Officer Profile
Tom Hackman
Tom Hackman, USITT's new VP-Programming, uses his expertise on cave rescues to help extract two injured cavers. Mr. Hackman is on the left, facing away from the camera, giving his USITT Student Volunteer t-shirt some unique exposure.
Photo/Courtesy Tom Hackman
USITT's new Vice-President for Programming, Tom Hackman, may hold a new job title with the organization, but he brings years of experience in helping create and run the Annual Conference & Stage Expo to the position.
Tom Hackman
Tom notes that his family has literally grown up with his involvement with USITT. His daughter Caroline was born after he served as a Conference Photographer for the 2005 Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and his fellow Conference Committee members eagerly awaited the birth of his second child, Cyrus, while he was Programming Co-coordinator. Over the years, reports and updates on their progress have leavened many long meetings.
He credits LaVahn Hoh with bringing him into the organization, and the Health & Safety Commission with making him feel welcome and involved. He remembers as a student having his portfolio reviewed by Dick Block and Steve Gillian at the encouragement of Tom Bloom. They were not kind, but Tom worked to improve his presentation and the next year asked them again for a critique. That led to a job offer and his first ever professional summer gig, which reinforced the importance of networking within USITT.
Tom received his undergraduate degree from Davis & Elkins College, one of only two NAST-accredited programs in West Virginia. He is very proud that this small liberal arts program recognizes the importance of that designation, and has returned there twice, now serving as Associate Professor and Dean of the West Virginia Governor's School of the Arts, a three-week summer residential program. "They learn about themselves and their art," he says, noting how rewarding it is to see students at different levels thrive.
For USITT, he sees his role as encouraging programming to thrive as well. He notes that he is following in the footsteps of several great individuals who have put in place outstanding programing, and he will continue that, while finding potential that is not currently being tapped. "We do some amazing sessions and we need people to be aware of how they can connect and be part of the process."
He wants to bring more constituencies into programming and help them make connections, and give the Commissions the support they need to do their sessions. "My job is to make programming happen, not to only create it. I'm a TD, I'm used to making thing happen."
Tom says that TD training means he likes to "design and build stuff" whether it is scenery, props, or a new program. His children have a zebra for a swing, scaled-down pieces from a 100-year-old carousel showing that he does not think within any box. He also creates furniture, and has carved rocking horses, which his children adore.
"Spare" time is in very limited supply around the Hackman household, but Tom still will participate in cave rescues if called upon. He used to be more active in caving, which he started in college, but the fear of spreading white-nose disease among native bat populations has curtailed that as a hobby.
He is no longer exploring caves, but he is spending his time exploring options to make USITT's programming even more interesting and evolved.
