Frank Ludwig
Scene Design Commission

There is a new forum available on the web for sharing production achievements with people around the world – a celebration of the creativity, resourcefulness, and talent of the USITT membership.

The site is hosted and maintained by the Scene Design Commission, at www.usitthowdidyoudothat.com, but submissions that reflect innovation in technical production, engineering, lighting, and costuming are hoped for and expected. It doesn’t have to be extraordinarily original or complicated to be worth sharing. The best solutions are often the ones more likely to be regarded as extraordinarily appropriate, extraordinarily economic, or even extraordinarily simple. Examples might include anything that contributes to production planning or execution. Unfamiliar rendering or model building techniques, neglected construction methods, a clever use of new or forgotten materials, and particularly effective special effects are always of interest to Institute members.

Digital images and short videos will be accepted for posting on the How Did You Do That? forum. To be eligible for posting, each submission must include the names of key artistic and/or technical personnel, name of producing organization, and title of show. Optional information will include cost of solution in money and time, total production budget, and a title for the post. All submissions will be accepted with the understanding, that if the submission generates overwhelming interest, the poster is willing to share how it was accomplished.

Visitors to the page will be able to post comments and cast votes for favorite production solutions. The top three vote getters may be invited to share their secrets in a special session at a future Annual Conference & Stage Expo. Other entries that garner significant interest may be featured in future TD&T articles or be invited to participate in USITT’s Tech Expo, the every-other-year exhibition of technical solutions to production issues.

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