Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1993 - 13

rhe resulr of passive lefrovers, we will have
no righr ro complain abour rhe resulrs or
abour whar orhers who do look forward
have accomplished. There is always a grear
amounr of risk when you venrure forward,
bur rhar is whar makes life so exciring.
So, assume rhar we are ar rhe rurning
poinr of our professional developmenr.
\X!har is our responsibiliry ro rhe furure? I
believe rhar ir is rhe removal of obsracles so
rhar we can allow rhe free developmenr of
expression and supporr of rhe arrs and
human creariviry. This is exacrly whar I
believe we have been doing, yer I find (har
I personally have a need ro be more furrive
in my efforrs now. Naill Somehow now has
more imporrance as I realize how long ir
rakes ro accomplish one complere projecr.
Major rhearre buildings being planned
now will open in rhe 2\ sr cenrury! Think
of rhar! If romorrow a major civic or culrural enriry decides rhar a new performing
am cenrer is essenrial for rhe cui rural life
of rhe community, ir will have ro embark
on a process rhar, if all goes well, will
come ro fruirion in rhe year 2000. This
process would usually enrail a markering
srudy (six monrhs), a needs analysis (six
monrhs), a programming srudy (six
monrhs ro a year), fund raising (ongoing), design and documenrarion (oneand-a-half ro rwo years), bidding and conrracring (rhree monrhs), consrrucrion (cwo
years), commissioning, resring, rehearsal,
and prepararion of rhe gala producrion
(four ro six monrhs), and if rhere are no
design delays, funding obsracles, approval
delays, redesigns, consrrucrion delays due
ro availabiliry of marerials or due ro
srrikes, you can have your new facility in
rhe year 2000. So, we had bener ger busy!
If we are indeed ar rhe rurning poinr,
ir is incumbenr upon all of us ro be aware
of jusr how long ir rakes ro do somerhing.
This really includes all of us-rhe archirecr, rhe acousrician, rhe engineers, rhe
civic agencies, rhe arrisric direcrors, rhe
company managers, rhe scenographers,
lighring and cosrume designers, er al.
Consequenrly, rhe removal of obstacles is
essenrial. We musr be aware of each orhers' crafr and of rhe changes rhar are developing in each of our disciplines. Things
may rake a long rime ro develop bur rhe
means of accomplishmenr is speeding up.
If we were ro look back rhrough my 27
years of associarion wirh USITT and recognize rhe developmenr of rheatre rechnology during rhar period, we can appreciare whar rhe nexr seven years will bring.
Jusr in lighring sysrems alone we have
gone from rhe firsr remore-conrrolled
dimmers and parch panels ro quarrz
lamps, compurer-conrrolled elecrronic
dimmers, one for each circuir, ro moving

Orchestra Pit Covers
manufactured by STAGING CONCEPTS

.s TAG I

N G

CONCEPTS

UJrfJorate 0 ffue
100'N. 6th Street, Suite 307C
Minnea Ii., Minnesota 55403
PH (61f>'337-5339 FAX (612) 337-5341

sporlighrs and effecrs rhar have allowed rhe
crearive freedom of the design ro virrually
explode. The same is true for sound and
acousrics, and, ro some exrenr, rigging.
The rapid developmenr of compurer rechnology is a grear indicaror of whar is ro
come in rhearre rechnology.
I was recently rerurning ro San
Francisco from a projecr meering in
Philadelphia and I engaged in a conversarion wirh rhe person sirring nexr ro me on
rhe plane. He was an elecrronic engineer
of some significance. We discussed a number of rhings from rhe depersonalization
of rhe telephone by elecrronic answering
sysrems, of which he rurned our ro be rhe

STAGING CONCEPTS designs
and manufactures l!.Qhtweigh~
durable Ordlestra Pit Covers of
any custom shape and size.

pioneer designer (we borh hare ro use
rhem), ro rhe speed of communicarion.
Elecrronically, rhar is.
\Y/e discussed rhe irony rhar even with
CADD or word processing and rhe speed
of compurers roday, we srill require a
physical image as rhe resulr of our efforrs.
Wherher rhis is a prinred page of rexr or a
scale drawing, ir requires rhar we cur down
a rree, rake rhe wasre pulp, rum ir inro
paper (a board), wrire on ir (laser prinr),
rhen we pur rhar board on an airplane in
San Francisco, take ir off rhe plane in
Memphis, pur ir back on a plane and rake
ir ro Chicago, rake ir off rhe plane and pur
ir on a rruck and deliver ir ro our clienr.
TD&T

1993 SUMMER

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1993