OVERVIEW
This 2-year resident program is ideal for a student who is intent on becoming a Scenic Artist or for Design Students or Designers that want to become proficient scenic painters. This program offers the balance of technical skill-building, classwork and valuable portfolio-building apprenticeship-style training.
Cobalt Studios is known throughout the industry for sending productive and skillful graduates into the workforce as professional Scenic Artists.
SPECIFICS
The 2-year program starts every other year and runs September to May.
The current class began in September 2023 and will graduate in May of 2025.
We are currently accepting applications for the Class of 2027 which will begin September 2025.
Enrollment is limited to 8 students
INSTRUCTORS
Rachel Keebler & many Guest Instructors
Cost
Application Fee: $150.00*
*This application fee is non-refundable and is NOT included in the tuition for this program.
Annual Tuition + Room & Board = $12,255.00
For more information on costs and deadlines, see the Student Information document at the bottom of this page.
DEADLINE
Rolling Admission. It’s never too early to apply for this program!
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
While a basic familiarity with Theatre and Art is necessary, applicants need not have an extensive background in either. Admission is based on applicant’s career objectives, abilities, references, and their foreseeable potential in professional theatre rather than in the customary academic standards, although applicants must be high school graduates or have an equivalent certification.
Cobalt Studios maintains a racially and sexually non-discriminating policy and a willingness to accommodate accessibility needs within the realistic physical expectations of our industry.
APPLICATION
The application consists of a $150.00 fee, the application form, 3 references (2 personal & 1 professional), school transcripts or GED certificate, and an overnight interview / portfolio review.
Call the office at : (845) 583-7025 or email mail@cobaltstudios.net to ask for an application.
REGISTRATION
Upon acceptance, registration is completed by payment of tuition, fees, and deposits. Student Information document at the bottom of this page for pricing and deadlines.
CURRICULUM
Coursework and training is generally 7-8 hours a da, Monday through Friday. Most evenings and weekends are unscheduled. There is plenty to explore in the local area and NYC is an easy 2 hour car or bus-ride away.
The training at Cobalt is a combination of traditional apprenticeship systems and coursework. Each student’s proficiency is assessed at the beginning of the program and the curriculum is adjusted to maximize the learning experience. Students work directly with highly experienced scenic artists, either our resident staff or the industry professionals who teach our Specialty Pro Seminars.
Rachel Keebler, Master Scenic Artist and the school’s co-founder is the primary instructor for the academic year, teaching alongside Terra Writz, a graduate of the SATP program and successor to Rachel as she moves toward retirement. During the year, the students participate in the Specialty Pro Seminars that Cobalt offers to the public. These seminars offer the SATP student the unique opportunity to not only study a specialized craft from industry pros, but to work alongside other scenic artists from around the country that are enrolled in the seminars with them.
Upon completion of the 2 year program, a student will be: well versed in the technology of paint, well-practiced in layout and paint application techniques, and well aware of the management skills and attitudes necessary to successfully complete a professional job.
Students are taught techniques by example and then they execute them first on their own individual projects and then by working as scenic artist trainees on Cobalt’s commissioned projects. Students work directly on drops that will be used in legitimate theatre productions. This work may be added to their individual portfolios.
Graduates leave this program with confidence, knowledge, skills, quality craftsmanship, and a portfolio that can propel them into a self-sustaining scenic painting career.
For more info check out The Cobalt Experience
