I’m an aspiring costume design/technology major and I’m trying to put together my portfolio for interviews! I have two questions:
Is variety more important than quality? My specialty is costumes and so my best work is predominantly costumes, but some portfolio instructions suggest including a wide variety of materials that don’t necessarily pertain to theatre (drawings, sculptures, photography, etc.). Should I include some art pieces, even though they’re not as impressive? Or should I stick with what I’m best at?
In what format should my digital portfolio be? I know professionals create websites but that seems a bit overboard for an undergrad interview. I know very little about digital portfolios and I'd appreciate any guidance/advice!
My D19 is not costumes so I hope someone in that area will respond. For D’s interest in props, she has found faculty are interested in her process – so initial sketches, then process photos of her work, and then a final photo. So some of these are in a sketch book, some are digital renderings, and then some are photos. She also brings along smaller final props. I think if you focus on the process and how you got to your final costume it will showcase your abilities well.
As for the digital portfolio, do you even need one for interviews? Or do you simply use Slideroom or Acceptd (or whatever the school uses for admissions) to submit portions of your portfolio electronically?
Hi, @techtheatremajor. My D20 is a third-year costume design major at Mason Gross/Rutgers, and I’d echo what @OrangeFish said. Faculty were interested in swatches, designs, lists/production materials, and of course photos, especially if you have some from realized productions. I would say that pretty much every school was interested in the designer’s body of work, rather than seeing x, y, or z specifically. Almost all of my daughter’s work was costume design, but if you have other projects you’re proud of, absolutely include them. If you don’t think they’re as good as your costume work, definitely leave them out…
The faculty members want to see your passion and commitment as well as (or perhaps even more than) your ability.
It’s now been three years, so things may have changed, but when my D went through the process, she didn’t need to submit anything digitally except prescreens, and each school had specs for that (e.g., Slideroom, etc.).
Definitely include some non-theater work if you have it! Anything that shows your personal artistic aesthetic and skill level is great to include - painting, other sewing projects, photography, etc. Especially important for CD applicants (in my experience) is drawing skills, so be sure to include lots of sketches. I also agree with the importance of process photos; showing your work and how exactly you tackle a project is great for the committee to see.
As for a digital portfolio, you can put a powerpoint or pdf document together, which should be easily email-able to anyone who needs it. A simple portfolio website is fairly easy to put together, however, and isn’t really all that uncommon - and has the added benefit of watching the stats to see who’s viewing it.
Hey! I’m a freshman DP at CMU and I applied with a portfolio that was mainly scenic, props, and SMing stuff.
My digital portfolio for BU and Emerson was made in PowerPoint and sent as a PDF. It was literally a digital copy of my physical portfolio (which was a GIANT 13x19" Itoya portfolio). I have a number of friends who have websites. It’s more of a personal choice, but if you have one that looks clean and representative of you/your work and aesthetic, there’s no harm in using it. Just make sure it works on all devices (a ton of my interviewers had their phones or iPads as their device in the room).
PSA: My one tip for portfolios is have LARGE (8x10) photos on photo paper (or glossy cardstock, it’s cheaper and looks the same).
My interview experience showed me that they do appreciate variety in your work. If you have process photos of costuming projects, for sure add those. They especially love seeing sketches and swatches, as I believe someone said earlier. Be honest about your experiences with the projects. If you were challenged, say what it was that challenged you and how you overcame it. Don’t show them any work you are not proud of, this is your time to shine!! If you have other work outside costuming that you are passionate about, show them! I had a friend show his arial drone photography in his lighting/scenic portfolio and they loved talking about it. Other people have shown woodworking, knitting, embroidering projects that they were invested in and proud of. The interviewers really want to know YOU, not just your work. Don’t be afraid to add individuality in there too
My S17 started out in a theater tech BFA with a concentration in lighting. His portfolio was fairly light and was displayed in a binder book. None of the 3 schools he interviewed at required digital submissions. It was very simple, some Playbills showing his name, a couple of script pages with lighting cues he had designed, some photographs of sets he’d helped construct.
One thing to bear in mind is that the schools are looking for potential and interest, not career level portfolios.
My son switched out of the BFA this semester into the general theater BA. He discovered that, while he loves doing lighting, he hates all of the other design aspects. He wants to be the ME that the designers request to work with to execute their designs.
However, he is really glad that he spent the time in the BFA because he got to know the professors who are continuing to let him do lighting at BFA levels. Now, however, he has the ability to work outside the department and he has done lighting for dance productions, an opera (as a tech, not the main designer) and other individual shows.
