USITT Southeast Regional Conference Report!
This weekend, four students and two of my fellow faculty/staff and i all have traveled to the USITT Southeast Regional Conference, hosted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
If the Commission Symposia are microcosm conferences divided into disciplines (like the creature-costume event i covered last month, sponsored by the Costume Commission), the regional conferences are similar-sized events divided by geographical location--we've got attendees from all areas of production and design, from professional and academic theatres around the southeastern US. They feature workshops and demonstrations, lectures and facilities tours, networking and social events, and a design/tech expo in which entrants can present projects and compete for prizes (such as "free admission fees to USITT National"). And, of course there are the usual convention swag tables where you can load up on free stuff from sponsors--product samples, literature, coupons, promotional logo merchandise, etc.
I have some photos and a few synopses of what we've done this weekend, to provide an idea what sort of event a regional conference of this sort is! I attended a shadow puppetry workshop, an overview of PatternMaker software, and a seminar on casting with a new expandable "green" foam (both ecologically and literally speaking). I also took a facilities tour of some of the UNC-G costume production spaces, and participated in the Design/Tech Expo.
Shadow Puppetry
fish puppet being constructed
fish puppet (didn't catch the artisan's name)
butterfly (made by Shanna Parks)
cat & mouse (also missed the artisan's name)
Shadow puppets are difficult to photograph! There were several more really great ones which i took pix of which didn't turn out well (the pix, that is), like this hilarious caterpillar made by PRC Costume Technician Erin Rodgers--he ate a little shadow apple and then you could see it pass through each body segment! Also, i missed the first half of this workshop due to car trouble (long story, not a big deal, but involved me waiting an hour for a tow guy to show up and help me out, when i would rather have been in a workshop), so i was unable to make a puppet myself.
PatternMaker Software Workshop
sloper pattern pieces and assembled fabric sloper generated by the program
This workshop was exciting, in that it allowed *just* enough of an overview for you to very quickly grasp how you might find it useful in your own applications specific to your own theatre or production process model, while not being too in-depth for attendees without much computer aptitude to follow along. It took place in the UNC-G theatre dept computer lab, so we all had our own computer to work on and explore the software, rather than watching just a presentation of someone else manipulating it.
It was particularly interesting to experiment with the software having just taken that Gerber software course i had this summer, and our students (who learn ApparelCAD, a suite attached to AutoCAD) said the same--it's neat to have had the opportunity to contrast and compare a bit. I'd love to check out PatternMaker's accompanying Marker suite (i.e., fabric layout for yardage conservation, which UNC-G did not own), and it's exciting that you can theoretically create your own suites of pattern styles and sell them through PatternMaker's site. Maybe at some point i'll have to invest in it and break out some hat collections of period hat shapes!
Casting With Demilec
fiberglass donkey mold
Joseph figure cast in Demilec, untrimmed/unsealed/unpainted
John Saari of Sculptural Arts Coatings (the folks who make Sculpt-or-Coat) led a seminar on his experience this summer with a new-to-theatre foam medium (but not-so-new to the contruction industry) called Demilec. Demilec was developed as an ecologically-responsible spray foam insulation product, and is composed of recycled polyurethane and soya. Saari had recently done some R&D on working with the Demilec medium for scenic casting purposes, as part of a charitable job he took on this past summer to restore a beloved 1930s-era church Nativity--several 4/5-scale human and animal figures for outside display, the antique originals of which had been unfortunately destroyed last winter by a vandal with a baseball bat. He presented his discoveries and gave lots of tips about working with the medium in terms of counterintuitive setbacks he encountered (such as that it scorches rather than cutting well with a hot knife).
The primary advantages of the Demilec over regular 2-part polyurethane foam were its relative safety as a medium and its lower cost. It does require supplied-air respirators to spray it into the molds to avoid breathing it in uncured particulate airborne form, but it doesn't give off the kind of longterm vapors that fiberglass resin components do. And, it worked out to being about $2/cu.ft., compared to $25/cu.ft. for traditional high-density polyurethane foam. Really interesting stuff!
Host-Institution Facility Tour
UNC-G's got my kudos for this dye area ventilation system!
Eyewash and safety shower!
Block storage in their millinery studio
Another cool thing about going to regional conferences is the opportunity to check out the facilities at other schools and companies. (One thing i'm sad about not getting to see was the tour of Triad Stage, another LORT theatre in the Carolina Piedmont. I was in the Expo critique session though.) I'm particularly heartened by schools who have prioritized facility retrofitting to adapt to safe workplace standards, and i love seeing new-construction shops (though they're rare, unfortunately). Because i'm such an OSHA groupie, i was thrilled by UNC-G's numerous safety features and adaptations in their workspaces, and what a great hatblock collection!
Design/Tech Expo
Buckram Millinery by Shanna Parks
Lydia Bennett chemisette, gown, and Spencer jacket by Amy A. Page
I couldn't get good representative photos of my own entry ( millinery for Pride and Prejudice) nor that of Randy Handley/handyhatter ("CAPS," a database program he created that allows for full tracking and organization of all the information used in costume production).
Basically, the regional Design/Tech Expos are a great way to get some practice at expo participation before hitting the nationals. You have adjudicators who give you great feedback and critique, and talk in-depth about what judges will be looking for in the national competitions, not only in terms of technique and design, but graphical and verbal presentation tips as well. It's a much less intimidating situation, in that there are fewer participants and fewer judges, and the "stakes" are much lower as well as the entry fees. Plus, if you win, you get free admission to nationals!
I'll wind this up by congratulating ALL THREE of our excellent students--Randy Handley, Amy A. Page, and Shanna Parks--each of whom received an award and all three of whom will be going to nationals on a free ride! Well, fees-wise anyway. Way to go!
We faculty folk don't get quite as good a deal--our division winners get a portion of the national fees waived (entry in the "Cover the Walls" exhibit)--but i'm not griping. Not to blow my own horn or anything, but i was one of the three winners, so hey, way to go, me, too!
To sum up, check out your own regional division conference if you get the chance, and see you at the 2010 USITT 50th Annual Conference and Stage Expo, March 31-April 3 in Kansas City, MO!
If the Commission Symposia are microcosm conferences divided into disciplines (like the creature-costume event i covered last month, sponsored by the Costume Commission), the regional conferences are similar-sized events divided by geographical location--we've got attendees from all areas of production and design, from professional and academic theatres around the southeastern US. They feature workshops and demonstrations, lectures and facilities tours, networking and social events, and a design/tech expo in which entrants can present projects and compete for prizes (such as "free admission fees to USITT National"). And, of course there are the usual convention swag tables where you can load up on free stuff from sponsors--product samples, literature, coupons, promotional logo merchandise, etc.
I have some photos and a few synopses of what we've done this weekend, to provide an idea what sort of event a regional conference of this sort is! I attended a shadow puppetry workshop, an overview of PatternMaker software, and a seminar on casting with a new expandable "green" foam (both ecologically and literally speaking). I also took a facilities tour of some of the UNC-G costume production spaces, and participated in the Design/Tech Expo.
Shadow Puppetry
fish puppet being constructed
fish puppet (didn't catch the artisan's name)
butterfly (made by Shanna Parks)
cat & mouse (also missed the artisan's name)
Shadow puppets are difficult to photograph! There were several more really great ones which i took pix of which didn't turn out well (the pix, that is), like this hilarious caterpillar made by PRC Costume Technician Erin Rodgers--he ate a little shadow apple and then you could see it pass through each body segment! Also, i missed the first half of this workshop due to car trouble (long story, not a big deal, but involved me waiting an hour for a tow guy to show up and help me out, when i would rather have been in a workshop), so i was unable to make a puppet myself.
PatternMaker Software Workshop
sloper pattern pieces and assembled fabric sloper generated by the program
This workshop was exciting, in that it allowed *just* enough of an overview for you to very quickly grasp how you might find it useful in your own applications specific to your own theatre or production process model, while not being too in-depth for attendees without much computer aptitude to follow along. It took place in the UNC-G theatre dept computer lab, so we all had our own computer to work on and explore the software, rather than watching just a presentation of someone else manipulating it.
It was particularly interesting to experiment with the software having just taken that Gerber software course i had this summer, and our students (who learn ApparelCAD, a suite attached to AutoCAD) said the same--it's neat to have had the opportunity to contrast and compare a bit. I'd love to check out PatternMaker's accompanying Marker suite (i.e., fabric layout for yardage conservation, which UNC-G did not own), and it's exciting that you can theoretically create your own suites of pattern styles and sell them through PatternMaker's site. Maybe at some point i'll have to invest in it and break out some hat collections of period hat shapes!
Casting With Demilec
fiberglass donkey mold
Joseph figure cast in Demilec, untrimmed/unsealed/unpainted
John Saari of Sculptural Arts Coatings (the folks who make Sculpt-or-Coat) led a seminar on his experience this summer with a new-to-theatre foam medium (but not-so-new to the contruction industry) called Demilec. Demilec was developed as an ecologically-responsible spray foam insulation product, and is composed of recycled polyurethane and soya. Saari had recently done some R&D on working with the Demilec medium for scenic casting purposes, as part of a charitable job he took on this past summer to restore a beloved 1930s-era church Nativity--several 4/5-scale human and animal figures for outside display, the antique originals of which had been unfortunately destroyed last winter by a vandal with a baseball bat. He presented his discoveries and gave lots of tips about working with the medium in terms of counterintuitive setbacks he encountered (such as that it scorches rather than cutting well with a hot knife).
The primary advantages of the Demilec over regular 2-part polyurethane foam were its relative safety as a medium and its lower cost. It does require supplied-air respirators to spray it into the molds to avoid breathing it in uncured particulate airborne form, but it doesn't give off the kind of longterm vapors that fiberglass resin components do. And, it worked out to being about $2/cu.ft., compared to $25/cu.ft. for traditional high-density polyurethane foam. Really interesting stuff!
Host-Institution Facility Tour
UNC-G's got my kudos for this dye area ventilation system!
Eyewash and safety shower!
Block storage in their millinery studio
Another cool thing about going to regional conferences is the opportunity to check out the facilities at other schools and companies. (One thing i'm sad about not getting to see was the tour of Triad Stage, another LORT theatre in the Carolina Piedmont. I was in the Expo critique session though.) I'm particularly heartened by schools who have prioritized facility retrofitting to adapt to safe workplace standards, and i love seeing new-construction shops (though they're rare, unfortunately). Because i'm such an OSHA groupie, i was thrilled by UNC-G's numerous safety features and adaptations in their workspaces, and what a great hatblock collection!
Design/Tech Expo
Buckram Millinery by Shanna Parks
Lydia Bennett chemisette, gown, and Spencer jacket by Amy A. Page
I couldn't get good representative photos of my own entry ( millinery for Pride and Prejudice) nor that of Randy Handley/handyhatter ("CAPS," a database program he created that allows for full tracking and organization of all the information used in costume production).
Basically, the regional Design/Tech Expos are a great way to get some practice at expo participation before hitting the nationals. You have adjudicators who give you great feedback and critique, and talk in-depth about what judges will be looking for in the national competitions, not only in terms of technique and design, but graphical and verbal presentation tips as well. It's a much less intimidating situation, in that there are fewer participants and fewer judges, and the "stakes" are much lower as well as the entry fees. Plus, if you win, you get free admission to nationals!
I'll wind this up by congratulating ALL THREE of our excellent students--Randy Handley, Amy A. Page, and Shanna Parks--each of whom received an award and all three of whom will be going to nationals on a free ride! Well, fees-wise anyway. Way to go!
We faculty folk don't get quite as good a deal--our division winners get a portion of the national fees waived (entry in the "Cover the Walls" exhibit)--but i'm not griping. Not to blow my own horn or anything, but i was one of the three winners, so hey, way to go, me, too!
To sum up, check out your own regional division conference if you get the chance, and see you at the 2010 USITT 50th Annual Conference and Stage Expo, March 31-April 3 in Kansas City, MO!