USITT 2012: Session on Creating a Digital Presence

Is anyone else excited that USITT happens later this week?!? USITT has to be one of my favorite shows. Why, it’s all about education and students!  USITT is the perfect place to get a good look at what is going on in the industry and get a bit of education while you’re at it. All throughout USITT, there are sessions ranging from almost every aspect of the industry. Best of all… THEY ARE FREE!

On Thursday morning at 9:30am, I’ll be joining Todd Proffitt from SUNY Fredonia and Stage Directions Editor, Jacob Coakley.  We’ll be talking about creating a digital presence.  The session is all about how to market yourself online and digitally. We will talk about how to setup and display your work on a variety of different sites as well as a mobile version of your work.

It always happens, you’re out, at the local watering hole and run into someone that might be interested in your work.  Will you have your book or portfolio? I don’t think so, but you will have your mobile phone. We’ll explore options on how to organize, maintain and having your work ready at any moment.

Make sure to join in on the session.  If you can’t make it, we’ll have the materials up online after the session.

#USITT2011: Students on Sessions

If you’re going to pay for a conference like USITT, there is no reason not to go to as many sessions as possible. All the students I talked to have spent the last two days running from one session to another, trying to get the most out of their time in Charlotte. I’ve asked a bunch of students to tell me what they think of the sessions so far, and they all seem to have the same idea of the ideal structure. When trying to identify a good session, storytelling is good, but only if its humorous, and having enough information to fill the time slot is crucial. The presenters, much like any college professor, have to be interesting and fun to hold the attention of an audience, no matter how important the information they’re presenting is.

In my opinion, the best sessions are those that are not only engaging, but cater to the interests of multiple disciplines. Lighting for Costumes, Makeup, and the Multi-Ethnic Cast in particular is a session that I wish I could have made, as I have heard from both a lighting designer and makeup designer that it was phenomenal. It apparently had it all, a humorous presenter, enthusiastic audience participation, and information that could be valuable and interesting to everyone, not just the lighting designers it was geared towards.

However, in many respects, there are a lot of sessions missing the mark when aimed towards students. We all attend this conference to learn something new, not take a class that’s offered in our schools, so the level of the information should be accessible to every student who wants to be involved. From everyone I’ve talked to, the split between fantastic and going completely over their head is a close one, and there is about a 50% chance that the session will be worth it. Luckily for us, this isn’t college, and if you don’t get it you don’t have to stick around! Head back out to the floor and wait it out, or pop into the next room, a little extra learning never hurts!

So far USITT has been so much fun, and I can’t wait for tomorrow when I’ll be hitting the floor, chatting with people, and just exploring!

Lighting for Worship Session added to Super Saturday, January 22, 2011

Lighting for Worship session at Stage Lighting Super Saturday. Tom Sanziano will present a beginner’s guide to starting the lighting process in the Worship Market.  This session will provide an excellent introduction for anyone taking their first steps into worship lighting. Scott Parker says, “We are excited to have Tom join us this year. The lighting design and production values for worship have been on the rise for several years now and church services are one of the few areas that constantly cross the lines of live presentation and broadcast to television. Tom will be joining our faculty that includes legendary designers Ken Billington and Richard Pilbrow.”

This popular annual seminar is designed for everyone involved in stage, architectural, or entertainment lighting. The sessions are not too basic nor too advanced. Sonny Sonnenfeld adds, “Everyone who attends will benefit. The intense all day seminar will be led by theatre lighting professionals leading sessions about inspiration, training, product, and just doing it.”

A dozen theater lighting professionals will speak and about 20 industry lighting manufacturers will on hand and have technical personnel and equipment to demonstrate. The tentative program includes inspiration, fixtures, color, consoles, moving lights, trouble shooting, CAD, Virtual Magic Sheet & LightWright, paperwork, and other subjects. Starting at 8:00 am on Saturday, January 22, 2011, the sixth-annual Stage Lighting Super Saturday all-day seminar will take place at the conveniently located Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City located across from New York City’s Lincoln Center.

For more information, please visit www.stageseminars.com.

Present a Session at USITT 2011

The USITT Lighting Commission for Programming is calling on lighting professionals for session ideas for the 2011 USITT conference.

The USITT Lighting Commission is gearing up for the 2011 conference and is looking for ideas and session submissions. Sessions may consist of a single speaker, round table discussion, interactive workshop, or panel discussion. The workshops are 75 minutes long and should focus on lighting technology, design, history, education, safety, or projections. 2011 will be a Light Lab year so ideas for displays in the lab are also being sought.

Submission need to be in by March 26, 2010 to be considered. The Lighting Commission will review and submissions at the 2010 Conference & Stage Expo in Kansas City. Download the submission form or fill out the online form.  To volunteer to work on the 2011 conference, come to the Lighting Commission meeting at this years conference in Kansas City.

I have submitted my idea, have you submitted yours yet?