Design

<p>Our search has become so complicated. Hopefully someone in MT might have some suggestions. My D is interested in set design, costuming etc. She is not a performer. I think ultimately she would prefer to go into film rather than live theater. She is very good at creating complicated props and costumes. Things that do not really lend themselves to live performances. Jim Henson kinds of things. We have looked at film majors, but they seem to be more focused on the technical workings behind the camera rather than what is in front of it. So, theater set design technology is the closest fit that we have found to this point. Her dilemma is that she is also an athlete and would like to play in college but it seems as though it would be impossible with a theater major. Particularly at the very competitive schools. Any suggestions? Schools? Majors?</p>

<p>I don't know your D's sport and so it is hard to say which schools have that too. Also, there is the issue of whether she wants to do a BFA or a BA. Also, there are majors in Costume Design and that is different than a major in Design Technology/Technical Theater. So, depending on which she wanted, that would narrow the list too. So, the criteria is not specific enough. Does location matter? Level of her academic profile is also missing. </p>

<p>I'm just going to throw out some schools she might want to explore deeper....(I didn't include strictly arts schools since those surely don't have your D's sport, whatever it is)</p>

<p>Boston University
DePaul University
University of Cincinnati
University of Florida
Webster University
Carnegie Mellon
Rutgers University
University of Evansville
University of Oklahoma
USC
University of Miami
Florida State
Otterbein College
University of Arizona
Syracuse University
Tulane University
Univ. of Colorado-Boulder
U of Connecticut
University of Michigan
New York University
College of Santa Fe
Point Park
Ithaca College
Ohio University
Univ. of Texas at Austin
Drake University
Univ. of Illinoisi at Urbana-Champaign</p>

<p>This is NOT an exhaustive list but most of these schools have either Theater Tech/Design or Costume Design.</p>

<p>You might check out UConn in Storrs: </p>

<p><a href="http://www.uconn.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.uconn.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>They offer a BFA in Puppetry, and, of course, they are home to the Huskies. Sports are important there, which means there may be intramural sports that your daughter could be involved in, time permitting. Review the course offerings, and take a look also at their design and technical theater program. Maybe your daughter could take electives in one or the other department and come out with the skills she's seeking. Ask the departments about the course load, time commitment, flexibility of electives, etc.
Good luck!</p>

<p>L ROB,</p>

<p>Am I right to assume she would like to explore puppetry? You mentioned Jim Henson. My Ss attend school at Webster University...one of their best friends they attend school with took a year off to do an internship with the people who created puppets for AVENUE Q. She is now receiving interest from theatres asking her to create puppets for them....a great job when not working as an actor...I would say!! I think more than likely that this would cross over into film as well. Is this something your D might consider? Might be worth looking into. Best wishes.</p>

<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>

<p>sorry to cross-post with soozievt!</p>

<p>I don't know how much you have looked into this field and college but there is a big difference between pursuing a BA or a BFA degree. I am not going to take the time to get into the differences in this post but there is a lot of information on this forum about that if you do a search and also in the FAQ section. </p>

<p>But I will mention that given the fact that your D would like to continue her sport, she may want to do a BA in Theater Design/Tech or Costume Design at a school where she can do her sport, and then later pursue an MFA degree. I can think of someone from my little town who went to Smith College for costume design and is now working in NYC. That is a BA school, for example. While not the same field, but the same idea of a decision whether to go for a professional undergrad degree or a liberal arts degree in the field followed by a Masters degree for the professional degree, I have a daughter pursuing architecture and she opted to do a BA followed by a MArch and her other option would have been a professional undergrad degree (BArch) and the decision is a little like a BA vs. BFA for theater students. She was a three varsity sport athlete in HS and now at college is on a varsity sport team plus a club team in another sport, amongst various EC pursuits and I doubt she could have done that if in a BArch degree program. That was not her main reason for going the BA route but it reminds me of your D because there are many differences between a professional undergrad program (BFA) and a BA program and just one of these is the opportunity to do other things like a varsity sport. Lucky for your D that if she were to do the BA route in her field of interest, she could do an MFA. That is not as much the case for those going for Musical Theater as there are very few MFAs in Musical Theater. But the BA followed by an MFA is a very viable route for someone pursuing straight theater/drama or someone pursuing Theater Design or Costume Design. Actually, come to think of it, my BA daughter who is majoring in Architectural Studies, took a course in Theater Tech at her college this past semester. There are many BA schools that offer that field too.</p>

<p>So, I think FIRST, your D must explore the differences between a BA or a BFA route and which fits what she wants to do. Then, she needs to think about if she wants to do theater tech/design or costume design or even puppetry. If pursuing a BFA degree, admissions will require a portfolio. If she isn't sure her focus yet, a BA route might be ideal, and she can do her sport, and find BA colleges that have theater departments with a major focus option in theater tech/design or costume design.</p>

<p>Yes, if she really wants puppetry, UConn has that too, not just Design and Tech Theater.</p>

<p>Also for puppetry studies....look at Evergreen State.</p>

<p>I don't know your D's experiential level but if she is looking for an experience in summer, she might want to look into an apprenticeship at the renowned Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont, my home state.</p>

<p>I think UC/CCM has those areas of interests as BA's plus full sports facilities/teams. I don't see costume BFA on their list, but know someone who graduated from there as a costumer.</p>