Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2011 - 56

craziest rental requests from well-meaning people who have
no clue that they are creating potentially dangerous electrical
situations." Wardell suggested that lighting students be given
a project where they must specify all of the equipment to be
rented for a production, from the ground up, and send it to a
pre-arranged rental house for feedback.
Next in importance were hanging, focusing, instrumentation, and console use. Julie Mausey (PRG) insisted on "responsible and accurate paperwork." She recommended Excel for
budgets and inventory and "Lightwright or some other database
for accurately keeping up with the design and programming
changes that any master electrician should be able to do." Also
important is experience in drafting several light plots, including
section views, as well as various rendering techniques, such as
colored pencil on black paper. The consensus was that undergraduate students training should include being a master electrician on several shows, and designing a few more, including
at least one big show with a supervisor.
Larry Schoeneman (DesignLab Chicago) said he "would
rather hire someone with a great foundation and outgoing
personality than someone who drew really nice pictures but
did not understand the technical lighting process."

Students looking for assistant designer work need a good
background in drafting, rendering, and model building. Specifically, they need to be able to draft front elevations, build
white bash-up models, as well as cardboard models and fully
colored models. They need to know how to draft and paint
painter's elevations either by hand or in CAD and Photoshop.
They should know when a different view of an object needs
to be drafted and why. And, they should know their history of
architecture, costume, and décor.
Undergraduates should have designed or been the
technical director on a few shows and designed at least one
big show with a supervisor.
Brandt Gentry, who graduated from West Texas A&M,
said, "My favorite class was Scenography and the most valuable
class was Introduction to Design. I loved the scenography
class because I got the history of design. I got to see and take
apart the designs of the great designers of the world. I learned
how their renderings were done, as well as the production
techniques. This class helped me learn how to step back and
look at my own work to see if I am creating the right emotion
or mood."

The general consensus was that the more plays you know, the more
likely it is you can make yourself indispensable to your employer.

F costume Design
Play analysis is extremely important, as is character analysis, but
at the introductory levels in professional costume companies,
these are not as important as construction skills. Shops are
looking for people who are organized, who communicate well,
and who have mastered skills like draping, pattern-drafting,
dying and painting, and millinery. Assistant design positions
require a good design background. Knowledge of costume
periods is essential, as are rendering skills. However, so too
are impeccable organizational skills, such as using Excel
spreadsheets for budgets, tracking accessories, and so on.
Undergraduates should have designed a few shows on their
own and at least one big show with a supervisor.
F scene Design
Drafting skills, rather than expertise in play analysis, was the focus
of most of the interview comments. Of primary importance was
the ability to create accurate, complete 2D plates with all necessary views and accurate measurements. Most shops said they
would rather work with a set of 2D drawings and a good model
than try to get anything useful from a digital 3D rendering.

54

theatre design

& technology

Lumber, properties, and sound equipment storage at Insiders Entertainment.

spring 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2011
