Scenic Design | Props
Available online learning
A comparative analysis of flat production techniques. Which are the best for tall, wide or irregularly-shaped flats? What are the best ways to rig or move vertical scenery? These questions and more will be discussed.
REGISTER NOW
Presenters:
Mary Black is the Technical Director and an assistant professor at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, where she teaches classes in stagecraft, scenic construction, technical direction, and theatrical sound. She has an MFA in theatre technology from Indiana University, and was the 2009 recipient of the KM Fabrics, Inc. Technical Production award.
Scott Bartley is chair of the Theatre Department at Central Connecticut State University. On top of teaching two courses and running a department Bartley is also the Technical Director and Sound Designer for most of the department’s four shows a year.
What are the best practices in the field? Who takes on responsibilities for blood effects. Do we need a fight choreographer? Too many times we hear horror stories about people getting injured needlessly. Or effects just not working the way they should. In this program, Jay Duckworth will talk about blood recipes, blood packs, and delivery systems. We will also cover basics for small blades & blood knife safety. It will be followed up with a Q & A. Presented by the Education Commission.
REGISTER NOW
Presenter: Jay Duckworth boasts over 20 years’ experience in LORT & Off-Broadways theatre, independent films, TV, music videos and over 65 off-Broadway shows credit his name as a Props Master and Props Designer. The roll call of shows for which he has created original work starts in Classic Greek Theater, re-imagined Shakespeare plays as well as being part of the artistic team that created musicals including Hamilton, Fun Home, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson and the highly controversial Julius Caesar at Shakespeare in the Park 2017, at his decade residency at The Public Theater. As well as being a writer for Stage Directions Magazine, he teaches Properties and the Philosophy of Aesthetics at Pace University. He has been the Keynote Speaker for The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and the United States Institute of Theater Technology, curating USITT's very first Prop Lab in 2018.
In Hamilton, the props helped not only to tell the story but helped to create the world. How is the first rap battle like the Hulk, why does only one letter have a red ribbon on it, how does the burn letter go out at the same time as the light cue? Jay Duckworth talks about color harmony, historic documents and being in the room where it happened. Presented by the Scenic Design Commission.
REGISTER NOW
Presenter: Jay Duckworth boasts over 20 years’ experience in LORT & Off-Broadways theatre, independent films, TV, music videos and over 65 off-Broadway shows credit his name as a Props Master and Props Designer. The roll call of shows for which he has created original work starts in Classic Greek Theater, re-imagined Shakespeare plays as well as being part of the artistic team that created musicals including Hamilton, Fun Home, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson and the highly controversial Julius Caesar at Shakespeare in the Park 2017, at his decade residency at The Public Theater. As well as being a writer for Stage Directions Magazine, he teaches Properties and the Philosophy of Aesthetics at Pace University. He has been the Keynote Speaker for The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and the United States Institute of Theater Technology, curating USITT's very first Prop Lab in 2018.
Props Master Jay Duckworth offers insight into what props artisans do and the scope of what goes into all that they cover, whether it be for film, video, or stage. This is great info for new props or those who are props-curious.
REGISTER NOW
Presenter: Jay Duckworth boasts over 20 years’ experience in LORT & Off-Broadways theatre, independent films, TV, music videos and over 65 off-Broadway shows credit his name as a Props Master and Props Designer. The roll call of shows for which he has created original work starts in Classic Greek Theater, re-imagined Shakespeare plays as well as being part of the artistic team that created musicals including Hamilton, Fun Home, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson and the highly controversial Julius Caesar at Shakespeare in the Park 2017, at his decade residency at The Public Theater. As well as being a writer for Stage Directions Magazine, he teaches Properties and the Philosophy of Aesthetics at Pace University. He has been the Keynote Speaker for The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and the United States Institute of Theater Technology, curating USITT's very first Prop Lab in 2018.
In late August 2017, Hurricane Harvey dropped 50+ inches of rain in the Houston metro area. This led to exhaustive flooding all over the city, including inundating the Alley Theatre’s Neuhaus Stage and Props storage areas with more than 19 feet of water. This session will review the damage caused to the Alley Theatre properties inventory and the subsequent salvage and recovery operations. Karin Rabe Vance, Alley Theatre Prop Master, will take us through the efforts they undertook to salvage any recoverable props while also taking a full inventory of the unrecoverable items. She’ll include some best practices and tips for determining priority items, cleaning processes and products, and how to determine insurance values for treasured props both shop built and purchased. Presented by the Education Commission.
REGISTER NOW
Presenter:
Karin Rabe Vance's has been the Properties Master at Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas as since 2004 where she has managed the production of props for over 130 productions, including Three Musketeers, Sherlock and the Suicide Club, Harvey, November, Red, Toxic Avenger, Noises Off, Peter Pan, Cyrano de Bergerac, 39 Steps, Arsenic and Old Lace, Lieutenant of Inishmore, Treasure Island, Subject to Fits, and The Pillowman. While at the Alley she also managed the recovery of properties following the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. Prior to working at the Alley, she served as the Properties Master for Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo New York, Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell Massachusetts, and as the Properties Shop Assistant at the Santa Fe Opera. She is an active member of both S*P*A*M (The Society of Properties Artisan Managers), USITT (United States Institute of Theatre Technology), and TX-CERA (Texas Collections Emergency Response Alliance). She has a BFA in Theatre Design and Tech.
An exhibition of scenery and paint samples from the last decade of productions at the Alley Theatre. For every scenic treatment that happens on stage, the Alley Scenery and Paint Shops produce a 2' x 2' (or bigger sample) for approval from the designers. These samples have been saved and displayed for all to see. Samples include work designed by Kevin Rigdon, Vince Mountain, Hugh Landwehr, Ricardo Hernandez, Eugene Lee, Todd Rosenthal, Linda Buchanan, and more.
REGISTER NOW
Presenters:
Christie DeBacker: This is Christie’s first year as a full-time Scenic Artist at the Alley Theatre in Houston Texas. Previously she worked overhire for the Allley and at various other Theatres in town. She is also an artist and maker and is excited to be illustrating her first children’s book. BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in Acting and Directing from Sam Houston State University.
Michelle Fullerton has been the Charge Scenic Artist at the Alley for five years. She graduated from Wright State University in 2000 with a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology. Previous positions include Scenic Artist at The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Scenic Artist at The Village Theatre, Seattle WA, Scenic Artist/Charge Scenic Artist at The Utah Shakespeare Festival, Charge Scenic Artist at Stage One Children’s Theatre, Louisville KY.
Come learn about how Kent State University partnered with Opera di Santa Croce to create a 3D-printed replica of Pio Fedi’s "Liberty of Poetry," believed to be the inspiration of the Statue of Liberty. Pio Fedi’s “Libertá” was 3D scanned on-site over the course of three days in Florence, Italy. The scans were used to create a nearly full-scale 3D-printed reproduction which was then scenic-painted. By breaking silos of science, art, and industry, nearly 40 individuals worked on the exhibit. The 9-foot-tall replica is currently a special exhibit at the Ellis Island National Immigration Museum through September 2020.
REGISTER NOW
Presenters:
Tammy Honesty is an Assistant Professor of Scenic Design who teaches scenic design, scenic painting, and props at Kent State University. She earned her MFA in Scenic Design from West Virginia University and BA in Theatre from Wilmington College. In 2018, Tammy co-authored The Fake Food Cookbook: Props You Can’t Eat for Theatre, Film, and TV. Recent projects include Gloria: A Life and designing the set for the world premieres of Family Ties and Banned from Baseball for the Human Race Theatre Company. She has designed ten shows for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s Touring Company. Her New York credits include Ghosts (Oberon Theatre Ensemble, Off-Off Broadway). Regionally, Tammy has designed repeatedly at the Human Race Theatre Company in Dayton, OH. Her regional design work has earned a Cincinnati Acclaim Award, USITT OVS Board’s Choice Award, Peggy Ezekiel Awards of Outstanding Achievement, and was showcased in the World Stage Design 2013 and the USA-USITT PQ 2019 galleries.
Joshua Talbott is a Northeast Ohio native, family man, and serial technical innovator. Josh began his career as a tradesman in electronics and through the opportunities provided at various employers in the fields of digital media, manufacturing engineering, and information technology, he has transformed himself into a technical solutions provider and inventor. He is currently employed at Kent State University where he obtained his Masters of Technology and currently leads the academic information technology team at the largest college within the university. Josh also teaches technical college courses from time to time. His interests and experiences are broad. Mr. Talbott specializes at being a “generalist” and believes that varied experiences are where new ideas are born. Applying the Pareto principle, Josh digs in and dives deep into technical and complex nuance when the needs demand it.
Dr. Robert Clements is a neuroscientist who teaches and performs research at Kent State University. He develops and uses different three-dimensional (3D) imaging techniques to understand diseases of the brain, for virtual and physical reconstruction as well as education. Dr. Clements’ research aims to visualize our brains’ three-dimensional structure for better disease diagnosis and therapies as well as improve how we learn, experience, and perceive 3D environments and objects.
Freelance designers and individual artists have unique proximity to the heartbeat of the theatre field. They work at numerous venues each season, in many cases over multiple years and multiple visits, thus experiencing a variety of institutional cultures first hand. However, unlike Actors Equity, there are no industry-wide standards for engaging freelance artists. How can institutions incorporate the learning and experience of the freelance artists they hire more deeply into their organization’s fabric, acknowledging the invaluable nature of their vantage point? Especially during this time when the entire field is on a forced pause. In this session, we explore how guest artists are welcomed and valued by the institutions that invite them through their doors. We will discuss implementing industry-wide standards, creating sustainable feedback loops, recommended best practices sourced from the community at large, and how we can move forward as a community.
REGISTER NOW
Presenters:
Porsche McGovern is a lighting designer. She designed Skeleton Crew and We Are Proud to Present... (Playmakers Repertory Company), A Single Shard (People's Light and Theatre Company), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). In New York, she designed Mothers (Playwrights Realm), Bureau of Missing Persons (Neighborhood Productions), Ghetto Babylon (Dramatic Question Theatre), many shows with Spookfish Theatre Company, among others. She has an MFA from California Institute for the Arts and a BA from St. Lawrence University. She is also a researcher, concentrating on designers in regional theatres.Deb Sivigny: As a costume and scenic designer, Deb Sivigny has worked on over thirty world premieres with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Theater J, Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences, Imagination Stage, The Source Festival, Young Playwrights Theatre, The Hub, Studio Theatre 2nd Stage, and Rorschach Theatre where she has been a company member since 2006. She has also designed for Round House Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Everyman Theatre, Signature Theatre, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Rep Stage, Adventure Theatre, Shakespeare Theater’s Academy for Classical Acting, 1stStage, Keegan Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Opera Vivente, WSC Avant Bard, Flying V, DC and Seattle Fringe Festivals, Peridance, Dance Elixir and Tia Nina, among others. She is a member of the second generation of The Welders, where she served as Lead Producing Playwright for her work Hello, My Name Is… Set in a house, she designed and created environments that channeled the lives of Korean adoptees.
David Bengali is a projection and lighting designer based in New York. He has designed theater, opera, and dance Off-Broadway, Regionally, and internationally, and has worked as an associate designer on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Regionally. Recent design credits include: The Great Leap (Atlantic Theater Company); Van Gogh’s Ear (Ensemble for the Romantic Century - Drama Desk Nomination); Frankenstein (Dallas Theater Center); Rockin' Road To Dublin (National Tour); Assembled Identity (HERE); Uncommon Sense (Tectonic Theater Project); The Temple Bombing (Alliance Theatre); Conference of the Birds (Boston Center for the Arts); SPILL (Ensemble Studio Theatre); Anna Akhmatova (ERC/BAM), Jules Verne From The Earth To The Moon (ERC/BAM); Ring of Fire (Endstation Theatre); The Tempest (Classic Stage Company/The Young Company); Kill Me Like You Mean It (Stolen Chair); Two Point Oh (59E59); I Forgive You Ronald Reagan, The Sensational Josephine Baker (Theatre Row); The Orion Experience (XL).
Katherine Freer is a multimedia designer working in theater, installation, and film. Frequent collaborations include Liz Leman, Ping Chong, Ty Defoe, Carl Cofield, Tim Bond Kamilah Forbes, Talvin Wilks, Andrew Scoville, and Tamilla Woodard. Recent designs: Ajijaak on Turtle Island (New Victory, dir. Ty Defoe and Heather Henson), By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Signature Theater, dir. Kamilah Forbes), the Convent (ArtNY, dir. Daniel Talbott), Antigone (Richard Rogers Amphitheater, dir. Carl Cofield), Cellular Songs (BAM Harvey, by Meredith Monk), Next to Normal (Syracuse Stage, dir. Bob Hupp), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Syracuse Stage, dir. Risa Brainin). Katherine is a proud member of USA829 and Wingspace Theatrical Design.
This session discusses strategies for safely storing and maintaining your stage weaponry of various types and qualities at a variety of levels of production. Panelists will discuss procedures to help you work successfully with your colleagues, performers, administrators and local law enforcement successfully both in and out of the production requirements. Presented by the Education Commission.
REGISTER NOW
Presenters:
Matthew Allar is a scenographer based in Williamsburg, Virginia. An Associate Professor of Theatrical Design, he is the Director of Production and resident Scenic Designer for The College of William Mary and creator of the Around The Edges play reading series. With over 120 designs for theatre, opera, dance, television, and industrials, he is the Vice Commissioner for Education Commission Programming, and a member of the OISTAT Education Commission, in addition to United Scenic Artists #829. www.matthewallar.com
Jennifer McClure is the Properties Master for Yale Repertory Theatre. She has worked as Props Master and Technical Director for Alfred University, Props Master for Merry-Go-Round Playhouse and New York Stage and Film, toured with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, and designed sets and props for the Yale Cabaret and New Haven-based A Broken Umbrella Theatre Company. She also works as a freelance properties artisan for companies such as Hudson Scenic Studios, Walt Disney World, and musician Amanda Palmer and has built custom puppets for The Stringpullers and custom masks for the Pilobolus dance company. Mrs. McClure holds a B.F.A. from Alfred University (2004).
Robb Hunter - Owner and operator Preferred Arms, SAFD Certified Fight Director, and Teacher.
On June 11, 2013, a small niche Facebook Group was created by two members of the George Izenour Penn State project. The intent was to allow its participants to continue the conversations they started and share their discoveries post-project. Little did the creators realize that what was intended to be for a few people would turn into something much greater; something that would grow beyond the borders of its intention and become a worldwide meeting spot for artists, researchers, students, and teachers alike. Come join us as we discuss how an online approach can help you find information to old problems and listen as we share stories of how this group impacted our work and what the future may hold.
REGISTER NOW
Presenters:
Wendy Waszut-Barrett is an historical consultant and artist, specializing in the restoration and replication of painted scenery for historic performance venues such as the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Her passion, however, is the preservation of theatrical heritage and the continued training in historical scene painting techniques. Waszut-Barrett also works as a scenic art instructor across the country, sharing her knowledge of the dry pigment paint system and studio style that was used to create historical scenery during the turn-of-the-twentieth century.
R.W. (Rick) Boychuk has been a student, teacher, technical director, IA Stagehand, designer and recently inventor, and now an author. A graduate of University of Saskatchewan in technical theater, he has worked in the industry for over 40 years. Rick owns and operates Grid Well, Inc in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Richard Bryant is the founder of the ATTH FB Group and an Assistant Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago's Academy for the Performing Arts. He holds a BFA (Theatre) for the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and an MA (Drama) from Roosevelt University in Chicago. The interest into theatre production research began with a USITT sponsored project at Penn State on the George Izenour Collection and he hasn't looked back since. He serves as a member of the USITT Publications Committee and is currently the USITT representative to the OISTAT Publication and Communication Committee.