The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) is a British charitable organisation representing technical staff working within theatre.

Overview

The ABTT was founded in 1961 by group of theatre producers, technicians and architects. The association has played a role in ensuring that regulations are suitably drafted and enforced, publishing a number of recommended Codes of Practice for the theatrical industry and theatrical technicians. The ABTT’s central aim is to "set out the physical standards for building and their equipment that are necessary to enable to good management of the premises and to provide the safety of the occupants in premises used for entertainment”. The ABTT is a

Charitable Organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

under English law, and operates throughout

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The ABTT also has a number of volunteer technical committees which liaise with

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

and other organisations.

Membership

The ABTT employs three members of staff. The ABTT is governed by

Memorandum A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...

and Articles of Association and is registered as a charitable organisation with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. It has 11

trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

who are appointed due to their expertise in areas including theatre and stage management,

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

technical theatre Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; an ...

, planning law and the performing arts. The Chairman of the Trust is Louise Jeffreys. The ABTT’s funding is derived from its memberships, donations given by supporters and proceeds from training. The principal source of income is from events including the ABTT Theatre Show which is held annually.

Remit

The ABTT was established by in 1961 with a central focus of ensuring "the advancement of …the technical subjects connected with theatre and theatrical presentation, fostering knowledge and the appreciation of the art of technical theatre". The ABTT offers guidance and advice through their Codes of Practice relating to planning, health and safety, architecture regeneration and development, and design which concern theatres and places of entertainment. The ABTT's remit covers a large range of buildings which include both old and new theatres either used, disused or in other uses. Notably, it also includes buildings or structures that have been temporarily converted into theatrical spaces.

ABBT Theatre Show

The ABTT Theatre Show is an annual

trade show A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

hosted in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and organised by registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

, the Association of British Theatre Technicians. The ABTT Theatre show draws exhibitors and visitors from all over the world interested in topics such as

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

audio visual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service pro ...

scenography Scenography (inclusive of scenic design, lighting design, sound design, costume design) is a practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography is the combination of technological and material ...

, rigging,

set construction Set construction is the process undertaken by a construction manager to build full-scale scenery, as specified by a production designer or art director working in collaboration with the director of a production to create a set for a theatric ...

and related technologies.

History

The ABTT Theatre show has been running since 1978, originally named The ABTT Trade show but rebranded in 2001. From 1980 the event was situated in the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was ...

; proceeding in 1981-82 to

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhous ...

and

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

during 1984-90. The ABTT then moved the Theatre Show to The

Old Truman Brewery The Black Eagle Brewery is the former brewing plant of Truman's Brewery located around Brick Lane in the Spitalfields area, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Truman's subsequently became Truman, Hanbury and Buxton. By 1853, the Black Eagle ...

in Shoreditch after deciding that an event space, rather than an

exhibition hall A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

would "provide everything we need to use… (with it being ) a quirky venue… exhibitors have welcomed the choice." and since then Alexandra Palace has held the event from 2015 to present. For 2019 Isobel Hatton was appointed as Theatre Show Director and delivered the event at Alexandra Palace. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 42nd ABTT Theatre Show scheduled for June 2020 was postponed, being run instead in collaboration with PLASA in 2021 from 5-7 September at Olympia London.

Remit

The purpose of the ABTT Theatre Show is to bring together

drama school A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the pr ...

Trade Association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

s and live entertainment under one roof to help explore the connection between these different Industries. The ABTT Theatre Show has been developed by the ABTT to be relevant across

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, TV, film and commercial work. A broad range of technical disciplines are covered, bring relevant to venue operators, production staff, theatre consultants and students addressing issues of

health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wo ...

, codes of practice, live performance, academic development, and other relevant matters. Exhibitor Technology, Live performance and specialist advice is made available for a wide range of issues which relate to theatres and places of entertainment. These include

theatre design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

, stage

, live performance, and issues relating to

issues matters that relate to places of entertainment.

ABTT Awards

Each year the Theatre show presents the ABTT Awards. In 2014, these awards were presented for the first time in combination with the National Awards for Stage Management in a joint ceremony with the Stage Management Association, with the host for the awards being actress

Lesley Manville Lesley Ann Manville (born 12 March 1956) is an English actress known for her frequent collaborations with Mike Leigh, appearing in the films '' Grown-Ups'' (1980), '' High Hopes'' (1988), '' Secrets & Lies'' (1996), ''Topsy-Turvy'' (1999), ''A ...

Resources

The ABTT has a number of resources that contribute towards the promotion of health and safety within theatres and their technical equipment: * Codes of Practice: The ABTT joined with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to contribute guidance on best practice within a variety of technical theatre fields. * Technical Standard for Places of Entertainment – The ABTT is a contributor for this publication which was produced to offer advice of safe standards and good practice for all types of entertainment premises. * Sightline: The ABTT publishes ''Sightline'' – Journal for Theatre Technology and Design quarterly. The ABTT also publishes

books to guide users in

best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...

. * Committees – The Trust maintains a number of committees that collaborate with organisations to further research technical and historical issues.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1961 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1961 Organisations based in the London Borough of Camden Theatrical organisations in the United Kingdom Stage crew