Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2025 - 52

IN THE WINGS News and updates from USITT
The year I was born, Dr. Rubin
gathered colleagues and industry leaders
together to form the United States Institute
for Theatre Technology to be a Memberdriven
association that linked educators,
architects, artists, and technicians to
network and to improve the entertainment
industry. While I have only been a member
of this remarkable organization for just over
40 years, through my participation in the
Institute, I have learned a great deal, made
some of my best friends, and have been
afforded many an opportunity to leverage
and improve my leadership skills. Simply
put, I would not have been the successful
technical director, college professor,
department chair, and now dean that I
have had the good fortune to be without
my engagement in Dr. Rubin's envisioned
organization.
I also would not have had the
opportunity to travel the world, connecting
with theatre designers and technicians
from across the globe, had it not been for
Dr. Rubin's pioneering work to make sure
that this U.S.-based Institute recognized
the obligation to be a world citizen. In 1999,
I had the honor of serving as the technical
director for the U.S. entry in the Prague
Quadrennial. That life-altering experience
would never have occurred had it not been
for Rubin's early advocacy for international
engagement and his personal connections
to the theatre artists that lived across the
globe. My PQ experience forever changed
my views on theatrical design, international
diplomacy through direct engagement, and
altered the lives of my students who had
the good fortune to join in that endeavor.
Without Dr. Rubin,
the
United States'
engagement in PQ would likely have never
happened.
These are only two specific examples
of the impact Dr. Rubin has had on my
life, but what is even more remarkable
is that there are hundreds of individuals
who could easily share similar tails. As we
mark his passing, I hope that at least for a
moment, we can reflect on the impact that
Joel has had on so many, can smile just a
bit at the realization of his vision into the
52 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | ISSUE 4, 2024
strong Institute that exists today, and can
recognize his continued ability to inspire
current and future members of USITT to do
great things. -Mark Shanda
I've always seen Joel as a true visionary
in our field of stage lighting, and especially
as one of our founding members of USITT!
His commitment to getting USITT involved
with the international community of theatre
design and technology through connecting
us to OISTAT and the Prague Quadrennial
are some significant contributions to USITT
beyond being a charter member of our
organization.
More on a personal note, my first
contact with Joel was when he was hosting
the three Russian designers/technicians for
a several months tour of U.S. theatres back
in the late 1980s or early '90s. At the time,
I was teaching at SUNY-Stonybrook, which
is about halfway out on Long Island, NY. We
brought Joel and his Russian colleagues
out to our campus to speak to students
and faculty. Joel also made it possible for
several of our faculty to join the Russian
delegation for a personal backstage tour of
Radio City Music Hall.
Most valuable for me were Joel and
Lee Watson's writings, which I researched
heavily in writing my books. His work
through Artec and certainly
Kliegl was
often thought to be trailblazing in the field.
I've always enjoyed my friendly exchanges
with Joel at past conferences over the
years and can easily say that I have always
been inspired by his dedication to the field
and to USITT. -Rich Dunham
First Meetings
As a young designer bobbing along on a
journey the nearest wave of fate would
take me on, there were " more things in
heaven and earth than were dreamt of in
my philosophy. " I only knew USITT and
Dr. Joel Rubin from a distance, and little
dreamt that both would come to figure in
so significantly, and without prompting,
helping me so much. It is still a wonder
to me that an almost stranger would
spend time and energy to recommend a
young, green designer to be a delegate
representing the U.S. in China at a theatre
conference in my early career. Thank you,
Joel, for believing in me, and in so doing,
providing the sea legs beneath a lifetime of
meaningful international exchanges.
-Susan Tsu
My first USITT conference was
maybe 1974 in NYC. I remember Joel as
being there and as an iconic figure, more
based for me on his association with
Kliegl than USITT. It was an honor to see
someone who wrote one of the books I
used teaching classes for years. I recently
found a fascinating article/interview with
Joel which brought back many memories.
Talk about names from the iconic past! I
actually worked on the third Izenour preset
console ever developed at Delaware during
my undergrad days and traipsed through
Century in early Minnesota days before
building Rarig Center in the early '70s.
The interview was like wading through
my career...and the equipment I had used
throughout! There were not many consoles
or dimmers that I didn't encounter as
they existed and evolved over the years.
Certainly true of lighting equipment! Thank
you, Joel! -Jean Montgomery
I first met Joel sometime in 1977 or
'78. I had recently graduated from Indiana
University, where all the stage lights were
Kliegl. Joel was a friend of my thesis advisor
Gary Gaiser, so any time Kliegl came out
with a new fixture, he sent a sample or two
to Dr. Gaiser. The lights all worked fine, but
each had a different color frame size, which
meant building a gel cut list was always a
major undertaking.
Anyway, back to the '70s: I had
gotten off the 7 train and was walking to
Kliegl's offices in Long Island City. I arrived
hot and sweaty-not the best way to
impress somebody, but Joel was his usual
gracious self. We chatted and he gave
me a tour of the factory floor. Much to my
disappointment, he didn't offer me a job.
I walked back to the train, and we
didn't see each other for 20 years until my
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