[SML] Looking for feedback from you educational types...

[Steven Santos]

The program has already ballooned a lot :).

As we develop this, we are doing so with an eye towards regional and
national expansion of it, and how this can strengthen the college programs,
the unions and the industry as a whole.  Its should be a perfect fit, but a
lot of work is needed to make the pieces actually fit.

Now, if you were in the coverage area of this program, would you go to this
meeting?

Would you use (and what would you use) in terms of curriculum services?

Does this come across as a wanting every one to be partners towards the
same common goal?

What else should we be thinking about?

---
Steven Santos
Director
Simply Circus, Inc.
86 Los Angeles Street
Newton, MA 02458

P: 617-527-0667
F: 617-934-1870
E: Steven at SimplyCircus.com

On Sat, Dec 12, 2015 at 11:25 AM, Kevin Patrick <kevinatblinn at live.com>
wrote:

> Steven, tell me this is a national program you are putting together!  I am
> at a community college in a department that focuses on transferring
> students to universities. This year, the right team with the right
> influences with the people who write big checks is working with me and my
> students for a presenting season. I want my students to have a fuller
> understanding of the entertainment industry and not just straight theatre.
> So the program you have outlined here aligns perfectly with my goals.
> Kevin Patrick, Blinn College, Brenham TX
>
> Sent from my Windows Phone
> ------------------------------
> From: Steven Santos via Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net>
> Sent: ‎12/‎11/‎2015 6:59 PM
> To: Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net>
> Cc: Steven Santos <Steven at simplycircus.com>
> Subject: [SML] Looking for feedback from you educational types...
>
> Putting together a letter to area schools that run technical theater
> programs, and I could use some feedback from those who work in such
> programs.
>
> My questions are as follows:
>
> 1. Would this interest you?  Why/why not?
> 2. Does this sound like something useful for your school?
> 3. Would you take the step of going to the meeting?
> 4. Any other thoughts on it?
>
> 5. Feel free to help with grammar/spelling/etc :)
>
> Here it is:
>
> Bridging the gap between college and work is more important today than
> it has ever been before, and this is a difficult position for any
> school that teaches technical theater.  On the other side of the coin,
> those companies that employ people in the field of technical theater
> often struggle to find the right people with the right talents and
> skills to fill the jobs that are available.
>
> So how do we bridge this gap?  In a word, innovation.
>
> _______, together with ___________, a not-for-profit education
> corporation with a strong background in training technical theater,
> are building the resources we believe are needed to help bridge this
> gap in ways never before possible.
>
> Our efforts are focused on a few basic areas; curriculum development,
> internships, mentoring, job entry and support after they graduate.
>
> Curriculum Development
>
> The majority of students coming out of technical theater programs
> today are not graduating equipped with the appropriate skills to
> successfully obtain and keep work in the field of production.  To help
> colleges develop and keep their programs current, our curriculum
> experts can work with you and your staff to help make sure your
> students get the skills they need to be successful in the field.
>
> Through both _________ and ________, you can access a huge number of
> industry trainers, certifications and courses to augment your
> curriculum and programs.  Whether you want to get your students the
> certifications they need to get the jobs, bring in a guest speaker on
> a particular subject or bring in an expert to run a semester long
> class on a subject you can’t teach in-house, we can help you do it.
>
> Available certification programs include:
>
> ·        OSHA 10 certification for technical theater
> ·        Man Lift operator training
> ·        Fall Arrest training
> ·        Ladder Safety Training for the Entertainment Industry
> ·        And MANY more!
>
> Internships
>
> We have developed a new internship program for technical theater
> programs that we think you will find exciting!  Our new and highly
> flexible internship program will match your students one-on-one with
> highly skilled union tradespeople that have been specially trained on
> how to help students get the most out of the experience.  In
> coordination with your program, we will place your students on actual
> calls, doing in the real world exactly what they have just learned in
> class with you, and refining those skills with some of the best
> tradespeople in the industry.
>
> Imagine the educational potential when your students learn a skill in
> class, practice it a few times at school then get to actually get to
> do it in a real show, where some of the top industry production
> professionals work with them and help the refine it!
>
> After every intern call, we collect evaluations from both the students
> and the pros they worked with.  This system allows us to provide you
> with specific feedback on individual students, as well as on your
> program in general, with the goal of helping each student and program
> to better succeed.
>
> Mentoring
>
> The internship can be used by programs of almost any size, but it is
> designed for technical theater students in certificate or degree
> programs.   As we all know, many great technical theater people also
> come out of small colleges without a large technical theater program.
> These students are often left to fend for themselves and figure it all
> out as they go, a process that is usually less than ideal, especially
> when they enter the professional world.  Our mentoring program is
> designed to connect these ‘loan wolf’ students with highly skilled
> tradespeople that can help them to learn and master the trade.
>
> After the internship
>
> Ask any college student what the scariest part of leaving school is
> and they will tell you it’s finding a job in the field when they
> graduate.  Our program holds a number of benefits for students trying
> to enter the work force after the internship.
>
> ·        Access to Union Over-Hire lists.  For students in full-time
> degree or certificate programs, they will be given the opportunity to
> join the coveted over-hire lists for _______ and a special sign-up
> date just for those that have done the intern program.  This is not a
> guarantee of a job, but a first step that can help open a great many
> doors.
>
> ·        Assistance with Job Placement.  The Unions are not the only
> places to work in technical theater.  A great many companies in the
> area employ people in technical theater jobs, and we know just about
> all of them.  Our network of people can do a lot to help graduates
> find the companies that are hiring and land those first jobs in the
> industry.
>
> ·        Networking.  The entire technical theater industry runs on
> networking.  Those that participate in our programs will have many
> opportunities to network within the field, including access to
> industry classes, workshops, trainings and online communities after
> graduation.
>
>
> Next Steps
>
> If you have gotten this far, chances are we managed to rock your world
> a bit, and in our industry, that’s a good thing.   What we are trying
> to do is a bit revolutionary for our field.
>
> We intend to take our first interns in September of 2016 (curriculum
> services are available now), and we have a lot to do to get ready for
> it.  This being the first time anyone has tried to pull off a program
> of this scope, we still have some things to work out with it that we
> would like your help with.   To that end, we ask you to join us for a
> meeting to help us better understand your needs with a program like
> this.
>
>      [Meeting Date, Time and Location ]
>      [RSVP information]
>
>
> ---
>
>
> Thanks for your help,
> Steven Santos
>
> ____________________________________________________________
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