News & Notices
Announcements
Nominate for USITT Elections
There is still time to nominate potential members of the USITT leadership. The Nominations Committee will meet at the end of March to create a slate for the 2015 election cycle.
Visit the Nominations page to learn more about the positions which will be open for nominations, and for links to the nominations form. For a Q&A about the entire process, see the recent article by Sherry Wagner-Henry, Secretary and Chair of the Nominations Committee.
Vincent Olivieri Selected for International Travel Grant
Freelance sound designer Vincent Olivieri has been selected to receive the 2014 Member International Travel Grant. The award will be presented at the 2014 Conference & Stage Expo in Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Olivieri plans to create the sound design and score for a new musical, Extraterestri Clandestine (Illegal Aliens) for the National Theatre of Romania.
This work will be the second in a trilogy of musicals written and directed by Eli Simon with a cast of Romanian musicians and actors. Once completed, the production will tour across Romania and to international theatre festivals. Mr. Olivieri will share the results of his collaboration with USITT members through sound and video files, and production photographs.
Got Projects?
Does anyone have a project for teaching scenic design that works well for students and - who wants to share it?
The Scene Design & Technology Commission will discuss submissions for a new volume of Projects for Teaching Scene Design: A Compendium at its meeting 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 26. Watch for more information in upcoming issues of Sightlines.
Announce Global Connections Grant Recipients
Theatre Communications Group (TCG) recently announced the Cycle A recipients for the third round of Global Connections. Supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this grant program provides ON the ROAD grants to foster new relationships with international colleagues and IN the LAB grants to further pre-existing international collaborations.
The seven recipients receiving up to $5,000 for unrestricted travel in ON the ROAD grants are Alexander Borinsky of Brooklyn, New York; Anisa George of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth Williamson, of Hartford, Connecticut; members of Interact Center for the Visual & Performing Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Jeremy B. Cohen, also of Minneapolis; Béleck Georges of Haiti; and Anna Vigeland of Amherst, Massachusetts.
Three organizations were each awarded $10,000 in IN the LAB funds. They are Bond Street Theatre, New York, New York; Dell'Arte International; Blue Lake, California; and The TEAM, Brooklyn, New York.
More information about the recipients and their projects, as well as on the application process, is available at www.tcg.org/globalconnections.
Rigging Safety Standards Approved
Two of PLASA's standards related to theatrical rigging safety have been revised and approved by ANSI as American National Standards. ANSI E1.21 for temporary outdoor structures and ANSI E1.4 for manual counterweight rigging systems and are now published and available for free download.
ANSI E1.21-2013, Entertainment Technology — Temporary Structures Used for Technical Production of Outdoor Entertainment Events, is a revision of the 2006 edition to include all the technical production structures used in the staging of outdoor events.
ANSI E1.4-2014, Entertainment Technology - Manual Counterweight Rigging Systems, clarifies requirements to ensure that a theatre's manual rigging system can hold the curtains, scenery, and lighting equipment it is designed to hold.
Both standards (and many more) are available for free download because of the sponsorship of ProSight Specialty Insurance. For more information, contact Karl G. Ruling, technical standards manager, PLASA, 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 609, New York, NY 10036; 1-212-244-1505; karl.ruling@plasa.org.
App Sales Increase Donations to Behind the Scenes
At the LDI show, Dennis Varian of ETC presented a check for nearly $26,000 to Behind the Scenes, which reflected ongoing proceeds from sales of ETC's iRFR and aRFR (Radio Focus Remote) application for iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android. The donation brings ETC's total Behind the Scenes contributions to date to just under $150,000.
ETC's donation was gratefully accepted by Rick Rudolph, chair of the Behind the Scenes Committee, who was accompanied by members of The ESTA Foundation Board of Directors, the Behind the Scenes Committee and the Long Reach Long Riders.
Individuals or companies can support Behind the Scenes by making donations online at www.estafoundation.org/bts.htm or by calling 212-244-1421.
