I was also a little afraid of power tools. I think this stems from having 2 shop teachers in high school who were missing fingers. I didn't mind the drill/drivers, but I did not like saws, except the jigsaw, which reminded me of a sewing machine.

It was weird because costumes was on the tech track and not the acting track, but tech theatre had nothing to do with costumes (although I am glad I took it because I understand what the other departments do), and I was not the best at it, being scared of everything.

When my sister (the one I live with) was doing theatre in college, her job was to walk around the set and find anything that was unsafe. She would always find something, like stepping through a poorly reinforced platform or nails sticking out of things.

But I did summer stock in a place that had no resources, where we got no sleep, and did crazy things that would have gotten us killed if anything has slipped just a little bit!

Theatre can be so much fun.

tech theatre had nothing to do with costumes

The technology is very different, but for design everyone needs to be part of the same program.

I knew brawny set builders who were afraid of a sewing machine.

I did get a needle thru the tip of my finger while sewing once.

Yes, I still think I harbor a little resentment that I had to learn to use all the tools, and pass tests on what type of screw to use when, and there was not a unit on costumes, so no one had to learn "my stuff". It has been very valuable for design and just working with other people

ETA: So my lobby is to add costumes to tech theatre, not make us separate.

That's what they were afraid of!

I, however, held the record for finding the most ways to hurt myself with hand tools.

I did cut the tip of my finger so that it was hanging by a small strip of skin when "sewing while tired".

And man, my tech theatre class was hard-- probably my most challenging class at college, especially since everyone else had an area where they had already worked in, and I didn't. We were a very small school and I was the only costume student in my entire four years there.

Wow.

I took a costume class while getting my scene design degree, and built a corset from scratch! I was prouder of that than any of the sets I designed.

I had to do a set design class as an acting major and I loved it. And I did really well in it. I had those scale models until we had a house fire, I'd have them still. It deffinately gave me set love and appreciation that lasts to this day.