I think posting a request for schools with good tech theatre programs is going lead to a lot of “I liked my school” responses. There are lots of universities with good technical theatre programs in the country, but what is good for one person, may not be right to you. Take a listen to why a specific program worked for that person. Some schools have highly specialized undergrad stage management programs, and they may draw a high proportion of people who want to be stage managers . . . which may mean more competition. Going to school with a strong grad program may mean more money and more resources for the theatre department, but may mean you may have less opportunities to stage manage. You may to be able to carve out your program, so going to smaller school where you can make up your own program might be ideal. (Wouldn’t be great to get college credit for stage management outside of school? Would you rather get credit for an internship, thus working in a professional environment? Would you rather work just on campus?)
The problem is what is or was a good program for one person, may not make it a good program for another person. (Getting to know what pedagogical methods work for you may help a lot in your decision.)
I also think that at 16 or 17 you are putting a lot of pressure in deciding your major – I think a lot of young people want to do theatre so bad, and end up choosing stage management before they get a really good picture of what the professional life is.
I feel like the first step of myself as an educator of those in stage management is to present a very realistic picture of the career:
1) The hours can be 60 – 80 hours per week. Six days a week, and if your lucky 52 weeks a year.
2) There is a possibility of lots of travel. Which means settling down, forming relationships is hard.
3) There is a pretty steep career arch – lots of young people competing for a relatively small pool of jobs. And many, many strong experienced people competing for the top tier jobs.
4) Look at the AEA Annual 06-07 report
http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/about/AEA_Annual_06-07.pdf Notice the following:
a) an average equity member only worked 17 weeks per year (yes some worked 52, but that means a lot worked 0 weeks)
b) The Median Member Earning was $7,239 a year.
c) There were 28,593 work weeks for people on stage manager contracts . . . that means there was full time work for about 550 stage managers. (Which terrifies me when I think there are 2000 members of this web site)
d) Look at the salaries for each level . . . if you average 25 weeks (which 150% of the average) even at the top salary you are going to make about $50,000 per tax. Not bad. If you are doing it in LORT theater, you are only making about $25,000.00 Doing it at Off-Broadway, you are pulling in almost $17,000.00 per tax (in NYC). Make sure you know what you are getting into.
e) BUT . . . please note all of these figures are skewed by the larger amount of actors in the union, and the larger number of AEA actors who don’t seek work but hold onto their card. Stage Managers tend to work more weeks then your average actor. But get to know the business side of this.
This is why I suggest to all young people is go to the best school for you and get the best ALL AROUND undergrad education you can. You may change your major, so going to a school where you have a good education no matter what major you choose is important.
These are my suggestions for picking the right school for anyone, and if you want to be a stage manager.
1) Look into as many schools as you possible have time. This is a major decision. The more schools you look at, the better. Seek advice from everyone, but look at as many schools as possible.
2) Make sure you look at schools that fall in different ranges – reach high – schools you may not think you can get into, pick some schools which will be a challenge, and look at safety schools.
3) Look into community college. THERE IS A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT CAN BE SAVED. Graduating and going into theatre with a lot of student loan debt can be very problematic and frustrating. Getting the basics done at a cheap rate and then transferring can help you save money.
4) Like real estate look into location. You say east coast – but going to school in Florida is different the Maine, Vermont or New York.
5) Where do you want to end up living? If you are thinking about living in New York – then I would recommend going to school either in or close to New York. You will never live as a cheap as you will in school, so why not break in the big city on the cheap, with financial aide and mom and dad helping. (And at 18, you are lot more flexible then a 22 year old moving into the city, or me at 30.) Although you may not end up living in the city you go to school for the rest of your life, you will most likely be making connections to the local theatre center, or at least the regional theatre scene. So why not pick one that has a good/great theater scene you could work in.
6) Money is a huge factor – especially with out economy. Again, not getting into debt is huge. Private versus public schools will play into this.
7) Besides Music and Theatre, does the school have school have other things to tickle your fancy. Do you want to join a Greek Society? (Although it’s hard doing Greek and Theatre). Sports? SCA? (I had to add that one). LGBT issues?
Big city or small town?
9) Do you want to be in a small school where you will get more attention? Or do you want to get lost in big school? (My suggestion is large school, smaller theatre program – I kind of enjoyed being in a huge Econ class, so I could hide – but loved being part of a smaller theatre program).
10) How culturally diverse do you want the school to be?
11) Then look at the theatre program . . .
a. How high do you want to rank in prestige? Going to Yale is impressive.
b. Do you want a BA? BFA?
c. Do you want to go to a program that is conservatory based or more traditional undergrad program?
d. Do you want a program that specifically has a SM program (again more competition) or a general theatre program that will let you Stage Manage.
e. Do you want a specific stage management instructor? (Get the bio, and see what they have done.) Write them and ask for specifics about their program.
f. Do you want a program that requires/offers an internship?
g. Does the school have a grad program in stage management? If so, you will be competing for grad students for assignments more then likely. They will usually get priority, but sometimes not. Find out. In my dream world, look carefully at schools that have grad programs in acting/design but not stage management – and look into if under grads do their stage management . . . this way there would be more resources for you to work with.
h. For stage management, make sure they have some directing classes you can take – an often over looked area of study for stage managers. I would recommend at least a year of directing, and, if possible directing a show. Be wary of schools that want to pigeon hole you and don’t let you dabble. To be a good stage manager you need to have the soul of an artist, the mind of a director, the eye of a designer, the joy of being an actor, and the ability to manage them all.
i. Look for schools that have specific arts management classes and basic management classes. I am appalled I made it through years of stage management undergrad without being recommended at taking ONE basic management principals class or project management. (Hint: Find schools that have some sort of Business Management Program you can take an intro or specific class).
j. Look at what their class requirements are – are they going to make you do mostly lit with little production? Are there huge tech requirements?
k. Look at production photos. Look at their season. Are they doing the type of shows you want to do? (Musicals – Classical Theatre – New Work – Dance – Opera – big shows – small shows – high production values). For example, one school I looked at had a huge playwriting program, so they did a lot of new work. I was terrified about having a resume filled with shows no one ever head of.
l. Does the school have a professional theatre attached? What opportunities does that open to you?
I think once you put together a shopping list of what you personally are looking for, you will have a much easier search. Go through and list everything that, right now, you feel is important, and rank them. Get all the advice you can (look through old posts, wait for people to respond to you), and then compare them to you wish list. With the list, contact the theatre department directly. Ask if there are stage management students you can talk to. (Remember, they are going to connect you with stars in the program most likely, so answers maybe skewed.) Be wary of any program that won’t connect you with an either a current student (maybe not in your discipline) or an alumni.
As you continue to research, you may find new things you are looking for. (Like, I really want a program where undergrads get to direct or produce their own work), and add that to your list. Some of the questions will very easily pare down the list of college (like public schools in big cities in the North East – like New York and New Jersey).
Then, this may seem totally counterintuitive. Find schools that are the opposite of what you are looking for – like if you want a big school in a big city, look at a couple of small schools in small towns and see what you like from those schools and if you are missing that from the schools you have short listed.
At the very end, visit these schools. See a show. Talk to the professors. Talk to Students. Talk to Alumni. You will be amazed about how quickly you will be able to feel if this is the right place for you, or if this just doesn’t fit. I remember walking on campus and feeling ultimately too conservative for a very artsy-fartsy school. You will feel safe on a campus, or you may not. If it involves moving to a big city, see how you feel about the big city.
AND REMEMBER . . . transferring is not a failure. You may quickly out grow a program or your needs change. Remember, you will be paying a lot of money for this . . . make sure to get what you want or need.
Sorry – long post. But I think if you get the tools to pick the right college, it’s better then a list of schools people thing are good schools. Again, I had a great time at UC Santa Barbara, but I don’t think it’s the right theatre school for everyone.
PS
Take a look at this site . . .
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php . . . it might open your eyes to some programs you may not have thought of.
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