Going to be at USITT?

If you are going to be at USITT next weekend, I just wanted to invite you to a session I thought might be interesting (oh, and I am chair).

There's been some discussion that in Technical Production we need to do some work to re-engage the commercial end of our profession - basically anyone that doesn't work for a university - with the institute and the commission, that the most exciting and innovative work in the field is not represented.

That discussion lead to the formation of a commission project in Commercial Theatre Outreach, and that project is having a sort of presentation/open meeting this coming Saturday morning as part of the USITT schedule.

If you're going to be there, I'd love for you to make the session.

If you're not going to be there, or you can't make the session, here are some questions I have been asking the participants to try to lay the framework for discussion. I would love to hear any opinions any of you might have.

How active are people that do what you do, or people that work for you in USITT? For those people that don't, what do you believe are the primary stumbling blocks?

Among people working in "Legit" (and for the purposes of this discussion, let's make that anyone making a living from Technical Production someplace other than a school or a LORT) USITT is often referred to as an "academic" group. Is there a reason (other than membership demographics, which would be using the rule to prove the rule) or reasons that people in the Legit sector think this?

Clearly scheduling plays some part in people working Legit Tech Production from attending USITT. The conference is nearly always at the end of March from a Thursday to a Sunday. Is there any timing decision the institute could make that might make it easier for people nor normally attending to make the trip?

It seems apparent that there do not appear to be too many people that regularly attend the conference that Legit Tech Production people are hoping to be able to meet/network/schmooze/sell. Are there people, or classes of people, that we could recruit to attend the conference that would make it more attractive to people not normally attending?

Continuing in the vein of one of the prior questions, most commercial theatre type technical production companies do not exhibit on the USITT Trade Show floor. Are there people, or types of people the institute could look to develop as visitors that might encourage companies like scene shops to exhibit?

Clearly to date there doesn't appear to be any burning need for leading edge tech production professionals to visit the people who normally exhibit on the show floor. Are there companies the institute could solicit to exhibit that might encourage people in Legit Tech Production to want to see the show floor?

It seems that most of the time topics covered in conference sessions are not of interest to people toward the legit end of the spectrum. One of the goals of the outreach project is to try to promote conference programming that might be a draw (like last year's "Get Your Show on the Road" session featuring commercial shippers). Are there conference sessions, or areas of discussion, that you believe would have some traction at the leading edge of technical production?

My own personal feeling is that some of the "academic" reputation for the group is a continuing celebration of the re-invention of the wheel when it comes to technical production. Do you believe that people on the leading edge feel like the level of work represented within USITT activities is somehow *in a different league*? Do you believe there is any appetite at all at the leading edge to celebrate the actual innovative work being done?