The Trinculo’s Attic workshops will include instruction and electronics to take home.

More and more, homebrew electronics are making their way into theatre. They offer a great deal of opportunity for scenic and properties effects, but can also be intimidating to learn. Trinculo’s Attic, a theatrical electronics firm based in Pittsburgh, Penn., is offering a series of one-day workshops across the country this year to cover the basics of these new technologies for theatre professionals. Workshops will take place in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and include a copy of Embedded Electronics for Theatre and a Trinculo’s Attic Starter Kit, which has $150 in electronics.

Trinculo’s Attic Announces Winter Workshop Schedule

Recent innovations in programmable miniature electronics offer a world of exciting possibilities for the theatre industry. The major hurdle to incorporating these innovations is the need among theatre professionals for a basic understanding of the technology and its uses. Addressing this issue, Trinculo’s Attic, a theatrical electronics firm providing support and educational resources to the entertainment industry, is launching its first round of Theatrical Electronics Workshops.

The 1-day intensive workshops provide the basic knowledge and tools for theatre professionals to immediately begin applying these new technologies to their own unique circumstances. Each workshop covers the use of embedded electronics in three distinct areas: Robotics, making props and practicals move on demand; Sensors, making things react to the world around them; and Lighting, covering both the new technology available and how to power and control it within a production.

Workshop leader Ben Peoples is the author of Embedded Electronics for Theater. He has worked with Disney Creative Entertainment, Cirque du Soleil, Paramount Theme Parks and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Ben was Assistant Technical Director at the California Shakespeare Theatre and has designed lighting for Ray of Light Theatre in San Francisco and Starlight Productions in Pittsburgh. Ben became interested in embedded electronics in 2006, initially creating camera controllers and electrical test equipment for theatre consultants. He then began exploring the possibilities of embedded electronics for theatre use and founded Trinculo’s Attic in the summer of 2011. Since then, Ben has taught workshops, created numerous theatrical electronics applications and consulted on the design of electronically-enhanced props for multiple professional theatre productions.

Tickets for all Winter/Spring 2012 Workshops are available now. Workshop locations and dates are:

New York City February 12th, Atlantic Theatre Company
Chicago February 26th, Hilton Suites – Chicago/Magnificent Mile
San Francisco Bay Area March 11th, Hilton – San Francisco Airport
Long Beach/Los Angeles April 1st, Hyatt Regency – Long Beach

NOTE: The Long Beach workshop is the day after USITT for the convenience of USITT attendees, but is not affiliated with that event.

Workshop admission is $450/person and includes a copy of Embedded Electronics for Theatre and a Trinculo’s Attic Starter Kit, $150 in electronics to take home at the end of the session. Each workshop is limited to 30 people. No previous electronics experience is required and no soldering is involved.

Summer/Fall 2012 workshop dates are currently in the works. For larger companies and those unable to attend a workshop, in-house seminars can be scheduled. Additional Kits and books are both available for purchase at the Trinculo’s Attic website.

More information is available at the Trinculo’s Attic website: www.trinculosattic.com