2024 Dome Fest West Speakers
More information will be coming in early 2024 on the speakers that will be featured at the Dome Fest West 2024 film festival.
Michael McConville
Michael McConville is the director of customer outreach for Evans & Sutherland and Spitz, Inc. He is instrumental in setting the conference and professional development strategies for the companies and continuing to build and strengthen a worldwide community of more than 600 planetariums. A skilled researcher and an expert storyteller, Michael brings nearly twenty years of planetarium and teaching experience to his role. During his tenure, Michael presented more than 3,000 live shows and hosted hundreds of outreach events and star parties – including more than 15,000 visitors for Florida’s largest solar eclipse event in 2017.
Dayna Thompson
Dayna Thompson, Planetarium Director, has provided support and guidance for all planetarium activities at Ball State University since 2012. She holds a MS in Physics and has over 10 years’ experience in STEM outreach. Ms. Thompson has created various live planetarium programs and has worked on over 8 full-length fulldome planetarium programs in various roles such as: script writer, director, program manager, 3D content programmer, sound recorder and editor. Two of her programs, “Saturn & Beyond” and “Halloween: Celestial Origins,” are available for planetariums world-wide.
Michael Strauss
MICHAEL STRAUSS is an independent director, live visual artist and event producer from Southern California. He has been crafting audio/visual experiences and immersive environments for over 15 years. Michael's stunning psychedelic animation, projection mapping, and VJ performances have brought life to the performances of countless artists. Michael is the true embodiment of a modern-day wizard, using technology and creativity to transform reality. His work is designed to open hearts, lift spirits, and blow minds. Michael is now expanding his vision into 360 degree dome projections and virtual reality experiences. As a founder of the Visual Reality immersive art collective and the VR/AR/XR media company ALTERNITY, he continues to explore new forms of expression.