Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2010 - 58

themselves against a respected set of guidelines, while at the
same time providing a unifying philosophy for its member institutions. NAST has more than 160 member institutions now
and conducts rigorous periodic reviews of its members. Today
many discriminating theatre students and faculty members look
for the NAST designation.

Robert Lewis Smith, is a professor and chair of the
department of speech communication and theatre at
Kutztown University. A longtime associate editor of Td&T,
he is also the first recipient, in 1979, of the Herbert D.
Greggs Award for outstanding writing in Td&T.

Merging and Integration

boas, Frederick Samuel. 1914. University Drama in the Tudor Age.
Oxford: Clarendon Press.
boyle, Walden F. 1956. Central and Flexible Staging. berkeley:
University of California Press.
lyons, Peg and P. J. Tumielewicz, eds. Directory of Theatre Training
Programs, 11th ed. dorset, vermont: Express Copy, Inc.
__________. Regional Theatre Directory: 2008-2009. dorset,
vermont: Express Copy, Inc.
Peterson's Graduate Programs in the Humanities, Arts & Social
Sciences: 2009. lawrenceville, NJ.
Smith, Robert lewis. 1978. Directory of Graduate Programs in
Theatre Design & Technology. New York: United States Institute
for Theatre Technology.
__________. lecture Notes for Theatre History and Stage and
Theatre Management.
Wilmeth, don b. and Tice l. Miller. 1993. Cambridge Guide to
American Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The century started with a divide between collegiate theatre and
commercial theatre. Near mid-century, forward looking colleges and their theatre programs were creating or affiliating with
professional theatre companies. They understood the wisdom
of conducting theatre training in the professional environment
of their own theatre companies. This became possible because
of employment possibilities in the burgeoning Regional Theatres of the U.S. What better way to learn the intricate details
for career paths in professional theatres than studying at Regional Theatres? In many theatre programs, including the one
I chair, it's difficult to be hired without professional theatre experience. Just as apprenticeships were the best career path in
the nineteenth century, so today it is widely accepted that the
best available theatre training, particularly at the graduate level,
is acquired by studying in conjunction with a professional theatre
company. Thus, we see that today theatre has come full circle and
once again recognizes the value of professional theatre practices
and their use in training for the current theatre industry. v

Bibliography

practical rigging solutions

for whatever you dream up.
You can rely on the ETCP Certified riggers at Sapsis Rigging for safe
and efficient rigging under any conditions. Special events, safety
inspections, repairs, installations, equipment and training
from the most knowledgeable personnel in the industry

www.sapsis-rigging.com

800-727-7471

theatre

design

technology

S P R I N G

2010

http://www.sapsis-rigging.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2010