Dear Members of the TC,
Now that the PQ 2007 is over, there is a lot of news.
Most importantly, we had our commission meeting.
Reports and evaluations on the workgroups will be publicised in the minutes in a short time by John Mayberry.
The most important discussion was on the invitations our commission got from Cuba and the USA.
Unfortunaly, neither of the hosts can pay fully for all food and accommodation of the official commission members.
This means that they are not according to the standards of the OISTAT secretariat.
We decided that as a commission we want to be in touch with each other and our colleagues from all over the world, also if this means not following the rules.
It was put on vote, and it was accepted unanimously that the TC will accept both invitations.
As official invitations are on their way, you can already pencil in these dates in your diaries:
2007 meeting: 17 – 21 October – Santiago de Cuba
2008 meeting: 19 – 22 march – Houston (Texas)
We are all very excited about these invitations, and we must do our best to help our hosts to make these meetings a success.
At the PQ there were two official activities organized by the TC.
First we had the Technical Directors forum, also known as the OMC project.
After a short overview of the commissions past, present and future work, Bert Determan gave a small lecture about the CEN workshop, and Aleksandar Brkic explained the meaning of the Serbian Pilot Project.
Then followed the actual discussion starting from the question “What can a theatre expect from a scenographer?”
I’m happy to say the meeting was attended by many students and scenographers from all over the world.
It is difficult to make a short transcript of a discussion that lasted for a few hours, but I think it turned out in not “Old Man Complaining” but in “Young People being Positive”!
I’d like to thank Bert, John, Aleksandar, Ito and Andrzej to be a part in this discussion.
Second activity was a tour of the PQ from the technicians’ point of view.
It was a very interesting tour, hosted by TC members Bert, John and me, and followed by around 20 participants.
The discussion about the displayed designs were as diverse as how to build them in what material to the relation between the “intend” of the design and the “feel” of the set.
It was an initiative we must certainly take again.
I hope to send you the drafts of the minutes shortly, and explain you all about new initiatives and projects of the TC.
Best Regards,
Ivo Kersmaekers
Chair Technology Commission
Skype: ivokersmaekers
