Rose Bruford and RWCMD

[Lola]

Hey! I want to go into technical theatre, esp lighting design and have just been accepted at Rose Bruford for their lighting design course. I was wondering what anyone else thoguth about the course and the college coz I want to know how well respected it is and how useful the qualification is in the proffession.

I've also been accepted at R.W.C.M.D for stage management and at Reading, Kent and UWE for theatre studies and am unsure if I should do a uni course for an overall knowledge and then work my way up or should go straight for R.B?

 

Any ideas?!!! Please!

Lola xxx

[Guest lightnix]

Hi Lola, welcome to the Blue Room

 

We have a few students / graduates from RB and RWCMD on board, not least our very own Mr. Administrator, peter who is just coming to the end of his course in Cardiff :)

 

I'm sure the others will identify themselves soon and I've taken the liberty of editing the topic title to help attract their attention :(

 

Congratulations on the offers you have received so far. I hope you have a great time as a student and that the Blue Room will be a helpful resource.

[PDD]

If you want to be solely a lighting designer then the RB course seems ideal. If you want to do more than just lighting design (and bearing in mind that will make you far more employable unless you're truely willing to struggle to get into the LD market), RWCMD is by far the better course and better university IMHO. It offers a wider range of disciplines as part of the course, is well respected, and you can still specialise in lighting design through the many placements. And Cardiff is less expensive than London!

[SparkySteve]

Hi Lola...

 

I have to disagree with PDD that the bruford course is better if you want to soley be a lighting designer. Although the course is indeed titled lighting design there are lots of various other roles which you can do. Many people who do the course don't actually want to be LD's and the course caters for them.

 

The are a number of threads in this section of the Blue Room with similar questions... a quick search will reveal the most obvious ones.

 

Congratulations on your acceptance, and if you have any more problems please don't hesitate to ask.

[danburns]

Hi,

I am in my first year at RWCMD, and can already confirm that you will et a good grounding in all areas of technical theatre - we've already had several lectures on lighting, sound, stage management and electrics (as well as the four hours a week on theatre studies)

 

It's certainly a good course so far, and the current first/second years are a good crowd - I've had lots of support on my last show from the older students working on it.

 

If you want to know about anything (at least from a first years perspective) on the course, get in touch!

 

 

Dan

[Rob]

Try having a look at the Training FAQ which I think will answer a lot of your questions.

[Guest lightnix]

Although the [Rose Bruford] course is indeed titled lighting design... Many people who do the course don't actually want to be LD's and the course caters for them.

That's reassuring to know There have been some concerns expressed (not least by me) that there are too many totally design-oriented courses, which do not do enough to familiarise students with technical methods and practicalities.

 

To broaden the picture a little, both RB and RWCMD are in fairly nice parts of the world. Cardiff is a great city,with plenty to do and a lot of regeneration going on; I always enjoyed working up there. RB (in Sidcup) is not a million miles from where I live (Petts Wood) and I have to say it's not a bad place to be, either. Even though it's in Kent, it's just within the M25, so kind of technically still "in London" and it's only about 30 mins by train into the West End; go the same distance in the other direction and there are some nice little villages and pubs to check out, along with some lovely, big green spaces in the local area. I've been living around here since 1990 and, on balance, I can't think of many other places I'd want to settle down.

[timperrett]

I have graduated from Rose Bruford and spent my time there studying and researching into design: what I like to design, why it looks good, why it doesn't look good, progressing in my thought processes in my creativity in design and how I come up with the ideas in the first place.

 

I still learnt a fair amount of the technical elements whilst at university and through working with other companies and my experience before commencing my degree programme and after, I feel that I am gaining a good balance and grounding in both the technical and the creative very early on in my career. You also learn a lot from the people around you on the course, some times it is how not to do it!

 

RB is about studying the art, not necessarily learning how to do lighting design or teaching you how to become lighting designer. I feel that it has given me a creative edge in the work that I do, and although I still have much to learn technically and creatively, I feel that my time at Bruford, for me, was useful and thoroughly enjoyable although I also understand that the university style studying and learning is not for everyone.

 

I think it also is worth questioning what we mean by 'technical' do we mean understanding the electronics of how things work, or do we mean the physical rigging, placing, pointing etc part of the process? Just a query - I am taking the physical route. I don't dig electronic circuitry that much!

 

Because you study the art, it also means that you are not restricted to just doing lighting design. Much of my work is now in camera direction for large events and concerts. The same principals apply across the board - I am still needing to create a balanced (or purposefully unbalanced) picture and transition to another with suitable timing and pace, analysing colour and depth and working the dynamics of the piece I am working on - the similarities go on. RB helped to encourage those qualities out of me. I also gained many great contacts in the industry as well as what I consider to be one of the important things about university: great friends.

 

As with everything, it is what you make it.

[AndrewGrant]

Hi,

 

I similary got into Rose Bruford & RWCMD last year. However, after advice from friends in the industry I decided to give the big three drama schools a go. I got into Bristol Old Vic and LAMDA to study on their Stage Management & Techincal Theatre Courses. I am now finishing the first year at LAMDA and can honestly say it is the best thing I've ever done.

On the course I have been able to do alot of technical stuff (I.e LD, Chief LX, Sound) but is has also given me the other skills which you need to work in the theatre industry (I.e Stage Manager, DSM, Carpentry.)

 

My thinking about RB is that it may teach you to be an LD but if you don't understand the basics you're not designing for the bigger picture. For example you need to know how a set is built before you can design for one. LAMDA is teaching me that.

 

RB has wonderful equipment and lovely spaces, whereas LAMDA still uses older lanterns and less recent technology. This I feel is better because you learn the basics. One of my tutors says to me, 'If you can focus a SIL30 then when you come to focus a Source4 it is luxury.' This is surely a good thing for when you go into the big wide world?

 

Just a little biased opinion!

[James S]

Likewise I applied to RWCMD, CSSD and RB for courses starting this september, recieving offers at RWCMD and RB (there was some mess up re: UCAS/ RB and my apllication there)

 

I was severely unimpressed with Rose Bruford - They seemed really unorganised, unfriendly and unhelpful whenever I emailled etc and loosing my application didnt aid this. I sent emails to them to see if I could make a visit during term (I couldnt go to the open day) and I just got frankly unfriendly emails refusing outright for any help what so ever.

 

I ended up going to another open day and not liking the place or the presentation of their 'service' either - cant explain it directly, it just didnt feel at all somewhere I'd want to spend any time. Obviously this isnt a critisicm against it or people there - my opinion was negative (I know people who went who liked it).

 

 

I think I'm going to go with RWCMD if any course at all. They came across most friendly, helpful, presentable and the best course I looked at really.

[Sez2004]

It is quite true that a bad experience during the application procedure can make the best of universities come across badly, as I experienced this myself at a particular university during the application procedure last year, but as most people say, it is purely up to the individual and where you feel comfortable.

 

P.S James S, if you do attend RWCMD, Ill be seeing you next year, as will a couple of others I know who use this forum.

 

Best of luck everyone with making your choices

[Tosh]

Hi

 

I'm in the middle of doing the Postgrad SM course at RWCMD and am finding it a big help. I'd never done lighting before (being a SM myself) but after about 8 weeks of being there I managed to design and operate lights for the fashion show they have each year. Amazing! However, I did do a degree first and I think it helps to get some time in the theatre and backstage before you undertake a specialist course like the undergrad one at RWCMD. They've just introduced a new PG lighting design course which will only take you if you've done a degree or have lsome relevant of theatre experience. It's up to you whether you think you r definitly up for being a LX designer or whether (like I did) you know you want to work in the theatre and that's about it! All good courses though, as far as I've heard!