Theatre students and faculty had a strong presence at a recent national conference and competition designed to highlight theatre production skills.
Members of the Fredonia Student Chapter of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) competed in the “Tech Olympics” at the institute’s national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The “Tech Olympics” brings together teams of students and their coaches from colleges and universities around the country to compete in a series of timed events designed to test their skills at the various disciplines involved in theatre production.
Featured events included solo competitions in costume change, knot tying and props events and team competitions in lighting, sound and stage management events.
The Fredonia USITT Team finished in second place in the overall competition.
In team competitions, Evan Kicman and Shaughn Bryant took first place in sound system setup while Eddie Massari and Matthew Lang took first place in the competition to tape out a groundplan.
In individual events, Bryant placed second and Massari was third in knot tying.
Kicman, a senior B.F.A. major in Theatrical Production and Design, received a certificate from Essential Skills for the Entertainment Technician in both basic terms/safety and lighting/ electrics. He passed both an online test as well as practical exam to earn the certificate. This is the first year the certificate was offered, which makes him one of the first in the country to earn the distinction.
The Fredonia Theatre and Dance faculty also had a strong presence at the conference.
Assistant Professor Czerton Lim presented in the session “Panel for Compendium: Projects for Teaching Scene Design,” including his “Portrait Gallery Project,” and had two additional projects published in the compendium, “Set of the Week” and “Using Music Videos as a Primer for Script Analysis.”
Professor Todd Proffitt also attended the conference, serving as the commissioner for the USITT Lighting Commission. In this role, he was responsible for running all commission meetings, setting Programming for future conferences and special projects that serve the lighting industry.
At the conference, Proffitt received a copy of the newly published “Practical Projects for Teaching Lighting Design,” in which he had four projects published.
The USITT national conference is held annually and offers an opportunity for professionals, educators and students to participate in workshops, see new and old products on the show floor and build and develop their professional network of colleagues.
