Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1993 - 48

would also suir many of his students,
"especially rhe ones who are nor interesred in masking. If you rhink abour ir,
rhey're perfecr for relevision because
rhar's nor whar you do in relevision ar
alL"
Choices for orher design fields should
nor be viewed as failure. One major posirive aspecr of his experience ar Yale was
Ming Cho Lee's posirive approach. He
appreciared rhe "nice implicarion rhar
Ming always gave you rhar you were
going [Q work as a designer, and anyrhing
else was never broughr up. And rhe idea
rhar you would fail wasn'r necessarily
even broughr up-and nor gerring on
Broadway is nor failure; ir's jusr [rhar]
your parh went a different way."
Beauy quesrioned reaching rheatre
design as a basis for orher design fields, in
rhe same sense as reaching Larin rarher
rhan a living language, and has encouraged his school ro involve more relevision
and film designers. Bur orher panelisrs
saw lirtle need ro rry ro cover ir all.

GATES:
The approach ar rhe University of Washingron is rhar "good design is good
design is good design. If you can rhink
and you have a good process and you
have an imaginarion-rhe rools wirh
which ro work-rhen you can go our
arrer graduare school and learn wharever
tricks of rhe trade rhere are for a panicular job."

EZELL:
"I rhink you can learn rhar quickly. I
went inro relevision for a while and ir
didn'r rake long ro learn rhe lingo and rhe
rhyrhms. The rhyrhms are different, rhe
morives are different, rhe rexture of rhe
people you're working wirh is different,
bur I felt every skill I had developed in
my rheatre rraining was applicable."
Almosr no current designer makes a
living exclusively from freelance design
pracrice. Bur Ezell nored rhar supplementing one's design income from nonrheatrical work is hardly new, and called
ro mind such work by Jones, Bel Geddes,
Urban, and orhers.

STEPHENS:
Many students are seeking more diversity
in training and some insriturions are
encouraging rhem ro cross department
lines ro expand rheir experiences. Ar rhe
Universiry of Texas, art students and
radio- TV-film srudenrs are heavily
enrolled in rheatre courses, while many
rechnical producrion students are raking
CAD courses in rhe archirecrure program
and manufacturing merhods courses in
rhe industrial arrs program. Srephens also
caurioned againsr roo narrow specializarion. The current direcrion in MFA rech46

1993 FALL

TD&T

nology programs is roward training rechnical managers who can respond ro rhe
artisric content, rarher rhan "majors in
welding for rhe rheatre," he said.

GATES:
Many careers in rheatre rhar can be
achieved wirhour graduare work, especially for anisans and rechnicians. "The
tradirional apprentice-masrer program
approach ro learning your crafr, your
profession, is perfectly viable; you can
even ger paid while you're doing ir," she
said. ''And rhar works very well. It mighr
be a linle slower in some insrances before
you achieve a higher level job, bur rhere's
no reason rhar's nor a perfectly viable way
ro go. And ir can even work for designers."

BEAny:
Occasionally he works wim designers who
have nor been formally trained, which
brings a refreshing quality ro rheir work.
Bur he lamented rhe passing of rhe New
York masrer artisan who can adjusr ro period and style rhrough his own knowledge,
who is sensirive ro me anisric requiremenrs.

What suggestions would you give to students lookingfor an MFA program?

GATES:
Ir is importanr ro undersrand whar a
graduare program does. "One of rhe
rhings rhar a graduare program can offer
for a designer is some opportunity ro do
your own work and see ir realized, as well
as be sure your foundarion is really
secure. And, adding ro rhe read-wrireand-draw foundarion, ir can work on
developing and refining your research
skills, your entire process; nor only rhe
process of design and working, bur also
rhe skills of rime management, organizarion of work involved, a lor of rhings like
rhar." Bur, "me other rhing rhar can happen in graduare school rhar's invaluable
are rhe contacrs rhar you will make rhar
will sray wirh you rhe resr of your life.
The contacrs wirh direcrors, wirh orher
designers, wirh playwrighrs-rhose sons
of mings can help a grear deaL"
Many places provide good training in
rhis country, bur rhere are orhers which
do nor, "so you wanr ro be clever abour
ir." Students should examine whar rhey
really wanr, where rhey would like ro be,
and whar kind of life rhey want ro lead.
Students who really feel rhey musr work
in ew York should find schools linked
ro ew York, while rhose willing ro begin
in a less pressured environment bur wanr
ro sray close ro Manharran should
explore New England and orher Easr
Coasr schools. On rhe orher hand rhere
are also good schools linked ro rhe Wesr

Coasr, ro Chicago, schools in warmer c1imares, and schools where spons fans are
nor ridiculed.
The mosr important considerarion,
however, should be me parricular personality of rhe program. Gares, wim me concurrence of orher panelisrs, dismissed
impressive faciliries as a significanr facror
for school selecrion, bur said rhe sraff is
very important because students spend
much more rime wim sraff man wirh faculry. The sraff should have rhe professional experience ro define srandards, and
students should be leery of rhose programs in which rhe graduare students are
rhe sraff. "The mosr important rhing,"
said Gares, "is you want ro find a place
rhar will allow you ro develop, which will
allow you ro use your imaginarion, ro
rhink, ro become your own designer,"
and rhis can occur in a wide variery of
circumsrances.

STEPHENS:
Designers and rechnicians who may wanr
ro become academic faculry need ro
undersrand a certain training is implied
which one will nor find in every MFA
program.

BEATTY:
Programs requiring students ro design for
faculry direcrors are a concern. Alrhough
rhe pracrice is common, rhe studenr
designer is placed in an inaccurare situarion where me faculty member has more
power rhan a "normal" direcror. "I don'r
feel rhar a direcror is my superior. I mink
of rhem as my equal, albeir mey have lasr
word ro a certain exrent. I am actually
nor working for rhe direcror, I am hired
by rhe producer."

So what should a student, who is determined to study design or technical production, do to prepare for admission to a
professional training program?

GATES:
"I rhink rhe mosr imponant rhing for an
undergraduare is rhar, when you ger
done, you should be able ro rhink, ro
read, and ro wrire. And if you wanr ro be
a designer, you want ro be able ro draw
and ro paint a lirtle bir. And I say a lirtle
bir because if you have any abiliry in rhar
area ar all, ir can be funher developed. I
rhink rhere's grear agreement: You ger
any group of people who reach rogerher,
and mey're all going ro say me liberal ans
educarion is rhe besr foundarion for a
career in rhe rheatre." It is imporranr
wirh a BFA program ro also ger a good
grounding in liberal ans, even if ir is nor
required in rhe program.

EZELL :
Undergraduare programs do need ro be

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