Wilmington College will host the Fall Ohio Valley Regional Section Conference Saturday, October 13 at the Boyd Cultural Arts Center.

Three 90-minute sessions are scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a section meeting to follow. There will be four workshops for each session, so there will be a lot of choices in technology and design.

Here is a short list of the workshops:

• Blinking LEDs: Theory (part 1) and Practice (part 2)
• Electricity 101 - The Do's and Don'ts of Electrical Power Distribution and Safety: (part 1 and 2) with Richard Wolpert of Union Connector and Paul Vincent
• Putting It All Together: Resume / Cover Letters (part 1) Portfolio Pages (part 2)
• Wigs, the Perfect Fit
• Planning for Video/Projection Systems in your Next Production - The Nuts and Bolts of Video Hardware
• Digital Portfolios
• Time Management and Communication Tools for Student Designers and Technicians
• Lighting Visualization Workshop
• Theater Renovation

Lunch will be available on the Wilmington campus. Chuck Hatcher, section Vice Chair of Programs, has put together a full day events including the Peggy Ezekiel Awards and Design Exhibition. Details and directions to Wilmington, Ohio are posted on the website.

To Top

The Chesapeake Regional Section of USITT is proud to announce its most comprehensive Exposition and Conference ever September 15 at Shenandoah University's Theatre. Be amazed at the latest gadgets and gizmos on the market in the Expo display. From drafting to rigging, vendors will be on hand to show and test their wares.

An all-day workshop session on rigging was brought back by popular demand and will be presented as hands-on experience. Delbert Hall and Jonathan Duell will present.

Some of the areas covered will be: understanding static and dynamic loads in aerial rigging; rigging math (resultant forces and bridles); mechanical advantage and disadvantage; ropes and knots; cable and cable terminations; rigging hardware; rigging techniques; circus apparatus; and fall protection.

Anyone attending this workshop who is an ETCP certified rigger will get double credit for hours leading to re-certification. An additional fee of $60 for the all day rigging session is required.

Over 20 mini-workshops will be presented throughout the day. A few of the topics are:

• Audio: Sound 101 basic set-up, Sound 102 Wireless Microphones, master sound session basic set-up, system ring out
• Costumes: thrift shop finds to period pieces, basic make-up and wigs
• Drafting: third rendering (part 1), third rendering (part 2), computers in hand rendering (multimedia rendering)
• Scenic Technology: castor lifting systems for platforms
• Pneumatics: cheap power for stage motion and effects, wagon pivots and tracking
• Scene Painting: round table discussion on tricks to making stage trees
• Miscellaneous: stage combat and the technical issues involved, other jobs in entertainment after graduation
• Lighting and Electrics: idiot's guide to lighting, electrical power distribution, GAM workshop

For more information, visit the website. Visitors may also join or renew a membership and pay the fee for the Expo and conference.

To Top

Renovations to the main stage of the five-venue Performing Arts Center (PAC) at the State University of New York at Albany are now complete. It's time to take that new equipment for a spin, and Professor and Director of Design and Technology Andi Lyons is ready to show what it will do on September 29 from noon to 5 p.m. as part of the Upstate New York Regional Section's meeting.

SUNY at Albany faculty and staff and industry vendors are planning workshops in costuming, crafts, lighting, properties, and sound. Programmers will be on board to take the lighting control and moving lights through their paces. BMI Supply, responsible for PAC equipment installation, is sponsoring this event. LightBox will also showcase their product at the event.

Close to the geographic center of the region, Albany is accessible to most members. To accommodate statewide travel time, the event will begin at noon with a brief regional section meeting followed by an overview of the renovations and hands-on workshops. Tours and workshops will run 1 to 5 p.m.

To Top

The USITT Northern Boundary Regional Section's annual Fall Workshop will be held September 14 and 15 at Theatre L'Homme Dieu near Alexandria, Minnesota.

Theatre L'Homme Dieu is a non-profit, professional, summer theatre operated since 1961 by St. Cloud State University in partnership with a group of Alexandria citizens. Theatre faculty, staff, and students from St. Cloud State University will host the event.

Directions to the workshop site as well as a link to the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce (for housing, pull down under "Visit Alexandria" and choose lodging) at the Theatre L'Homme Dieu website. There is also lodging on site at the theatre in dorms and cabins. Contact David Borron at drborron@stcloudstate.edu to make arrangements and get details. The onsite lodging cost is very inexpensive!

To Top

The Southwest Regional Section will hold its Fall Symposium on Saturday and Sunday, September 8 and 9, at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Tentative programming includes Sketch-Up & WYSIWYG presentations, lighting company presentations, a scenic painting demonstration, and costume programming.

Accommodations are being offered by The Cosmopolitan of Fayetteville. The tentative schedule includes Friday check in and an informal pub crawl, with programming beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the University of Arkansas. On Sunday a brunch and business meeting is planned at The Cosmopolitan Hotel. For more details, visit the section website.

To Top