The Top 20 BFA Theatre Design and Technology Programs for 2020-21
With college theatre programs looking to produce new and more diverse material, the ripple effect into the design process must also evolve. BFA theatre design and technology programs are going to be required to look at new ways to educate and prepare their students. It is our expectation that the students that graduate these programs over the next few years will be the most versatile artists of their generation.
Here are 20 programs, in no particular order, that we feel are doing that job very well.
We must mention that much of our research was done before the tragic events that sparked the calls to action for colleges to truly value their BIPOC students. Since that is such an important factor for this site, if any of these schools are found to be discriminating or abusing any of their students, they will be removed from this list and the reasons will be published
Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ
Why we love it: “Costume design students at Mason Gross study with professional design and costume technology faculty members; work in spacious, well-equipped shops; design several productions in various venues; shop fabrics for those designs in New York City; research those shows in New York City museums and libraries; and visit annual special fashion exhibits at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and others.”
Florida Atlantic University - Boca Raton, FL
Why we love it: “To help the student achieve these goals, the Department of Theatre and Dance offers a rich array of courses and a 7-production season comprised of 4 mainstage theatre shows, 1 second-stage theatre production, and 2 mainstage dance productions. Additionally, the Department produces two to three shows during its celebrated Summer Festival Repertory. Students majoring in this area have ample opportunities to stage manage, assist in design and are routinely assigned such roles as: master electrician, props master, dresser, scenic artist, stitcher, etc. B.F.A. students work alongside graduate students and a faculty of working professionals”
Ira Brind School of the Arts, University of the Arts - Philadelphia, PA
Why we love it: “Studies begin with the school-wide foundation of theatre history and script analysis and then are immersed in courses of collaborative conceptual study with directors and playwrights. The program combines a wide scope of design courses with specific crafts classes taught by professionals in their fields. Students select studio training from the six core areas: set design, costume design, lighting design, sound design, projection design, and technical theater, and then choose one or more of these areas as a focus. Studio work is complemented with extensive hands-on experience on a variety of productions in the Brind School season. Upper-level studies include realized design or technical work; two significant professional-theater internships; and the development of a professional-grade display and interview portfolio. Students design for all Brind School productions.“
University of Connecticut - Storrs, CT
Why we love it: “Both undergraduate and graduate students benefit from a combination of outstanding classroom instruction and practical work with the productions of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre. As such, student designers and technical directors have the opportunity to work both with faculty designers and TDs and other guest professionals from New York, Chicago and other centers of regional theatre.”
Nebraska Wesleyan University - Lincoln, NE
Why we love it: “Coursework includes ‘Scenographic Techniques’ - an introduction to the basic tools and techniques of creating scenographic design documents and models for the theatre. Technical documents of ground plans, sections, elevations, and lighting plots will be explored using CAD. Costume and set rendering will be explored using traditional and computer methods. Model making will be explored using both traditional and computer-assisted methods.”
Coastal Carolina University - Conway, SC
Why we love it: Opportunities like these…
Carnegie Mellon University - Pittsburgh, PA
Why we love it: Their outstanding Sound Design program. “The Undergraduate Sound Design Program teaches students conceptual, compositional and technical practices necessary for creating and integrating audio elements into a production, while encouraging exploration into uncharted sonic territories during the three-year program. The School of Drama encourages interdisciplinary collaborative opportunities for students through partnerships with other departments including Computer Science, Engineering, Music, Art, Entertainment Technology, Robotics, and Design. The Sound Design Option trains innovative and thoughtful artists to be leaders, practitioners, and theorists in the evolving discipline of sound design for the arts and entertainment industries.”
Baldwin Wallace University - Berea, OH
Why we love it: “BW faculty are practicing professionals with contacts at Cleveland’s Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland Public Theatre, Beck Center for the Arts and Dobama Theatre, as well as Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Through these opportunities, students gain experience, earn Equity points, network, and build an impressive resume. With both proscenium and black box theatres, BW offers traditional and contemporary audience settings that provide a variety of learning environments, including theatre in-the-round, thrust staging, and more.”
Emerson College - Boston, MA
Why we love it: “This program is based on a hands-on, apprenticeship model of teaching, where students learn from highly skilled faculty; and coursework in scenic, lighting, sound, costume, props, and technical design is quickly applied to work done at professional internships or in the College’s producing laboratory, Emerson Stage. As a student in a design program focused exclusively on undergraduates, you’ll have unique access to the College’s performance and production spaces, which include five theatres ranging from the seating-flexible Jackie Liebergott Black Box to the 1,186-seat Cutler Majestic Theatre.”
SUNY Purchase College - Purchase, NY
Why we love it: THIS…
Auburn University - Auburn, AL
Why we love it: “Auburn University Theatre promotes global connections by fostering international activities in theatre training, artistic activity, theoretical and practical research. Cultivating relationships and cultural exchanges with national and international peers inspires our students to think both nationally and globally. In recent years Auburn University students have had the opportunity to participate in many design and technology related conferences and exhibitions throughout the United States and around the world: The International Stage Design Student Works Exchange (ISDSWE) in Beijing, China The Prague Quadrennial in Prague, Czech Republic International Theatre Week in Potsdam, Germany USITT Master Classes hosted by Auburn University.”
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI
Why we love it: “Design & Production core courses cover all facets of design and production, including aesthetics, theory, history, literature, graphics, management, technology and crafts. Students are not required to declare a specific track upon acceptance to the program. Design & Production majors work as stage managers, shop assistants and technicians for U-M productions in theatre, dance, musical theatre, and opera, and our talented students may design costumes, sets, or lighting for these productions.”
Otterbein University - Westerville, OH
Why we love it: “Students will typically begin their stage management careers at Otterbein as a Production Assistant. This position allows stage management students to be immersed in the rehearsal process, learn professional stage management practices, and absorb information from their fellow students. Stage management students then progress to the role of an Assistant Stage Manager on a mainstage production. As an Assistant Stage Manager you are charged with running the backstage during a show, creating paperwork necessary for running the show, serving as the liaison to different production areas, teaching and instructing backstage crews, and so much more.”
University at Buffalo - Buffalo, NY
Why we love it: “The department produces 8 shows annually, including: 2 musicals, 2 theatrical productions, and 4 dance concerts. Students can begin performing as early as their second-semester freshman year, and Design & Technology students can begin working on productions their first semester at UB. Course credit is available for approved production and performance work in off-campus, professional productions. The Department has longstanding relationships with several professional theatres in Buffalo, where our students obtain internships in production, management, and marketing, as well as regularly perform.”
California Institute of the Arts - Valencia, CA
Why we love it: “The CalArts School of Theater’s main performance space is the Walt Disney Modular Theater, one of the most unique stages in the world. A vast black box, this facility’s variable architecture supports an unlimited range of stage and seating configurations. It can be used as an arena stage, a proscenium, thrust, or oriented in any number of unconventional configurations. The School of Theater also features two additional black box spaces, a “cabaret style” performance space, as well as a multi-use studio/performance space. These venues are used for student productions, guest artist residencies, workshops, curricular studio work, as well as hands-on technical training for all School of Theater métiers.”
Penn State University - State College, PA
Why we love it: “Students can choose the Design & Technology option or the Stage Management option in this degree. Within the Design & Technology option, students may specialize in costume, lighting, scenic design, sound design or technical direction. Education in each area is led by world-class faculty with extensive experience in the industry and a deep understanding of evolving aspects of the profession.”
College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH
Why we love it: “CCM offers a rare and unique MFA in Make-Up and Wig Construction and Design. Graduate students will commit to 2-3 years, during which time they will expand their art skills in areas including painting, drawing and sculpture. Other classes that are important to a make-up graduate student are history, art history, theatre history and costuming to just name a few. A graduate student in make-up and wigs focuses heavily on design, wig making and styling and make-up and its application. In some instances, a graduate student may be given the opportunity to teach an intro level make-up class.”
Montclair State University - Montclair, NJ
Why we love it: “Opportunities include working on professional/international productions through Montclair’s Peak Performances series – an internationally acclaimed program of eclectic theatre, dance and music productions. Students also are able to work during summer breaks as apprentices with established area theatres. The Department of Theatre and Dance produces 7-10 musicals and plays, as well as three dance concerts, each year. Visit our Productions and Student-Work Gallery pages to see examples of current and past student Theatre: Design, Technology and Management work.”
Ball State University - Muncie, IN
Why we love it: Outstanding faculty include Kerry Lee Chipman whose Chicago designs include: Utility and The Goat; or Who is Sylvia?(this design was nominated for a non-equity Jeff Award) with Interrobang Theatre Project, and No Home for Bees with 20% Theatre Company. New York designs include: Dad in a Box at HEREartscenter, That Which Isn't and Strays at the Brick Theatre, Coney at the New Ohio Theater, Life of Galileo at the Kehoe Theatre, Time is the Mercy of Eternity at the West End Theater, Departures and The Most Wonderful Love at the Access Theater, Lascivious Something, Hoodoo Love, and Girl. for the 2006 Mentor Project at the Cherry Lane Theater. In addition to scenery, she also designs and creates masks, and sometimes costumes for regional dance and theatre productions.
The Theatre School, DePaul University - Chicago, IL
Why we love it: “Third-year students start to develop a specific focus while continuing to hone their skills in the areas of technical direction and project management. Students explore period style elements through a survey of art, architecture, fashion, and furniture. Students typically work as master carpenters, drafters, riggers, assistant technical directors, or technical directors for our production season as they work collaboratively with designers to implement and construct their designs.”