Hello Pat,
I am a full time scenic designer of 20 years or so based in San Francisco. I migrated my workflow out of Vectorworks and into Sketchup about 4-5 years ago and after some initial growing pains have not looked back. As you know Vectorworks continues to be the common standard in our industry so It’s important to understand the processes of exporting and importing .DWG files effectively, and also the use of Layout for 2d output such as construction drawings. I work with theaters and TDs across North America and Europe without trouble, but I am often converting formats. I have, however, seen a steady increase in Sketchup literacy over the last two years, which is good.
As a brainstorming, design and communication tool sketchup is a fantastic platform in my opinion and clearly native 3d is not going away soon. It’s a good tool for young designers to have at their disposal, and a very efficient way to collaborate with a larger team which is essential to being a working designer. I used to spend hours describing things or redrawing by hand (yes, I’m a dinosaur), now I post a fly thru of the set updates to vimeo and invite all collaborators to view it, saves a lot of conversation.
I use some specific plugins and shortcuts in my workflow, but a truly good understanding of Sketchup is the first and most important thing. I’m happy to make contact off-line.
All the best,
Sean Riley