Eleven students from NMU Theater and Dance recently attended the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) annual conference and stage expo in Columbus, Ohio. Four of the students were selected as conference assistants, and one presented a poster presentation.
The conference assistants were Molly Sobiechowski, Emma Carr, Ashley Reinhart and Ayla Berman. These positions are highly sought after each year and require early applications.. Those selected for the opportunity work in all areas of the conference, including venue setup, stage expo floor, bookstore, registration and more.
“The first thing we did was help load in the main stage,” said Sobiechowski. “We unloaded the trucks, built a truss, assembled video screens, unpacked road cases, ran the audio cables from backstage to the booth, managed cables to better organize them, and arrayed speakers,” “All of us had varying tasks during the conference. I worked at the registration booth printing attendee badges, which was really fun because I got to greet everyone and make connections.”
She added that the main rewards were meeting the people running the conference and networking with them, as well as attending the conference for $25 instead of the usual $375 student price.
“I primarily stage manage, so this conference was great for meeting prominent stage managers in the field,”Sobiechowski said. “I was also able to attend focused hands-on labs for stage management, such as ‘Micro-sessions in Negotiation,' which talked about how to have tough conversations with a colleague or boss and how to feel prepared for that, and another one about how to better tape out a rehearsal space, which is one of the hardest things to master, in my opinion. There were also talks about different styles of stage management for dance and opera, which I've never had experience in, so that was helpful in expanding my knowledge on a deeper level.”
The USITT conference also has a great expo floor, Sobiechowski said. Many theater companies were hiring, other businesses were debuting new technologies, and there was great swag such as recycled stage curtain bags from the Texas Scenic Company.
NMU student Charlotte Sommerville presented her poster, “Illuminating Costumes: Solving Wearable Electronics Problems and Accessibility Through the Use of Conductive Thread.” It was based on her summer research that was utilized in the NMU production, “Alice in Wonderland: An Immersive Experience.”
“It essentially went over the results from my research that allows conductive thread to be a viable alternative to wire when integrating lights into costumes or significantly reducing the number of wires necessary,” she explained. “The conference was super beneficial to me in starting my career network. I got to talk with various graduate schools and employers looking for costume work over the summer, which will give me practical work experience outside of NMU. I also connected with industry professionals and started building relationships that will help me progress in the field.”
The students were accompanied by NMU Theatre and Dance Department Head Bill Digneit and Director of Production/Associate Professor David Pierce.
