Johnson City, Texas

Anniversary

It needs to be said:

A year ago today, I graduated from college.


More thoughts to come...

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

Hello!  Just a quick note to say that I completely revamped my other blog [scribbles and snapshots] so that it looks a great deal more awesome.  Check it out!

I am also, obviously, playing around with this one as well.  This one was actually a bit trickier to find a good background image.  So my question is, too orange?

USITTTT in Pictures

Lisa and JoJo, my conference buddies

Designer humor... it's the little things in life

Carl and his awesome handiwork

Vending machine at the airport. I still find this incredibly strange.

USITTTT: Day Four

Success!

Stage Expo: There was a continental breakfast at the stage expo, then I decided to tie up some loose ends. One of these ends happened to be me introducing myself to a man I had met briefly when he visited my SM for Christmas Carol who referred me to a different theatre in California who decided to interview me later in the day. The interview went well, one of the best I've ever had, but I was afraid they may not have what I wanted since they were interviewing for internships. However, they have a opportunity for a tour stage manager at a level I would feel comfortable taking on. No promises yet from them or from me, but it's wonderful to have options again.

Session One: Interviewing. Something I'm not that great at, something I don't have a lot of experience with, something I certainly want to improve upon. This session though? Fail. It was poorly organized and became almost entirely question/answer. The questions mostly related to portfolios and resumes which I have a good handle on both. Any interview-related questions were barely answered. For example, one girl asked for go-to questions that the hirers on the panel liked to used. One person gave us a question, then they moved on. Not helpful. There were tiny nuggets of information in the session, but it was far from a gold-mine.

Session Two: Stage Combat. My first major experience with stage combat was over the summer at Shakespeare New Jersey and the fight director was excellent. He trained the actors well and I took copious notes throughout to prepare myself for the show and for future engagements. This session expanded on what he did in practice and showed me just how excellent his direction was. The three panelists were extremely knowledgeable on the subject of stage combat and how it related to us as stage managers. It was almost impossibly well-organized, absolutely informative, and intelligent. Unfortunately, I had to duck out early to make it to the airport on time, but I left feeling good about the new information I had and my understanding of the subject from my previous experience.

Overall, this was a fantastic year to be at USITT. The two best sessions were the very first one and the very last one I attended, which gave a great bookend to the conference. I am so so grateful that I was able to come.

The bus trip to the airport was relatively painless, as was getting to the gate. My flight was flooded with conference people, which was not all that surprising. I am currently in Atlanta (may I mention how absurdly short the flight between Charlotte and Atlanta is?) and in about an hour I will be on my way back to Cali. For now, I am going to land the plane, so to speak, on this blog post so that I can enjoy some overpriced Chick-fil-A before I go. All the best!

USITTTT: Day Three

Moderate success.

Both Lisa and I struggled with getting out of bed and out of the room today, so we had a bit of late start. We ran into our LD prof right inside the door which was a plus, but I did not have time to buy a delectable lightly toasted asiago bagel with butter. A not-as-good way to start your day. But we were awake and on time, so it was no rush for Lisa and I to go to our sessions -- separate from each other for the first time.

Session One: Are Students Prepared? I wanted to go to this one because I wanted to know if I had been taught everything I needed to know. And if not, what are the gaps in my education that I need to find a way to fill in? I was expecting there to be a significant number of educators and virtually no students, but the room seemed to be about a 50/50 mix. Also, the discussions were surprisingly more tailored toward the student than the educator which was nice for me. The information was rather straightforward, but as with everything else it was good to hear again and see what emerged as the most important thing to each of the presenters. The over arching theme was simply have the right attitude and find that delicate balance between confidence and humility. Basic principles, but tough stuff and a very fascinating session.

Stage Expo: By this point it became apparent that I was more than just tired, but that I was feeling sickly (still am feeling sickly). I ran into Lisa and we sat for a while exchanging notes on our individual sessions. I think it was a time when it was beneficial for us to be at separate events. I felt a little better after talking to her, but I knew my body was fighting hard against me and I probably had a very narrow window of clarity. I found the NETworks booth (major touring company) and managed to ask intelligent questions and get good information from the people there. I tried talking to some other booths, but I was feeling worse and worse so I found Lisa and took her over the Shakespeare New Jersey booth to introduce her to the people I worked with last summer. She filled out an application and had a very unannounced interview (seemed to go well, especially considering it was so unexpected), then we went to lunch.

Session Two: Management Commission. This is not a learning session, but a what-do-you-want-to-learn-next-year session. They read through a list of proposed topics, got feedback on each of them, and asked for other ideas. Listening to the topics that were brought, it looks like a very good line-up, although I did wonder if there will be enough time for all the awesome ideas that are out there. At any rate, it seems very much like next year will be a good year. Next year, USITT is in Long Beach (oh, just 20 miles from my workplace), so maybe staying put for another year isn't a bad plan... But why, oh why couldn't it have been in Long Beach this year?

Session Two and a Half: Young Technicians Forum. This was a come and go, theatre style science fair of designs and technical displays. But a friend who graduated two years ahead of us had a table, so we dropped by to see his work and congratulate him. Seriously, Carl Booker is a phenomenal costume technician and deserves all the recognition. We even learned about some skills we didn't know he had, like silk painting. Very impressive.

Session Three: Gee, I Wish I Hadn't Done That. Old pros telling the rookies what mistakes to avoid. Alas, I did not attend this session. I had been hoping the jarring stomach pain with every step would decrease throughout the day and that if I just pushed through I would feel better. Instead, I felt worse and worse. After stopping by Carl's table, there was about an hour before the next session and I didn't feel well enough to wander the expo or wait around for it, so I went back to the hotel to rest up. I figured I could count on Lisa to take good notes and share them with me. Still, the title alone certainly caught my interest.

Back at the hotel, I made myself immobile, bumming around on the computer, then flipping through channels. What should I find on the television? Doctor Who, of course! And that was the turning point in my day.

The rest at the hotel did me a world of good, so I went back to the conference center to meet up with my people. A I'll-go-out-for-a-little-while meal and hang out suddenly became 11:45 pm. Well. The good news is, my sickliness was steadily decreasing throughout this time, so I was able to enjoy my last night with my Baylor crowd and every minute we have together is so precious these days.

Tomorrow, I fly back to Cali and arrive super late, so I cannot guarantee the timeliness of the last day post. But my overall impression of this year's conference is that it was a very valuable experience and I am so grateful for the time I spent here.

USITTTT: Day Two

Success!

Earlier start the day than maybe I wanted, but I had slept well so I got over it pretty quickly. It was cold and rainy, so we opted to take the shuttle to the convention center which allowed us plenty of time to purchase an extremely overpriced (but super delicious) breakfast. Not a bad way to begin a day.

Session One: Managing Your Boss. When I met up with my college SM mentor later in the day I joked that the session came four years too late. I actually had flashbacks to our relationship throughout the session and felt validated in how I handled the important matters, but I could see places where I things might have gone smoother if I had known. The session was taught by a production manager and his assistant -- they had a good relationship with each other which was interesting to watch and validated the whole session.

Stage Expo: I've decided I'm not very good at the expo style of approaching people. Granted, most of the booths are about lighting instruments or stage floors or automation rigs, things I have no interest in, resources or need to buy, or reason to deal with. Still, I spend most of my time wandering aimlessly and not interacting which isn't exactly productive. I was however surprised to find a sound company that gives seminars and webinars in many aspects of sound design which I am thoroughly looking forward to taking advantage of since they seem to be right up my alley.

Session Two: Conflict. Pretty basic stuff mostly revolving around Be Reasonable, but it's still good to hear experienced people discuss this issue concisely and with a theatrical and specifically managerial viewpoint. The panel again consisted of skilled and dynamic speakers that made the session easy to asorb. Also, they gave us the name of a book to look into -- very helpful.

Session Three: Resumes. Again, fairly straightforward, but still good things to hear. For example, they said you must always send your resume in PDF format over email. Well, duh. But for some reason I had never thought to do so; therefore, I am grateful that it was said. Small things, but they add up and are good to hear again. At the end of that session, there was a chance to meet with a production manager one-on-one to get personal feedback. This is why I went since I have gotten feedback from the same people over and over I felt it was time to discuss my resume with a stranger. The man I talked to really liked my format which was encouraging and was able to give me some advice on content. I still want to get some more opinions, but I am pleased with how the session went.

The last sessions of the day were very uninteresting to us, so we were planning to aimlessly wander around the expo. Since Lisa and I had gotten separated I went down on my own, not sure what I was going to do. By a stroke of luck, I caught both Lisa and our former lighting design professor in the same general area and only a few minutes later our former SM professor happen to come our way. We all agreed that the rest of the day had no value for us and went out on what turned into a quest for dinner.

The first place we went was closed because someone had knocked into a fire sprinkler head which of course caused all the others to go off. We went to a second place arbitrarily and found it was pretty mainstream food so decided to get appetizers then eat somewhere else. An old friend of our SM prof joined up with us and we decided it would be safe to go back to the first place, but the problems were bigger than we thought and while it was open, the kitchen was not operating. We ordered drinks to pass the time and finally realized we weren't going to get any food. So, it was onto a third and final restaurant for the meal. So, it was a bit of an adventure getting our food, but it was an absolute blast to catch up.

Overall, a very awesome day with very awesome companions.