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Investing in a good camera is a must for your portfolio; even if someone else takes pictures of the production they may not show off your design work. Eight Steps to a Perfect Portfolio
The artisan’s portfolio is evolving, though it’s importance is not.
Whether applying to college, a gig, or for a full-time position at a theatre, your portfolio needs to not just be a haphazard collection of this and that.
David Grindle, who created the
Stage Management Program at Indiana University, Bloomington, points out
that these days the majority of jobs are decided over the telephone, so
having something that is easy to mail and displays your work well is
critical. “I have a student going to China for a year on a phone
interview—he never he met his boss. That’s the way the world is right
now.”
Rule 1: Get a Good Camera
“When I first started out,
everyone just had rendering and drawings,” says Shane Ayers, associate
professor of English and Theatre at Berea College, Berea, Kentucky.
“Then everybody did 35 mm slides so I had to invest in a good camera.”
“When I first started putting a portfolio together it was for graduate school, and I had no idea what I was doing,” confesses DeVault. “For my first show I didn’t take my own pictures, so I had to get copies from the department.” She quickly learned to get a good camera and do them herself.
So take a class if necessary and don’t rely on
others. Even if someone else associated with the play is taking photos,
they are usually for promoting the show as a whole, as opposed to
specifically showing off some aspect of the lighting, set, or
costuming.
Rule 2: The Medium Is the Message
All three
point out that technology has been a big boon to the arts and the days
of expensive photo printing and lugging around a big book is (mostly)
over. A digital portfolio on CD is “the way to go,” says Grindle.
“Suddenly if I see the digital portfolio great young designer or
technician, I can take the CD and show others in the department. I have
a portable document.”
Grindle believes strongly in PDF files:
“PDF is the only format you should send any resume, images, or part of
a portfolio,” he says. “It’s the only way to assure that everything is
presented exactly the way you intend to show it.” Otherwise, if the
recipient doesn’t have the font you use, or has an older version of a
program, it might open as a complete mess—if it opens at all.
When
Ayers looks back on his early portfolios, he thinks he erred in
including everything. “I tell my students they need to showcase
something specific to what they are looking for. Just be ready to show
more.” If you’re going after a position as a Lighting Designer, show
your work as that—just be ready to also show what you’ve done as a
technical director.
DeVault adds to not put a show in your
portfolio that you’re not positive about. If you can’t talk about it in
a way that shows you’re proud of your work, leave it out, because you
can’t be lively or engaging talking about a production that was
ultimately disappointing. She remembers well one exchange of
interviewing someone who when asked about a particular production in
his portfolio, simply said: “I have nothing to say!”
She also
advises to include “smaller” shows, as something done well with no
budget in a black box can illustrate a designer’s creativity. “I did an
international show in Germany where I had only 13 lights to cue,” she
tells. “But I was able to talk about the tour and what I accomplished.”
The not-so-subtle implication was if she could do this with 13 lights,
imagine what she could do with 300 . . .
Rule 4: Have More Than One
Grindle
has different portfolios emphasizing different skills and experience.
“When I’m trying to get a stage managing job, I have a one for that; as
a director, I have a different portfolio. I want them to think of me
primarily for the position I most want.”
Ayers adds he has three different versions of his portfolio: an academic one, a freelance one, and an acting one.
Rule 5: Exploit the Technology
Instead
of just showing an especially impressive piece of scenery during a
production, how about a split screen that also shows the machinery
driving it behind the scenes? Technology allows you to do that and
more, Grindle says. It also allows you to show something in more than
one light—literally and figuratively.
“If we’re hiring a new
scenic painting, I want to see white light effect, while someone else
will want to see what it looks like under the show lights,” Grindle
says “The technology available gives you the opportunity to expand what
you can show.”
Rule 6: Clean, Poignant Cover Letters
“We look
at everything very closely,” Ayers says. “If the cover letter is filled
with typos, no matter how brilliant their designs are, it makes you
wonder about the person.” Make someone else proofread it if necessary.
Also, cover letters don’t need to be long, but they need to be
specific: Talk about the highlights, give a specific example about a
specific success you’ve had, and cite the image that accompanies it.
Rule 7: Don’t Rely on Pure Digital
“If
you’re going for a face to face, have a physical portfolio,” advises
Grindle. “Some students have Web sites and will e-mail a link, but I’m
not a fan of that.”
Grindle encourages his students seeking
stage manager position to provide paper from the beginning, middle, and
end—the entire run of the show. This allows him to get a sense of how
he or she handles each stage. He likes to see how well someone can
anticipate things, how they prepped.
Rule 8: Tell the Truth
“Don’t
ever lie. It’s a small world and you will be found out,” says Grindle.
He then tells the story of a colleague being able to refute someone’s
fictionalized resume because “everyone knows everyone else.” He also
encourages all to give credit where credit is due. If you’re a costumer
and showing off something from one of your shows, also include the
names of the LD and the Set Designer, etc.
The Next Thing
DVDs
are coming into play. DeVault says they are becoming more prevalent but
still in their figurative infancy. “People are still debating if they
are good or bad,” she says. “They are good to see, especially if you’re
there in person to describe what is being shown.”
Ayers is seeing more DVDs. “I think it’s something we’re going to have to embrace as people become more technically savvy.” But make sure it works—which goes for anything digital. Make sure you go through every chapter or track, ideally on a more than one computer, to make sure it works.
Grindle, who has built an impressive career as a stage manager, has an answer for those who fear their art is hardest to translate to a portfolio. On his campus they videotaped a rehearsal, but in the place of dialog, they recorded the headset track. In a particularly harried production of the Nutcracker Suite, the explosion from the cannon caught a piece of paper on fire as it fell to the stage. “The stage manager was absolutely brilliant on how she handled that,” he says. “I actually use that in class.”| < Prev Article | Next Article > |
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