NATEAC registration is now open to the public at nateac.org. General registration costs $850; student registration is $350 with a valid .edu email address. When you register, you’ll also have an opportunity to purchase tickets to the charity dinner supporting Behind the Scenes at $175 (charity dinner tickets may be purchased separately during the conference as well).
Wondering what the North American Theatre, Engineering, and Architecture Conference (NATEAC) has in store for you? Here are some highlights:
Creating Neurodiverse-Friendly Spaces and Performances Beyond Just the Sensory-Friendly
Presenter: Christina Keryczynskyj
Everyone deserves to participate and enjoy theater, including those who identify as neurodivergent. As neurodiversity has been inching closer to the societal forefront, it is a perfect time to start actively thinking about catering toward neurodiverse audiences in our design of theatrical venues and performances. This does not mean solely thinking in terms of sensory-friendly experiences; this session will go beyond the current “lights up/sound down” conversations in performance venues. Neurodiversity is a spectrum, and while these types of experiences may cater toward a narrow field, a plethora of others need different, less conspicuous accommodations. In this session, we will explore and share what some of these accommodations might be and how we can design with these ideas in mind from the beginning. We will focus on the built environment and how that supports or fails to support neurodivergence. Along with architectural choices, are there furnishing, MEP, finish, wayfinding, or other choices within the built environment that should be considered?
Behind the Curtain: The Creative Potential of Universal Design
Presenter: Delia Nevola
Have you ever been backstage during a performance? The energy at the heart of the theatre is palpable; everyone has something to do, someplace to be. The hustle and bustle of the crew members, costume changes, instrument warm-ups, and other preparations to get onstage are all happening simultaneously. Many of us focus on the stage as the most essential space in a theater, but all the magic is happening behind the stage curtain. The focus of this session is to demonstrate the importance of universal design to promote access for all in theatre backstage spaces.
Because backstage access as a topic has been neglected, NATEAC will address this topic in two forms. This session will start the conversation, and the conversation will continue later in the conference as a charrette that will look to identify the barriers and crowdsource solutions.
Help Wanted: Creating Meaningful Early Career Opportunities for All
Presenter: Kascey Haslanger
Many people attending NATEAC may have gotten their start by working in theatre, learning of opportunities in technical theatre, integration, architecture, installation, consulting, and manufacturing by chance exposure. As arts programs and funding decrease, so do opportunities to expose young people to relevant career prospects in the field. In this session, we’ll explore who early career individuals are now, what they want from careers, and how we can develop programs that provide access to diverse populations to these professions while providing them adequate training and support to maximize benefits for all parties. On the flip side, we’ll also focus on success stories of teaching technical people about the theatre industry to open opportunities to those who didn’t grow up with a theatre presence in their lives.
Post Pandemic Ventilation Systems for Theaters
Presenter: Monona Rossol
In this session we’ll look at transforming theaters and performing art buildings from places of greater risk of infection and diminished air quality to places of reduced risk and refuges from air pollution. This will include a brief review of the infectious aerosol issued and what we’ve learned; a brief history of the various standards for infection control ventilation, including AIHA, ACGIH, and Harvard Healthy Buildings; the pros and cons of the infection control ventilation standard, ASHRAE 241; and wildfire smoke, chemical accidents, sandstorms, and other outdoor pollution issues. We’ll share what works, the application to theaters and other spaces, as well as our vision for the future.
Providing Access for People with Disabilities
Presenter: Kristi Avalos
This presentation is about embracing accessibility through compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as an opportunity to increase participation at theatre events, as you will learn how to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for people with disabilities. This group includes a growing aging population who can find it challenging to navigate through physical barriers that often exist in theaters. The ADA can be an intimidating labyrinth of complexities for even seasoned experts who are responsible for complying with it. Kristi Avalos, who has 40+ years of accessibility experience, will sift through the vast confusion as she shares answers to the hardest questions surrounding the ADA.
Amphitheatres: Designing and Detailing for Outdoor Spaces
Presenter: Todd Hensley
The US is experiencing a boom in outdoor theatre facilities. The range of amphitheatre sizes and programming is growing, and audiences are flocking to outdoor spaces for concerts and shows. Commercial activity and audience demand are at notable high points. The panel will examine a wide range of amphitheatres and their uses. We will review varied audience capacities, layouts and sightlines, patron amenities, stage capacity, backstage requirements, and accommodations for touring acts. Special focuses will include urban planning and siting, equipment integration, planning for weather, and, of course, access.
A New Paradigm for Restroom Design in Performing Arts Buildings
Presenter: Eric Furbish
This session will present a performing arts-centered prototype for next-generation inclusive restroom facilities at a theoretical performing arts center. Building upon the work of the Stalled. Project at the nexus of national debates surrounding transgender access to public space restrooms, we will present a concept which re-imagines the restroom space beyond the practical requirement as a space for all occupants. We will demonstrate how restrooms can be multi-user, high-volume, inviting, sustainable, and safer spaces which respond to the unique concerns with access, social justice, and equity that all performing arts institutions face.
An Anti-Ableist Approach to Theatre Design
Presenter: Paul Behrhorst
Being ADA-compliant does not make a space accessible. But often additional accessibility features get thrown out due to cost or a perceived lack of need. In this presentation, we will focus on the importance of access, specific ways to make theatres more accessible, and why it matters for the architects to appreciate the importance of and advocate for access when designing new spaces, going beyond ADA compliance, and making access a valued aesthetic. This workshop will also focus on the fact that although approximately 26% of the US population has a disability, there are very few theatre artists working on our stages and even fewer backstage. The current design approach focuses on access for audiences but fails at representing those audiences on our stages or backstage. There is a desire for inclusion and representation from the disabled community, but the industry has not yet figured out how to keep the door open.
Tuesday Tours organized by American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC)
If you can stick around for the extra day, join us for architectural tours on Tuesday. Take the knowledge you’ve learned at all the NATEAC sessions and use them as a lens through which to visit some of the most state-of-the-art performance spaces in New York City. We hope you’ll come away inspired by what the future of accessible design holds.
NATEAC takes place July 13 – 16, 2024, at New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn.
Further information from NATEAC: http://nateac.org/
