TEA president Michael Mercadante and former TEA president Christine Kerr were integral parts of the TEA Summit and the TEA Thea Awards
The TEA Summit organisers work to bring fresh elements, ideas and programming to the curation of the conference each year, reflecting the needs and culture of the themed entertainment industry. The two-day TEA Summit consists of a business forum (Day One) and a showcase of the current year’s TEA Thea Award recipients (Day Two).
The conference has continued to grow in attendance and receives positive feedback each year. Each day has its own co-chairs and moderators. It’s followed the next day by the annual TEA Thea Awards Gala.
The business of business
The focus of the TEA Summit’s first day was “the business of the business” and remains a private session with emphasis on the state of the industry and hot topics that are relevant to all business leaders working in the industry.
The programme began with Thea Classic Award recipient Dollywood. Pete Owens, Dollywood’s VP of Marketing and Public Relations, gave the presentation. The business partnership between Herschend Family Entertainment and Dolly Parton is an impressive shared commitment to their employees and their community.
The day closed out with the popular “Conversation with”, featuring Mark Woodbury, vice chair of Universal Parks and Resorts and President of Universal Creative, honored as this year’s recipient of the Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements. He was joined by long-time colleague Mike West, who is senior director and executive producer at Universal Creative. Woodbury began his career as an architect before joining Universal to work on the Universal Studios Park in Orlando. Over the decades, he has distinguished himself, and inspired others, with his passion for the industry, working with significant IP holders, and an open-door leadership approach.
The Summit’s education programme was focused on ‘the business of business’
Day one co-chairs were myself and the TEA Eastern North America Division Board president Melissa Ruminot of The Companies of Nassal.
Masterclassing
Day two of the TEA Summit is always an information-packed day, as each of the projects being recognised with a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement has the opportunity to take to the stage and share the story of their work.
Co-chairs Roberta Perry, TEA past president and senior vice president at Edwards Technologies, and Pat MacKay – president of Ones&ZerosMedia and a past recipient of the TEA Peter Chernack Service Award – were joined by Brian Morrow, founder of B Morrow Productions; Shawn McCoy, vice president at JRA; and TEA founder and past president Monty Lunde, president of Technifex. The projects were presented in moderated groups: theme parks and attractions (moderated by Morrow); museums (McCoy); technology (Lunde); and live shows (MacKay).
The opportunity to ask questions was available after hearing from a group of two to three projects, creating opportunities to make connections between similarities and highlighting contrasts.
Different strokes
A great example of stark contrasts was presented in three “museum-style” projects. All featured very different stories, were located in very different places and followed specific development processes.
The first, Be Washington, is an interactive, media-driven attraction located at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, which required the filming of hours of historically accurate footage. The new media for the attraction is then cleverly woven within the interactive decision-making process that allows guests to “Be Washington” and respond to crises the US’s first President faced during his time in office and then learn how he himself acted.
The story of how the Evel Knievel Museum came to be built adjacent to a Harley Davidson Dealership in Topeka, Kansas, by passionate people who had no previous experience in the museum world is a fun and fascinating one. It’s a pop culture tribute that captures the story of an iconic daredevil and uses an extensive collection of memorabilia and motorbikes.
Finally, the Lego House, designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, embraces play and the story of Lego in the centre of the toy giant’s home in Billund, Denmark. The entire project is quite remarkable but is made even more so by the fact that in addition to content, exhibits and activities designed by Lego, the facility also embraces the work of AFOLS (Adult Fans Of Lego) and includes extensive gallery space for rotating exhibits featuring their work.
Artistic endeavour
Two projects – the MORI Building Digital Art Museum from teamLab Borderless and the collaboration between the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, artist Sarah Fuller and Moment Factory – are both art installations at their core.
Working with artists to develop and curate content in order to present deep and meaningful storytelling, the immersive world created by teamLab blurs the lines of where the physical world begins and ends as guests are immersed in and interact with moving projections of vivid imagery.
Illuminations: human/nature was developed as a Canada 150 initiative – a year of activities focused on engaging and inspiring youth; celebrating diversity and encouraging inclusion; establishing a spirit of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, discovering Canada’s natural beauty and strengthening environmental awareness.
The TEA Thea Awards Gala brings together some of the biggest names in the industry
Described as “a magical, nighttime, digital discovery experience”, two shows were presented for a limited run. One was held in the country’s oldest National Park in Banff, Alberta, and the other in the newest National Park in Rouge Valley, Toronto. The interactive, media-based presentations came with constraints – outdoor venues, a unique interactive audience dynamic and battery powered gear. Groups of 15 were dispatched, carrying all they would need with them: a sound system, projector, lighting, a map and other materials to present the show for themselves. All groups left no trace or environmental impact.
Attendance at both days of the Summit set new records with a high level of interest and demand for the content being shared.
The TEA Thea Awards Gala brings together some of the biggest names in the industry