UCLA Theater Graduates?

theater_mom
Sun, 20 Nov 2011 11:38:06 +0000

My D applied to and was accepted at UCLA two years ago. An interview with a portfolio showing was required as was a paper describing a design concept for a play of your choice. They want to see if you have any artistic talent, whether you know how to draw and/or paint, and if you know how to think about design. It was easily the most critical and least welcoming of the 5 or so interviews she did when applying to colleges and she was really surprised when she was accepted. Based on what I’ve read on this forum, however, that is not unusual. Apparently, it’s all about them until they decide and only then do they start to court you. However, they lost my D somewhere in process.

UCLA’s program is unusual in that they have all the academic requirements of a BA at a demanding university coupled with the highly structured curriculum and many production requirements of a conservatory. Depending on your perspective, this is either the best of both worlds or a program that, by combining two somewhat contradictory objectives, does not quite succeed at either one. It’s certainly not for everyone.

For theater design students, this double emphasis means you are required to spend a year each studying two different design disciplines (costume, set, or lighting design are the most popular) instead of choosing between them. It is not unusual for a technical theater program to require students to get a good background in all of the design areas but then they are generally encouraged to study one area in more depth than you can cover in one year. I’m not sure of the rationale for studying two disciplines in depth but obviously it is a good choice for those who want to explore as broadly as possible.

I don’t know much about transferring into the program and, frankly, all of my information is a little out of date. Things have changed, and not for the better, due to budget cutbacks since 2009. Search this forum for more information. I know the department now accepts fewer students and apparently stages fewer productions.