FT F Fg F FT Fg F Ffr F F FN Fg F F FT Ffr FN F THE PHYSICS OF THEATRE PROJECT Friction testing is a part of the Physics of Theatre Project-a joint effort between the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (KCPA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), The Department of Theatre at UIUC, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Millikin University (MU). The Technical Production Commission of USITT recognizes the Physics of Theatre Project as an official project of the Institute. Additional information about the Physics of Theatre Project can be found at http://www2.kcpa.uiuc.edu/kcpatd/ physics/index.htm. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank Brian Morgan (UIUC Theatre) and Richard Bearce (MU Physics) for their assistance at various stages of this project. We would also like to acknowledge Tracy and Gabe Nunnally of Northern Illinois University for the loan of equipment and Fritz Schwentker for introducing us to the National Instruments software. This work is supported in part by grants from USITT, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Millikin University. ❖ 16 THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY W I N T E R 2008 Verda Beth Martell is the Opera Technical Director for Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is Vice-Commissioner of Automation for the Technical Production Commission of USITT and serves on the Board for the Midwest Section of USITT. Eric C. Martell, PhD, is the chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. Brendan Bernacki finished his MFA at UIUC in 2006. He currently works as a technical designer for PRG-New York. Robert Mentzer is a senior physics and applied mathematics major at Millikin University. Editor's Note: This article is published under the guidelines of TD&T's juried submission process. It has undergone blind peer review and has been judged to meet the highest standards of scholarly writing. Juried article submission guidelines are available on the TD&T Web site, www.usittorg/tdt.index/.http://www2.kcpa.uiuc.edu/kcpatd/ http://www.usittorg/tdt.index/