Rounded or Focused?

I have always been on the lookout for skills that would compliment a degree in theatre. More specifically, what classes could I take now that will benefit me in the future, specifically with an eye on lighting design. I have always understood that making it as a lighting designer alone is damn difficult and with that in mind I started a business communication minor at school with the idea that it would help me communicate and give a business/management background which I could apply if I end up working for a lighting company some day.

It turns out business classes and books are mind-numbingly boring. I probably could have guessed that going in, but decided to try anyway. I guess my main question involves what skills and/or knowledge should an undergraduate theatre major, in search of his B.A. so that he can eventually become a lighting designer look for?

A lot of my curiousity on this issue stems from the graduate school research I've done. When looking at grad school websites, they are often very specific about the materials and qualifications one must present in order to be a successful applicant. However, in interviews I've read and personal discussions I have had with grad school representatives, they emphasize possesing a wide range of knowledge about various subjects and say they can teach you what you don't know, so long as you present an eagerness to learn. So the question arises, which do they prefer? I suspect as with so many things in life, its best to aim down the middle, which is probably what I will try and do.

The next step is what to do about this minor? Should I stay with it, hoping that it will provide me knowledge which could help me some day? Or, perhaps I try my hand at a general communication minor and stay away from the business portion, which is what is currently turning me off. OR, for a third option, and one that sounds really appealing at the moment, abandon a minor all-together and take classes that I view as genuinely interesting which will expand my knowledge in a lot of different areas. Personally, I really like that idea, as it allows me an opportunity to become more well-rounded and well-read. I can focus in during grad school, why spend so much time and effort as an undergrad limiting myself by taking classes I don't find interesting. I will mull this over and surely talk to some professors but if you are reading this and have some input, please leave a comment, I would welcome it!

Thats all for know and I do hope to update this more regularly in the future!

Theatre as an Intellectual Art

This post is less about current happenings in my life, and more about general realizations I've had over the past year regarding the art I practice. When I first started college, I became disenfranchised with theatre for quite some time. Suddenly, the thing I thought I wanted to do just didn't feel right any more. However, I decided to stick with it based on some friends motivation and the feeling that if I gave up theatre, I would be giving up a huge part of my life.

Fortunately, sometime at the beginning of the '08-'09 school year, I think I went through change in my viewpoint. I think I came to college expecting theatre to be something similar to high school and in reality this is very far from the truth. For whatever reason, it took me a long time to realize this and then make the necessary changes to the way I interected, so to speak, with theatre. A major turnaround point for me was my Playscript Analysis and Interpretation class, which although extremely challenging provided an intellectual look at theatre in a way I had never before been aware of. Never before had I realized exactly how much goes on in the text of a play and what it meant to me as an aspiring designer. Since then I have not looked back.

Recently I have been sort of scouring the internet looking for designers and other's viewpoints on design, especially lighting. One of the most interesting things I've read is a lighting designer who believes wholly in lighting based on the text above all else. I really enjoyed reading this perspective and completely agree with what he says. I know that I have had the tendancy to pay close attention to what stage directions might say in a script but if we pay those too much attention we can get distracted from the real important material, the words the characters are saying. It is the words from which the real meaning of a text comes from and as designers we have a responsibility to shape worlds based on our reactions to those words.

In this age of ever increasing technology, which don't get me wrong, is wonderful and amazing and fantastic, I think we, especially young designers, have a tendancy to try and create something "cool" and "exciting" before considering whether "cool" and "exciting" fits with the text of the play, musical, opera, etc. being designed. As I go forward into my third year of college I really hope to impress upon people my belief of designing for my reaction to the text, within the context of the entire design team of course, for it is with this belief in what truly good design is that I hope to build my future, and I hope that by expressing it here and through word of mouth I can open up opportunities for myself with others who share this philosophy. Thanks for Reading!

A New Thing to Try!

Hello to the Blogosphere! My name is Michael Brown and I am a Theatre major at the University of Northern Iowa. My primary interest is in lighting design and I've created this blog to express my observations about the field, display the work I am currently doing and hopefully connect with other theatre people in the future. Here's to hoping it goes as I hope.

This first blog post finds me in Ithaca, New York, working at the Hangar Theatre as an electrician. We are finishing up the second show of the season, Once on This Island, today and going into changeover into November tonight. As with every tech process it will surely be exciting and long and stressful, but as always, rewarding come opening night. Stay tuned for pictures as we progress through the process.

I also plan to use this blog to post information on all the new projects I am working on. Hopefully I can use it as another way of documentation about my process.

Hopefully I will keep up with this on a regular basis and you yet undiscovered readers will be able to provide feedback to this young designer and technician as I grow and progress through the early phases of my career.

Thanks for Reading and Happy Fourth of July!