Technical Theatre Portfolio

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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<p>For any techies scavenging this board, because I did not know where else to start this thread: </p>

<p>I am a senior in high school and am applying for both acting and tech. For tech I need a portfolio. I have done a significant amount of tech work, however I was really dumb as far as getting stuff together for my portfolio as I went goes and am now trying to pull things together far down the road from many jobs.</p>

<p>I have been going through shows I have done and pulling pictures that demonstrate my work as well as designing 2 (more if I have time) sets for plays I recently read. Unfortunately, I only really have finished product pictures of my productions. I have a very mixed background of tech experience- from Technical Director to Propsmaster to Lighting Designer and more. A really very eclectic mix. Considering I started as an actor and many of my stage management jobs have been with shows put on by other actors and my then limited tech experience in stage managament, most of my prompt books are not written in in the standard, professional way. They are scribbled in my own script notation language and are definitely not up to par for a porfolio. Which leaves me with a variety of different tech jobs for which I have finished production pictures and a couple of sketched out set designs. I also may have a few non-theatre related artistic projects that I can scrounge up and use to show my artisitic talent.</p>

<p>What my real question is- how do I format all of this into a portfolio? Please, I am clueless. Should it bein a 1'' binder, or is there a different standard? 1 page per show? Or More? How many pictures should I use from each show, what should go with these pictures, and how much room should they take up? Is there a better way to present my eclectic expreience that I am not thinking of?</p>

<p>Also, is there anywhere I can look at sample portfolios?</p>

<p>Thank you so much for any help you can provide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

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<p>You can format your portfolio any way you want: a binder is fine, so is a presentation cover, or an envelope portfolio. There are other options, too. Check out the portfolio section of an art supply store. The advantage of loose boards over pages in a binder is that you can more easily change the order for different schools or take one board out and hand it around. Structure the book the way you want to present it. You’re telling a story about what a good fit you are for their school. </p>

<p>It’s too bad you didn’t keep things you could have used for your portfolio but at least you have some idea what you’re missing. Since this is a high school portfolio, you don’t have to show everything as it actually happened. For example, because you didn’t use proper notation in your prompt books, create a few pages that show proper notation and then just explain that you didn’t really know what you were doing earlier, but if you had it to do over again this is how you’d do it. For another example, go through your scripts again and recreate paperwork that shows what you did, for example, a lighting plot or a props list. Use the product pictures sparingly. </p>

<p>Finally, it’s a good idea to use designs created just for the portfolio. In addition to your own sketches, you can include source materials you used for inspiration and samples of materials you might use to execute your designs. If you have more time, use it for depth and detail rather than more plays. You want to demonstrate how you think about theater.</p>

<p>When my daughter was interviewing, she used the book, “Developing and Maintaining a Design-Tech Portfolio: A Guide for Theatre, Film, &TV” by Rafael Jaen (Oct 2, 2006). It is out of stock on Amazon but he seems to have a more recent book, “Show Case, Second Edition: Developing, Maintaining, and Presenting a Design-Tech Portfolio for Theatre and Allied Fields” (Sep 14, 2011). These are professional portfolios, of course, a little intimidating, but also a great source for ideas.</p>

<p>You knock em dead, hear?</p>

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<p>Excellent advice, theater mom!</p>

<p>I’d just like to add (my S2 applied in theatre design last year) that the schools don’t expect a lot of experience in HS and are open to students who have pursued other artistic areas and ECs. My s’s portfolio for tech theatre was filled with fine art done in AP Studio Art, for example. He also had some architectural renderings and photos of models he built for an summer college arch class. His biggest project was a color rendering of a themed luxury resort retail/entertainment complex he designed. He had no sets nor had he worked on crews (in HS he was an actor in most plays). But he had taken a lot of theatre classes. He was admitted to every program that he applied to, and none of his interviewers said his portfolio was lacking enough theatre material. So have confidence! If you love design, put your best art and design material in there, even if it has nothing to do with stage sets. They seem to look for talent, potential and drive.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

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<p>Thank you! I am just now seeing these replies. I talked to my Technical Theatre teacher and we came up with this format: Seperate the binder into different sections: Scenic Design and Construction, Propeties, Technical Direction, Lighting, and Stage Management. Each section will start with a ‘topic page’ that simply has the topic printed on it as well as a tab for easier reference when flipping through the portfolio. Then in each section I will have one ‘cover page’ type thing for each show that includes the title, company, and year as well as my job at the top and 4 finished production photos showcasing my work filling the rest of the page. behind this ‘cover page’ I will put any paperwork (renderings, floorplans, calendars, props lists, etc) I have for that show. If a show falls under multiple sections (I have done both props and set for several shows, along with light design on one that I was technical director for) I will include it under each section it applies to (changing up the ‘cover page’ photos to better show each specific area). </p>

<p>I am going to do what Theatre mom suggested (and I had been considering already) for one of my prompt books. </p>

<p>I also did manage to find some calendars and of course I still have all my props lists saved on my computer. I will probably draw up approximate calendars for other shows that I had created calendars for way back when. I am recreating floor plans and renderings for my scenic design shows. I am also making up some lighting plots for any of my lighting work (of course I mostly remeber how my lights were! I had to spend a lot of time with those!)</p>

<p>And great point about spending more time on fewer shows! That makes so much more sense! Thank you!</p>

<p>So things are coming along nicely. Just a few more random questions:
*sheet protectors- I am planning on using them. I have the nonglare rather than normal. I am assuming that is preferable?
*I was also considering mounting my pictures on the ‘cover pages’ rather than just printing them using photo corners similar to these ([Vintage</a> Photo Corners. Paths Included In File. - 255054 : Shutterstock](<a href=“Vintage Photo Corners Paths Included File Stock Photo 255054 | Shutterstock”>Vintage Photo Corners Paths Included File Stock Photo 255054 | Shutterstock)) (in which I case I suppose I maybe wouldn’t use sheet protectors on those pages?) Any thoguhts?
*My theoretical designs for shows I am not doing in real life. They would go behind scenic design and construction. Obviously not having finished photos, I can’t make the standard ‘cover page’. However, since I will have multiple papers for each show I would like some way to seperate them. I suppose I could make a cover page and in the place of finished photos just put in one larger, nice sketch of my set? And should these be at the back or front of the section?</p>

<p>Thank you so much for any answers you can give! And for the answers you already gave!</p>

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<p>Hi, Blaserk:</p>

<p>It sounds like your portfolio is taking shape. I applaud the time and care you are taking with it and I think your auditors will too. Many of your questions are a matter of personal taste but I will answer as best I can. I am a graphic artist by profession so my answers are based more on my experiences with my own book than on my daughter’s portfolio. </p>

<p>Photo corners will look dated: avoid them. Even if you like a vintage look, you don’t want auditors to think you’ve settled on a single style in high school. Sheet protectors may hold your photos in place in a small portfolio (letter-size, give or take). Avoid mounting if possible. If not, look for adhesive dots. They inflict minimal damage on your pictures. </p>

<p>I think a cover page with a sketch sounds better than one with just a title and I think you should group everything by play to show that you know how to follow one design idea through different aspects of a production. Auditors will want to know what they’re looking at so definitely give the title of the play first.</p>

<p>Again, best of luck and you’re more than welcome.</p>