By Megan Loock
Elm Staff Writer
The Department of Theatre and Dance attended the United States Institute for Theatre Technology —more commonly known as USITT — Expo in Baltimore , MD from Wednesday, March 2 to Saturday, March 5.
According to their website, USITT was founded in 1960 as an organization to promote dialogue, research, and learning among practitioners of theatre design and technology. Today, it has grown to include members at all levels of their careers and has embraced the new technologies being used in entertainment.
This is the first convention USITT hosted in-person since 2019. Washington College participated in this convention in the past; however, they never participated as an exhibitor, according to Technical Director of the Department of Theatre and Dance Cory Palmer.
Since the conference was hosted in Baltimore, Palmer said she thought it was a great opportunity to give their students exposure to a real-world theatre environment.
Students who attended the conference include sophomores Matt Brader and Ally Allen, juniors Sophia Rooks, Rose Hull, and Archer Bergmann, and seniors Lyra Abbott, Meagan Jenkins, Percy Mohn, and Lanning Tyrell, as well as Gibson Center Coordinator and Web Content Specialist Patrick Salerno ’20 and Theatre & Dance Guest Instructor LaRonika Thomas.
USITT welcomes individuals of all ages who possess theatre-based interests. The convention’s location also made it a perfect opportunity to attract potential new students to WC who are local to Md. and interested in theatre.
Attendees were encouraged to participate in open ‘labs’ such as USITT’s Costume Lab “to observe specialty technique workshops on costuming, crafts, and makeup,” according to the their website.
Most labs are user-friendly, however, other events like Intro to Welding allowed attendees to access opportunities to work toward obtaining certain safety certifications that are otherwise difficult to obtain.
For students like Mohn who want to enter an industry within the field of theatre after graduation, USITT provides a perfect opportunity for them to break into their respective industries by networking with other professionals outside of the Chestertown community.
Palmer said that USITT takes resumes and does interviews right on the convention floor.
“It is one of the best places for people in our profession to look for and get jobs,” Palmer said.
This is a plus for the department’s “poor graduating seniors,” who are nervous about entering the job field, according to Palmer.
Mohn was at the conference for its entire duration, learning to network within the theatre industry. They also attended workshops that they hope will also “expand the skill set [they’ve] been given at WC” on a more general scale.
As of right now, Mohn is applying for positions within the costuming and prop craft industry, but is also networking to break into production management.
“It’s overwhelming but super fun,” Mohn said about the application and interview process.
The department was there for more than opportunities. According to Palmer, new products are also showcased at the convention. Many vendors offer discounts to attendees for new technologies that might want to be brought back to the College for use in future productions.
Mohn said they spoke to someone at the conference who was interested in establishing puppetry at college campuses and said they “would love for WC to integrate puppets and puppet making.”
Jenkins attended the workshop to learn more about the technological side of stage building. The conference offered a Props and Models and Homemade LED Projects Lab where she and other students who attended were able to observe specialty technique workshops on model making, props building, and homemade LED projects, according to their website.
“We saw a lot of new sound and lighting tech that would be so useful for our theaters,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins also said that they were able to get free merchandise such as sweatshirts, notebooks, pens, tote bags, pencil cases, and more.
Palmer said that this year’s convention was easy to organize and attend due to its close location which alleviated hotel costs. Next year’s USITT conference will be held in St. Louis, Mo. and as of now the department plans on attending.
Photo Courtesy of Cory Palmer
Featured Photo Caption: Washington College students who attended this year’s United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) conference with the Department of Theatre and Dance.