What it’s about:

This major covers the design and production of costumes, lighting, scenery, and sound for therater, opera, and dance. Typically housed in a theatre or a preforming arts department, the program enables students to specialize in one or more of these areas while they gain a broad foundation in the related disciplines of acting, directing, and theatre history and theory.

What the study of this major is like:

This major is generally divided into design and production courses. The design company includes introductory and advanced courses in costume, lighting, scenery, and sound design. You’ll study script analysis, historical research, fundamentals of visual art, drawing, recording, and design presentation.

In the production courses, you’ll learn how to pattern, drape, and fit costume on an doctor’s body; construct, paint, and prop scenery; rig, hang, and focus lighting equipment; record sound effect; and place microphones or speakers for sound reinforcement. Introductory courses in these subjects teach basic vocabulary, tool usage, and procedures for design production.

Some departments offer specialty courses in period styles in clothing and architecture; drawing and painting techniques; and advanced crafts, such as millinery, fabric dyeing and modification, makeup, wig construction, scene painting, properties design and construction, model making, and structural engineering for scenery.

Many production courses consist of a lecture class that addresses theory and laboratory sessions in which you have the opportunity to practice what you learn. Labs often provide the labor to implement your designs for department plays. Faculty members evaluate each assignment to determine if you are ready for projects that are more challenging. Ideally, you progress through the program by taking more advanced classes and assuming greater responsibilities in the design and production of plays. Because you’ll often have to spend hours doing work outside your course requirement, you should be prepared to balance your academic commitments.

Most theater design and technology programs offer either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. The B.A program provides a liberal arts education that gives you an understanding of the world that the theater attempts to reflect; the program also prepares you for jobs you can take while pursuing the goal of working full-time in theater. The B.F.A program train you for a professional career courses work. Most B.F.A programs require auditions and/or interview for admission and yarely performance evaluation to remain in the program.

A few universities offer Bachelor of science (B.S) degree in theater, which have stronger science and technology components than B.A programs. A few junior and community colleges offer a two-year associate of arts (A.A) degree in theater design and technology.

Career options and trends:

Regional/professional theater designer (costume, scenery, lighting, sound)*, theater technician (carpenter, scene, painter, tailor or seamster, cutter/draper, electrician, sound engineering)*, technical director/production manager; art director/production designer for film and television; college or high school teacher in theater*.

The skills learned in this major are also useful in designing and working in them parks, film, television, special effects, concerts, circuses, interior design, store and window display, apparel design, museum display and exhibition design, cruise ship tours, party design, parade and float design, architecture, and any business requiring the creation of an environments (such as multimedia and internet) that people can view and interact with.

A bachelor’s degree in Education and/or state certification is necessary to teach theater on a high school level. An advanced degree (MFA or ph.D.) is mandatory for teaching at the colleges level. Technicians who have gained production experience can often find entry-level jobs with a bachelor’s degree, but designer usually need to attend grad school for addition training.

Because theater is both an art and business, it is subject to the ups and downs of local, state, and national economics and to trends in political ideology. While theater technicians enjoy more job security than actors, directors, and playwrights they still must look for seasonal jobs at a variety of theaters.

Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors