When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. EDT, from June 2 - July 23, 2026.
Where: Zoom
We are faced with increasingly complex and challenging scenic designs that push us to the limit of what “feels” safe. But how do we know what is safe? This text seeks “to provide the basis of an intuitive understanding of why ‘sets stand up’; to be a reference book for professional technicians who face small scale structural dilemmas; and to enable informed conversations between theatrical technicians and professional engineers.” This course offers 32 hours of instruction with the option of 29 corrected problem sets. Problem sets typically take an average of two hours to complete.
This course will be divided into two sections:
Section 1 - Introduction: June 2 - 25, 2026
Chapter 1: Overview
Chapter 2: Force, Stress, Strain
Chapter 3: Stress Analysis for Beams
Chapter 4: Geometric Properties
Section 2 - Steel Design: June 30 - July 23, 2026
Chapter 8: Steel - Introduction and Beam Design
Chapter 9: Steel - Column and Tension Member Design
Chapter 10: Steel - Combined Loading Design
Participants will also need access to a copy of Structural Design for the Stage, 2nd Edition (ISBN: 9780240818269). A physical copy of the book is recommended, but not required.
Recommended for: Technical Directors, Assistant Technical Directors, Head Carpenters, Riggers, professionals who are familiar with the first edition of the text, and any technician with a desire to understand the math behind why sets stand up (and more importantly, why they don’t).
What about the math?: This text is written for theater technicians, not engineers. This course does not use calculus; however, a basic understanding of algebra and trigonometry is helpful.
Cost:
Member Section 1 & 2: $975
Member Section 1 Only: $550
Non-Member Section 1 & 2: $1,075
Non-Member Section 1 Only: $600
Registration & Payment Policy
To reserve your spot, a 50% deposit is required for all registrations made through May 15.
This class requires a minimum of 8 participants. If fewer than 8 people are registered by May 15, the class may be canceled. In that case, all registrants will receive a full refund.
If the minimum enrollment is met, participants who paid the 50% deposit will receive an invoice on May 18 for the remaining balance. Final payment must be completed by May 29. Please note that failure to pay the balance by this date will result in forfeiture of your deposit and your spot in the class.
Registrations made between May 16 - May 29 require full payment at the time of booking.
Instructor: Steven Schmidt (he/him) is a co-author of Structural Design for the Stage, 2nd Edition. He is currently an Assistant Professor and Technical Director at University of California, Davis. He is also a founding member and technical advisor for California Scenic Fabrication, where he served as the Executive Director from 2024 - 2025. Steven served as the Technical Director for California Shakespeare Theater from 2017 - 2024, where he oversaw the technical design and fabrication of over 100 productions for American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, California Shakespeare Theater, Center Rep, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Magic Theatre, and Shotgun Players among others. He has also worked as the Associate Head of Production for Yale Repertory Theatre / Yale School of Drama and consulted on technical design, rigging, safety, and budgeting for Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.