Participants in several Regional Attractions will visit the Herberger Theater Center in Downtown Phoenix.

Photo/Barbara E.R. Lucas

Jeff Brown
Phoenix Promotions Coordinator

Are you looking to get the most out of your conference experience? Would you like to encounter some of the local flare that Phoenix offers?

If the answer is "yes," plan on attending a Professional Development Workshop (PDW) and/or tour when you attend the 2007 Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Phoenix. PDWs are offered on the Monday and Tuesday before the official kickoff of the Conference & Stage Expo, and they require pre-registration here. Tours occur during the regular conference week. This year, USITT has developed some outstanding PDWs and a tour that really showcases the rich arts and entertainment of the Phoenix area.

Experience Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona

This bus tour, scheduled for Monday, March 12, provides an opportunity to explore two of Wright's Arizonian masterpieces -- Taliesin West and the Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium. Taliesin West served as Wright's personal home and studio and still serves as a campus for his architectural school. Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium was one of the architect's last designs and is located on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. Tour participants will have the opportunity to hear a Taliesin Fellow speak about the creative process and will receive a Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona book.

Actors Theatre of Phoenix Show
and Herberger Arts Center Tour

On Tuesday, March 13, The Actors Theatre of Phoenix will host a production of Richard Dresser's Augusta at a special time just for USITT audiences. Augusta is a "brand spankin' new pressure cooker comedy about a pair of blue collar gals angling their way toward a slice of the American Dream." Kim Williamson, USITT's VP for Commissions, will be the scenic designer. The show will be presented at the Herberger Arts Center, which is adjacent to the Hyatt hotel. Not only will participants see a show, but they will receive a tour of the Herberger Arts Center. As a special bonus, this Regional Attraction dovetails with the Wednesday conference session Designing with Actors Theatre.

New Facilities Tour -- the Mesa Arts Center
and Tempe Arts Center

This is the Architecture Commission's first pre-conference event! On this Tuesday, March 13 tour participants will receive comprehensive tours of two new municipal performing arts facilities -- the Mesa Arts Center and the Tempe Arts Center (not yet open to the public at the time of the tour). These are two major league players in the evolving arts landscape in the Phoenix region. As a bonus, this tour will end at the Herberger Arts Center (downtown Phoenix) with a special performance of Richard Dresser's Augusta. (See additional production information above -- Actors Theatre of Phoenix.)

Major League Baseball Spring Training

More specific information about this special offering will be announced sometime in January when the exact game schedules are made public by the baseball commission. Nine different teams spend March in the Phoenix area for training with an average of four to five different games being played around town each weekday! Experience great games, great players, jumbo hot dogs, cheap tickets, and the opportunity to get up close and personal with the athletes. Bring your baseball glove to catch a fly ball!

Tour: Dodge Theater and Symphony Hall

This tour, during the conference, will have signup sheets for participation during the Conference. The Dodge Theater is designed specifically for concerts, Broadway-style touring productions, family stage shows, boxing, and convention meetings. The theatre has innovative moving sidewalls which provide an intimate setting for proscenium events. Participants will also tour Symphony Hall, which recently received an extensive $18.5 million renovation and expansion. The multi-purpose Symphony Hall is home to The Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, and Ballet Arizona.

This is a small sampling of the regional-specific programming that will be available at the 2007 Annual Conference & Stage Expo. Stay tuned for more featured sessions in upcoming issues of Sightlines.

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