Undergraduate Scene Design
Undergraduate Scene Design
The heart and soul of a stage falls into the hands of the scene designer. The right scene design can transport you to a new world, elicit certain moods, depict themes that no other theatrical element can, and entertain the audience by its beauty, detail or mystery. At UNCSA, you can be a part of one of the only undergraduate Scene Design concentrations in the country for theater, opera, dance and film, launching you into the exciting career of professional stage design. The degree is offered as separate three-year concentrations at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Each concentration offers unique, hands-on opportunities and an advanced, comprehensive curriculum that can only be found at UNCSA.
Bachelor of Fine Arts
First-Second Years
Students seeking a Scene Design degree will experience a thorough curriculum, molding
designers into well-rounded artists that understand all aspects that go into a performance.
Since theater is a collaborative art, the goal is to ensure that the set designer
understands how all pieces of production work together with the stage as the backdrop
to it all. Classroom instruction at the beginning of the concentration will help you
master basic skills like drawing, rendering, drafting, model building and scene painting.
You will also have plenty of opportunities for hands-on work in a studio environment
seeing your designs come to life. Your responsibilities for actual productions will
continue to grow as you progress through the program.
Third-Fourth Years
In your remaining years in the program, you will begin to spend more time in the studio
working on at least 14 actual productions for a minimum of 20 hours a week. Your practical
production experience will cover a variety of theatrical spaces ranging from flexible
black-box venues to large-scale Broadway-type spaces. Your classroom instruction will
include more advanced production and studio skills, lighting design and even costume
design, helping you develop a broad understanding of professional theater.
Careers
Graduates of the Scene Design concentration go on to start careers in their chosen profession. They have become scenic designers for productions across the country ranging from Broadway, regional theatre, dance, opera, film, television and themed entertainment.
