Behind the Scenes announces that NATEAC, the North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference, has made a $10,000 donation to support the work of the charity. NATEAC is a quadrennial conference which had been scheduled to take place in New York City last summer and was turned into a highly successful virtual conference held July 20-22, 2021.

On presenting the check, NATEAC Founder, Bill Sapsis, commented, “All of us at NATEAC are very happy to provide this donation in support of the terrific work the Behind the Scenes Foundation offers through its grants program and mental health initiative.” In 2016 NATEAC donated the proceeds from its conference dinner at Sardi’s to the charity.  In 2021 the pandemic forced NATEAC to cancel the dinner but the conference organizers were determined to continue the support for BTS.

NATEAC’s mission is to promote communication between the architects, engineers, consultants, and manufacturers responsible for designing and building new theaters and renovating existing facilities in North America. It is also their goal to promote a higher level of interaction between these professionals and the end users of their facilities.

Lori Rubinstein, Executive Director of the Behind the Scenes Foundation, gratefully accepted the check, saying “NATEC represents a coming together of individuals from across our industry to share their expertise to create even better performance spaces that benefit those who work in and attend them. That ethos is kin to what Behind the Scenes represents–a coming together of individuals to share their expertise to care for their colleagues who are ill or injured or coping with mental health challenges. NATEAC’s donation is a welcome affirmation of that work at a much-needed time.”

The Behind the Scenes charity provides entertainment technology professionals, or their immediate dependent family, who are seriously ill or injured with grants that may be used for basic living and medical expenses. The BTS Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative provides tools and resources to support entertainment industry workers and promote mental health and psychological safety.  For more information about Behind the Scenes visit www.behindthescenescharity.org.