Michael O'Nele
Project Leader, Young TD Mentoring

The Technical Production Commission recently announced the Young Technical Director Mentoring Project. This effort is intended to support anyone who is relatively new to being a TD, or students who may be considering a career as a TD. The project is served by a network of experienced practitioners committed to sharing their hard-won knowledge of the TD's life in the theatre.

The project's goals are to:

• support young TDs as they navigate the early years of their career;
• help make the transition from student to professional;
• help a new TD transition into an academic theatre position;
• help find solutions to production and resource challenges;
• match new TDs with others who will serve as mentors.

An ongoing series of sessions at the Annual USITT Conference will be sponsored by the Technical Production Commission. Highlights for 2009 in Cincinnati will include: Networking Your Way Through Your Career, Budgets, and Professional Opportunities for the Theatre Technician.

Portfolio review sessions are hosted at each annual Conference and staffed by respected and experienced Technical Directors from professional and academic venues. The Technical Production Commission Reception is held annually and again at the 2009 Conference; it includes a social setting for networking opportunities and an opportunity to meet with potential mentors. The Technical Production Commission's website includes the notes from past conferences and the online publication Technical Source Guide. Works in progress, such as an online materials database and an annotated database of print resources, are available.

Get involved, either to be mentored or to become a mentor, by contacting Project Leader Michael O'Nele at: University of Memphis, Department of Theatre & Dance, 144 Theatre Communication Bldg. Memphis, TN 38152; monele@memphis.edu; 901-678-2564.

To Top