The Ohio Valley Regional Section will hold its Fall Conference on Saturday, October 3 at Seton Hill University. The conference includes a full day of sessions as well as tours of the new Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and the nearby roadhouse, Palace Theater.

Those in Cleveland will recall the tour of the Hanna Theatre and will want to share the excitement of the Seton Hill faculty and students as they move into their brand new facility.

Topics for sessions cover a wide range from scene painting with Jenny Knott from Rosco; evoking emotion with costume renderings with Mary McClung from West Virginia University; taxes, 1099s and unions with Annmarie Duggan from the University of Pittsburgh; and hands-on lighting control with Pete Neal from LaFace & McGovern Associates’ Specialty Lighting Division, to name a few. For more detailed information, check the website or the soon to be e-mailed newsletter.

In addition to the many sessions, portfolio reviews will be held for all design disciplines. Sign up for times at conference registration.

The conference will also feature a keynote address by Dick Block, chair of the Department of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University and co-author of Scene Design and Stage Lighting (8th and 9th editions).

As always with the fall conference, the Peggy Ezekiel Design Exhibit will be on display and the awards will be announced at the membership meeting. This exhibit is open to any member of the section. Check the website for details regarding the format for this year since there have been some major changes.

Details will be posted on the OVS website, www.usittohiovalley.org, in early August.

Inspired by the upcoming 50th Anniversary of USITT, the section is undertaking an exciting project to gather the history of the section into one place. Tammy Honesty, VC for Programming, has created a WIKI where members can add what they know of the section's past. Visit usitt--ohiovalleysection.wikispaces.com/ and share recollections of the section and any personal stories. The Section is especially interested in updating the list of individuals who have received the OVS lifetime achievement award.

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It is time for the ninth annual New England Regional Section summer barbecue 1 p.m. Saturday, August 22 at the Chair's house in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

There will be lots of food, snacks, and things to quench your thirst. Want to bring a guest? Sure! Not a member? Come anyway! Check us out. Students are welcome for free. Thinking about becoming a member of the New England Section? Come to the barbecue and sign up for only $15 dollars regular membership. Catch up on everyone’s activities, see what progress has been made since the Annual Conference, and think of new adventures.

RSVP by e-mailing Crystal Tiala at tiala@mindspring.com. Please include the names of any guests and if there are any food allergies/issues

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The Desert State Regional Section has been busy in the hot summer making plans for its annual retreat up in the cool northlands. On August 15, the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 boards will meet for an intensive planning session at Northland Pioneer College in Arizona. This is when the schedule for the year will be created, budget planned, workshop ideas discussed, and groundwork laid for the 2009-2010 Student Scholarship Award Program. A panel discussion on Renovating Performance Spaces will be held later in the day. Those interested in attending should contact Fran Sutherland (fransutherland@cox.net) or Debra Ann Fisher (debraann.fisher@npc.edu).

The Section will present a workshop on August 29 at Scottsdale Community College. Putting your Best Foot Forward: How to market yourself and your art is geared toward students so they know how to put together a portfolio and resume for the industry.

The Section is on Facebook! Join the group for updates on this and other events.

Thanks go to Laurie Kincman for her many years of dedicated service to the board. She has accepted a wonderful opportunity in Wisconsin.

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As USITT celebrates its 50th anniversary, USITT-Southwest will turn 40. The Section will kick off its 40th year with two days of workshops and seminars in Oklahoma City. The Southwest Regional Section will hold its Fall TechXperience Weekend September 5 to 6.

Events will be held at the Stage Center Theatre in the Arts District of downtown and at Oklahoma City University. Workshops include: Men’s Tailoring with Kristina Hanssen and George Curry; Scene Painting with Jenny Knott and Heidi Hoffer; Theatre Architecture tours with Jack Hagler; Moving Lights & Ion demo with Eric Marsh; Color Theory and Design by Joe Tawil; and Designing for Outdoor Theatre. The keynote speaker will be Robert Benedetti, lighting designer, Emmy winning director, producer, and author; his address will be about the Director/Designer Relationship. There also will be a Professional Design Exhibition that is open to all Section members.

During the symposium there will also be opportunities to see three local productions: Death of a Salesman at the Pollard Theatre, Twelfth Night at Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, and Compleat Female at the Stage Center.

Registration for the symposium is $5 for student members and $20 for members. For more information, check out www.usitt-sw.org.

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The Heart of America Fall Workshops & Mini Expo will be held at the Lied Center, University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas September 11 to 12. Del Unruh, professor of scenography and author of The Designs of Ming Cho Lee, The Designs of Tharon Musser, and most recently The Designs of Jules Fisher will be the featured speaker Friday evening. Saturday will include a USITT/The ESTA Foundation Rigging joint training workshop on establishing an inspection record and Richard Wolpert of Union Connector speaking on theatre electricity safe working practices. Additional workshop topics include costumes by Ashley Bellet of University of Tulsa, adapting other technologies for theatre by Ed Baker of Wichita State University, and a tour of Kansas University's Lied Center. Several regional vendors will also be represented at a mini expo. More information and registration is available at www.usittheartofamerica.com.

Heart of America also has a new logo which will be rolled out onto its website over the next few days.

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