Rachel E. Pollock's Posts - TheatreFace

Respirator fit-testing for all!

2011-11-21T15:00:00.000Z

I've rhapsodized in the past about how thankful i am to work at a professional theatre in residence on the campus of a major university, particularly one that functions in part as a teaching lab for production graduate programs, because safety standards and training are so high. Despite having a CV approximately 10x longer than my arm, PlayMakers/UNC-Chapel Hill is the first employer i've worked for which had a comprehensive respirator fit-testing program for costume craftspeople[1].

Many theatres and independent production shops and freelance artisans don't have any idea how to implement such a thing or have the resources to do so. We're lucky because the university already has an Environmental Health and Safety department set up to do this kind of training for folks over in the science labs, medical school, and various facilities maintenance areas which work with airborne toxins far more frequently than we do, so for me and my students to piggyback onto the school's existing training and testing setup is not a huge deal.

So, here's something pretty exciting for everyone who wants to learn about respirator fit testing and training but doesn't know how to begin: on November 29th at 1pm, Lab Safety Supply is hosting a FREE 45-minute webinar about it! They already have a handy online fact sheet, but this presentation will allow you to interact with and ask questions of LSS's safety experts as well.

Register for the webinar here.

Honestly, this is a resource i wish i had access to or had known about fifteen or twenty years ago, and if our theatre and department didn't have the respirator training in place which it currently does, i'd be requiring all my students to register for the webinar and we'd all watch it and participate on the 29th. Hence, passing on the info here. If your company doesn't have a training and fit testing program, or if you freelance and want to educate yourself in this realm, or if it's been a few years since you were trained/fit tested and you need a refresher, check it out!

[1] This is not to say that prior employers of mine were intentionally grossly negligent or anything, rather that the arts industries were largely ignored by OSHA up until perhaps the last decade or so, when they really began to sit up and notice thanks to the efforts of watchdog organizations like ACTS. Even theatres which had training programs for their scenic painters and carps and such, often did not include costume production folks out of an assumption that our work was limited to cut-and-sew processes. But, from dyestuffs to shoe sprays, we know this is not true.

The ever-important "letters of recommendation"

2011-08-16T11:18:30.000Z

Because we've already been getting contacts from prospective graduate applicants for Fall 2012, I thought i'd make another of my "prepping for grad school applications" posts. These can also be found in my "regular" (non-TheatreFace) blog, La Bricoleuse. I write specifically with an audience of costume students in mind, as our program at UNC-Chapel Hill is in Costume Production, but particularly this post will be of use to prospective students in all disciplines.

I get asked to write letters of recommendation by former students fairly often--for jobs and fellowship applications in the case of former grad students, but because on rare occasions i have undergraduates in my courses, occasionally for grad school applications as well. And clearly, I see dozens of them when I look through the files of applicants to our own program each year. (I don't make any of the acceptance decisions here, BTW, i just read through the applications and offer feedback when asked.) Graduate programs and scholarship committees and the like pay particular note of these letters; just as your statement of purpose and your portfolio represent how you professionally present yourself, the letters represent the impression you have left on others in your professional and academic career thusfar.

In terms of who you should ask, i've mentioned in earlier posts in this series that you need to choose people who have nothing but the most glowing opinions of you, who have not a single bad thing to say about you, but also who are not your own mom/spouse/BFF. If you don't have three people whom you are certain can write letters to this effect, you need to evaluate why, and work on acquiring those references before applying.

If you have more than three people you are considering (and i say "three," as that's the common number of recommendations requested, though maybe you need two or four, depending on the application), i advise making a spreadsheet or a chart with the following categories for each applicant, to help in choosing which three:

Length of Acquaintance: How long has this person known you? Have you stayed in contact? Someone you took a class with for three months five years ago may not be able to write as extensive a recommendation as someone you have worked for over the past year. Then again, the professor from five years ago might be someone you've kept up with who really champions your career, while the boss from the last year's job might still be bitter about when you showed up hungover the day after your birthday last month. Use your judgement; it's just one factor to consider.
Relationship to the Program: Do you know anyone who's an alum of the program? Or who is a former classmate or colleague of the department head? Again, this is a case where you need to use your judgment. It's no good having a recommendation from someone with a connection to the program who barely knows you and can't say much about your worthiness as a candidate, and it's definitely no good having a recommendation from someone who's an alum that didn't do very well in the program! And, even a glowing recommendation from a colleague of the department head won't automatically get you in if your personal statement and portfolio aren't up to snuff, or if you interview poorly, etc etc. If it's an option you have though, it can be a good augmentation.
Experience in the Field: Ideally, you have three recommendation letters from people who are professionals or academics in the field of professional costuming. If you do not but you still feel that you are ready for graduate school and determined to apply, consider carefully who to ask. Is there someone who can speak to your work in a related area from a professional standpoint, say perhaps a supervisor at a bridal alterations shop you worked at who can talk about your sewing skills, fine fabrics knowledge, and responsibility as an employee? How about a director with whom you worked as a stage manager, who can speak to your organizational skills, devotion to the creative process, and excellent time management abilities? If you choose to ask someone outside the field, make certain they are willing and able to write the type of letter you need--several paragraphs with specific examples, not just the one-paragraph form-letter references that people request in the corporate workplace. Those form letters don't hurt you ("Ms. Smith is punctual and reliable employee of 2 years at our company. She has never been late to work."), but they're a waste of an opportunity to communicate anything of depth about you as a candidate.

But the point of this post is not really about choosing WHO to ask; it's about the etiquette of asking. I will assume that you can look at your academic and professional history and choose three people who'd be glad to recommend you for your diligence, dedication, maturity, intelligence, creativity, skill, and so forth, and none of whom would describe your performance as "adequate" or "sufficient" (red-flags for a "recommendation" that someone has written for an applicant they find unremarkable or don't remember well enough to speak about). Once you know who to ask though, how do you go about it?

If they are someone you currently work with or take a course with, ask in person. Stop by their office during open office hours or make an actual appointment. Sit down and ask them face to face rather than shooting an email (or god forbid a text). When you do so, explain in serious, professional terms why you are making your application, how the grad program or scholarship or fellowship will further your career goals, and ask whether they feel willing and able to write you a recommendation. Provided they agree, give them a copy of your personal statement, your resume or CV, and an info sheet with details from the application--when the recommendations are due, any guidelines they might have cited as to content, and anything they need to submit it with ease (if the program wants online recommendations, then the submission form URL or proper email address; if they want standard mail letters, then a SASE).

If they are someone you cannot go visit in person to ask--a former supervisor who lives in a different state, for example--then a call or an email is acceptable. Clearly this is a generalization, but even if you have a fairly informal/casual rapport with the person, you should still word this particular email or phone call in a professional manner (i.e., no LOLs or nicknames or inside jokes, etc.), and no matter how well you know them you should still provide a copy of your resume/CV and your statement of purpose. You need to leave a professional documentation-trail on this.

Give them as much lead time as you possibly can. If you can ask a couple months in advance, do so. It takes time and effort to write a really good, effective recommendation letter, and you should be mindful of the fact that your former professors, current supervisors, and fellow colleagues have busy lives with many obligations, and that what you are asking them to do is a big favor. I probably spend at least 2-3 hours writing a really good recommendation letter, and those are hours i'm not getting paid; that's what you are essentially asking for--someone to give up some of their free time for no other reason than to help you out. Chances are, if you ask for a letter a couple weeks (or a couple days) before your deadline, you won't get as good of a letter as if you ask a month or more ahead of time. You may even have trouble finding someone able to write you one if the turnaround is too fast--a professor who would have written you a glowing letter a month ago might actually resent your presumption at asking with a super-fast turnaround time during midterms or their family vacation.

Do not expect to read these letters. Whether that is formalized is contingent on the expectations of the program--some have a form both you and the recommendation writer need to sign stating that you relinquished the right to read the letter, some ask that the letters be sent separately from your other materials and request disclosure as to whether you read them or not. Recommendations carry more weight if they are confidential; if you insist on reading them, the presumption is that the author may not have felt free to speak as openly as s/he might otherwise. Basically, if you have asked the right people, you ought not need to read them; you know they'll be great!

Good recommendation letter-writers will notify you when they've sent the letter off, but even the best of us forget sometimes. If the deadline's approaching and you haven't heard back as to whether they sent it or not, it's okay to ask politely whether they've mailed it, with a gentle reminder of the cutoff date.

And, once the deadline has passed and you know the your letters have been received, send actual real thank-you cards to the people who wrote them. These folks have just done you a huge favor on their own time for which there can be no compensation whatsoever beyond the nebulous idea of good karma or paying-it-forward; you owe them a formal acknowledgment of that and expression of your gratitude.

There you have it, my recommendation recommendations. If you are applying for graduate admission or for a new job or fellowship in the coming year, the best of luck to you!

Graduate Statements of Purpose

2010-10-17T16:05:23.000Z

First up, why do i write these posts? I mean, i'm not getting paid to write this blog. It's not something i'm required to do by the program for which i teach, or by the theatre for whom i work.

I remember all too well how lost in the woods i felt when i graduated with my bachelors and was considering graduate study. At that time, literally NONE of the resources i have mentioned in prior posts existed. No Survey of Costume Programs, no reference books on career options and paths or how one might assemble a relevant portfolio. You asked your professors and hoped they had the time and inclination to give you what advice they could. You asked anyone who knew anything about theatre. You maybe went to USITT or a regional conference (if you had the time and money to do so), and maybe that's the best that it got.

There was no way for, say, a student at a Pacific Northwest small state school in the back of beyond BFE to ever even know that someone like me existed over here in the Carolina piedmont, much less access their advice and experience. So, for those folks, people seeking information on this field with no really excellent local resources, i post these things and i hope to god it's useful.

I hope it helps some folks find the schools that are right for them (and, eliminate those that aren't before they even go through the full application process).

I hope it helps some folks to decide that actually, no, this career field maybe isn't for them--maybe it's an interest better kept as a hobby. or channeled into fashion design or stylist work.

And i hope it helps some folks realize that yes, this is exactly the field for them, whether they want to be a draper or a shop manager or a designer or a crafts artisan, run their own shop or work on a team at a large production facility or whatever! If just one person is helped by the posts, great, it's all been worth my time.

Statements of Purpose

So, with respect to Statements of Purpose, i have a few thoughts. I'm writing this post from purely my own perspective, what *I* think about how a statement of purpose should be written. I don't make acceptance decisions here, but i do read all the applications and occasionally offer feedback, so i've seen dozens of statements of purpose. Bear in mind as you read it, this is only my opinion and is not to be considered any kind of stone-carved hard-rule on the subject.

I can't tell you what your Statement of Purpose should be, really, because it's YOUR statement of YOUR purpose, and how could i know what that might be? I can tell you for sure what it shouldn't be though.

It shouldn't be a rehash of your resume. You've sent that, they've got it. Don't waste anybody's time--yours or theirs--restating info they already can check out (and have). If you have a great example of how a specific experience was revelatory in terms of your decision to pursue graduate study, then that's ok. For example, we had an applicant who mentioned in her statement of purpose that she realized she needed to pursue graduate study when she was hired as a wardrobe crew member for the Broadway tour of Lion King and had the opportunity to see the interior structures of the Hyena costumes; she she wanted to learn how a costume that unusually-structured was conceived and created, and felt that graduate study in a Costume Production program was the best way to achieve that goal. The statement wouldn't have been nearly as compelling if she had just said something like, "I knew from the moment i worked wardrobe on Lion King, this was the path for me." See the difference?

Your statement also shouldn't dwell overmuch on how you supposedly have always wanted to be a costumer, used to dress up your dolls as a kid, or play with fabric instead of toys, or whatever. This may all be true, but it reads like cliche and makes it seem as if you don't have much of a grasp on the field beyond a child's idealism. It's great if you loved dressup as a kid, or sewing or whatever, but how has that carried through in mature expressions of the pursuit since you became an adult? I spent about six years of my childhood drawing pictures of elaborate Southern-Belle-style formal gown designs on the bodies of women with cat's faces and mall hair. I now see a direct line between that and my career choice, but i would never, ever, ever mention that in any kind of professional context (well, except clearly in this blog just now as a negative example).

It shouldn't be vague in terms of what you communicate about the field. The specific example i mentioned up there is the best way to approach it. Have there been specific shows, or theatre companies, or a particular professor or designer you have worked with or learned from that helped you come to the decision to pursue graduate study? Explain how!

That said, don't name-drop without purpose and connection. If your statement says something like, "When i was in high school, i knew as soon as i saw William Ivey Long's costumes for Hairspray, theatre was my passion!" people are likely going to roll their eyes. Unless your next sentence is something like, "That conviction was confirmed two summers ago when i interned with Mr. Long himself, swatching and learning about fiber content, weave structure, and levels of fabric quality," it's maybe not the best choice for inclusion.

(Small digression: do you know how many people say that theatre/drama/costuming is their passion? Verbatim? Nearly all. Nearly ALL.)

If you have any specific areas of interest, by all means mention them. "I am particularly interested in the challenges and requirements of costuming for professional dance." Or maybe "Tailoring systems for menswear are my primary focus in the construction field." If you don't yet have any specific interest, that's ok, but maybe you want to work more to get a better idea of where your interests lie before applying to graduate school. And, many applicants have more than one--"This program will expand my knowledge of shop management and millinery, areas in which I hope to work professionally after graduate school."

It doesn't reflect a mature understanding though to profess that you "love everything to do with costumes." No one loves everything to do with costumes. Seriously. There is a huge difference between being willing to accept employment in which you must hand-wash dirty dance belts, and LOVING to hand-wash dirty dance belts. One is a career choice to add a relevant wardrobe credit to your resume, and the other is...well, definitely a private matter. (Whoa, pun.)

Another thing that's worth mentioning if it's applicable: is there anything specific to the program to which you are applying that appeals to you? Suppose that the program functions within a learning-lab paradigm with productions entirely student-produced--student actors, directors, designers, technologies, stage management, etc.--and that really appeals to you, then mention it. Or suppose the program works in tandem with a professional company in residence and you are drawn to that aspect, mention it. Or perhaps the program is partnered with a museum archive and involves a component of restoration or reproduction of antique garments; you love this, so mention it. Maybe you're enthused about their teaching assistantships, or some specific outreach program in which they participate, etc etc and so forth.

And a last piece of advice: ask someone to read the finished draft over for you who is likely to know their stuff. What about whoever's writing your letters of recommendation? Or someone in your department in the costume faculty? Someone besides your friends, your mom, or the person you're dating.

So, for readers considering graduate applications this year or in future, hopefully the statement of purpose doesn't seem so daunting and formless and nebulously-weird now. Maybe this post will jog a few ideas loose for how to compose yours, what you might include (and not include).

And as ever, good luck!

[This blog post was initially published at La Bricoleuse.]

"Should I go to U/RTA?"

2009-12-09T18:28:12.000Z

U/RTA stands for the University/Resident Theatres Association, a collective of professional theatres in residence at universities which offer masters study in theatrical disciplines, with significant crossover between the professional and the academic. Prospective graduate students in both performance and production foci take note of U/RTA because of their sponsorship of the National Unified Auditions/Interviews (NUA/I), held annually in NYC, Chicago, and San Fransisco or Las Vegas, where graduate applicants can meet representatives from member schools, and in some cases audition or interview for admission to their programs.

So, undergrads and prospective applicants often ask me, should I go to U/RTA?

As with everything else relating to graduate study, there is no cut-and-dried answer. It depends on what you hope to gain from it.

Clearly, if you are interested in a graduate program which operates within an "academic lab" paradigm (i.e., all productions are done with student actors, student directors, and student designers overseeing student-run production shops, all under the auspices of faculty advisors/mentors), or with a costume/fashion/textile hybrid focus, U/RTA won't be of much help to you as those programs aren't members. If you want a program where there's a professional theatre or conservatory component and are interested in more than one of the programs offered at member universities though, it's something to consider.

Some students are under the impression that attending one of the NUA/I event is akin to a "one-stop grad-school shop," that they can show up with a portfolio in a nice outfit and meet all the relevant faculty of every member organization, schedule a passel of interviews, and bam, find the perfect grad program. That *can* perhaps happen, but it's not a reasonable expectation for most.

Going to a NUA/I event can be a great place to get a lot of information fast and quick, in terms of the research-arc of deciding whether to go to grad school and if so, whether a program with a resident company is for you. You *will* be able to get information on several programs at once, and have the opportunity of discussing your portfolio with some programs' faculty, and also to see the portfolios of other prospective students from other undergraduate programs. You will be able to network, meet and talk to people in your area of focus, as well as those in other performance and production disciplines. These will be valuable experiences, especially the experience of showing your portfolio. That is something you can't do too many times, and which gets exponentially easier each time, i think.

For these reasons alone i would say that, if you live in or within a reasonable drive of a NUA/I hub city, or have the budget to attend one as part of your graduate school research, do so!

However, go with the foreknowledge of what you can expect.

First, if you are going with a preconceived list of programs in mind that you want to connect with, contact the heads of those programs in advance and make sure that someone will be in attendance who can talk to you. Though U/RTA has a pretty long membership list, it's only a small section of all the schools out there with costume-focus degrees, and not every discipline from every program will attend every NUA/I event. For example, our school is a member, but only our MFA Acting faculty attend any NUA/I event, and not every one in every city every year. So, if you were hoping to hit the NYC event and talk to someone about our Technical Production MFA program, maybe interview and show your portfolio...you'd be disappointed, because our TD wouldn't be there. (Which, had you contacted him in advance, you'd know.) Same for costumes--we don't send a rep to U/RTA NUA/Is, rather our Costume Director attends SETC and the national USITT conference, as those offer "more bang for the buck" visibility.

Second, be aware that you may go and not find any program that feels like a good fit, or that you may have no one indicate interest in your portfolio...and that doesn't mean you're a failure and you suck, or grad school's not for you and you'll never get into one, it just means that of the handful of programs who attended, none were a mutual match. See, U/RTA's NUA/Is are like grad-school speed dating--you get a little bit of time to interact with whatever handful of programs by chance happen to be there the same time you are. You won't get to know any of them as well as you would if you went on a real date (i.e., scheduled an on-site visit to the program), but if you don't click with any of them, that doesn't mean you are unlovably doomed to a life of dateless hermitude. It just means none of these ten folks set your pants afire in five minutes flat, and you should just keep casting your net because there are a lot of fish in the sea. (Ah, the mixed-metaphor. Or maybe it's a meta-metaphor! I digress.)

If you live somewhere too far to easily drive to a NUA/I, you're better off starting out your research by attending a regional conference like SETC or USITT-Regional, or hitting USITT's national conference. Granted, USITT is held too late in the year to go there expecting to find a graduate program to enter that fall; you will want to attend it figuring on narrowing your choices over the next few months, with a mind to applying for the following fall, 15-16 months down the line.

And, don't let that be a discouragement--it's actually a good thing, as it gives you that much more time to prepare, add to your portfolio and resume, and learn more about every program you think might interest you! That is my actual ultimate advice on applying to graduate school: don't rush it. I have seen so many folks come to a decision about grad school and want everything to happen too fast. It's a HUGE decision, and often people are like, "Hey, i think i want to go to grad school in this! Starting this fall! OMG i have to do this now OMG if i don't get in what will i dooooo?!?" Grad school is not going anywhere, and many programs will actually be more impressed by you taking the time to do long-term legwork.

Especially in these economic times, no university can afford to take a risk on admitting a poorly-informed, impulsive incoming grad student who *might* become disenchanted and drop out upon realizing s/he's actually in the wrong program or not cut out for the school's expectations and workload. We invest a lot of responsibility in our students--they have teaching or research workloads as part of their assistantship funding, and if they can't hack it and drop out, it's a domino effect: the undergraduate students in the courses they teach or grant-driven programs that depend on them will falter. So take your time and if you realize you need to put it off another year, no worries! It can only work in your favor to do so.

As always, i am a big proponent of "open-source costume education" and welcome inquiries about costume-career graduate study in general, our program in particular, or really any crafts-centric topic, so feel free to contact me and "Ask La Bricoleuse" any questions you have that you think i might be able to answer. I am happy to do so.

And, if you are one of the many folks who will be seeking admission to graduate programs for Fall 2010, i wish you the best of luck in your application process!

Portfolio Advice for Costume Professionals

2009-12-07T00:22:11.000Z

My current job includes teaching grad school coursework in costume technology, and i see a lot of portfolios from folks applying to our program. This is one of my favorite things about applicants' visits--the opportunity to see their portfolios. I'm writing this post from purely my own perspective, what *I* think about how a portfolio should be set up and arranged. I don't make acceptance decisions here, but i do offer feedback frequently both to prospective applicants and to our own students in twice-yearly portfolio presentations/evals. Bear in mind as you read it, this is only my opinion and is not to be considered any kind of stone-carved hard-rule on the subject.

Unfortunately there is no standard for portfolio formatting like say, the Chicago Manual of Style for writing or somthing. This post is primarily directed toward those readers first compiling a portfolio, or those who aren't terribly confident about their portfolios, those with an interest in improving or streamlining a portfolio, etc. Certainly too, if you are someone with an extremely extensive portfolio, i would love to have your input in comments as to how you have set up yours, hard-copy vs electronic, link to your online site, etc!

Whenever you are applying for a program or a job where they request a portfolio, don't be afraid to contact the head of the program or the shop manager and ask what they would like to see in that portfolio. They should be glad to tell you--one place might want to see the full range of your work from stitching to crafts to patternmaking to draping, while another may only want to see, say, your original design work and nothing else. Never hurts to ask, and if the program director or HR person or shop manager is rude and dismissive, well, IMO that in and of itself tells you something about what it might be like to work or attend school there. More than likely they will be happy you asked--it shows that you value both their time and yours.

Here are three basic things i always tell folks who ask me for hard-copy portfolio set-up advice:

1.) Get an actual plain functional portfolio binder designed to, you know, like, contain a professional portfolio. Certainly the work speaks for itself, and certainly no one's going to be denied entry to a program or passed over for work if s/he shows a portfolio full of genius-quality work JUST because they are presented in, say, a scrapbook with kittens on the cover, but it does make an impression of unprofessionalism or ignorance or immaturity. Invest in a good portfolio book to keep your stuff in. It doesn't have to be expensive, it doesn't have to be huge, it doesn't have to be genuine fine leather, but it should be clearly a portfolio book and not like, a bright purple notebook with a pirate flag on it or something. (This may seem like stating the obvious, but you would be surprised.) For my own portfolio, i keep it in a larger, ringbound version of this easel-based design. It is good to be able to choose whether to lay it flat on a table when interviewing with one person, or set it up like an easel when presenting to several people at once.

I recommend you get a portfolio with a ring binding that opens and closes, too, if you want a formally bound portfolio. In the long run, you will be glad you did. In the course of a costuming career, you will need to tailor the layout and order of your portfolio to whatever job for which you are applying. For example, if you are looking for a summer gig as a tailor's assistant, you may not even want to include craftwork or dyework pages since they don't apply to the job you seek...but if you are applying for admittance to a graduate program you may benefit from including the entire range of your work. If you are looking to stitch in a ballet costume shop, you will want to put your dancewear photos first, whereas if you are wanting to do craftwork at a Shakespeare festival, you may wish to feature some armor-making and period headwear. It will save you mucho time if you can just pop the rings and move/remove/add pages easily.

Or, you might want to mount your portfolio pages on loose separate illustration boards and transport them in a zipper case. This can be helpful for viewing, say, four pages at once, and it's very easy to reorder them, pass them around, etc. It also means that they may be more easily damaged or lost though, so that's something to consider.

2.) Regarding photos of stagecraft or costumes: be discerning. One decent photo is definitely better than no photos. No photos, though, are better than a blurry crappy photo that doesn't accurately depict the subject. You are wasting people's time if you show a portfolio of poorly-lit shoddy pictures, offering an excuse of, "These are the only photos i have of these costumes...but they were really great!" All that really tells the interviewer is that you neglected to take or obtain decent photographs documenting something you consider to be great work...which is NOT an impression you want to engender. If you don't have good photographs of something but you can still access the garment and take some, do it, soon! If you can't, take it as the hard-learned lesson that it is and make SURE you photograph things you work on, starting now. Multiple photos--different angles or detail shots or mid-process shots--are the best. Photos against a neutral backdrop are better than photos with a messy workroom in the background, but a good series of photos with a workshop background are better than no photos at all. I have a coworker hold up a sheet of muslin behind something or wheel a form in front of our fitting room curtain if i need a quick "backdrop" for a photo.

If you are interested in design and have no photos of a design you did but you have drafts or renderings, that's ok--it shows that you can and do draft or render. And, if you have anything else visual to attach to it (paint chips to show the color palette for a set, swatches of fabrics from a costume or scrims/drapes/soft props/upholstered furniture, etc) stick that in there too. An ideal portfolio shows the many facets of your skills and talent. A designer who has only stage shots of the final show is only displaying one facet of her or his talent--good designers also produce competent renderings, research, collages, make good fabric choices, etc., so any evidence of those skills is appropriate to include. This philosophy also applies to crafts artisans--you are selling yourself short if you only have finished photos of work for the stage. If you spend your summers, say, doing elaborate event decor or making intricately adorned bridal headpieces, it is certainly appropriate to include photos of that work.

3.) Label everything completely, consistently, and accurately. If it's a class project, note that ("Lion mask, Sculpture class project, Joe Blow High School, 2005"). If it's costumes for a show that was actually produced, put a label beside the picture(s) with the show title, your job, what organization did the show, and when ("Twelfth Night, stitcher/crafts assistant, Chicago's Shakespeare in the Park", Summer 2003). If it's a costume you made for a convention or Halloween or whatever, note that on a label, and especially if it is some type of cosplay thing, include an image of the character the costume is supposed to represent as well--assume people don't know the source material, and if your costume doesn't look all that great juxtaposed against the source material, then you shouldn't include it, period.

Once you have your portfolio basically set up--you have your binder, all your pictures and renderings and inserts and labels together and laid out onto pages and the like--the big question then is, how do you order it?

Consider, as i said above, the purpose: tailor what you include to what the employer or program wants to see. I cannot stress that enough. Once you know what you are including, then turn an eye to what goes where. People will make a case for chronological or reverse-chronological order, grouping things by category (all designs together, all crafts together, etc), and those ordering-schemes certainly have their pros and cons. I am an advocate though of the "in with a bang, out with a bang" philosophy. Put something first that is really exciting and showcases something you are really proud of. You will be most confident talking about that first, and it will start you off with good momentum. Order the rest of it however makes sense to you, but make sure that the last thing in there is also something really cool.

Nothing is more anticlimactic than viewing an entire portfolio and the last thing you see is someone's oldest, least-skilled, earliest work. Just because you did something doesn't mean it needs to be in your portfolio, and going chronologically backward always leaves your interviewer with your oldest (often crummiest) work as their final impression. If you want to retain some photos of a project from the early days of your experience, structure a page in the portfolio as a juxtaposition to illustrate progress--something like, "Here is the first hat i ever made back in 1999, and here is a recent hat i made for My Fair Lady."

Also, i'm a proponent of "Don't bog it down with too much stuff." If you have done so much stuff that you have a hundred portfolio pages, that's nice, but no interviewer is going to give you the time to show the whole thing. Pick your best stuff. Ten amazing things, period, are a better portfolio than forty things of which ten are amazing.

One of the biggest questions in the field right now is whether to move entirely to digital/online portfolios. You are starting to see job postings that require submission of digital portfolios only. It is definitely going to be a big part of the future of the industry, whether it fully replaces hard-copy portfolios or not, and it would behoove you to generate some type of digital-format portfolio--mostly i've seen them either set up as PowerPoint presentations or an online site. The last two jobs i've gotten didn't ask for a hard-copy portfolio at all; my digital portfolio functioned as the sole source.

If you want to set up an online portfolio and have no idea where to start, there are several services out there catering to the setup of an online portfolio. Qfolio, Portfolios.com, and Carbonmade are a few to get you started. In researching prospective designers for various projects, i've found the most working professional costumers using Qfolio, but for those with no budget, Carbonmade has an option for a free basic account. Re Carbonmade, one of my students has begun to set up his portfolio on there and is really pleased with their service.

These costume-design-centric questions come from a reader of my blog, La Bricoleuse, named Kate, who is beginning her application process:

As I apply to graduate schools, I wonder how densely costume plot and design oriented my portfolio must be? I have only designed one show (since I did not major in costume in college), but have assisted on many and built many pieces. Can images from shows I have assisted on be used? Perhaps if I detail pieces that I worked on? Or worked on as a stitcher or shopper? For example I was a shopper for a costume atelier finding and purchasing materials. Can pieces made with that fabric be included if I detail what they are?

Though not specified, it seems that these questions are in reference to a portfolio to be used in applying to design-centered programs, due to the emphasis on design in your language. So, since my field of specialty is production and technology programs, take my advice with that caveat--we don't have a design track at our school, so my feedback on design-focus portfolios is purely professional conjecture and not grounded in a context applicable to our own program. (And, as an aside for readers who may be uncertain of the difference in foci, i've written about Design vs Production MFAs here.)

One major goal of a portfolio is to illustrate your experience in your chosen field of study, and the more fully it reveals the breadth and/or focus of your experience, the more effective it is. Inclusion of costume plots is a good idea--that's an important part of bringing a show from concept to reality, and program heads will see that you have the facility for generating those documents.

For shows on which you were a design assistant, i think it is definitely appropriate to include some stage shots, with sections of text explaining your involvement. So, say you have three photos in there, or a couple renderings with corresponding stage shots, and a little text block that reads something like this:

Primary Assistant to Costume Designer Jane Doe Guys and Dolls - State Theatre, NY - July 2007 Responsibilities: chorus fittings, materials sourcing, purchases/returns and budget tracking
Renderings courtesy of Jane Doe
It is key that you ask permission to include other designers' renderings in your portfolio and give clear proper credit if that permission is granted. You don't want people thinking that you are trying to pass another person's rendering off as your own work, but part of the collaborative process IS definitely being able to look at someone else's rendering and help turn it into an actualized costume. Most designers are glad to give production artisans and design assistants permission to show their renderings in a properly-credited portfolio juxtaposition.

The same goes for shows on which you stitched and shopped--i feel you definitely should include photos of those shows, with your contribution clearly labeled. An example for the atelier job you mention being a shopper on might have a couple stage shots, maybe some fabric swatches, with a text label that looks like this:

Shopper - Costume World Rentals - March 2008 Wicked rental production package Responsibilities: swatching and purchase of yardage and notions for Emerald City costumes
Ultimately, all of these things show a prospective graduate program that you have experience in several areas of costuming and are exactly the kind of thing it is appropriate to include. It shows that you actually know what the field is like from several job perspectives, which (i think, at least) is more valuable in an incoming student than say, an applicant with a portfolio full of nothing but beautifully rendered costume designs for shows that never happened.

Also! For another perspective from someone who sees tons more portfolios than i ever will, you might also peruse these online resources by Rafael Jaen, Portfolio Review Chair for the USITT Costume Design and Technology Commission:

Mr. Jaen has also written a book on the subject, Developing and Maintaining a Design-Tech Portfolio, which is previewable on Google Books or available through your preferred bookseller.

Kate continues:

I have also seen that many schools want a varied portfolio, which is great! However, some schools like Yale seem to want more costume work than anything. Do you think it is well received to design costumes for a show that won't be realized just to show designing ability and interest?

I know it seems like i just kind of bagged on hypothetical or "paper projects" (collections of designs for unrealized shows), but i don't want to imply that such things don't have a place in a portfolio.

A design program likely wants to see that you are well-rounded in costuming, cognizant and capable of everything it takes to take costume designs from page to stage, but definitely focused on design as a career path. So, just in the same way that it is important to show you are capable of generating costume plots, sourcing materials, and that you have construction competency/experience, you also want to illustrate your rendering and designing skills as well. You mention that you have only designed one actualized show, so i definitely think that including a set of paper project renderings serves a useful purpose as well--it will further highlight your drawing/sketching ability and your effectiveness at communicating your ideas in illustrative form.

If you were applying to a production program like ours in which you wouldn't be studying design, then i'd say, perhaps leave out the hypothetical design projects in favor of, say, a production project that's outside of the realm of theatre (such as photographs of a friend's bridal gown you made, or a mask you sculpted for a holiday parade). But for applying to Yale's design MFA program, yes, put in the paper projects, too.

In general, i think you can't get too much input on your portfolio. Once you have something pulled together, i recommend asking colleagues whether they would look at it and give you honest feedback. If your regional theatre conferences are coming up, you might take the portfolio there and solicit feedback. Sometimes there are formal portfolio review sessions, but even if not, many people will be glad to give it a look and offer constructive criticism.

Best of luck with your round of applications, and i hope you find a program that is a perfect fit!

MFA Programs: Costume Design vs Production/Technology

2009-12-06T18:00:00.000Z

This post, originally written in November 2006, comes from a query posted in a LiveJournal community...i thought i'd post my response here though as a means of reaching a larger audience.

Here are the poster's original questions:

I was hoping to get some advice from any of you veterans out there. I'm really hoping to go to grad school after I graduate and one day do professional work or teach at a university. I do have some questions though.
1) What grad schools would you suggest for a costume designer? Any really good ones near the midwest with assistantships that would wave tuition?

My prior post on MFA programs was specific to the field of Costume Production, which is a different matter than Costume Design, though similar.

And, in case you wonder, "what's the difference between the two fields?" I'll address that first!

An MFA in Costume Production focuses specifically on construction technologies and histories. In these programs, you will learn draping, tailoring, pattern drafting (often both by hand and using software such as CAD), and crafts topics like dyeing, millinery, and maskmaking. Some programs may also have archiving classes on analyzing and/or preserving vintage garments (see the CoStar Vintage Clothing Archive site for one example of what type of work falls into this area), or managerial tracks for those interested in pursuing a career in costume shop management.

With an MFA in Costume Design, you will probably still have a certain amount of production coursework--draping classes, crafts classes, drafting, dyeing perhaps, etc.--but your primary focus will be on designing. You will likely study rendering techniques, design theory, and ideally, have opportunities to design for actual productions. One thing to ask with design programs is how much practical experience opportunities there are for their MFA candidates--will you only design hypothetical shows that never actually get produced, or will you design several shows a season and have hands-on practical design experience? Will you get to design shows that have a construction budget (i.e., costumes that will be custom-built from your renderings) or will your designs have to be largely pulled and altered from stock or rentals?

Programs that focus on design or a combination of design and production are a lot more common than programs that offer a production-only area of specialty. If you are uncertain as to whether you want to specialize in design or production (or if you want to make a go at both), one of the combined-focus programs is what you should be looking for. And, you should definitely contact the directors of the programs at the schools that interest you--talk to them about their programs, make an appointment to go visit and see the facilities, perhaps even sit in on a class or two. Actually going to the department and the shops will be invaluable in helping you decide if a particular school or program is for you.

In terms of applications and interviews, the portfolio advice i gave in my previous post on MFA programs holds true--start your portfolios early! The program directors will take into consideration your design history and experience, so the portfolio should have renderings and swatches and the like in addition to photos; don't worry if all you have from your undergrad work is class projects, that's ok, put them in there. As i said in my other post--do summer stock during your summers! It's fun, it's great experience, it gives you more crap for your portfolio, and it shows you are serious about a career in the theatre.

In terms of what grad schools to suggest, that depends on what areas you want to focus on, and everyone's going to have different ideas on that front. Talk to your costuming professors in undergrad--they are a good starting resource--and if there are any schools near you that you can visit in say, a weekend trip, call them up and go visit! Ask the professors, ask the students, get as many opinions as you can. And, make a list of what else is important to you in a grad school--geographical location sounds like it's important in this case, and good funding for MFA candidates.

When you visit programs, ask if they are fully or partially funded, and with what kinds of funding. Work-study positions? Teaching assistantships? Research assistantships? Any specific grants and scholarships? Where i work, we have a combination of all of these, and many of our MFA candidates pay for their studies with several different kinds of funding aid. I would caution against asking specifically about tuition waivers in those exact terms, because (and this is just me talking here, nothing at all official) the word "waiving" of fees implies a free ride, something for nothing, and nearly all graduate programs that offer funding expect you to do something in return, whether that be teach an undergrad intro course or grade exams or oversee costume donations and loans, etc etc.

So, how do you find what programs are out there and begin this vast search? I'd start by checking out the Survey of Costume Programs: http://www.unc.edu/costumesurvey/

Full disclosure: My department head created and maintains this site. I am the first to admit that it's not ideally set-up, but the Survey is nevertheless a great resource for anyone seeking higher education programs in costume fields. It's a one-stop compendium of this sort of info; it lists all the schools in the US and a few abroad that have costuming-oriented degree programs, both undergraduate and graduate. Each school's entry has the types of degrees offered, areas of focus (i.e., design, tailoring, history, etc), faculty/staff, contact info, and links to the programs' websites.

The main caveat here is to remember as you search through it that the individual schools listed are responsible for making sure their entries are up-to-date and accurate. ALWAYS check the school's website or contact them directly to make sure the information on degrees offered, subjects, and staff are correct.

In terms of usability, my primary criticism of the site is that at present the programs are listed by region and alphabetically by school, but no search function by which one might, say, look for every school listed that offers an MFA in Costume Design, or a BA with a costuming focus, etc. This will however, be useful for seeking schools by geographical area. See what's listed in the area you want, and then ask your professors about those schools.

For example, in the Great Lakes Region, there are nine schools with costume programs listed in Illinois, of which five offer graduate degree options. Of those five, I've heard the most good stuff about the programs at Northwestern and UI-Champaign/Urbana, but if i wanted an MFA in design from an Illinois school, i'd contact all five for more information, rather than just restricting myself to NWU and UI-C/U. It all depends on your priorities!

2) Seeing as theatre jobs are often limited (and my parents are harping at me to make sure I'll be able to find a career with benefits and such) how likely is it that I will find SOME sort of job that would provide insurance and a decent income?

Frankly, i believe that the idea that theatre jobs are limited is a myth. I know it's commonly bandied about and has been for years--i heard it all the time when i was an undergrad. "You can't make a living in theatre!" That really honestly has not been my experience at all. Sure, it's hard to get work as an actor, and sure, it's not a field you can survive on just any town in America, but if you are not trying to be an actor and you are willing to go where the work is, there's plenty of work to be found. What's the cliche? Something like that for every actor you see onstage there are twenty technicians working behind-the-scenes in some capacity to make a production happen. That's cliche because it's true--there are LOTS of jobs in production and design.

Decent income, insurance, those things are out there. Yes, there are a lot of small-potatoes theatre companies that will ask you to work for peanuts or free, but those are not companies you should be working for--people who want to do costumes for a hobby, for fun, or as a supplementary income should take those jobs, not people who want to be able to live off a career in the field. Universities often provide good wages and insurance, so if teaching appeals to you or if you work at a professional theatre in residence on a university campus (for example, the Huntington Theatre at Boston University), that's one avenue of possible employment. Union shops are another--many of the unions provide insurance and other benefits to their members and help ensure that you make a living wage. Freelancing can provide you with a great income, but often you are responsible for your own insurance (which sometimes can be had through organizations like the Freelancers Union). Remember too that you aren't limited to theatre companies--ballet and opera costuming are other options, event costumes, theme parks, cruise ships, sports teams, Las Vegas performers, television and film...all of these areas need costumes designed and built, and who will do that? Costume professionals.

I won't lie and say working as a costumer is a breeze and that i frequently throw hundred dollar bills out the window to the masses because money means nothing to me anymore, but it's not a one-way ticket to welfare and starvation or anything.

I've had several emails from people asking not only about our MFA program here at UNC-Chapel Hill, but about the existence of similar programs at other universities. The fact is, it's easy to find graduate programs offering a concentration in costume design, or a split-focus between design and technology, but not so easy to locate the few that offer or allow a strict specialization in technology alone. Ironic, since every production only has one costume designer (who granted may have an assistant or few) but a multitude of costume production artists.

Our program is fairly easy to find info about due to the visibility of the La Bricoleuse blog (forgive my hubris!), but where, several of you ask, might one look for other programs? After all, not every student's goals are going to be congruent with the focus of our program, and it's good to "shop around" when looking for the right fit in a graduate school. So, I encourage those with an interest in the field to check out our program, but to check out the others out there, as well! As such, i've made up a list of the other programs i'm aware of out there that offer masters degrees with a sole focus in costume production/technology.

Alphebetical Listing of Graduate Programs with a Concentration in Costume Production/Technology:
(links go to the specific program page or PDF where possible)

Now, of course these aren't all "like ours," in that every program has its own areas of expertise and focus, different course offerings and faculty, theory vs practice foci, etc etc. It's a list in flux, as other programs pop up i'll add them, and if (knock wood, heaven forbid) any fall casualty to the economy, i'll cross them off. And, if you know of another costume-production-centric program that offers concentrations in areas like draping, tailoring, costume crafts, and shop management i don't have listed yet, let me know and i'll add it here!

(I'm not listing design/technology combination degree programs, as those are quite common, and i'm not listing focus programs in related disciplines like fiber art or puppetry.)

If you're beginning to look into graduate school for the 2010-11 academic year or beyond, be sure to ask about how the economy is affecting funding of graduate positions and the academic programs themselves for the immediate future. I know that we lost our management track in budget cuts, and I've heard that other universities are also taking similar or heavier hits. (For example, it's been widely publicized in the media that Brandeis' endowment took an enormous loss in the Madoff investment implosion.) Best to find out up-front how that's going to affect the programs you care about.

Good luck with your search, and future graduate study, whatever your focus!

Preparing to apply to a Costume Production/Technology MFA program

2009-12-05T18:03:53.000Z

I've written a series of posts in my "actual" blog, La Bricoleuse, about graduate study in costume career fields. It occurred to me that i might reach a larger audience of interested readers by cross-posting them here as well. So, over the next few days/weeks, i'll be putting those posts up in this blog as well.

This first one (originally posted in November of 2006) was written in response to a query from Aurora, an undergraduate considering MFA programs in Costume Production (sometimes also called Costume Technology, as opposed to Costume Design), who graciously granted me permission to reproduce our email correspondence for others' benefit as well. Her questions are in italics, my responses are in standard text:

Right now I'm a sophomore studying History with a BS and Theater & Film BGS. I'm very interested in attending your college for grad studies under a Costume Production program. I've been thinking recently of switching my History major to a BGS to coincide with my Theater & Film degree. The major difference is that I wouldn't have any foreign language experience anymore. Would this majorly impact either my chances for acceptance at your school, or my future job prospects in costume production? I've heard that especially in academia a BGS is looked down upon. Just your educated guesses, I appreciate advice on what you know.

I can only really speak for our program here at UNC-Chapel Hill (though, to be honest, we have one of the best programs in the country, so I can’t imagine other programs do things too terribly differently), but for us, your undergraduate degree and the letters that signify it are not among the primary factors that impact your acceptance as a candidate for an MFA in Costume Production, and we don’t have a foreign language requirement for our program. Certainly, many costume production MFA applicants come with a background in theatre or film, but others come from a range of other backgrounds—fashion, textile arts, history, anthropology, fine art, even chemistry and engineering!

Here, beyond the basic university entrance requirements, what we look for is a good portfolio—actual photographs of work that you’ve done—and a good interview, whether you seem like you’d be a good fit for our program. Since you are a sophomore, you have plenty of time to build up that portfolio. I see from their website that [Aurora's undergraduate school] has two Costume Production classes, so document photographically any projects you do in those classes. Document as well any hobbyist costume-making you might do (Halloween, cosplay, etc). If you are involved in extra-curricular costuming of community theatre or other performers (rock bands, drag shows, renn faires), photograph those, and if you take any non-university classes that are related, such as a community center class on jewelry-making or something, take pictures of what you make in those. Make sure the pictures are in-focus, well-lit, and take detail shots if there’s some impressive detail like embroidery or hand-painted trim or whatever.

And, consider now what you are going to do with your summers. As an undergrad, I did two internships with summer theatres, which was an amazing and invaluable experience. The folks who run those theatres can write you some great recommendation letters and can be good contacts for the future. I’ve gotten three jobs because people saw my summer stock experience on my resume and they had worked there themselves at some point. There are tons of Shakespeare festivals, musical-theatres, and regional or resort theatres that run summer seasons and love to hire folks in school during their summer breaks. I can recommend some if you like, if there are any particular areas of interest you have! Summer stock is an easy way to get hands-on experience while getting paid, build up your portfolio, and spend your summer somewhere cool. They often provide housing, sometimes with meals, and pay a stipend or salary.

When you get to the point of applying for programs, go through all the photographs you’ve compiled of things you’ve made and pick out the best things, stuff you can talk about in an interview (how you made it, problems you had with the design if any, things you learned from the process). Ideally you want somewhere around 10-20 things. More is not necessarily better—10 awesome things in a portfolio is far preferable to 20 mediocre things. If you are doing any projects or papers for your history classes that have to do with costume/dress/adornment, definitely include those in your portfolio or bring copies to your interviews once you get to that point in the application process as well. I know the history of clothing is a large component of our program, and papers on costuming topics would be something to make your application/portfolio stand out.

Can you expand a little more on this? Should I be working on pattern drafting, stitching skills, distressing, dying . . . should I have portfolios for each, or just a list of what I've done and pictures of the best work in each area? What other areas should I be working on developing? Also, what kind of pictures are prefered: On a person or a dress dummy? Background or neutral? Thanks, I truely appreciate your advice :D

I think probably the best idea is to try to get a wide range of practical experience: drafting, draping, craftwork, dyeing/painting/distressing, etc. Honing your stitching skills is a wise pursuit, as you’ll need them for certain in graduate school and a good balance of speed and accuracy can only help. Having a good grasp of the various branches of costume production will be useful in figuring out what you want your primary focus grad-wise to be. Our MFA candidates have concentrations in draping (this is the most popular), tailoring, craftwork, or shop management. For applying to a production program like ours, I’d recommend creating one portfolio showing your range of work grouped by section—here’s photos of draped garments, here’s costumes I stitched on, here’s my craftwork, etc. I think if you already have an idea of what you want to focus on, or as you get a good broad base and start to lean in one direction or another, it can’t hurt to focus on that. Say, if you really love millinery, you might make the hats and headdresses section of your portfolio the first and the largest section, but keep in there examples of your draping, stitching, mask-making, whatever. Later in your career once you are out of grad school and job-seeking, separate portfolios tailored to the type of position for which you are interviewing can be helpful, but not at this point in the process, IMO.

If you do know that, say, you really love tailoring, try to find a summer gig as a tailor’s assistant, whereas if you know you love crafts, try to get summer work as a crafter’s assistant. And, if you don’t know what you want to focus in, look for places that advertise jobs for “costume generalists” or “costume technicians” because often those jobs want you to do a little bit of everything. Grad programs like to know that you’ve had practical work in your field, that you’ve worked somewhere besides your university shop—university shops are great, but they afford you only the narrow horizon of how things are done, whereas getting out into the workforce in summers gives you a broader exposure to how another shop is run, how other places push shows through their shops. It’s a good idea to start doing research now for summer work—a lot of places are posting calls for resumes now on boards like http://www.backstagejobs.com and will be doing first rounds of hiring in the early months of the new year.

As for the composition of the photos, I think ideally, you have close-up photos against a neutral background (black or white drop), with supplementary stage shots of the costume piece(s) on the performer. If something’s super-impressive and the only picture of it you have is on a dummy in the shop with folks standing around in the background or whatever, that’s better than nothing, since everyone knows there’s just not always time for well-planned lovely photos of things. With craftwork, I like to take process photographs as well—here’s the structure of the hat, here’s the hat with the fashion fabric on it, here’s the finished hat trimmed out, that kind of thing.

Good luck with everything, and here's hoping the application process goes well!

My actual blog: http://labricoleuse.livejournal.com/

2009-04-13T15:43:47.000Z

I consolidate all my professional blogging here.

http://labricoleuse.livejournal.com/