For 2004, the Southeast Regional Section Master Classes will be September 10 and 11 in Montgomery, Alabama, sponsored by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa.

Highlights will include: Theatrical Rigging with Jay Glerum, Construction Estimating, Stage Metal Working, and Special Techniques for Props. A live production meeting for participants to observe is being considered as well. Costume sessions are in the planning stages and include a visit to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art. E-mail afitch@theatre.as.us.edu for more information.

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Members of the Ohio Valley Regional Section had the opportunity to go behind the scenes of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 25, 2004. Four staff members led four different tours, and the participants were able to switch off and see all four areas.

Curator Jun Francisco led the tour of the archives, which were described as “even more compact than one could possibly imagine.” While seeing the instruments and garments mounted behind glass in the Museum is interesting, nothing compares to the immediacy of seeing some of Elvis' clothes inches from your hand, hanging up casually, waiting to be filed away, while the curator calmly tells a story about the difficulties of carrying John Lennon's bloody clothes through airport security.

Salih Ulker led a tour through another surprisingly small room – the control room for the AV equipment. The Museum is in the process of converting all its archives to digital format, but the process is slow, for reasons all other non-profits are familiar with (i.e. funding issues). Much of the Museum is automated; for example, exits and entrances to the several movie theatres are automated, as are the movies themselves. The timer is started 15 minutes before the Museum opens, and Salih single-handedly deals with any glitches throughout the day.

Meredith Rutledge showed several exhibits for which she acted as curator and described the ins and outs of developing a concept, securing pieces, and making arrangements for each.

Enjoying Ohio Valley Regional Section’s behind-the-scenes look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are Rob Johnson, Katie Sieg, Cortney Lucia, Trent Kugler, David Romich, Eric Kasprisin, and Richard Dwyer.

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In late January, the British Columbia Regional Section of USITT/CITT and SHAPE (Safety and Health in Arts Production and Entertainment) sponsored a presentation by Monona Rossol at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver and at the Royal Theatre in Victoria. She offered three sessions on basic hazard awareness regarding dusts and mists from various sources. Ms. Rossol will also present sessions as part of the upcoming CITT Rendezvous in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

On February 18, BC Section’s Annual General Meeting was held at the new Maple Ridge Arts Centre. Along with this event, Larry Darling of Rosco Canada gave a demonstration of various fog machines and their applications. Mr. Darling also touched on the liability and safety aspects associated with fog machines in general.

More recently, April 19, the BC Section of CITT hosted its first Student Night at Douglas College in New Westminster. The evening featured students from all lower mainland schools getting together and rubbing elbows with each other as well as meeting the suppliers and employers who attended. It was a mini tradeshow/job fair for students.

The suppliers and employers were: Chemanus Theatre (Vancouver Island), Massey Theatre Society (New Westminster BC), Allstarr Show Industries, Pro Sound, Cinequipwhite ltd., Q-1 ProductionTechnologies, SHAPE, CITT, Rosco Canada, Douglas College, Christie Lites, and Capllano College.

Highlights included a student spaghetti bridge building competition, callboard demonstrations, and a short fog demo followed by measuring the particulate levels of fog in the air. The Section extended special thanks to Marty Claussen from SHAPE for his expertise in the fog measuring and testing as well as Rosco Canada.

The student night was successful enough that the Dean of Fine Arts insisted that Douglas College become the permanent home of this new annual event for the BC Section.

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There have been some changes in the leadership for the Chesapeake Regional Section. The new chair is Bill Price, who replaces Robert Auchter. The complete Section leadership is: Chair, Bill Price; First Vice-Chair, Andrew Rich; Second Vice-Chair, Yoko Hashimoto-Sinclair; Third Vice-Chair pro tem, Bill Brandwein; Members at Large, Robert Auchter and Kim Haug; Secretary, Mark E. Mallett; Treasurer, Jack Gallagher; Membership/Webmaster, Gregg Hillmar; and Editor, In The Wings, Tom Fusco.

The Chesapeake Regional Section will hold its 2004 Expo in the Fall this year. Tentatively called “Expo 2004 And A Half” (they’ve already held one Expo, this past January, in 2004.), this represents a major change in the Section’s calendar. In an attempt to avoid weather and schedule problems, and increase attendance, the Expo date is now moved from mid-January to late September. The Expo will take place in the Richmond, Virginia area. A site search is currently underway. Once the venue is established, details of dates and place will be announced.

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The Inland Northwest Regional Section is now on-line!

Please visit the section’s new site at www.inlandnwusitt.org to view the Section’s online newsletter, more information on Section activities like the upcoming fall meeting/workshop October 23 at Columbia Basin College, and membership information for those in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

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The newly rejuvenated New York Area Regional Section is moving forward with activities while seeking additional volunteer involvement.

Rose Brand provided space and support for Executive Board and General meetings held May 24 to introduce the new Board and give the membership input into the direction the Section should go. Volunteers are still needed for various committees as are suggestions for symposiums, programs and meetings; and nominations for at-large Board members.

Visit the section web site for up-to-the minute news of planned activities. As the invitation to the May meeting noted, “So come to the meeting with ideas and suggestions and be prepared to spend a couple of hours with others of us that share an interest in technical theatre. Schmooze with old friends and new. Hear the latest gossip.”

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Eliminating the STRESS of distressing your costumes, while taking your costume from the street to the dungeon, billed as “a very hands on workshop,” will be presented by Gail Wolfenden-Steib on August 13 and 14. Sessions will run 1 to 9 p.m. on Friday August 13 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 14.

The event is hosted by Northern Arizona University’s Theatre Department in Flagstaff, Arizona and sponsored by USITT’s Desert State Regional Section. The fee for the event is $75 for participants and $50 for observers with enrollment limited to 15 participants and five observers.

Registration deadline is July 12, 2004. For more information, contact jimmiebyrd@cox.net.

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