Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2000 - 32

Here are some directions and challenges the Institute might emphasize over this next decade. I've given this enough thought and had encouragement from a score of colleagues to believe that none of these
challenges is entirely foolhardy.
-.Joel Rubin's Top Ten Challenges:
1. Open tbe Institute's doors to become a bome for all

tbeatre disciplines.
The Institute planning and the Conference programming must include
more interaction and prominence for playWrights, directors, actors, producers, and managers. They will mix well with our current membership
of designers, educators, teclues, students, consultants, vendors and architects. We must also include bold visions and visionaries from other
fields and disciplines.
2. Cballenge tbe cOliference programming.
We need more cross-disciplinary programs and less programming that
divides us into discipline tracks and keeps us apart. Let's inlprove program conlent \vitll more invited papers. The major annual efforts of tlle
Commissions seems devoted to prO\~ding "tlleir share" of the conference programming. Let's re-consider whether tlle Commissions need to
be so occupied and seek wa) to reshuffie the conference programming
to gel new inputs each year.
3. Energize tbe USIIT regiOlwl sections.
Although the regional sections are the heart-blood of SITT, tlley consume only two percent of our national budget and produce less than two
percent of what we print. Let's create and subsidize exciting programs

U M MER

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\vitll master teachers from tlle U.S., Canada, or the rest of llie world, and
make them available to tlle sections. Let's finance the sections to do
"how-to" training back home in regional meetings so we can advance
the level of national conference progranmting.
4. Become tigers in our relationsbips witb otber
organizations.
We need to contact, connect and commun.icate what we are doing \\~th
the other performing arts service organiu1tions, become involved \vith
them, and they \vith us. My own favorites just now would be to become
the leading organization in the Association of Performing Arts Service
Organizations, to be working together on programs \villi llie LORT llieatres, \vitll Theatre Communication Group (TCG), United Scenic Artists,
Actor's Equity and llie International Society of Performing Arts Presenters
(ISPA). But tllere are lots more organizations tllat need to know we exist
including tlle League of American Theatres and Producers, llie professional tlleatre muons (not only IATSE but Equity, SAG, and tlle like),
NASI', ATHE, IAAM, UIAT, ASI'R, ACTI, ISTR, IES, and SMPTE-for sk1l1ers. And we need to ask ourselves why TCG, not USITT, is administering
llie ational Endowment for tlle Arts stage design internships; why we
relinquished our role as "sk1l1dards bearer" for technical llieatre standards to ESTA; why ASI'C was formed as a separate organization of llieatre consultants; why we allow ESTA and PIASA (vendors' organizations)
to promote the use of aerosols on stage; in ollieI' words why are we no
longer llie leaders in several of our major disciplines?
5. Publisb original researcb.
Let's publish more original research. Was I ed Bowman tlle last and
only great SITT bibliographer? His lists of publications in theatre

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