Jaen to give advice on professional portfolios

Performing Arts faculty member and Emerson Costume Shop Supervisor Rafael Jaen will give tips on creating winning portfolios for theater, film, and the allied arts, and sign copies of his new book on that topic at two events open to the Emerson community on Wednesday. The book reading and signing is at the Barnes & Noble at Emerson College Bookstore at noon and the presentation will take place at 4 pm in the Multipurpose Room at Piano Row. Both events are part of Career Week.

Juliana Gregori '12 (left) and Rafael Jaen look at samples of digital portfolios in his new book Showcase.

Jaen’s book, Show Case, Second Edition: Developing, Maintaining, and Presenting a Design-Tech Portfolio for Theatre and Allied Fields, offers information to students, teachers, and aspiring professionals in stage design, lighting, costuming, and makeup about how to create and show off professional portfolios. The ability to make a winning portfolio is essential, Jaen said, for getting into choice colleges, obtaining scholarships, and landing new jobs in these fields.

The latest edition of the book is twice as large as the first edition. “What’s really new about it is that we included a lot of information about marketing, branding, and social media, which is where all these portfolios are going in the 21st century,” said Jaen. “The other goal was to serve not only the design technology community, but also allied crafts, like people who do props, scenic painting, etc. A lot of people in the industry are crossing over into production design.”

Jaen released the first edition of the book in 2006 as a textbook and reference primarily for college students. After getting feedback from students and professionals alike around the country, he began work on the second edition in 2008. The updated version contains tips from a wide representation of artists. Thomas Walsh, president of the Art Directors Guild, for example, offers his insights in the book. Some work of former and current Emerson students is also included in the publication; Jaen said alum Tyler Kinney’s (’10) images were so strong and innovative that he decided to feature his work.