ITEAC London 2010

ITEAC 2010 – the final full Conference under the directorship of Richard Brett took place at the Central Hall, Westminster, 13-15 June.
Delegates, speakers and sponsors from around the world were welcomed to London for the third Conference on Theatre Engineering and Architecture – the pattern of the event following that of its predecessors by including a range of topics based largely on early responses received from many individuals and groups.
While it was anticipated that new performance spaces would feature highly, the considerable interest in sessions about the principles of stage engineering and covering essential theatre and technical planning was unexpected.
Overall the programme was a mix of basic and advanced presentations on theatre planning, engineering, lighting, sound and acoustics, as well as on the processes of design and procurement.
This variety enabled delegates and speakers to come together and understand enough of the values of each other's related disciplines to improve future plans and the resulting building of the performing arts.
At a time of financial stringency, the performing arts suffered their share of the savings that governments in many countries were having to make, and the resulting reduction in donations from philanthropists.
Although little doubt that live performance will survive, there were discussions about whether we needed more theatre and further consideration to the use of found spaces and the transmission of live performances to distant audiences; the magic of a live show must be engendered in today’s youngsters to challenge the march of presentational technology in computers, 3D cinemas and similar.
That the atmosphere of the venue, be it a disused factory or the latest ‘stararchitect’ auditorium being an important part of the attraction, the delegates were tasked to ensure that theatre buildings play their part in drawing audiences and also providing properly for players and technicians.
This meant that all venues, from school halls to opera houses, must be fit for their purposes – the continuation of live performances.