Technical Theater Portfolio

<p>For those applying to technical theater programs...</p>

<p>My S's hs has them maintaining a portfolio over their 4 years so that they do not have to pull it all together during senior year. I am wondering about the format. His teacher has them including a short narrative with each page/show. Is this the usual/accepted format? S is no wanting to drop the narratives. H and I are wondering if they should be more detailed. I understand that they will be explaining the portfolio in the portfolio review, but will they be keeping it? And the narratives or notes would be helpful for their reviewing later?</p>

<p>In my daughter’s experience, the auditors did not want to do a lot of reading, preferring to talk to her about her experiences. I don’t think there is any harm in the narratives, but would not recommend putting more work into them. Most colleges give some guidelines on portfolios for prospective students; for example, some schools want to see work done in fine art classes, but others do not. My best advice is to read these carefully because each school has its own requirements. My D used boards, taking a different selection of boards in a folder-type portfolio to each review. However, your S may be more focused on a particular type of program, and the requirements may not vary as much. My second best advice is not to worry too much about the portfolio. It is supposed to show potential, not a finished product.</p>

<p>I agree with theater mom (always!). My son did not have any narratives included in his portfolio and no one asked to read any–but the way his portfolio reviews/interviews worked his portfolio was mostly a jumping off point for the panel to ask him questions or for him to flip to a new page and tell a little about what he did. In some instances, they let him talk on and on. In one instance, the one professor (MFA tech) rifled speedily through the pages in silence, closed the portfolio, and asked if he had any questions. (!) Of course he had come prepared with one, but the prof was clueless and suggested S check on their website. (!!) And yet… S was admitted to all these programs. </p>

<p>What advice to take from this? Maybe it’s to have a nice sampling of work from which your student could easily explain his role/duties and input to the production. And not to take it personally if they seem… bored? Oy!</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

<p>Editing to add: My S had good photos of mostly work from a summer Arch program which included scale renderings and models he’d built, + AP Studio Art pieces, etc. He had not designed any HS sets, yet this was never an issue. He had taken many theatre classes, had been an actor and playwright, etc. We got the impression that even the very top programs expect a certain mix of creative projects in the portfolios.</p>

<p>Thank you both!</p>

<p>One other question. Do you leave your portfolio there with them?</p>

<p>GCmom, I don’t think so. Each program has specific instructions/rules and they all were very different. Some asked for a link to an online portfolio with the application supplement. When he came in he brought the physical portfolio but didn’t leave it. At UCLA, they ask the student to submit a physical portfolio along with essays and a design project I think. When he went in for the portfolio review he brought a fresh copy but he did not leave it (they already [should have?] had it. </p>

<p>My son applied to a few programs in colleges that had fairly rigorous academic standards for admission just for the university. In two of those, they actually talked to him about his grades/test scores in the portfolio review–something that sort of caught him off guard. But we figured they were giving a hint that no matter how much they might want a talented designer, their school’s admissions committee would also look closely at grades.</p>

<p>Thank you again.</p>

<p>Sounds like your S’s school has him well ahead of the curve! My D didn’t realize that this was what she wanted to do until late in her jr year, which left us scrambling to build her portfolio (with bad photos and everything). </p>

<p>She did not include narratives on each page, just the name of the show, name of the company (her high school theater group) and date of the show. She only included the three or four shows she felt were strongest. She also included some work from art classes she had taken. She did not include playbills on advice from one of the program directors. She used a portfolio binder that we picked up at an art supply school, and was very particular about layout.</p>

<p>When she did her portfolio reviews, it was more about discussing what was in her portfolio than reading the pages. Also a lot of discussion about what she felt about the designs and the role of design and production. Nobody asked to keep her portfolio.</p>

<p>She was accepted to all the schools she applied to. </p>

<p>Overall I think they were more impressed with her attention to detail in putting together her portfolio, enthusiasm, and the story she told, than with the size of her portfolio.</p>

<p>Best of luck to your S!!! (and you. It’s stressful getting this together!!)</p>

<p>BigCityLight: just wondering which school your D is at? And which ones she applied to? Would love to hear how she likes it, etc. for those of us just starting this process. Thank you!!</p>

<p>She applied to UArts, Temple (her safety. No portfolio review required), Pace, Marymount Manhattan and NYU. She ended up at NYU.</p>

<p>She likes it very much! She is a city girl at heart, so moving to NYC was not an issue for her. (City life isn’t for everyone). And she made a good group of friends pretty quickly. </p>

<p>She has found the classes to be challenging and is learning a lot. Her love is lighting and sound, but all first year students are required to learn all aspects of P&D such as costume and set design. Let’s just say it didn’t change her mind about what she wants to do! </p>

<p>It is very busy and can be stressful. During what was her finals week, she was working a show 4+ hours every night while trying to study for tests and complete the projects that were due. </p>

<p>If you have any specific questions about her experiences with the application process at any of those schools, or her experience so far at NYU, I will be happy to try to answer them! (I know there are a few other NYU P&D parents on this forum that can also give their perspective)</p>

<p>Thank you, BigCityLight. That is very helpful! And I’m so happy your D had such success in admissions and is enjoying her college experience.</p>

<p>Thank you so much BigCityLight! I second what GCmom said. My D is interested in the BFA in Wig and Makeup Design degree so her school choices are going to be different but the portfolio info was awesome. Thanks again!</p>

<p>Update: thank you all for your assistance. After reading your advise, my son suddenly felt motivated to put in some extra effort to make his portfolio the best it could be. It was very helpful that his school had required they maintain portfolios, but he really needed to work on it in the end. And he did. </p>

<p>He ended up accepted to all programs to which he applied, and will be going to Purchase in the fall. </p>

<p>Again, thank you for taking the time to help!</p>

<p>Congrats GCmom and S!!!</p>

<p>Yes! and great school…</p>

<p>Bumping this thread up in hopes someone can give me some more examples of questions asked during the portfolio interviews? Also, were they panel or one person or ? Thank you in advance!</p>

<p>Here is my answer to this question, a pickup from the technical theater thread.</p>

<p>When my D was interviewing, I noted 5 types of questions.

  1. Technical. Where have you worked? What size house(es)? Describe the equipment. Tell us exactly what you did.
  2. Personal. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far? Tell us something we don’t know about you from your resume.
  3. Critical. Which are your favorite plays/playwrights/designers? Describe a professional performance you’ve seen and tell us what you liked about it.
  4. Creative. For each of your portfolio pieces and everything on your resume be prepared to list the problems, explain your choices, and assess the success of your designs.
  5. Do you have any questions for us?</p>

<p>The interviews varied quite a bit from the brusque 10 minute brush-off to the relaxed one hour welcome but all of the questions seemed to fall into these categories. I will add that, as many others have remarked, you cannot tell by the interview if you got in or not. </p>

<p>One school had several interviewers in the room. At one point the head of the department asked him how he would construct a particular structure. S answered and the follow up questions kept coming, getting more detailed and precise, asking for details like what type of screw. (I don’t know if it was a screw, but it was something like that). He left there a bit rattled, but my sense was that they weren’t necessarily looking for the exact right answer, but to see how far he could go with answers that made sense. </p>

<p>I’ll ask him about other questions. But I will agree that you really can’t tell how the portfolio went. S was certain he hadn’t impressed one school and he was accepted. </p>