Theatre tech / costume tech.. right fit?

calore02
Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:11:52 +0000

Hi everyone :)

I’ve been a lot of looking around online and these seems like a good place to start. I have a bit of a different situation that most posting on this forum. Long story short, I realized a little too late that I should have originally majored in something different (got a BS in Audio Engineering Tech) , and I’m trying to decide if another go at schooling would be the right decision for me. I’ve been looking at schools like SCAD and SUNY Purchase that offer costume technology programs, or something similar. Those seem to be exactly what I would enjoy doing, since I’ve always done costuming/makeup/prop making as a hobby and would love to do this for a living.

However, I would prefer to do filmwork in the long run, and my biggest concern is whether or not going to a theater tech program would be beneficial. Is the coursework / preparation / experiences BFA programs offer be generally translatable to film? I tried looking around, and film/cinema majors don’t seem like they have enough of a “hands on” approach. Maybe some graduates or people in the field could offer some advice.

My other worries are:

cost. I already have a mountain of loans to pay off from my first degree and rather not add more than necessary. A school like SUNY Purchase is looking extremely good because it’s reputation, price and closeness to home. (I live in NYC)


besides the costuming that I’ve always done for my own personal use, I have no background experience in theatre/drama. Would this work against me horribly, or do schools tend to prefer a blank slate?


I’d really like to know some perspectives on this.