Your earliest memory of the Institute?

I joined USITT in 1983 and attended the 1984 Conference in Orlando. The HOT topics at that conference were: Computers and how they could be used in theatre and that technicians did not document their “inventions”. We’ve come a long way in the past thirty-four years.

Short list of Career Highlights:

• BS 1967, State University of New York at Brockport
• Technical Director/Lighting Designer, SUNY Brockport 1967-1971
• MFA 1974, Yale School of Drama, Department of Technical Design and Production
• Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre:
• Technical Director 1974-1980 (over 50 productions)
• Chair, TD&P Department/Production Manager 1980-2013
• Chair, TD&P Department/Head of Production 2013 to present (over 300 productions)

Short List of your involvement in the Institute:

• Vice Commissioner, Technical Production Commission, 1987-1988
• Co-Commissioner, Technical Production Commission, 1989-1991
• Co-Chair of the biennial National Theatre Technology Exhibit for its first five years, 1987-1995
• Director-at-Large, United States Institute of Theatre Technology, 1993-1995
• USITT Panels:
• United States Institute for Theatre Technology Time Estimating, 1984
• Production Management; Estimating Time and Money, 1985
• International Training of Theatre Technicians: Requirements and Competencies, 1985
• Technical Directors and Technical Directing, 1985
• Problem Solving: A Round Table Approach, 1986
• Bringing Order to the Chaos, 2009
• Structural Design for the Stage; A Discussion, 2015
• Professional Development 3 Day Workshops: Structural Design for the Stage at USITT National Conferences, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007

A Short List of Memorable USITT Characters who have made a difference:

Every member that authored a book that has contributed to the advancement of the industry. Every member that has participated in writing the standards that have contributed to the advancement of safety in the industry. Every individual and/or company that sponsors a Young Designers and Technicians Award; in particular—Richard K. Heasel, founder of KM Fabrics Inc., Zelma H. Weisfeld, costume designer/historian, and Bernhard R. Works, Professor Emeritus of Design and Production at the University of Illinois – for sponsoring an award and encouraging others to do the same.

List of Publications:

Books:

• Theatre Technology Exhibit Catalogue, USITT, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995
• Structural Design for the Stage, Focal Press, 1999, Co-authored with Alys Holden
• Structural Design for the Stage: Second Edition, Focal Press, 2015, Co-authored with Alys Holden, Steven Schmidt, and Bradley Powers
• Technical Design Solutions for Theatre, Vols: 1 & 2, Focal Press, 2002, Co-editor with Donald Harvey
• Technical Design Solutions for Theatre, Vol 3, Focal Press, 2013, Co-editor with Donald Harvey

Articles:

• Stressed Skin Platform Units, Technical Briefs 1981
• A Platform System, Technical Briefs 1984
• Bringing Order to the Chaos—How Can We Encourage More Students to Pursue a Career in Technical Theatre? NETC NEWS, 2006
• Upside Down in the Underworld—Simple Stage Effects Disorient the Audience in Eurydice, Lighting and Sound America 2007

Anything you would like to add about what the USITT means to you personally?

Attending the annual conference is a great opportunity to meet new colleagues and to stay in touch with colleagues that you would otherwise not see every year.

Mentoring:

I welcome students and colleagues to contact me to discuss Career Development, Technical Direction, Production Management, or Teaching.

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Your earliest memories of the institute?

Attending my first USITT conference.   1983 in Corpus Christi, Texas.  It was an auspicious beginning.

Your favorite USITT memory?

Stump the Rigger sessions with Jack Suesse at the Conferences.

Career Highlights:

• Head rigger at the Marriott Marquis Theatre, Times Square and the Palladium Nightclub
• Rigging for White House events during the 1990’s
• A neighborhood production of Peter Pan for 8 year old kids in Philadelphia.
• Training classes for Cirque du Soleil

Short list of USITT involvement:

• Two Term Board of Director
• Finance Committee Member
• Fellow
• Exhibitors Committee

USITT members who have made a difference to you:

• Jack Suesse
• New Bowman

About being a Fellow?

Awe inspiring to be able to share experiences with people like Richard Pilbrow, Joe Aldridge, Jack Suesse and Jay Glerum

What does USITT means to you personally?

The Institute has given me the opportunity to work not only with the leading industry professionals of today, but also with the students who will be the leading industry professionals of tomorrow

Your publications:

• Heads! And Tales, Uncle Bill’s Musings on the Theatrical Experience
• Entertainment Rigging for the 21^st Century

Mentoring?

You betcha.  As often as I can.   Both as a mentor and a mentee.

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Your earliest memories of the institute…as in how far back do you go?

I wrote some of the citations for the Purple Hearts that were awarded at the (last) conference held in New York City in 1985.  I had been aware prior to that but this was my first involvement.  My first participation participating in a panel of talks (thanks to Sylvia Hillyard  Pannell) was in Long Beach in 1998.

Does anything stand out as your favorite USITT memory?

Too many.  I loved hearing Tony Walton say (in Long Beach) as keynote that he sailed to the US his first time on the Queen Mary - and was staying on it that week!  I am a big fan of David Rodger and Deborah Hazlett and have been blessed to work closely with them on lots of projects including 24 issues of TD&T!

Short list of your career highlights

Seven books and hundreds of articles about theatrical designers; hundreds of costume designer credits; thousands of students - the reason for it all.

Short list of your various involvement in the institute

Vice-president for Communication 2002-2010, Fellow of the Institute 2008,  active with the publications committee Golden Pen book award selection process, Herb Greggs Award, and helped coordinate the 50th celebration in Kansas City.

Anything you want to say about being a fellow?

Big thrill and still a surprise.  Are you sure it wasn't a mistake???

List of your publications (if any)

Editor, Late & Great:  American Designers 1960-2010.  New York:  USITT in cooperation with Broadway Press, March 2010.  P. 1-300.
Co-author, Design USA (Prague Quadrennial exhibition catalog).  New York:  USITT in cooperation with Broadway Press, 2007.  P. 1-120. With Jody Blake, P. 6-23.
Author, The Designs of Willa Kim.  New York:  USITT in cooperation with Broadway Press,2005.  P. 1-112.
Author, Broadway Design Roster, Designers and Their Credits.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, Inc., 2003. P. 1-712.
Author, Scenic Design on Broadway, Designers and Their Credits: 1915-1990. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1991.  P. 1-286.
Author, Lighting Design on Broadway, Designers and Their Credits: 1915-1990. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1991.  P. 1-159.
Author, Costume Design on Broadway:  Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1985. Westport,CT:  Greenwood Press, 1987.  P. 1-254.

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Your earliest memories of the institute?

I had the pleasure to be part of a team of students representing Penn State in a Master Class hosted by USITT featuring Helmut Grosser in February of 1973.  It was held at Carnegie Mellon (Tech) in Pittsburgh.  We spent a day in the classroom with along with teams from several other Universities.  This was my first involvement with the Institute.

Your favorite USITT memory?

I can’t think of any one specific memory that outshines another great memory.  I always made the most out of each Annual Conference and Stage Expo.   To say one was better than the other, well, maybe, there was one conference in Wichita ….hmmmmm.

Career highlights:

• Production Manager, Operation Manager, General Manager of Penn State’s Center for the Performing Arts for 26 years.  Staged over 350 performances annually.
• Served as a lighting designer for campus resident dance company and staged many large special events around the campus.
• Facility Coordinator and Safety Officer for the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State for 24 years.  The college consisted of 7 departments, performing art center and an art museum.
• While doing both jobs for 10 years, my work included serving 18 college facilities in the design, performing, and visual arts.  A great amount of time was spent in the programming and planning of facility upgrades and new buildings including the first LEED Gold rated building on a college campus.  

USITT involvement/positions held:

• Vice-President for Conferences (2009 – 2014)
• Board Member-at-Large (2003-2006)
• Member, Annual Conference and Stage Expo Committee (1995 – present)
• Commissioner, Management Commission (1996 - 2002)
• Vice-Commissioner for Theater and Production Management (1993- 1995)
• Conference Chair, Annual Conference - Pittsburgh (1997)

Memorable USITT characters who have made a difference to you?

Walt Walters, William H. Allison, Will Bellman, Sam Scripps, Jack Schmidt, Dick Durst, Rick Stephenson, and Frank Willard.

Being a fellow means?

It is very humbling to have been selected as a Fellow of the Institute.  I am honored to be among this body of members of the Institute.

Anything you'd like to add about what the USITT means to you personally?

USITT played a very important role in my career.  The networking and interaction with friends and colleagues throughout the years was invaluable to me.  There was always someone to turn to ask a question, find an answer and of course, have a beer with!

Books that you recommend about the field:

As many as you can read

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Favorite Memories:

• Launching Kliegl Performance at L’Enfant Plaza in DC located on the top floors of a tall office building and then the fire alarm going off.
• Many too many Kliegl Suites
• Launching Kliegl Performer in Seattle and as many of you remember intentionally tripping and throwing the Performer across the stage
• Steve Terry's ad hoc meeting where Steve Carlson's and my mash-up of everybody's spec became DMX-512

What the USITT means to me?
The many great friends I have made over all these years.

Career highlights:

• MFA Tulane University
• Lighting Designer and TD, Univ. of North Carolina
• Vice President, Electronics Diversified

The LS/8 and "A Chorus Line"

• Director of R & D, Kliegl Brothers

Performance

Performer I, II, III

Command Performance

• President / Co-owner, Entertainment Technology

Performer IV, V

Morpheus Commander

Strand Impact

GAM Access

Lightolier Lytemode, Scenist, EasySet

IPS Dimming System

Horizon PC Console

• Genlyte/Philips/Vari*lite/Strand

         Vision Net


Memorable USITT Characters:
I think the key word here is "characters". The following list is in no particular order and I apologize to those I can no longer remember: Joel Rubin, Ned Bowman, Will Bellman, Ed Petersen, Pat MacKay, Steve Terry, Richard Pilbrow, Stan Miller, Peter Rogers, Joe Tawil, Larry Kellerman, and (especially) Michael Connell.

Awards and Recognitions:

• LS/8 from "A Chorus Line" exhibit at the Computer Museum 1991 – 2000
• Fellow of the Illuminating Engineers Society 1991
• Fellow of USITT 2010
• The Wally Russell Foundation 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award

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Your favorite USITT memories?

I was sitting in an empty room post meeting in Calgary working on something and gradually folks dropped by – we all started chatting and ended up re-inventing the Institute’s corporate structure.  And we did it all again in 2008.

I like that we don’t stand still and are willing to change and grow.

I like that I can look at the election ballot and not know anyone on it – I see that as progress and hope for the future – people willing to pick up the Institute banner and carry it forward.

Some career highlights:  

• Forty years teaching, working, and designing with colleagues at the University of Minnesota should about cover highlights--although escapes to Meadow Brook Theatre in MI and various theatres in MN were great.
• One glorious summer spent in Fredericksburg VA in my alternate career as PSM was eye-opening and gave me some real insights into what I was teaching.
• Above all, the friends made through various locations and all facets of the theatre – backstage, onstage, control booths, shops, and front offices – priceless!
• And I got to build two theatre buildings and a boat!

Short list of your involvement in the USITT:

• Member of the Finance Committee 1987-2009
• Conference Policy Committee from 1992 until it was dissolved in 1995
• Secretary of USITT from 1989 to 1997 which made me chair of By-Laws and Nominations Committees
• Served on the Board of Directors from 2001—2006
• Inducted as Fellow 1995
• Received the USITT Founders’ Award 1997
• Continue to serve on the Archives and Bylaws Committees
• Keeper pro tem of the Policies and Procedures Committee
• Honorary Lifetime Membership 2012
• Active in Northern Boundary Regional Section as Secretary  (1982-92), Treasurer, (1988 -- ) and Pro tem (2001--2004, 2005-2006).

Memorable USITT characters who have made a difference to you:

• Sarah Nash Gates for her willingness to stand as the first woman president of USITT (and with the chutzpah to ride a horse into the opening ceremonies at the conference).
• Richard Durst (for many reasons, not the least of which was making me run for another term as Secretary to cover his presidency).
• Chris Kaiser, Lee Watson, Van Phillips, Henry Tharpe, Joe Aldridge, and Lea Asbell-Swanger.
• National Office staff
• And etc. etc.

What does USITT mean to you?

Aside from the vast stores of knowledge across the realm of theatre that can be tapped at these annual get-togethers, for me it’s the friendships formed through participation in various aspects of the Institute, the questions discussed/debated/answered, the eyes opened to new possibilities, and the wonderful variety of places visited across the country as the conference shifts from site to site (and even around the world as USITT travels).

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USITT involvement:

John has served as Vice President for Conferences, President and Immediate Past President of USITT.  He has also received the Joel E. Rubin Founders' Award. For many years he also served as the USITT's Liaison to KCACTF and has been awarded the KCACTF Golden Medallion.  He currently serves on the Finance Committee.

Career highlights:

John has served as lighting designer, scenic designer, sound designer, or technical director of more than 200 productions. These include musicals, dance concerts, operas, original scripts and many plays. His interest in International Design, included involvement in World Stage Design in Toronto, and studying productions in Russia, Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic and Canada. In addition to attending the Prague Quadrennial, John has also arranged for visiting designers from the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Canada.

Education:

M.F.A.,University of Iowa, Theatrical Design; B.A., University of Iowa, Speech and Dramatic Art

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First active in USITT?
My first activity with USITT was by way of the Midwest Section under the mentorship of Gary Gaiser. Dr. Gaiser was the consultant on a new theatre built at Wabash College and opened in 1968. A recent alum I was hired to be the first technical director.  Working on contractor punch lists with him he quickly realized I could use mentoring and encouraged me to participate in Midwest Section activities; sometimes at Bloomington, IN sometimes Lafayette IN, sometimes Chicago, and sometimes at Urbana IL where I met the core leadership of the Section and, as I later learned, core members of USITT as well.  I later attended Indiana University to study lighting design and arts management and Dr. Gaiser was my advisor.  

Does anything stand out as your favorite USITT memory?
1968-2021 fifty-three years, so MANY memories it is very difficult to identify a favorite.  However, Saturday of the 1989 Calgary Conference when we boarded busses for a day trip to Lake Louise and dinner at the Banff Canadian Pacific Hotel - absolutely gorgeous! (We paid the next day though as we tried to fly out of Calgary and return to our midwestern homes – snowstorms and airports closed.)  I recall other times at end of conference trying to return home from western conferences through Denver!

Some career highlights:

• Serving as Conference Chair of 1990 USITT Annual Conference and Stage Expo in Milwaukee,
• Hosting five KCACTF festivals in Milwaukee, awarded KCACTF Gold Medallion January 2019
• River tour traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, to Stockholm.  Saw performances of The Snow Maiden at the Bolshoi and The Sicilian Vespers at the Marinski Theatre. We had a personal tour of the Drottningholm Court Theatre outside of Stockholm in June of 2017
• Eastern Mediterranean cruise visiting Athens, Delos, Amalfi Coast and Istanbul in October 2019

USITT involvement/positions held:

• Chair, Midwest Section United States Institute for Theatre Technology, May 1988 - July 1994
• Chair, USITT National Conference and Stage Expo.  Responsible for annual conference that brought national and international professionals in the area of production design and technology to Milwaukee for five days of workshops and seminars, April 1990.
• Member of the Finance Committee for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, December 1994 - August 1996.
• Program Chair, Midwest Section United States Institute for Theatre Technology, August 1994 - July 1995
• Chair of the Conference Policy Committee for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, August 1993 - August 1995.
• Chair of the Membership Committee for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, August 1990 - July 1993
• Vice President for Sections and Chapters and Member of Executive Board of United States Institute for Theatre Technology, August 1996 - June 2005
• Local Programming Chair for the Annual Conference and Stage Expo of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, March 2013

Are there memorable USITT characters who have made a difference to you?
   Gary Gaiser, Bernhard Works, Richard Arnold, Christine Kaiser, Patricia Mackay

About being a Fellow?
I was elected back in the day when new Fellows were surprised at the awards ceremony and had no clue that I had been selected.  It was a total surprise, one to call home about. It made that Denver Conference, March of 2000, particularly memorable.

USITT and your career?

Your publications:
TLP article TD&T, Use of Steel Building to House Rebuilt Timber Lake Playhouse , contributor to first USITT Tenure and Promotion Guidelines

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Does anything stand out as your favorite USITT memory?

Many of my memories revolve around the meals that I have shared with colleagues and friends at various conferences.  One of the most memorable was one organized by my good friend Barry Cleveland when we were in Fort Worth in 1996.  About twenty of us, including Louis Bradfield were taken to a favorite barbeque place of Barry’s.  Two-thirds of the way through the meal, with delicious food being served family style, someone asked what kind of meet we were eating.  The answer was Cabrillo (goat).  When translated, the look on Louis’ face was priceless and I have never laughed so hard in all of my life.

Short list of your career highlights

I came to Ohio State in July of 1986 with a plan to stay two or three years and I am still there.  Highlights include: technical direction of over 250 productions, co-authoring Drafting for the Theatre with fellow Fellow and mentor Dennis Dorn, conducting program reviews at several colleges and university throughout the country as well as the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts twice, being awarded the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Medallion, Chairing the Department of Theatre for five years, and being named Dean of Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2010.

List of your involvement in the institute

Ohio Valley Section Vice-chair for Programming

Chairing Tech Expo committee

At-large member of the Board of Directors

Technical Production co-commissioner

Serving as Technical Director for the 1999 PQ entry

Serving as Vice-President for Communications

Being named a Fellow in the class of 2012

Short list of memorable USITT characters that have made a difference in you...

Dennis Dorn, my major professor, writing partner and friend

Stan Abbott for his many Stress and Wellness seminars

Dr. Doom (Randall Davidson) for raising awareness about Safety

Jay Glerum for his outstanding work in educating so many about overhead rigging

Henry Tharp for proving that one can grow older gracefully

Zelma Weisfeld for speaking her mind and asking others to “Speak Up!”

Leon Brauner for setting an example about working with Commissions

Chris Kaiser for providing me a whole new respect for fiscal responsibility

Joe Aldridge for placing the membership first in his presidency

Rick Stephens for cherishing our history and speaking his mind as well

Anything you want to say about being a fellow?

I was both surprised and honored when I was named a Fellow last spring in Long Beach.  I highly value my USITT involvement and advocate for any and all theatre designers and technicians to join this great organization.

Anything I would like to add about what USITT means to you personally?

This organization has enabled me to stay connect to a field that I love and to people who I care about who share a common bond in their love for the process of creation of live production.

List of publications

Books

           Drafting for the Theatre (2^nd Edition), Southern Illinois University Press, 2012, Co-authored with Dennis Dorn of The University of Wisconsin-Madison

           Drafting for the Theatre, Southern Illinois University Press, 1992, Co-authored with Dennis Dorn of The University of Wisconsin-Madison

           Technical Design Solutions for Theatre Vol. 2, Focal Press, 2002 Bronislaw J. Sammler, Don Harvey - Foreword

Articles

           “Stock Stage Lift Components”, Theatre Design and Technology, Co-authored with Chad Mahan Fall 2011

           “Jaroslav Malina Paintings and Design – Exhibiting a Master”, Theatre Design and Technology, Fall 2009                    

           “Tracking Down Tenure” Stage Directions, November 2009

           “Cross Continental Collaboration” Theatre Design and Technology, Fall 2007

           "Stage Rigging Handbook, 3^rd Edition - Book Review," Theatre Design and Technology, Fall 2007

           "The Health and Safety Guide for Film, TV & Theatre, Book Review," Theatre Design and Technology, Summer 2002

           "The Essential Technical Direction Library" Sightlines. August 2001

           "The Staging Handbook - Book Review," Theatre Design and Technology, Fall 1998

           "Stage Rigging Handbook - Book Review," Theatre Design and Technology, Fall 1997

           "A Turntable Drive Mechanism," Theatre Design and Technology, Fall 1997, with Jim Knapp

           "USITT Guideline for a Standard Technical Information Package," Theatre Design and Technology, Spring 1996, with Dennis Dorn and Happy Robey

           "Parenting and the Theatre" Sightlines, July/August 1993

           "Elektromagnetisch decorkoppelingen" Zichtlijnen (Dutch Theatre Journal), December 1991, Co-authored with M. Barrett Cleveland of Colorado State University

           "Electromagnet Scenery Locks," Theatre Design and Technology, Summer 1991, Co-authored with M. Barrett Cleveland of Colorado State University

           "Improving Graduate Education: Changing Our Priorities," Design for Arts in Education, March/April 1991

           "An Ethafoam Rod Splitter," Yale School of Drama Technical Brief, January 1991

           "Low-Cost Large Format Slides" Theatre Crafts, December 1990, Co-authored with M. Barrett Cleveland of Colorado State University, in association with Media-Com Inc.

           "Retrofitting Projectors to Interface with a Microcomputer Lighting Controller" Theatre Design and Technology, Fall 1989, Co-authored with M. Barrett Cleveland of The Ohio State University

           "Low Cost Transparencies for Large Format Projectors Using the Polaroid Instant Slide System"' Theatre Design and Technology, Winter 1988, Co-authored with M. Barrett Cleveland of The Ohio State University

           "Gelatin Molds, a Low Cost, Flexible Negative Mold Material," Yale School of Drama Tech Briefs. October 1987

List of Books that I recommend

See "The Essential Technical Direction Library" Sightlines. August 2001

Mentoring

In any respect that might be useful

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Your earliest memories of the Institute…?
I think I first joined USITT in about 1969 when I was a student at Carnegie Mellon University at the urging of Robert Wolf who was teaching there at that time. Shortly after I moved to California to teach at Stanford and became a founding member of the Nor-Cal USITT.  We hosted the Conference in 1972.  At the conference we had an opening reception that included an “open bar” at the Top of the Mark.  The reception was supposed to be a “no host bar”, but by mistake it was offered “open”.  The result was a very expensive bar tab for Nor-Cal.  We passed the hat at the sessions of that conference to try to get money to cover the tab, I’m not sure we ever recovered enough money.

Your favorite USITT memory?

My deep involvement came when Joel Rubin asked if I wanted to attend an International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians, OISTAT meeting in Riga Latvia in January of 1986 (I don’t think he could find anyone else who wanted to go to Latvia in January). I became hooked on internationalism and have been active with OISTAT ever since.

Short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you?

Robert Wolf, Ned Bowman, Joel Rubin, Richard Hay, Arnold Aronson, Helmut Grosser, Leon Brauner, Dick Devin, Randy Earle, Eric Fielding.

Anything you want to say about being a fellow?

Being a new Fellow, I can only say that I feel honored to be among this group.

Short list of your career highlights

• Teacher at Stanford University for over 40 years
• Owner, operator San Francisco Theatrical Supply [1976-1982]
• Member IATSE Local 16 Stagehands, and IATSE Local 829 Scenic Artists
• Many years working rock concerts at the Cow Palace in San Francisco
• Honorary Professor Central Academy of Drama, Beijing
• Previous teaching at University of the Arts Belgrade, Bavarian Theater Academy Munich, Trinity College Dublin, Taiwan National University of the Arts Taipei.
• Creator, with Pamela Howard and Chris van Gothem, of Scenofest at the PQ – Now Scenofest at World Stage Design WSD
• OISTAT – Chairman of the Education Commission and President of the OISTAT.

Books that you recommend?

My list of recommended on lighting include:

• Light Fantastic by Max Keller;
• Stage Lighting Design by Richard Pilbrow;
• The Magic Of Light by Jean Rosenthal.

For those interested in theatre technology and history:

• Bühnen Technik der Gegenwart by Friedrich Kranach.  In two volumes published in 1929, in German.
• Theatre Lighting; by Louis Hartmann 193 but reprinted in 1970.

Anything you'd like to add about what the USITT means to you personally?

USITT has opened a world of doors to me internationally.  Colleagues have become friends.

Mentoring:

I would be glad to give advice or mentor USITT folks about anything international, I have been to over 40 countries and have contacts with most of those countries.

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Paul Vincent is the owner and President of Vincent Lighting Systems Company, which sells and services theatre, television and architectural lighting control systems and equipment. Vincent Lighting Systems also provides an extensive rental inventory, production services and theatrical supplies.  Offices are located in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Mr. Vincent founded the business in 1978.

He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Communication and an M.A. in Theatre.  Mr. Vincent worked for Kliegl Bros. in New York as a project salesperson and tradeshow manager; he also was mid-west regional sales manager for Colortran and eastern operations manager for Strand Lighting before starting his own business.

Mr. Vincent served for five years as President of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA), a professional industry trade association.  He also served as Vice-President the previous three years. He most recently served as Chair of the Technical Standards Committee. Vincent Lighting Systems is one of the founding members of ESTA.  ESTA merged with the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) effective January, 2011 which now serves more than 1200 members.

Mr. Vincent has been a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) since 1974 and became a member of the Ohio Valley Section in 1978.  He served as Section Chair from 1980 to 1982 and currently serves as chair of the membership committee.  Vincent Lighting Systems is a contributing member of USITT National and a sustaining member of the USITT Ohio Valley Section.  Mr. Vincent was recognized as a Fellow of the Institute in 2004 for his contributions to theatre and service to USITT.  In 2009 he received USITT’s Thomas DeGaetani Award for his leadership in the entertainment industry.  He currently serves on the board of USITT.

Mr. Vincent is an advisory board member for the Theatre and Dance Department of Kent State University, Kent, OH, and is also a board member of the Ohio Citizens for the Arts (OCA), Columbus, OH, The Musical Theatre Project (TMTP), Cleveland, OH and The Wally Russell Foundation.  He previously served as a board member for the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre (PICT) and Cabaret Pittsburgh.

Vincent Lighting Systems is a sustaining member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), as well as a corporate member of the International Special Events Society (ISES).  Mr. Vincent is a member of the Ohio Educational Theatre Association (OEdTA) Hall of Fame.  He has presented numerous lighting workshops and seminars over the past thirty-seven years to students, end users, architects, electrical engineers and electrical contractors.

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Your earliest memories of the institute…as in how far back do you go?

I first heard of USITT when applying for a drafting position with a Theatre Consultant, George A. Thomas in Phoenix , Arizona, in the spring of 1972.  He hired me during the interview and said that I would start work after he came back from the USiTT Conference.  Each year, George would come back from the conferences and regale us with stories of the various events.  USITT sounded like a very magical place to be.  I was able to attend my first conference in Phoenix in 1978 and have only missed one since.

Does anything stand out as your favorite USITT memory?

The sheer awe of attending my first Conference and Stage Expo in 1978.

Glad that I did not accept Dave Hand’s invitation to stay on the houseboat in Corpus Christi in 1983 after hearing the stories.  Also, a bit sorry that I did not accept Dave Hand’s invitation to stay on the houseboat in Corpus Christi after hearing the stories.

Standing on top of the south tower of the Roebling Bridge at sunset during the Cincinnati Conference.  Thanks Richard Nix.

Short list of your career highlights

• Bachelor of Architecture, 1976, Arizona State University
• George Thomas Associates, Phoenix, AZ, 1972-1977.  Working for a Theatre Consultant in the design and specification of theatrical equipment systems.
• H & H Specialties Inc., South El Monte, CA , 1977-present.  Vice President 1977-2008.  President 2008-present.
• Involvement in various rigging related conferences, panels, and standards through USITT since 1980.

Short list of your various involvement in the institute

Vice Commissioner of Health & Safety, mid 1980’s.

Development with Randy Davidson of various Rigging Inspection Workshops and Rigging Conferences.

Helped organize and participated in many rigging related panels during the conferences since 1980.

Participated in 33 Stage Expo’s

If you were to make a short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you, who would they be?

George A. Thomas for developing in me the love of theatre that I didn’t know existed.  For that I will forever grateful.  

Randall Davidson for his mentoring in theatre safety and giving me the opportunity of working closely with him on various projects throughout the years.

George T. Howard for the sheer knowledge of his craft.

Anything you want to say about being a fellow?

It is a privilege to be associated with so many individuals that have made such a profound difference in the performing arts worldwide.

Anything you'd like to add about what the USITT means to you personally?

USITT has allowed me to work and become friends with so many individuals that are truly passionate about their craft.

List of books that you recommend about the field

Stage Rigging Handbook

Mentoring—is there an area that you’d be happy to mentor students, officers, commissions about?

In any aspect that might be useful.

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Your earliest memories of the Institute...as in how far back do you go?

1979. I'm guessing it was either Van Phillips or Lee Watson that arranged for me to be on a panel with Harold Burris-Meyer. I was very young (in graduate school), and, at the time there were only two books out (at least that I knew of). One was David Collison's, the other was Harold Burris-Meyer's. Harold Burris-Meyer was just at the end of his career, and it's one of my fondest memories that I was able to meet him and get to know him a little bit before he passed. Such a major contributor to our field. I didn't meet David Collison, another incredibly influential person in our field, until decades later.

Does anything stand out as your favorite USITT memory?

Bloodbath of the LIving Dead in 3D at the Milwaukee conference in MIlwaukee Rep's Stiemke Theatre. Back in those days we were blazing trails, introducing new things about theatre sound to the world, and USITT was the place to do it--AES didn't really understand theatre, and most of the other organizations really didn't exist or weren't really players. We made USITT our playground, and BB of the LD in 3D, as we affectionately called it was perhaps the best example. We did--to the best of my knowledge, the first demo of digital audio us in theatre--Sound Tools (that would be the forerunner to Pro Tools), Performer (the forerunner to Digital Performer), the legendary EIII (Emu's Digital Sampler), Command Cue (Charlie Richmond's visionary theatre sound control software, decades before SFX and QLab) all in one giant "sound console" spread across the stage. But the show itself was what I loved. Based on John Pielmeyer's short play, Splatterflick, the play shows us an audience watching a 3D slasher/horror movie.

Short list of your career highlights

• 2009 Elected to the National Theatre  
• 2008 Inducted into the “Book of Great  
• 2008 Inducted as a Fellow into the  
• 2008 Received the Joel E. Rubin
• Founder’s Award from the United States Institute of Theatre Technology
• 2007 Awarded the George P. Murphy  
• 2007 Awarded the College of Liberal Arts
• Award for Outstanding Teacher at Purdue University
• 2006 Second Appointment to the Purdue
• 2006 Awarded the Purue University
• Department of Visual and Performing Arts Award for Outstanding Teacher
• 2002 Winner, Herbert D. Greggs Award  
• 2000 First Appointment to the Purdue Center for Artistic Endeavors
• 1992 Indiana Master Artist Fellowship
• 1990 Indiana Master Artist Fellowship
• 1988 Presented the first public lecture on  sounds systems for educational theatres for the Audio Engineering Society in Nashville TN
• 1987 Worked with the Jeff Awards Committee to institute theatre awards for sound design in Chicago Theatre
• 1985 Presented the first lecture to the Acoustical Society of America on the emerging field of theatre sound design
• 1981 Early article for Theatre Crafts on  approaching sound design for period plays

Short list of your various involvement in the institute

• 2008 Authored first monograph in USITT’s biography series on sound designer, The Designs of Abe Jacob
• 2005 Curated first exhibition of theatre   sound design at World Stage Design in Toronto Canada
• 2003 Co-created the first Scenofest at the Prague Quadrennial including ten international artists lecturing on theatre sound design  and the first international exhibition  of theatre sound design at the Prague Quadrennial, Czech Republic
• 2003 Curated first exhibition of theatre  sound design in the USITT National Exhibit at the Prague Quadrennial, Czech Republic
• 2003 Published article in Theatre Design and Technology Journal with Rob Milburn on Sound Programs in Higher Education
• 2000 Presented first international lecture on theatre sound design for OISTAT at the Bregenz Festspiele and Kongresshause, Austria
• 2000 Initiated the OISTAT Sound Working Group and became its first Head
• 1999 First international exhibition of a theatre composer/sound designer’s work for OISTAT at the Zoa House in Tel Aviv, Israel
• 1997 Authored a two part article on the current state of theatre sound technology for TD&T
• 1997 Inaugurated International Sound Artist series of guest lectures for USITT in Pittsburgh PA
• 1996 Published article describing Tom Mardike’s innovative loudspeaker playback system using MS microphone techniques
• 1995 Co-Authored with Ken Bell a journal article regarding the aesthetics of auditory space
• 1993 Organized and hosted the first Syn Aud Con Workshop in Theatre Sound at Purdue University. Presented four lectures:
• Theatre Sound Cue Sheets
• Using Computers to Create Sound
• Multi Channel Sound in Theatres
• The Rehearsal Process (w/Abe Jacob) USITT subsequently devoted a whole issue of TD&J to publishing the papers I presented at this workshop
• 1990 First public demonstration of the use of digital audio in theatre sound score design, including live sequencing (MOTU Performer), sampling (EMU EIII), hard disk recording (Digidesign Sound Tools) and Control (Richmond Sound Designs Command Cue) at the USITT National Conference in Minneapolis MN
• 1988 Published first journal article detailing the problems associated with using copyrighted audio in theatre sound scores in TD&T
• 1987 Published first journal article detailing the need for union representation for theatre sound designers in TD&T Journal, 23.3, p. 58-65.
• 1987 Presented first public lecture on the use of digital samplers in live theatre at the USITT National Conference in Minneapolis MN
• 1985 Presented the first lecture to the Acoustical Society of America on the emerging field of theatre sound design
• 1985 Co-produced and engineered the first compact disc recorded in the state of Indiana
• 1984 Presented the first public exhibition of a theatre sound score at the USITT National Conference in Orlando FL
• 1981 Presented the first public lecture and   demonstration of the use of synthesizers in theatre at the 1981 USITT National Conference
• 1980 Conducted the first public workshop on using sound effects in theatre at the 1980 USITT National Conference
• 1979 Panel member on first public discussion of the emerging field of theatre sound design at the USITT National Conference in Seattle WA

If you were to make a short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you, who would they be?

Van Phillips and Lee Watson, who introduced me to USITT, and mentored me through it, Harold Burris-Meyer, who started it, and I was just lucky to get to know, Dick Devin who made the sound and lighting commissions a reality, Charlie Richmond, who did so much for the sound commission, and then empowered me to do more, Dick Durst, who empowered the introduction of sound into OISTAT--oh, dear, I better stop there, otherwise I'm going to upset a whole bunch of really important friends and colleagues that I left out.

Anything you want to say about being a Fellow?

It's pretty humbling considering the company we keep.

Anything you'd like to add about what the USITT means to you personally?

Everything. It made my career.

List of your publications

See above.

List of books that you recommend about the field

Modern Recording Techniques, David Miles Huber and Robert Runstein
Musical Experience of Composer, Performer, Listener , Roger Sessions
Music, Sound, and Sensation,  Fritz Winckel
Psychology of Music,  Carl E. Seashore
Sound and Music for the Theatre, Kaye, Deena & LeBrecht, James
Sound and Symbol,  Victor Zuckerkandl
Tune, Holst, Imogen
JBL Audio Engineering for Sound Reinforcement, John Eargle and Chris Foreman
The Soundscape, R Murray Schafer
This Is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitin
Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks
Sound: A Reader, Ross Brown
Composing Music for Film ,  Jack Smalley
Audio System Design and Installation, Phillip Giddings
Microphone Handbook,  John Eargle
Sound System Engineering, Don Davis and Eugene Patronis Jr.
Sound Systems: Design and Optimization (2^nd Edition), Bob McCarthy

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Your earliest memories of the institute?

I heard about and joined USITT in grad school (1975) but didn’t really get involved until I moved to Missouri and attended my first conference at Overland Park in 1980 and the Cleveland conference the following year. I missed the next 4 but I have been to every conference since NYC in 1985.  While living in NC, I participated in the SE section master classes each fall. My first active participation in a major institute activity was as Treasurer of the 1988 Anaheim conference.

Your favorite USITT memories:

• Sarah riding the horse into the banquet in Wichita.
• The Board’s commendation when I stepped down as P&P Chair.  And then they asked me to please not run for president since every time I held an office it was dissolved when I finished the job.

Short list of career highlights:

• CalArts School of Theater (30 years)—Head of Stage Management, General Manager and Assistant Dean
• Colorado Shakespeare Festival--Production Manager for 16 seasons
• Santa Rosa Summer Repertory Theater—Production Manager for 9 seasons

Short list of your work with the USITT:

• VP for Projects
• Board Member
• Chair of Planning & Priorities Committee
• SM Mentor
• Treasurer of 1988 Anaheim Conference
• Logistics Chair of 1995 Vegas Conference
• Longtime member of Finance Committee and Management Commission
• Active member of SoCal Section.

Short list of the memorable USITT members who have made a difference to you:

• Dr. Doom
• Rick Stephens
• Sarah Nash Gates
• Dick Durst
• Jean Montgomery
• Elynmarie Kazle
• Will Bellman
• Joe Tawil

About being a fellow?

I consider it a great honor and am looking forward to using that position to contribute to the goals of the Institute.

Anything you'd like to add about what the USITT means to you personally?

The camaraderie and friendships developed through commission programming, committee work and my participation on the board and the executive committee have been very important to me.

Conducting interviews for the Living History Project provided me with great joy at learning more about my colleagues’ backgrounds and goals.

Mentoring?

Production Management for students or young professionals

Principles of planning, logistics and scheduling

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Steve Terry is the Vice President of Research & Development at Electronic Theatre Controls, the Madison Wisconsin-based lighting manufacturer. In that capacity, he leads the team that is responsible for global development of new products.

Steve Terry began his professional career as the Production Electrician for the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1971. He toured the world in that capacity for over five years, and the experience gained in that position served as the basis for many of Mr. Terry’s designs of touring equipment for the lighting rental market.

In 1976, he was responsible for the care and feeding of the first computerized lighting control system on Broadway at “A Chorus Line”. From 1977-1981, he was the Production Sound Engineer for that production.

Mr. Terry joined Production Arts Lighting in 1976, and was Executive Vice President and Chief Engineer until 1998. In that capacity, he led the Systems Integration and Consulting Group of Production Arts. This group specialized in the design, engineering, furnishing, integration, and installation of permanent entertainment technology systems in a wide variety of markets. These included theatres, opera houses, theme parks, cruise ships, and television studios. Production Arts was acquired by PRG in 1998.

Over the last 30 years, Mr. Terry has consulted with a number of manufacturers in developing advanced products for the lighting industry. The first fully digital high density dimmer for touring was produced to a design specification authored by Mr. Terry, and many of the communication network products used in today's digital lighting systems had their genesis at Production Arts.

He has been instrumental in moving the lighting industry towards the concept of systems integration rather than purchase from a single manufacturer. Systems integration is now standard practice in the lighting industry, and his work on the DMX512 standard was a key element in making this possible.

He has been involved in the engineering and management of many prestigious installation projects over the last 20 years including, to name a few, the lighting renovation of the Metropolitan Opera House, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, and Wynn hotels and the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, the Lido de Paris nightclub in France,  “Fantasmic” at Disneyland, six NBC network television studios, seven cruise ship showrooms for Holland America Line, and the Disney/ABC “Good Morning America” studios in Times Square.

Mr. Terry also maintains an active involvement in the international lighting industry. He founded the USITT National Electrical Code Committee in 1980 and was its original chair.  He was appointed a member of NFPA National Electrical Code Panel 15 in 1994.

He chaired the USITT Committee that wrote the internationally-accepted DMX512 standard for digital communications in lighting systems. He was inducted as a Fellow of the USITT in 2005.

He has been a frequent contributor to Lighting Dimensions (now Live Design) , and Protocol magazines, and has authored many articles on control systems, codes, and standards. He is a frequent panelist at technical sessions throughout the lighting industry.

Mr. Terry co-chaired the Entertainment Services and Technology Association's Control Protocols Working Group from its inception in 1994, to 2007. This working group produced the next important control standards for the lighting industry, ANSI Standard  E1.17, Architecture for Control Networks (ACN) and ANSI Standard E1.20, Remote Device Management (RDM).  Mr. Terry is currently a member of the ESTA Board of Directors, the ESTA Technical Standards Committee, and the ESTA Electrical Power Working Group.

Professional Affiliations:

US Institute for Theatre Technology

• Fellow of the Institute
• Vice Commissioner for Engineering

National Fire Protection Association Member National Electrical Code Panel 15 (USITT Alternate)

Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA)          

• Founding Co-Chair -- Control Protocols Working Group
• Member, Electrical Power Working Group
• Member, Board of Directors
• Member, Technical Standards Committee

Underwriters Laboratories Member--

UL498 (Attachment Plugs and Receptacles), UL924 (Emergency Lighting and Power Equipment), UL1008 (Transfer Switches) and UL1340 (Hoists) Standard

Technical Panels, Industry advisory Groups for UL1691A Single-pole connectors and UL1640 Portable Power Distribution

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Full Member

International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI) Associate Member

Certifications

ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician

ETCP Recognized Trainer—Electrical

Awards

1993 USITT Founders Award for work on Codes and Standards

Articles Published

“USITT Dimmer Transmission Standards—Dimmer Communications Protocols May End the Black Box Jungle” Lighting Dimensions March/April 1987

“Entertainment Industry Standards—USITT Committee Considers Control Communications” Lighting Dimensions September/October 1987

“Glimpsing the Future—Symposium Discusses Prospects for Automated Lighting On The Legitimate Stage—A Technical Commentary” Lighting Dimensions March 1988

“Type W—National Electrical Code Recognizes Single-Conductor Feeder Cables For Portable Dimmer Boards” Lighting Dimensions January/February 1989

“Multipurpose Peripherals—L86/IR and L86/I5M Provide Advance In Flexibility and Power of Systems Using DMX512” Lighting Dimensions April 1989

“Access—An Affordable Professional Console”  Lighting Dimensions September 1989

“An Industry Milestone—Lee Colortran’s ENR Dimmers Squeeze a New Level of Features Out of Existing Technology” Lighting Dimensions October 1989

"Does the Shoe Really Fit?—The Pressing Need For Advanced Standards After DMX512” Lighting Dimensions March 1990

“Cable Selector Guide—A User’s Guide to Portable Cable Selection for the Entertainment Industry” with Ken Vannice, Lighting Dimensions April 1990

“Dimming System Destruction—Isolation Failures Creep Up On the Lighting Industry” with Karl Ruling Lighting Dimensions October 1990

“Colorful Personalities—Automated Design Tools—An Evaluation of Six Rolling Color Changers” Lighting Dimensions November 1990

“The Business of Standards”  Lighting & Sound International April 1991

“Dimming Doom—Understanding Emergency Transfer in Dimming Systems” Lighting Dimensions November 1992

“Emergency Transfer Revisited—The Further Intricacies of the UL1008 Standard” Lighting Dimensions January 1993

“Upscale Ethernet—Picking the Best Network Configurations for Reliable Performance Lighting Systems”  Lighting Dimensions November 1994

“Common Ethernet—The Urgent Need for an Advanced Common-Protocol, High Speed Network for the Lighting Industry” Lighting Dimensions March 1997

“Power Play—Considerations for Feeding Dimmer-Per-Circuit Systems In Theatres and Similar Locations” Lighting Dimensions September 1997

“Back to The Future—Checking Up On 20 Years of Lighting Dimensions Predictions” Lighting Dimensions October 1997

“Report From The Standards Front—UL Considers Single-Pole Connectors” Entertainment Services & Technology Association Newsletter

“Report From The Standards Front—UL Agrees With Industry Input On Single-Pole Connector Standard” Entertainment Services & Technology Association Newsletter

“Whose Network Is It Anyway?—Why the End User is the Loser in the DMX512 Connector Controversy”  Lighting Dimensions May 1998

“Understanding Control of Emergency Lighting Circuits”  ESTA Protocol Summer 2004

“What’s Connected?—Unique Global Dimmer Load Survey Delivers Surprising Results”  LiveDesign March 2006

“New Power Tools Provide Quality and Efficiency”  ESTA Protocol Fall 2007

“The Case of the Hidden Harmonic Filter”  ESTA Protocol Summer 2008

“Understanding Control of Emergency Lighting Circuits—2010 Update”  with Ken Vannice and Mitch Hefter, ESTA Protocol Spring 2010

“Understanding Hidden Electrical Diversity in Entertainment Lighting Systems”, ESTA Protocol Fall 2010

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Currently: professor emerita, Department of Theatre and Film Studies University of Georgia.

Sylvia holds the B.S. degree in Clothing and Textiles and the Master of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design from Florida State University.   A theatrical designer and educator for over three decades, her experiences include designing for both film and stage.  Previous teaching appointments include Southwest Missouri State University, the University of New Orleans and Tulane University.  She has designed costumes for hundreds of productions for, among others, the Asolo State Theater, Sarasota, FL, the College Light Opera Company at Highfield in Falmouth, MA, the Highlands Playhouse, and for the Jekyll Island Musical Comedy Festival.  She served as general manager of the Festival from 1983-88.

Her research includes the life and work of the late Broadway costume designer Freddy Wittop: Tony award winner for “Hello, Dolly!” She also conducts research on the designers who provided the sets and costumes for the Music Halls of Paris between WWI and WWII. Her essay on Freddy Wittop was recently published in Late & Great: American Designer 1960-2010. Further, she is co-author of Varieties of Theatrical Art, an Introduction to Theater textbook and has authored articles for the professional journal Theater Design and Technology and served as its book review editor.

She joined USITT in 1976 and served on the local arrangements committee for the conference held that year in New Orleans. Past President and Fellow of the Institute, Sylvia has served on all USITT committees including but not limited to Finance, and Grants & Fellowships, Awards, and Publications Committees. She has worked with the Costume Commission since its inception and is active with USITT’s international initiatives.

Sylvia is grateful to the United States Institute for Theater Technology for providing the professional bedrock and network upon which she has relied as a theatrical designer and educator.

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Your earliest memories of the institute?

My first knowledge of and about USITT was being told by Gene Diskey, the TD at the Dallas Theatre Center (I was his Assistant), that a new organization had just been formed and I should join it.  So, I joined!   Gene was a Yale Graduate and had connections on the East Coast and got the word about USITT shortly after it was formed.  No, I didn't walk up hill both ways in the "neck deep" snow to the meeting when USITT was formed, but joined soon afterward.

Does anything stand out as your favorite USITT memory?

Having used my experience at the DTC to figure out what I wanted from a college degree I left The Dallas Theatre Center to return to school at Southwestern University.  When USITT decided to have its annual conference in Dallas, Gene Diskey became part of the Local Conference Committee.  He in turn asked me to come to Dallas and work the conference as a support staffer.  So, I was in the room helping out when the USITT Board had the now famous - "We are broke, and need to file for bankruptcy!" meeting.  I remember the tension in the room and the silence that followed being charged.  I had just put a fresh container of ice water down between Edward F. Kook, Head of Century Lighting, and Joel E. Rubin, Vice President of Kliegl Lighting - when Kook stood (all 5'-3" of him,) pulled out his wallet and started slapping 100 dollar bills on the table.  He turned to Joel and, pointing at the stack of bills, said, "Match it!"  It wasn't a request so much as a demand.  

I've heard many people describe that as the "pass the hat meeting".  But, in truth it was more of Ed Kook going "we are not going bankrupt on my watch" and challenging the other Board Members to join him in getting things fixed.  In that era there were few academics on the Board and none of the corporate types were going to challenge "Don" Kook!   I remember thinking," Welcome to 'active' membership in the USITT!"

Career highlights:

Theatre Planning:

• Principal of Jones & Phillips Associates, Inc., Theatre Planners and Architectural Consultants
• American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC),1975 – present
• Listed in Who's Who in Theatre Consulting, Theatre Crafts, 1983
• National Award  - Masters of Innovation II, Zenith Data Systems, 1990  Innovative solution to exploring performance architecture
• Freelance Theatre Architectural Consultant, 1969 – 1975

Professional Design:

• Freelance Designer and Technical Director for Theatre,  Opera, Ballet, and Television.  United Scenic Artist – (USAA) LU - #829.  1965 to present
• Assistant Art Director (Hawaii) for the films: Blue Hawaii,  Hawaii,  and In Harms Way
• United Scenic Artists (USAA), Examination Committee, 1980 -1990
• United Scenic Artist Review Team for the proposed merger of Locals 350 and 829
• Listed in Who's Who in Opera, 1976

Educator:

• Purdue University: Professor Emeritus 2001, Director of Design and Technical Theatre - 1974-1990, Acting Director of Theatre 1975- 1976 and 1982-83, Full Professor of Theatre Design in 1978
• University of South Florida: Director of Design and Technical Theatre, Associate Chairman,1972‑74, Assistant Professor, 1969 – 1974

Technical  Theatre:

• Technical Director, Honolulu International Theatre Center, 1965 – 1967 (Summers);
• Assistant Technical Director, Dallas Theatre Center, 1962 – 1963
• Technical Director, Lutheran Actors Company,.1962 (Summer)
• Designer/Technical Director, Foothills Playhouse,1958 – 1961 (Summers)

Your various involvement in the Institute:

• United Scenic Artists Representative to the Third Congress of OISTT International Congress on Scenography in Avignon, France, 1974
• Chairman of U.S.I.T.T.'s National Liaison.  1974 to 1978
• Board of Directors,1974 to 1984
• Selected to be Co-Leader (with Donald Stowell Jr.) of the US Scenography Delegation to OISTAT, International Congress on Scenography, Prague, January, 1976
• Finance Committee, 1979 to 1993.
• Chairman of the Committee on Liability, 1985 to 1988
• Chairman, Corporate Projects Committee, 1986 to 1996
• Fellows Nominating Committee, Chair, 1986 to Present
• Founders Award, 2000

A short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you?

There have been and are so many memorable "characters" in USITT that a short list is impossible, so I will list a few of our departed "characters"!

Edward F. Kook - if USITT had a Napoleon - it was Eddie Kook.  He may have been only 5'-3" bit he was a force that got things done.  It took great courage to call him Eddie, and I was only willing to call him Kookie when his wife Hilda took me aside and told me, He would really like you to call him Kookie!"  This man was Century Lighting and the power/money behind many of the most famous Broadway productions from the 1930s to the 1960s such as Death of a Salesman, Picnic, Oklahoma, The Diary of Anne Frank and on and on.

During the January, 1976 OISTT, International Congress on Scenography in Prague, I remember standing in the 1365 Church of Our Lady before Tyn with Jo Mielziner, Millia Davenport, Eddie and Hilda Kook, and Don and Bonnie Stowell looking at the beautiful Gothic interior.  Eddie said, "Give you one little Jewish boy and look what you do!"

Leland "Lee" H. Watson - My first memory of Lee was of him sitting on top of a pile of stacked hotel tables in the hallway of the Waldorf Astoria in New York for a USITT Conference.  He looked for all the world like a Leprechaun in his lime green suit and brown feather bow tie.  Lee designed lighting for several Broadway shows including The Diary Of Anne Frank, was President of USITT and was author of many articles and several books on stage and television lighting.  But, if USITT had one person who truly deserved the title "character", it would have to be Lee, although Randy Davidson has done a fine job of carrying on the role.

Harold "Snodgrass" Burris-Meyer - at 6'-6" and all loose joints like Disneys' Ichabod Crane, he was hard to miss.  Always ready with a limerick and called upon to close every meeting from the USITT Board to the National Conference, Harold was and remains a huge presence in the Institutes history.  His books remain well known, but his pioneering role in the early development of theatre audio, subliminal audience control and theatre architecture seems lost to younger members.

Alvin Cohen - Owner of Paramount Theatrical Supply and was Eddie Kook's money manager.  Al served as the USITT Treasurer from just after the near bankruptcy and on for two decades or better. Al was one of the first real benefactors of the USITT.  Although vilified by some for his unwillingness to relinquish the duties of Treasurer, he was determined that the USITT would always be financially sound.  If he was guilty of anything it was that he "cared too much"!

Samuel H. Scripps - USITT's second great benefactor.  Huge of both girth and love of the people who made theatre, the soft spoken and unassuming Sam Scripps never failed to find ways to financially assist the USITT.  If USITT wanted to sell design renderings to raise money Sam together with Stan Miller, would always make sure the price was "sufficient".  If USITT needed money for a project, Sam was there.  It will be a long time before USITT finds another of his equal.

Anything you want to say about being a Fellow?

Being named a Fellow is the highest honor a person can receive within USITT.  All the other honors and awards USITT gives are for achievement in one portion of an individual's career.  To become a Fellow an individual must be recognized for achievement professionally and for their role within the USITT.  Many achieve recognition in one aspect, but those that can prevail in both become Fellows.  It is an honor that should not be taken lightly.  I am proud to have been included as a member of that distinguished group of men and women.

Anything you'd like to add about the USITT?

USITT has been, and remains, the organizational home of some of my closest friends in the performing arts world.  Their dedication and willingness to mentor a strong future for those who work within the performing arts speaks volumes about the importance of USITT as a national presence in the arts.  Like those that work on professional productions, it ultimately isn't about individual names or past success.  Over time the USITT will be judged on its next success and I feel confident that it is built on a solid foundation.

Your publications:

I have never written a book, but have provided numerous articles related to the performing arts and performing arts facilities for Auditoria, Stage Directions, etc.

Mentoring—is there an area that you’d be happy to mentor students, officers, commissions about?

I would be most useful to those interested in Theatre Consulting and the industry that supports performance architecture and the equipment needed for its construction.

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(1925-2003)

Education/Training:

• Industrial Arts Education, Ohio State University

Employment history:

• Torpedo man, U.S. Navy (1943-1946)
• Crew Head, Cain Park Theatre, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 1946 Editor’s note: Dr. Joel E. Ruben was a teenaged crew member for the Cain Park Theatre that summer.  He fondly recalled Mr. Weiss in those days: “Bernie was the Crew Head for an open-air, 3, 000-seat theatre with an 80-foot –wide proscenium and a 10-week summer season of 10 shows, half of which were musicals. That was a lot of scenery to generate and paint every week, and Bernie made sure every thing was on stage for the dress rehearsal and the paint was dry by opening night. Bernie also taught us the trick of cutting quarts of ice cream in half on the band-saw for our summer mid-afternoon breaks.”
• Senior Technical Director for Broadway and television productions over a period of nearly 45 years from the 1950s to the 1990s.  Editor’s note: This period is now known as “The Golden Age of Broadway.”  Mr. Weiss worked with virtually every Broadway designer of the period and counted Ralph Alswang, Lemuel Ayers, Donald Oenslager, Max Gorelik, Jo Mielziner, Boris Aronson, and Oliver Smith among his favorites. His special skill was translating designer renderings (not elevations) into technical drawings for the scenic studios and supervising a production through initial put-in to make sure that everything worked and fit perfectly.  He was considered by his colleagues to be one of the great Technical Directors of the professional theatre.
• Project Manager, Nolan Studios (1950s)
• Principal & Partner, Feller Studios (1960s & 1970s)  supervised much of the early scenery automation and worked as principal planning consultant for backstage technologies in renovations for Broadway theatres, roadhouses, and new performing arts centers around the country and the world.
• Owner and Operator, Metro Scenic Studios (1970s & 1980s)
• House carpenter and manager of technical activities for the Shuberts
• Supervisor, Cort Theatre
• Stage consultant with Peter Feller, design and construction of theatres in Mexico City, a State Department assignment in the Soviet Union, and the backstage consultation on the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA
• Design and fabrication, Olympic torch for the Winter Games in Lake Placid (1976)

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Founding member (1961)
• Chair (1964-1969) & long-time member of the Engineering Commission
• Board of Directors, 1960s and 1970s
• Technical Advisor to the Chair, USITT Exhibit, Prague Quadrennial, 1987 — Gold medal winner
• Represented International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) at Stage Expo booth for over 20 years as a long-time member, first in Cleveland, then in New York

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (2001)

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(1925-2017)

Read a remembrance of Bernhard R. Works

On Oct. 28, 2017 the last of USITT’s Midwest original founders joined the others at that USITT meeting in the sky. Bernhard Works passed away at the age of 92. His wife of 64 years, Nancy, survives him along with son Larry and daughter, Chris (Gustafson) plus two grandchildren. His loving family was present in Middleton, WI at Attic Angel where his final days were spent and memorial was held. Bernie taught at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana for 34 years where was Technical Director and Professor of Theatre Design and Technology. Subsequently, he and Nancy retired to Middleton.

Bernie joined USITT in 1960 as one of our first members and continued service in a variety of assignments. In 1978 he was inducted into the Fellows and was honored with the Joel E. Rubin Founders Award in 2011. Bernie’s USITT legacy includes two major scholarships which he established and to which he made major contributions. The Frederick A. Buerki Scenic Technology Award was established in 1999 and often known as the Golden Hammer Award.

In 2014, he established the Master Craftsmanship Award for achievement in one of four craft areas (scene painting, stage properties, costume making or lighting technology).

There have been a number of tributes to Bernie and several stand out as reflecting the man we’ve all respected and known for many years. Tim Kelly speaks for many “ We should all be so lucky to have as full, productive and gentle a life as did Bernie.” Dick Devin writes “… so many positive memories of his kindness, dedicated appreciation of USITT and his wonderful support and mentorship of so many students. We’re so fortunate to have had the privilege to call him a friend and colleague.”

Recently, Andy Gibbs, one of Bernie’s PhD students sent a very touching letter which spoke to the impact on his education and mentions “Bernie’s combination of intellect, artistic sensibility, teaching methods and enlightened mentorship were only surpassed by his sense of compassion and humanity. May his spirit always live on!”

Bernie was the role model for how one lives the USITT life with dignity and generosity. He moved me to seriously consider how to give back to USITT prompting action to guarantee this important tradition established by him.

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(1929-1988)

Education/Training:

• The Choate School
• Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, BA in English (1951)
• Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, (1956-1957)
• Yale University, MA in English (1958)

Employment history:

• U.S. Army, served in Europe (1952-1954)
• Assistant Editor, Interior Design magazine (1959-1960)
• Associate Editor to Senior and Features Editor, Progressive Architecture magazine (1961-1970)
• Guest Lecturer: The American Institute of Interior Designers, the American Studies Institute at Lincoln University, The Architectural League of New York, Art Institute of Chicago, Cornell University, The Fashion Group, Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, the New York School of Interior Design, Parsons Schools of Design, Pratt Institute, Tulane University, University of Houston, Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum and Yale University (1971-1976)
• Account Executive (part time), David S Wachsman Associates, public relations (1972-1974)
• Executive Director (volunteer), Aston Magna Foundation for Music (1972-1975)
• Editor, Theatre Crafts Magazine (1969-1974)
• Editor-in-Chief, Interiors and Residential Interiors magazines (1974-1977)
• Instructor, New Jersey School of Architecture (1976)
• Instructor, Parsons School of Design, New York City (1978 – 1986)
• Instructor, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City(1985 - 1986)

Publications:

• Freelance Author: numerous articles published in A+U (Japan), Architectural Record, Arts in America, Domus, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Interiors, New Standard Encyclopedia, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Progressive Architecture, Residential Interiors, Theatre Design and Technology, & The Village Voice (1961-1976)
• Editor, The Shapes of Our Theatre, by Jo Mielziner (1970)
• Author, The American Endless Weekend (1972)
• Author, 25 entries on architecture and architects from 1960 to 1970 for The Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art (1973)
• Editor, The Theatre Crafts Book of Costume (1973)
• Editor, The Theatre Crafts Book of Makeup, Masks, and Wigs (1974)
• Author, Supermanerism: New Attitudes in Post-Modern Architecture (1977)
• Author, AIGA Graphic Design USA: I (1980)
• Co-author (w/ Allen Cares), Interior Design in the 20^th Century (1986)
• Author, Interior Design in 20^th Century America: A History, 1987

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Member and Chair, Architecture Committee
• Chair, Advisory Committee for the revisions of NYC building codes: Editor’s note: Mr. Smith first came to the Institute through work on its Architecture Committee with Ben Schlanger.  Both were deeply involved in gathering material for the revision of the NYC Building Code then in progress.  Both Schlanger and Smith, in an attempt to broaden the resources of the committee, recruited important practitioners from the Institute’s membership to participate in this important work, thus raising the profile of the Institute within the theatrical community.
• Vice President (1966-1967)
• President (1968): Editor’s note: Mr. Smith greatly broadened USITT’s influence by involving previously uncommitted members from architecture and arts communities in Institute activities.

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow, (1977)
• Fellow, American Institute of Architects
• Special Citation from USITT Board of Directors:  To C. Ray Smith for his contributions to the advancement of USITT and to American Theatre Architecture through Institute leadership and ongoing editorial leadership in a series of distinguished publications directed to the unique requirements of a distinctive developing American theatre architecture (1988)
• National Endowment for the Arts grants (1972 & 1977)
• Graham Foundation grants (1971 & 1985)
• Facilities Lab grant (1980)

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Inducted as Fellow:  1978

I first heard of USITT when a graduate student at Stanford in 1963. The TD at Stanford, Derek Hunt, described the group as “a bunch of New York theatre types that gathered in someone’s living room and gossiped.” Nonetheless, I joined the organization and promptly forgot about it. However, I took a job as TD/Lighting Designer with a Stanford classmate at the new branch campus of the University of Alberta, at Calgary, Alberta, Canada in September, 1965. I soon learned that USITT would hold a national conference in Toronto, Canada, in the spring of 1966. I determined to attend and did so, and thus began many long term friendships with many USITT members, including Don Swinney, Joel Rubin, Tom DeGaetani, Walt Walters, Lee Watson, and many, many others.

The next important event in my USITT career came in 1970 at the National Conference in New York when I was elected to the Board of Directors. By this time, I had left the now University of Calgary to become TD at San Francisco State and the then Executive Director of USITT, Tom DeGaetani, wanted to establish a USITT section in Northern California. He wanted me to be the catalyst for the new section. That happened in 1971 and the National Conference came to San Francisco in 1972. It was a big success which was important because the previous year’s conference in Dallas, Texas, had revealed that USITT was in serious financial trouble. San Francisco was a financial success, had over 300 attendees (compared to 71 in Dallas) and inaugurated the first student design show and the biggest manufacturer’s show USITT had ever had. One of the by-products of the 1972 Conference was that the By-Laws got completely re-written and the President’s term was changed from one year (repeatable) to two years (not repeatable).

In 1977, I was elected President of USITT and served until 1980. I was elected a Fellow of USITT in 1978 and awarded the Founders Award at the Calgary Conference (fittingly) in 1989.

In addition to the list of “founding fathers” of USITT mentioned above, I should note the long and enduring friendships that I developed with major USITT figures such as Dick Arnold, Randy Earle, Ed Koch, David Hand, Chris Kaiser, Will Bellman, Oren Parker, Sarah Nash Gates, and so many more that it would take the next 20 pages to list them all.

I can’t say enough good things about my experiences as a USITT member. Being recognized by my fellow USITT members when elected as a Fellow, was priceless. The plaque I received has a prominent place on the wall in the living room of my apartment and greets visitors as they enter.

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(1938-2002)

Education/Training:

• Kansas State Teachers College (later renamed Emporia State College): BA in Theatre and Art; BA in Education; MA and MS in Speech and Theatre
• Idaho State University, graduate work
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln, PhD in Speech and Dramatic Art

Educational History:

• Faculty, Idaho State University
• Faculty, KSTC (renamed Emporia State University)
• Faculty, Texas Tech University
• Faculty, Southern Methodist University, Dallas TX
• Faculty, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Faculty, University of Oklahoma
• Fulbright Scholar at the National Institute of the Arts and the National Taiwan University in Taipei (1985-1986)
• Faculty and Department Chair, Texas Christian University (1993-2002)
• Faculty, TCU’s London Center, several summer terms
• Editor’s note: Dr. Newlin was also an active freelance theatrical designer throughout his career with dozens of credits at such diverse venues as: 1992 World’s Fair in Seville, Spain; Musicals at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre; and the Golden Hills Theatre where he designed a production of “Annie Get Your Gun” directed by Joshua Logan.

Design Exhibitions:

• USITT Biennial Design Expos
• Solo Exhibits: USITT Texas Design Showcase; University of Minnesota; Morehead State University, Kentucky; University of Arkansas: Tarkio College; Chico State University
• A special retrospective of his work at the USITT Conference in Minneapolis (2003)

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Chair, USITT National Conference, Ft. Worth, TX (1996)
• Programming Chair, USITT National Conference, Corpus Christi, TX (1983)
• Board of Directors
• Vice Commissioner for Heritage for the Scene Design Commission
• Treasurer, Texas Section (1978-1979)
• Board of Directors, Texas Section
• Presenter at numerous USITT national and sectional conferences

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (posthumously, 2004)
• Received two Outstanding Service Awards from USITT Southwest
• Past President and Fellow of the Southwest Theatre Association
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Southwest Theatre Association
• Distinguished Achievement Award, Southwest Theatre Association
• College of Fellows, ATHE
• Distinguished Alumni Award, Emporia State University
• Award of Appreciation, University of Oklahoma

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(1920-1989)

Education/Training:

• Illinois Institute of Technology, graduate

Employment history:

• Volunteered as a stage hand at Mundelein College at age 14 (1935)
• Set Designer, Mundelein College at age 19 (1939)
• U.S. Army Air Corps, (World War II; see decorations below)
• Technical director, and Theatre department head, Mundelein College, (1942-1989) Editor’s note: In addition to his production and administrative duties Mr. Petterson also taught scene design and stagecraft courses.
• Production Manager and Scenic Director for the first WGN-TV broadcasts (January, 1948-1963) Editor’s note: Mr. Petterson started WGN’s production department with a drawing board and a clothes closet for an office. From this beginning he supervised set and prop creation, makeup design and lighting.  His commitment to innovative set designs won him acclaim as one of the nation’s first television production designers and technicians.
• Designer, Art Drapery Studios, (1963-1989) Editor’s note: This company was a leading manufacturer and supplier of theatrical soft goods throughout the Midwest. Mr. Petterson was the owner and president of the company at the time of his death.

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Long-time Commercial Member
• Treasurer, both National organization and Midwest Section
• Founding member, Midwest Section

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1978)
• Military Honors: Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Air Medal
• Honored for 50 years of service and association with Mundelein College (1985)

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(1921-2013)

When Glenn E. "Nick" Naselius died, the entertainment industry lost one of the unsung heroes of theatre and theatre education.

Bob Shook of Schuler Shook Theatre Consultants put it best, "Nick was the best kind of mentor to lighting designers. You never had to 'prove' anything to him, only that you had the right combination of inspiration, perspiration, and determination. Nick truly loved lighting, and it was contagious. He had a wonderful affinity for using color in layers that we were all in awe of. I remain in love with colored light to this day although I will never approach his level of genius with it. I was blessed to be part of Nick's 'family' at the Goodman."

I first met Nick in 1962 as a student at the Goodman Memorial Theatre and School of Drama. While Nick and I had very different approaches to lighting design (I had already designed the lighting on a number of shows), he never tried to mold me to his approach but worked with me to improve without changing how I worked. He taught and guided by example, not by direction.

We were similar in that there was nothing in our backgrounds that suggested theatre would become our life's work. Nick was a math teacher, and I was studying mechanical engineering. I graduated with a BFA in 1965 and spent the next year in Phoenix and then Detroit. By the fall of 1966, I was back at the Goodman as Nick's assistant, head electrician, and completer of the famous "other duties as assigned."

Over the next six years I designed between two and three shows for the six-show Main Stage series. During this time, he never reviewed my designs or, for that matter, ever directly commented on a design, leaving me to rise or fall on my own. Somehow I always knew, after the show opened, what he thought.

Nick became a Fellow of the Institute in the second class of Fellows in the late 1970s. It was at his urging that I became a USITT member at the 1968 convention that took place in Chicago. Even though Nick could have gone out on his own as an extremely gifted lighting designer, he chose to remain as a teacher and mentor to theatre lighting designers and technicians. He will be sorely missed by those who studied under him, and the theatre will be poorer for his passing.

Remembrance by Jerry Gorrell

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(1901-1984)

Education/Training:

• Institute of Technology, Munich, Germany; Diploma Ingenieur in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (1925)
• Assistant to Professor Adolf Linnebach, Bavarian State Theatre, Munich, Germany, (1924-1926)

Employment history:

• Technical Assistant, Die Konigs Kinder, State Theatre, Munich, Germany (1925)
• Construction Supervisor, Hamburg Opera House, Germany (1925-1927)
• Technical Director, State Theatre Darmstadt, Germany (1927-1929)
• Technical Director; Berliner, German Art Renaissance, Lessing and Schiller Theatres, (1929-1933)
• Technical Director, Berliner Theatre in Kommandantern St, Berlin (1933-1939)
• Editor’s note: Mr. Sondheimer emigrated to USA in 1939 and became a naturalized citizen in 1944.
• Instructor and Technical Director, Erwin Piscator’s Dramatic Workshop of the New School, NYC (1939-1957) Editor’s note: Mr. Sondheimer also taught classes in stagecraft, design and production.
• Technical Director, St Joan, Civic Theatre, Washington DC (1940)
• Technical Director, North Shore Playhouse, Marblehead, Mass (Summer 1940)
• Projection Consultant, Second Sound Show at Stevens Institute, Hoboken, NJ (1941)
• Technical Director, Children’s Christmas Story, New York City Center (1943)
• Technical Director, St Matthew Passion, Metropolitan Opera, NYC (1943)
• Lighting Director, Innocent Voyage, Theatre Guild, Belasco Theatre, NYC (1943)
• Lighting Consultant, South Pacific, Cort Theatre, NYC (1943)
• Lighting Director, Jacobowsky and the Colonel, Martin Beck Theatre, NYC (1944)
• Technical Advisor, Lighting Designer, Stage Manager Technical Director, and Production Coordinator: New York City Opera Company (1944-1980)
• Technical Director, American Opera Company, Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA, (1945-1951)
• Designer, Construction Supervisor, and Technical Director, Lennox Theatre, Mass (Summer 1946)
• Theatrical Consultant, White Barn Theatre, Westport, Connecticut (1949)
• Production Stage Manager, Peer Gynt, ANTA, New York City (1951)
• Production Manager, Die Fledermaus tour, New York City Opera (1951)
• Technical Director, La Boheme and The Marriage of Figaro, Central City Opera Company, Colorado (Summer 1951)
• Technical Director and Production Manager, Industrial shows, Music Corporation of America, New York City (1952-1966)
• Production Designer and Lighting Director, The Abduction of Seraglio, Katonah, New York (1953)
• Consultant, New York City Opera Company, 1980 – 1984
• Theatre Consultant on new performing spaces in the U.S.  Projects of interest include: John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Washington DC; Music Hall, Cincinnati; New York State Theatre at Lincoln Center; Opera House, Sydney, Australia; Wolf Trap Farm Park, Vienna, Virginia
• Technical Advisor to European companies touring in the U.S. Companies include: Hamburg Schauspielhaus; Hamburg State Opera; Munich Residenz Theater; Stuttgart Ballet; Vienna Burgtheater
• Lecturer on theatrical technique at City College of New York, the New York Public Library, and Cooper Union in New York City.

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Founding member and signer of Certificate of Incorporation, 1960
• Board of Directors
• First Chairman, Engineering Committee (1960-1964)
• Founding member, U.S. Center of the International Organization of Scenographers and Theatre Technicians (1967)
• Frequent U.S. delegate to international meetings of the OISTAT

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1978)
• Gold and Honorary Pin of the German Organization of Technical Directors (Deutsche Technische Gesselshaft) (1979)
• Decorated Officers Cross, Order of Merit, Federal Republic of Germany, 1967

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(1909-2009)
Horace Robinson, professor emeritus at the University of Oregon and theatre education pioneer, died recently in Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Robinson joined the university faculty as technical director and scene designer, and became the director of the University Theatre between 1946 and 1970. In 1949, he designed a new, innovative theatre building for the campus. It was named for him when he retired in 1975, after 42 years of teaching and directing over 100 productions.

Joel Rubin, USITT Co-Founder and Past President, remembered Mr. Robinson clearly. “He had always seemed to me to be a giant in educational theatre. He was already president of AETA when I met him and, unlike most of his predecessors, took great interest in the theatre architecture and technical development committees. "Horace published definitive arguments for including working theatres in schools rather than the then prevalent 'gymnatoriums' and 'cafetoriums.' He nurtured our interest in theatre architecture, particularly the design of theatres on a scale proper for student training. I also remember Horace in board meetings of AETA. He had a stentorian voice that commanded attention, and he was normally brief and always very logical. Horace was a great mentor to those seeking to make theatre our profession, and particularly helpful to those of us who wanted to work in the more technical areas.”

USITT recognized Mr. Robinson’s contributions to the field with a Special Citation in 2008 for his “pioneering and enduring contribution to the establishment of educational theatre in America and prodigious efforts advocating for design excellence in the theatre architecture for these programs, … and extraordinary lifetime of leadership and inspiration for generations of theatre students and faculty.”

A memorial was held for Mr. Robinson on the University of Oregon campus in the Robinson Theatre, a place he had not only built but instilled with his long-standing
commitment to theatre and education.

Remembrance by Alexandra Bonds

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Your favorite USITT memory?

The great friendships with members of the institute-- especially the other fellows

Career Highlights:

• 300 theatre projects as lighting designer
• 1800 hours of TV including Director of Photography at Entertainment Tonight, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy
• 12 years on the road as lighting director for concert artists such as John Denver, Linda Ronstadt, and The Eagles
• Fellow of USITT and Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts

Short list of USITT involvement:

• Lighting Commission Chair
• Board Member
• Publications Committee Member

USITT member who have made a difference to you:

• Steve Shelley    
• Will Bellman

About being a Fellow?

It will always stand out as a highlight of my career.

What does USITT means to you personally?

Meeting industry notables and discussing our industry one-on-one.

Your publications:

• The Business of Theatrical Design (2 editions)
• Concert Lighting: Techniques, Art and Business  (4 editions)

Books you recommend about the field?

• The Assistant Lighting Designer’s Tool Kit  by Anne E. McMills
• Lighting and the Design Idea by Linda Essig
• Scene Design and Stage Lighting by R. Craig Wolf and Dick Block
• Concert Lighting: Techniques, Art and Business by James Moody

Mentoring? Lighting, of course.

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Your earliest memories of the institute?

Sometime in late 1959 Tom DeGaetani and I met for coffee at the suggestion of designer David Hays.  That was the beginning of a series of meetings which gradually involved additional "founders" and resulted in the formation of USITT at a first conference in February of 1961.

Does anything stand out as your favorite USITT memory?

Two events stand out from the earliest years of USITT.  The dinner to honor the retirement of Prof. Stanley McCandless (in collaboration with the Illuminating Engineering Society) at the 2nd conference, was the occasion of USITT's first important "award".  The opening week of the New York State Theatre at Lincoln Center (1964) where USITT was given the hall on the Sunday night and attracted an audience of over 2,000 to hear the architects, designers and consultants talk about their role in the design of the facility.  Architect Philip Johnson (aware of the press that the theatres "acoustics" was receiving) stepped out in front of the podium and (sans microphone) asked of the audience in a normal voice "can you hear me?" which received a standing ovation on the spot.

Subsequently the events that are highlight memories are the Josef Svoboda Scenography Master Classes in the United States;  the U.S. Embassy in Prague hosting the official delegates from all countries to a celebration of the U.S. Gold Triga Winner at PQ87;  many trips to "iron curtain" countries as U.S. Delegate to various international meetings.

Short list of your career highlights?

At Kliegl Bros. Lighting:  

• • designing the architectural lighting for the lobbies and audience chamber of the Metropolitan Opera House at LIncoln Center;  
  • designing the production lighting system for the New York State Theatre;  
  • providing the production lighting systems for the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center, and the Juilliard School at Lincoln Center to the designs of Jean Rosenthal;  
  • working with George C. Izenour on the production lighting systems for the Sala des Conciertos in Caracas;  
  • working with Abe Feder on the floodlighting of the RCA (now GE) building at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City;  
• At Artec Consultants:  working internationally on more than a dozen projects in Finland, Switzerland, England, France,  Russia, Italy,  Australia, as well as numerous projects in the United States.
• At Joel E. Rubin & Associates:  providing consulting services in theatre planning, theatre equipment planning and architectural lighting.

Short list of your involvement in the institute?

• Co-Founder, 1961
• Technical Secretary, 1961-1963
• 2nd President, 1963-1965
• Board of Directors, 1965- until ?
• Founding Chair, International Liaison Committee, 1965- until ?
• U.S. Delegate to Founding of OISTAT (with Gary Gaiser), 1968  
• 2nd President of OISTAT, 1971-1979
• Awards Committee
• Finance Committee  
• Co-Chair (with Patricia MacKay) of USITT Exhibit to PQ87
• Co-Chair (with Eric Fielding) of USITT Exhibit to PQ1991
• Delivered first USITT Fellows Address 1982
• Delivered subsequent Fellows addresses at 40th  (2001) and 50th (2010) USITT Conferences.  Fellow
• Lifetime Member
• Recipient, 1990 USITT Award (for PQ87 Steering Committee)
• Recipient, Founder's Award 1972 and 1976 (award later re-named in my honor)
• 50th Anniversary Citation 2010.

A short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you, who would they be?

Harold Burris-Meyer; Thomas DeGaetani; C. Ray Smith; Gary Gaiser;  Ben Schlanger;  Jo Mielziner;  Edward F. Kook;  Russell Johnson;  Will Bellman;  Sam Scripps;  Dick Devin; Patricia MacKay;  Arnold Aronson;  Eric Fielding;  Sarah Nash Gates;  Christine Kaiser;  Richard PIlbrow;  Bob Scales Steve Terry;  Sonny Sonnenfeld;  Richard Stephens;  Donald H. Swinney;  Ned Bowman;  Richard D. Thompson;  and, Lael Cortesi Armstrong--  among others.

Anything you want to say about being a fellow?

It is a grand feeling because the company is so good!

What the USITT means to you personally?

The opportunity to join with other professionals in advancement of the theatre arts makes one feel especially humble with the great body of knowledge that is available in the membership.  That, plus the opportunity to make a small dent in the "iron curtain" through USITT's work in OISTAT during the "cold war".  

Your publications?

• Theatrical Lighting Practice, with Leland H. Watson
• The Technical Development of Stage Lighting Apparatus in the United States, 1900-1950
• Numerous articles and papers in national and international journals.

·         List of books that you recommend?

Robert Edmond Jones’ The Dramatic Imagination  

Mentoring?

I have had some success as mentor in the past and would be pleased to be of continuing service

·         Contact information?

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(1928-1986)

Education/Training:

• Knox College, BA (1950)
• Studied in New York under Mordecai Gorelik
• University of Michigan, MA (1954)
• Western Reserve University, MFA (1965)
• Case-Western Reserve University, PhD (1972)

Employment history:

• Assistant to Mordecai Gorelik (1951-1952)
• Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, Designer and Technician (1955-1957)
• Faculty, University of Texas at Austin, (1958-1986)
• Fine Arts Consultant, UT Performing Arts Center (1979-1981)
• Consultant and buyer, Robert Tobin Collection

Publications:

• Co-author (with Walter R. Volbach), Problems of Opera Production, (1967)
• Guest Editor, Theatre Design and Technology, Fall issue (1976) on the Prague Quadrennial
• Contributor, Oxford Companion to the American Theatre

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Founding member
• Co-founder, Texas Regional Section (1969)
• Board of Directors
• Vice President & Conference Chairman (1970, Dallas, TX)
• Member, International Liaison Committee; represented USITT at OISTAT and Prague Quadrennials on numerous occasions
• Arranged purchase prizes for the first Design Expos (1980-1986)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1985)
• Member, United Scenic Artists, Local 350
• Founding board member, National Design Archives of the Performing Arts
• Member, American Society for Theatre Research

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(1942-2020)

Read a memorial of Larry Hill

Your earliest memories of the Institute?

In 1973, I gathered students from the University of North Dakota to attend the conference in St. Louis and escape the cold. This began a March tradition--getting students to a place where they could learn about their personal theatrical interests. This group began planning for 1975 in Anaheim. The impact of these treks reflects how engaged the students became by their attendance at the Conference.

Favorite USITT memory?

Traveling with USITT sponsored groups to the Prague Quadrennials, Greece, and Italy gave a wonderful opportunity to realize the breadth of specialties and responsibilities of the members in the industry.

Short list of your involvement in the Institute:

• Founding Member Board of Directors (6 yrs.), Northern Boundary Section
• Chair of Programming, 1987 National Conference and Stage Expo in Minneapolis
• Member-at-large, USITT Board of Directors & Chair of Finance Committee,1990-96
• Treasurer, USITT 1996-1999, 2002-2007
• Grants & Fellowship Awards Committee & Archives Committee 1999-2007
• Joel E Rubin Founders Award 2005
• Co-Chair ot the USITT @ 50 fund raising campaign

Short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you?

The importance of Richard Durst, C. Lance Brockman and Jean Montgomery in creating the Northern Boundary Section has carried through decades of research, continuing service to USITT, and retirement. Sylvia Hillyard Pannell’s generosity in introducing me to the South was a blessing. I will never stop praising the women and men who served the USITT Finance Committee----they brought wisdom and patience to benefit us all. A special nod goes Christine L. Kaiser, Van Phillips, Sarah Nash Gates, Richard Arnold, and William J. Byrnes

Being a USITT fellow means:

Committing to a leadership role in USITT involves a heavy commitment of time and energy that is willingly given. For those in education, we know the benefit of membership to our students. The ongoing expansion of USITT in meeting the future of the industry was, and is, the “Pat on my back” for the involvement.

What does USITT mean to you?

The lasting memories of 50 plus years in USITT are the richness of being involved with the members. The Annual Conference and Stage Exposition always found increasing numbers of travel buddies to share their lives. The blend of former students, travel friends and the conference was a yearly adventure. This was highlighted by the five year USITT @ 50 fund raising campaign celebrating its 50th year. The student attendees to the conferences gave a huge contribution of energy to the campaign. The Fellows, and longtime sponsors of USITT, led the e􀃠orts to put a solid financial base for the various named awards that recognizes the work of our members.

Publications:

• Dives and Diversions: The variety theaters in early Minneapolis, Hennepin County History (Fall 1998): 4-10.
• Maxwell Anderson Conference, Catalog and Exhibition. Original 200+ design plates for the premiere performances of the Playwright Maxwell Anderson.” North Dakota Museum of Art. Grand Forks, ND, October 1983. Guest Speakers and panelists included: Howard Bay, Donald Stowell, John Rothgeb, Arthur Ballet, Lee Watson, Alfred Shivers.
• The Twin City Scenic Collection: Popular Entertainment 1895-1929. Ed. C. Lance Brockman. “Late Nineteeth-Century Popular and Theatrical and Events in Minneapolis-St Paul.” University Art Museum, University of Minnesota, March 1987. A catalog prepared for the museum and touring exhibit. Exhibition funded by NEH.
• Catalog essay for NEH Funded exhibition: Theatre of the Fraternity: Staging the Ritual Space of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, 1896-1929. Exhibit conceived and curated by C. Lance Brockman at the Weisman Museum, October 1997, University of Minnesota, for a 3-year national tour. Essay for the catalog, “The Changing Light of Dramatic Initiation
• “Prague Quadrennnial 1999 Exhibits: Russia.” Theatre Design and Technology, Fall 1999, v. 35, #5, pp. 54-55. A photo-essay of Russian exhibit at the international design exhibit. Photo credit as well as essay.
• Paper presented to the Association of Theatre in Higher Education. “Making of the Cyclorama.” Washington

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(1943-2020)

Read a memorial of Pete Happe

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(1938-1989)

Education/Training:

• Moorhead State University, Minnesota, BA (1959)
• University of Nebraska, MA (1963)
• New York University, PhD (1978)

Employment History:

• Staff, Century Lighting (1964-1970)
• Assistant Director of Marketing, Strand Century Lighting (1970-1978)
• Director of Marketing, Kliegl Bros., (1978-1995)
• Faculty, Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ (1985-1989)

Publications:

• Masters Thesis, “The Lighting Theory and Practice of Jean Rosenthal” (1963)
• Doctorial Dissertation, “Edward Kook: Link Between the Theatre Artist and Technician” (1978)
• Editor’s note: Dr. Olson was a prolific author whose vita lists many pages of additional articles, criticisms, essays, papers, and reviews stretching over more than 20 years.

USITT involvement and offices held:

• President, (1982-1984)
• Vice President for Liaison and Relations (1978-1980)
• Secretary (1975-1977)
• Treasurer (1974-1975)
• Board of Directors
• Finance Committee
• Chair, USITT New York Section (1973-1975)
• Vice Chair of the National Conference, New York (1974)
• National Newsletter Editor (1985-1988)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1978)
• Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1979)
• Moorehead State University Distinguished Alumni Award (1980)

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(1919-2014)

Read a remembrance of Sonny Sonnenfeld

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Your earliest memories of the Institute?
My first conference was the 1966 Toronto Conference and then I attended them regularly until I started my consulting business in 1970 when I attended about every other until 1980 where I was absent when I was made a Fellow and didn't learn about it until months after the Conference when Peter Sargent (USITT Secretary) sent me my Fellows certificate. My next conference may have been when I spent a day at the Boston Conference in 1995 and then nothing until the Cincinnati Conference in 2015.

Favorite USITT memories are getting to know:

• Tom DeGaetani--who worked with my original business partner in Europe in the 1950s.
• Joel Rubin--other than as a Kliegl employee.
• Don Swinney (and wife) who had been at the Civic Theatre in Indianapolis and became friends with my parents.
• Ned Bowman who dated my sister at IU.

Short list of career highlights:

• Started a theatre lighting and sound company in 1950.
• Worked for Sylvania after college (1956 - 1970) and developed TH lamps for theatre lighting.
• Started my consulting business in 1970 was still going strong decades later.
• In May 2014, I finally cleared out and sold my office building which was filled with stuff I had accumulated over 50+ years starting when I was at Sylvania. I sent a lot of lamps to the USITT to use in their "yard sale" at the Cincinnati conference (as part of the Art Auction to benefit the Kook Fund) and so I went to it to help sell them.
• I’m a member of many societies, including: IESNA -Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, CIE - International Commission on Illumination, IDA -- International Dark-Sky and the USITT
• Fellow of both the IESNA and USITT.

Short list of your involvement in the Institute:
USITT Board of Directors and New England Section

Memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you:
See list above and add Ed Kook.

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(1915-1994)

Education/Training:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Antioch College (1938)
• Masters of Fine Arts, University of Iowa (1947)
• PhD in Speech and Dramatic Arts, University of Iowa (1952)

Employment History:

• U. S. Army Signal Corp, PTO (WWII)
• Faculty, University of Iowa (1946-1957)
• Faculty, The Ohio State University (1957-1966)
• Faculty, University of Northern Illinois (1966-1981)
• Theatre Consultant on numerous projects including theatre buildings at Wisconsin State University, Knox College, University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, University of Vermont, Illinois Central Community College, and Carl Sandberg Community College

Publications:

• Authored numerous articles on theatre practice and lighting while serving as a Contributing Editor of Players Magazine
• Authored additional articles for The Quarterly Journal of Speech and Educational Theatre Journal
• Professor Dewey was also responsible for supervising articles and projects for the USITT when he served as Technical Secretary for USITT (1970-1972)

USITT Involvement and offices held:

• Became a member in the early 1960s shortly after the founding of the Institute
• Served as a founding member of the Midwest Section
• Chair of the Midwest Section
• Conference Committee for 1968 Chicago Conference
• Multiple terms on the Board of Directors
• Technical Secretary (1969-1972)
• International Liaison Committee

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1989)
• NIU Excellence in Teaching Award (1980)
• Upon his retirement Professor Dewey was honored by the University of Northern Illinois with the establishment of an Endowment in his name (1981)

‍

(1915-2003)

Education/Training:

• University of California at Berkeley, BS in Electrical Engineering (1940)

Employment History:

• Teacher of math and physics, camp High School, War Relocation Center, Tule Lake, CA (1942)
• Editor’s note: As a Japanese American, Mr. Koga, along with thousands of others like himself, were interred in relocation centers throughout the west after the Pearl Harbor attack.  Left to their own devices, and without support services, it was up to the inmates to organize their own schools.  Mr. Koga’s programs were so successful that he was soon recruited to teach first at the local town’s high school and then for the Navy V-12 program to train pilots for the war effort.
• Staff Instructor Navy V-12 program, Doane College, Crete NB (1943-1945)
• Lighting fixture designer, Steber Lighting Co., Chicago, IL  (1945)
• Equipment designer, Leander Electric Co., Chicago, IL  (1946-1947)
• Chief Engineer, Hub Electric Co., Chicago IL (1947-1980)
• Consultant (w/ Prof. Ted Fuchs of Northwestern University) on 250+ theatre projects throughout the U. S.
• Instructor (evenings) on stage lighting, Chicago Lighting Institute

Publications:

Co-Author w/ James Hull Miller (USITT Fellow) and/or Publisher of a series of small booklets on Flexible theatre spaces and typical lighting practice.  These were freely distributed to practitioners, architects and consultants (more than 20,000 copies in the U.S. and abroad).

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Founding Member and first Chair of the USITT Midwest Section
• Long-time member of the Board of Directors
• National Conference Treasurer and Registration Chair for the USITT Chicago Conference (1968)
• Provided funding for regional scholarships for many years

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1995)
• USITT Midwest Founders Award (1995)
• Charter Member of IES-TTFL
• Honored Guest, V-12 Naval Cadet Class Reunions (1993 & 1999) Norfolk, VA

‍

(1922-2008)

Read a remembrance of Mr. Cohen

Education/Training:

• Columbia, University, BS in Pharmacy (1939-1943)

Employment History:

• Chemist, ALCOA Corporation (1944-46)
• Worked for his father’s business, Paramount Pharmacy, until starting his own business specializing in mail-order theatrical makeup supply (1950).  Mr. Cohen originally named his new business Paramount Theatrical Supply in honor of his father, but as the business grew and became a full range theatrical supply business distributing stage lighting, hardware, paint and draperies he changed the name to Alcone Theatrical Supply (1960).  He sold the business and retired (1983) and it survives today under new ownership.

Publications:

• Starting in the1950s, Mr. Cohen published an original newsletter (as well as his product catalogues) under his company’s name that he produced entirely in-house for over 20 years.  Using only a typewriter, a small printing press that he bought and taught himself to operate, and an old Address-o-graph machine to print the mailing addresses, this became a major communication vehicle for new product availability for the theatrical community throughout the U.S. with a mailing list of over 25,000.
• Founder and Sponsor of the SSTA Newsletter

USITT Involvement and offices held:

• USITT Treasurer (1974-1979)
• Board of Directors
• Chair, Finance Committee (1969-1973)
• Treasurer New York Conference (1974)
• Treasurer U. S. Center of OISTAT (1974-1979)
• President of the New York Section (1980-1983)
• Was instrumental in the development of the USITT Endowment
• Editor’s Note: The 1970’s were a difficult time financially in USITT history.  Mr. Cohen gave generously of his time and business expertise and is, along with many others, credited with helping the Institute survive and eventually create a sound financial basis on which to move forward and grow.

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1978)
• The Children’s Theatre Foundation of America created the Alvin Cohen Memorial Fund to honor Mr. Cohen for his life-long devotion to Children’s Theatre.
• SSTA Founders Award
• Special Award from SETC (1970)  

‍

(1904-1989)

Education/Training:

• University of Montana, BA (1928)
• Yale University School of Drama, MFA (1931)

Employment History:

• Professor, University of Iowa (1931-1971)
•            Instructor of Scene Design and Production Technique
•            Designer and Technical Director
•            Director of the University Theatre (1956-1971)
•            Full Professor (1949-1971)
• Editor’s note: Mr. Gillette, through his textbooks and longevity at one of the most prestigious university programs in the country, was considered one of the most influential teachers of theatre design during the middle of the last century.

Publications:

• Author, Stage Scenery: Its Construction and Rigging  (1959, rev. 1973)
• Author, An Introduction to Scene Design (1967)

USITT Involvement and offices held:

• Behind the scenes mentor, mediator and activist in the 1960s and 1970s
• Board of Directors

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1989)
• USITT Award for his Lifetime Contribution to the Profession (1973)

‍

(1902-1995)

Education/Training:

• Architectural Engineering Certification, Graduate School in Industrial Arts, Mount Vernon, NY (1921)
• Architecture degree, University of the State of New York (1925)
• Engineering degree, New York University (1932)

Employment history:

Supervising Engineer, Loews Theatres and MGM Studios (1925–1930);

Twentieth Century Fox theatres (1930–1932) /Supervising the construction of Theatres throughout the northeast

Supervised the reconstruction of the Cosmopolitan Film Studios in New York City to accommodate the advent of sound in motion pictures (1929-1930)

Supervising Engineer, RKO Radio Theatres (1932–1934)

Executive Manager for producers Harold B. Franklin and Arch Selwin (1934–1940) including:

• Lady Jane, Plymouth Theatre, (1934)
• Continental Varieties, Little Theatre, (1934)
• Conversation Piece, 44 Street Theatre, (1934)
• L’Aiglon, Broadhurst Theatre, (1934)
• Revenge with Music, New Amsterdam Theatre, (1934)

Executive Aide, Ben F. Stein, 1935–1940, including:

• Jumbo at the New York Hippodrome, (1935)
• One Good Year, Lyceum Theatre, (1935)
• Bet Your Life, John Goodwin Theatre, (1937)

Superintendent of the Department of Housing and Building for New York City (La Guardia administration) (1940–1942)

Captain, U.S. Navy (1942–1945) commanding a special assault battalion of Seabees

Superintendent of the Department of Housing and Building for New York City (1945-1952)

Director of the New York State Building Construction Code (1952–1960)

New York City’s Commissioner of Air Pollution Control (Wagner and Lindsay administrations 1960–1966)

Architectural Engineering Consultant (1966–1977)

NOTE: Contributed to organization of Radio City Music Hall (NYC) and set up its initial budgets (1932–1934)

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Founding member
• Board of Directors (1961–1966)
• First Vice President (196 –1970)
• Chair of Committee on Theatre Construction

Awards and Honors:

• War II: Purple Heart (Battle of Okinawa), Bronze Star with Combat V, Combat commendation ribbons and NY Distinguished Service Cross as Captain of Seabees special assault battalion in the Pacific Theatre of Operations
• Strauss Medal and Award of the New York Society of Architects (1957)
• Society of Construction Superintendents Distinguished Service Award (1957)
• United States Institute of Theatre Technology, Founder Award (1975)
• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• American Society of Civil Engineers
• American Association of Engineers
• National Society of Professional Engineers
• New York Society of Architects
• Building Officials Conference of America (president, 1955 – 1956)
• New York State Society of Professional Engineers Distinguished Engineer in Public Service Award (1966)
• Eastern States Building Officials Federation (executive vice president 1951 – 1976)
• Municipal Engineers of City of New York (president 1969)
• Underwriters Laboratories Fire Council Recognition Award for Distinguished Service in the Interest of Public Safety, 1973
• Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA, president, 1953 – 1955)
• BOCA International Walker S Lee Award

‍

(died 1990)

Employment History:

Attorney at Law in private practice, One Wall Street, New York, NY for over 50 years

Publications:

As Chair of the Federal Bar Councils’ Committee on the Theatre:  

• Symposium on Copyright Problems (Two volumes)
• Symposium on Financing a Theatrical Production (500+ page volume)
• Symposium on Subsidiary Rights and Residuals (200+ page volume)
• Symposium on the Business and Law of Music (110 page volume)
• Symposium on Government Subsidies
• Symposium on Private Not-for-profit Corporation Subsidies for Theatre

Member of the Editorial Board, Performing Arts Review

Member of the Editorial Board, The Journal of Management and Law of the Arts

USITT involvement and offices held:

USITT General Council for over twenty years (1960-1980?)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• Past President and Honorary Life Member, Federal Bar Council
• Past President and Honorary Life Member, Consular Law Society
• Past General Council, Actors Equity Association
• Past General Council, New York Academy of Sciences

‍

(1935-2019)

Read a Memorial of Bob Scales

‍

(1922-1985)

Education/Training:

• Graduate, Yale School of Drama (1951)
• Passed union exam to become an Associate, United Scenic Artists local 829 (1963)

Employment History:

• Usher, Paramount Theatre, Brooklyn (1940-1941)
• U. S. Army; POW held in Germany, WWII (1942-1945)
• Director of Research & Development, Century Lighting (1951-1969, 1972-1983)
• Editor’s note: While at Century Mr. Levy was responsible for the development and design of the Light Palette control board and Century’s first computerized lighting control systems.
• Freelance Lighting Designer for numerous Off Broadway shows
• Associate, David A. Mintz, Inc., Consultants (1969-1972)
• Consultant, Colortran Lighting (1983-1985)
• Executive for Theatre Services, Four Star Stage Lighting (1983-1985)

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Founding Member
• Board of Directors
• Secretary (1969-1970)
• Finance Committee (1980)
• Chair, New York Section

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1982)
• Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1985)

‍

(1948-2006)

Read a memorial of Cynthia Poulson

Education/Training:

• Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, BA in English (1970)

Employment History:

• Teacher, Dawson County High School, Glendive, MT (1970-1971)
• Personnel Manager, Manpower Temporary Services, Fargo, ND (1971-1975)
• Freelance Stage Manager/Theatre Technician, New York, NY (1975-1980)
• Box Office Manager, Pocono Playhouse, Mountainhome, PA (summers) (1977-1979)
• Stage Manager, Pocono Playhouse, Mountainhome, PA (summers) (1980-1982)
• Stage Manager, Syracuse Stage, NY (1980-1984)
• Production Stage Manager, Syracuse Stage/Syracuse University Drama Department, NY (1984-1987)
• Adjunct Faculty, Syracuse University, NY (1983-1987)
• Production Stage Manager, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, WI (1987-1990)
• Associate Professor/Head of Stage Management, Professional Theatre Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1991-2006)

Publications/Research:

• Co-Researcher & Co-Author (with Travis DeCastro and Rachel Durkin) of the Survey: “Stage Management Education in USITT Member Colleges and Universities”
•            Report on Methodology presented USITT Conference Las Vegas (1995)
•            Report on Curricula and Syllabi presented Ft. Worth Conference (1996)
•            Report on Curricular Guidelines and Outcomes presented Pittsburgh (1997)

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Programming Presenter and Mentor for the Stage Management Mentoring Program
• Vice –Commissioner/Education, Management Commission
• Vice-Chair for Programming, Midwest Section (1995-1997)
• Board of Directors

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (Posthumously, 2011)
• USITT Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Management Award (Posthumously, 2008)
• Namesake (Posthumously), The Cynthia Poulson Memorial Theatre Scholarship, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Department of Theatre

‍

(1928-2003)

Education/Training:

• Adelphi College, BA in Arts and Graphics (1951)
• Cornell University, MA in Theatre Arts (1953)

Employment History:

• U. S. Navy (1944-1946)
• Faculty, Wichita State University (1953-1968)
• Southwest Texas State University (1970-1996)

Publications:

• Author and editor, USITT Internship Directory; six editions (1988-1996)
• Author, How to form a Student Chapter of USITT; Adopted as an official Institute publication (1983)
• Editor, USITT Texas Regional Section Newsletter

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Board of Directors, both National and Texas Section, multiple terms
• Vice Commissioner of Health and Safety Commission (1981-1983)
• Nominating Committee (1982-1984)
• Membership Committee ((1982-1983)
• Vice Chair of Programming for the Corpus Christi conference (1983)
• Student Chapter Liaison (1984-1996)
• Chair of the Texas Regional Section ((1983-1985)
• Secretary, Historian, and Chair of the By Laws Committee, Texas Section (1981-1996)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1996)
• Special Citation for work as Student Liaison (1995)
• Honored as a Professor Emeritus, Southwest Texas State University (1996)
• Texas Section Distinguished Service Awards (1990 and 1995)
• Texas Section Founders Award (1992)
• Texas Section Lifetime Membership Award (1997)

‍

(1949-2003)

Education/Training:

• New York University (1967-1968)
• Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts, BA in Tech and Lighting (1970)
• Goodman School of the Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, MFA in Management (1973)
• Internship, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (1973)

Employment history:

• Freelance Lighting Designer, Miss America Pageant (1970-1971)
• Lighting Designer, Colorado Shakespeare Festival (1972)
• Assistant Director, Arts Council of Tampa, FL (1973-1978)
• Director, State Arts Council of Delaware, (1978-1980)
• Director, Greater Kansas City Arts Council, (1980-1984)
• President, Arts Communication, Inc. and President, Shulman Consulting, Inc (1984-2002): Editor’s note: These companies specialized in facilities design, fund-raising, and management for more than 50 arts and not-for-profit projects; facilities consultant on numerous projects including the $6 million Ocala Civic Theater.
• Adjunct Faculty (Arts Management), University of South Florida
• Adjunct Faculty (Arts Management), University of Tampa
• Editor’s note: Mr. Shulman was also very well known for his volunteer activities, most notably for the Florida Holocaust Museum.

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Student member
• Board of Directors
• Commissioner, Arts Administrative Commission (1976-1978)
• Treasurer (1978-1984)
• Vice-President for Development: worked to establish an Institute development program; introduced concept of Advisory Board members to broaden the management approach and augment the diversity and expertise on the Board of Directors
• Chair, Finance Committee
• Chair, Edward F Kook Endowment Fund
• Member, Conference Policy Committee, Nominations Committee, Planning and Priorities Committee, Membership Committee, Awards and Resolutions Committee and several special task forces
• President (1990)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1996)

‍

(1919-1994)

Education/Training:

• University of Idaho, BA (1939)
• University of Idaho. MA (1940)
• University of Indiana, PhD (1948)

Employment history:

• Designer, Tent Players, Moscow, Idaho (summers)
• U.S. Army Medical Corps (WWII)
• Designer and Technical Director, Indianapolis Civic Theatre (1947)
• Designer and Technical Director, Indiana University Opera Department (1948)
• Professor, Designer, and Technical Director, University of Denver (1948-1950)
• Professor, Designer, Technical Director, and Department Chair, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, 1950 – 1991.  Editor’s note: During his tenure at Hofstra, Dr. Swinney designed and equipped a new theatre, the John Cranford Adams Playhouse and later became its Director.  This theatre became rather famous as a “beta test site” for, among other things, the installation of the first of George C Izenour’s synchronous winch systems as well as the first generation of Century Lighting’s SCR dimmers.
• Worked with John Cranford Adams on his portable, but otherwise authentic, Shakespearean platform stage
• Designer, Technical Director, Stage Manager, and General Production Manager, Caramoor Festival of Music and Art, Katonah, New York (34 summers) — often working in association with Maestro Julius Rudel
• Theatre Consultant numerous theatre projects around the world including the John F Kennedy Theatre in the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii and national theatres in Nicaragua and Guatemala.
• Special Advisor and Consultant, Jean Rosenthal and Associates

Publications:

• Managing Editor, Theatre Design and Technology
• All printed material of the Institute, except for the Journal, produced at Hofstra under Swinney’s supervision, 1968-1977)
• Business Manager, Educational Theatre Journal

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Founding member
• Founding Member, Engineering & Architecture Commissions Editor’s note: Dr. Swinney proposed working commissions be charged with originating and completing specific research tasks so the Institute would become a collaborate, high-level theatre information base of working professionals. To that end Dr. Swinney was the author of the first USITT research paper, “The exploration of the potential and application of point winches to stage rigging technology”
• Chair of the Finance, Nominating, Awards, & Policy committees
• Board of Directors (first elected at 3^rd conference)
• Worked as part of a group of early conference planners and organizers for all of the early NY conferences in the 1960s
• Technical Secretary (1964-1965)
• Third President, 1965 – 1968
• Member, President’s Council and/or President’s Task Force. Editor’s note: This was a group of all of the former Presidents of the Institute that acted as an advisory board for the current Presidents
• Director, Domestic Liaison activities
• Board Member, New York Section

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (originating class 1977)
• USITT Special Citation, 1968
• USITT Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1977)
• Founding Member, President, and Member of Accreditation Panel, National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) (1976-1981)
• Board of Directors, ATA
• Idaho Centennial Homecoming Award (given by Governor Cecil Andrus) for “impressive record of achievement in the fields of theatre design, directing, and theatre administration,” (1989)
• Hofstra University Distinguished Service Medal (1990)

‍

(1940-1995)

Education/Training:

• Davidson College, Davidson NC, BA in Speech/Drama (1961)
• University of Miami, FL, MA in Costume Design (1965)
• University of Texas, PhD in Theatre, History and Criticism (1970)
• Member, United Scenic Artists, Local 350

Employment history:

• Faculty, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, MO (1965-1967)                                                            
• Costume Designer, Professor, and Associate Dean for Instruction, Florida State University, School of Theatre (1970-1983)
• Principal, Don Stowell and Associates, freelance designer (1983-1990)
• Director of the Division of Fine Arts, North Dakota State University, Fargo (1990-1994) Editor’s note: Dr. Stowell was named Professor Emeritus upon his retirement (1994)

Publications:

• Author, The New Costuming in America: The Ideas and Practices of Robert Edmond Jones, Norman Bel Geddes, Lee Simonson and Aline Bernstein, 1915-1935; PhD diss., University of Texas at Austin (1972)
• Numerous articles for Theatre Design and Technology

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• First Commissioner, Costume Design and Technology Commission (1975)
• Commissioner, Scenography (1977-1978)
• Initiated the Scenographic Heritage section of Design Expo and served as the coordinator for several exhibits
• Board of Directors
• Arranged and coordinated joint meetings with Costume Society of America as post-conference events
• Inaugurated and coordinated numerous pre and post-conference events
• Created the summer USITT Costume Symposia and coordinated several such events
• Coordinated “The Art of Stage Costuming” for Orlando Conference
• Namesake of the Costume Commission Donny Award and was the first recipient for his contributions to Costume Design and Technology

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1985)
• Fulbright Scholar to pursue research in Brazil, 1993
• Board of Directors, Costume Society of America
• North Dakota Council on the Arts (by gubernatorial appointment)

‍

(1903-1990)

Education:

• Pace College of Accountancy, New York City (1926)

Employment History:

• Accountant, Display Stage Lighting (1926-1929)
• Co-founded (w/ Joe, Saul and Irving Levy), Century Lighting Company (1929-1964)
• Editor’s note: Century was one of the foremost stage lighting and rental companies in the New York theatre for almost 40 years.  In his obituary, the New York Times noted that Mr. Kook and Century had “brightened more than 1000 Broadway plays.”  In 1937 the firm introduced the “Leko” (compounded from the names of Joe Levy and Mr. Kook) ellipsoidal reflector spotlight.  This terminology was still common practice more than 50 years later. The business was bought out and renamed Lighting Corporation of America in 1964 and Mr. Kook remained with the company as V.P. to smooth the transition until 1968.
• U. S. Army, Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.; Forerunner of the modern day C.I.A.) (WWII 1942-1946)
• President of Century Lighting Company (1946-1964)
• Founder and President, Portovox Inc., (maker of permanent and portable wireless microphones and accompanying transmittal sound equipment) (1946-1964)
• Co-founder (w/ wife Hilda) and Chair, Arts of the Theatre Foundation (provided awards and grants to new playwriting students and educational theatrical projects) (1947-1960)
• Lecturer in stage lighting, Columbia University and Yale School of Drama (1953-1958)
• Board of Directors, Phoenix Theatre, NYC (1957-1963)
• Lighting Consultant (W/ Partner Jo Mielziner) for dozens of projects throughout the U.S.

Publications:

• Author, Images in Light for the Living Theatre, (funded by a Ford Foundation Grant) (1963)
• Author, “History of Stage Lighting” for Encyclopedia Britannica
• Author, “The Idea of Living Light” for The Best Plays of 1956-1957

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Chair of the Engineering Commission
• 2^nd Vice President (1973-1975)
• President (1975-1977)

Editor’s note: Mr. Kook is generally credited with personally guaranteeing USITT finances during a time of fiscal peril in the early 1970’s.  He also provided the original seed money for the creation of the USITT research fund that today bears his name.  

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1974)
• First USITT Lifetime Membership Award (1985)
• Antoinette Perry Award (“Tony” 1952) Special Citation for “contributing to and encouraging the development of stage lighting and electronics”
• Kelcey Allen Award (1962) for “his contribution to the advancement of theatre lighting”
• Ford Foundation Grant to study scenic projections (1961)

‍

(1932-2009)

Read a memorial of Edward Peterson

Education/Training:

• Princeton University, BA in American Civilization (1954)
• Graduate studies, Yale University, School of Drama

Employment history:

• U.S. Army Television Center, Korean War
• National Sales Representative, Kliegl Bros Stage Lighting (1964-1975)
• National Sales Representative, Berkey Colortran (1975-1976)
• Partner, Peterson/Vine Associates,  (1976-2007) Editor’s note: P/V Assoc. was a full service licensed stage, equipment and installation contractor (rigging, lighting, audio, draperies, electro-mechanical stage equipment and controls, facility coordination — for theatrical, television, gaming industry: show rooms, lounges, and public areas, churches, and other illumination projects.)
• Projects of note included: Las Vegas: Mirage (1500-seat cabaret-configured show room with 116’ wide proscenium with passerelle opened with Siegfried & Roy’s new act; Caesar’s Palace (day-to-night-to-day sky feature at The Forum was considered by Time Magazine to be one of Las Vegas’ most unique hightlights); Treasure Island, and The Bellagio
• Lighting consultant, IBM tradeshow exhibits

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Founding member
• Treasurer (1965-1966 & 1973)
• 2^nd Vice President (1967-1968)
• Special Liaison, Board of Directors (1968-1969)
• Technical Secretary (1969-1970)
• Director at Large, Board of Directors  (1968-1969; 1971-1973; 1975-1977)
• Chair, Awards and Resolutions Committee (1974-1979) Editor’s note: It was during Mr. Peterson’s term as Chair that he was instrumental in the creation of the Fellows of the Institute.
• Vice President for Conferences (1981)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• Member, Key and Seal Club and Triangle Club, Princeton University

‍

(1957-2019)

Read a memorial to Fred Foster

‍

(1910-1999)

Education/Training:

• Phillips Academy, Andover MA (1928)
• Yale University Sheffield School of Science, BS in Electrical Engineering  (1932)
• Yale University School of Drama, MFA (1935) Editor’s note: Mr. Wolf was the Chair of student branch of AIEE.  He often told the story that he was referred to by class mates at the School Of Drama as one of the “over specialized and under cultured engineers.”

Employment history:

• Project Engineer, Commercial Engineering Department, Westinghouse Lamp Division, Bloomfield, NJ Editor’s note: Westinghouse developed state-of-the-art, remote-controlled, reactor dimming systems for Severance Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and the old Metropolitan Opera House (1935-1937)
• Lieutenant U.S. Naval Reserve, Ordnance Ship Superintendent & Executive Officer Ordnance Supply Depot, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (1942-1946) Editor’s note: Mr. Wolff continued in the Naval Reserve after the war until his retirement at the rank of Captain (1970)
• Lured to Century Lighting by Louis Erhardt to become Chief Engineer (1937-1942 and 1946-1964) Editor’s note: Century eventually took on the license to manufacture the Izenour electronic lighting control system (demonstrated in 1941 at the old “Squash Court” Laboratory at Yale); George Izenour later said that is was due to Mr. Wolff’s very thorough and conservative approach to engineering that “Fred made the system practical”
• Vice President of Engineering and Construction, Century Lighting, Inc. (1964-1969)
• Interim President of Century-Strand Lighting (1969)
• Independent Consultant, Lighting and Lighting Control Systems (1969-1988)

Publications:

• Author, Electric Means for Varying the Intensity of an Incandescent Lamp, (Master’s thesis), Yale School of Drama (1935)
• Co-author with Stanley McCandless, “Electrical Control for Varying Lighting Intensities,” IES Transactions, and presented at the Illuminating Engineering Society’s annual conference (1936)
• Author, A New Trend in Window Display Lighting, published by Century Lighting, Inc. (1937)
• Author, Numerous articles for IES Transactions and other magazines
• Prepared slides for 1^st sale of “Theatre Orientation Package” Editor’s note: This was one of USITT’s first educational outreach projects.
• Edited and Prepared for publication “Studies in the Projection of Light” and “Optical Characteristics of Ellipsoidal Reflectors”

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Board of Directors
• Chair, Engineering Commission, 1975-1979) Editor’s note: This was one of the most productive tenures of any commission.  Mr. Wolff held monthly meetings in the Belmont Board Room of the Metropolitan Opera House (courtesy of USITT Fellow Rudy Kuntner), attracting 30 to 40 members each month for presentation of “specialist” papers.
• Associate Editor for Technical Reports, Theatre Design & Technology, (1975-1988)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• USITT Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1986)
• Board of Directors, IES New York Section, 2 years

‍

(1909-1994)

Education/Training:

• Bowling Green State University, BA Humanities (1933)
• Bowling Green State University, BS Education (1935)
• Ohio State University, MS in Literature, Speech and Theatre (1937)
• University of Iowa, PhD in Theatre History (1953) and Dramatic Arts (1954)

Employment History:

• High School Teacher (1935-1943)
• Instructor, State University of Iowa (1943-1944)
• Professor, Indiana University (1944-1980)
• Theatre Consultant for Indiana University system at the Gary, South Bend and Kokomo campuses

Publications:

• Newsletter Editor, Educational Theatre Association
• Editorial Board and Associate Editor, Theatre Design and Technology (1965-1972)
• Guest Editor of TD&T (1967-1968)

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Chair of USITT Publications Committee (1965-1980)
• Board of Directors
• Chair of the first USITT conference held outside New York City (Bloomington, IN 1965)
• Senior Delegate to the Fourth Congress of OISTAT in Prague (1976)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• U. S. Representative to the First International Scenography Conference, Paris (1957)
• Chair, ATA convention, Chicago (1972)
• Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1976)

‍

(1929-2011)

Read a memorial of George Thomas Howard

Education/Training:

• Reed College (Portland), BS in Physics (1949-1951)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, BS in Engineering (1952)
• MIT, MS in Electrical Engineering (1953)

Employment history:

• General Electric Corporation, Large lamp division (1953-1958)
• General Manager, Kliegl Bros. Western Corp. (1965-1970)
• Founder and Principal, George Thomas Howard and Assoc. consultants (1958-2000)

Editor’s note: Credits for his theatre and entertainment facilities projects are too numerous to list.  Selected highlights include: The Las Vegas showrooms for the Hilton, Stardust, Desert Inn, Bonanza and the Ziegfeld Theatre at the MGM Grand which was designed for the production Hallelujah Hollywood (1973).  The mechanical and hydraulic systems for this space included double deck bridges, wagons, turntables, a band cart, a Plexiglass water tank 30’ X 9’ X 10” for a “Dolphin Girl” water ballet, a proscenium-wide “Living Curtain” which could hold cast members, front of house descending podiums for the showgirls, a retracting cantilevered passarelle at the front of the stage and an ice wagon.  The integration of  all of the stage mechanics into the room set the standard for the design of the Las Vegas showrooms for decades.

• Selected theatre projects include: lighting consultant for the Elizabethan and Bowmer theatres at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and theatre consultant for the World Trade Center in Moscow (1980), Seattle Opera House renovation(1958-1961), and the Grand Ole Opry (1970).
• Mr. Howard was a licensed Professional Engineer in 17 States.
• Life-long Member of IATSE

USITT involvement:

• Member from 1962
• Board of Directors
• USITT Delegate to numerous OISTAT International Conferences
• USITT representative to NFPA Electrical Code Panel 15 (1962-2000)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1982)
• Founding and Honorary Member, American Society of Theatrical Consultants
• USITT Fellows Address (1995)

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(1902-1984)

Education/Training:

• City College of New York, BS (1923)
• Columbia University, MA (1926)
• Florida Atlantic University, Doctorate of Humane Letters (1980)

Employment History:

• Faculty, Washington and Jefferson College (1927-1929)
• Faculty and Head of Theatre, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken NJ (1929-1954)
• Sound Designer and/or Consultant on 13 Broadway productions, 7 Metropolitan Opera productions and 3 Federal Theatre Project “Living Newspaper” productions (1929-1954)
• Directed the first Stereophonic recordings for the Bell Telephone Laboratories (1941)
• Consultant and later Vice President for the Muzak Corporation (1939-1947)
• Member of the War Department Planning Board, serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII with the rank of Commander (1943-1946).  He continued to serve as a reserve officer and consultant with the Defense Department through both the Korean and Viet Nam conflicts until his military retirement.
• Vice President and Director of Magnetic Programs, Inc. (1948-1957)
• Theatre Consultant on numerous building projects throughout his career, most notably the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, the University of Connecticut, Howard University, Sweet Briar College, Temple University, the Paper Mill Playhouse, and the Atlanta Cultural Center and the theatre complex at Florida Atlantic University
• Professor and Director of Theatre, Florida Atlantic University (1965-1972)

Publications:

• Co-author (with Edward Cole), Scenery for the Theatre (1938, rev. ed. 1971)
• Co-author (with Lewis S. Goodfriend), Acoustics for the Architect (1957)
• Co-author (with Vincent Mallory), Sound for the Theater (1959)
• Author, Theatres and Auditoriums (1949, rev. ed. 1964)
• Author of numerous articles (his bibliography runs five pages) for professional journals, the most notable of which include Theatre Arts, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Journal of Engineering Education, Architectural Record, Progressive Architecture, and The Journal of the Audio Engineering Society

USITT Involvement and offices held:

• Founding member of the Board of Directors
• Founding member of the Executive Committee
• Member of the Architectural Commission of the OISTAT
• Editor’s Note: Dr. Burris-Meyer is an Institute icon and remained closely involved with USITT from its beginnings in 1960 until the time of his death in 1984.  Throughout that time he never failed to give generously his sage advice, considerable prestige and unwavering support.  He was affectionately known to all USITT members as “Dr. Snodgrass,” and it was the custom for many years that Harold Burris-Meyer make the motion to adjourn all meetings in which he was in attendance.

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1973)
• Fellow, Acoustical Society of America
• Fellow, American Council for Arts in Education
• Fellow, Audio Engineering Society
• Professor Emeritus, Florida Atlantic University

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(1927-2010)

Read a memorial of Helmut Grosser

Education/Training:

• Passed Stage Technical Master exam (1949)
• Passed Stage Lighting Master exam (1950)
• Apprenticeship, City of Dresden, GDR  (1945-1949)

Employment History:

• National Opera Theatre, Saxony, German Democratic Republic (1950-1953)
• Technical Director; Hagen, Weisbaden and Cologne Operas (1953-1971)
• Technical Director and Production Director; Staatsoper, Munich (Bavarian National Opera House) (1971-1992)

Publications:

Editor, Buhnentechnische Rundshau (1977-1997?) Editor’s note: This is the oldest technical theatre periodical in the world, published continuously since 1907.

USITT and OISTAT involvement and offices held:

• OISTAT Founding Member (1968)
• Chair, OISTAT programming committee (1974-1978)
• President, OISTAT (1978-1997)
• Series of Master Classes throughout the U.S. for Universities and USITT Sections (1973)
• German Association of Theatre Technicians (DThG): Member (since 1966); Member of the Board of Directors (1968-1983); President (1976-1983)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1997) Editor’s note: Mr. Grosser is the only non-member to ever be accorded this honor.
• USITT Special Citation (1985)
• Honorary Medal of the Federal Republic of Germany
• OISTAT Gold Pin (1997)
• Silver Honorary Medal of the DTHG
• Holder of the Linnebach Gold Ring
• Editor’s note: Within the German theatre world the most significant honor is to be the bearer of the legendary Linnebach Gold Ring.  This artifact is a special tribute passed from the most outstanding Technical Director of each generation to a successor of the next generation and is passed down only in the final will of the current holder.

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(1932-2021)

Your earliest memories of the Institute?

Touring the (then) new opera house at Indiana University during the 1965 Conference in Bloomington, Indiana (the first one held outside NYC) and being particularly impressed with the elevator(s) all the way to the grid.

Favorite USITT memory?

A great sound and light show at the Goodman Theatre during the 1968 Conference in Chicago

My first visit ever to San Francisco for the 1972 Conference at the Mark Hopkins Hotel (ruining all other cities for me ever since).

Career highlights:

• 1950-1952 & 1956-1958 Earned BA & BS in Ed in Speech and Theatre at Emporia (KS) State
• 1952-1956 Service in USAF (Korean Veteran)
• 1958-1959 Earned MA in Theatre at University of Illinois with Graduate Assistantship teaching Public Speaking and as a scene shop assistant
• 1959-1960 Assistant Technical Director (under Don Swinney, TD) At Hofstra College, Hempstead, NY
• 1960-1962 & 1964-1966 Instructor, University of Louisville, and Designer / TD, Belknap Theatre
• 1962-1964 Doctoral studies at University of Illinois with Graduate Assistantship as the Assistant Costumer for the University Theatre
• 1966-1974 Designer / TD for Louisville Children’s Theatre
• 1974-1977 Assistant Professor University of Missouri, and Designer / TD. University Theatre
• 1977-1997 Director (supervisor) of Performance Services University Theatres, University of Missouri
• 1997 Retired

Short list of your involvement in the Institute:

• 1965 - Joined and have been a member continuously ever since
• 1977 - Helped form HOA regional section and elected its first (Charter) President
• 1980 - Chaired USITT National conference in Kansas City
• 1981 - Elected to USITT Board of Directors
• 1982 - Elected Secretary of USITT
• 1985 - appointed Vice President for Conferences of USITT
• 1986 - Elected Vice President for Conferences
• 1993 - Chaired USITT National conference in Wichita

If you were to make a short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you, who would they be?

Herb Greggs, the one-man national office, who was of great help putting together the 1980 Conference. Ron Olson, President during one of my terms as Secretary, who referred to me as the Secretary General.

Anything you want to say about being a Fellow?

Being elected a Fellow was probably the greatest surprise and honor I have received in my life. Being associated with the Fellows has been and continues to be a source of great satisfaction and pride.

Past or Present Memberships:

• NCP
• SSA
• AETA
• ATHE
• Mensa
• IATSE

Memorable to others as:

The person with the USITT vanity license plates -- for more than three decades.

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Earliest memory of the Institute –

signing up for a student membership as an undergrad at Colorado State College (Now the University of Northern Colorado), encouraged by Dr. Welby Wolfe, chairman of the Theatre Department.

After graduation, lost track of the Institute until I joined Strong International (now Strong Entertainment Lighting) as spotlight sales manager, and went to the Oakland Conference in 1986. I began to be really involved at and after the 1989 Calgary conference.

Favorite memories:

Visiting Fallingwater with Rick Stephens, Joe Aldridge, hosted by David Will after the Pittsburgh conference, the board meeting in Nashville in '93, I think, and an informal bull session in Wichita that should have been taped for the gender issues forum.

Career Highlights:    

MA, University of Northern Colorado, 1970.

Technical Director, Omaha Playhouse, 1970-73.

Designer/Production Manager, Omaha Ballet 1974-84.

Product Sales Manager, Spotlight Division, Strong International, 1985-2005

Member IATSE Local 42, Omaha - Fremont - Council Bluffs - Sioux City 1979-present. Current 1st Vice President.

Involvement:    

Appointed to the USITT Board by Sarah Nash Gates to represent exhibitors, Member of the board 1992-94, concurrently a board member of TDA/ESTA, served as a liaison between the two organizations. Served on various committees including conference site selection.

Memorable Characters:

Wil Bellman, Van Phillips, Dr. Doom, Gino Montgomery, Sarah Nash Gates, Rick Stephens, Joy Emery, Dave Will, Carolyn Satter - the list is endless

About being a Fellow:

A humbling honor, which I'm still trying to live up to.

What USITT means to me

I don't know where to start. A forum for meeting the most fascinating, involved and involving, passionate people I can imagine. A place to make the best friends a person could possibly have.

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(1916-2007)

Read a memorial of James Hull Miller

Education/Training:

• Princeton University, BA in English Literature (1939)

Employment History:

• Technical Director for a procession of small theatres including: Easthampton, NY; Locust Valley Theatre, NY; Stockbridge Theatre, MA  (1939-1940)
• Lighting Designer, Graff Ballet Company (1940-1941)
• U. S. Army, Master Sergeant w/ 24^th Armored Division, WWII (1941-1945)
• Assistant Business Manager, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL  (1945-1946)
• Faculty, University of New Mexico (1946-1955)
• Faculty Technical Director, Centenary College, Shreveport, LA (1955-1958)
• Consultant, Majorie Lyons Little Theatre, Shreveport, LA (1955-1958)
• Founder, Arts Lab workshops (1958)
• Editor’s note: It was during the Lyons consulting commission that Mr. Miller developed his ideas on the open staging of theatre and opera.  He felt that this concept of self-standing scenery and open staging could be adapted to any space and could open the world of the theatre to everyone.  His subsequent teaching through the Arts Lab, its workshops, and his extensive consulting work were to become a lifelong mission to proselytize and advocate for this simpler form of theatrical presentation.
• Theatre Consultant, primarily to high schools, churches, community colleges and Little Theatres around the U. S. and abroad (1958-1988)
• Commissioned by the County Educational Authorities in Great Britain to present a series of 40 workshops on his open staging theories throughout the United Kingdom (1972)

Publications:

• Self published numerous small books and pamphlets on open staging and theatre for found spaces.
• Partnered with Al Koga of Hub Electric.  Hub took over publishing of Mr. Miller’s books until the rights were sold to Merideth Publishing, Ltd. Editor’s note:­ To date 27 titles have been identified and several are still in print and available today.  
• Authored numerous articles for periodicals including: AIA Journal, American School and University, Theatre Arts, Progressive Architecture, RIBA Journal, TABS, and Tulane Drama Review

USITT involvement and offices held:

• USITT Founding Member
• Board of Directors
• Founding Member of American Society of Theatrical Consultants

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1978)
• Two Bronze Stars for valor while serving with the 24^th armored Division, U. S. Army

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(1936-2015)

USITT Fellow Jan Musson passed away suddenly on Dec. 21,2015.. At home in Goshen, KY. She was a fourth-generation Californian and graduated from Stanford University in 1957 with a BA in speech and drama. This was followed by over 10 years’ work in personnel management and small business accounting in what would become Silicon Valley.

Never satisfied withstanding still, she worked actively as a lighting designer for well over 20 years for all the leading performing arts groups in the South Bay. Next, she decided a master’s degree in stage lighting would move her career forward. She completed that degree at San Jose State University in 1974.

Jan was always the entrepreneur and in 1975 began a small stage lighting rental company in Monte Sereno, CA. That company was one of the first theatre lighting rental, sales, service, and installation firms founded, funded, and managed by a woman. It survived a major fire after moving from Los Gatos to San Jose but again, never one to be discouraged, Jan grew the firm into Musson Theatrical, Inc.--today one of the largest and most successful supply houses in the country.

Jan’s USITT work began in 1972 as a founding member of the Northern California Regional Section and a key member of the San Francisco Conference Committee. She remained active in USITT where she served as Treasurer 1984-88 and was elected a Fellow in 1996. That USITT survived some very difficult financial times during the mid-1980s is a tribute to Jan’s skill as a responsible steward of the Institute’s funds. She was also an honorary member of IATSE Local 134.

All who worked with Jan remember her as a woman with an infectious smile, unlimited generosity, and continuous support for the performing arts. She was also a strong mentor for young women and brought many into the firm helping them develop their professional careers. “No” was a word that didn’t appear in her vocabulary.

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(1939-2014)

Read a memorial of Jay O. Glerum

Glerum was hired as an assistant professor in Seattle University's Drama Department in the School of Arts and Sciences in 1965 after serving as its part-time stage carpenter and designer for two years, during which he worked full-time at the USPS. As the sole earner for his growing family, he moonlighted during the mid-1960s and early 1970s with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union (IATSE) Local 15 in Seattle as a part-time extra. During academic breaks, he worked for the Seattle Repertory Theatre as a stage carpenter and served as the technical director for Seattle's A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) for its 1970 summer season.  

He accepted a faculty position at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1972 where he was an assistant professor and technical director for the Drama Department of Marquette's School of Speech. In that capacity he oversaw technical requirements of the soon-to-be-built Evan P. and Marion Helfaer Theatre, consulting on both front-of-house and backstage design for the teaching and performance spaces. Determined to continue interacting and working with tech-theatre professionals in order to provide students with accurate, up-to-date curricula, he also worked as part-time extra for IATSE Local 18 in Milwaukee.  

In 1980 Glerum joined Peter Albrecht Company, Inc., a Milwaukee company known for its design and manufacture of custom stage rigging systems where he was a project manager and stage system designer. In that capacity, he designed technical systems for venues in the U.S., South America, and Asia, working with architects and engineers. It was during this period that he began writing Stage Rigging Handbook, having witnessed first-hand for more than two decades what he considered a universal need for stage-rigging safety protocol.

In 1986 he joined the University of Washington faculty as a lecturer and head of its graduate Technical Theatre program, and he and his wife returned to the Seattle area. Soon after the release of Stage Rigging Handbook in April 1987, he founded his company, Jay O. Glerum, Inc. on July 15, 1987, to sort out the increasing demands for his services as a consultant. On April 4, 1990, he amended the company's name to Jay O. Glerum & Associates, Inc., to better represent collaborations done when he contracted with other specialists in the entertainment industry. He remained the company's only employee, however, for the duration of its existence.  

While Glerum was at the University of Washington, campus development and strategic placement of new buildings meant the removal of its small arena theater, the Penthouse, built in 1939 by the WPA and the first theater-in-the-round in America. The idea for theatre in the round had been conceived by Glenn Hughes, head of the Drama Department at the University of Washington from 1930 to 1961. Demolition of the Penthouse was scheduled to make way for a new Physics Building in1990. Glerum recalled hearing from Hughes, then an Emeritus Professor, that the Penthouse was designed to be movable, and only when Glerum researched and located the original plans in the UW archives, did the possibility of saving the Penthouse become a reality. The University revamped its plans for the small 165-seat theatre's demolition and agreed to move it to a different location on campus. It was subsequently refurbished, renamed Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre, and was reopened in its new location on campus in 1991.

As Glerum's work became nationally recognized, he resigned his position at the University of  Washington in 1992 to be a full-time consultant to the entertainment industry, focusing on inspecting rigging systems, consulting on new construction and renovation of theaters, teaching rigging seminars for professional stagehands, and training employees of entertainment parks and performance centers. In its early years, the company also accepted expert witness work, but by 2000 he had eliminated that side of the business. He dissolved the company, a Washington State corporation, effective Feb. 24, 2014.

When he turned sixty, Glerum determined that he wanted to spend the remainder of his working life focusing on safety inspections and master classes. To that end, he would cease consulting with architects and engineers on construction and renovations of physical theater buildings. To close out that part of his career, he accepted his last consultancy project for Main Stage Theatre in Olney, Maryland (which was completed in 2000), the venue of his first foray into professional theatre with the Catholic University Players.  

Although he accepted fewer jobs after entering his seventies, Glerum remained engaged and passionate about his work and never retired. He upheld his agreement to teach a pre-conference two-day master class for United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) at the March 2014 conference in Fort Worth, Texas, despite a terminal illness. He died in June of that year.

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(1943-2007)

Education/Training:

• Carnegie Institute of Technology (1961-62)
• Syracuse University (1963-1964)
• Carnegie Institute of Technology, BA in Technical Theatre, (1964-1967)

Employment history:

• Assistant Technical Director, Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, MN (1965-1966)
• Faculty, Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, NY (1967-1968) Editor’s note: This position also included the job of Staff Supervisor of WCNY Television’s production department.
• Owner and President, Syracuse Scenery & Stage Lighting (1968-1970)
• Project Manager, J. R. Clancy, Inc. (1970-1980)
• Owner and Principal Consultant, Scenassure Theatrical Systems (1980-1986) Editor’s note: This firm offered independent coordination for construction projects around the world.
• General Manager, Partner and President, J.R. Clancy, Inc. (1986 – 2005) Editor’s note: During Mr. Suesse’s tenure with Clancy he consulted and oversaw over 100 projects.  Some of the most interesting and complicated include:
• Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City; The Peace Center in Greenville, SC; the Chicago Opera House; the United State Naval Academy at Annapolis (This last project was especially noteworthy, as it was built on a very small footprint of land. The existing facility had no space to the side of the arena, so J.R. Clancy, Inc. raised — via a fail-safe design — the stage, many of the seats, the orchestra shell, all the lighting, all the stage draperies (over 150,000 pounds of equipment) up into the truss ceiling space over the arena, allowing the space to convert from basketball court to concert hall or theatre).
• Owner and Principal Consultant, J Suesse & Associates, South Carolina (2005-2007)

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Contributing/Sustaining Commercial Member since 1970
• Commercial exhibitor since 1975
• Co-presenter (along with Jay Glerum) of the program session “Rigging 101” (1984). Editor’s note: This is generally considered the beginning of the educational training and codification of standards in and for the overhead rigging profession in the U.S..  In the years since, Mr. Suesse and J. R. Clancy. Inc., spearheaded the creation of standards, destruction testing certification of components, and have ultimately led to the establishment of the ETCP certification in rigging programs.  Whether it was through donations of financial support to translate foreign language documents, serving as a workshop presenter, or in his contributions as an ESTA subject matter expert for the ETCP program, Mr. Suesse’s contributions helped change the industry.
• Panelist at the popular annual “Stump the Rigger” conference sessions

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1993)
• Member ESTA, served as Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) subject matter expert
• Life-long Member, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Local 9
• Volunteer and honoree, Habitat for Humanity

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(1936-2018)

Read a Memorial of Joy Spanabel Emery

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(1944-2018)

Read a remembrance of Kenneth Vannice

Your earliest memories of the institute?

As a new student member I received a copy of the first TD&T,

May 1965. My first conference was at the Barbizon Plaza Hotel, probably 1967. Worked on first West Coast conference with George Howard, Will Bellman, Will Crocken, Mert Cramer and Tom Lehman, L. A. 1969

Favorite USITT memory?

Leading the charge to revise the NEC including adding the requirements for single-conductor feeder systems

Short list of your career highlights:

• Technical Director for MSU Student Union Theatre and The Loft Theatre (summer stock)
• Degrees in Electrical Engineering and Theatre Arts from Montana State University
• Engineer/Manager for Kliegl Bros. Western Corp., Colortran Inc. (with and without prefixes), NSI Corp. and Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc.
• Stage lighting system and equipment designer
• Registered Professional Engineer, Electrical
• Member of several codes and standards bodies
• ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician and Recognized Electrical Trainer

Short list of your involvements in the Institute:

• Officer, Southern California Section (CATT Inc.)
• Conference Committee member, 1969, 1975 and 1988 (when local sections produced the conference)(facilitated first AIDS awareness exhibit)
• Principal Member, NEC CMP 15; Engineering Commission Vice-commissioner for NEC A􀃠airs;
• Chair, Engineering Commission NEC Committee
• Member, Standards Committee
• Co-chair, Engineering Commission Electrical Safety Workshop
• Member, Board of Directors
• Fellow

Short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you?

• Past – Joel Rubin, Bob Benson, Ed Peterson,
• Present – Mitch Hefter, Jerry Gorrell, Louis Bradfield, Steve Terry
• Most Significant – George Howard (I owe most of my practical knowledge of the theatre and engineering to George.)

Being a Fellow means:

I consider it a great honor to be included in such an august group.

What does USITT means to you?

USITT has always been a place for me to shared ideas and hone skills. Furthermore, many of my extended family members are Institute members.

Publications:

• Monthly column Code Corner in Sightlines
• Articles in TD&T
• Articles in Protocol
• Articles in IAEI

List of books that you recommend:

• National Electrical Code Handbook

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(1926-1989)

Education/Training:

• State University of Iowa, B.A., Phi Beta Kappa (1948)
• Yale University School of Drama, Master of Fine Arts  (1951)

Employment history:

• Technical Director, Eastern Illinois State Teachers College (1940) Editor’s note: Age 14 while still in high school
• U.S. Army Infantry (1944-1946) — Wounded in the Battle of the Bulge
• Lighting Designer, Earth Spirit, Provincetown Playhouse, NYC (1950) — professional debut
• Editor’s Note: Mr. Watson’s professional credits for the legitimate theatre numbered more than 400 productions, mostly in Lighting Design, but he also sometimes designed Scenery and occasionally Costumes. Although obviously too numerous to list, some of the highlights of his career are listed below:
• Lighting Director-Television:

           Numerous programs, CBS Television (1951-1955)

           (And  Scenic Designer), Get Set, Go, U.S. Army Signal Corps (1956-1957)

           Numerous programs, MGM Telestudios (1959-1963)

           Commercials, Videotape Productions, 1960 - 1963

• Lighting Designer for more than 40 Broadway Shows and more than 60 Operas.  Significant productions include:

           The Traveling Lady, Playhouse Theatre (1954) — Broadway Debut

           Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, Coronet (1955) — world premiere

           The Diary of Anne Frank, Cort (1955) — world premiere

           A Moon for the Misbegotten, Bijou, (1957)

           The Cave Dwellers, Bijou (1957)

           Lost in the Stars, New York City Opera, New York City Center (1958)

           Good Soldier, New York City Opera, New York City Center (1958)

           The Rape of Lucretia, New York City Opera, New York City Center (1958)

           On the Town, Carnegie Hall Playhouse (1959)

           Free and Easy (European production), Amsterdam, Netherlands (1959)

           Maria Golovin, New York City Opera, New York City Center (1959)

           The Bolshoi Ballet tour of the United States and Canada, (1959)

           The Pretenders, Cherry Lane (1960)

           Machinal, Gate (1960) — Note: Obie Award

           The Blacks, St. Marks Playhouse (1961)

           Second Hurricane (the opera), Museum of Modern Art (1961)

           Turn of the Screw, New York City Opera, New York City Center (1962)

           Carmen, New York City Center (1962)

• Costume, Scenic and Lighting Designer:

           The Next President, Bijou, (1958)

           The-A Musical Salamagundi (1958)

           The Importance of Being Oscar, Lyceum (1961)

           Moby Dick, Madison Avenue Playhouse (1961)

Scenery and Lighting Designer, A Lovely Night, Hudson (1960)

• Lighting Designer, Industrial Shows:

           The Pontiac Industrial Show, Detroit, Michigan (1960)

           Vive La Femme, Latin Quarter (Nightclub), New York City (1960)

           The Chevrolet Industrial Show, Detroit, Michigan (1961)

           The Coca-Cola Industrial Show, Miami, Florida (1961)

           Century 21 Industrial Show, Seattle World’s Fair (1962)

           Chevrolet Industrial Show, Detroit, Michigan (1962)

• Lighting Designer and Supervisor, The Father, Miss Julie, and Long Day’s Journey into Night, Swedish Royal Dramatic Theater, Seattle World’s Fair, 1962
• Interim Faculty and/or Instructor: Brooklyn College, Lester Polakov’s Studio, University of Houston, CW Post College, and Forum of Stage Design
• Associate Professor, Purdue University, 1975 – 1981
• Full Professor, Purdue University, 1981 - 1989

Publications:

• Senior Contributing Editor, Critic of Broadway Lighting Design, Lighting Dimensions, (1980-1986)
• Critic, Lighting Design + Application
• Co-Author (with Joel E. Rubin), Theatrical Lighting Practice (1955)
• Author, A Handbook of Lighting Design (1990)
• Author, numerous articles for Educational Theatre Journal, Player’s and Theatre Design and Technology

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• President (1980-1982)
• Chair, Awards Committee
• Chair, New York Section
• Vice President, Liaison and Relations (1978)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1978)
• USITT Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1983)
• Board Member and Vice President (1961-1963), United Scenic Artists, Local 829
• Obie Award for Machinal, 1960
• Board of Directors, International Association of Lighting Designers
• Purple Heart, U. S. Army Infantry (WWII)

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Favorite Memories:

Becoming a Fellow, Being elected to the Board, receiving the special citation in 1991 and the 1995 conference in Las Vega when I was local programming chair and originated the Institute’s first “Super Sessions”—five in all.

Career highlights:

• Degree in theatre, University of Iowa, 1964
• Arrived in Las Vegas knowing on that “they do shows, there”, 1964
• My first stage job was the Folies Bergere (5^th edition) at the Tropicana, 1965
• Becoming a member of IATSE Local 720, 1967
• Desert Inn Hotel production of Pzazz, 1968
• My last 41 years at Bally’s Hotel, originally the first MGM Grand Hotel
• Retired in 2014 after 49 years of working continuously on the Las Vegas Strip as an IATSE Local 720 theatre electrician.

Involvement in the Institute:

• Serving on the Board of Directors
• Member of the Standards Committee
• Local Program Chair for the 1995 Las Vegas conference
• Speaking at and chairing many conference sessions over the years.

Short list of memorable USITT characters:

There is no such thing as a short list! During my 48 years as a member, the friendships and connection have been rewarding and educational.

About being a Fellow:

I was very honored and surprised to have been selected by a highly respected group of my peers for inclusion in this group of the best theatre professionals.  I am very proud to be a Fellow.

What the USITT means to you?

Because of USITT I have made many, life-long friends who have the same interest in and dedication to the theatre.  I have learned from Theatre “Greats” and imparted my knowledge and experience to the upcoming generations of future theatre professionals.  I always anticipate seeing my extended theatre family at the annual conference and other times during the year.

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Education/Training:

• Indiana University (1949-1952) and University of Iowa (1952-1953); BA
• MA University of Iowa (1955-1956)
• PhD Stanford University (1958-1960)
• Attended the University of Vera Cruz, Mexico (1957)

Employment History:

• Faculty, University of North Dakota (1956-57)
• Faculty, Stanford University (1959)
• Faculty, University of Pittsburg (1960-1976)
• General Manager, Rosco Laboratories (1978-1993)
• Editor’s note: It was during his tenure at Rosco that Dr. Bowman was responsible for spearheading that company’s international marketing (he was fluent in both Spanish and German).  In addition, Dr. Bowman helped Rosco become a leading innovator in the development of new products.  Most notable among these were the development of Rosco’s fog machines and fluids.

Publications:  Dr. Bowman was a prolific author with credits too numerous to list in full.  A brief representation of his more significant efforts is listed below:

• Co-author (with Maxwell Silverman) Contemporary Theatre Architecture
• Co-author (with William Coleman and Glorianne Engle) Planning the Theatre
• Author Handbook of Technical Practice for the Performing Arts
• Bibliography: “Recent Publications on Theatre Architecture”  Editor’s note: This collection, gathered over a ten year period, was eventually published in installments in Theatre Design & Technology and reached more than 2500 listings.
• Dr. Bowman published more than two dozen articles for periodicals including Theatre Design & Technology, Buhnentechnische Rundschau, Interscena , Educational Theatre Journal, Theatre Survey, Journal of Communication, Players Magazine, and the Central States Speech Journal.

USITT Involvement and offices held:

• President of USITT (1972-1973)
• Founding Editor for USITT’s journal Theatre Design & Technology (1965-1970)
• Board of Directors
• Chair of the U. S. Center of OISTAT (1979-1981)
• Chair of OISTAT Publications Committee (1971-1979)
• International Liaison Committee
• Publications Committee (Chair and member)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1970)
• Fulbright Hays Act Lecturer to Columbia and Peru

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(1915-1996)

Read a memorial of Peggy Clark Kelley

Education/training:

• Smith College, BA in Dramatic Arts (1935)
• Yale School of Drama, MFA (1938)

Assisted numerous designers on and off Broadway including John Koenig, Donald Oenslager, Howard Bay, and Oliver Smith among others.

Assisted Oliver Smith with the lighting for Our Town in 1944 and first received critical notice.

Employment History:

Lighting Designer on Broadway for 78 productions (1941-1988).  Notables include:

• Brigadoon                                          
• Bells Are Ringing
• Bye, Bye Birdie                                
• Flower Drum Song
• Auntie Mame                                    
• The Rose Tattoo
• Three Penny Opera                            
• Paint Your Wagon
• Pal Joey (revival w/ George Abbott)
• The Unsinkable Molly Brown
• Medea (w/ Dame Judith Anderson)  
• Peter Pan
• Kismet                                    
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
• The Rape of Lucretia                        
• Dark of the Moon

Instructor, Smith College (1967-1969)

Instructor, Yale School of Drama (1969-1970)

Publications:

All of Ms. Kelly’s design work and other papers are in the Clark Collection in the Library of Congress.  Editor’s note: Ms. Kelly is considered particularly important in the history of the Broadway theatre not only because she was among the first women to design on the “Great White Way,” she was also instrumental in the development of Lighting Design as a profession.

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Founding Member
• Board of Directors
• Chair, Membership Committee

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1978)
• President, United Scenic Artists local 829 (1968)  Editor’s note: Ms. Kelly was the first woman to be elected President of the organization.
• Smith College created the Peggy Clark Kelly Design Prize. This honor is given to outstanding undergraduates that demonstrate extraordinary promise and dedication in the areas of theatrical design.

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Earliest memories:

1962 attended some meetings in the East but never joined. Joined with my dear friend Will Bellman when both of us lived in California, 1964. We both were very active in regional groups affiliated with USITT.

Outstanding memory:

Receiving the USITT Health and Safety Award that I had initiated many years ago, and having Rick Stephens make the presentation.

Career highlights:

founded 7 Risk Management Companies for the Entertainment Industry.

Involved as an Expert Witness in 413 law suits: lost two. Began technical theater work in 1943 at Price College and have continued since then. Founded ISETSA: International Secondary Education Theater Safety Association, 2005.

Involvement in the Institute:

every position except that of an officer. Aided in founding and supporting many of the Regional and Student Chapters across the country, and assisting in founding the Canadian Institute of Theater Technology. Hundreds of workshops, national and regional. Liaison with all of the different Sections and Commissions for years. Three years lobbying for USITT and theater Safety in the U.S. Congress with twelve U.S. Senators and five Representatives. Active in planning national conventions.

Memorable:

Harold Burris-Meyer. Don Shulman. Randy Earle. Joel Rubin. Pat Mackay. Peter Foy. Dick Arnold. Reid Neslage. David Loftin. Ed Kook.

In my opinion: Randy Earle and Dick Arnold are the individuals who stand out as the best models for Fellows. Superb. Humble. Dedicated.

Five Publications:

Pocket Guide to Theater Safety; 3 volume set of Dr. Davidson Eye on Health and Safety in the Theater; Practical Health and Safety Guidelines for Theater Health and Safety; PLUS over five hundred monographs on Entertainment Health, Safety, Product Liability, Environmental Audits, and Security.

Always interested and continue to mentor students and others who are interested in Health

and Safety.

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Your earliest memories of the Institute?

I joined USITT in 1965 as a student member while a student at Purdue University. Can you believe the yearly dues were $5.00? My first contact was with Richard Thompson who signed me up for the Architecture, Engineering and Presentation Committees and who made certain I received the minutes of their meetings (all of which were held in NYC).

My first direct involvement was as part of the San Francisco Conference Committee which also was the first conference I attended. This event had a profound effect on me and resulted in my becoming active in the Institute. Since then, I’ve attended all conferences with the exception of 1990.

Favorite USITT memories?

• Passing the hat at the Top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel to collect funds for the “No Host” bar tab that was miscommunicated to the hotel management as “Hosted” was an early introduction to financial management.
• Winning the Scenography Exposition prize, a free one year USITT membership, in 1984 may have been my greatest embarrassment, as I was part of the team that created the raffle. With the Institute’s finances in a somewhat precarious situation, I elected not to collect the prize.
• Finally, the start of our first endowment, later named the Edward F. Kook Fund, at a board meeting where everyone present agreed to pull out their checkbooks and replace talk with action.

Short list of career highlights
My major professional work has been as professor of theatre design and technology since 1968 with two years at Purdue University and 38+ at San Jose State University. Assignments have included head of theatre program, technical director, lighting designer, sound designer and scenic designer.

In addition, since 1970, I have been a practicing theatre consultant and, since 1985, been a partner in Pantechnicon LLC

Short list of your involvement in the Institute:
I began as Commissioner for Performing Arts Training and Education, later renamed the Education Commission.

Subsequent offices held included Vice President for Commissions and Projects and Vice President for Relations prior to election as President Elect in 1984  and a two year term as President 1985 -86.

Other service has included membership on the Nominations,  Endowment Management, Grants and Fellowships and Art Auction Committees.

In 1982, I was made a Fellow and since 1998 I have been the Fellows Chair.

If you were to make a short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you, who would they be?
Eddie Kook, Dr. Snodgrass a.k.a. Harold Burris-Meyer, Dr. Doom a.k.a. Randy Davidson, and Sam Scripps.

Then again, most of us in USITT are characters in our own inimitable way, aren’t we?

Anything you want to say about being a Fellow?
When I was named a Fellow after looking at the list of Fellows, I was somewhat overwhelmed feeling as though I was standing among the giants of our industry.

I have never lost that sense of awe as I’ve seen the new Fellows join our ranks bringing additional stature to our group. I am proud of being a member of such a distinguished group of men and women.

List of books that you recommend about stage lighting:

• The Art Of Stage Lighting by Frederick Bentham;  
• Light Fantastic by Max Keller;
• Stage Lighting Design by Richard Pilbrow;
• The Magic Of Light by Jean Rosenthal.

Mentoring?

I am happy to mentor students and young professionals with an interest in theatre facility planning, architecture, consulting and design. I am always available to mentor students and faculty on careers in academic theatre.  

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(1933-2007)

Education/Training:

• University of Texas at Austin, BFA in Technical Production (1955)
• Yale University School of Drama, MFA in Technical Production and Lighting (1961)

Employment history:

• IATSE Stagehand, local 205, Austin, TX.
• U.S. Army, NIKE missile program specializing in fire suppression systems (1956-1958) Editor’s note: This experience was to prove extremely valuable and eventually changed the course of Mr. Thompson’s career. The NIKE missile program used a number of fire suppression systems including a “deluge curtain” of water that could instantly protect crewmen if a fire broke out while working on the missiles. Following his discharge from the army Mr. Thompson attended the Yale School of Drama.  While there he wrote a paper for legendary technical director Ed Cole describing the concept and suggesting it as an alternative to the traditional asbestos fire curtain that was required by code.  Following Mr. Thompson’s graduation, USITT Vice President and Architect Ben Schlanger was asked to chair the panel examining “places of assembly” for a rewrite of the NYC building codes.  Mr. Cole remembered Mr. Thompson’s paper and suggested that he be included on the panel.  The resulting work of the committee, based on Mr. Thompson’s theories, changed the code and allowed theatre productions in New York City to “burst through the proscenium and come forward into the audience chamber,” forever changing the face of the New York Theatre.
• Stagehand, at various theatres in the New Haven area during grad school (1959-1961)
• Sales Engineer, Ward Leonard Electric Company, NYC (1961-1965)
• Manager, Theatre and Television Lighting Division, Lighting and Electronics, Yonkers, NY (1965-1967)
• Director, Theatre and Television Studio Facilities Planning, Imero Fiorentino Associates, Inc., New York, NY (1968-1972)
• Senior Consultant, George Thomas Howard & Associates, Hollywood, California (1972)
• Owner and Principal Consultant, Richard Thomas and Assoc., Los Angeles, CA (1972-2007) Editors note: Over the years Mr. Thompson not only worked on numerous performance facility projects throughout the country, but early in his consulting career he developed an association with Milton Forman, then the doyen of motion picture studio design.  This relationship introduced Mr. Thompson into the middle of Hollywood studio practice and opened a new field in which to practice his skills.

Publications:

• Author, “Preliminary Architectural Study of a Music Theatre Project for the Connecticut Performing Arts Foundation, Inc.” Master’s Thesis, Yale School of Drama (1961)
• Author, “A Proposed System for Fire Protection of the Proscenium Arch in the Flexible Theatre” Journal of the American Institute of Architecture (1961)
• Author, “Guides to Stage Lighting Control Systems for High Schools, Colleges and Television Studios” Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, New York, NY (1966)
• Author, “Lighting Control Systems for Television” Broadcast Journal, Los Angeles, CA (1970)
• Author, “Market Analysis in the Performing Arts: You Have to Know the Territory” Theatre Crafts, New York, NY (1970)
• Author, “Architectural and Space Allocations for Management and Industrial Television Studios” Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, New York, NY (1971)
• Associate Editor, “Recent Developments” feature, Theatre Design and Technology, (1972-1973)

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Engineering Commission
• Chair, Membership Committee (1962-1963 Editor’s note: Mr. Thompson’s position with Ward Leonard involved considerable travel, and he took to carrying a stack of USITT membership brochures and signed up new members at every opportunity. His efforts drew immediate attention, and he was soon approached by then president Tom DeGaetani. Dick’s efforts had single-handedly almost doubled the Institute’s membership; would he consider becoming the membership chair? As chair, Dick set up a file card system, which continued to be used until the records were transferred to computers in the 1980s.
• Secretary-Treasurer (1963-1964 & 1966-1968)
• Technical Secretary (1965)
• Conference Chair, New York City (1964) Editor’s note: This conference coincided with the opening of the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair,  The conference included a pre-conference tour beginning at 7:00 a.m. at Radio City Music Hall, then to the World’s Fair Grounds to for a 9:00 a.m. test ride of the Bell Telephone exhibit (designed by Jo Mielziner, managed by David Mintz, who was at that time Jo’s assistant), to the GE Pavilion (Olaf Sööt was the engineer), to the IBM exhibit, breaking for lunch in Greenwich Village; regrouping after lunch at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre; and ending at the New York State Theatre.  It was also the genesis of commercial exhibits that would later grow into Stage Expo.
• Board of Directors
• Anaheim Conference Exhibits Chair (1975) Editor’s note: This was the first full blown Stage Expo and generated largest conference profit to date ($10,000+).
• NEC Standards Committee, USITT representative for 30+ years

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1978)
• USITT International Health and Safety Award (1988)
• Sustaining Member, American Theatre Association (ATA)
• Member, Illuminating Engineering Society (IES); Theatre, Television and Film Lighting Committee; Industrial Television Association (ITVA); Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE)
• Panelist, National Fire Protection Association’s National Electric Code Panel 70

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(1928-1995)

Education/training:

• Hardin-Simmons University
• Louisiana State University
• Yale University, School of Drama (MFA)

Employment History:

Principle, Knudson-Benson Associates of Seattle, (1983 through the time of his death)

Highlights of his consulting practice included:

           John Jay College Theatre, NYC

           West Hollywood Civic Center, CA

           Walton Arts Center, Arkansas

           Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY

           Seattle Opera House

           Renovation and expansion of the 1928 Paramount Theatre in Seattle

Taught theatrical lighting at Columbia University and New York University (1967-1976)

Served in various sales and development positions with numerous theatrical lighting manufacturers including Kliegl Bros., Berkey-Colortran, Rosco Laboratories, and Skirpan Lighting Systems (1963-1983)

Lighting Designer and Technical Director for the Santa Fe Opera (1958-1962)

Served with the U. S. Merchant Marine through the end of WWII and for several years afterward where he served as the Purser on the maiden voyages of the Independence and Constitution of the American Export Line.

Throughout his career Mr. Benson worked as freelance lighting designer with regional companies like the Dallas Opera and the Baltimore Lyric Opera as well as numerous projects off Broadway and at Lincoln Center in NYC.

Publications:

Authored numerous articles in Lighting Design + Application and Theatre Crafts magazines.  Shortly before his death he contributed the article on Opera Lighting in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Founding Member of  USITT (1961)
• Associate editor for Architecture for the Institute’s journal Design and Technology (1990-1995)
• Assisted with planning for the Seattle Conference (1992)
• USITT Board of Directors (several terms in the 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s)  
• Pacific Northwest Section Chair (1978)
• National Conference Chair, NYC conference (1974)
• New York Section Chair -(Early 1970s)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1990)
• President, International Association of Lighting Designers
• (Founding Member) Lighting Associates of United Scenic Artists, Local 829
• President, American Society of Theatre Consultants

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In Memoriam

Your Earliest Memories of USITT:

My earliest memories of the Institute are of the 1967 New York Conference, as an exhibitor with Kliegl Brothers. I enjoyed the conference – seeing the other exhibitors, attending some sessions, and especially meeting many new people.

Your Favorite USITT Memory:

My favorite USITT memory is moving USITT archival materials from Kansas City to Syracuse in the late 1990’s. I drove solo to Kansas City, rented a large trailer, met up with wife Chris and a group of other USITT volunteers, and loaded up the trailer with a thousand pounds or so of materials. Chris and I vacationed while driving the trailer back to Syracuse.

Your Most Memorable USITT character:

The most memorable USITT character that made a difference to me was my boss in my first full time employment, USITT Founder and Past President Joel Rubin. Joel was instrumental in my continuing to be involved in what my parents believed was not a real vocation. Larry Kellerman, a wheeler/dealer and Century Lighting employee was also someone involved with USITT who helped me successfully continue my career in theatrical equipment. In 1978 I was hired to work at J.R. Clancy, Inc. by USITT Fellow Jack Suesse. Jack, a true expert and teacher of stage rigging, Working with Jack encouraged my work in equipment design and testing and greatly expanded the horizons of the rigging work the Clancy employees undertook.

Anything you'd like to add about what the USITT means to you personally?

USITT has provided me with the opportunity to meet and know a wide variety of people, many of whom became friends as well. The opportunities to work on the creation of standards for an industry that had none when I began working in the industry, was directly related to those of us in the rigging field being able to get together to work on this extremely important project. The impact of this work will live long beyond us and I am most proud to have been a part of this work.

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(1908-1982)

Education/Training:

Apprenticed and trained as an electrician in various shops in the New York area including Brisma Specialties, the Ziegfeld Theatre, and Kliegl Bros. Lighting ; eventually gained union membership.

Employment:

Worked as lighting crew chief and Chief Electrician in various Broadway theatres including the Adelphi Theatre, Earl Carrol Theatre, 46^th Street Theatre, and the Metropolitan Opera House (1930-1951)

Promoted to Lighting Designer and Director of Stage Operations for the Metropolitan Opera (1951-1975)

Editor’s note: While at the Met Mr. Kuntner was credited with the lighting design for over 80 operas, and was especially renowned for his staging of  “Tristan and Isolde” (1971). Mr. Kuntner was one of the first American lighting designers to be credited as such in the opera world and was very important in the eventual recognition of lighting design as a profession.

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Founding member
• Longtime member of the Engineering Committee
• Hosted several tours of the Metropolitan Opera’s facilities during USITT conferences held in New York City during the 1960s

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• Member of the U. S. Soccer Team for the 1928 Olympics
• Inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame (1963)

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(1923-2007)

Read a memorial of Russell Johnson

‍

(1927-2007)

Read a Memorial of Samuel H. Scripps

Employment history:

• Assistant Technical Director, old Globe Theatre, San Diego and the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival (later became California Shakespeare Festival) (1950s)
• Photographer and filmmaker, San Diego Zoo and Scripps Institute of Oceanography, including a four-month expedition to the Fiji Islands and Tahiti
• Lighting Designer, Riverside Shakespeare Festival, New York (1980s)
• Part Owner and Director, AVAB America, Inc (a lighting company and USITT Sustaining Member)
• Co-founder, with his wife Luise Scripps, American Society for Eastern Arts, a non-profit organization that brought classical performing artists from Asia to America for performances and workshops
• Board Member for various arts organizations including: Paul Taylor Dance Company; American Dance Festival in Durham, NC; Brooklyn Academy of Music; Theater for a New Audience; Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center
• Major Contributor to the Globe Theatre project in London
• Namesake of Samuel H Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement in Choreography.  Editor’s note: This award, established in 1981, is given annually and administered by the Association for the American Dance Festival.
• World-renowned Philanthropist to the Performing Arts.  Editor’s note: Mr. Scripps was a descendent of the Scripps newspaper family.  His grandfather, Edward W Scripps, founded United Press International (UPI) and the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, which at one time was the nation’s largest. His father, Robert P Scripps was a reporter and correspondent, as well as editorial director of various Scripps-Howard and Scripps-McRae newspapers,

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Mr. Scripps Company, AVAB American, became the First Contributing Member when the category was established in 1982
• Member, Steering Committee of prize-winning 1987 PQ Exhibit
• Member, Steering Committee of the International Liaison Committee (the U.S. Center of OISTAT)
• Board of Directors
• Mr. Scripps’ first Philanthropic donation toward USITT activities was a sizeable grant to the Institute’s Third Scenographic Exposition, an annual, national design exhibit. (1984)

Awards and Honors:

• Editor’s note: Mr. Scripps received far too many honors and accolades for his philanthropic activities to list here.  What is included below are the honors bestowed upon Mr. Scripps for his USITT activities.
• Elected USITT Fellow (1991)
• USITT Award (as member of ’87 PQ Steering Committee) (1990)
• Namesake of USITT Samuel H Scripps International Fund.  Editor’s note: This fund was named in Mr. Scripps’ honor in recognition of his initial donation to support 1987 Prague Quadrennial exhibit and annual donations thereafter which supporting PQ, international OISTAT meetings, and student travel abroad.

Special resolutions and commendations by the USITT Board of Directors

• April 1984 resolution expressed the Board’s gratitude and appreciation to Scripps as a benefactor to the Scenographic Exposition
• April 1989 resolution acknowledged the continued support of Scripps through his participation on the PQ 87 committee, his hosting a reception for Swedish OISTAT quests and his major contributions for the support of international projects
• The first Honorary Lifetime Membership was awarded in 1992 to Samuel H Scripps and in 1996 the Institute began using Honorary Lifetime Memberships as a way to recognize “a lifetime of continuous service to the Institute”

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(1949-2015)

Read a Memoriam of Sarah Nash Gates

Your earliest memories of the Institute?

I attended the 1976 Conference in Anaheim at the suggestion of the TD at the college where I was teaching. I had never heard of USITT, but the college would pay for the trip, so off I went. I was thrilled to see and in some cases meet such noted authors as Harold Burris Meyer, Oren Parker, and Mordecai Gorelik! And of course Ed Kook. I attended a meeting of a “Costume Interest Group” and found 100+ people crowded into the meeting room. A lively conversation revealed a group eager to make things happen. Imagine the shock when President Richard Arnold told us we could NOT be “An Interest Group”. And then the cheer as he continued – You MUST be a Commission! Yes, it was the birth of the Costume Design & Technology Commission and I was hooked on USITT.

Favorite USITT memory?

It is not possible to have only one. Here are some serious highlights:

• Riding a horse into the Banquet as President in Wichita
• The PQ in 1983 (learning to play menu darts with Pine and MacKay) and 1987 trips, and 91, 95, 99. These included many performances including a visit to the theatre collective Gardzienice in Poland where we witnessed a performance in a small barn lit entirely by candles stuck in loaves of bread.
• Dinner at Josef Svoboda’s home where he and Helmut Grosser reminisced over their many collaborations.
• The friendships forged in lengthy Finance Committee meetings, and Board meetings.
• Getting to know so many people outside of my usual world – Consultants, Business people from across the profession, code specialists, engineers, etc.

Short list of career highlights:

• Executive Director of the University of Washington School of Drama 1994 – 2014.
• President of the University/Resident Theatre Association 2007 -2010
• President of USITT 1991 – 1994
• Freelance Costume Designs for: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pennsylvania Opera Theatre, Seattle Opera, 5th Avenue Theatre, ACT Seattle, Denver Center, a couple of  Bus and Truck tours (Showboat twice in 12 months!), Seattle Children’s Theatre, and some memorable designs at the UW – Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Magic Flute.
• Designs included in the 1987 and 1991 US Exhibit to the Prague Quadrennial.
• Teaching gigs at Stephens College, SUNY Fredonia and Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus Clown College.
• Member National Theatre Conference

Short list of your involvement in the Institute:

• First woman and first costumer to serve as USITT President 1991 -1994.
• Multiple terms Board of Directors 1980 - 1990
• Chair of the Finance Committee 1984 - 1990
• Lead USITT delegation to the OISTAT World Congress in Caracas
• OISTAT Scenography Commission meetings in Seoul, Helsinki/Stockholm (included first visit to Drottningholm! Talk about a sacred space!)
• Co-Chair Costume Symposium 1987
• Member Awards Committee, Nominations Committee
• Co-Founder of Young Designer’s Forum
• Founder’s Award 1995

If you were to make a short list of the memorable USITT characters that have made a difference to you, who would they be?

Here again it is almost impossible to list everyone – I am bound to leave someone out!

My chief USITT mentors are Richard Arnold and Joel Rubin who helped me learn both USITT and OISTAT history and navigate my early years of USITT membership.

Significant colleagues/collaborators Chris Kaiser, Arnold Aronson,

Friends, Friends, Friends: Pat MacKay, Tim Kelly, Leon Brauner, Bob Benson, Rick Stephens, Joy Emery, the Brockman brothers, Eric Fielding, Randy Earle, Dick Devin, Louis Bradfield

Anything you want to say about being a Fellow?

It is a great honor to be recognized by ones colleagues/peers. I always have felt that my election in 1989 was a touch premature – but I have tried to be worthy of the honor ever since!

Anything you'd like to add about what the USITT means to you personally?

It is a unique place where you can learn a great deal, meet many interesting, helpful and fun people, have unique experiences (touring St. Paul’s in London with Oren Parker listening to him think about how to draft “the sucker” or Millia Davenport talk about visiting the pyramids and working with Robert Edmund Jones) and perhaps most importantly, help others do the same.

One of my favorite things to do is attend the sessions which highlight the careers of our Distinguished Achievement Award Winners. It doesn’t matter what their specialty is. What matters is their passion and dedication to art and industry of theatre.

‍

Ted Jones knows the theatre inside and outside, from the stress of performance and the thrill of applause to the responsibilities of lighting a professional production. His formal professional education started with a Bachelor of Music degree from Henderson College and ended with a term as a Fulbright Scholar studying Technical Facilities. This background allows him to view all aspects of a theatrical program and objectively critique the needs and opportunities for the space. Ted has supervised many projects and brought them to fruition. He understands the necessary elements of rigging, lighting and the mechanical devices that comprise proper equipment to do the job. His many years as a theatre consultant have honed his ability to direct the varied activities associated with construction documentation, review of plans, and post construction assessment and training. Ted has retired from the daily activities of the firm but remains available to Jones & Phillips as an "at counsel" member of the firm. As such, he continues to work on selected projects where his background as a musician and opera singer and his years of experience as a consultant can be of service.

Project Role

• Equipment Design and Installation Inspection
• Specification, Bid, and Construction Coordination
• Facility Operations and Existing Equipment Evaluation

Education

• Fulbright Scholar - Technical Facilities. 1961-62.
• Graduate Study: Indiana University. 1957-58.
• Texas Christian University. 1956-57.
• Bachelor of Music, Henderson College. 1953.

Memberships

• United Scenic Artists, Local Union 829.
• United States Institute for Theatre Technology.

Experience

• Co-principal of Jones & Phillips Associates, Inc. 1974-1996. Consultant "At Counsel" to Jones & Phillips Associates, Inc. 1996-present.
• Director of Technical Facilities, School of Music, Indiana University. 1978-1996.
• Chairman of Department for Technical Studies in Music, School of Music, Indiana University. Developed the A.A. degrees in Stage Technology, Costume Construction, String Instrument Building and Repair, and Audio Recording. Professor of Theatre Rigging and Lighting. 1972-1996.
• Theatre Consultant. Projects include: Musical Arts Center, Indiana University - Bloomington, Indiana; New Harmony Historic Theatre Preservation - New Harmony, Indiana; Lighting System for Seattle Opera - Seattle, Washington; Rigging System Design, Indiana University - South Bend, Indiana. 1961-1974.
• Lighting Designer, professional productions include Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival Ring Cycle. 1975-1977; Die Walkure, Philadelphia. 1976.
• Sang professionally with State Fair Musicals, Dallas, Texas. 1951, 1953, 1956. Fort Worth Civic Opera. 1957.

Professional Activities & Awards

• Life Member of United States Institute of Theatre Technology, 1999.
• Fellow of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. 1976.
• Life member for Professional Achievement, USITT. 1988.
• USITT Board of Directors. 1966-1968, 1974-1976.
• Listed "Who's Who in Theatre Consulting," Theatre Crafts. 1983.

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(1929-1978)

Education/Training:

• Fordham Preparatory School (1946)
• Columbia University (1954)
• Graduate Studies, Columbia University (1954-1956)

Employment History:

• U.S. Navy medical department (1946-1949)
• Director of the Stage Department and Lecturer of Theatre Techniques at the Juilliard School of Music (1953-1963)
• Managing Director for theatres and concert halls of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NYC (1963-1965)
• Project Supervisor and Manager of facilities services for Bolt, Beranek & Newman (1965-1969).
• Editor’s note: BB&N was an acoustical consulting firm that was among the first to explore the emerging field of Theatre Consulting.  Mr. DeGaetani was brought on board with BB&N to head up this effort. In the course of this work he hired many young professionals that later independently founded their own companies and became leaders in this field.
• Executive Director of USITT (1970-1972).
• Editor’s note: Mr. DeGaetani was the Institute’s first Exec. Director.  Financial difficulties that resulted from the additional expenses, coupled with Mr. DeGaetani’s heath complications, forced the Board of Directors to let him go.  Tom went into semi-retirement over the next few years until he succumbed to a heart attack in the spring of 1978.

Publications:

• Numerous articles for periodicals including the Juilliard Review, American Institute of Architects Journal, Progressive Architecture, and Dance Magazine.
• Board of Advisory Editors, Tulane Drama Review

USITT Involvement and offices held:

• Founding member
• President of USITT organizing committee
• First President of USITT
• Member of the Board of Directors
• Executive Director (1970-1972)

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (posthumously, 2001)
• Recipient of grant from the Institute of International Education to study European theatre architecture (1959)
• Recipient of grants from UNESCO to attend the Berlin Colloquy on Theatre Architecture (1960) and the Athens Colloquy on Theatres for Mass Audiences (1962)
• Ford Foundation grant to assist the Macedonian Ministry of Culture in the development of programming for the Skopje (Yugoslavia) Cultural Center

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(1924-2016)

Tom Watson -- inducted as a USITT Fellow in 1977, editor of TD&T from 1972 to 1977, and recipient of the USITT Honorary Lifetime Member Award -- died on May 20, 2016.

Born May 2, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio, Thomas Stoneman Watson spent most of his childhood in the village of Aurora, OH, then finished high school in Shaker Heights, OH. On graduating high school in 1943, Tom enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in an Army Engineer pipeline company in France after the D-Day invasion.

Returning to Cleveland after the war, Tom attended Western Reserve University, earning his B.A. with a major in Theatre Arts. He returned to Western Reserve twice, first completing his M.A., and in 1963 completing his Ph.D. Although Tom tried his hand at acting and appeared on stage at various times throughout his career, his interests and skills centered on technical theatre, particularly lighting and set design. His career included summers as Technical Director/Designer for the American Dance Festival at Connecticut College, where he worked with such modern dance greats as Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, and Alvin Ailey. He taught on the faculties of Western Reserve University, SUNY at Buffalo, and the University of Delaware, where he chaired the Theatre Department for six years.

In 1950, Tom married Lois Warnshuis. They raised two daughters and enjoyed 51 years together until her death in 2001. Upon retirement, Tom and Lois moved to a house on Block Island, Rhode Island, which he had a major hand in building and renovating. He kept busy and active fishing, gardening, working in community theatre, singing with the Block Island Ecumenical Choir, and serving as an EMT. Several years after Lois's death, Tom moved to Orono, Maine where he met Frances T. Hunter who became his devoted partner and who made his last years at the Dirigo Pines Retirement Community some of the happiest of his life.

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(1944-2009)

Read more about Ursula Belden

Education/Training:

• Yale School of Drama, MFA
• USA local 829, NYC

Employment History:

• Freelance designer NYC area; Broadway credits include Quilters, Waiting in the Wings and associate designer on Amadeaus
• More than two-dozen new plays and premiers Off Broadway
• Over 150 regional theatre designs for such clients as the Mark Taper Forum, Pasadena Playhouse, Kennedy Center, Cleveland Playhouse, Denver Theatre Center, Walnut Street Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, and Indiana Reparatory Theatre
• International credits include Volksbuehne in Berlin and the Citadel Theatre in Canada
• Head of Production Design and Technology, Ohio University (1986-2009)
• Guest Professor: London Central St. Martin’s School of Art and Design
• Taught internationally in London, Berlin, Bali, Katmandu, Prague, and Hong Kong

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Co-designed the U. S. PQ 2003 Exhibit
• Designed the structure for the World Stage Design Exhibit in Toronto (2005)
• Designed the U. S. PQ 2007 Student Exhibit
• Designs chosen for exhibition in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 U. S. PQ Exhibits
• Served as a representative to the OISTAT Scenography Commission

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (posthumously 2010)
• Awarded a grant as a Fulbright Senior Specialist to teach in Hong Kong
• Recognized as a Distinguished Professor by Ohio University (2000)

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(1911-2007)

Education/Training:

• University of Michigan, School of Architecture, BS of D, (1934)
• Yale University School of Drama, MFA, (1940)

Employment History:

• Faculty, University of Texas (1945)
• Faculty, Yale University (1946 -1963)
• Faculty, Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA), (1963-1976)
• Freelance Designer, more than 150 sets for plays, ballets, and television shows for CBS, Westport Country Playhouse, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Goodspeed Opera House, and for industrial productions for Coca-Cola, American Motors and General Motors
• Architectural and Theatre Consultant for numerous theatres in the Pittsburgh area.

Publications:

• Author, Scenic Design and Stage Lighting 1963, with Harvey K Smith (8 editions since); R. Craig Wolf oversaw the stage lighting portions of the text after the 3^rd edition
• Author, Sceno-Graphic Techniques (1957, 2^nd edition 1964); Editor’s note: This was the first text to standardize drafting for theatre.

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Member since 1963
• Board of Directors
• Long-time Chair of the USITT Graphic Standards Committee

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1986)
• USITT Award for outstanding lifetime contribution to the Profession (1986)
• Professor emeritus of drama, Carnegie Melon University
• Namesake of Carnegie Melon University, School of Drama’s W. Oren Parker Award for Excellence in Design and Production
• Rockefeller Fellowship (1938-1939)
• Member, United Scenic Artists, AETA, Michigan M Club, Michigan Union, Yale Dramatic Assn, and Yale Drama Alumni Assn

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(1917-1982)

Education/Training:

• Troy State University, Troy AL, BS in Education (1939)
• University of Wisconsin – Madison, PhM in English Literature (1947)
• Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, MFA in Drama (1949)
• Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, PhD in Literature and Drama (1950)

Employment history:

• Teacher, Alabama Public School System (1939-1942)
• Lieutenant, U.S. Naval Reserve on the staff of Fleet Admiral Chester W Nimitz (1942-1946); received Citation for Meritorious Service from the Chief of Naval Operations
• Faculty, University of Wisconsin (1946-1948)
• Faculty, Pennsylvania State University, 1950-1982)
• Chairman, Department of Theatre Arts and Film, Pennsylvania State University (1954-1966) Editor’s note: During his tenure, the Playhouse and Pavilion theatres were designed and opened, and a master of fine arts degree was added.
• Associate Dean, College of Arts and Architecture, Pennsylvania State University (1966-1968)
• Acting Dean, College of Arts and Architecture, Pennsylvania State University (1968-1969)
• Dean, College of Arts and Architecture, Pennsylvania State University (1969-1982) Editor’s note: Under Dr. Walter’s leadership the Museum of Art opened, the University Resident, Pennsylvania State Festival Theatre, and the Nitanny Mountain Summer Theatre companies established, and the Angels Program launched.
• Director, University Arts Services, 1973 - 1982

Publications:

• Editor, Books in Review
• Editor, AETA Journal
• Editor, USITT newsletter, 1966 - 1968

USITT Involvement and Offices Held:

• Board of Directors (1966-1970 & 1976-1978)
• First Vice President (1970-1971)
• President (1971-1972)
• Chairman, Executive Council

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1977)
• Chairman, Theatre Management and Administration Project, American Theatre Association (1965-1967)
• Advisory Council, American Academy, Rome (1968-1982)
• Chairman, Founding Committee & first President, University and College Theatre Association (a division of ATA, 1970-1971)
• Citation in recognition of distinguished contributions to the advancement of education, presented by the Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on behalf of the Governor (1972)
• Chairman, Theatre Advisory Panel; responsible for the development and advancement of theatre in the Commonwealth (1972-1973)
• Vice Chairman & Chairman, International Council of Fine Arts Deans (1973-1974)
• Discussion leader, international conference in Florence on professional education and career entry of artists (1984)
• Chairman, Fine Arts Commission, National Association of State University and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) (1975-1981); Led steering committee that produced report on “The State of the Arts at State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges”- the first and only such assessment
• Steering Committee, Board of Directors & Secretary/Treasurer, American Research Institute for the Arts (1975-1982)
• Chairman, Caucus on the Arts in Higher Education (1978)
• Fellow, American Theater Association

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(1920-2010)

Read a memorial of Mr. Bellman

Education/Training:

• BA University of Puget Sound (1946)
• MA Northwestern University (1947)
• PhD Northwestern University (1949)

Employment history:

• Faculty, University of Wyoming (1950)
• Faculty, Washington University
• Faculty, University of California at Los Angeles
• Faculty, San Fernando Valley State College-This school later was renamed California State University at Northridge (CSUN) (1958-1988)

Publications:

• Author: Lighting the Stage, Art and Practice
• Author: Scene Design, Stage Lighting, Sound, Costume and Makeup; A Scenographic Approach
• Author: Scenography and Stage Technology: An Introduction
• Numerous articles in Theatre Design and Technology, the most important of which were undoubtedly: “Workloads for Theatre in Higher Education” and “Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure”
• Translated the German DHIN rigging standards document. NOTE: This was a major contribution to the USITT Rigging Standards Project

USITT involvement and offices held:

• Conference Chair, Anaheim (1988)
• Vice President for Special Projects (1989-1991)
• Publications Committee (as both member and chair)
• Board of Directors
• President of the Southern California Section
• International Liaison Committee (for more than 20 years)
• USITT representative to a joint committee of ATHE, USITT and NAST To develop Promotion and Tenure Guidelines for Technical and Design faculty in the performing arts

Awards and Honors:

• Elected USITT Fellow (1985)
• Joel E. Rubin Founders Award (1990)
• Special Citation for Achievement in Lighting Design Education (1994)
• USITT Honorary Lifetime Member
• Professor Emeritus, Cal State Northridge (2000)

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(1932-2018)

Read a remembrance of Zelma H. Weisfeld

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