[SML] Classes in college.

[June Abernathy]

On Sep 12, 2014, at 11:34 AM, Richard wrote:

> The most significant lapse I have found in the education of recent job
> applicants I have interviewed, is the lack of training to provide
> accurate cost estimates to produce or rent scenery, costumes,
> lighting, or other aspect of a show, especially when the job applicant
> is, or will be, the designer of that aspect of the show. I prefer
> design-and-build contracts. Let me just 'sign off' on the elevation or
> the rendering, pay the up-front deposit, and move on to other matters.
> /s/ Richard

Donna Dickerson added:

> Skills could include: time management, efficient planning of workflow, team
> work, and coaching.   So often it's the soft skills that will make or break
> a project.
> 
> these are skills that cross into other disciplines as well.
> 
> Donna Dickerson

I agree with both of these, heartily. Even if they aren't taught how to deal with cost estimates to the point that they can cost out the whole thing the way Richard would like, it would be awesome if ANY attention to cost and time management were taught in school. In the professional world, your major constraints are the space itself, time, and cost. When you are designing, you have to understand what you are asking for, and too few young designers have any idea. For instance, outside of a classroom setting, time is money. And labor is usually money. And materials and gear are money. Not all theaters or all projects will have an inventory of gear available to you, and those that do will often not have everything that you would like to have to realize your design. I'd love to see college students learn how to put together a shop order, and learn how to work within a given budget, even if it's an artificial one. It would be great if they had some idea how long it takes to hang or focus X number of fixtures, or build a platform, or paint a set. Obviously, these variables change drastically depending on the space, the labor available, and the complexity of the design and the gear, but one hopes that that is precisely the kind of thing they are learning to evaluate. Learning how to schedule spaces and departments to ensure the most efficient use of time is crucial.

To speak to the original question, it sounds like the OP needs a basic stagecraft class, and it sounds like they want him to fit it into his already full shop/build time. Obviously, a lot of what is taught is possible to teach in a "lab" type hands on setting, but typically on a real build, you don't have everyone working on the same thing. So to teach the same basic concepts to everyone, you would either have to have everyone working on the same project at the same time, or rotate crews around either during a show build or from show to show so that everyone gets exposed to everything - electric, sound, carp, props, paint, wardrobe, etc. That might accomplish a lot of the educational goal, but it will impede your overall efficiency. No matter what though, to really learn, they are going to need some classroom time to learn theory and concept, and that is going to take away from actual hands on time, for them, and for the teacher. So that has to be taken into account. I am sure there are several list members who can offer syllabuses and other help towards putting together a basic stagecraft class. Adapting that for your particular situation and fitting it into the schedule are the real challenges. That, and explaining to whoever wanted this to happen that adding an educational component is going to affect your overall efficiency in the short term, although in theory, a more educated group will help you in the longer term. Although most of my educator friends lament that by the time they finally get a kid decently trained, they leave, and you're starting over.

June Abernathy
IATSE #321 (Tampa, FL)
FOH Electrician
The Lion King National Tour