All USITT members who were current as of November 21, 2008 will be sent an e-mail during the week of December 8 including links and instructions for voting in the 2009 USITT Elections. USITT members are encouraged to vote on offices including President-Elect, Vice-Presidents, and Secretary as well as six Directors at Large. This year's ballot includes statements from each candidate, an innovation for 2009.

Those who do not have e-mail addresses will be mailed paper ballots, while all others can use the online VoteNet system. Deadline to return ballots or vote online is January 9, 2009.

Anyone who does not receive an e-mail with links to the voting site, or who has questions about the process should contact USITT's Office at 800-938-7488, ext. 101.

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Roadhouse Rules, a professional development seminar series for theatre production and design personnel, is being offered March 27 to 29 at the Wharton Center at Michigan State University. The cost is $275 with a $25 discount for USITT members. The new MSU Federal Credit Union Institute for Arts & Creativity at Wharton Center is offering the first of what is billed as an annual series. The event will focus on lighting design with sessions presented by award-winning Broadway lighting designers Don Holder and Jeanne Koenig from Disney’s The Lion King.

For more information, including possible credits, or to register, visit www.whartoncenter.com/education or call the box office at 517-432-2000. For additional seminar details, call 517-353-1982.

Roadhouse Rules is presented as a Kennedy Center Partners in Education Professional Development Series event and supported in part by the MSU Federal Credit Union Institute for Arts & Creativity at Wharton Center and the Ingham Intermediate School District.

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Quite Specific Media Group Ltd. is offering several new titles this fall. The company’s imprints include Costume & Fashion Press and Drama Publishers.

New titles include: Patterns of Fashion 4, by Janet Arnold, discusses the cut and construction of linen shirts, smocks, neckwear, headwear, and accessories for men and women circa 1540-1660; Corsets: Historical Patterns & Techniques, by Jill Salen, deals with corset making from 1750 to 1914; Stage Lighting Design: The Art, The Craft, The Life, by Richard Pilbrow with a foreword by Harold Prince and A Memory for Laurence Olivier; and The Tudor Tailor, by Jane Malcolm-Davies and Ninya Mikhalia, covers techniques and patterns for making historically accurate period clothing.

For more information, visit www.quitespecificmedia.com.

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The Long Reach Long Riders have scheduled the route of its sixth annual charity motorcycle ride.

The 2009 trip will begin in Richmond, Virginia on July 31 and end August 6 in Dahlonega, Georgia. In between, participants will tour through places like Cades Cove and Bear Gap, see some of the prettiest country, and ride some of the best bike roads east of the Mississippi.

The Long Reach Long Riders began the charity ride in 2004 as a one-time event. The idea was to ride from Boone, North Carolina to the USITT Conference & Stage Expo in Long Beach, Califorina raising money for charity along the way. The trip was so much fun, and the fundraising went so well, it turned into an annual event. Since 2004 the LRLR have covered close to 20,000 miles and raised over $170,000.

Greg Williams and Alice Neff, founding members of the LRLR, are the 2009 Ride Marshals. The charities that benefit from the annual ride are Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes program. For more information on the charities, details of the 2009 route and how to ride with the LRLR, or to make a donation, visit www.LRLR.org.

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