United States Institute for Theatre Technology
Encyclopedia
The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre
, entertainment
and performing arts
professionals involved in the areas of design, production
and technology
, and to generally promote their interests. To this end, the USITT mounts conferences
and exhibition
s, promulgates award
s and publication
s, and supports research
. USITT is a non-profit organization which has its headquarters in Syracuse, New York
.
USITT heads up a conference annually since 1961. The conference focuses on various workshops, that help educate attendees on several aspects of theatre. They also have a stage expo, in which companies showcase their products to the individuals attending the conference. There are also many opportunities for students to show their portfolios for review, and to get a look at programs offered by universities and colleges around the country.
The members of the Institute have created a number of projects that have had a lasting impact upon the industry.
USITT sponsors the annual Young Designers and Technicians Awards recognizing the finest young people in the industry.
2011
Charlotte, North Carolina
2010
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City Convention Center
2009
Cincinnati, Ohio
Duke Energy Center
2008
Houston, Texas
George R. Brown Convention Center
2007
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix Convention Center
2006
Louisville, Kentucky
Kentucky International Convention Center
2005
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
2004
Long Beach, California
Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center
2003
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis Convention Center
2002
New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana Superdome
2001
Long Beach, California
Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center
2000
Denver, Colorado
Denver Convention Complex
1999
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
1998
Long Beach, California
Long Beach Convention Center
1997
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
David L. Lawrence Convention Center / Doubletree Hotel
1996
Fort Worth, Texas
Tarrant County Convention Center / Radisson Hotel
1995
Las Vegas, Nevada
MGM Grand Hotel & Theme Park
1994
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville Convention Center & Stouffers' Hotel
1993
Wichita, Kansas
Century II Convention Center / various hotels
1992
Seattle, Washington
Washington State Convention & Trade Center / Seattle Sheraton
1991
Boston, Massachusetts
Sheraton/Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center
1990
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hyatt Regency Hotel / MECCA
1989
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Calgary Convention Centre
1988
Anaheim, California
Disneyland Hotel
1987
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Hyatt Regency Hotel
1986
Oakland, California
Hyatt Regency Hotel
1985
New York, New York
Sheraton Center Hotel
Dedicated to Harold Burris-Meyer and Hans Sondheimer
1984
Orlando, Florida
Hyatt Regency Hotel
1983
Corpus Christi, Texas
Bayfront Convention Center
Dedicated to Walter H. Walters
1982
Denver, Colorado
Hilton Hotel
Dedicated to Herbert D. Greggs
1981
Cleveland, Ohio
Stouffers' Inn
Dedicated to Margaret Ezekiel
1980
Kansas City, Kansas
Glenwood Manor Convention Center
1979
Seattle, Washington
Olympic Hotel
1978
Phoenix, Arizona
The Adams Hotel
1977
Washington, DC
Loews L'Enfant Hotel
1976
New Orleans, Louisiana
Marriott Hotel
1975
Anaheim, California
Anaheim Convention Center
1974
New York, New York
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
1973
St. Louis, Missouri
Bel Air East Hotel
1972
San Francisco, California
Mark Hopkins Hotel
1971
Dallas, Texas
Marriott Hotel
1970
New York, New York
Barbizon Plaza Hotel
1969
Los Angeles, California
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
1968
Chicago, Illinois
Goodman Theatre
1967
New York, New York
Barbizon Plaza Hotel
1966
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
University of Toronto
1965
Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana University
1964
New York, New York
Barbizon Plaza Hotel
1963
New York, New York
The Juilliard School
1962
New York, New York
Time-Life Building
1961
New York, New York
The Juilliard School
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
and performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
professionals involved in the areas of design, production
Theatrical production
A theatrical production is any theatre stage play, musical, comedy or drama produced from a written book or script. These works are protected by common law or statuary copyright unless in the public domain....
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, and to generally promote their interests. To this end, the USITT mounts conferences
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
and exhibition
Trade fair
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
s, promulgates award
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
s and publication
Publication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
s, and supports research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
. USITT is a non-profit organization which has its headquarters in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
.
USITT heads up a conference annually since 1961. The conference focuses on various workshops, that help educate attendees on several aspects of theatre. They also have a stage expo, in which companies showcase their products to the individuals attending the conference. There are also many opportunities for students to show their portfolios for review, and to get a look at programs offered by universities and colleges around the country.
The members of the Institute have created a number of projects that have had a lasting impact upon the industry.
USITT sponsors the annual Young Designers and Technicians Awards recognizing the finest young people in the industry.
Conference Sites
Source: USITT2011
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
2010
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
Kansas City Convention Center
2009
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
Duke Energy Center
2008
Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
George R. Brown Convention Center
George R. Brown Convention Center
The George R. Brown Convention Center opened on September 26, 1987 on the east side of Downtown Houston, Texas, United States.The center was named for the prominent Houstonian George R. Brown, an entrepreneur, civic leader and philanthropist. Brown’s Texas Eastern Corporation donated six of the 11...
2007
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
Phoenix Convention Center
Phoenix Convention Center
The Phoenix Convention Center, in the heart of Downtown Phoenix, has been hosting national and regional conventions and trade shows as well as consumer events and theatrical productions since it opened in 1972...
2006
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
Kentucky International Convention Center
Kentucky International Convention Center
The Kentucky International Convention Center , formerly called the Commonwealth Convention Center, is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It, along with the Kentucky Exposition Center, hosts conventions for the Louisville area...
2005
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre , located in Downtown Toronto, Ontario at 255 Front Street West, has of space. The convention centre was completed in October 1984 and is home to the 1330-seat John Bassett Theatre...
2004
Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center
Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center
The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. It was built on the site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium beginning in 1962. The primary venues of the complex include:-Long Beach Arena:...
2003
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
Minneapolis Convention Center
Minneapolis Convention Center
The Minneapolis Convention Center is a large convention center located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located one block away from Nicollet Mall near Orchestra Hall. The Minneapolis Convention Center has a quadruple-domed roof and because of its volume can host multiple events on the...
2002
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
2001
Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center
Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center
The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. It was built on the site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium beginning in 1962. The primary venues of the complex include:-Long Beach Arena:...
2000
Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
Denver Convention Complex
1999
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre , located in Downtown Toronto, Ontario at 255 Front Street West, has of space. The convention centre was completed in October 1984 and is home to the 1330-seat John Bassett Theatre...
1998
Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
Long Beach Convention Center
1997
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
David L. Lawrence Convention Center / Doubletree Hotel
1996
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
Tarrant County Convention Center / Radisson Hotel
1995
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
MGM Grand Hotel & Theme Park
1994
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
Nashville Convention Center & Stouffers' Hotel
1993
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
Century II Convention Center / various hotels
1992
Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
Washington State Convention & Trade Center / Seattle Sheraton
1991
Boston, Massachusetts
Sheraton/Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center
Hynes Convention Center
The John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center located in Boston was built in 1988 from a design by architects Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood. It replaced a previous building, also a convention center, regarded as "ungainly." The 1988 design "attempted to relate in scale and materials to its...
1990
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
Hyatt Regency Hotel / MECCA
1989
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Calgary Convention Centre
1988
Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
Disneyland Hotel
Disneyland Hotel
Disneyland Hotel may refer to any of the following properties and/or licensees of The Walt Disney Company:* Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California, USA, the original property to bear the moniker....
1987
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
Hyatt Regency Hotel
1986
Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
Hyatt Regency Hotel
1985
New York, New York
Sheraton Center Hotel
Dedicated to Harold Burris-Meyer and Hans Sondheimer
1984
Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
Hyatt Regency Hotel
1983
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
Bayfront Convention Center
Bayfront Convention Center
The Bayfront Convention Center is a convention center complex located in Erie, Pennsylvania. The center, which has views of Presque Isle Bay from three sides, includes a Great Hall with a seating capacity of 4,500, and a Grand Ballroom. The attached hotel is a Sheraton.The center held an open...
Dedicated to Walter H. Walters
1982
Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
Hilton Hotel
Dedicated to Herbert D. Greggs
1981
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
Stouffers' Inn
Dedicated to Margaret Ezekiel
1980
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
Glenwood Manor Convention Center
1979
Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
Olympic Hotel
Olympic Hotel
Olympic Hotel may refer to:* Olympic Hotel in Seattle, Washington, USA, now Fairmont Olympic Hotel* Olympic Hotel * Olympic Club Hotel in Centralia, Washington, USA.* Olympic Hotel, Tehran ,Iran...
1978
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
The Adams Hotel
1977
Washington, DC
Loews L'Enfant Hotel
1976
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
Marriott Hotel
1975
Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim Convention Center
The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. Much of the Anaheim Convention Center has been renovated in recent years with state-of-the-art facilities...
1974
New York, New York
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
1973
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
Bel Air East Hotel
1972
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
Mark Hopkins Hotel
1971
Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
Marriott Hotel
1970
New York, New York
Barbizon Plaza Hotel
1969
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a historic Spanish-style hotel located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Named after Theodore Roosevelt and financed by a group including Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Louis B. Mayer, it first opened its doors on May 15, 1927...
1968
Chicago, Illinois
Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
1967
New York, New York
Barbizon Plaza Hotel
1966
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
1965
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
1964
New York, New York
Barbizon Plaza Hotel
1963
New York, New York
The Juilliard School
1962
New York, New York
Time-Life Building
Time-Life Building
The Time-Life Building, located at 1271 Avenue of the Americas in Rockefeller Center in New York opened in 1959 and was designed by the Rockefeller family's architect Wallace Harrison, of Harrison, Abramovitz, and Harris.The Time & Life Building was the first of four buildings in Rockefeller...
1961
New York, New York
The Juilliard School