Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1999 - 11

INTRODUCTION
The opportunity to find more definitive answers to the
portfolio issue arose several years ago dUring the development of USITI lighting portfolio standards. A number
of committee members developing those portfolio standards thought it made good sense to determine what professional theatres, and regional theatres in particular,
sought in a lighting designer's portfolio. After all, if a new
MFA graduate was seeking work, the portfolio might as
well be structured to increase the probability of being
hired by regional theatres. Because of their dispersion,
regional theatres were thought to be more representative
of national practices. I volunteered to undertake the research.
I fully expected the study to show that personal contact was the more likely, almost essential, way to obtain
employment in regional theatres and to further show that
merely presenting a portfolio was an ineffective way to be
hired as a designer in major regional theatres. Even
though I was aware of the practice of using the director's
"preferred'· designer, I expected to find that such usage
was a "necessary evil'· and not among the preferred
methods regional theatres used to hire lighting designers.

METHODOLOGY
The first requisite was to determine what information was
needed and how to collect it. Phone interviews were
ruled out because they would not be uniform, they would
be expensive, and they might be perceived as an unwarranted intrusion on a theatre manager's time. A survey
form which did not require theatre managers to find data
in order to fill in the blanks seemed to be most appropriate. Thus, the original charge of determining the relative
importance and contents of lighting portfolios in regional
theatres led naturally to a sequence of responses.
U Artistic Directors and Production Managers were
to be enticed into suppl}~ng information on their desired
portfolio contents a more successful survey method
would probably employ a check-off format on singlesheet survey forms which could be completed within a
few minutes of opening and reading the cover letter. A
survey put aside for future completion would be a survey
not returned. Another concern was to avoid asking managers to suggest portfolio contents when they did not actually consider them in their hiring process. This led to
dividing the theatre companies into two groups. The first
consisted of the larger-budget theatre operations-those
with annual budgets over S1,000,000.00. The second
group was the smaller-budget regional theatres-those
with annual budgets between $250,000.00 and
S1,000,000.00. Theatre Communication Group's Tbeatre
Profiles provided the names, addresses, and budget figures for the theatres.
Just as the theatres were divided into two groups,

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HIRING PRACTICES FOR LIGHTING DESIGNERS

Which of the following would be your first five (5) PREFERRED choices, with 1 being your
top priority, for selecting and hiring a lighting designer for your major production space.
Ughting designer who has already worked for our theatre in one of aur other spaces.
Ughting designer who has already worked someplace else with one of our staff members.
Ughting designer whose work we have already seen some place else.
Ughting designer who worked for another respected theatre company and is thus
recommended.
Ughting designer who worked with another respected director and is thus recommended.
Ughting designer who worked with a respected scenic/costume designer and is thus
recommended.
Ughting designer who worked with/for a former lighting designer and is thus
recommended.
lighting designer who is the "preferred choice" of a guest director or guest designer.
Ughting designer "recommended" by an agent.
Ughting designer whose work was seen by respected theatre artists and is thus
recommended.
Ughting designer showing a partfolio of work at an interview.
lighting designer from a "name/known" design school (whether graduate or
undergraduate).
Ughting designer submitting a resume.
Now that you have indicted how you wish you could do it, how did you

AGUAllY select

and hire lighting designers for your major production space for the last three years? With 1
being the most frequently used method, indicate up to five (5) selection and hiring methods.
Ughting designer who has already worked for our theatre in one of our other spaces.
Ughting designer who has already worked someplace else with one of our staff members.
Ughting designer whose work we have already seen some place else.
Ughting designer who worked for another respected theatre company and is thus
recommended.
lighting designer who worked with another respected director and is thus recommended.
lighting designer who worked with a respected scenic/costume designer and is thus
recommended.
Ughting designer who worked with/for a former lighting designer and is thus
recommended.
Ughting designer who is the "preferred choice" of a guest director or guest designer.
Ughting designer "recommended" by an agent.
lighting designer whose work was seen by respected theatre artists and is thus
recommended.
Ughting designer showing a partfolio of work at an interview.
Ughting designer from a "name/known" design school (whether graduate or
undergraduate).
Ughting designer submitting a resume.
In each of the next two groups, check the one choice in each group which best represents
your theatre company's practice regarding

USA #829 and the MFA.

USA #829 lighting designers for our major space.
USA #829 lighting designers.
We occasionally hire USA #829 lighting designers.
We rarely or never hire USA #829 lighting designers.
We always hire

We generally hire

lighting designers typically hold
lighting designers typically hold

MFA in lighting design.
MFA in some area of design or production.

The MFA in design is a welcome indicator of prafessionalism, but it's not that impartant.

Figure 1. Questionnaire sent to large- and small-budget regional theatres.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1999