CONNECTIONS
by Christopher Schneider
There is so much I could say about my first trip to USITT. I went on an architectural tour of part of the city, met some former presidents of the organization, had a run in with what I can only describe as the Mormon secret service, stuffed in as many panels as I could, got interviewed by a reporter for the Desert Sun newspaper, and I got loads of swag. All that on the first day of the conference. Beyond these tales of debauchery, there is one thing that I gained from the conference that will be useful throughout my life: I learned how to network.
It is no secret that networking plays a large part in the theatre INDUSTRY. Networking is how we get jobs, learn new skills, discover unique opportunities, and create friendships. At first I was quite nervous about the whole idea, going up to talk to complete strangers. I had no idea what to talk about or what kinds of questions to ask. However, I did have a bit of help. I went on this trip with some wonderful classmates who were in the process of applying for graduate schools. After watching them talk to many schools (and asking them a few questions along the way) I figured out just what I needed to say.
So I began talking to everyone; vendors, panelists, people I had met on the street- and I learned something from all of them. I met a man from the ENTTEC booth who told me about an opportunity to learn how to sauder (or SOLDER, depending on where you’re from) LED lights at their booth. Someone manning a booth for a lighting company taught me the basics of how to use a light board, knowledge which I put into use this semester for a student run production in our school’s black box. I also had countless encounters with convention go-ers who told me some pretty spectacular theatrical and USITT related tales.
The people that I met who stood out the most to me were the theatre planners and architects. Aside from wanting to graduate with a Theatre degree focusing in design from Gustavus Adolphus College, I would like to go on to graduate school for architecture. So I went to multiple AIA and architecture related panels at the conference, and was able to talk to a whole bunch of architects and planners. Everyone I met was incredibly friendly, and gave me so much amazing advice on grad school, what classes I should take, and they all gave me great insights into the world of theater architecture and theater planning.
I gained so much from my first USITT conference, and not just by learning how to network. I made countless friendships and added knowledge that will benefit me for the rest of my life. This trip has been a priceless opportunity to meet and learn from others in my field. None of this would have been possible without the Doughnut Scholarship from all of you in the Northern Boundary Section. Thank you for making this trip possible, and I cannot wait to go back again in the future. [ ]
Christopher Schneider received the the NBS “Doughnut” Student Scholarship to support attendance at the National Conference.