The Academy of Live Technology—a school originating in the UK, has now gone global and opened a location at Rock Lititz, in Lititz, PA. The Academy of Live Technology (ALT) at Rock Lititz and the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design (PCA&D), in Lancaster, PA have partnered together to offer a four-year BFA degree in Live Experience Design & Production. PLSN spoke with ALT at Rock Lititz Program Director, Sharon Huizinga—who for the past five years was the Head of the MFA Lighting program at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)— about this new degree program. .
Tell us about what makes the degree in Live Experience Design & Production different to other production degrees.
Sharon Huizinga: The uniqueness of this degree is that it is happening, in part, right here at Rock Lititz. Students will take foundation year, communication and liberal arts classes at PCA&D’s Lancaster campus which is 9 miles away, and entertainment industry classes at Rock Lititz in a brand new, purpose-built building. We are offering a degree program that is industry embedded with the companies and activities happening on the Rock Lititz campus, which is really exciting. We want students to feel that their professional career starts the moment they set foot on campus, not after they finish their degree.
Another unique aspect of the degree is its focus on the entire entertainment industry. Theater, dance, and opera is about 20% of the industry. That’s based on interviews with a variety of lighting companies about equipment rentals and sales, which I know is not the entire picture, but we’re using that as a general guideline. That’s everything from Broadway to regional theater, to educational productions, and community theater. All of that is about 20% of the industry. Theatre, dance and opera is our foundation and our history. It’s a really important 20%, but many training programs treat that part as if it was 80 to 100% of the industry. Then there are some people who say, ‘Eh, you don’t need to teach theater. It doesn’t matter anymore.’ That’s inaccurate as well. To me, Broadway, for instance, is still a gold standard, but there’s all this other amazing stuff happening in concert touring, sporting and corporate events, presidential inaugurations, fashion shows, cruise ships, theme parks, and on and on and on that desperately needs good people. And besides, there is not enough space on Broadway (again, for instance) for everyone coming out of production training programs.
What we are looking to do in this program is say, ‘Let’s reflect the reality of the industry.’ We want to train students for the entire entertainment industry. That’s why being at Rock Lititz is so exciting and important; because so much of our industry has a presence here or comes through here on a regular basis, or is happy to visit for a guest lecture or a training because of the location. I think one of the really unique things we’re doing is a hands-on, industry embedded education, largely focused on the rest of the industry. The other 80%. So, if some programs are doing 80% theater, dance, and opera, and fitting in 20% of ‘Let’s do these other things,’ we’re inverting that. We’ll be 80% all this other stuff while understanding that you need to know something of how to interact with the type of collaborative environment that is involved in putting on a play, or a dance production, or an opera as well. By no means am I saying that we’re the only people out there who are going to be providing great training in the entertainment industry, by the way. There are plenty of excellent programs out there, but we certainly offer a unique embedded experience and access to industry because of our location on the Rock Lititz campus.
There has been a disconnect between the training programs on the one hand, and the huge need for qualified people on the other hand. Over here are students saying, ‘We want jobs,’ and over there are all these companies saying, ‘We need people.’ What’s missing? There’s a missing thing, right? Laura Frank and Ben Nicholson have some really clear ways of describing this problem. Part of this problem is about expectations on both sides, which I believe can be addressed by knowing each other, through mentorship, industry and classroom integration, and an industry wide focus.
What does the Live Experience Design and Production BFA program entail and do you do a certificate program.
The program is a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Every student will take a foundation year series of classes including applied arts, art history and communication. In their sophomore year, all students will take Lighting Design & Production 1, Sound Design & Production 1, Visuals Design & Production 1, and Staging Design & Production 1. Then after that they choose two of those areas to focus on for their Junior and Senior years. Also, everybody will be taking a two-course management series. So, that’s looking at all the managements, fill in every word you want in front of management, production, touring, etc., and we’ll be touching those. Students will also take two semesters of The Business of Live Events, two semesters of Research Methods and Professional Practices and a rotation of design electives like Extended Realities and Multimedia Installation. Students will create major realized projects in their Experiential Studio 1 and 2 classes as well as participating in a capstone internship. All of the industry classes will have hands experience, utilizing the new ALT at Rock Lititz building which has classrooms, digital media specific classrooms and a purpose built 5800 square foot studio (Studio 4) and the equipment inventory that one would expect from something happening on the Rock Lititz campus.
We want to make sure everything is practical, hands-on, and embedded in the industry. Here’s the progression for every piece of knowledge I want students to gain. First the classroom: ‘Let me tell you about it,’ and then practical: ‘let me see you do it, but I’ll be there with you.’ Then ‘you do it on your own’ and finally ‘let me place you somewhere where you go do that with people who do it for a living.’
There is also an 18 credit certificate program in LiveX. And there is a two year AA (Associates of Arts degree) and for students enrolled in other major programs at PCA&D, there is the option to get a LiveX minor.
Who are some of the faculty members for ALT?
We’re right in the middle of a faculty search, so I can’t share any names with you right now, but we are searching for two full-time faculty positions to start this fall, and we’ll be searching for additional adjuncts to be in the mix as well. Obviously, there’s a lot of local talent in and around Rock Lititz with a mix of people interested in everything from giving a guest lecture to teaching a full semester class.
As the program grows in student number, there is growth in the number faculty members built into our partnership. We’re starting with two full time faculty members, but at the end of the day, the program should have one lighting, one sound, one visuals, one staging, one management faculty person, for instance. Then at a certain point we’ll have a large enough number of students that having two faculty in each area might be necessary.
I want to say one thing about faculty: We are long past the days when one or two faculty members in lighting or any other design and production area could possibly personally know and teach everything that a student should be aware of. I now think of the faculty role as part curator, part mentor and part teacher. Some part of what a student should learn in Lighting 1, 2, 3 or Staging 1, 2, 3, a faculty member will know and be able to teach themselves. As for the other parts, a good curator will know those parts exist and turn to industry partners, personal networks, alumi, etcetera to teach a topic, with guidance so that the students and professionals both benefit from the experience. Everyone benefits if we, educators, open the doors wide and bring in people who know more than us. Everyone benefits if those individuals and industry partners are willing to be involved in the classroom.
Tell us how your recent teaching informs your approach.
For the last five years, I’ve been the head of the MFA lighting program at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). At CCM Lighting Design & technology, [Assistant Professor of Lighting] Kevin Lawson and I, were very firmly committed to the idea that we’re training people for the entire entertainment industry and exposed our students to all of the jobs that are within it. Everything that exists, I want students to at least know about it, because there’s room for every type of person in this industry, it’s just a question of finding the aspect of it that sparks with an individual student.
What would you like the readers of PLSN to take away about ALT at Rock Lititiz?
First, I want them to think, ‘Holy sh*t, that’s awesome! How can I get involved?’ Another thing that I want to share is that the outpouring of goodwill from the entertainment industry has been mind-blowing. That’s from individuals who want to be involved, companies who want to be involved, people who are interested in setting up scholarship funds, but also donating equipment, or their time, or putting up their hand to become a mentor for students after graduation. In all imaginable ways, the outpouring of goodwill and support from industry has reinforced something that I’ve always known to be true, that our industry has a huge heart.
How can the larger industry become involved with ALT?
Get in touch with me. Know that there’s a lot of ways to be involved. Obviously, we’re doing a faculty search right now. Apply for these faculty positions, keep an eye open for future positions and apply for them. There are opportunities to talk to students as a guest lecturer, to teach a short module on a specific topic or, say, ‘Hey, I live nearby. I’d like to teach a whole class.’ We are currently fundraising and building an endowment and scholarship funds. Let us know if you are interested in being a mentor for students. That has many different forms, from having a student involved in a production you are working on, to a paid internship, or a longer term mentor/mentee relationship.
You know what I would love to set up? Something along the lines of The Hemsley Lighting Programs and their internship and other programs. That’s an amazing organization. The work they do is phenomenal. I’ve had five students participate in their internship, independent study and fellowship programs in the last five years, and the experience was invaluable. I’m looking at the rest of the industry and thinking, ‘Okay. For concert touring, festivals, awards shows, theme parks, etcetera; how do we set up something along the line of the Hemsley program for the industry, that is not necessarily focused on a single area? Who out there wants to give that level of commitment? To say, “Yes, I’ll take a someone who just graduated for two months or four months and mentor them?’”
That’s my ask of industry. If you want to nurture the next generation, or want good people you can hire, put some serious skin in the game, whether that’s money or equipment or time. That’s really what it takes. The involvement of industry—whether that’s from companies or individuals—practitioners are key to education in what we do. The Academy of Live Technology at Rock Lititz is an opportunity for the entire industry to help shape this training together. Let’s do it.
If you want to get involved, or have questions email Sharon Huizinga at: Sharon.huizinga@academyoflivetechnology.com
Learn more of about the Experience Design and Technology BFA program: https://pcad.edu/live-experience/
Learn more about the Academy of Live Technology in the UK: https://academyoflivetechnology.co.uk/
