1st lesson free
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Alexander
- Price $135
- Answer 1h
$135/h
Contact
1st lesson free
- Resume writing
- Oral expression
- Thesis
Broadway Scenic Designer and Ivy League Professor Offers Theatre Design Portfolio, BFA/MFA Admissions, and Career Coaching
- Resume writing
- Oral expression
- Thesis
Lesson location
About Alexander
I am an award-winning designer and educator with a career spanning Broadway, regional theatre, opera, dance, new work development, and higher education. I am currently a tenured Head of Scenic Design in the Department of Theater at Dartmouth College and continue to serve on the design faculty at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. Previously, I spent six years on the faculty at the University of Connecticut, including four years as Area Head of Design and Technical Theatre, working across both the BFA and MFA programs.
My professional work as a scenic designer has been seen on Broadway and at major theatres and performing arts organizations across the country. My Broadway credits include The Sound Inside at Studio 54, starring Mary-Louise Parker and directed by David Cromer, following its original production at Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Throughout my career, I have spent significant time on the other side of the application, interview, and hiring process. I have evaluated thousands of resumes and application materials, participated in hundreds of interviews, assessed prospective students for admission to competitive academic programs, and chaired searches for tenure-track faculty, visiting faculty, adjunct faculty, and professional staff. In the industry, I have hired, trained, mentored, and recommended emerging artists for professional opportunities and have seen firsthand what distinguishes a promising candidate from a polished application.
During my time as a resident designer at Williamstown Theatre Festival, mentoring and training emerging artists was an important part of my work. Three former interns I worked with there went on to study at the Yale School of Drama, while others continued into graduate and professional training at numerous institutions and into careers across the field. I have also helped emerging artists prepare for and connect with assistant and associate design opportunities, including work alongside numerous leading designers such as Rachel Hauck, Takeshi Kata, Dane Laffrey, and Alexander Dodge.
My perspective comes from being on multiple sides of the table. I have been a student and applicant, a working professional designer, a professor and program leader, an admissions evaluator, a mentor, and an employer. I understand how portfolios and applications are read, how interviews are experienced from the other side of the room, and what academic programs and professional employers are trying to discover about a candidate beyond a polished presentation.
I believe the strongest candidates are not necessarily those with the slickest portfolios. They are the artists whose materials, conversations, and interviews allow others to understand how they think, what excites them, what makes their perspective distinctive, and what they might contribute to a creative community. My work with students is about identifying those qualities and helping them communicate them with clarity, confidence, and authenticity. Lessons are predominantly online however limited dedicated in person sessions in New York and Boston can be arranged.
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About the lesson
- Primary School
- High School
- Year 10
- +7
levels :
Primary School
High School
Year 10
Year 11-12
Year 12
TAFE
Adult
Diploma/Certificate
PhD
Early childhood education
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
In a world of fast digital editing, polished templates, and AI-assisted applications, candidates need more than a flashy, aesthetic, or slick portfolio to stand out in highly competitive programs and professional environments. I help emerging designers build portfolios and applications that reveal what cannot be generated by a template: how they think, how they respond to a text or creative problem, how an idea develops, and what makes their point of view distinctive.
My approach begins with identifying what is genuinely exciting and unique about each individual artist. From there, I help candidates learn how to showcase those qualities consistently across every part of their presentation: visually through the portfolio, verbally in how they articulate their ideas, orally in interviews and portfolio reviews, and in their written application materials. The goal is not to manufacture an ideal candidate. It is to make sure the strongest and most authentic version of the artist is clearly visible.
My coaching is designed for students and early-career artists preparing for the next step in theatre design, whether that means applying to a BFA or MFA program, preparing for a portfolio interview, entering the profession, or positioning themselves for assistant and associate design opportunities.
We begin by looking closely at where you are now, where you hope to go, and what your work is actually communicating. From there, we might focus on selecting and sequencing portfolio material, presenting process alongside finished work, identifying gaps, strengthening the way you speak and write about your design choices, or preparing for interviews and portfolio reviews.
I do not believe in creating a formulaic "perfect portfolio." A strong portfolio should leave someone understanding not only what you have made, but how you think, what excites you, and who you are becoming as an artist. My job is to help you recognize those qualities in your own work and communicate them with clarity and confidence.
I bring experience from multiple sides of this process. I have spent years teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate designers, reviewing portfolios, hiring and training emerging artists, and successfully recommending young designers for professional opportunities. I understand both the academic application process and the transition from school into professional practice.
Sessions can focus on a single application, portfolio, or upcoming interview, or we can work together over time as your materials and goals develop. My coaching is particularly suited to BFA and MFA applicants in scenic, costume, lighting, projection, and interdisciplinary performance design, as well as current students and early-career theatre designers preparing to enter the profession.
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Rates
Price
- $135
Pack prices
- 5h: $675
- 10h: $1351
free lessons
The first lesson with Alexander will allow you to get to know each other and discuss your needs for future lessons.
- 30mins
online
- $135/h
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