SCENIC, LIGHTING AND PROJECTION DESIGN
TECHNICIAN, AS WELL AS COSTUME PRODUCTION
AND WARDROBE TECHNICIAN, ARE TWO
GROWING CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS OFFERED BY
THE GWC THEATER ARTS DEPARTMENT
Rachael Kubart fell in love with theater while in high school. She performed in musical theater when she was a junior in her native Nevada, but what really appealed to her was the magic that occurs offstage that brings productions to life.
“I told my parents I wanted to work in theater,” recalls Kubart, “but they were like, ‘That’s not a real job.’”
It may have taken her some time, but Kubart, who moved to Southern California in her mid-20s and now is 37, is well on her way to pursuing her dream of becoming a stage electrician.
And she gives a lot of credit to Golden West College.
In fall 2015, unfulfilled as an accounts payable specialist, Kubart quit her full-time “real job” to go to college.
“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I first told my company that I was going back to school,” she says. “They were like, ‘Oh yeah, you should go get your business degree.’’’
Kubart took an online business class, but didn’t like it.
She decided to enroll at GWC for some general education classes and quickly gravitated to the Theater Arts department.
In spring 2018, Kubart graduated from GWC with an Associate in Arts Degree in Theater Arts.
Along with her AA degree, she earned a certificate in Scenic, Lighting and Projection Design, one of two niche theater certificate programs offered at GWC. The Scenic, Lighting and Projection Design Technician certificate program is in its third year, and the Costume Production and Wardrobe Technician certificate program is in its first.
Both small-but-growing programs provide GWC students skills that can take them to a four-year college and beyond — not only to local and regional theater, but also to the bright lights of Hollywood and Broadway.
“These certificate programs are for students who already know what they like and want, and we’ve been thrilled to offer them,” says Martie Ramm Engle, professor and chair of Golden West College’s Performing Arts (Theater Arts, Music and Dance).
GWC is one of the few area colleges to offer courses in theater projection design, Ramm Engle notes. Professionals from their respective industries sit on advisory boards that are critical to keeping the certificate programs as current as possible, Ramm Engle said.
In particular, Scenic, Lighting and Projection Design has undergone dynamic changes due to advances in technology, making visual effects an integral part of most modern theater productions. Stage technicians work closely with design artists to bring scenery, lighting and projection design visions to life.
“I think we’re going to keep steadily growing,” Ramm Engle says of the Scenic, Lighting and Projection Design Technician certificate program, as well as the Costume Production and Wardrobe Technician certificate program.
‘AMAZING FOUNDATION’
Kubart is in her third semester at Cal State University Fullerton where she expects to graduate in May 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Theater Production and Design.
“I got an amazing foundation at Golden West College,” says Kubart, who during her time at GWC was able to land a part-time job in the scene shop at prestigious South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.
“I like the idea of making what the audience sees on stage happen,” says Kubart. “I’ve always gone to theater productions,” she adds. “I enjoy watching them, but I’ve always looked at them from a technical perspective, like, how did they do that? What makes that happen? When I found out there’s a whole industry that just makes stuff onstage happen, I knew that’s what I want to do.”
Among the base classes Kubart took at GWC were ones in scenic design, lighting design, costume design, and makeup.
In her costume design class, Kubart and her fellow students worked on costume designs for the production “Dracula.” She also was stage manager for a show performed in Stage West, GWC’s smaller black box theater.
Trained technicians in the field of Scenic, Lighting and Projection Design are in demand for educational, community and professional theater venues, theme parks, television and motion picture studios and for special events.
And the Southern California region is bursting with career opportunities for professionals with hands-on technical theater training, Engle says.
The Scenic, Lighting and Projection Design Technician certificate program prepares students for entry-level positions as technicians in a variety of public and private theater venues.
Classes are taught by industry veterans, and focus on the art and craft of preparing a stage for a production. Students not only learn about such things as color theory, scenic painting, stage lighting, and stagecraft, but also how to construct scenery, execute projection designs, operate mixers and projectors, perform fundamental image and video editing, and more. Successful completion of 17 units is required for a certificate.
“It was excellent,” Kubart says of her experience at GWC. “The department is really small — I had the same professor for scenic design and lighting design, but he’s a super knowledgeable guy who’s been a lighting designer and a scenic designer for years and years.”
“And the classes were small, which allowed the students to get a lot of hands-on attention from the faculty.”
After CSUF, she plans to apply to graduate school to earn a master’s degree in lighting production and design. Kubart says she loves “making the magic of theater happen.”
And her parents, both of whom are retired, fully support her new career choice.
“They’re really proud of me for going to college,” Kubart says. “I know they wanted me to go to college originally, but they couldn’t afford to send me and so I didn’t go.” Kubart appreciates the affordability of GWC and the solid foundation the college provided her as she charts her course toward a dynamic new career in theater. “Knowing I am now doing what I love,” she says, “I know I’ll be just fine.”
For more information about the Golden West College Theater Arts department, go to www.gwctheater.com
