Thomas DeGaetani

(1929-1978)

Education/Training:

Employment History:

U.S. Navy medical department (1946-1949)
Director of the Stage Department and Lecturer of Theatre Techniques at the Juilliard School of Music (1953-1963)
Managing Director for theatres and concert halls of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NYC (1963-1965)
Project Supervisor and Manager of facilities services for Bolt, Beranek & Newman (1965-1969).
Editor’s note: BB&N was an acoustical consulting firm that was among the first to explore the emerging field of Theatre Consulting. Mr. DeGaetani was brought on board with BB&N to head up this effort. In the course of this work he hired many young professionals that later independently founded their own companies and became leaders in this field.
Executive Director of USITT (1970-1972).
Editor’s note: Mr. DeGaetani was the Institute’s first Exec. Director. Financial difficulties that resulted from the additional expenses, coupled with Mr. DeGaetani’s heath complications, forced the Board of Directors to let him go. Tom went into semi-retirement over the next few years until he succumbed to a heart attack in the spring of 1978.

Publications:

Numerous articles for periodicals including the Juilliard Review, American Institute of Architects Journal, Progressive Architecture, and Dance Magazine.
Board of Advisory Editors, Tulane Drama Review

USITT Involvement and offices held:

Awards and Honors:

Elected USITT Fellow (posthumously, 2001)
Recipient of grant from the Institute of International Education to study European theatre architecture (1959)
Recipient of grants from UNESCO to attend the Berlin Colloquy on Theatre Architecture (1960) and the Athens Colloquy on Theatres for Mass Audiences (1962)
Ford Foundation grant to assist the Macedonian Ministry of Culture in the development of programming for the Skopje (Yugoslavia) Cultural Center