Design

Ming Cho Lee, Stephen Strawbridge, Co-Chairs

M.F.A. and Certificate

The purpose of the Design department is to develop theatre artists who are masterful designers in set, costume, lighting, projection, and sound for the theatre. The department encourages its students to discover their own processes of formulating design ideas and to develop a discriminating standard for their own endeavors. Above all, it prepares them for creative and meaningful professional lives in the broad range of theatre activities.

In the belief that theatre is a collaborative art, it is hoped that, through their Yale School of Drama experience, design students discover a true sense of joy in working with other people, especially directors, and realize the excitement of evolving a production through the process of collaboration. Finally, the department seeks to create an atmosphere conducive to creative experimentation, tempered by honest, open criticism and disciplined study.

Theatre is an act of transformation, and for designers it is the transformation of words into visual and musical imagery. Set, costume, and to a certain extent, lighting and projection designers must have the capacity for visual expression, with its foundation set firmly in the ability to draw and sketch clearly and expressively. Drawing is not merely a technique for presentation; it is the language that reveals one’s thoughts and thus creates a dialogue among the director, the designers, and their colleagues. Through drawing, one observes and records one’s world. Drawing informs and clarifies one’s vision and is an integral part of the formulation of a design. Drawing should be as natural to the visual designer as speaking; therefore, to keep their drawing skills honed, all design students are required to take a weekly life drawing class offered by the department.

Students are admitted to the department on the basis of their artistic abilities as shown in their portfolios, as well as their commitment to the theatre and their ability to articulate their ideas.

Each entering class is unique, with the ratio of set to costume to lighting to projection designers varying according to the qualifications of the applicants. Approximately twelve students are admitted each year. The faculty make a strong commitment to each student who is accepted. There is no second-tier status. All students participate at the same level and are expected to complete the program of study.

The student’s training is accomplished through approximately equal parts classroom work and production experience. It is understood that students of visual design will study scenic, costume, lighting, and projection design in all three years. There are certain exceptions. For example, projection designers can substitute sound design for one of the other visual design disciplines. The culmination of this training is the Master Class in Design, taken by all visual design students in their third year, in which a number of unified projects and a thesis project are presented to the combined faculty in the course of two terms.

It is recognized that some students are stronger in some areas than in others, and allowances are made for this fact in production assignments. For the first year, and to a limited extent in the second year, students are assigned to assist a designer without regard to such strengths. When assignments are made as principal designer of one aspect of a production, chiefly in the second and third years, such an assignment usually reflects the student’s strengths and career aspirations.

Preparing a Design Portfolio

The portfolio is the most important part of the application to the Design department. Please adhere closely to these guidelines.

Projection design applicants should refer to the section on Projection Design Portfolio. Only applicants for projection design may submit additional electronic materials (video or DVD in NTSC.)

Sound design applicants should refer to the section on Sound Design Portfolio.

Set, Costume, and Lighting Design Portfolio

No CDs, slides, or videos are accepted as part of the portfolio. All such materials are returned, unreviewed, to the applicant.

Every piece in the portfolio must be marked with the applicant’s name, the name of the play, the date of creation, and whether it was realized in production. The portfolio should be packed with care, using a corrugated board over a flat portfolio, taped on all edges, and bound with strapping tape. Crates and large, cumbersome boxes should be avoided. A handling fee of $15 must be sent with each portfolio to cover the return shipping unless the applicant brings his or her portfolio to an interview and retrieves it in person. Special shipping instructions, if they are required, should be clearly explained in a letter which arrives with the portfolio, and any additional shipping charges over the $15 included. Portfolios are returned after the review process is completed. Please refer to Design Admissions Guidelines (link) for specific information regarding scheduling an interview.

The portfolio is not an advertisement and should not be “dressed up” to “sell” oneself. Please avoid large mats, acetate covers, busy graphics, and other forms of “eyewash.” Such dressing does not make up for weak drawing and design. Also, the added material increases the cost of shipping.

Although the Design department expects students to take courses in all visual design disciplines – set, costume, lighting, and projection – it is not expected that the applicant’s portfolio will be balanced equally among them. A costume designer’s portfolio should be mainly costume designs, a lighting designer’s mainly light plots, but it is essential that some work be included which shows that the applicant understands the other areas of design. The portfolio should convey information about the applicant’s ability to express himself or herself visually, and how he or she reacts to musical and dramatic materials. It should include a broad spectrum of work from the last several years. If in doubt about a particular item, include it, as an applicant often unwittingly leaves out valuable work. It should also include, if possible, rough preliminary sketches (not computer generated) and sketchbooks, as they show an applicant’s thought process and design journey. Production photos must be accompanied by sketches (originals preferred). A limited amount of non-theatrical work such as graphics or painting (not oils) may be included. Costume sketches should be swatched wherever possible. Photos of scene painting which the applicant has done, or props, masks, or similar items the applicant has built, may be included.

Lighting designers should send four or five plots, showing a range of experience. Each plot should be accompanied by a lighting section and all paperwork (except cue sheets): hook-up, instrument schedule, and magic sheet. Plots sent without hook-up and magic sheet will not be considered. Photos of the set under full light are encouraged. Photos of cues can be submitted as well.

If possible, include a few examples of drafting. Ground plans should accompany each set sketch where possible. Technical (rear) views of scenery are not as useful. Costume designers may include some pattern drafting.

Projection Design

M.F.A. and CERTIFICATE

Beginning in the fall of 2010, we are pleased to offer a new concentration in projection design within the curriculum of the Design department of Yale School of Drama. This is an unprecedented opportunity to develop total theatre artists and prepare students to create the theatre of the 21st century. The use of projection in performance is expanding exponentially and it is the aim of this program to offer immersion in all aspects of theatre creation so that projection becomes a fully integrated form. Theatre is the most collaborative of all the arts, and the goal of this program will be to encourage and deepen the collaborative instincts by allowing students in projection design to study and create projects in all disciplines including lighting, set, costume, and sound design. This core of common knowledge is invaluable to the future of the discipline and the individual designer.

Projection is not an end in itself but part of the theatrical palette. By giving projection designers the chance to work in the other design disciplines, we hope to foster skills that enhance the way they think about the stage and performance, as well as offer opportunities to expand their reach.

Opportunities to work with directors and composers to create projects are invaluable for the future of the designer as well as the place of projection design itself in the world of theatre. The projected image is a powerful tool, indeed every picture is worth a thousand words, and those designers at the forefront of this medium have the opportunity and responsibility to encourage its eloquent use.

The chance to ply one’s craft in collaboration with other theatre artists and present work to an audience is at the core of the program at Yale School of Drama. Each candidate has such opportunities during their term of study.

Applicants should have a strong interest in music, cinema, and the spoken word,  as well as live performance of all types.  As much of the work is collaborative,  a successful candidate is both articulate and a good listener, responsive to the needs of the group, and able to offer solutions from a continually deepening well of design solutions.

Applicants are admitted to the program based on their artistic abilities as well as their commitment and interest in expanding the potential of live performance.  Applicants should have a background in performance as well as knowledge of the language of cinema, digital imaging technology techniques and some experience with photoshop. The ability to draw to express one’s ideas is useful, and the opportunity to improve one’s drawing as well as one’s digital abilities is offered.

This program focuses on the thought and artistry of projection, but a variety of programming languages are taught. Yale School of Drama is well equipped with hardware and software for design and projection, and offers classes to achieve mastery of essential tools. The curriculum is rigorous; an applicant must be willing to work hard. Course work includes aesthetics, script analysis, visual iconography, music, and theatre history, as well as advanced digital technology and classes in other design disciplines. All students attend the design master classes and have the opportunity to create projects, as well as participate in imaging seminars where professional artists and technicians discuss their work and share their experience. 

Preparing a Projection Design Portfolio  

Applicants should send a portfolio of their work. Only applicants for projection design may submit additional electronic materials (video or DVD in NTSC).

Every piece in the portfolio must be marked with the applicant’s name, the name of the
play, the date of creation, and whether it was realized in production. The portfolio should be packed with care, using a corrugated board over a flat portfolio, taped on all edges, and bound with strapping tape. Crates and large, cumbersome boxes should be avoided. A handling fee of $15 must be sent with each portfolio to cover the return shipping unless the applicant brings his or her portfolio to an interview and retrieves it in person. Special shipping instructions, if they are required, should be clearly explained in a letter which arrives with the portfolio, and any additional shipping charges over the $15 included. Portfolios are returned after the review process is completed. Please refer to Design Admissions Guidelines (link) for specific information regarding scheduling an interview.

The department recognizes that while applicants may not have had the opportunity to actually create projection design for performance, some indication of their work and goals should be expressed, as well as a variety of examples that highlight their skills.  Work that is presented digitally should be accompanied by storyboard and text outlining the nature of the project.

Although the Design department expects students to take courses in all visual design disciplines – set, costume, lighting, and projection – it is not expected that the applicant’s portfolio will be balanced equally among them. A costume designer’s portfolio should be mainly costume designs, a lighting designer’s mainly light plots, but it is essential that some work be included which shows that the applicant understands the other areas of design. The portfolio should convey information about the applicant’s ability to express himself or herself visually, and how he or she reacts to musical and dramatic materials. It should include a broad spectrum of work from the last several years. If in doubt about a particular item, include it, as an applicant often unwittingly leaves out valuable work. It should also include, if possible, rough preliminary sketches,  as they show an applicant’s thought process and design journey. A limited amount of non-theatrical work such as graphics or painting (not oils) may be included.