<p>Hello! I'm a about to be a senior in high school. I would say I'm pretty strong academically: I have a 4.0 GPA, take nearly all honors or AP classes offered to me, and took both the ACT and SAT at the end of my junior year (earning a composite score 32 on the former and 2050 on the latter--I live in the Midwest so I had more preparation for the ACT). I also am involved in numerous clubs and activities, many of which I hold leadership positions in.</p>
<p>As such, I'm not extremely worried about the academic aspect of my college applications. However, it was only near the end of last school year that I finally decided that I wanted to major in Technical Theatre after a years-long thought process that evolved from something in the arts, to Film/Television, to finally the hands-on aspects of Technical Theatre.</p>
<p>My problem is that all of the schools that I've looked at require portfolios (and usually an interview) for admission, and I literally have NO theatre experience. Absolutely none. My school has no sort of extracurricular drama club that makes the sets or plans the lighting for our productions...those jobs are almost always the coursework for the students in the actual theatre tech class. I've signed up for it for this upcoming year, but we haven't received our final schedules yet, and I can't be sure that I got it.</p>
<p>So I don't have any practical theatre design/technology experience. I have been involved in other arts classes for my entire life, mostly fine arts, but I'm not sure if that will be enough? I'm extremely determined and passionate about this, but that's not tangible. I guess my question is...do I have a chance?</p>
<p>I'm kind of really stressing out about this. Any knowledge or advice would help so much!</p>
<p>(BTW, I've been looking at a schools like DePaul University and Carnegie Mellon. I know that these schools are exceptional--I need to work on finding a few more reasonable ones. But in addition to if I have a chance in general, is it even possible to get into the technical theatre programs of these schools without experience?)</p>
<p>With your strong academics, you might want to consider a BA program with good theater – Temple, Vassar, Muhlenberg, Northwestern, Kenyon, etc. I think that dedicated tech programs at DePaul and CMU would be reaches if you don’t have a portfolio, but you could easily get involved in theater tech at a BA program once you get there. You should also start now getting some tech experience wherever you can, if not at school in community theater. That would also give you an idea of whether this is something you actually want to pursue as a career, which I don’t think you can know if you haven’t done it. </p>
<p>i think Temple can use technical help and they offer nice merit aid with your stats. are you an upcoming senior? temple is in philly so get on their theatre page and see what their tech options are. just so you know if you get the top scholarship at Temple, it is for tuition only and the remaining costs for room, board, misc expenses, books, and fees look to be 18K this year. if you also qualify for need based aid, your out of pocket will be less. also, philly has several theatres so you could get some experience at theatres in the Philly community too while in college. muhlenberg also has, so i’ve heard, nice merit aid options. it’s near Allentown, pa about an hour north of philly. honestly, there are a lot of schools out there who would love technical help in their theater dept so maybe just focus on where you’d like to go to school and then look into their theatre program. i agree with jkelly the tippity top schools will be a reach but otoh, i think many schools would be interested in having you join their theatre tech dept. despite limited experience. my son was more looking at BA programs (for acting, not tech) but my impression was that the schools he was looking at would be delighted to have a kid wanting to do tech stuff. and i mention him because he was not looking at the premier programs. he was more focused on the school and the city than the theatre dept. national ranking. many kids who go to theatre dept want to focus on acting not tech so you may be in demand in many places. </p>
<p>I second the recommendation to get community theater experience this year. That way you will have SOMETHING in your portfolio. And most community theaters need tech crew desperately. Keep in mind that most tech programs require students to do all aspects of crew at some point. My friend’s daughter is majoring in costume design at Cincinnati Conservatory but she spent her first semester painting sets and setting props. So get whatever experience you can.</p>
<p>I agree with the others that you should look for other places to get experience, but even without that you can still produce a portfolio that will give colleges an idea why they should admit you. A high school portfolio shows potential more than it does achievement. Start designing for any play that interests you. Sketch costumes, sets, and lighting. Add swatches for fabrics and make disks to show how it will sound. This will mean more to a college than photos of a finished production where you played a minor role.</p>
<p>Your good grades show that you can work hard. Passion for the theater, while not tangible, is also extremely important. If you are also talented then you have a chance, even at a top school. Tech is not nearly as competitive as acting. So apply to a range of schools, but don’t leave out the top end. </p>
<p>Wright State University only requires a portfolio/interview for theater scholarship consideration, not for admission to the program. Also, SUNY Brockport is a non-audition theater program. My daughter changed her mind about her major at the 11th hour, and although she had a ton of theater experience, she hadn’t been documenting it along the way. </p>
<p>A safety for you could be University of Rhode Island. They do not ask for portfolios/auditions for their theater program. They offer a BFA in technical theater. You would get a nice merit scholarship. </p>
<p>In addition to those mentioned above look at James Madison, George Mason, Williams, Kenyon, Skidmore, Trinity (CT), St. Edwards, Conn College, SUNY New Paltz. All strong BA Theatre programs. Some with Portfolio Review, others not.</p>