USITT is honored to have sponsored the U.S. Exhibition at the Prague Quadrennial of Design and Space (PQ) since the inaugural U.S. exhibition in 1972, and the Institute is excited to keep the tradition going with our new Core Artistic Leadership Team for PQ27. 

"In working with the International Activities Committee, we reflected on how to make the structure for our volunteer leadership in making our PQ entries more open to the USITT membership," said Executive Director Laura Lee Everett. "We also evaluated the scope of 'the job' and created a four-person team that will lead the PQ27 process from application to selection, from build to exhibition at USITT27 and in Prague. To build support for the designers, especially those working on the Emerging exhibit, there is creative and process mentorship for those new to this kind of collaboration."

The PQ27 Core Artistic Team is composed of an Executive Producer (USITT’s Executive Director), Artistic Director, Lead Creative Producer, and Build Technical Director.

The Artistic Director develops and executes the U.S. National and Emerging exhibits, working with the Executive Producer to create the artistic vision for both.  

The Lead Creative Producer maintains the alignment of the artistic statement and vision for the exhibits, mentoring the Emerging designers in the larger collaborative process.

The Build Technical Director leads the group building the exhibits, devising the process for the exhibits to travel, and manages the team taking them to USITT27 and PQ27.

Everett has announced that Rob Eastman-Mullins is the Artistic Director, Patrick Rizzotti as the Lead Creative Producer, and John Keisling as the Build Technical Director. 

"For the first time, we offered an open call process for the Build Team and for the Artistic Director, which received great response and excitement," Everett said. "This mirrors the open calls we host for the creative works to be featured as part of the exhibition. I am very excited about collaborating with Rob, John, and Patrick on the upcoming PQ project to feature the very best of American Design."

Learn more about the team assembled to lead the U.S. exhibits for PQ27 below.

The Team

Laura Lee Everett- Executive Director

LAURA LEE EVERETT joined USITT as its Executive Director in early 2023. She was introduced to the membership at the Annual Conference & Stage Expo in St. Louis. She was previously the Chief Programs Officer for OPERA America.

Joining OPERA America in 2012, she facilitated the creation and opening of the National Opera Center in New York City. She created the public programming series Onstage at the Opera Center and established the curating cycles for the production design galleries featuring the work of celebrated scenic, costume, lighting, projection, wig, and production designers’ work in opera.

Everett spent 10 years as the managing director at the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland and eight seasons with the Aspen Opera Theater Center. In both positions, she cultivated support for programs developing new work, training the next generation of performers, directors, designers, and technicians, and giving students in the performing arts the essential opportunity to gain experience in classic repertoire and contemporary work.

She spent more than 20 years of her career as a stage and production manager specializing in opera and in this capacity has overseen productions and worked with many of the leading companies across the U.S.

 

Rob Eastman-Mullins - Artistic Director

"Rob Eastman-Mullins has been an active advocate with USITT International activities and will be an inspiring artistic leader for this project and the leadership group. I’m excited to see where he will take us on this design adventure." -Laura Lee Everett

ROB EASTMAN-MULLINS is a freelance scenographer—designing scenery, lighting, & costumes— and a Professor of Design & Production at Wake Forest University. His work has been seen at Syracuse Opera, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, New Theatre (Miami), Triad Stage (NC), and the NC Shakespeare Festival. His scenic design for Macbeth was exhibited at the 2019 Prague Quadrennial and selected for the 2022 World Stage Design in Calgary. A fan of working on new plays, Rob has designed for premieres with such playwrights as Jeff Baron, Melinda Lopez, Catherine Bush, John Strand, Vanessa Garcia, and Shirley Lauro. An active member of OISTAT, he served as chair of the Performance Design Commission and founding co-chair of the Space Design Sub-commission. In. 2024, Rob was tapped to serve on the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organizations's ad hoc brainstorming group on the intellectual property in the live arts, in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

Patrick Rizzotti - Lead Creative Producer

"Patrick Rizzotti has been an instrumental collaborator in international activities and the past PQ. The Lead Creative Producer role is one that he is uniquely qualified to launch as a previous winner of the USITT Scene Design Award sponsored by Rose Brand who knows what kind of mentorship is helpful to emerging designers, as well as his familiarity with the communication needs in the PQ process." -Laura Lee Everett

PATRICK RIZZOTTI has been actively involved with USITT since winning the USITT Scene Design Award, sponsored by Rose Brand in 2014, and presenting his work at PLASA London. In 2017, he became Vice Commissioner of Programming for the International Activities Committee and took on the role of Committee Chair in 2021. Patrick was the Associate Artistic Director for the USITT PQ 2023 Exhibitions and co-designed the World Stage Design 2022 in Calgary. He is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He maintains an active design practice, working across the US and Canada, and has presented his work and research in countries including Taiwan, Serbia, the UK, and the Czech Republic.

Patrick is excited to take on the role of Lead Creative Producer for USITT's PQ27 exhibits. In this role, he will collaborate with recent YDMT winners to offer them a platform for international experience and recognition. He sees this as an opportunity to extend the value of the award while forging new paths for emerging talent in the field.

 

John Keisling - Build Technical Director

"I’m thrilled that we will be working with John Keisling and his team from Wayne State University in Detroit as the build team. This is the first time Wayne State has been a part of the PQ and we are so grateful for the university’s partnership on this project." - Laura Lee Everett

JOHN KEISLING is an Associate Professor of Teaching and the Technical Director for the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He holds an MFA in Technical Production from Florida State University and a BA in Theatre Arts from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Prior to beginning his career as an educator, John worked as a carpenter and scene shop manager in the regional theater space, and as a Mechanical Designer for a scenic production company.

John is the Author of AutoCAD for Theatrical Drafting: A Resource for Designers and Technical Directors. AutoCAD for Theatrical Drafting provides an introduction to the software AutoCAD, specifically focusing on how to navigate the commands most commonly used when creating design, construction, and installation drafting plates for theatrical use.

John is honored to have been selected to lead Wayne State University students in the build of the U.S. Exhibits for PQ27.