THEATRE TOPICS 

Theatre Design Portfolio presentations. Some Thoughts... C. 2000 R. Finkelstein

 RULES OF THE ROAD . . .

Here's the bad news....work that might earn you an "A" in school, may not even earn you a passing grade as you move beyond the cocoon we call "school". The pressure for high standards is squarely on YOUR shoulders. No one can force you to do good work. No one is responsible for your work but YOU! "Getting by", just doesn't cut it anymore. Everything you do must be done with an eye to the future. Every step you take should be geared towards preparing you for the next step. Although the temptation will be strong to go for the quick result, the most visible results, keep in mind that the "quick fix" may not give you a strong enough foundation to enable you to progress to a higher level of work. The first step for an actor on the road to success is NOT the finding of an agent. A much stronger approach for the budding actor might be to develop their art to a point where the agent would find them! This is important. Ultimately, your work speaks for you.....not the other way around!

• Only present work that represents you at your best. Anything else will obviously dilute the impact of your presentation. Edit, edit edit!!!!!
  
• Work MUST be presented in a quality manner. Perception of quality can only be degraded if the mechanics of presentation are not up to or even beyond the level of quality of the work being presented.
  
• Sloppiness and other clues to a careless attitude or one where the details get slighted can sabotage your presentation from the start.
  
• KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! Work that might impress one niche in the industry might be treated with scorn in other quarters! Some types of portfolio are obviously "academic" in nature. This might be great if you are being interviewed for a graduate school program, but could be deadly for those looking for professional work. It is even possible to have a portfolio that is "too good" in this topsy turvy world of ours. To be best prepared, you must be as thoroughly familiar with your audience as possible!

The concerns

• What type of theatre environment are you interviewing for? Professional, Academic, Broadway.....?
  
• What POSITION are you interviewing for? The work you select should be geared toward this specific goal. Unfortunately, some viewers are impressed by further flexibility in your work, while others become paranoid if they suspect you are "dabbling" in too many areas. Watch out for being labeled a "frustrated" anything! Presenting too many renderings at an interview for a TD post might signal your audience that you are just "a frustrated designer". On the other hand, the theatre you interview at might be quite resource poor and might be genuinely impressed with your multiple abilities!
  
• What type of spaces do the people you are interviewing with operate in? Try to find out in advance so that you can include work in your portfolio that will demonstrate to them a facility with the specific styles of design that will be required of you. If your portfolio, for instance, only includes work from large proscenium stages, you might not be seriously considered by folks interviewing for a designer to work in a small black-box environment!
  
• What is the Scope of the organization you are interviewing at? Try to see photos of their work so that you can tailor your portfolio to the type of work they might expect from you while striving to demonstrate how you can improve on the traditions they have already established.

How to tip the odds / researching your audience!

Use every resource possible to learn about your potential future home as well as learning about those folks who may be interviewing you IN ADVANCE of your serious portfolio presentation. Possible sources of info can include.....

• College Catalogs on the Internet
• TCG Indexes like Theatre Profiles
• Personal visits
• Checking with folks you know.
• "Networking" as widely as possible. Use the principles so neatly illuminated in the play Six Degrees of Separation.
• Newspaper reviews and other publications
• Programs
• Conventions, Journals, etc.
• Keep notes and files on your "targets".
• Try to learn about "the competition".
• Who else was included in the search?
• Try to talk to folks who have interviewed with the same folks previous to you.
• Try to discover the qualities that impressed the group in the past.

Since it is usually impossible to do those things listed above....at the minimum you should be well versed in the standards of your profession. You should be quite familiar with the work of recognized leaders in the field, and you should be an active theatre and museum goer. At the minimum your life and behavior should demonstrate a long term commitment to the community we call theatre.

Work should be presented in a manner that takes the viewer's needs into consideration. Slides for instance, can be difficult for most people to view, especially when time is limited. Easy access to your work is the rule! Try for a Modular approach to your portfolio so that large pieces could be left behind while you go for lunch, for instance. At lunch you might be joined by other evaluators that have not seen your work. How nice it would be if you had available a "pocket portfolio" that you could then whip out impressing everyone!

Go for clarity of intent. Each piece in your portfolio should be carefully chosen so as to illuminate an aspect of your work.

Work should be documented so as to provide the viewer with appropriate context in evaluating your work.

Variety can be important, both in content as well as in form. You may not have "guessed" fully the needs of the person who is viewing your work. Different evaluators are energized by pushing their own unique buttons. Variety in the work you choose to present will enhance the chances that your work will "touch" a wider variety of people. Similarly showing work from a variety of stages in the design process can be quite helpful as well.

Consider including a "case study" approach, showing a project as it progresses from initial considerations to final realization. This approach has an added benefit in its ability to demonstrate your working methods as well as your analytical approach to your work.

Similarly, try to include examples that show both the design as well as the realized work in production. Be sure that the two match, however. If the quality of the final realization does not match that of the rendering or model, your work may come under closer scrutiny!

Try to have something you could leave behind for the folks to remember you by! My last major job came from a previous interview that did not net a job. An evaluator from the first job search moved on to another location and remembered my presentation at is former venue, and so it goes!

Be aware of two factors that will be important but are also usually mutually exclusive. On the one hand your portfolio should demonstrate an understanding of the standards that are commonly applied to work included in portfolios. Still, you need to demonstrate qualities that make your work unique. To be hired, your work will need to stand apart from the "masses". Balance between expressing conformity and the maverick spirit is always a risky, but necessary need.

When going a long distance to your presentation, strongly consider separating your portfolio into different locations. If, for instance, you travel by air, make sure that you keep a portion of your portfolio with your carry on baggage. Checked bags Do get lost.........frequently!

Avoid dogma! Your audience might have very different ideas on theory, politics, methodology, and the like. You are not here to "preach".

Frequently, especially in academic situations, your evaluators will be looking for POTENTIAL for further training. The actual product may be less important than your organizational skills, work methods, philosophies, personalities, and understanding of the function of your work within your art. Flexibility in approach is an added plus in these instances.

FINALLY....

Always be aware of the importance of thorough, careful, and high quality documentation of your work. Reviews, testimonials, production photos, programs, etc. should be collected, prepared, and filed on a continual basis. Theatre is fleeting and must be documented properly as it happens!

• There is a logical order to the work presented
• All work is presented in a way that is neat and well crafted
• There is a clear title page
• Your full contact information is included
• All work is fully labeled and annotated

  • All plates are titled
  • Shows and producing organizations are identified
  • Your exact role in the production is identified

• All lettering is typed or crafted with care
• There are no spelling or grammatical mistakes
• You have included a table of contents
• Photographs when included are of high quality.
• While it is wonderful to be able to demonstrate some mastery of computer technology, this must NOT be at the expense of quality of design work.

Checklist of Possible Portfolio Items:

• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Resume
• Letters of Reference
• Statement of Educational and Work Philosophy

• Perspective Renderings
• Photos of Models
• Storyboards
• Planning sketches
• Research Materials
• Drafting samples (a complete set of show drafting would be useful. Reduce to fit into the portfolio). Consider both hand drafting examples and CAD examples.
• Painters Elevations
• Production Photos
• Photos of work in process
• Statement of Conceptualization (This should be included with each show example)
• Organizational Materials

 

• Swatched Costume Renderings
• Sketches and Studies
• Production Photos
• Photos of work in process
• Research Materials and listings.
• Statement of Conceptualization (for ea. show)
• Organizational Materials. Lists, charts, etc.
• Examples of pattern drafting.
• Discussion of process.

• Storyboards and lighting studies
• Visual Research
• Statement of concept (for each production example)
• Light Plot - Examples of hand and CAD work
• Full set of paperwork - All schedules
• Magic Sheet & Color Key
• Production Photos

• Production Photos and copy of designer’s sketch or rendering.
• Drafting samples, especially of working drawings.
• Examples showing challenges and how you have solved them.
• Examples showing your organizational skills such as crew schedules, building schedules, etc.
• Budget documentation and reports.
• Other documentation of your work.

• Production photos with your contributions clearly noted.
• Photos showing your projects both complete and in process.
• Any sketches and drafting to show the scope of one or more project.
• Examples of research.
• Statement of goals and work methodology

• Fully realized prompt script with introductory commentary of challenges that were met. The prompt script should neatly include: all blocking, rehearsal reports, performance reports, contact sheet, rehearsal schedules, policies, etc.

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