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Ivo Kersmaekers - Chair
Attendees:
- Pavel Dautovski (CZ)*
- Bert Determann (NL)*
- Louis Janssen (NL) (President of OISTAT, guest)
- Ivo Kersmaekers (B) *
- Jerome Maeckelbergh (B) (Member EC, Digital Theatre Words, guest)
- John Mayberry (CAN)*
- Johannes Musch (D)*
- Fritz Schwentker (USA)*
- Andrzej Sosnowski (PL)*
- Tamás Szabados (HUN)*
- Ivanka Apostolova (SLO) (Individual OISTAT member)*
*indicates voting member
Saturday, May 29:
The first event was an informal meeting with the Technical Directors of the Opera Europe organization. The OISTAT TC presented an outline of its ongoing activities. The Opera Europe hosts offered a presentation of cross-departmental technical training for stage employees. This was developed by our colleagues in Helsinki.
The official meeting of the TC commenced later in the day at the Rotterdamse Schouwburg.
The Chair read the list of regrets from-
- Masaji Ito
- Erik Westerlund
- Aleksandar Brkić
- Loren Schreiber
- Andreas Bickel
- Olukayode Abiodun Abe
- Bruno Groesel
- Pu Lin
- Faiz Zahir
- José Henrique Moreira
- Jose Antonio Prades Hung
Business-
- The minutes of the previous meeting in Berlin were briefly outlined. This included the adoption of the TIP.
- Showtech has contacted both the TC and Opera Europe to possible provide space at their show floor to repeat the joint discussion format from last year’s meeting in Berlin. There was a suggestion to include more of the “ideal theatre” discussion that took place in Berlin and in Seoul. There is an interest in including an historical perspective and an interest to include the Architecture Commission. Ivo will contact Opera Europe and will offer a TC sponsored presentation on this at their next meeting.
- A possible new initiative out of the Opera Europe collaboration (from earlier in the day) will be help collect technical job descriptions. Ivo will take the leadership on collecting and distributing these.
- There was discussion of the OISTAT website. It was noted that the TC portion of this site has not yet been updated as the Secretariat is in the process of developing a new site and it is unclear how the Commission update process will work. There is a concern that it will be possible for the TC to ensure continuity of project records. There was general agreement that, at a minimum, the website must have accurate and up–to-date announcements of all future meetings.
- An update on the Support to Practitioners Project (SPP.) Ivo was able to discuss this with Scott Henkels (of Northern Iowa University) at the USITT Conference in Kansas City. They indicate that the desire to participate is still strong. There is agreement that OISTAT and the TC should be named as “sponsors” in all correspondence regarding this project.
- Duncan Chang of Taiwan has contacted the TC and others in OISTAT to assist his efforts in developing training programs for theatre workers in his country. He is looking for information (documentation) for all types of theatre workers.
- There was general discussion of different training programs and related initiatives throughout the world and it appears that the TC may be well positioned to be clearing-house for information on people and expertise that others may call upon. For instance, it will be helpful to advertise the SPP as an example of this. It may be useful to look into future shared meetings with the Education Commission to facilitate this.
Sunday, May 30:
The meeting re-convened at the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam following a tour of that facility led by OISTAT President Louis Janssen.
- President Janssen had the following announcements: Austin Wang was elected chair of the PCC; Cardiff, Wales has been awarded the next WSD in 2013; Scenofest has new leadership for 2011, it is likely the TC will receive requests for support in their efforts.
- Louis Janssen recommends to the TC that they should continue to provide updates to the current website even though a new one is under development. It is unclear when the transition will take place and it will be beneficial to keep current information posted. Ivo will contact the Secretariat and Austin Wang for an update.
- The Technical Invention Prize (TIP) process is in place. The deadline for submission is moved to October 1. There are currently no submissions. Louis Jansenn, Bert Determann, and John Mayberry have identified possible submissions. Fritz Schwentker will work to advertise the project in the US. All centers are requested to advertise in their respective newsletters. Ivo is developing a mock-up letter for gathering sponsorships. He is also investigating printing costs and quantities for catalogs. There is an open question as to whether there are copyright issues to address. There was a large discussion of what prize is appropriate. Space and time for the prize presentation at the PQW have been confirmed. There is some concern as to avoiding cross-over in sponsorship requests.
- There was a detailed discussion of how the TC can participate in Scenofest (and PQ) activities. These included: the Technicians’ Tour; making contacts with local scene shops for activities with students; a workshop on “making things with stuff;” a design Charette with the Architecture Commission; a panel presenting the work of the TC; an invitation to Opera Europe to jointly participate (Ivo shall forward their President’s name to Louis); a live scene painting exhibition; and a discussion of construction techniques. It is recommended that all of these ideas be forwarded to Jessica for her consideration. It may also be useful to have these ideas in mind for WSD 2013.
-The discussion of the sites and dated for the next meetings were as follows: a possible contact has been made in Shanghai; a meeting possibility in 2011 in Budapest; a meeting possibility in Canada in 2012 with the CITT conference; a social event will be arranged at the PQ; an invitation to Cuba is always extended; Poland is a possibility for 2013.
Monday, May 31:
The final meeting was held again at the Rotterdamse Schouwburg.
- The first order of business was the election of a Chair. This activity was observed and certified by visiting EC member Jerome Maeckelbergh. The members consented unanimously to allow only one person to stand in nomination. The members consented unanimously to allow Andrzej Sosnowski, who had to depart early, to submit his vote in absentia.
- The meeting was reconvened under the vice-chair John Mayberry to administer the voting. EC member Jerome Maeckelbergh certified that all attendees were certified to vote. The members consented unanimously to allow the vote by show of hands. No discussion of the candidate was proposed. Ivo Kersmaekers was elected unanimously.
- Ivo reconvened the meeting as president. The Commission agreed to appoint a vice-chair by consent. John Mayberry was recommended and confirmed unanimously. Ivo recommended that Aleksandar Brkić be nominated as a 2nd vice-chair. He was confirmed unanimously.
- An announcement was read from Ian Evans who sent regrets and also request for help on Scenofest.
- Some discussion was held on a possible “green” commission initiatives. John Mayberry has agreed to write up some of Bert Determann’s notes on the subject.
- To close, the commission gave thanks to the host, Bert Determann for his superior efforts in organizing the event.
Submitted by-
Fritz Schwentker
June 25, 2010
