BFA DESIGN / TECH COURSE OF STUDY
The Design/Tech BFA program prepares candidates for entry-level positions in the areas of design, management, technology and craft professions in theatre and other parts of the entertainment industry. Upon completing this program, some students advance to graduate-level professional training at a variety of institutions throughout the country. Undergraduate Design/Tech majors have the opportunity to study and work in all areas, including Scenery Design, Construction & Rigging, Costume Design and Construction, Lighting Design, Properties Design & Construction, and Sound Design. Course work combines with practical work on CRT productions. Advanced undergraduates with particular promise often serve as assistant designers or designers for CRT Studio Works productions.
Outstanding undergraduates have even worked as principal designers of CRT Mainstage productions. Informal assessments by the Design/Technical faculty in the student's freshman and sophomore years are helpful in providing feedback, sharpening focus and encouraging candidates with demonstrated aptitude to continue in the program. Junior and senior BFA Design/Tech majors participate in portfolio reviews at the end of each semester and are encouraged to enter U/RTA (University and Regional Theatre Association) Final Competitions in New York City in January to compete for positions in Professional Regional Theatres and member graduate school programs throughout the country.
Unlike many fields of study in which students take few courses in their major during their early semesters, BFA Dramatic Arts Students begin intensive training in their chosen field immediately upon entering UConn. In a BFA program, approximately half of your college courses are in your chosen field of study. Most of the remaining credits you will take constitute the university's General Education Requirements in writing, math, history, humanities, science and social science. You will take from one to three general education courses per semester, depending on your semester standing.
The following is a list of the actual dramatic arts courses you will take in order to complete your BFA in Design/Tech.
TECHNOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS
All Design/Tech BFA students must have a laptop that meet the department's minimum requirements. Requirements can be found here:
COURSE OF STUDY
- DRAM 1102 (108) Fundaments of Theatrical Design
- DRAM 1201 (105) Drafting for the Theatre
- DRAM 1202 (106) Computer Drafting for the Theatre
- DRAM 1209 (109) Drawing and Painting Techniques for the Theatre
- DRAM 1210 (118) Computer Rendering for the Theatre
- DRAM 2130 (130) History of Drama I
- DRAM 2131 (131) History of Drama II
- DRAM 3201 (200) Scenery Construction
- DRAM 3501 (207C) Lighting for the Theatre
- DRAM 3301 (211) Scene Design
- DRAM 3401 (213) Costume History
- DRAM 3220 (215) Sound for the Theatre
- DRAM 4711W (263W) The Director in the Theatre
- DRAM 3199 (299) Independent Study (12 credits)
Any two from the following list of courses must be taken
- DRAM 3130 (230) Women in Theatre
- DRAM 3131W (231W) African-American Theatre
- DRAM 4135W (235W) Period Studies in Theatre
- DRAM 4138 (282) Trends in Contemporary. Theatre
Any three from the following specific courses must be taken
- DRAM 3202 (201) Rigging
- DRAM 3103 (203) Stage Management
- DRAM 3502 (208) Lighting for the Theatre II
- DRAM 3302 (212) Scene Design
- DRAM 3402 (214) Costume Design
- DRAM 3601 (247) Puppetry
- DRAM 3603 (248) Puppetry