<p>Hi, my D wants to major in costume design. She has always been interested in design...has taken many sewing classes, buys too many things at the vintage stores (LOL), has taken classes in fashion design, construction and illustration at our local art institute (major metro city). She went to RISD for the pre-college program in apparel design. Anyway not to go on and on, just wanted to explain that she does love design...HOWEVER, she has ultimately decided the perfect fit for her would be costume design. Unfortunately, she is a senior and has NO experience in theater or film. She has been told by our local community theater that they will help her and she will do what she can with her HS drama club but is this too little too late? Any ideas for a safety school? As they are all interview/portfolio based I don't know how ANY school can be considered a safety school (for some kids out there I'm sure but not in this case). She does not want to go to a school as a theater tech major where she would have only a few classes in costume design so that really limits her. HELP!!!! (maybe she gets some experience and then says she hates it but if you knew her you would possibly see this as I do...it really does seem like a perfect fit for her career wise and I highly doubt that would happen...so assuming she even LOVES it more I feel like she is at such a disadvantage being so late to the game). Thanks for any thoughts/ideas on what else she could do to help her chances. (we only recently realized how extremely competitive this is...with kids having LOTS of experience..YIKES!!)</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, LSU has a Master’s degree program in Costume Design. One of D’s friends is currently an undergrad hoping to be a costume designer, but I think she is pursuing a general BA in Theatre with a design concentration. You may want to check it out and see what courses they offer.</p>
<p>Yes…we’ve thought that she could take that route and then do her best to get into a good MFA program. Would be so much better financially to go to a school like Purchase, DePaul, or UNCSchool of the Arts where kids go right to work after graduation. AND make the great contacts that will really help her be successful. I thought Syracuse looked good but she really wants LOTS of costume classes during her bachelors education (along with some other tech classes that would obviously be necessary to be a good designer). I’m gonna look at LSU thanks for the help!! Maybe she could be a double fashion/theater tech major. Anyone take that route? (she’s not excited about that though as she is determined she wants COSTUME not FASHION and the approach is really very different). This is my second child off to college…my S was soooo much easier this is exhausting thinking about : )</p>
<p>designd - What area of the country are you from? That might help for your safety schools. I am not sure what other schools you are looking at (other than DePaul, UNCSA and SUNY Purchase), but my daughter - who is interested in both Costume Design and Makeup Design - is also looking at Cornish College of the Arts, Shenandoah, Webster, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Illinois. If you haven’t gone to Mike Lawler’s website you should do that. He lists of all of the universities and the degree program available at each (for Technical Theater - of course).</p>
<p>We saw Cornish at the college fair…do you have any thoughts on that school? Do kids make the good “connections” going there? She has decent “B” grades and a 29 ACT so, although not horrible still not good enough for U of I or Carnegie Mellon (which sounded fabulous!). Will look at Shenandoah and Webster. Thanks!! (We are near Chicago but if it’s the right fit school for her she can go anywhere in the country she wants…she did bring up some school in London LOL…).</p>
<p>It is not too late, designd! </p>
<p>Your D does not need experience as much as she needs a knockout portfolio and her experience in fashion design and illustration will help her there. Although different from costume design, fashion design can show how well she understands the basic principles of design and her ability to sketch and sew. She can also include design concepts that are still at the idea stage. Designs for the drama club and/or the community theater, if any, will help too.</p>
<p>You will probably be glad to know that outstanding academic achievement is NOT needed at most conservatories. My daughter had a B+ GPA and she is at Carnegie. GPA and SAT averages at Carnegie’s College of Fine Arts are not the same as those at the School of Computer Science.</p>
<p>One school your D should also consider is the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. It is another art school that includes theater, like Cornish. It is not as well known as UNCSA or CalArts, but my daughter loved it. It was her second choice school. It is probably well within your D’s reach and a place where her RISD experience would be highly valued. She would have the opportunity to make lots of regional connections at UARTS.</p>
<p>Try Boston University, also Ithaca…my sense (which could well be wrong) is that they need tech majors and have many fewer applicants there than in performance. The head of Design and Production at BU is a perfectly lovely man. I know several young women who got into BFA programs at BU and Ithaca with lower GPA’s and less experience than you might think. (Both just great kids, as it sounds like your D is.)</p>
<p>I remember on our tour of Syracuse, which was led by the head of technical theatre, she talked about looking for people interested in costume design. Maybe you could check out their website or call.</p>
<p>My son is a Junior in Stage Management at Syracuse. His 3 suite mates last year were in technical theatre program with an emphasis in costume design.</p>
<p>Boston University would be a dream (well for me…I’d be thrilled if she were to attend a school like that!) Great info to have as we had already figured she wouldn’t get in there. Thanks! (can’t hurt to try). Talked to Syracuse…the rep actually suggested she do fashion design with a minor in tech theatre. Don’t know if that’s what she really wants to do but we are still looking into that. Thanks for great info!</p>
<p>at Syracuse did you talk to a Drama Dept. representative or a general Syracuse representative?</p>
<p>We talked to the Syracuse rep that was at the Performing and Visual Arts College Fair in Chicago. Not sure what department he was from…maybe just general rep.</p>
<p>If you are interested in University of the Arts, here are some additional comments. The Theatre Design and Technology Program provides students with a broad exposure to costume, scenery, lighting, sound, production and technical production. The curriculum is set up, however, to permit students to concentrate in one area. There is a lot of room for elective credits and the course in costume design is repeatable for elective credits without limitation with repeating students engaged in increasingly advanced projects. In addition, starting sophomore year, students are required to serve on crew or have production practicums and can focus on costumes. Senior year, there is a senior project and required internship with area professional theaters, all of which, again, can be focused on costumes. The curriculum is structured to give students a broad understanding of production and the relationship of the production and performance aspects of theater, while providing for a concentration in a particular area.</p>
<p>The school stages 6-8 shows per semester, including at least 2 fully staged main stage and 2 fully staged black box productions each semester, and students in the Theater Design and Production program are fully involved in these projects. My daughter is a senior musical theater students and I can tell you that the costumes that she and her cast mates have had for her shows have been wonderful, rivaling in authenticity and detail anything you would see in a professional production.</p>
<p>Your daughter’s academic stats would make her a good candidate academically at UArts. There is a broad range of students at the school from average high school achievers to high achieving honors and AP students and your daughter would certainly be competitive academically. In terms of her relative lack of theater experience, I do not at all think that would be “fatal”. The school is looking for demonstrations of talent and passion for the craft and your daughter’s involvement with fashion design could be a credible way of showing this. See page 5 of the instructions for the application for more details of what could satisfy the portfolio requirements. Hope this is helpful.</p>
<p>We visited Fordham yesterday and while my D is interested in the acting track, the theater session included all the majors. It sounded like because their design and production track is relatively new there is a good opportunity for getting in. I am pretty sure they said they review about 40 portfolios for 20 spots. That isn’t really a safety but it seems like pretty good odds.</p>
<p>[Design</a> and Production Major](<a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/theatre_department/prospective_students/training__curriculum/_design_and_producti_69139.asp]Design”>http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/theatre_department/prospective_students/training__curriculum/_design_and_producti_69139.asp)</p>
<p>I graduated from Syracuse about 15 years ago, and at that time there was not much of a theatre minor, and the only students who were really involved with production opportunities in the drama department were majors. Student costume designers had the opportunity to assist on Syracuse Stage shows (the professional theatre company in residence), as well as departmental shows, and I remember advanced students designing costumes for the mainstage productions. I am not sure what kind of costume design opportunities a fashion design major with a theatre minor would have. Or if it is possible for non-majors to take costume design classes. I would suggest talking to the department directly to see what opportunities are available. :)</p>
<p>I could say that to some extent Coastal Carolina University has a “safety” BFA Technical Program. Although it DOES require an intense portfolio review, it is a brand new BFA Program (this is our first year) and at the moment we are trying to get as many great tech majors as we can (not to exceed 8- at the moment there are 4 freshman).</p>
<p>The way I understand it works (I am a BFA Musical Theatre, not technical design) is that for the first two years you will take general technical classes (I posted a link to an example curriculum below) and then at the end of the student’s sophmore year they choose what area they would like to focus in- i.e. costume design, and then the last 2 years classes are much more specific and pointed towards that focus. Your daughter would have the opportunity to learn in all areas but in the end focus on what she really loves. </p>
<p>Most likely if she was a design major she would also have the opportunity to have a paid job in the costume shop (and even if not paid, she would definitely start being hands on right away) her freshman year and she could start constructing pieces for mainstage and second stage shows right away. I know freshman who are performance majors and work in the shop, so if she was a tech major with a costume design focus I feel like they’d die to have her. A lot of freshman tech majors already have had great opportunities since it’s a smaller number in a newer program. One of them is working sound for our mainstage production of Spelling Bee and another was assistant stage manager for our production of Hedda Gabler. </p>
<p>Our two main costuming faculty are fantastic. Melissa-Anne Blizzard is our costume shop director and she constructed the original costumes on Broadway for Lion King, Aida, Spamalot, and Wicked. Eric Hall teaches most of the costuming classes (at least for us performance majors) and he’s great as well, working on costumes for Xanadu on Broadway and Shakespeare in the Park shows. More about them and other technical teachers can be found on the website links below.</p>
<p>If you have anymore questions let me know and I’ll pass them on to our department chair, Ken Martin (he’s a techie himself), or any of my tech friends that I have.</p>
<hr>
<p>Website for General Theatre Program:
<a href=“http://www.coastal.edu/theatre[/url]”>http://www.coastal.edu/theatre</a></p>
<p>Example 4 Year Curriculum:
<a href=“http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/docs/designtechnology-bfa.pdf[/url]”>http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/docs/designtechnology-bfa.pdf</a></p>
<p>From the Website:
*"The B.F.A in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Design and Technology degree prepares students for professional careers as designers, technical directors, costume directors and technicians in professional entertainment or for continued study in graduate school. This concentration is designed for students seeking professional training and who desire an intensive program of theatre studies with a high degree of specialized training. It provides a balance of performance, management and technology class work and gives the student a complete overview of the production process.</p>
<p>The design/technology program provides intensive hands-on experience for students. The program is a four-year sequence of courses in design, theatre technology, script analysis and visual arts. The intensive class work is complement ed with the variety of practical production experience available via our aggressive production schedule. Students have the opportunity to build a strong professional portfolio that will help them enter the professional theatre or seek further training at top graduate design schools. </p>
<p>The total program provides training from basic drawing to exploration of scenic, lighting, and costume design for theatrical production. The program emphasizes comprehensive design or technology training that provides in-depth development and skills necessary for a professional career in theatre. Students have the opportunity to work with faculty and guest designers, the technical director or costume shop supervisor, and are often selected to design sets, lights, costumes, properties or sound for all university productions. Students are evaluated annually and must meet professional standards to complete the B.F.A. program.</p>
<p>PLEASE NOTE: Admission is based on current University standards and a portfolio reviewand interview process. The purpose of this review/interview is to allow the faculty an opportunity to evaluate previous training, assess current skills and aptitude, gauge desire for (and ability to enter into) rigorous training and determine the department’s ability to educate the student with respect to a career in the theatre."*</p>
<p>Thank you all this is very helpful. We are adding schools to our list of where to apply and feeling a little better about it. (Fordham sounds great-- the 50% admittance rate is certainly higher than the 5-30% kind of numbers we’ve been looking at LOL!). I think we need to talk to some more people at Syracuse, maybe we just didn’t ask the right questions when we spoke with the rep. The University of the Arts is definitely on the new list of where to apply. The stress in our house is getting a little better :)</p>
<p>Oh yes…we are looking at Coastal Carolina University too!! It sounds like you have a great faculty! Honestly, we are breathing so much easier…we will find the right fit for her! There are schools (like this one) that we knew nothing about. THANK YOU!!</p>