Open Forum

Hi All,

My school currently has no software for scenic or lighting design purposes.  I was reading a design article in an issue of Teaching Theatre which motivated me to seek CAD software for my program.  I am interested in buying Vectorworks but I am not certain which product I need to fill the need of both scenic and lighting design. Any advise would be appreciated. 

Thank you for Your Thoughts,


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Sammie Real
Harford County Public Schools
Aberdeen MD
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Before you buy Vector works, check their website. You might be able to obtain the program and a license for free as an educator. Your students might be able to get it for free as well. Not sure if this is still true, but at one time it was.

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Bob Ramseur
Newnan GA
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Sent via Higher Logic Mobile



Original Message:
Sent: 6/26/2014 1:43:48 PM
From: sammie.realiii@hcps.org
Subject: Vectorworks

Hi All, My school currently has no software for scenic or lighting design purposes.  I was reading a design article in an issue of Teaching Theatre which motivated me to seek CAD software for my program.  I am interested in buying Vectorworks but I am not certain which product I need to fill the need of both scenic and lighting design. Any advise would be appreciated.  Thank you for Your Thoughts, ------------------------------------------- Sammie Real Harford County Public Schools Aberdeen MD -------------------------------------------

I believe that is still true. When you request a free program you need to send Vectorworks a copy of a student / teacher ID. The license is for one computer and personal use only.

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Anne-marie Roberts
Theatre Director
Ann Arbor Public Schools
Ann Arbor MI
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Sent via Higher Logic Mobile



Original Message:
Sent: 6/26/2014 3:21:39 PM
From: bob.ramseur@cowetaschools.org
Subject: RE:Vectorworks

Before you buy Vector works, check their website. You might be able to obtain the program and a license for free as an educator. Your students might be able to get it for free as well. Not sure if this is still true, but at one time it was. ------------------------------------------- Bob Ramseur Newnan GA ------------------------------------------- Sent via Higher Logic Mobile

There's a good little program out there called Cad Standard, which you can buy online for about 40 dollars or so.  It has some limitations, but is a good beginning in the world of digital drafting.


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Michael Johnson
Trinity NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-27-2014 08:16
From: Anne-marie Roberts
Subject: Vectorworks

I believe that is still true. When you request a free program you need to send Vectorworks a copy of a student / teacher ID. The license is for one computer and personal use only.

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Anne-marie Roberts
Theatre Director
Ann Arbor Public Schools
Ann Arbor MI
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Sent via Higher Logic Mobile

Go to http://student.myvectorworks.net/ and fill in the form to request a new license.  It is available to students and faculty and  needs to be renewed every year.  You are allowed to install Vectorworks on two computers for each license.

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Richard Osann
Theatre Teacher
Standish ME
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-27-2014 08:16
From: Anne-marie Roberts
Subject: Vectorworks

I believe that is still true. When you request a free program you need to send Vectorworks a copy of a student / teacher ID. The license is for one computer and personal use only.

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Anne-marie Roberts
Theatre Director
Ann Arbor Public Schools
Ann Arbor MI
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Sent via Higher Logic Mobile

Have a look at both Vectorworks and AutoCAD, as they are both used in the entertainment industry.  Typically in the profession, lighting designers migrate toward VWorks, while scenic designers and technical directors migrate towards ACAD.  The debate over which is better is as old as the Mac vs PC debate, and each piece of software has advantages and disadvantages.  Although both software packages will run on either platform, VWorks was designed to run on a Mac and ACAD was designed to run on a PC, so the equipment currently in use at your school may play a role in your decision as well.

Bob is correct about the cost.  Both software manufacturers offer huge discounts (sometimes free) for the use at the school, and the students can get either piece of software free for a given length of time.  I recommend contact a real person with each manufacturer to see what they can do for you.

In my opinion, the best preparation you can give your students is a solid understanding of drafting composition.  Whether it is through hand drafting, VWorks, or ACAD, they need to know the meaning and use of the following drawings: groundplan, section, elevation, detail, perspective/rendering, orthographic, isometric, and oblique (cabinet and cavalier).  They should also know how to compose a page with a border and a title block, and how to use scale.  

At NIU, I teach the intro course for entertainment drafting.  Half of the semester is hand drafting and half is two dimensional ACAD.  The student may then choose to take advanced courses in ACAD or VWorks, depending on their preferred discipline.  Many students enter my course from high school knowing either VWorks or ACAD, but they do not know anything about how to compose a drawing so that it can be read by another person.  In my opinion, the gift of drawing composition is the best preparation you can give to a high school student.

Hope this helps :-).

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Tracy Nunnally
Owner/President
DeKalb IL
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2014 15:21
From: Bob Ramseur
Subject: Vectorworks

Before you buy Vector works, check their website. You might be able to obtain the program and a license for free as an educator. Your students might be able to get it for free as well. Not sure if this is still true, but at one time it was.

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Bob Ramseur
Newnan GA
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Sent via Higher Logic Mobile

For you and the 112 students who want to be designers, vector works is great and free. For you tech class of 30 students in the computer lab, nothing beats google sketch up. It's free, has great tutorials online already, and is super easy to learn. Start them with sketchup, and then tell the awesome ones to get vector works. Hope this helps. ------------------------------------------- Bryan Ringsted San Jose CA -------------------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 06-26-2014 13:43 From: Sammie Real Subject: Vectorworks Hi All, My school currently has no software for scenic or lighting design purposes. I was reading a design article in an issue of Teaching Theatre which motivated me to seek CAD software for my program. I am interested in buying Vectorworks but I am not certain which product I need to fill the need of both scenic and lighting design. Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you for Your Thoughts, ------------------------------------------- Sammie Real Harford County Public Schools Aberdeen MD -------------------------------------------

I totally agree that Google Sketchup is the way to go for beginners.  I actually do my set designs on sketchup and use it in my technical theatre class.  I have a template of our stage for the students to work on.  There are thousands of objects on line for the students to import and include in their designs. (one student wanted a suit of armour in his set, downloaded one of many avaiable on line and voila!  The items you import can be edited in case you can;t find exactly what they had in mind)  And you can't beat the price!

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Robert DiMartino
Theatre Teacher
Cumberland High School
West Warwick RI
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-28-2014 13:55
From: Bryan Ringsted
Subject: Vectorworks

For you and the 112 students who want to be designers, vector works is great and free. For you tech class of 30 students in the computer lab, nothing beats google sketch up. It's free, has great tutorials online already, and is super easy to learn. Start them with sketchup, and then tell the awesome ones to get vector works. Hope this helps.

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Bryan Ringsted
San Jose CA
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CAD type programs can be used to reinforce the hands-on teaching, but should not be used as the primary training tool.  CAD programs are just 400 Horse-Power pencils.  If the student does not know how to draw a representation of something, this will not help them.  I frequently see students that can use cad but cannot design, so be careful of the order of teaching the technology.

Also be aware that many students can't measure something in the real world, so translating insitu measurements of your theatre, scenery, or props can result in very dysfunctional drawings.  Measure twice - cut once - applies to drawings, too.

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Erich Friend
Theatre Consultant
Teqniqal Systems
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