Welcome Andrea Bilkey – Contributing Writer on iSquint

Hello friends and colleagues; my name is Andrea, and I am a fellow Squint.  It feels as if I’ve been one for as long as I can remember.  Like many, I started by “helping” in the theatre when I was knee high to a grasshopper and spent quite a bit of time being curious about how it all worked: taking every opportunity to learn, ask questions, and to absorb everything by both quietly watching and jumping in and “doing” as appropriate.  Fast forward almost 30 years through the gamut of theatrical jobs and experiences, and I find that the saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same” rings true.  I’m still rather short, I continue “helping” by contributing to the collective whole of the artform through design as well as giving back to the world of education, and I’m unquenchably curious about how all of the performing arts technologies work: from history to the present and beyond.

In 2001, I was afforded the opportunity to attend my first LDI Show through the wonderful ETC Student-Sponsorship program.  Like a kid in a candy store I took in as much as I could, absorbing knowledge and amassing experiences I had only heard about: and I’ve been smitten ever since.  Like many have found, the economy has not always allowed me the opportunity to attend every single year, but when I couldn’t I’ve always enjoyed hearing from others about what they saw, what workshops they attended, and the broad spectrum of information shared.  iSquint.net has been a staple in that regard and I am humbly joyful to be a guest writer while at LDI, sharing my experience with colleagues and friends, both those in attendance and those traveling along via armchairs and browsers.

I hope you enjoy and see you at the show!