<p>Hello! I'm a junior this year and I'm looking to go into Stage Management or Technical Theatre or Theatre Management (I haven't decided yet) Does anyone have suggestions for schools? Right now I'm looking at DePaul, Northwestern, Salem State, UNCSA, Beloit, and Columbia College Chicago. Any other suggestions? thanks!</p>
<p>Also consider Syracuse, Ithaca, Webster, Emerson, Carnegie Mellon, CCM (Cincinnati), U Mich and Otterbein. Most of these have been discussed on various technical theatre or stage management threads on this forum. You might be able to contact current students or students who have made campus visits.</p>
<p>I’m currently a Design & Production student, concentrating in Stage Management, at the University of Michigan, and the program is fantastic. The faculty have all been working for decades in the field, and have the knowledge and resources that they are glad to impart with. There are tons of opportunity to work on a show in whatever position you want right from the first semester of freshman year. The resources are wonderful (we have a great studio and we each get our own desks and lockers!), and the students in the program are all just fantastic people. There’s no looking down on underclassmen or harmful competitiveness. Also, the program is BFA, which means it’s focused on theatre, but also allows students to take classes in other areas, and UMich has a strong reputation for academic excellence. There are quite a few D&P students who are minoring or even double majoring in something else.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about UMich, don’t hesitate to PM me. I’ve had a blast here so far, and I hope to make more people aware about this fantastic program :)</p>
<p>Recent posts on the forum have mentioned tech/design acceptances to SUNY Purchase, CalArts and Mason Gross. There was quite a bit of discussion last year about CalArts, at least for acting. I haven’t seen as much this year.</p>
<p>You may want to clarify the type of programs you’re looking for. It sounds like a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is good match for your interests. There are, however, two distinct approaches to a BFA degree. Some schools are conservatories and others are liberal arts. In a conservatory you can expect a great deal of depth and instruction in a very specific area (say, scene Technology but not necessarily much scene Design). In a liberal arts program you should expect a broader exposure to more areas of technical theatre.
Look at both options. Webster and CCM (for instance) are conservatories. Otterbein is a liberal arts program. Visit their websites and see what the difference is. There is no “Best” school in the country; all the schools mentioned here are very good. It’s about finding the program that challenges you in the way that helps you do your best work.</p>