USITT 50th Anniversary at the National Conference & Stage Expo 2010
by Erin Belpedio, Gustavus Adolphus College, Recipient of the Stage Technology Scholarship
Over the course of three days in March I was able to experience many 
exciting events at the 50th Anniversary of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology National conference and Stage Exposition in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition, I presented my lighting design for the Gustavus’ Theatre and Dance 2009 production of Falling Awake: A Physical Theatre Project in the Design Exposition. This year’s conference provided me with more information about technical theatre and seeing 50 years of USITT displayed in many different ways! I particularly enjoyed looking back throughout the historic displays of lighting consoles, instruments and conference timeline.
I enjoyed attending many of the conference activities including taking in the Stage Exposition floor and Design Exposition, watching Keynote speaker Sally Struthers and attending the “Fifty and Nifty” get together event. I was able to attend workshops which included So You Think You Know Everything About Top Hats?, 100 Years of Color in Stage Lighting, and It’s Not Just Lighting the Stage Anymore -- Cross-Over and Lighting Designers Then and Now. I learned to be open to whatever comes a long, work on projects you find interesting and try new something new. Being able to get on the job experience is very beneficial in the technical world as well as I found the ETC VIP Student Session was also very interesting as it was full new trivia, SWAG, and a lot of students interested in lighting!
This year I found many aspects of the conference extremely valuable and I am very glad I was able to attend this year. I was able to learn more about different graduate school programs and universities on the stage exposition floor, as I talked with a number of designers and professors in the technical theatre world. I also felt that being able to attend the different types of lighting workshops and talk to different theatre companies helped me continue to network and meet new people from all over the country. I found the Design Exposition a valuable experience. By walking around and looking at other student, professor and professional lighting, scenic and costume designer’s displays gave me new insight on how to set up a design or portray information in a creative way.
At the end of the conference, I found out that my lighting design for Falling Awake: A Physical Theatre Project was selected out of 147 entries to be published in the USITT Theatre Design & Technology magazine summer edition. I was very surprised and excited to learn this news as I had enjoyed being able to display my work at the conference this year for the first time. The 50th anniversary of the USITT National conference and Stage Exposition presented me with new information and knowledge, which I am happy to bring to the foreground as I look ahead to the future and my involvement in technical theatre. Thank you again to the USITT NBS and Stage Technology for this scholarship and chance to attend this wonderful conference.