Upstate New York Regional Section firmed up plans for activities that will extend into spring 2007. Three venues and dates include a repeat of last year's fall kick-off meeting, a January job fair and day of workshops, and a spring end-of-the-academic-year round-up.

This fall's workshops and meeting will be at SUNY-Geneseo September 16. Plans include activities for students, faculty and professionals. Lighting Designer and Technical Director Johnnie Ferrell is spearheading the Saturday meeting.

The third annual Job Fair and day of workshops is set for January 27. SUNY-Oswego's technical director, Johan Godwaldt, will again be the on-campus workshop coordinator for this event, and Glimmerglass Opera TD, Abby Rodd, the employer contact. Director of design and technology at SUNY-Albany, Andi Lyons, will host the spring round-up in the new theatre facilities.

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New York Area Regional Section will hold its section Annual Meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, May 22 at NYU, NYU, 721 Broadway, New York City.

At this time, section membership renewals may be due. Business to be conducted at the meeting includes: voting for new board of directors executive committee members; voting for new members at large board members (nominations are welcome); discussing the path of the section for the next year; desired workshops and events; and a potential membership drive.

Following the meeting, members are invited to attend a reception at 7 p.m. at the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

For more information about the meeting, visit www.usittny.org

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Penn High School in Mishawaka, Indiana is a huge consolidated high school with somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 students. (Mishawaka is the "twin city" to South Bend and is on the east side of South Bend.) Its theatre department is fairly large and includes two theatres (a proscenium theatre and a studio theatre), two drama directors (so each only has to direct one show per year), and a full time technical director.

The school's Tech Olympics team won first place, the ETC Source Four ellipsoid, and had some individual winners. Bill Heimann also served as the Indiana Thespians State Director for nine years, stepping down this past May. He was very supportive when the Section offered to do the Tech Olympics at the State Thespian Conference.

Mr. Heimann wrote the following thank-you note to the Section:

A big thanks from Penn High School to USITT Midwest Region, to ETC, and Indianapolis Stage. The structure of the event and the awarding of the valued prizes makes for a very exciting event that highlights the importance of technical theater.

Our tech team was very enthusiastic about the event. They filled me in on the bus ride home on all the details of their great adventure. When we stopped for food, they ordered carry-out and went to a card store. They bought bows and a card which they attached to the Source Four box.

They left this present in Byron Welker's office for him to find.

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