News & Notices
Experienced and Novice Riggers Benefit from Glerum Masterclasses
The Jay Glerum Rigging Masterclasses launched this summer with 60 attendees gathering in Denver for the two-day intensive.
Created to honor the memory of Jay O. Glerum, USITT Fellow and the author of Stage Rigging, the Glerum Workshops included two tracks: one for advanced riggers, the other for entry level people.
The advanced rigging class was coordinated by Eric Rouse, along with Gareth Conner, Pete Svitavsky, Joe Champelli, and Paul Kelm. The 30 participants from 12 states explored the challenges of integrating rigging and automation. It was certified for ETCP renewal credits. Hosted at the Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the event allowed attendees to dig into the complex relationship of rigging and automation, braking dynamics, and the math and physics of it all.
At the same time, across the street at at Metropolitan State University, another 30 participants were led by Ed Leahy, Shane Kelly, and Patrick Finn through the rudiments of rigging for those with no rigging experience but needing to work with rigging. The target audience was high school educators, but attendees from all walks of entertainment careers joined in.
Safety issues were an important part of the classes with experienced riggers learning about brakes and the less experience learning about safety harnesses.
Sponsors ETC, H&H Specialties, JR Clancy, Texas Scenic, and the Green Machine Employees helped keep the cost to attendees affordable. The USITT Fellows Fund and the Glerum family, through the Glerum Family Travel Stipend, helped some high school educators get to Denver.
The 2017 Jay O. Glerum Masterclasses are being planned with details announced shortly.
“I am honored to have received the grant that made my attendance possible. Without the grant, I would not have been able to make it to Denver and meet such a diverse and experienced group of individuals at this very educational and informative course.”
J. Glombicki, Concordia University, Chicago
