Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2025 - 53

tenure at Artec Consultants, where Joel
was working at the time. I then had the
pleasure of getting to know him, over work
and over lunches, to hear his stories and to
learn the business side of the consulting
world-the real-world education you don't
get in school. -Michael Mell
Joel Being Joel
I worked with Joel on a few pieces for
TD&T. The first was a book review he
did of Yale University Press's re-issue
of George C. Izenour's three volumes,
Theatre Architecture, Theatre Technology,
and Ancient Covered Theatres. The first
two reprints were made possible because,
according to Joel, Izenour bought back the
rights from McGraw Hill to the text and
plates.
Joel wrote to me in May of 1996 (and
copied his email to President Chris Kaiser,
presumably because I was still new to the
job) saying that " George hopes the three
volumes could be reviewed as a set, a body
of work (and I agree with him). " He continued,
" This would be an important analysis for the
Journal of Theatre Design & Technology. "
What could I say but " Yes, of course! "
Our normal routine for book reviews
was to obtain a review copy from the
publisher and pass it along to a willing
reviewer. In this case, we had an eager
reviewer but no books. Sylvia Pannell,
our review editor, and I wanted to
have the review published as close to
Yale's publication date as possible, so
we expected that, given USITT's close
connections to Yale and to Izenour, they
would work with us to provide " galley "
copies well before publication.
I went back and forth with Yale about
getting copies ASAP, but they were firm
that " review copies will be available on
November 1. " Joel, of course, needed to
look at the re-issued volumes before he
signed off on his review, so our preferred
review date was
in
serious
jeopardy.
Finally, Prof. Izenour agreed to send me
cover artwork himself, as well as his minor
revisions and Joel agreed to submit his
(excellent) review. It was published in the
Fall 1996 issue of TD&T, neatly coinciding
with Yale's publication schedule. That's
what
I
remember about
how things
just got done when Joel was involved.
-David Rodger
In 1983, USITT had the good sense to
schedule its annual Conference & Stage
Expo in Corpus Christi on the sunny Gulf
Coast. With an excellent conference
center located waterfront, and adjacent
hotels with Gulf side views, this setting
was a welcome respite from the March
weather up north. What does this have
to do with Joel Rubin, one of the driving
forces for Kliegl Lighting?
Two factors came together to create
an opportunity to recover revelry. No. 1,
six of the more creative members from
the Rocky Mountain Section decided on
living quarters other than a hotel were
in order. Location, location, location
demanded closer communication
with
the water and, in a moment of divine
inspiration, it seemed a houseboat
would fill the bill. No. 2, Dr. Rubin, in a
demonstration of appreciation to Kliegl's
colleagues and clients, continued its
long-standing social gathering in a
legendary Kliegl Suite. Although the Suite
was commodious, it quickly became
insufficient to accommodate 100-plus
merrymakers. Further, hotel security took
exception to the overcrowding and the
liberal supply of beverages not provided
by the hotel's catering division. As Dr.
Rubin resolutely endeavored to negotiate
with the constabulary, all consumables
were shouldered, passed over the lanai
rail and, along with the exiled refugees,
spirited off to the houseboat. There are
many, and wide-ranging accounts of the
floating festivities, but in the end, the
party was saved, beverages consumed,
and as far as we can recollect, no one
went overboard. Thank you, Joel, for your
leadership.
-Tim Kelly
Lasting Mentorship & Friendship
Joel Rubin-a mentor, mensch, and friend.
Of all the people I know, perhaps Joel Rubin
has had the biggest influence on my career
of more than 50 years in the lighting industry.
In the late 1970s, Production Arts was taking
the leap into memory control systems. My
friends Gordon Pearlman and Steve Carlson
had just finished the new Kliegl Performance,
and it turned out to be the right candidate for
controlling a massive exhibit sign for CocaCola-a
Production Arts customer. So,
I
found myself in Long Island City visiting Joel
Rubin to make the deal.
That evolved to a series of regular
visits to the Sunnyside Bauhaus restaurant,
where Joel taught me how the commercial
wheels turned in the permanent installation
side of the lighting industry. As a kid in
my mid-20s, I was amazed that Joel was
interested in giving me an advanced
course, since Production Arts was purely
a rental operation at the time. Little
did I know that Production Arts would
add systems integration and complex
permanent lighting control installations to
our portfolio over the next 10 years. And
Joel's wisdom from those lunches was a big
part of our success.
He taught me a key skill: how to
charge enough for a design/build project
to allow it to work well and get to the end
with a reasonable profit and a satisfied
customer. More than 20 years later, Joel
was at Artec Consultants and working on
the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in
Appleton, Wisconsin. He recommended
Production
Arts as a design/build
contractor for the project, which was
executed on an incredibly aggressive
schedule. In some ways, he was reaping
the benefits of the things he taught me at
those lunches.
In 1994, I was proud to receive the
USITT Joel E. Rubin Founders award,
along with Mitch Hefter and Ken Vannice,
for our work on codes and standards,
including DMX512 and the National
Electrical Code. Again, Joel's influence was
woven into this work for introducing me
to USITT. Thank you, Joel, for such a long
friendship.
-Steve Terry
ISSUE 4, 2024 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | 53
Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2025
