Technical Design Solutions for Theatre: The Technical Brief Collection: Volume 2

Description

The Technical Brief is a collection of single-focus articles on technical production solutions, published three times a year by the prestigious Yale School of Drama. The primary objective of the publication is to share creative solutions to technical problems so that fellow theatre technicians can avoid having to reinvent the wheel with each new challenge. The range of topics includes scenery, props, painting, electrics, sound and costumes. The articles each describe an approach, device, or technique that has been tested on stage or in a shop by students and professionals. Some articles included are: Building Authentic Elizabethan Ruffs; Simple and Inexpensive Stained Glass; A Quick-Load Floor Pulley Design; A Simple Approach to Stretching Drops; Flexi-Pitch Escape Stairs; Spot-Welding Scrim with Sobo; Handrail Armatures for a Grand Staircase; The Triscuit-Studwall Deck System; A Frameless Turntable; Stand on Stage: Minimum Weight, Maximum Effect; A Self-Paging Cable Tray; Roller Chain Turntable Drives; A Bench-Built XLR Cable Tester

Ben Sammler is currently the Chairman of the Department of Technical Design and Production for Yale School of Drama. He is the Production Supervisor for Yale Repertory Theatre and has over seen over 150 productions. Ben Sammler is also an experienced lighting designer and technical director with over 15 years of teaching experience, as well as the co-author of Structural Design for the Stage, 1999 (Focal Press), winner of the Golden Pen Award presented by USITT in 2000. Don Harvey has been a professor at Yale School of Drama since 1985. He is currenlty an adjunct Professor.

"...A long-needed collection of information on how specific problems have been approached and solved...To me the most valuable use of Technical Brief is not how to copy how someone else solved a particular problem, but to see the approach, materials, and techniques that were used which give me an idea how I might approach the problems I need to solve." Robert R. Scales, Ph.D., Dean of USC School of Theatre