Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2008 - 72

some of the lesser publicized specializations, such as projection
design, puppetry and consulting, were a pleasant surprise.
Following his outline of what each position entails, Lawler
provides commentary and anecdotes by working professionals, offering a glimpse of what it's like "in the trenches," and
imparting helpful advice. He provides basic job descriptions
which clearly state what one might expect while serving in each
role.

includes an extensive listing of schools, and degrees offered
(both undergraduate and graduate). More overkill.
The final resource at the end of each chapter is a short
list of books, periodicals and Web sites where the reader might
find more information. Again, I give kudos to the author for
this, but it too became redundant as the same sites and periodicals resurface in almost every chapter. As with schools, the Appendix includes another extensive listing of books, periodicals

Conversing with peers
The journey Careers in Technical Theatre takes the reader
on, while highly informative, is not without bumps in the road.
Throughout the text Lawler and his interviewees speak as if
conversing with a peer, rather than with someone who might
be unfamiliar with the theatre world. The uninitiated may feel
overwhelmed or frustrated to find unfamiliar terms such as
LORT, COST, LED and SPT with no explanation. Although there
is a thorough Glossary of Terms in the Appendix defining these
unfamiliar terms (highlighted in bold face within the body),
a brief definition at first glance may have been more accommodating.
At the end of each chapter Lawler provides some valuable
resources for additional study and research. There is a summary of a confidential, invitation-only, online survey of more
than 1,000 technical theatre pros, with responses from some
400, about their earnings. While the results offer a glimpse of
what to expect, I was disappointed in the range of responses.
A majority of survey replies were from representatives of LORT
and regional theatres. There is very little (and in some instances, no) representation of Broadway, Off-Broadway, academic
or dinner theatre, etc. Although Lawler does address this discrepancy in his Introduction, noting that our freelance-heavy
industry makes it difficult to provide standardized data, the
skewed results do not give the young reader an opportunity
to fully grasp the financial road ahead. ("A chart of Lawler's
survey results is available at http://www.mikelawler.com/FullSurvey.htm.)

Training programs
Accompanying the earnings review, there's a list of schools offering training or degree programs in or related to the career
in question. I appreciate the author's research here but his offerings became redundant chapter after chapter. In certain areas he includes excellent choices (for example Cobalt Studios
for scenic artists, or Full Sail for audio engineering and projection design), but repeatedly listing well-known schools such as
Boston University and North Carolina School of the Arts became
overkill. I found myself predicting which schools would show
at the end of each chapter. In the Appendix, Lawler already

S P R I N G

2008

theatre

design

technology

http://www.mikelawler.com/Full

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2008