CMU School of Drama


Monday, March 02, 2009

Schools of Art, Architecture should work together

The Tartan Online: "Sometimes, I take things to their extremes.
I don’t just stay up late; I pull two all-nighters in a row. I don’t cheer patiently at the finish line on race day for Buggy; I scream louder than anyone else standing along the side of the course on Frew Street. And I don’t just self-define a major; I take on a disparate secondary major and an involved minor as well.
Good or bad, many Carnegie Mellon students are like me in this way."

8 comments:

Megan Spatz said...

I agree with this article. There should be more interaction between departments at CMU. i have often wanted to take art or architecture classes but have found that the schedules are so incompatible with the School of Drama requirements that it is impossible. I think a better fostering of department collaboration would benefit many students at CMU.

AllisonWeston said...

Like Megan, I agree that limiting yourself to thinking that you are only a "set designer" or an "architect". The most innovative ideas seem to spring from those wearing multiple hats. I would love to take art classes in the school of art and drafting in the school of architecture to get a new perspective. More collaboration across schools would benefit everyone and I don't see why it would be so difficult to coordinate.

Anonymous said...

I think that CFA should be more integrated in general. When you look at the other colleges at CMU, they function as cohesive units even though each college offers different majors. However, due to CFA's breakdown into Schools, there is a lot less cohesiveness. This is a shame, because I think all the fine artists have a lot to contribute to each other's work.

MichaelSimmons said...

I have heard rumors about talks to make Playground a CFA wide event. I think that would be awesome. We are completely surrounded by some of the best student artists in the country, and never have a chance to work with any of them.

Some of CMU's best work has come from innovative collaborative efforts, and I think we could use more of that.

Unknown said...

I agree and i love the fact that this is possible at CMU. Although, i do agree that being in a conservatory for some time helps in developing as an artist, a bit more integration shouldn't hurt.

Chris said...

This is not only true for the schools of art and architecture, but for the rest of the schools in CFA and throughout the university. CMU promotes itself as an interdisciplinary university, a goal which it fails to meet. The College of Fine Arts in particular should work on increasing collaboration between the schools. Drama is, by nature, a collaborative process so it is important for us to be exposed to many different media and learn things from other disciplines to inform our art.

Anonymous said...

I AGREE!!

Yes to any and all collaboration across departments and curriculums. Though the basic intent of a scenic designer and an architect are different, the knowledge learned on both ends of the spectrum should not be hoarded but shared to lend dimension to the work of both unique but linked professions.

Andrew said...

I agree. I feel that we are always all off in our own worlds in the school of drama, and we, along with the rest of CFA should have more interdisciplinary projects. The master plan of light is a good step forward, but I'd love to see more collaboration.

I think making playground CFA wide would be awesome and I hope to see that implemented in the coming years.