Commissions
Yes! Think About 2017 Costume PDWs, Sessions
M.C. Friedrich CD&T Vice-Commissioner for Programming
Getting psyched for USITT 2016 in Salt Lake City? Who’s thinking about USITT 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri? The Costume Design & Technology Commission, that’s who!
The Commission is already seeking Professional Development Workshops (PDWs) and Sessions to be presented at the 2017 Conference. We will be moving to an on-line submission process that will be available soon. It’s not too early to start drafting proposals since they’ll be voted on at USITT 2016 in March. To help those interested assemble necessary information, examples of the previous PDW and session submission forms can be found here.
So, what’s the difference between a PDW and a Session? The PDWs are in-depth, hands-on experiences that should take one or two days to complete, with intensive explorations of techniques or methods and a little philosophy thrown in. Sessions are shorter, typically an hour and 15 minutes long, and provide an overview or introduction to a topic through presentation, demonstration, discussion, or brief hands-on experiences.
Now, what to propose? Anything and everything costume and make-up related can be proposed: design, history, techniques, education, use of new materials, or anything else artists can think of. Maybe a past session sparked a new angle or idea for a session. Perhaps a group has discussed different solutions to production challenges. What about a PDW or session topic people have wanted but haven’t yet seen at the Conference? Those who have an idea but don’t want to present it can also submit it so someone else can run with it.
The CD&T Commission votes to select programming, but it is Commission members and their ideas that determine the quality of the Conference.
Proposals submitted last year can also be resubmitted; just contact M.C. Friedrich, VC-Programming at mcfriedr@mtu.edu.
