UW Whitewater Theatre/Dance Department

Since May, we’ve been working on designs for a production of Shimon Wencelberg’s “Resort 76.” Now that school has started, we’re plunging right into rehearsals. Since May and during the summer, I’ve been working on the set design, and coordinating with a scaffold company on all the bits we’ll need.

Bruce Cohen, the director, is going for an immersive experience for the audience, so we’ve pulled the seating into the middle of the space and surrounded the audience with the action. We’re collaborating with the music and art departments on projections and soundscaping.

Here’s an early preliminary sketch of the center section:

And a work up in Sketchup to plan with the scaffolding company:

With the various levels that the scaffolding provides, it was important to put together a model to have in rehearsal. We’ll also be using it to guide the assembly of the scaffold once it’s delivered.

And here’s the model in its state of completion for first rehearsal.

Last night, Renaissance Theatreworks from Milwaukee brought a staged reading to UW-Whitewater as part of the Br!nk Festival, which develops the work of Midwestern women playwrights. We had the pleasure of being the audience for Karen Saarie’s “Rain on Fire.” Here’s artistic director Suzan Fete getting the ball rolling.

A photo of the reading, in progress:

And the discussion afterwards:

In the Advanced Design Seminar, yesterday was another working with media day! Here Marshall leads the students on an exercise in rendering fabric patterns with watercolor and colored pencil:

We’ve started focus for “Toil and Trouble.” Here are some photos from Friday’s work call.

We start with student ME Abby working on patching the show into the board:

And here’s Brent marking the plot up with what has been focussed and taking work notes:

Student lighting designer Emily thinking about how wide to flood a fresnel:

Pausing for a moment with the work lights on:

And while all that was going on, a team was also installing all the railings on the risers:

Last week, while Dancescapes was getting set up in the Barnett Theatre, I as at the annual United States Institute for Theatre Technology conference in St. Louis. My colleague Tracey Lyons was also there. Most excitingly, one of our costume design students, Kat Middleton, won the Midwest Region’s Founder’s Award this year, so the department was able to find some funds and get her to the conference to accept her award.

The entrance to America’s Center (just because):

Waiting for the keynote address to begin:

Some of the day’s offerings. I went to the Contemporary Chinese Stage design seminar:

In the USITT book shop, there was our book, on the table, for sale! Tracey and I both participated in the official conference book signing later.

Some of the Cover the Walls displays. Lots of interesting student work from all over:

And an interesting display of Contemporary European costume design:

More seminars:

The excitement of the Midwest Regional section meeting:

And Kat receiving the Founder’s Award:

The crowd waiting for the Expo floor to open:

And the Expo floor itself:

Another session. This time, on dance lighting, featuring the lighting supervisors of the NYC Ballet, Alvin Ailey, and Paul Taylor companies:

Waiting for the dance lighting session to begin:

On the Expo floor, a stop by the Routledge Press booth, and there our book was again. Also got to finally meet, in person, our editorial assistant Meredith!

I was also able to spend a little time away from the conference, checking out some sights of St. Louis. Here I enjoy a cubano espresso and a slice of gooey butter cake at a coffee shop near Lafayette Square:

Light hang for “Putnam County” started today (guest LD David Gipson), so it’s time to start juggling electrics, construction, and painting. Here’s a shot from the booth of all the activity happening down on the stage yesterday afternoon:

There’s a projection screen that hangs off a batten, which is used for some of the Gen-Ed courses that get taught in the Barnett, so that had to be moved to another pipe. Here, student ME Quinn works with some of the Intro to Tech students in transferring the screen:

In the shop, construction of the large (sixteen feet tall!) flats for the gym walls continues. Here TAs Lilliana and Nathan confer over a drawing while Intro to Tech student Kolten watches attentively:

In the Barnett, Lilliana works with some students on framing up one of the flats:

While back in the shop, Nathan rips down wood with Intro students Megan and Kolten:

I continued with some of the painting. I think the Puma Pride sign turned out pretty decently (althought I just noticed I missed part of the M’s outline and will have to fix that today):

And I got close to finishing the last of the bee flats:

And the decorative bees for the false proscenium are now done:

I’m taking a break from painting scenery to forge ahead with paint elevations so I will know what to paint on upcoming scenery. Here’s a shot of the stage as it was at the start of shop yesterday, with the under-walls for the upstage platforming in place. That’s director Jim Butchart’s fainting couch center, which we’ll be using for Judge Turpin’s parlor.

In the shop, Quinn works on the framing for one of the roofline flats:

While Lilliana lays out the details of the next one:

Down in the costume shop, work is also continuing apace. Here shop supervisor Tracey Lyons shows Shelby how to thread the serger:

Meanwhile, Bridget works on one of the dresses:

And I return to the drafting table for the rest of the afternoon:

“Radium Girls” heads into focus today, so I’m catching up with grading and working on “Sweeney Todd.” Here’s a page full of doodles on the drafting table:

I also wandered into the costume shop during the make-up class. They’re working on latex prosthetics today, and here’s Tracey Lyon’s class, mid-project;

I’m fortunate to live in Madison, where Electronic Theatre Controls is also based. Even better, ETC puts together a conference every two years offering training on various consoles and seminars for educators. I’ve been away from hard core cutting edge lighting technology for too long (I know my way around an Expression, but that’s as far as I go) (I mean, we’re using as Leprecon for Midsummer’s. . . ) so I decided to jump in at the deep end and get some training on the Cobalt desk.

Here’s the registration desk . .

And here we are waiting for the morning’s keynote speaker, Fred Foster, founder of ETC (yes, he did start the company out of his parents’ home. . .).

The rest of the day was spent in front of a Cobalt desk, having my brain gently fried by ETC’s expert trainers. . .but it was very, very cool.

In Cincinnati this week for the annual United States Institute for Theatre Technology conference. I’m here with Tracey Lyons, costume designer and costume shop supervisor. Today was a busy day. First was the keynote speaker, and here is the stage in one of the ballrooms as we wait for things to get rolling.

I had to nip out early to meet the members of my session. I took over chairing “Mentoring After Midnight” when Catherine Mantooth was given the opportunity to attend a seminar in Costa Rica. It appears to have gone well. Over a hundred in the audience, and Tracey said no one left early. People I ran into throughout the day had some nice things to say.

Here we are, breaking up afterwards, with audience members coming forward to chat and ask follow up questions. That’s Kara Huffman and Jeremy Webb, both from the University of West Georgia (he’s the TD, and she’s the student shop supervisor), then Keith Pitts, from Lawrence University, and Mark Williams, from CCM.

One of the exciting things about the USITT conference is the Expo floor, which will open up tomorrow. At this convention center, there’s a walkway running above it that allows you to see the various companies getting set up.

Finally, here I am receiving the Herbert Gregg’s Honor Award for the article that was published in TD&T this year. Who knew they gave an award to the three articles they felt were the best of the year’s pieces? Neat!