TECHNICAL THEATRE & DESIGN

In one of the only pro­grams of its kind for young the­atre pro­fes­sion­als, TAP stu­dents will learn the lat­est tech­nolo­gies as they cre­ate set mod­els, light plots and cos­tume ren­der­ings. With equal empha­sis on cre­ative explo­ration and tech­ni­cal skill we work towards the final show­case where the tal­ents of our amaz­ing stu­dents meet real-world expe­ri­ence in the prepa­ra­tion for the final showcase.

The stu­dents spend their time in design class­es, learn­ing about scenery and cos­tume design from con­cept to cre­ation. Students cre­ate set mod­els and engage in cos­tume design projects.

Course Descriptions

Costume Design
Students exam­ine the equip­ment, ter­mi­nol­o­gy, and tech­ni­cal skills required to cre­ate cos­tumes for dra­mat­ic pro­duc­tions. Emphasis is on the ele­ments of design, includ­ing the con­cept, tools, fab­ric selec­tion and rendering/​presentation.

Scenic Design
In this overview of con­cept cre­ation, cre­ative think­ing and prac­ti­cal skills, stu­dents will gain a basic knowl­edge of the tools and plans nec­es­sary to cre­ate ground­break­ing the­atri­cal designs.

Scenic Construction
Starting from the begin­ning stu­dents gain prac­ti­cal knowl­edge of mate­ri­als, ter­mi­nol­o­gy and tech­ni­cal skills, includ­ing wood, met­al and rig­ging skills.

Stage Makeup
This class cov­ers the basics used to cre­ate a vari­ety of char­ac­ter looks, includ­ing youth, old age and char­ac­ter odd­i­ties. As class time per­mits, spe­cial­ty make­up appli­ca­tions may also be explored, includ­ing fan­ta­sy and injury makeup.

Stage Management
This course is an overview of all of the stage man­ag­er respon­si­bil­i­ties and an intro­duc­tion to the tech­niques used to be a suc­cess­ful stage man­ag­er. This course will cov­er prompt scripts, rehearsal reports, cast lists, block­ing nota­tion and the nota­tion and call­ing of light­ing, sound and scenery cues dur­ing performance.

Lighting Design
Let there be light! Through the study of elec­tri­cal the­o­ry, col­or the­o­ry, con­trol sys­tems, equip­ment, ter­mi­nol­o­gy and tech­ni­cal skills, stu­dents will learn the basic neces­si­ties of light­ing for a stage per­for­mance. Course empha­sizes aes­thet­ics and inter­pre­ta­tion and light­ing as an art form and its effect upon oth­er aspects of the­atre. Drafting as it relates to the com­ple­tion of light­ing plots and the asso­ci­at­ed paper­work will be taught, as will the read­ing of light plots and paper­work with a focus on patch­ing, hang­ing and focusing.

Sound Design and System Application
Sound design is a rel­a­tive­ly new addi­tion to the pro­fes­sion­al require­ments for the­atri­cal events. Campers will be intro­duced to new equip­ment, as well as devel­op an under­stand­ing of the basic require­ments of sound tech­niques and equip­ment. Coursework will include spe­cif­ic study on how to design a sound sys­tem, select equip­ment to meet spe­cif­ic appli­ca­tion require­ments and exe­cute the design. Participants will also look at the process of the­atri­cal sound design and appli­ca­tion, includ­ing spe­cial­ty top­ics such as build­ing sound effects.

Specials
Technical Theatre Majors have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to tour the inner work­ings of the Long Center. These stu­dents might also take class­es in per­for­mance, film­mak­ing, etc.

Practicum
While per­for­mance majors are rehears­ing for the final show­case, Technical Theatre majors are either act­ing as stage man­agers for var­i­ous rehearsals, build­ing and paint­ing scenery or work­ing on tech­ni­cal aspects of film production.

Showcase
Students work with indus­try pro­fes­sion­als to design lights and sound for the cabaret per­for­mances and for the final show­case. They also assist in design­ing, build­ing and paint­ing the set. The stu­dents each take on a crew posi­tion for the show includ­ing, but not lim­it­ed to: light board oper­a­tor, sound board oper­a­tor, mul­ti-media oper­a­tor and spot­light oper­a­tor. The tech­ni­cal the­atre stu­dents all per­form in at least one piece in the final showcase.

REGISTER NOW!

“I know TAP has helped me improve as a per­former and tech­ni­cian, but I’ve also improved and learned so much as a per­son. TAP has taught me about team work and friend­ship and hard work and collaboration.”

Clarissa Castro (Technical Theatre Major 2019)
Age 15
Austin, Texas