<p>Okay so I am just a junior in highschool at the moment but my guidance counselor at my school is making her students figure out college details this year for whatever reason (personally i think it's just adding stress to me but i guess it's helpful too). Anyways, I am interested in majoring in Theater Arts for college with a concentration in Stage Management/Production. My grades are pretty good and my regents scores are all above average and i do have a good list of extracurriculars. However, it's the portfolio review I am kind of worried about. Below is a list of my work that I have done OR am going to do in the following year:</p>
<p>-High School Play Stage Crew (have a program and stage photo of it)
-High School Musical (have a program and stage photo of it)
-I will be taking a Performance Arts Class 2nd semester where we analyze theater and get involved in more techie stuff so i hopefully will gain some stuff from that.
-I will be attending the New York State Theater Education Association (NYSTEA) Student Conference in January where we take theater based workshops.
-I will be doing Summer stage Crew this year
-12th grade play (photo and program) (Next year) (I also will be involved in the musical stage crew but our musical will not have started up by the time i go in for auditions next year)
-Photography 1 digital and film prints
-Studio In Art (a few samples from my work in 10th grade)
-i also took a Cinematography class. the only thing i have left over from it though is my journal of reviews from movies we watched. i don't know if that would be something to put in or not. </p>
<p>I mean, I was just hoping for any suggestions that anyone could give me. I realize that a lot of the stuff listed above has yet to happen but all of it will. The only reason i didn't get involved with theater earlier is because last year, my sister got engaged and i was the maid of honor causing me to devote a lot of my time to planning and my father passed away so i just wasn't in good shape to do much. I hope I didn't screw myself by waiting too long There is NOTHING else i could picture myself doing but theater but i am really worried that i won't get in anywhere due to my portfolio. We have a lot of community theaters around my area but A LOT of them are designated for Syracuse University students so it is hard for me to find theaters that take more then just SU students in to help out. Will volunteering as an usher at theaters be something good to have? any help would really be appreciated. thanks.</p>
<p>I think you’ll be fine, Broadway. But I do have a few suggestions. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Look at the websites of the colleges that interest you. They often give very detailed information on what they want to see in a portfolio and sometimes they also let you know what they don’t want. You can expect them to vary quite a lot. Some will be interested in the photos from your photography class, for example. Others not so much. </p></li>
<li><p>This is because there are different kinds of theater technical/management programs. Some teach all stage management, all the time. Others teach the basics of the various crafts. Still others focus on theater studies. Once you know what you want, you pick the schools, and this shapes your portfolio.</p></li>
<li><p>One thing I don’t see on your list that colleges may want to see is a copy of a production book (if you’ve ever worked as a stage manager) or any other documents you’ve used as a techie (prop lists, que sheets, etc.). Make sure you make copies on upcoming productions. A written description of exactly what you did on each production can also be helpful.</p></li>
<li><p>In general, you do not need your programs (unless you were the designer) or anything else that you yourself did not create. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>thanks so much for your advice! I unfortunately, have never been able to stage manage. Like i previously said, most local theaters around here are reserved for SU students and my school has a teacher be the stage manager. Hopefully I can get in some experience somewhere though. </p>
<p>and yes, i am aware that programs aren’t necessary. I just would put them in there to show what the show was and such. Thanks again! I’ll take all of your advice in account.</p>
<p>I can see using programs as way to organize a portfolio. But some colleges say in so many words that they don’t want to see them so be selective.</p>
<p>“my school has a teacher be the stage manager”</p>
<p>I am a current HS sophomore and am currently Stage managing my 7th show. I suggest you talk to the teachers who direct and stage manage your school’s show and find out if they will let you be the student assistant stage manager or something. I’m sure they’d love to hear about your interest and then you could get some valuable experience.
A similar situation happened to a friend of mine who wishes to go into directing. of course, all the school shows are directed by staff, so she talked to them and became the student assistant director ( a position that didn’t even exist until she asked about it)
In my opinion, it would be best for you to get some experience before going to major in it in college. Go talk to your teachers about oppurtunities. I’m sure they’d love to help you out.</p>
<p>As someone who looks at portfolios for admittance, I suggest you research several schools and see what they want (and don’t want) to see. TheatreMom is “spot-on”. The reason we ask for articles in portfolios is because we know our own programs and have a pretty good handle on which students can benefit from how we teach and what we offer. No two programs are alike. Some do best with highly skilled and experienced HS students while other are great at taking people with limited skills (but lots of potential) and getting them ready for the profession.
The best advice is to prepare a portfolio that shows 1)Who you are, 2)Honestly demonstrates you experience, and 3) Shows what your passion is.
If in doubt, contact the school directly. Most of us really want you to find the program that fits you best.
Good Luck</p>