Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2010 - 56

stage rigging was published but much more was needed. last summer,
after nearly twenty years of work by usitt and esta, ANSI E1.4 - 2009
Entertainment Technology - Manual Counterweight Rigging Systems
was approved. approved at the same time, but not requiring nearly as
long for development, was a companion document, ANSI E1.22 - 2009
Entertainment Technology - Fire Safety Curtain Systems.
Members of the engineering commission continue to work on
standards and guidance documents within usitt and esta and wherever the need arises. the range of subjects is wide, including control protocols, rigging, electrical power and sound graphic standards, among
others.
the engineering commission has long emphasized and focused
on training. the electrical workshop program was first presented at
the1991 boston conference and was next presented at the 2001 long
beach conference. the workshop has been presented and continues
to be presented at every ldi since 2001 and numerous usitt conferences, as the need for such training has increased as the technology has
the need for basic knowledge continues to exist and the technology has
become complex, coupled with the implementation and increasing importance of the etcP program and need for certification. Jay glerum's
regular presentations at the conference on rigging and Ken vannice's
conference sessions on basic electricity are other examples of the engineering commission's focus on training.
the fifty years since the founding of usitt have been accompanied
by huge changes in the underlying technology used in the entertainment

industry and the world at large. Hemp cordage has all but disappeared,
replaced by stronger, more easily used synthetic products. lamp technology has evolved from the incandescent lamp. leds are emerging as
the light source of the future. Programmable and remotely controlled
lighting fixtures and accessories perform tasks and effects not even
dreamed of fifty years ago. truss design and use has gone from sections
of antenna towers laid on their side to the many types and strengths
available today. basic equipment such as ladders and lifts have gone
through a evolution in these fifty years as technology improves.
the complete list of changes in materials, equipment and hardware over the last fifty years is extensive. We all can add to the list of
specifics. the challenge for the engineering commission, as we move
further into the twenty-first century, is to keep up with advancing technology and help the members of usitt to use new technology in a safe
and effective manner. We also want to promote positive technological
advancements and thereby help keep our industry at the forefront of the
changes which will continue to occur, even more quickly and dramatically than before. v
Jerry Gorrell is a theatre safety program consultant, chair of the
USITT Standards Committee, and a member of several national and
international safety and standards committees

engineering

1981

21st Annual
USITT Conference,
Cleveland, OH.

1982 22nd Annual USITT Conference, Denver, CO.
1981

USITT's third office
space, "located in a less
'carney' area of Times
Square," 330 West 42nd
Street, Rm. 1702, New
York, NY 10036.

1984

First Annual USITT
Computer Symposium
for the Performing Arts,
held the day before the
Orlando conference.

1984

First Macintosh computer
introduced, January 24.

1981

Introduction of
the first IBM personal
computer.

1982

The first release of
AutoCAD demonstrated at
COMDEX in Las Vegas.

1981

The Vari-Lite system was first used in a Genesis concert in Barcelona, Spain.

1982

1982-1984

Past Presidents of USITT
gathered at the 1982 conference
in Denver: l to r, Ronald Olson,
Richard Arnold, Lee Watson,
Edward F. Kook, Charles Williams,
Donald H. Swinney, Joel E. Rubin,
and Ned A. Bowman.

theatre

design

teChnology

W I N T E R

2010

Ronald Olson USITT President

1983

23rd Annual
USITT Conference, Corpus Christi, T

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2010