# Westlake High School Technical Program



## GoboMan (May 11, 2013)

This is Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. I wish I had this opportunity when I was growing up. We need more school programs like this in the country! Sadly, when districts decide to re-allocate their yearly budget, this is the first thing to get cut. 



2013 Zenith Light Show - Saturday - YouTube


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## derekleffew (May 11, 2013)

Moving this thread to the Education forum.


GoboMan said:


> ... I wish I had this opportunity when I was growing up. We need more school programs like this in the country! ...


Consider the counterpoint: 
Would _any_ of the graduates be able to list the five functions or four controllable properties of lighting? 
Can they describe the McCandless Method?
What would they do when faced with four 6x9 s, seven 6" Fresnel s, and a six dimmer autotransformer board (with one dimmer broken) to light a play in a storefront theatre in Chicago?
"Light Shows" are great, but there's not a lot of call in the professional world for that genre. By definition, live entertainment involves a human aspect. Which compliments the aging starlet's skintone better, R33, R34, or R36? Should the backlight be L201 or 202?
Does anyone really care that the students know what the third rotating gobo on Wheel#2 in the X-spot is?
How many of these kids are going to be hired to be a programmer on a Broadway show or rock tour?

Shouldn't high school serve merely as an introduction, college as the foundation, and real life work be the specifics?
Looking forward to some intelligent discussion/debate.


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## BillConnerFASTC (May 11, 2013)

I'm not sure that I see high school as much of a training ground for a profession in theatre. Inspiring ground possibly.

I don't think there is one size fits all - or even a majority. People learn differently and rarely at high school or even college age have the experiences to select a profession. 

Besides, things change too fast. Why not let them program moving lights in high school? it will be all different by the time they get to a professional level, and them they can talk about programming those lights like talk about running a piano board.

Were I teaching still, or should I say again. I would most value the students that question everything and open to everything, and with out some of the specific experiences, the questions will be less interesting. Not to mention a variety of no nothings and think they know everythings is good for all.


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## tdrga (May 11, 2013)

derekleffew said:


> How many of these kids are going to be hired to be a programmer on a Broadway show or rock tour?
> 
> Shouldn't high school serve merely as an introduction, college as the foundation, and real life work be the specifics?
> Looking forward to some intelligent discussion/debate.



While I am not a graduate of the Westlake program, I have worked with a few of them. I know one who has worked on Broadway as a lighting/media programmer. 

I think that your high school -> college -> real life progression is correct. The Westlake students have a more expensive set of tools to use as an introduction to lighting, not necessarily a better set of tools.

-Todd 

Sent from a mobile device.


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## bobcatarts (May 11, 2013)

tdrga said:


> I think that your high school -> college -> real life progression is correct. The Westlake students have a more expensive set of tools to use as an introduction to lighting, not necessarily a better set of tools.



Two important points from this: More money in the program doesn't always equate to better outcomes. Also that vocational training and academic training, even in a specific subject like event production tech, aren't mutually exclusive.

In high school I had to learn on cold-war-era analog lighting and sound equipment, where I learned the McCandless Method (thanks for bringing that up Derekleffew) and other fundamentals, how to fix broken gear and respect high voltage. Unfortunately I didn't have access to modern gear and only got access to older digital boards in college. Undergrad students weren't allowed to touch the Vectorworks or other CAD computers at all, so it was great to learn how to draft by hand, I missed out on valuable job skills I need -and lack- today. 

It was a great experience learning how to make do and be creative on a shoestring but today I see how those limitations made it harder to "think big" sometimes in my production and design work -because I don't always know what is possible when presented with bigger/better gear or venues. On the other hand, I frequently encounter graduates of the School of Infinite Budget that can't cope well with whatever they find (or can make) functional in tech storage.

Secondly, educational institutions and production/event venues need to much more actively engage each other in towns big -but especially small- to give students more part-time apprenticeships where they gain valuable experience working with professionals while still learning the trade. Not all venues have the best gear -and they learn to adapt- and others may give them exposure to better gear than their learning institutions.


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## Les (May 11, 2013)

For most of these students, this is probably the pinnacle of their lighting design 'career', which probably really sucks when you think about it. Unless they move on to extremely high-end productions and venues, most real-world situations may be disappointing. I think there's a very thin line between getting kids interested in lighting and setting unrealistic expectations. You need to cultivate a love of _designing_, not making cool things happen. Anyone can love that. It's kind of like falling in love with someone just for their looks -- what happens when you get older, looks fade, and you have a bunch of bills to pay?  . I would council graduates that if they want/expect to work with similar equipment again, try to work at a large rental house or similar and skip the art of theatre entirely. 

Don't get me wrong - it looks like a great program. But unfortunately the technology/experience slope is downhill from there for a vast majority of the graduates. This may be the "best they will ever have", which can be a huge inspiration killer when faced with repairing 6x9's and sweet-talking an old, past-its-prime Colortran board should they ever move on to the theatre world most of us know (and still love).


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