FOLLOWSPOT

SPRING 2014

Entrances and Exits !Exiting a stage is a talent actors learn to master.

Knowing how to exit college and successfully enter a career in the performing arts is equally

important. Making the transition requires skill and resources—from a professional network to

an in-depth understanding of the entertainment business and experience working in one’s field. !The Tisch School and its Department of Drama offer an array of career development programs to help students and alumni begin professional

life. Special events with industry leaders provide insights into trends and best practices; mentors and internships establish a career foothold; and

curriculum outlines the creative and business challenges ahead. For a sample of career

development opportunities, go to page two.

Starting Out as an Artist !On March 6th, the Department of Drama hosted the alumni panel event, Sustainability as an Artist. The panel featured a group of recent Drama alumni, each discussing how they support themselves while launching a career in the arts. Students learned about various job opportunities in different areas of the entertainment industry—from arts administration and education to grant writing and working at creative agencies.

Drama Kicks Back with Kinky Boots !This spring, Drama students joined the producing team of Kinky Boots for an inside look at how the 2013 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical became Broadway’s latest high-heeled hit. Organized by the Department of Drama and the Broadway Speakers Bureau, a program that shares information about non-performance careers and internships in the arts, the Kinky Boots panel was made up of the show’s producer, casting agent, press agent, company manager, and marketing strategist. “It was interesting to hear the path that each speaker followed toward a successful working life in the theatre,” said Kat Castle, a Production and Design Studio sophomore focusing in arts management.

Tisch Mentor Networks !It’s said there’s no better way to learn then by example. With that in mind, Tisch Office of Career Development has created two mentor programs. For nearly a decade, the Mentor Network has paired students and graduates with more than two hundred professionals at companies like Fox Casting, HBO, and Pixar. Mentors provide career advice and insights about the rewards and challenges of working in the arts.   The NYU in LA Mentorship Program helps graduates relocating to the West Coast as they enter the unique world of Hollywood. The initiative organizes events and facilitates resources that support a smooth transition from coast to coast. Drama alumnus Bryan Dechart said, “Knowing there was an active community of Tisch alumni organized, willing, and excited to help one another made moving to Los Angeles much easier.”   For more information, visit https://students.tisch.nyu.edu/object/car_mentor.html

CA

RE

ER

DE

VE

LO

PM

EN

T

Internships: Experiencing a Taste of What Awaits !The Tisch Drama Internship Program gives students a sample of working life and helps them to develop professional relationships in New York City's diverse artistic community. Students have held positions in many areas of the entertainment industry, including casting, theatre, film, and television. They have interned at Saturday Night Live; The Late Show with David Letterman; the Public Theater; the New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting; and CBS's casting office, among other productions and organizations. !These opportunities create vital, hands-on experience and offer ways to apply theory learned in the classroom to the responsibilities practiced during an internship. “Today’s companies expect new graduates to arrive with industry know-how,” says Carl Fengler, the Department of Drama’s Career Development Coordinator. “Internships are a wonderful way for students to gain invaluable insights about careers while still in school.” 

PRO DUC TION

A YEAR IN

FALL 2013 - SPRING 2014 TISCH DRAMA STAGEWORKS PRODUCTIONS

RAGTIME

EXECUTION OF JUSTICE

MARISOL

BORN BAD

LED LIGHTING

Drama Leads the Way Teaching LED Lighting Design This summer, the Department of Drama’s Production and Design Studio (P&D) will become one of the first programs to convert a performance space to light emitting diode (LED) technology, giving students a unique chance to learn the latest lighting design techniques on state-of-the-art LED equipment. The LED Project was made possible by an anonymous gift to the school and matching funds from Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell. The initiative will replace the majority of the incandescent lights in the department’s Shop Theater with LED fixtures, including wash and spot units. LED lighting is a rapidly evolving technology that produces light through electroluminescence. !Starting in the fall, when the full LED system will be in place, P&D students will have a choice of technology with which to design. Incandescent light will remain a primary tool in teaching stage lighting, but the LED fixtures will enable students to explore another type of lighting design. !“For theatrical purposes—where lighting needs to do so much more than simply illuminate—it’s essential that the next generation of lighting and production designers develop an intimate knowledge of LED’s differing capabilities,” said Chris Jaehnig, Director of the P&D Studio. “That’s what we’ll be teaching here.” !

Happy Anniversary !In March, Playwrights Horizons Theater School celebrated thirty years of training NYU students. Helen Cook, the school’s director, recalls the festive occasion.   What an amazing night we had at Playwrights Horizons Theater! It was a huge celebration of the Pearl Anniversary of the school. Approximately 200 guests —alums, faculty, and staff from Playwrights and NYU Drama—filled the MainStage theater and enjoyed entertainment, including four one act plays written, directed, and performed by alums. Guest speakers included Bob Moss, founder of Playwrights Horizons, Tim Sanford, Artistic Director, and Jean Andzulis, Associate Director of the School. There was so much laughter and a wonderful sense of people playing together and rediscovering each other.  

A MESSAGE FROM THE

CHAIRAt NYU/Tisch Drama, we want to train our students for a life in the theatre, film, television, or—better yet—some media form they may have a hand in developing. It is not their first job we care about, it is the one they’ll have thirty years from now. !Yes, our students will work on audition technique, learn from

working professionals, and—of course—build a network. Yes, our internship program has launched students into exciting careers. However, we hope students will use their time in the Department of Drama to develop into the kind of artist/intellectual who remakes the theatre. !In that sense, I like to tell incoming students that everyday in the program is about your exit. Everyday is an opportunity to connect what you learned in your sociology class with what you are doing in your movement class, to think across disciplines, to innovate, and to better understand why it all matters. !We will do our best to help with that first job. More importantly, we will help students develop the skills to build a full life as an artist. !— Edward Ziter Chair Department of Drama, UG Tisch School of the Arts New York University

ALEC BALDWIN

FollowSpot is published two times a year, Fall and Spring, by the Department of Drama of NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. The

newsletter is edited by Joe McGowan and designed by Andy Yanni. We welcome your comments and suggestions at

tisch.drama.ug@nyu.edu.

DISTINGUISHED TEACHING AWARD

An Outstanding Teacher   This spring, Associate Dean Louis Scheeder, an arts professor in the Department of Drama, where he serves as Director of The Classical Studio, was awarded the NYU Distinguished Teaching Award, presented annually to full-time faculty in recognition of exceptional teaching.   An internationally recognized director and interpreter of classical texts, for nearly three decades Professor Scheeder’s most significant contribution to Tisch has been to his students. A former student commented, “Louis challenged me as a student and as an artist, asking for commitment, for an all-in attitude, for hard work, all of the things it takes to find your feet and hone your skills as a professional and as an adult.” Congratulations, Louis.

Alec Baldwin Recalls His Master Class at Tisch Drama !In the spring of 2013, I taught an acting class at Tisch. It was a scene study class, focusing on contemporary writers and plays. I was excited to have the opportunity to participate in a real class, encompassing fourteen weeks and including sixteen students. !Watching the actors perform, I was struck by two, overlapping ideas. One is the fragility of the young, student actor. I watched with real joy and amazement as many of these young people walked, slowly at first, and then more confidently, out onto the diving board. They worried about things. Did they know their lines? How do you move on stage? Am I conveying the values of the character? In some cases, do I even want to be here? !Education is a process. Begin at point A and travel to point B, then C, and so on. A gradual journey that requires dedication, patience, and talent. !It also requires a good teacher, which leads me to the other great thing I witnessed that spring. And that is the fact that Daniel Spector is a wonderful teacher. Daniel is knowledgeable and constructive in the extreme. I could not have had a better partner for that class. !Spector left me confident that NYU's students are in the best possible hands.

Department of Drama Tisch School of the Arts New York University 721 Broadway, 3rd Floor South New York, NY 10003