One week from now...

I'm currently sitting here in downtown Chicago, in a tech rehearsal for a show  (YELLOW FACE at Silk Road Theatre Project), and I just realized that one week from RIGHT NOW -- assuming that airlines are running on time, and assuming that I can figure out Prague's public transportation system -- that I'll be arriving at the rental apartment that I and the Student Exhibit Committee will be sharing... IN PRAGUE!!!

Pardon my excitement and anticipation!

I feel I ought to backtrack a minute a explain what this trip is about for those of you reading that have no freakin' clue...

Every four years, there is an event called the PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL (PQ for short) that happens in Prague-- strangely enough -- and is basically a huge international symposium about stage design. at this year's PQ,  65 countries will be sending fully-realized exhibits of professional work done in their country in the past 4 years, and of those 65 countries, 42 will also send student exhibits, that will be showcasing student design work. In addition to the exhibits, there are workshops, lectures, presentations, performances, and events of all kinds. It's sometimes called the Olympics of Stage Design, but that sounds kinda silly... the thought of dueling scenic designers throwing drafting triangles at each other, or costume designers racing to sew a hem... hmmmm.

 For the past two years, I've been working with the US Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT) as the mentor/leader of the committee to help conceptualize, design, curate and execute the student exhibit. Along for the ride are 4 student designers from across the country, and together we've done all the leg-work, while the University of Montana Theatre Department (where my grad school classmate, Alessia Carpoca is on the team!) has actually BUILT the exhibit that we've designed.  Entitled EMERGE, our exhibit contains the juried work of over 200 American student designers, from 60 colleges and universities across the country. In addition to the presentation of that work, the exhibit will also include an on-site design experiment, wherein we'll have American student designers on-site, collaborating and creating new design art that will be continually added to the exhibit throughout the 10 days of the PQ. What will start out as a white, empty-looking box, will (hopefully) be overflowing with new student work by the end. It's been a fascinating, and at times intense, project, but one that I'm really proud of.

And now, it's finally about to HAPPEN, and that too is exciting.

My hope and plan with this blog is to spend 20 minutes, each night that I'm traveling, writing about the things that I see/do/experience. Ultimately, it'll really just be my journal of the event, but by posting and sharing, I get to share with whomever wants to know, what the PQ is about.

More to come....