LIPA theatre and performance design OR technology

2

Hi! I’m currently considering applying to LIPA to study either theatre and performance design or technology (not sure which yet as I am most interested in prop making?). At the open day, the course seemed really good but also like it might be very stressful and that there wouldn’t be much time for normal university activities etc. Just wanted to ask if any current students studying either of these courses could give an insight into what it’s like and whether they enjoy it or whether it’s stressful. Also, how much support and teaching is received from tutors as it seemed like a lot of the learning was self-directed which worries me as I want to learn practical skills and don’t have much experience in this area. Another thing for me to consider is that I am more interested in having a career in the art department of a film set rather than a theatre so I also wondered if this is an issue? Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks :smile:

Reply 1

itsphoenixx

8

Original post

by Nell07

Hi! I’m currently considering applying to LIPA to study either theatre and performance design or technology (not sure which yet as I am most interested in prop making?). At the open day, the course seemed really good but also like it might be very stressful and that there wouldn’t be much time for normal university activities etc. Just wanted to ask if any current students studying either of these courses could give an insight into what it’s like and whether they enjoy it or whether it’s stressful. Also, how much support and teaching is received from tutors as it seemed like a lot of the learning was self-directed which worries me as I want to learn practical skills and don’t have much experience in this area. Another thing for me to consider is that I am more interested in having a career in the art department of a film set rather than a theatre so I also wondered if this is an issue? Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks :smile:

Hii! I'm a second year theatre and performance design student and my boyfriend is a second theatre tech so pretty good for this question haha. I personally really enjoy the course, there's a mix of stuff we do which is always good fun. You absolutely do do some self directed stuff, but you definitely get a lot of instruction! So in my first year I would learn how to do things from the tutors and then could go on to use what they'd taught me to do things on my own? So I'd ask "oh what's the best way to do xyz" and then from what they'd shown me I could then use that to make my own pieces. They absolutely do do prop making in the tech course too, in fact I'm fairly sure in first year tech you have an entire class just on prop making, so it all really depends on what else you wanna do - if you do design you obviously also have to do set and costume, if you do tech you gotta try out construction and stage management for example. Personally I'm not someone who goes out clubbing but I do have plenty of time for going to shows/concerts, hanging out with my friends, spending time doing art etc. There will definitely be times of year that are crazy busy and you don't have much free time, but after that particularly busy module is over it should let up.

They should be pretty alright with it if you wanna do design in film, they even send us placement opportunities for film sets so we can have a look if we wanna study it! It obviously works slightly differently to design for theatre because you have to consider different things but it's not a bad thing at all :smile:

lemme know if you have any other questions

Reply 2

Nell07

OP

2

Original post

by mbainger

Hii! I'm a second year theatre and performance design student and my boyfriend is a second theatre tech so pretty good for this question haha. I personally really enjoy the course, there's a mix of stuff we do which is always good fun. You absolutely do do some self directed stuff, but you definitely get a lot of instruction! So in my first year I would learn how to do things from the tutors and then could go on to use what they'd taught me to do things on my own? So I'd ask "oh what's the best way to do xyz" and then from what they'd shown me I could then use that to make my own pieces. They absolutely do do prop making in the tech course too, in fact I'm fairly sure in first year tech you have an entire class just on prop making, so it all really depends on what else you wanna do - if you do design you obviously also have to do set and costume, if you do tech you gotta try out construction and stage management for example. Personally I'm not someone who goes out clubbing but I do have plenty of time for going to shows/concerts, hanging out with my friends, spending time doing art etc. There will definitely be times of year that are crazy busy and you don't have much free time, but after that particularly busy module is over it should let up.
They should be pretty alright with it if you wanna do design in film, they even send us placement opportunities for film sets so we can have a look if we wanna study it! It obviously works slightly differently to design for theatre because you have to consider different things but it's not a bad thing at all :smile:

lemme know if you have any other questions

Thank you so much, that’s really helpful x

Reply 3

eten1105

2

Original post

by Nell07

Hi! I’m currently considering applying to LIPA to study either theatre and performance design or technology (not sure which yet as I am most interested in prop making?). At the open day, the course seemed really good but also like it might be very stressful and that there wouldn’t be much time for normal university activities etc. Just wanted to ask if any current students studying either of these courses could give an insight into what it’s like and whether they enjoy it or whether it’s stressful. Also, how much support and teaching is received from tutors as it seemed like a lot of the learning was self-directed which worries me as I want to learn practical skills and don’t have much experience in this area. Another thing for me to consider is that I am more interested in having a career in the art department of a film set rather than a theatre so I also wondered if this is an issue? Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks :smile:

Hi I’m on the design course. The design course is great and really creative howeve looks ablot at costumes and set however making skills for set and props (which are more similar than you think) is a big part of it. If you want creativity then i know the tech course isn’t as creative as some people hoped but there can be a lot of crossover between the courses.
-The tutors are all really good at what they do and while there is a lot of self directed learning (mainly allowing you to find your own flow and work how you do best) the tutors are always there to support you and teach you different techniques and if you have any questions they all answer emails quickly and it normally isn’t too hard to find them.
-The skills you learn at LIPA can be easily transferred to working on film and tv. Even if you feel like you’re missing something then your degeee isn’t the last learning you’ll ever do. There’s so many training courses and things to do after your degree while you’re in the industry so you can move quite freely in your career and find why you really love. LIPA does also have so many different disciplines so if you do want to look at working in film and tv then i’m sure the tutors on them courses would be more than happy to talk to see what they can do too.
-It is hard work being at LIPA and timetables can get intense but you don’t need to worry about not having a social life. Plan accordingly and you can extinguish a hangover in under 20 mins and still be in uni on time. There’s also so much more than just clubbing which you’ll love, most people get it out of their system by halloween and then only go out once or twice a week after that.

LIPA theatre and performance design OR technology

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you

How The Student Room is moderated