About

David Ripley

I've been working in the Technical and Production areas of theatre and performance for over 40 years since Leaving LAMDA in 1983.

I have broad experience on most types of performance and have spent considerable time in the education and training side of the industry

I am now 'retired-adjacent', but taking on various activities on a part time basis.

I have been a lighting, sound and venue designer and spent considerable time as a Production Manager.

I am perhaps best know for my AutoCAD training and books.

Lastly, I am the winner of two ABTT Awards for product design, the latest of which the Counterweight Caddy won the VIP Award in 2023

You can read my CV here

Covering AutoCAD initial set up and use, through to 3D drawing and rendering, all within a theatrical context.

The industry standard reference for AutoCAD users new and more experienced

Created for the ABTT Virtual Ideas Platform, and winner of the Idea of the Year 2023.

The Caddy is currently being developed by Triple E

THE ABTT CAD Standards help create uniformity and therefore understanding when using exchanging drawings. 

They are programme blind, dealing with the appearance of items used in theatrical draughting

What I can offer...

Venue Consultancy

I have considerable experience in bridging the space between Clients, End Users and Consultants so that the best outcome is achieved

Using my technical knowledge and work in venues helps me help you on what is along and complex journey

Buildings I have worked on include 

RCSSD North Block

East 15 Clifftown Studios

Bodo Kulturhaus (Norway)

AutoCAD Training

With nearly 25 years in Performance specific AutoCAD Training, I can provide courses online, in person and as bespoke as you need at several levels, from basic 2D all the way to 3D Animations. As An Autodesk Certified Professional you can have confidence in both my  knowledge of the programme and it's application in theatre and performance. 

The full course syllabus is here


Training Consultancy

With many years of experience in education and training I can advise on any courses you may be thinking of and how they work within the context of the industry. 

What are industries expectation's versus student's? What level should you consider pitching courses at, how do you assess your students in a vocational environment?

I can advise you on all aspects of course creation

Draughting

I can provide draughting services to either for you, if you don't have access to CAD software or to supplement in times of pressure

Ground plans, technical drawings and design can be created and saved to a variety of formats apart from .dwg

I have previously created drawings for clients including Stage Technologies (now Tait) and Edinburgh Traverse, as well as the drawings of the town halls of Kirklees in West Yorkshire


ABTT CAD Standards

The ABTT CAD Standards are based on work by members of the European Draughting Standards Working Party for Technical Communication in Theatre, an OISTAT initiative

The current version was compiled in 2002 by myself and Steve Green

The documents that make up the Standard are below:

ABTT CAD Standards document

Layer Guide

Line Guide

ABTT Standards sample drawing (.dwg)

ABTT Standards AutoCAD standards file (.dws)

ABTT Theatre Show 2025

I shall be doing two sessions at the show

At 2pm on Wednesday 4th June, I shall be presenting a session on inserting designer's drawings into venue drawings and vice versa

At 12.45 on Thursday 5th June, I shall be presenting a joint session with Vectorworks on CAD software in the industry and the latest tools available for users.

ABTT Show


 

For further information or to just start a conversation...