While many college students in Central Florida and beyond may have aspirations of working for Disney or Universal, it takes a specialized skillset to build themed lands and attractions that will captivate tourists from around the world.
That’s where a Valencia College program comes in to equip students with the skills and knowledge to land their dream job. The Live Entertainment Design and Production associate degree teaches skills in drafting plans, building scenery, lighting and working with audio production.
These abilities were essential in crafting The Mage’s Spire escape room experience in the college’s black box theater, a project that took 10 months from concept to execution with the involvement of nearly 90 students over three terms. While the popular experience has already sold out its time slots on its five days of opening this week, the escape room demonstrates a practical way students can hone skills that can result in theme park jobs.
Jillian Ethridge, the creative director for The Mage’s Spire escape room, and instructor Fred Lynn lead students in the Live Entertainment Design and Production program to construct the immersive experience at Valencia College East Campus in Orlando. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
“It’s as simple as learning power tools to skills as advanced as knowing how intelligent lighting works,” said Jillian Ethridge, a lab aid who served as the project’s creative director. “We have work doing very physical, hands-on mechanical projects to digital renderings, draftings and design work as well.”
The escape room includes an entryway with tall trees made of cardboard and a mirror maze that leads out into a fantasy forest where guests begin their experience. During the 45-minute challenge, there are seven puzzles to complete and magic spells to cast to navigate two distinct rooms that have 300 hand-crafted and painted foam rocks.
Fred Lynn, the program’s technical director and teaching lab supervisor, helps shepherd students through each production, bringing to the table decades of experience in the theme park industry. He worked on crafting experiences at Universal Studios before it opened in 1990 and had a hand in creating attractions such as The Screen Test Home Video Adventure, Earthquake and Twister.
Students in the Live Entertainment Design and Production program work to construct The Mage’s Spire escape room at Valencia College East Campus. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
“There were a lot of things in my head that would die with me, so I wanted to pass that knowledge on to a lot of different students,” Lynn said.
That knowledge has proven useful for students like Yahaira “Yary” Colon Rios, who recently landed a job working on The Untrainable Dragon live stage show at Universal Epic Universe.
Students in the program are finding that the industry is growing and in need of well-qualified candidates.
“Live entertainment is something that will constantly be moving forward and something that you can always come in and learn something new,” Ethridge said.
Master’s students in the Themed Experience program at the University of Central Florida worked to craft an immersive lobby experience for the Orlando Shakes’ “The Hound of the Baskervilles” show. (Courtesy Natasha Harrison)
At the University of Central Florida, a master’s program helps aspiring architects of themed experiences hone their skills. In recent months, a team of students from the Themed Experience program worked with the Orlando Shakes to create a themed lobby experience for “The Hound of the Baskervilles” show.
Adora English, a visiting instructor who recently joined the Themed Experience program from Universal, helped students develop the design and leadership skills necessary to produce a project like this.
“The goal is to bridge the gap between when they patrons in the door and when they walk into the theater,” she said. “It further connects them emotionally to the show itself.”
From aligning with a donor to working with the Orlando Shakes to come in on time and on budget, the hands-on experience from the project aims to help students get jobs in one of Central Florida’s theme parks, where they can create immersive attractions for millions to enjoy.
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