Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2024 - 38

started to look at ways to make ourselves
better and more sustainable. The board really
endorsed that work.
There were also some policy documents
about how we do things at USITT
that haven't been reviewed in years.
There is a dedicated group of people
I must shout out to, and people laugh
at me every time I say this, it is my favorite
meeting of the week: the bylaws
committee. Most people are like, " Oh,
snooze. " But you have no idea how fun
these people are. They're a dedicated
group of people, several of whom are
past presidents of the Institute, almost
all of whom are Fellows of the Institute.
There's history in the room, and several
of them are members of the board.
So, these systems are starting to
go into places where the board is beginning
to take on more of that governance
load. They set a goal for themselves to
be more ingrained with the membership.
We gave them a booth space at the
Annual Conference & Stage Expo. We
put them at the info booth, and while
they enjoyed talking with each other
and talking with the Members and were
happy to tell them where the restrooms
were, I think they were looking for a different
kind of engagement. But what
was great is that they talked about how
much they enjoyed actually getting to
talk to each other and know each other
a little bit better. You know, the upside/
downside of our Zoom world is that the
board only meets in person twice a year
and a lot of times somebody can't be
there. And so it provided these little bits
of learning that I think the board's been
very happy with being able to do.
We have had a couple of tough conversations
where they've pushed back on
things, and I pushed back on things. But,
it feels like I'm building a strong relationship
there. I'm excited about the folks that
are coming onto the board. They're really
moving into a place of having a bigger
hand in advocating for themselves-meaning
making sure the membership knows
that this is a leadership opportunity within
the organization, that it's pretty cool, and
people could benefit from being involved
there and in shaping our priorities as we
go forward. You know, we on the staff are
here to make as much of that happen as
possible, but they are the ones who craft
where we're going.
Shuron: Another group I want to talk
about are the Regional Sections. I also
want to shout out Cassie Nelson, who is
our office administrator, who has been
working with you with the regional sections.
I just want to talk about your relationship
with them, how that has grown,
what you are doing with the Regional
Sections, and what the future looks like
for them.
Everett: Let me do a little definition
section here. We are an international organization.
Canada is a part of USITT, we
have relationships with OISTAT, we have
Members from all over the world, and we
have the national membership in the U.S.
Then there are the Commissions, which
are grouped by discipline. Then there are
the Regional Sections, which are different
regions of the country. There are also
Student Chapters, and Student Chapters
can be put together at high schools or colleges
and universities.
Those are the different groups within
the Institute that get together as Members
and do different activities related to promoting
the brand that is USITT as volunteers,
connecting with other like-minded
folks in the tech world, accessing what
MFA
ACTING*
COSTUME PRODUCTION
TECHNICAL PRODUCTION
drama.unc.edu
playmakersrep.org
THEATRE THAT MOVES.
*Accepting the next class of MFA Acting students in 2025
38 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | ISSUE 3, 2024
Adam Valentine '24 The Legend of Georgia
McBride, Tristan André '19 They Do Not
Know Harlem, Sanjana Taskar '24 Hamlet.
Photos by HuthPhoto.
http://drama.unc.edu http://www.playmakersrep.org
Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2024

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