DENVER – USITT announced that the first annual Jay O. Glerum Rigging Masterclasses are full. They will offer two days of hands-on stage rigging instruction to a total of 64 students June 13-14 in Denve. USITT has 30 students signed up for its Advanced Rigging Masterclass and 34 in the Entry Level Rigging Class. Seven who are secondary school teachers also received funding for travel expenses donated by the family of Jay Glerum, for whom the masterclasses are named.
More details from USITT (www.usitt.org):
Glerum was a USITT Fellow and master rigger who was famous in the entertainment industry as an educator and safety advocate. After his death in 2014, USITT and several sponsors partnered to offer the Jay O. Glerum Rigging Masterclasses to further the cause of rigging safety in his memory.
USITT would like to thank the following sponsors for making the classes possible:
ETC, JR Clancy, H&H Specialties, and Texas Scenic Co. The JR Clancy Green Machine Employees also took up a collection to help sponsor this effort.
Additional support came from the Colorado Alliance of Technical Theatre Educators, as well as the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Metropolitan State University, which are donating their theatre spaces for the masterclasses.
The Entry Level course will be taught by Ed Leahy of Chicago Flyhouse, Patrick Finn of JR Clancy, and Shane Kelly of DePaul University. The Advanced classes are being taught by Eric Rouse of the Denver Center, Peter Svitavsky of JR Clancy, Joe Champelli of Entertainment Project Services, Paul Kelm of iWeiss, and Gareth Conner of Creative Conners.
