M.F.A. in Design and Technology

A Midsummer Night's Dream Set design: Jen D'Agosta, MFA '03 Costume design: William Schroder, Faculty Lighting design: Mica Thomas, MFA '04

The strength of our design and technical programs lies in our students—students who are committed to growth, who accept challenge, and who are eager to perform in a program that encompasses both rigorous class work and demanding production experience. Students who leave Penn State with the M.F.A. degree are well prepared to launch their professional careers.

Students in design (scenic, costume, lighting) and scenic technology have, as a common academic core, background and enrichment courses in theatre literature and production. In addition to intensive and extensive course work in the chosen area of emphasis, it is critical for the M.F.A. candidate to have sufficient course work in design and technical areas outside the area of specialization to ensure the capability of understanding and contributing to the collaborative production process.

Structure
Designers and technicians work closely with directors and actors in their corresponding M.F.A. programs. Collaboration is taught in the classroom and fostered in the production program. All M.F.A. candidates share a summer-in-London experience, taking two of the courses required for the degree and being immersed in theatre events from Shakespeare to Eastern European performance art.

Each degree program is specifically dedicated to individual student development and professional training leading to employment. In addition to course work in the academic core and in emphasis-related classes, students are given challenging production assignments appropriate to their areas of interest each semester. Scenic, costume, and lighting designers are expected to design at least one major production in each of the school’s major production facilities: The Playhouse, a 450-seat proscenium theatre, and the Pavilion, a 300-seat arena/thrust theatre. Technical directors will serve at least two major productions and may have an opportunity to design. Smaller assignments encourage creative growth in the early stages of the program.

M.F.A. in Scenic Design
The M.F.A. Scene Design Program balances focused studio training with practical design experience. Students take course work in design and related graphic areas such as figure drawing, scene painting, computer graphics, and presentation techniques. Students also receive a strong core education in dramatic literature and theory, and period styles, part of which is taught during the summer session in London.

The School of Theatre houses three theatres where we annually produce shows in a wide variety of dramatic styles and historic periods. Student design work is present in virtually all productions.

Click images above to enlarge.

M.F.A. in Costume Design
The M.F.A. Costume Design program offers a balanced combination of design and technology. Design is taught by William Schroder and Construction by Suzanne Elder. Classes are regularly enhanced by guest speakers and by field trips to theatrical centers and museums.

Course credits are required in each of the following areas: Design, Construction, Production, and Literatary Criticism. The program is flexible and allows each student to explore areas of special interest.

M.F.A. in Lighting Design

A Midsummer Night's Dream Set design: Jen D'Agosta, MFA '03 Costume design: William Schroder, Faculty Lighting design: Mica Thomas, MFA '04

The M.F.A. Lighting Design Program includes core classes in dramatic literature, design studio, period research, digital presentation techniques, drafting and CAD skills. Students participate in a summer session in London during the summer of their first year. The School of Theatre houses three theatres and Students design the majority of productions. Students leave school with a professional portfolio well prepared for a career in their chosen field.

Production Opportunities
As audience members, our students have access to one of the oldest University-based performing arts series in the country, and as production students, they can work with professional touring companies in the 2,600-seat Milton S. Eisenhower Auditorium, the 900-seat Schwab Auditorium, or in the 16,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center, which hosts major rock concerts and large public events. Penn State’s public broadcast studio, WPSX-TV, provides opportunities to work with television production. Film production courses in the College of Communications offer hands-on experience in film. Pennsylvania Centre Stage, a resident regional summer theatre on the Penn State University Park campus, offers employment opportunities to qualified students, who work with professional designers, cutters, technicians, painters, sound specialists, hair designers, and directors from all over the country.

Faculty
Practical experience and work with a professional faculty are strengths of the Penn State Theatre program. In addition, professional designers, technicians, and craftspeople are often brought in to augment faculty expertise. These visiting artists design productions, give lectures, conduct workshops, hold seminars, and sometimes design specialized portions of shows, such as sound and special effects. Whatever their mission, they always work closely with students, consulting and critiquing work in progress. Students work as assistants to visiting artists, gaining invaluable experience and contacts and the potential for professional work after graduation.

Facilities
The Theatre Arts Production Studios (TAPS) are among the most comprehensive teaching and production facilities in the country. They include classrooms, a lighting laboratory, a CAD lab, and studios for scenery construction, painting, properties, and costume construction. Storage for period costumes used in research is also provided in this building; a major collection of historic lighting equipment is stored in Eisenhower Auditorium.

Professional Liaison
When M.F.A. students finish their programs at Penn State, they are trained practitioners with solid backgrounds combining experience and theory, ready to move into the professional theatre and the performing arts. Many have gone on to become nationally recognized in their fields. Among our graduates are Broadway and off-Broadway designers, assistants, and technicians. Our students’ names frequently scroll on television and film credits. Graduates are in place as designers, technical directors, cutters, assistants, property artists, and painters in major regional and university theatres. The broader Penn State network includes working actors, directors, and producers trained with the same care and attention to professional development as are designers and technicians. In moving beyond the academy and into the larger world of theatre, Penn State graduates find a constant and growing professional resource in alumni and guest artists who have worked in Penn State theatres.

For more information contact:
Head of Design
School of Theatre
The Pennsylvania State University
103 Arts Building
University Park PA 16802

(814) 863-8591
e-mail: dir2@psu.edu