MFA in Theatre: Audio Technology
The MFA program in Audio Technology prepares students for fulfilling careers in professional or educational theatre and the entertainment industry. Students develop technical training and skills in a balanced program of classes, work on realized productions, and individualized tutorials.
CLASSES
Skills Courses
Upon completion of study, you will have the ability to design, install, verify, and calibrate sophisticated sound systems. You will be fully able to serve as the head sound engineer, production sound engineer, or assistant sound engineer on any production at any professional level. You will develop exceptional abilities to work collaboratively as part of a performing arts team.
PRODUCTION WORK
System Design and Implementation
During residency, you will design a variety of systems for a range of performance spaces, from flexible black-box to thrust to proscenium houses. Venues and productions you work on could include a mix of student, staff, and union crews. Projects might include class exercises, one-acts, student-directed projects, dance compositions, mainstage productions, and touring productions with an emphasis on Broadway-style musicals. A minimum of one realized project is required each semester.
TERMINAL PROJECT
Terminal Project
The culmination of your time at Purdue will come in the form of a design for an extensive reinforcement PA, typically for a large musical. This work will form the basis for your Terminal Project or Thesis.
ASSISTANTSHIPS
Assistantships and Funding
To emphasize the relationship between design and technology, if you are awarded a graduate assistantship you may be employed supervising the audio production studio, supervisiing ad maintaining the theatre sound systems, or as an audio technician by Elliott Hall of Music Productions.
Assistantships provide a modest annual salary and cover full tuition costs. Applicants to the MFA program are automatically considered for an assistantship but are not guaranteed one.
Nancy T. Hansen Theatre
300 Seat Proscenium Theatre
The system in the Hansen Theatre features a Yamaha QL5 Digital Mixing Console with RIO 1608 Stage Boxes; Q-Sys signal processing and 40 channels of amplification; Renkus Heinz loudspeakers with a main L/C/R cluster, subs and surround, and additional speakers for spot and overhead placement. Multiple channels of Shure wireless are available for use during appropriate productions.
Carol and Gordon Mallett Theatre
150 Seat Black Box Theatre
The system in the Mallett Theatre features a Yamaha QL1 Digital Mixing Console with RIO 1608 Stage Boxes; Q-Sys signal processing and 24 channels of amplification; portable Renkus Heinz loudspeakers for flexible placement. Multiple channels of Shure wireless are available for use during appropriate productions.
Audio Production Studio
Audio Production Studio
The Audio Production Studio is equipped with a Yamaha DM7 digital mixing console, a Mac Studio running ProTools, Logic Pro, MaxMSP, and Q-Lab. Multiple, high-quality sample libraries are available for students to use in their compositions and projects. The Studio features Dynaudio studio monitors in a 7.1 surround configuration and a 16-channel AVIOM headphone monitoring system for performers in the Live Room. Additionally, a comprehensive microphone locker houses a wide variety of microphones from Shure, Sennheiser, Neumann, AKG, and Schoeps.