Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2003 - 56

the surface. This was still "back in the day"
when there were very few advance registrations and the vast majority of conference attendees just walked up and registered on site.
Enter into this scenario the unsuspecting
members of the newly formed Heart of America
Section that were set to host the conference and
their intrepid leader, our own Henry Tharp.
We were able to catch up with Henry in the
summer of 2001 and, through the hospitality
of Doug Taylor, conducted our interview in a
classroom at the University of Missouri-Kansas
City. So sit back with me and listen in while
Henry tells his tale...
Henry Tharp: I served as Charter President of
the Heart of America Section and I was also
on the section's Bylaws Committee. I think
this was because I worked at a Big Eight
university, had a Watts line on my desk, and
access to the Xerox machine. Also I had a
copy of the Midwest Section's bylaws. They
just told me to sit down and cross out everything that said "Midwest" and write in
"Heart of America." Then we'd vote on it
at our next meeting. So, I did, and they
did, and that's the way it happened.
Interviewer: That does make it easier.
HT: Ed Peterson was then Vice President for
Programs and Presentations, which was
the old name for Vice President for Conferences. Ed wanted a conference right in
the middle of the country in Kansas City,
which coincided with the forming of the
Heart of America Section. So we were
chartered in August 1977 and were subsequently assigned the 1980 conference.
Frank [Stewart] and I became the cochairs of that conference-actually I was
Chair of the Conference and he was Exhibits Chairman. In those days that is
what it was called. We didn't officially call
it the trade show at that point. At that
point they were called exhibits.
Interviewer: So it was in August 1977 that
you were given this charge?
HT: Yes. And we went to the Phoenix conference in March 1978. Frank and I met
with Ed, and were introduced to Marty
Abramson, who was chair for the Phoenix
conference. Basically, I followed Marty
around for the three days of that conference to learn what a conference chair
did. It's a good thing, because nobody has
seen or heard of Marty or his section
since, which is true of most conference

chairs prior to that time. Dick Devin in
1979 and I in 1980 were the first conference chairs since Chuck Williams in 1972
and Peter Sargent in 1973 to survive hosting a conference. And the Pacific Northwest and the Heart of America sections
were the two sections that survived hosting conferences. Several previous conferences were so labor intensive on the few
people that put them together that several
regional sections just burned out and
went away. Anyway, I remember the exhibits in Phoenix, because Frank and I
were looking at the whole thing with different eyes at that point. We knew that
two years later we were going to be under
the gun when it was our turn. So we were
learning everything we could. I remember walking that commercial exhibit floor
in Phoenix from one end to the other,
which didn't take very long. It wasn't
much bigger than this classroom here at
UM-KC. People were hanging on the

public space to be had in that hotel.
Interviewer: I remember that. You see, Kansas City was my first conference. By then
the trade show had become a substantial
portion of the conference.
HT: We still didn't officially call it the trade
show, or Stage Expo. It was still just
called exhibits. But it was the beginnings
of the trade show that we have now. Some
of the bigger companies would take three
or four of the spaces. I think, Kleigl and
Rosco, then as now, were our biggest exhibitors. Rosco's booth occupied four
whole spaces. Most exhibitors had only
one space. And I'm talking 10′ X 10′
booths. But you're right. It was a very
successful trade show.
Interviewer: The design exhibition was very
large and extensive. The commercial exhibits were very impressive. I remember sessions with Ted Fuchs, Richard Arnold, Oren
Parker and several others...I also remember the experience at the Kleigl suite. Did

...former students made contacts in the
social atmosphere of the hospitality suites
that served them well in later years.

rafters. It was an un-air-conditioned
room, at the bottom of a long escalator
ride, down in the basement or garage of
the Phoenix hotel. But we took notice.
And the next year we went to Seattle where
Dick and his conference committee had
made great strides over what Marty and his
committee had been able to do.
Interviewer: So the trade show started growing again?
HT: Yes. And I remember in Kansas City-I
don't remember the exact number-
but we had approximately 70 or 80 booths.
Now, that's booths, not exhibitors. Sorry to
be vague. Those records are now in the
national USITT archives.
Interviewer: But it filled the space...
HT: Oh, yes, it filled the ballroom. We also had
the scene design exhibit in that same room.
We were tight, but that large ballroom and
three large meeting rooms where we presented the program sessions were all of the

you have experience with hospitality suites?
HT: I didn't at the time, but I found out very
quickly. In later years I definitely availed
myself of that resource of the Institute. I
still get letters from former students who
say thanks for taking me along and introducing me around the Kleigl suites. They
made contacts in the social atmosphere
of the hospitality suites that served them
well in later years.
Interviewer: That used to be the great mixing
point.
HT: It was that good ol' boy and girl network in
action.
Interviewer: It was. Do you have any other
thoughts about Kansas City?
HT: Well, we had major tours. The theatre here
at UM-KC was brand new at the time and
Doug [Taylor] just loved showing it off
and still does. So we had the annual
meeting here at the theatre. It was at the
annual meeting that I announced to the
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