ETC CUE End-user Conference Deemed a Success

When ETC hosted CUE (Create, Understand, Experience) from July 25-27, the event had already been several years in the making. The company had discussed the idea of an end-user conference that would resemble the rep and dealer workshop that ETC holds every other year, and finally made the decision to go ahead with plans for the first-ever CUE event. The response was even greater than ETC had anticipated -- almost 200 people signed up. Said CUE attendee Andrea Bilkey, an associate professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas: "Having an opportunity to learn from and share stories with fellow creative minds, as well as the folks who know ETC best, is a win-win situation."

Preparing for CUE and the large crowd of ETC fans was a huge undertaking and involved contributions from every single ETC department. ETC marketing events technician Patrick Stewart says: "Equipment-wise, CUE was larger than an ETC rep and dealer Workshop with a tradeshow on top of it." Stewart and a team of employees from ETC offices around the globe spent two days setting up the gear used for the conference, which included two semi-loads of equipment, 54 ETC lighting control consoles, 112 LCD monitors, 48 personal computers, and four tradeshow booth pieces.

Professionals from seven countries and every corner of the lighting industry went to Madison, Wisconsin, for three days of ETC product education and culture, Midwest hospitality, networking, and a few surprises. Monday, July 25-- the first day of CUE -- was dedicated to console training, which was so popular that ETC had to open up extra classes to accommodate the number of people signing up. That evening at a welcome reception, CUE attendees got the first look at the new Eos-family lighting control console - Gio-- that ETC will officially debut in September at fall trade shows. Three Gio boards were wheeled into the reception hall and were immediately surrounded by CUE goers. Within minutes, social media lit up as spectators posted photos and blogged about what they saw.

On Tuesday morning, CUE attendees listened to the keynote address by ETC CEO Fred Foster and heard a retelling of ETC history by the man who knows it best. They also got another exclusive surprise that again fired up chat rooms and lighting blogs. Then, the main CUE sessions began, with classes about everything from ETC Rigging products, to creating a hybrid theater. CUE attendees were also able to participate in special sessions, delivering their own presentations about projects they've done, or sharing their product thoughts with ETC's R&D department. Everyone visited ETC's headquarters on Tuesday night for a picnic and live concert by bands made up of ETC employees, reps and dealers. Throughout the event, groups toured the factory and learned about the origins of the award-winning ETC building design.

Wednesday, July 27, began with another keynote address, this time by Jason Lyons, a Tony-nominated Broadway lighting designer. Lyons shared how he became interested in lighting and talked about the path he took to get to Broadway. After the keynote, CUE attendees took more classes, from "Lighting Like a Pro" to "Funding Your Theatre's Future," and then brought down the curtain on the inaugural CUE conference.

CUE provided many opportunities for the lighting professionals to swap stories from their experience in the field and to network. An iPhone app and Facebook page-- created by ETC especially for CUE-- contributed to the discussions and allowed participants to get ideas and solutions from each other to enhance their work. CUE attendee Beth Wiegmann, a theatre director from Polo Community High School in Illinois, explains: "It's so exciting to see all these likeminded people being able to come together and meet like this, in a way they just couldn't otherwise without ETC providing the venue and event."

Following CUE, participants have flooded ETC with praise for making the event a one-of-a-kind experience. Says CUE attendee Nick Beach, production manager for Keyano Theatre in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada: "It's rare when you go to a conference and so much of what you learn is relevant, but CUE was." His enthusiasm was echoed by other CUE participants, most of whom have encouraged ETC to host another CUE in the future. Based on the success of this first end-user event, ETC is evaluating the possibility of holding the conference biennially, with the next prospective CUE tentatively planned for 2013.