The 2008 Annual Conference & Stage Expo will use the General Assembly Theatre of the George R. Brown Convention Center, left, as the site for Light Lab sessions.

Photo/Courtesy George R. Brown Convention Center

by Todd Proffitt
Lighting Commission

It's hard to believe but it's time for another Light Lab at the 2008 USITT Conference & Stage Expo in Houston.

Next year's sessions are tentatively set and cover a wide range of topics. The first will be a skills building session with Steve Shelley. He will cover focusing conventional instruments in a fast and efficient manner. Later will be two sessions on projections, the first on "Mega Projections" and the second on projections with conventional fixtures. Another session slated for Houston is Students in the Light Lab. Three students will be chosen to light the same piece of dance, opera, or theatre, and will be judged by a distinguished panel of judges including Craig Wolf.

The 2008 Light Lab will be a truss rig in the George R. Brown Convention Center's General Assembly Theatre. This will bring plenty of challenges, and many volunteers will be needed to set up, strike, and run the sessions.

There is a good mix of returning and new members to the Light Lab Committee including Todd Proffitt, Tracy Fitch, Jennifer Griffin, Steve Smith, Jason Tollefson, Andrea Bilkey, and Joshua Williamson.

For those not on the committee, there are two additional ways to get involved. The first is as a student volunteer; to apply, fill out the student volunteer form which will be available in September and indicate a desire to work in the Light Lab. There are only a limited number of slots and applicants will be chosen based on experience and availability to be on hand for the load-in on Tuesday, March 18. The second way is volunteer to help supervise the student crews and fill in where needed for sessions. Anyone wishing to be a member volunteer can contact Ms. Bilkey by e-mail: andrea.bilkey@ttu.edu.

There are many benefits to working in the lab: as part of the Student Volunteer program, Conference fees are waived in exchange for working at least 15 hours; all volunteers will be able to work with the latest equipment and have the opportunity to work on a truss rig. A bonus is that most of the Lighting Commissioners started as volunteers in the Light Lab.

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