As I write this, 2023 is fast coming to a close and 2024 is waiting impatiently in the wings to make its entrance. Looking at the numbers from the Top 10 tours of 2023 for our special Showtime section, it’s clear that the concert touring business is back with a vengeance setting all-time high box office numbers and staging dynamic productions. Of course, with success comes new challenges to our industry.
Recently, at THE Conference: Live at Lititz, there were many great industry conversations, many of which we will be continuing in PLSN over the coming year. In speaking with people at the conference, as well as throughout the year with production managers, creatives, technicians, manufacturers, vendors, and production and rental houses, a top challenge continues to be the lack of qualified labor—and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Ramping up training efforts to fill the pipeline with people that can also get some experience with those new skills is a priority.
One such effort is the The Academy of Live Technology [ALT], which has partnered with the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design. This new education program will take place in a new building on the Rock Lititz campus in Lititz, PA. The U.S. version of the ALT that’s already open at the Production Park in the UK. Though housed on the Rock Lititz campus, the directors of the program, Rachel Nicholson and Sharon Huizinga, want it to be clear that it’s for the whole industry, this is not an initiative of the companies at Rock Lititz. ALT are looking for the whole industry to support its programs, to provide guest lecturers, to offer training opportunities, to support the students and faculty efforts with technology.
One of THE Conference founders, Production Manager Charlie Hernandez spoke about the new Academy of Live Technology on the closing day and the need for people in the industry to step up to both help students in need get an education and to serve as mentors and lecturers for this promising new program. “The Academy of Live Technology and the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design have teamed up to create something different that both addresses our industry’s need for new talent and will help us transform the industry to meet future needs. They’re partnering on a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Live Experience Design and Production. They are merging PCAD’s expertise in creative education with ALT’s expertise in live event technology and production education.”
Hernandez explains, “Students will take classes in their major here in ALT’s building. Their classes will include the projects that pass through the campus. They’ll work beside you, the industry. ALT and PCAD need your help. The partnership also needs to put the best technology and equipment in the hands of students. Noteworthy is the immersive learning environment, where with our experiential-based classes are conducted at our collaborative, state-of-the-art facility here on the Rock Lititz campus. Students will be intersecting seamlessly with our industry’s companies. And finally, they need you—the experts. They need you to be guest lecturers. Can you come in for a day, or a week, or a month, and work side by side with the students to help them learn from the best? Can you find roles on your projects for students to work alongside you and your teams? These students represent the future, and together, we can help make their journey the best it can be. They need you to offer the students internships and opportunities to hone their skills and talents.”
In this same vein, in this month’s Industry Conversation [page 46] Laura Frank shares an excerpt from her excellent recent keynote speech—”Fearless Collaboration: Why the Next Generation is Essential for Success.” Frank has long been a pioneer in screens producing for live events and broadcast, has written two textbooks, and is one of the founders of frame:work, a community of live & virtual pixel makers that actively reaches out to new people in the field. In her timely keynote speech, she talks about the realities of trying to find skilled and trained talent for an industry that has a dynamic landscape of technology that’s ever changing and expanding. Her insight is a welcome contribution to the conversation; and we look forward to the next steps and actions of the industry as a whole.
As ever, PLSN looks forward to facilitating conversations and the efforts of the industry in 2024!
