Structural Design and Analysis in Live Entertainment Courses
Offered by Purdue’s Fusion Studio for Entertainment and Engineering
Courses Available
$500 | Open Enrollment
This foundational course introduces the use of pre-qualified structures in theater set design and the engineering principles that ensure their safety. Learners will:
- Understand load distribution on platforms and staging.
- Identify structural considerations for various set materials.
- Learn framing, leg supports, and pre-manufactured platforming techniques.
- Work with sheet goods, stick lumber, and stressed-skin panels (“triscuits”).
This is the first course in the upcoming certificate program and is recommended as a starting point for all learners.
Those pursuing the full certificate should take Pre-Qualified Structures first.
$500 | Open Enrollment
This course dives into the structural analysis of scenic elements, equipping learners with tools to assess and document forces within set structures. Participants will:
- Break down complex scenic elements into individual structural components.
- Create and interpret free body diagrams.
- Apply static equilibrium principles to ensure structural stability.
- Analyze internal stresses in scenic elements to predict material behavior under load.
$500 | Open Enrollment
This course explores the geometric properties of structural members and their impact on load-bearing capacity. Learners will:
- Examine how cross-sectional shapes affect structural integrity.
- Calculate key geometric properties, including the centroid, moment of inertia and section modulus.
- Understand the relationship between these properties and bending/compression strength.
Knowing structurally sound construction techniques, and understanding how they work, makes the difference between scenic elements that support the story—and the actors—and scenic elements that fall down and put everyone at risk.
Rich Dionne
News and Events
Purdue’s Prequalified Structures Course Emphasizes Safety in Theater Set Construction
Safe theater set construction is essential to a successful performance. When sets are not constructed safely, disaster can ensue. This blog covers how people who build theater sets can use smart engineering principles to keep performers, stage crew members, and the audience safe. Read More
Purdue offering online Prequalified Structures for the Stage course
Learn more about Purdue’s Prequalified Structures for the Stage online course, which covers the fundamentals of safe and effective theater set construction. Learn about the importance of safe set construction and the engineering principles that make theater builds successful. Read More
Who Should Enroll?
This flexible, self-paced program is ideal for:
- Technical directors and stagehands
- Theater set designers and engineers
- Entertainment production managers
- Community and school theater managers
- Anyone working with scenic structures in live entertainment
Meet the Instructor: Technical Director and Author, Rich Dionne
Rich Dionne is an associate professor of practice and faculty technical director specializing in scenery automation and show control systems. Additionally, he mentors Multidisciplinary Engineering students concentrating in Theatre Engineering, and is the chair of the Department of Theatre at Purdue University. He has a passion for both the art of theatre and the science and engineering of making theatre happen.
Rich has served as the technical director for numerous productions in the Department of Theatre; prior to coming to Purdue, Rich was the production manager and resident sound designer at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, where he mounted numerous productions at various indoor and outdoor venues, including a nationally-recognized educational touring company.
Additionally, he has served as the technical director for Berkshire Theatre Festival, Alpine Theatre Project, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, and Dorset Theatre Festival, mounting critically-acclaimed productions including The Whipping Man, Barefoot in the Park, Amadeus, Night of the Iguana, Avenue Q, The Illusion, and Death of a Salesman.
Rich is the co-director of Purdue’s Fusion Studio for Entertainment and Engineering. The Fusion Studio connects industry leaders with scholars and practitioners, provides space for development and exploration, and inspires pedagogical innovation at the nexus of engineering and live entertainment.
Rich is the author of Project Planning for the Stage: Tools and Techniques for Managing Extraordinary Performances (available from Southern Illinois University Press) and is co-author with Michael Gillette of the ninth edition of Theatrical Design and Production (available from McGraw-Hill). He was the Commissioner of Technical Production of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology from 2019 to 2023 and an ETCP-Certified Theatre Rigger (#2928).