Sessions sponsored by exhibitors will cover a broad range of topics in 2006. Participants can find everything ranging from the completely theoretical to the more practical and truly hands-on.

Photo/Tom Thatcher.

by Helen Willard
Stage Expo Sales Manager

Exhibitor programming has grown in both the number and quality of sessions presented at USITT's Annual Conference & Stage Expo.

There will be a wide variety of exhibitor programming at next year's conference with several sessions cosponsored by USITT Commissions. Here is a sampling of the exhibitor programming to be presented at the 2006 Conference in Louisville.

Rachel Keebler of Cobalt Studios will present Handmade Scenic Painting Tools, a PowerPoint presentation with show and tell of the handmade specialty tools used to aid in painting scenery.

Sarah Clausen and Tom Littrell of ETC will present Designing & Cueing Moving Lights for Theatre, a discussion of preparing to use moving lights in a theatrical production. Participants will learn how to think about designing with moving lights, how to prepare during pre-tech, and how to survive tech week cueing sessions.

ETC will also present Sorting out the Good from the Bad: Understanding Sine Wave Dimming. The industry is gaining a new awareness of this alternative dimming technology that uses transistors rather than traditional SCRs or triacs as the power device. This session will attempt to clear up some of the confusion about this new technology. A panel of industry leaders in dimming development will help attendees understand the differences between phase angle dimming and amplitude modulation, or sine wave, dimming.

Linda Sparks of Farthingales will present Basics of Corset Building, a detailed discussion of several techniques for building period corsets, with samples of all techniques in both finished corsets and partially finished corsets. The pros and cons of each technique and material options will be explained, and samples of raw materials will be available.

Paul Thompson of Make Up Designory will present a session on Gelatin Prosthetics, which will be co-sponsored by the Costume Design & Technology Commission.

Susan Davis and Becky Kaufman of Period Corsets will present Vintage Undergarments - Up Close and Personal, a discussion of how period undergarments were really constructed. This visual presentation will show corsets and more from several personal collections, with actual garments available for examination.

Rosco is sponsoring Specifying and Maintaining Dance Flooring. A panel of technical directors will discuss how they develop specifications for dance floors in their facilities. The discussion will include varying techniques for maintaining floors in peak form for the dancers who use them.

Rosco will also present Textures and Finishes on Scenery, Props, and Costumes. Perhaps nothing affects the success of a piece of scenery or a prop as the way the surface or finish appears to the audience. In this workshop, Jen Knott shows how to make distinctive and interesting surfaces using such materials as sand, rope, coins, and scene paint.

In a session cosponsored with the Lighting Commission, Rosco Gobos with Mark Stanley, Mr. Stanley brings his extensive lighting design experience for dance, opera, theatre and television to this master class in the use of templates in lighting design. The light lab will be utilized to demonstrate how he uses steel and glass gobos to help realize his unique lighting vision.

Peter Monahan of Rose Brand will present Flame Retardants, an overview of flame retardants and flame safety for the theatre, and Theatre Applications for Digital Imaging. As digital imaging backdrops are used more frequently in the theatre/entertainment industry, the technology is continually changing. Find out about the newest substrates and printing techniques, and learn about design, choosing the correct substrates, and the printing process.

Look for descriptions of more exhibitor programming sessions in upcoming issues of Sightlines. Exhibitors interested in proposing programming sessions for the 2007 conference in Phoenix should contact Helen Willard at hpwillard@aol.com.

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