CFA: What does a student get from completing BU’s Scene Painting Certificate program?

Fargo: We noticed that the industry doesn’t always require an advanced degree. But they want people who’ve been immersed in an environment [where they will gain] an artistic and intellectual perspective in all areas of design. Our certificate program is very different from other programs. We are trying to create a higher level of skills in our certificate students. Being in a university environment gives our students a leg up on the average skilled theatre professional. Our students can speak about design and how the visual aspect relates to the telling of the story. They develop a much more sophisticated perspective. 

CFA: How do students achieve that sophisticated perspective?

Fargo: We have the 50-50 model where students develop 50% of their skills by working on a production (solving problems, collaborating, and budgets) and 50% on classroom projects. They’re involved in the design process all the way through — by attending meetings and interacting with the design students. They take classes like The History of Period Styles and others in drawing, scene design, and light and color. The students acquire visual skills and the ability to assess and break down processes in a sophisticated way that the average person coming up through the industry can’t.

CFA: What do you look for in Certificate applicants?

Fargo: I am looking for talented students who are seeking the needed skills to get a job. They may have graduated from colleges/universities that did not have extensive theater programs or, they are people who work in the profession and feel they don’t have the skills to advance. Having both of those types of students in the program is a great combination. They’re bringing different things; they can teach each other. Sometimes I encourage [experienced students] to ‘unlearn’ some of the things that they’ve been doing. They realize that they might have been big fish in a small pond and now they have to up their game. They get a more well-rounded experience than if they [remained in the field] learning as they go. They don’t necessarily need to pursue some of the more academic courses that you get from a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program.

CFA: There’s a bright future for graduates of the Certificate program, correct?

Fargo: Yes! I would say 95- 98% of the people who come through our program get a job. Since we began the program in 2008, 80% of our graduates are members of the union and are working in film, TV, or in very reputable theaters like The Public Theater and Metropolitan Opera shops in New York, or in regional theater at high-level management positions.