Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2001 - 5

from the

Editor
THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

he 41st Annual USITT Conference & Stage Expo in March 2001 returned to Long Beach, California, the same location as the 1998 conference. Taking to heart its motto, "Back to the Beach," I was looking
forward to some sand between the toes. But even though I spent almost a
week in beautiful Southern California, I couldn't seem to pull myself away
from the plethora of programs available in the Long Beach Convention
and Entertainment Center.
This issue of TD&T attempts to give readers a taste of this conference's numerous notable
events. Two speeches stood out-Pamela Howard's keynote address, "What is Scenography? or
What's in a Name?" (p. 13) and Randy Davidson's Fellows address, "The State of Health and Safety
in the Theatre: 2001" (p. 49).
Stage Expo in Long Beach was the biggest ever with almost 25,000 square feet of exhibit space
devoted to companies eager to demonstrate their products and services (see p. 25). An additional
7,000 square feet displayed exhibits of design and technology including: the 2001 Architecture
Awards (see p. 55); a demonstration of rendering techniques using computers; puppets from the
famous collection of Alan Cook; an exhibit and video highlighting the work of Ben Nye Sr.; renderings and production photos of the German designer, Frank Hänig; two computers displaying hundreds of designs by USITT members; an exhibit of television design from the Academy of Television
Art & Science; "Cover the Walls," the annual non-juried show of costume, lighting and set designs
by USITT members; and the 2001 USITT Theatre Technology Exhibit (see p. 33). Every summer,
TD&T features alternately exhibits of design and technology. This year is Tech Expo's turn. Six exhibits which were singled out by a panel of judges to receive cash prizes demonstrate creative solutions to both simple and complex technical problems. A catalog of all twenty-five exhibits in this
year's Tech Expo is available from the USITT office (800-938-7488).
A noteworthy new book was available in the USITT Boutique in Long Beach. Mary C.
Henderson, who won the USITT Golden Pen Award in 1999 for her book on New York's New
Amsterdam Theatre, has since published an exhaustive biography of Jo Mielziner. Dr. Henderson
kindly offered to share some of her insights with TD&T readers in a special article about
Mielziner's use of technology (p. 18).
Just as we finish looking back at the 2001 conference, it's time to think about the next one, to
be held in New Orleans immediately after Mardi Gras (February 13-16, 2002). Janet Harreld who
is the promotions coordinator for the New Orleans conference also designed its logo. She shares
with us some of the research on New Orleans and Mardi Gras that inspired her logo design, as well
as some of her treatments that weren't picked (see p. 62).
Last, but certainly not least, is a fascinating piece on the sound system at the renowned opera
festival in Bregenz, Austria (p. 58). In an open-air theatre, on a lake, the sound team led by
Wolfgang Fritz manages to perform technical magic that delivers to festival audiences reinforced
voices that not only sound natural, but actually seem to come from the singers themselves. -dr

The journal for
design, production and technology professionals in the
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DAVID RODGER
Editor
DEBORAH HAZLETT
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A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R S

STEVE POLLOCK
Architecture
PEGGY ROSEFELDT & SUZY CAMPBELL
Costume Design & Technology
PATRICK M. FINELLI
Computers & Software
NANCY ARNFIELD
Education
JERRY GORRELL
Engineering
WILLIAM B. HEKTNER
Health & Safety
RICHARD DEVIN
Lighting Design
RICHARD PETERSON
Management
ROBERT L. SMITH & HEIDI HOFFER
Scenic Design
DAVE TOSTI-LANE
Sound Design
BILL BROWNING
Technical Production
ELBIN CLEVELAND
New Product Reviews
SYLVIA J. H. PANNELL
Book Reviews
WILLIAM J. BYRNES
Inside USITT
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

ARNOLD ARONSON * JARKA BURIAN *
ERIC FIELDING * SARAH NASH GATES *
JOEL E. RUBIN * BEEB SALZER *
DELBERT UNRUH * TOM WATSON *
ARNOLD WENGROW
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Statements and opinions expressed in articles or editorials in TD&T are the expressions of the individual contributors and
do not necessarily represent the policies or opinions of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc. Advertisements appearing in this publication are the sole responsibility of the advertiser.
TD&T (ISSN 1052-6765) is published four times a year-Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall-by United States Institute for
Theatre Technology, Inc., 6443 Ridings Road, Syracuse, NY 13206-1111. Subscription to TD&T, also known as Theatre
Design & Technology, is a benefit of USITT membership. Fourteen dollars is deducted from membership dues to cover
cost of publication. Periodicals postage paid at Syracuse, NY and additional mailing offices. * POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to TD&T, c/o USITT, 6443 Ridings Road, Syracuse, NY 13206-1111. * Copyright © 2001 by United States Institute
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permission.
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I N T E R N AT I O N A L A F F I L I AT I O N

USITT is the United States Center of OISTAT:
The International Organization of Scenographers,
Theatre Architects and Technicians.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2001