Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1977 - 7

EDITORIAL & N E W S - - - - - EDITORIAL---CAPITOL '77: The USITT annual conference in
Washington was a splendid affair. Chuck Vaughn University of Maryland, College Park - and his committee put together one of the best yearly gatherings
in USITT history. An excellent mixture of panels, meetings, theatre tours, architectural and design exhibits,
plus a sumptuous feast of new books, color media,
boards - some with memory, some without - lighting
equipment, connectors, tracts, paints and other assorted
tools of the trade, was provided for those in attendance.
Theatre tours began with a thorough look at The Kennedy Center For the Performing Arts where David Nash
and his solid IA crew gave us the red carpet treatment.
If you wanted to climb all the way to the grid of the
Opera House you were free to do so. Others stayed at
stage level where the house crew demonstrated a unique
air bearing wagon system. In the Eisenhower Theatre,
Annie, bound in for Broadway, was on stage and the
production's treadmills were rolled for us. The next day
it was on to the restored Ford's Theatre with its cane
covered chairs and 19th century stage. That night we
were off to a performance of Catsplay at the Kreeger
Theatre of the Arena Stage complex followed by a look at
Harry Weese's original theatre-in-the-round (square)
structure where Santo Loquasto's setting for The Lower
Depths was being put in. (The production directed by
Rumania's Liviu Ciulei, seen over the past weekend, is
superb.) On Saturday afternoon, we were bussed to the
Wolf Trap Park in Vienna, Va. where the Technical
staff gave us another fine tour. Theirs was the first theatre (used only in the warmer months as it is open to the
weather) we had ever seen where the staff closes off the
proscenium opening with a huge screen (to keep out
birds) during the dark months.
The final event was the Awards banquet where following the repast we heard from Zelda Fichandler, Producing Director of Arena Stage and Roger L. Stevens of
The Kennedy Center. Both of them - as well as others were the recipients of US ITT awards. Read on for a
complete list of honors and awards bestowed at the
ceremony.
All in all, it was an excellent event with fine weather
and the famous cherry trees in bloom. Next year we move
west to Phoenix, Arizona. We shall look forward to seeing
you there.
USITT President, Edward F. Kook delivered his Annual Report at the regular business meeting of the Conference. For those who were unable to attend we are pleased
to print it here.

USITT

INTERIM REPORT &
EDWARD F. KOOK AT
BERSHIP MEETING,
HOTEL, WASHINGTON,

ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT
THE USITT GENERAL MEMLOEWS L'ENFANT PLAZA
D.C., MARCH 18, 1977

Ladies and Gentlemen, members, and invited guests:
It is customary for the President to review the activities of the Officers and the Committees during the past
year. I don't want to do that. Instead, I want to talk
about what I have learned from my experiences as
President that may help show the way to the future
progress of our organization.
It is my hope, however, when I have finished, the
people in charge of each of our activities will review
their progress. In doing so, the achievements of the
USITT during the last two years will be outlined and
that credit for long hours of work will be appropriately
bestowed.
USITT's serious purposes impose responsibilities.
With ample proof for the future of the Performing Arts,
we hold steadfast to the integrity of our pursuits/purposes. We foster, sponsor and search for better talents,
tools, materials, machines, and technological advances
in the visual and aural aspects of productions; then to
reveal it for the real progress it can bring to our fellow
theatre artists.
First of all I have learned that there is no substitute
for a personal visit to the Regions. It provides the twoway means for the visiting officer to become familiar
first-hand with the membership's views, and about what
more they expect from their society. Let me give you
some examples.
In one Region I visited, the members stated that they
would like to receive either an edited twenty-minute
tape or cassette of the meetings of other Regions, so
that they could share and then discuss the results of
other Regional meetings. Obviously, we can with some
effort and a little money disseminate tapes of each
Region's meeting to each other Region.
How
I discovered another problem. They asked.
do we service that portion of the membership that is
located at distances beyond practical reach of Regional
meetings? I~ the solution within the Regions simply to
parallel the mechanism we have set-up between National
Office and Regions? ... Maybe. But, what I do know for
sure is that it is not a matter of writing letters. It is a
matter of a dedicated leader in each Region using a combination of common sense, and a desire to fulfill the
responsibilities with excellence.
A prime example of this difficu Ity is the totally neglected Student Scenic and Costume Design Contest at
each Region. Despite the fact that Regional Chairmen
were urged to conduct contests, and despite the fact that
the National Office would provide funds to transport two

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

SUMMER,1977

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