CORNISH. PERFORMANCE PRODUCTION
Cover Image: Good Person of Schezwan set, 2009 Photo: Dave Tosti-Lane
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EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Cornish College of the Arts does not discriminate in education or employ足ment on the basis of: gender, race, national origin, religion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status. This policy is consistent with relevant federal regulations and statutes, including those pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Questions regarding the application of this policy and information on services for disabled persons may be referred to the Dean of Student Affairs or the Director of Human Resources.
PERFORMANCE PRODUCTION
“Cornish gave me solid tools and technical skills that I value more as my artistic life grows. I teach, design, paint, write, creating a professional life that I couldn’t imagine at the beginning.” — Chloe Chapin, PP ‘00 MFA, Yale School of Drama 2005; Adjunct Faculty at the Fashion Institute of Technology since 2006;
Creating and controlling the magic that surrounds actors, dancers and musicians on the live stage is what you need your life to be about. You may know what you want to do in production, but you don’t want to get locked into a narrow focus right away. You want to develop your own voice, not be forced to conform to a rigid formula. You need a BFA program that will put you on the front-lines; building shows, designing, experiencing the excitement of the collaborative process — refining skills you already have and expermenting with new ideas. The Performance Production Department at Cornish will put you right there. We are an independent department—run by designers, stage managers and technical directors, rather than directors and actors. Our faculty actively work in Seattle’s vibrant theater community. They don’t just talk about what they teach, they do it.
Our alumni work here in Seattle (Brian Fauska, Technical Director, Seattle Repertory Theatre for example), New York City (Mikiko Suzuki McAdams, scenic designer Off Broadway, associate scenic design for multiple Tonywinning productions on Broadway), Los Angeles (Zach Bunker, art department on major films like Spiderman III, Avatar, Alice in Wonderland), and many other places. They have graduated from prestigious MFA programs at Yale, NYU-Tisch, Carnegie Mellon, UNCSA and Emerson. They are going places! Our graduates find that their Cornish training and portfolio of documented production work stands them in good stead even in the most competitive markets.
Set Construction, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Intiman Playhouse (2012). Photo: Chris Bennion
Costume Designer
Charles Mee’s Summertime set, 2010 Photo: Dave Tosti-Lane
Performance Production THE FIRST YEAR
The first year curriculum immerses you in the fundamentals of production and design and is shared by all Performance Production concentrations. You work in the scene and costume shops, serving as the primary build crew for 7 main stage productions in theaters ranging from small black-boxes to professional thrust stages during the year. Theater Graphics focuses on developing the craft of graphic communication including drafting, rendering, and model building. You begin your exploration of text with a year-long Literature of Theater sequence. You study the crafts and traditions of costumes and stagecraft in Fundamentals
of Technical Production. By the end of the year you have polished skills ranging from hand and computer drafting to wire-feed welding to costume construction to production electrics. During the spring semester, you begin to study the principles of design with Introduction to Production Design 2D. (You will take Production Design 3D in the first semester of the second year.) The faculty, all professional designers and artists, provide you with mentorship, evaluation and feedback.
Performance Production Concentrations
Backstage, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Intiman Playhouse (2012). Photo: Chris Bennion
COSTUME
Professor Ronald Erickson, Costume Area Head
Your responsibilities increase in the second year with costume crew or design team production assignments. You take classes in drawing both still life and the human form, Lighting and Scenic Fundamentals and Theater History. Electives or additional Humanities and Sciences classes round out your busy second year schedule. Your third year is focused on concentration in the practice and process of design with Intermediate Studio in Costume Design. In the Lab you work to increase your skills working with industrial machines, high-end sergers and a commercial dye vat and you serve as crew head and assistant to designers on production teams. You may even find yourself designing a main stage show.
Most costume students select from life drawing electives available in Art and Design and you learn about the business of working as a freelancer in Professional Practices. Formal design training continues in year four with Advanced Study in Costume Design where you work on advanced rendering skills, continue to develop your craft, and work toward mastery of the costume craft. You are a primary costume designer on main stage productions, and sometimes a designer in your second focus. Your final project is usually based on costume design for a major production.
“Cornish is a place to discover your artistic eye, learn the skills to work in the field, and to build collaborative relationships that will be invaluable.” — Tláloc López-Watermann, PP ‘01 Lighting Designer, Light Conversations LLC; MFA, NYU
Professor Roberta Russell, Lighting Area Head
Your responsibilities in lighting increase with second year production assignments on crew or design teams. Lighting Fundamentals and Scenic Fundamentals, along with Drawing and 3D Design, prepare you for future work. Theater History and electives or additional Humanities and Sciences classes round out your busy second year schedule. Concentration in the practice and process of design is the hallmark of your third year. You serve as master electrician and assistant to designers on production teams where you will work with our ETC ION lighting console in a variety of spaces. You may even design a main stage show.
Intermediate Studio in Lighting digs into conceptual and practical design. Most lighting students select from related electives available in other departments and you learn about the business of working as a freelancer in Professional Practices. Formal design training continues in year four with Advanced Study in Lighting Design where you work on advanced skills, continue to develop your craft, and work toward mastery of the art and craft of lighting. You are a primary lighting designer on main stage productions, and sometimes a designer in your second focus. Your final project is usually based on lighting design for a major production.
Oo Bla Dee (2011). Photo: Dave Tosti-Lane
LIGHTING
Performance Production Concentrations
Sound workstation, Urinetown (2010). Photo: Dave Tosti-Lane
SOUND
Professor Dave Tosti-Lane, Sound Area Head, Department Chair
Second year production assignments on crew or design teams increase your responsibilities in sound. Basic Sound Engineering, Lighting Fundamentals and Scenic Fundamentals, along with Drawing and 3D Design, prepare you for future work. Theater History and electives or additional Humanities and Sciences classes round out the busy second year schedule. Your third year is about concentration in the practice and process of sound design. You become familiar with our digital consoles, RF mic systems, QLab playback systems and Smaart Audio Analysis software as you serve as sound engineer and assistant to designers on production teams. You may even find yourself designing a main stage show.
Intermediate Studio in Sound digs into conceptual and practical design. Most sound students select from electives in Music or other departments and you learn about the business of working as a freelancer in Professional Practices. Formal design training continues in year four with Advanced Study in Sound Design where you work on advanced skills, continue to develop your craft, and work toward mastery of the art and craft of sound. You are a primary sound designer on main stage productions, and sometimes a designer in your second focus. Your final project is usually based on sound and/or system design for a major production.
Professor Karen Gjelsteen, Scenic Area Head
Your responsibilities in scenery, props and paint increase in your second year production assignments. Scenic Painting, Scenic Fundamentals and Lighting Fundamentals along with Drawing and 3D Design, prepare you for future work. Theater History and electives or additional Humanities and Sciences classes round out the busy second year schedule. Concentration in the practice and process of design is the hallmark of the third year. Production assignments advance, you serve as scenic painter, props coordinator or assistant to designers on production teams. You may even design a main stage show.
Intermediate Studio in Scenery digs into conceptual and practical design. Most scenic students select from related electives available in Art or Design, and you learn about the business of working as a freelancer in Professional Practices. Formal design training continues in year four with Advanced Study in Scenic Design where you work on advanced skills, continue to develop your craft, and work toward mastery of the designer’s art. You are a primary scenic designer on main stage productions, and sometimes a designer in your second focus. Your final project is usually based on scenic design for a major production.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012). Photo: Dave Tosti-Lane
SCENIC
Performance Production Concentrations
Backstage, Intiman Playhouse (2012). Photo: Chris Bennion
STAGE MANAGEMENT Associate Professor Greg Carter, Stage Management Area Head Your responsibilities increase with second year production assignments as assistant stage manager, or crew head. Scenic Painting, Scenic Fundamentals and Lighting Fundamentals along with Drawing and 3D Design, prepare you for future collaboration. Theater History and electives or additional Humanities and Sciences classes round out your busy second year schedule. Concentration in the practice and process of your craft is the hallmark of the third year. Production assignments advance, you serve as assistant or primary stage manager on multiple productions.
Stage Management I and II digs into the essential skills of the working stage manager. Most SM students select from electives in Theater, Dance or Music, and you learn about the business of working as a freelancer in Professional Practices. In the fourth year you are a primary stage manager on main stage productions, and sometimes a designer in your second focus. Formal training continues with stage management elective credits as you work toward mastery of the stage manager’s craft. Your final project is usually based on stage management for a major production.
“At Cornish, you’re working in music, dance and theater. This broad range of experience is rare and all of the departments are top notch.” — Pinky Estell, PP ‘07 Graduate Program, Technical Direction, North CarolinA School of the Arts
Your technical production responsibilities increase in the second year assignments on crew or build teams. Basic Sound Engineering, Lighting Fundamentals and Scenic Fundamentals, along with Drawing and 3D Design, prepare you for future work. Theater History and electives or additional Humanities and Sciences classes round out your busy second year schedule. Your third year is about concentration in the practice and process of production. You serve as master carpenter and assistant technical director on production teams, advancing your skills with welding, metalworking, carpentry, props construction and electrics, and you learn about the business of working as a freelancer in Professional Practices.
Intermediate Studio in Technical Direction dives into analyzing a designer’s work and creating practical working drawings for the shop to realize it on the stage. Formal training continues in year four with Advanced Study in Technical Direction where you continue to develop your understanding of mechanical and structural design, polish your technical craft and work toward mastery of the equipment and process of the profession. You may be the technical director for main stage productions, or a designer in your second focus. Your final project is usually based on technical direction for a major production.
Set construction, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012). Photo: Chris Bennion
TECHNICAL DIRECTION Supervised by Seattle area professional Technical Directors
Launching your career
Urinetown set (2010). Photo: Dave Tosti-Lane
INTERNSHIPS Our curriculum is progressively structured to move you toward your goals. In your third year you take Professional Practices, a course designed to help you prepare for your professional internship, and for life as a working artist. Your internship places you in a professional working situation in your field, either with a theater company or working as an assistant to an established designer. Performance Production students have completed internships in all of the Seattle theater companies, as well as such distant locations as the Los Angeles and San Francisco Operas, the Deutches Oper Berlin, and The Guthrie Theatre.
THE PORTFOLIO PROCESS At the end of the second year, you participate in a review of accumulated work. Senior and alumni portfolios are shown to help you think about your own portfolio. Individual reviews by the full faculty assist you in building your portfolio during the third year. Focused on selecting work for your portfolio, they help you develop a presentation that demonstrates your work and expresses your personal voice. In your final semester, you formally present your portfolio at the public Senior Review. Intended to launch you into the local production community, the review is well attended by staff of local performing arts organizations.
GRADUATE SCHOOL Performance Production alumni have been admitted to Master of Fine Arts programs at Yale, State University of New York, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Emerson, San Francisco State University and Carnegie Mellon among others.
EMPLOYERS Performance Production alumni are working at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Evergreen Theatre Conservatory, Tacoma Actors Guild, Pacific Northwest Ballet, On the Boards, Seattle Opera, Microsoft and The Production Network (TPN). They have worked at NBC Television, The Signature Theatre, The Vivien Beaumont Theater, The Belasco Theater, and
the Julliard School in New York City; Yale Repertory Theatre in Connecticut; Universal Studios, Technifex and NBC Television in Los Angeles.
LIVING IN SEATTLE Seattle provides a unique backdrop for an arts education, with its wealth of professional theater and dance companies and its growing national reputation. At Cornish and in the community, you will encounter performing arts of a quality not found in many other cities. The success of our students, both in professional arts organizations and in their graduate studies, speaks for the quality instruction you will receive and the education you will earn at Cornish.
Faculty
Both in the classroom and in production, you will work with and learn from a faculty of accomplished designers and artists who are practicing professionals in the Pacific Northwest production community. PROFESSOR RONALD ERICKSON, Costume Area Head, is Head of Wardrobe for Seattle Opera, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Spectrum Dance and Strawberry Theater Workshop, and has designed costumes for Intiman Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Tacoma Actors Guild, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Idaho Shakespeare Festival. PROFESSOR ROBERTA RUSSELL, Lighting Area Head, is both a lighting and scenic designer who has worked with the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Seattle Shakespeare Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, and Freehold Theatre among others. PROFESSOR KAREN GJELSTEEN, Scenic Area Head, has designed for Seattle Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) and Intiman Theatre. PROFESSOR DAVE TOSTI-LANE, Sound Area Head, came to Cornish from the Seattle Repertory Theatre, and is active in US Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), Audio Engineering Society (AES), and OISTAT.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR GREG CARTER, Stage Management Area Head, is the founding Artistic Director of Strawberry Theater Workshop, a member of Actors Equity Association and has worked with local theaters including Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT and On the Boards. Adjunct Instructor Carl Bronsdon, Costume Shop Supervisor, a 1992 graduate of Cornish with a BFA in Performance Production is an active costume designer working in many area theaters including Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Renton Civic Theatre, Bellevue Civic Theatre, Tacoma Actors Guild and many others. Adjunct Instructor Melanie Burgess, Costume Studio instructor, Melanie Burgess is an award winning costume designer with over 125 design credits in the Seattle area for theater and opera. She has designed for Seattle Opera, A Contemporary Theatre (ACT), Village Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Hawaii Opera, and many more.
Humanities & Sciences Liberal Studies Learning and the BFA Degree
An essential component of your BFA degree includes the courses you will take outside of your major in the Humanities and Sciences Department. As the general education division of the College, we provide a liberal studies curriculum that engages Cornish students in an exploration of the social, environmental and cultural contexts in which artistic production takes place, while developing critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills. The curriculum helps you consider multiple perspectives when looking at complex problems and issues, drawing on a variety of ways to understand the world and our human experience. Our curriculum is constantly changing and inquiry based. It is intended to engage you in active analysis and problem-solving in relation to thematic issues that may have a long-
standing history, but that continue to challenge contemporary societies and individuals, both locally and globally. Classes are limited in size and conducted “seminar style.� Students at Cornish are not passive learners; they contribute to and help shape the experience in their classes. Many classes go into the community, exploring the urban and natural environment, doing field observations and visiting local organizations and the people involved in them. Both in and out of the classroom, instructors in Humanities and Sciences help you acquire the kind of confidence and competence that will serve you well both during and after college, in your personal and professional lives. In the end, our aim in Humanities and Sciences is to inspire the curiosity and habits necessary for life-long learning and development.