A Shout-Out

To my loyal (anonymous) readers in Sugar Land Texas, Logan Utah, Chino California, Oak Ridge Tennessee and of course New York New York!

Thanks for dropping by :)

MFAs in Lighting Design

NOTE: THIS POST STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

Just like my summer stock list, I'm going to try to create a comprehensive listing here of graduate lighting design programs in the US. In future posts, I'll do costume/scenic/audio etc. If you have any to add or anything to say about the following programs, leave a comment!

Numbers after school names refer to how many years the program lasts, and starred schools are public, and therefore probably more affordable.

Alabama:
University of Alabama*, Tuscaloosa - 3
Arizona:
University of Arizona*, Tucson - 3
Arkansas:
University of Arkansas*, Fayetteville - 3
California:
University of California*, Irvine - 3
Cal Arts, Valencia - 3
Connecticut:
Yale Drama, New Haven - 3
University of Connecticut*, Storrs - 3
Florida:
University of Florida, Gainesville* - 3
Illinois:
Illinois State University* - 3
Northern Illinois University*, DeKalb - 3
Indiana:
Indiana University*, Bloomington - 3
Purdue University, West Lafayette - 3
Iowa:
University of Iowa*, Iowa City - 3
Louisiana:
Tulane University, New Orleans - 3
Maryland:
University of Maryland*, College Park - 3
Massachusetts:
University of Massachusetts*, Amherst - 3
Michigan:
Wayne State University*, Detroit Michigan - 3
Minnesota:
University of Minnesota*, Minneapolis - 3
Mississippi:
University of Southern Mississippi*, Hattiesburg - 3
New York:
Parsons, The New School, NYC - 2
Tisch, New York University, NYC - 3
Ohio:
College Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati Ohio - 2
Ohio University*, Athens - 3
Pennsylvania:
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh - 3
Temple University*, Philadelphia - 3
South Carolina:
University of South Carolina*, Columbia - 3
South Dakota:
University of South Dakota*, Vermillion - 3 (Lighting AND Sound Concentration only)
Tennessee:
University of Tennessee*, Knoxville - 3
Texas:
University of Texas*, Austin - 3
Virginia:
University of Virginia*, Charlottesville - 3
Washington:
University of Washington*, Seattle - 3

Hatred # 881:

Freakish Knots.

I try to work quickly, I honestly do. Theatre can be stressful, there's never enough time...

So when YOU enter the picture with your freakish-knot-tying hands, and my extreme nail-biting has resulted in a lack of claws to untie your freakish knots, it makes me want to die.

A clove hitch will tie most things to the grid quite nicely. Add a bow, if you like, to keep things pretty. DO NOT, do not do not do not- tie a knot like this:

Summer Stock Discussion

Since most people coming to my blog from Google are searching for "summer stock", I thought I'd post some observations on my own experiences with the beast. I've worked at some really cool places, and some really lame ones. Here's what I can tell you:

1. Most theatres will work you 50+ hours per week for the entire summer for a flat fee, or for something in the neighborhood of $300/week. If you're an intern, you may work as many hours for free. If you need to make bank this summer, do not work summer stock. Unless it means you get to sublet your extortionist Williamsburg apartment and live rent-free for a few months.

2. Most theatres will put you up in student housing or an apartment, the quality of which will vary from mouse-infested shithole to cozy middle-class digs. If you're quite lucky, you'll have a room to yourself, and may be within walking distance of the venue. If not and you have no car, befriend a couple folks with cars really quickly. You don't have to love them, but you'll be needing their help to get out once in a while. You may not have laundry facilities or a working toilet. It gets dicey sometimes.

3. Most summer theatre companies become grossly incestuous really quickly. Think "The Real World" for people who are mostly lacking social skills. Put eight 20-something nerds together in a house, and...yuck. If you are a nerd looking to get laid this summer, then summer stock is the gig for you. If you have a strong gag reflex, look into temping or something instead.

4. Most summer stock gigs are an elaborate excuse for people to get trashed for a whole summer without worrying about maintaining any sort of reputation (see #3).

5. You can actually learn a lot from summer stock, especially if the venue employing you doesn't know what the hell it's doing. You may go through hell, but usually you'll come out of the whole experience with some new skills (see also #3). Some places actually have really great TD's and MEs and what-have-you, and you can learn a good deal from them too.

6. Use the opportunity to network. I know it's a terrible word, but "networking" is important, especially if you plan to be freelancing for a while. Theatre's a small world (I run into people I know in NYC all the time- in a city of 8 million + tourists, I see at least three people a week that I know from college, from summer stock, or from random gigs elsewhere).

That's about it for now. Who else has comments or tips for newbies?

Lame

From TVTower.com:

"Almost all wireless mics operate on the same frequencies as TV stations. The TV stations are licensed by the FCC and are running at very high power levels. Virtually all wireless mics are not licensed, and must accept any interference they get from TV stations. For this reason, a wireless mic that works fine in one city, may not work in another."

Right...so we knew that already...but what's below is what sucks



"As new stations go on the air, your wireless mic may become useless. It is important to understand this, because every TV station in the country is getting a new frequency for digital TV broadcasting. Only some of these new transmitters are on the air yet, but in the {future], they should all be on the air. Check with all your local TV stations to determine what new channels have been assigned to them for digital broadcasting, and when they expect to be on the air. Most manufacturers can switch your existing wireless mics to different frequencies if needed. It would be wise to determine today if your existing mics will have problems so you can get them changed at your leisure, and not in a panic after they fail."