Opportunity: Punchkin Rep Seeks Lighting Designer

Punchkin Repertory Theatre is looking for a Lighting Designer for its upcoming production of Billboard by Michael Vukadinovich.

Tech/load-in: May 9th & 10th Show dates: May 11,12,13,17,18,19 Venue: Salvage Vanguard Theatre

Possible deferred pay. Please send an email with your resume/experience to info@punchkinrep.org.

For more info. about the company and its mission, please visit www.punchkinrep.org. Follow us on Facebook.

Update: Legislators Say They'll Correct TX HB 2649

Further to the proposed amendment to Texas House Bill 2649, which would have made obligatory the licensing of lighting designers of all professions, Managing Director of Austin Shakespeare Alex Alford passes along encouraging news:

CALL TO ACTION RE: LIGHTING DESIGNER LEGISLATION

Thursday, May 28, 2009 3:08 PM

From:"Alex Alford"

From Ken Shepardson:

Pass the word: According to Rep. Smith's office, HB 2649 is going to a House-Senate conference committee tonight. Rep. Smith is going to try to have the offending Senate amendment removed so that his original bill, which does not affect lighting designers, is the final version voted on and passed by both houses.

According to the Secretary of the Senate, the conference committee members from the Senate have not been appointed. Sen. Bob Deuell, from Greenville, is the Senate sponsor. According to his office, the conference committe will try to remove the Senate amendment, which should be doable unless Sen. Averitt (whose amendment it is) won't agree. Again according to Sen. Deuell's office, if the amendment cannot, for some reason, be removed, the bill may be allowed to die--Rep. Smith would rather kill the bill than pass it with the offending amendment.

I did just speak with Texas Sen. Kip Averitt's office about his Senate amendment to HB 2649, the one that affects lighting designers. Sen. Averitt's amendment will be removed from the bill. Lighting designers will no longer be included in the legislation. This comes from his office, who suggested I might spread the word.

Finally, once more from Sen. Deuell's office, if the bill does somehow make it to the Governor's desk with the amendment--and there's no way it should now--the word is that the Governor might veto it. Can't be sure . . . but that's the word.

Send this out to anyone who might be interested. And, for good luck next time, IF Sen. Averitt's office is right and his amendment is removed, everyone should send a short "Thank you" email to Sens. Deuell and Averitt and to Rep. Wayne Smith. IT CAN'T HURT!

Sen. Kip Averitt

Sen. Bob Deuell

Rep. Wayne Smith


Alex Alford
Managing Director
Austin Shakespeare
512 470-4505
alex@austinshakespeare.org

Tx Legislature Bans Lighting Designers; Governor's Action Next

Click for UPDATE, May 29 from Alex Alford: Legislators say they will correct bill, exclude stage lighting designers.

UPDATE, May 28 from Travis Bedard, with contact info for your representatives

NOTE: Following report is OBE ("OVERCOME BY EVENTS"), as detailed in updates, but remains here as a record of the political and legislative process.

It appears that while we haven't been looking, the Texas legislature has passed a bill that will put some theatrical lighting designers out of business.

This bill, introduced by Rep. Wayne Smith (R) of Baytown, will require state registration and licensing of lighting designers and will limit licenses to already registered or licensed engineers, architects, landscape architects and interior designers.

The House passed the bill on May 3 and the Senate passed it today, May 27. Next stop is a House-Senate conference to reconcile differences -- the paragraphs on lighting design were inserted by the Senate. Rep. Smith may try to eliminate them in conference. If that doesn't work, the bill will move to the Governor's office for signature.

Excerpts from Tx HB 2649 are carried on jmonlight.com, accompanied by an undated, probably belated squawk from the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD).

This one could be sitting on the Govenor's desk as part of the thick bundle of laws the legislators are passing in the scant days remaining in the session. Governor Rick Perry would have twenty days to act. Or not act.

What does that mean? Specifics (with ALT emphasis added) from the on-line primer of the Guide to Texas Legislative Information:

Governor's action

Except in the case of a bill sent to the governor within 10 days of final adjournment, upon receiving a bill, the governor has 10 days in which to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature. If the governor elects to veto the bill and the legislature is still in session, the bill is returned to the chamber in which it originated with an explanation of the governor’s objections. A two-thirds majority in each chamber is required to override the veto. If the governor neither vetoes nor signs the bill within the allotted time, the bill becomes law. If a bill is sent to the governor within 10 days of final adjournment, the governor has until 20 days after final adjournment to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature.

Suggestion: Contact your state representative to voice opposition and contact Rep. Smith's office (tel. (512) 463-0733 and fax (512) 463-1323). Travis Bedard reports that Smith's staffers already have a prepared script, so they've been getting calls. Anticipating the worse, you can go to the "contact" page for the Governor's Office, where you'll find an on-line form to express your opinion on this one. Unless Tx HB 2649 is stopped, some talented theatrical lighting designers are going to be out of work. And theatres will be none the better for the Lege's well-intentioned meddling.