Krause graduated in 2008 from CMU's School of Drama with a master of fine arts in production technology and management. As director of production for Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C., he facilitates a team of managers, technicians and artisans to figure out how to turn a director's ideas into reality.
3 comments:
I always find it heartening to read stories about alumni who are early in their careers but who have had successful transitions to the professional sphere. Of course, one would expect nothing less with a degree from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, but I think that for a lot of us there’s still some lingering doubt that we will have the connections and respect to get a good job coming out of an expensive college. Whether that’s just general anxiety or a variant of imposture syndrome, I don’t know, but it seems to be a common fear. Sure, lots of amazing people have graduated from CMU, but it’s easy to forget that, as students, we were only admitted because someone saw a similar potential in us as they did in those amazing and successful people when they were applying to college. Stories of graduates with seemingly more attainable but still very successful stories are helpful to stave off self doubt.
It is cool to hear that Joel Krause was able to take the skills that he learned here at CMU and use them all to help him do his job most creatively and successfully. I think this article really captures the teaching style that is implemented here at CMU. Many people don't realize that the season is mainly run by students in all aspect of the production with only professor guidance. This structure really gives the students the opportunity to handle projects on their own while having the safety of professor advisement to fall back on if necessary. I really enjoy the quote from David Holcomb "I'm going to help you figure out how to learn for yourself". Learning from yourself gives the students of CMU the confidence to look out side of the box and trust their fundamental skills to get things done, as Joel has been able to do in his role as director of Production.
We hear so much about performers and directors in the news, so it’s incredibly refreshing to hear about a PTM graduate doing amazing things. Of course, I’m a little biased, being a design and production student myself, but it’s reassuring to hear that the “behind the scenes” artists are doing amazing and inspiring work. I also love that this article goes into detail on what Krause’s responsibilities are. I’m constantly being asked what a PTM student does, and it’s nearly impossible to describe all of the work that they do. Problem solving is such an important life skill, and it applies to every field. It seems that CMU does a really good job in teaching students how to think for themselves in the most efficient way possible. Someday, I’d love to be in a similar position where I can give back to the community by applying what I will learn in the next for years, to a “real world” show or production.
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