitive entry process for theater. Productions are always amazing, we have lots of graduates working on and off broadway. (The guy Lindsey Lohan has a crush on in Mean Girls went to Otterbein). Quiet town, cheap living in columbus, small campus, lots of opportunities to get involved, tons of student directed pieces, etc. Our Design Tech program here is amazing too, I've heard that several go on to design major productions.

Co-sign, especially for dance.

/hijack

I was thisclose to going to Point Park. It was my top choice when I was in high school.

/end hijack

How is SUNY Purchase?

BYU is HUGE on theatre (they even mount a full scale opera every year which would be WONDERFUL set design experiance), but I don't know much about the enterance.

My friend's daughter just finished her Master's in theater design in Kansas City after doing her bachelor's at Wayne State in Detroit. She starts her new job teaching at Binghampton in a month or so! In the meantime, she's designing a set for Suessical but I'm not sure where that production is. She had also attended one year of grad school in Maryland, but their style didn't fit with hers. I guess you have to do some research to find out where you fit well.

Radford University has a great tech program

I'm actually a theater major (Tech & Design concentration) so I'm going to bring in my two cents.

If she's looking at a big name school, she'll need a portfolio, lots of experience, and stellar recommendations. But, a big name isn't everything. Going to a less competitive school has its advantages. Typically at college/university with large/competitive theater departments it is hard to be involved with productions (on a higher level) in your first years (especially in the tech/design aspects). At smaller universities with small but respectable theater departments it can be easier to be involved with productions your first year and work up to design credits in later years.

Also, universities in larger cities would be beneficial to your sister; being involved in production work outside the academic setting is also very important when looking for a job after graduation. Being in Cleveland around a decent theater community has really helped me see the 'real life' side of theater as a profession. The academic setting isn't always would things work in the real world. The larger a city the more theaters/companies, generally. Theater is all about who you know and who can recommend you, so working at a variety of theaters and with a variety of directors is a big advantage.

Since she's still early in her college search, she may want to try and find an intership in her concentration area/s next summer. http://backstagejobs.com has listings for internship opportunities all over the country. You should encourage her to apply, or simply research the opportunities available to her.

University of Hartford's, Hartt School of Theatre, music, and dance is one of the best in the country. It is really pricey but they give out wonderful scholarships.

Carnegie Mellon has produced a myriad of stars on both side of the curtain and camera. It is extremely competitive to get in and once you are in, there are still cuts every semester. However, if you can survive you will have an excellent education and connections. CMU alums tend to hire their own especially for the behind the scenes positions.They have big drama-specific alumnae associations only in both NY and LA
Carnegie Mellon is a private school but no more expensive than other top tier schools. You get what you pay for.

Clarion U of PA has a good theater department... I havent been in school for a while so I cant give more specifics. I know we have won awards and such - the theater department's webpage is here: CU Theater

Clarion's Website