News From:
Regional Sections
Northeast: Plan Annual Cookout, Offer Online Renewals
This year's annual Northeast Regional Section cookout will be at Ron and Janice Dallas's in Arlington, Massachusetts (a little northwest of Boston) on Saturday August 20. For more details, contact Joe Donovan at joseph.donovan@maine.edu. All are welcome.
Many people expressed interest in being able to pay Northeast memberships online. Good news! Thanks to Mr. Dallas, Paypal is now an option for membership renewals. Just click here.
Upstate New York: Slate Activities for Fall Program
The Upstate New York Regional Section will hold its Fall Program September 10 at SUNY Brockport with participation from Applied Audio and Theatre Supply.
Trish Ralph and Gary Musante will be hosts for the event which will begin at 9 a.m. with a meet and greet followed by programs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. The Regional Section Meeting at 12:30 p.m. will include elections for Chair and Vice Chair of Programs.
Symposium topics include Design/Tech/Management Documentation; Black Box Engineering, Design and Function; and LED Implementation. Adam Zonder, production manager of the Hangar Theatre, will speak on preparing a professional resume and portfolio. InterAmerica Stage, which recently completed the installation of the SkyDeck Tension Wire Grid at that SUNY Brockport facility, will highlight the many creative aspects of Tension Wire Grids (TWG’s) in Black Box theatre (and in theatre performance spaces in general) at the same time as enhancing the safety of this inherently hazardous environment.
A formal presentation will be followed by a fun and enjoyable “meeting of the minds” between the manufacturer (InterAmerica) and a wide variety of student and professional end users. The session will review typical Black Box functions and requirements, how to plan a new Black Box facility, and the engineering and design aspects of SkyDeck TWG. Check www.usittupsny.org for updates and to RSVP.
Ohio Valley: Fall Conference Coming Up September 24
The Ohio Valley Regional Section will hold its annual Fall Conference on Saturday, September 24 at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. This conference will feature such sessions as Google Aps for Theatre, Digital Holographic Projectors at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, Sustainability in the Performing Arts, a Media Server Demo, a hands-on "How to Train for Tech Olympics at National," Painting with Strangers, How to Assess a Lighting Rental Package, Care and Maintenance of Moving Lights, Stage Photography Workshop—how to take pictures under stage lighting, Flying Effects, Virtual Light Lab-LIghtwright-VectorWorks, and Presenting Your Work for Design Expo/Cover the Walls or the Ezekiel Exhibit.
There will be a discounted group rate at a local hotel. There will be information on booking rooms on the website soon. All discounted rooms need to be booked by early September.
A few reminders about the Annual Peggy Ezekiel Exhibit: If purchasing frames for the exhibit, consider plastic frames like the Trendsetter from Dick Blick. It is lightweight, yet durable, and not too expensive. The super inexpensive acrylic poster frames tend to come apart in shipping/display. The metal frames are heavy and durable, but increase the cost of shipping. Remember no glass! The deadline for nominations is September 7h. All entries must either be delivered to the conference site by 9 a.m. September 24 or received in the mail to Matt Benjamin by September 15. More information on Peggy Ezekiel Exhibit can be found on the Ohio Valley Website.
Southeast: University of Georgia Site for Master Classes
The Southeast Regional Section Master Classes for Fall are set for October 7 and 8 at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. One of the themes of this year's classes is one of spectacle --using advanced technology as both a tool and element in production design. This year's workshops tentatively include several stellar guest artists, classes featuring UGA media programs and equipment, and sessions bringing a variety of experts from several leading manufacturers/production services companies to the conference.
Featured speakers include lighting designers Ken Billington and Jeff Davis, as well as Broadway fabric painter Margaret Peot. Sessions relating to the UGA media and design programs will include both an introduction and hands-on foundation class in Maya 3D computer modeling and animation, and a session on using virtual design in interactive performance. Vendor sessions include Myers Sound and two of their trainers who will offer several variations of sound workshops. TMB is bringing a Hippotizer media server and two reps who will host a workshop on media server hardware as well as a session on content for media servers. Rosco Labs is providing two workshops on projection effects and making original gobos on a budget while D2 Flying Effects will host two rigging sessions – one on flying effects. Additional sessions that are slated for the weekend include: Lighting Apps for Your I-phone, Working in Themed Design, on prop creation and scenic painting, backstage tours of local theatres, and lighting technology sessions relating to newer forms of control and LEDs.
A block of hotel rooms at several local hotels (within walking distance of all our activities and downtown attractions) are reserved with special rates ranging from $89 to $109 per night (plus tax). Look for registration materials and additional information on the USITT-SE website. Contact Rich Dunham, head of design University of Georgia, 706-542-8273 or rdunham@uga.edu, with any questions.
Desert State: Announce Officer Election Results
The Desert State Regional Section recently announced the results of its election of officers. Ron Thacker was elected First Vice-Chair. He is currently serving as Secretary but will vacate that office. Rick Tuckett was elected Third Vice-Chair. He is a previous board member. Erica McKibben was re-elected to a second term as Treasurer. Kate Ellis was elected Director. She completed two terms as Third Vice Chair. Vern Ellington was elected Member at Large.
Pete Weisman was thanked for his many years of service. He will step off the board after having served since the inception of the Section in 2000. Cat Dragon also will be leave the board after serving two terms as a Director.
Anyone interested in serving as Secretary should contact fransutherland@gmail.com
