Cerritos College to Offer New Portable Event Staging Program

Program Designed to Prepare for Rewarding Entertainment Careers

For Immediate Release: December 8, 2008

Media Contact: Lesley Wheeler, Public Affairs, (562) 860-2751 ext. 7878

NORWALK, Calif. – December 8, 2008 – Looking for a high-paying career in entertainment industry? The Theatre Arts and Music Departments at Cerritos College are pleased to announce a new Portable Event Staging Program beginning in the spring 2009 semester. Cerritos College is the first college to offer such a program in California.

Funded with a grant through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, The Portable Event Staging Program is uniquely geared to train students to attain entry-level stage technician positions in the entertainment industry. The students will learn how to set up, operate, and strike audio, lighting and staging equipment for concerts and other entertainment events. The fund will enable the program to purchase state-of-the-art equipment.

The new Portable Event Staging Program here at Cerritos College marks a departure from the traditional approach to education and moves to a new learning model based on the practicalities of the job market. Featuring more hands-on learning than classroom instruction, the program will culminate with the production of multiple outdoor live concerts as a summer 2009 project which will put student technical skills to use in a real world context.

Outdoor event staging technicians are in demand within the Southern California area and a training program specifically for this career did not exist at any regional academic institution. Cerritos College is physically located near many entertainment venues which provides its students with many potential employers. Starting pay for entry-level technicians at local theme parks averages over $15.00 per hour.

Over the past several years Theatre faculty and staff have been meeting regularly with a technical theatre advisory committee comprised of entertainment industry professionals. This Portable Event Staging program was created to meet the job market shortage of trained stage technicians expressed by these employers. These employers are very interested in hiring students who successfully complete this program.

The program will start in the spring 2009 semester which begins on January 12. For more information on this and other Theatre department programs, visit www.cerritos.edu/entertainment-technology or contact the Theatre Arts Department Professor Susan Watanabe (562) 860-2451 ext. 2643 or visit www.cerritos.edu.

Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college’s district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 200 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently surpasses 24,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at www.cerritos.edu.

###