Guided by the visionary leadership of a team of nationally and internationally acclaimed theater professionals, the Programs in Design and Production offer rigorous professional training in the arts of scene, costume, lighting and sound design, as well as in technical direction and management. Specializations, or supplemental courses of study, are available in puppetry, scene painting, video for performance, producing, production management and stage management. This family of multidisciplinary programs has strong connections to the CalArts Schools of Art, Dance, Film/Video, and Music, and encourages upper-division undergraduates and graduate students, in particular, to take advantage of the resources available at those schools.

Curricula for the Programs in Design and Production consist of classroom studies and hands-on studio and production work. Faculty mentors help to guide the artistic and technical progress of every student through a sequence of increasingly challenging production assignments.

BFA students are required to complete a common set of foundation courses that cover aesthetics, theory, history, literature, graphics, technology and crafts. Upper-division undergraduates work with their mentors to create training programs tailored to each student’s individual needs and interests. BFA students may also obtain the permission of the faculty to explore a wide range of design and production skills and techniques instead of concentrating on a single specialty.

All MFA programs take three years to complete. The curriculum for each program is highly individualized, with the core requirements serving as a framework for further studies customized to meet each student’s goals and ambitions.

Students in several of the Programs in Design and Production may also pursue supplemental specializations in conjunction with their main curricula. Besides the Specialization in Puppetry, which is open to both undergraduate and graduate applicants—including students from the Programs in Performance—the remaining specializations are available only to students applying to the appropriate MFA programs.

At the end of each academic year, the School of Theater invites theater professionals to view student portfolios. In addition, graduating MFA design students are regularly invited to attend Ming Cho Lee’s annual “Clam Bake” portfolio review in New York. The school’s longstanding associations with the Los Angeles entertainment industry and the New York theater community provide internship opportunities and help to establish valuable contacts for employment after graduation. The Programs in Design and Production also have a working relationship with the USC School of Cinematic Arts.