Theatre and Dance Projection Tips by Theatre Avenue

Projection Tip [#1] - Be Open to Learn

This theatre and dance projection tip is from theatre teacher and director in Dublin, Ohio, Pat Santanello...

Theatre and dance projection tip by drama teacher Pat Santanello.

What tip or advice would you offer up to help projections be a success in theatre and dance shows?

Pat: We use projections in most of our shows now. When we first started using them regularly (maybe six years ago) there was definitely a learning curve, but our technical director has learned many techniques for using them and we have students who really enjoy working with them.

My advice is to be open to the experience and understand where and how they work best. We use them to enhance productions and they are a godsend for shows that have a lot of very fast scene changes. Last year we did Elf the Musical and there are so many crazy scene changes that the projections really helped to place the action from location to location. We like mixing projections with actual scenery and they will definitely be a boost to the zoom-style shows we are doing this fall.

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More about Pat

Pat Santanello is in her 26th year as Director of Theatre at Dublin Scioto High School in Dublin, Ohio and is the Troupe Director of Thespian Troupe #5440. She is in her 29th year as a member of the Ohio Educational Theatre Association’s Board of Directors, where she serves as Co-Chapter Director. She received her Ed.D. with a specialty in accessible theatre from the University of Findlay and graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A., B.S. Ed. And M.A. in Theatre Education. Pat received the Ashland Teacher Achievement Award in 1995, the Iota Lambda Sigma Distinguished Service award in 2003, and the Dublin City Schools Golden Shamrock Award in 2012. She is an Ohio Master Teacher and a 2003 Fulbright Memorial Scholar. She has served in a number of roles with the Educational Theatre Association, including service on the EdTA Governing Board, as a Leadership Coach, and as the co-chair of the Educational Theatre Foundation’s Advisory Committee. In October of 2010, she was inducted into the Educational Theatre Association’s National Hall of Fame. She is a proud founding board member of Short North Stage. She lives with her husband, Theo, and their two retired racing greyhounds in Dublin, Ohio.