10 Hacks Every Student Should Know

Lifehacker: Whether you're an academically inclined student looking for study hacks, or a more creative person who's just looking to work smarter instead of harder, there are lots of little ways to make getting through school a little easier. Even as students deal with increased competition and rising costs, you can make life just a little bit easier with each of these hacks.

Checklist: 10 Tactics for Building Killer Entertainment Experiences

www.eventmarketer.com: In our cover story on the meteoric rise of immersive entertainment experiences, we tapped a group of event marketers who are battling for eyeballs in the booming space, expanding their properties and portfolios, and experimenting with the principles of theming this year by executing residencies and permanent properties, theatrical performances, fan conventions and long-lead campaigns.

Review Roundup: SPAMALOT Embarks on North American Tour

www.broadwayworld.com: Originally opening on Broadway in 2005, SPAMALOT features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle and music by John Du Prez and Idle. The original production earned fourteen Tony nominations and won three, including Best Musical. Following its acclaimed 2023 Broadway revival at the St. James Theatre, SPAMALOT will once again bring Monty Python’s absurdist humor to audiences nationwide under the direction and choreography of Josh Rhodes.

A Kennedy Center Musician on What It’s Like There Now

washingtonian.com: On a blustery evening in October, Daniel Foster sat onstage at the Kennedy Center, viola in his lap. The National Symphony Orchestra was about to play “Don Juan,” an 1889 tone poem by Richard Strauss about a young libertine in search of the ideal woman. The opening is fiendishly tricky for viola. It has a fast and technical harmonic line that’s musically demanding and strange. Thirty years ago, in his audition to be the NSO’s principal violist, Foster played that excerpt. He won the job.

Best New Tools for 2025: Winter Update

Pro Tool Reviews: There are tons of new tools released each month—so many that it can be hard to keep track of everything. If you’re after the latest tool announcements from your favorite brands, you’ve come to the right place! We’re staying on top of the BEST new tools so you have one place to check each month to see the latest and greatest.

Tom Cruise's Space X/NASA movie paused because of Trump

The Mary Sue: We know Tom Cruise as Mr. Movie. He’s ready to do anything for cinema, including filming a movie in outer space. What he’s not going to do though is ask Donald Trump permission to do it though. And that’s kind of iconic.

Hollywood Insiders Unite to Launch Creators Coalition on AI

www.hollywoodreporter.com: As Hollywood continues to grapple with the threat and adoption of AI, a group of 18 industry insiders have banded together to form the Creators Coalition on AI. The effort, a first of its kind, is backed by the signatures of more than 500, a diverse list growing by the hour that includes Oscar winners, filmmakers, show runners, writers, below-the-line talent and creative professionals from all corners of the business.

IAAPA establishes new partnership with Expression Capital Partners

InPark Magazine: IAAPA, the association representing the global attractions industry, has announced a new global partnership with Expression Capital Partners LLP, marking a significant investment in the long-term success, financial health, and innovation capacity of IAAPA members around the world.

Blippi Returns to the Stage With All-New “Be Like Blippi” Tour

www.ticketnews.com: Designed for children ages 2–7, the Be Like Blippi Tour brings Blippi and his best friend Meekah to the stage in a high-energy, interactive show filled with music, dancing, and playful learning. The production features fan-favorite songs including “The Excavator Song,” “Monster Truck,” “Dino Dance,” and “Curious Like Me,” encouraging families to sing, move, and explore together.

Founder of Pittsburgh's Quantum Theatre to retire next year

90.5 WESA: As founder and artistic director of Quantum Theatre, Karla Boos changed the face of Pittsburgh stage scene with ambitious, often experimental productions, each of which took place in a new location, whether an empty warehouse, a drained swimming pool or a city park.

Artist Nikk Alcaraz, Who's Done Design Work For Disney, Brings Holiday Cheer to Brownsville

Pittsburgh Magazine: Nikk Alcaraz’s life is like a Hallmark Christmas movie. Last year, the 31-year-old artist, author and content creator left California with his partner, Weston Reindl, and moved into an old fixer-upper in Brownsville that they purchased online.

LDI Awards Presented

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: The annual round of awards at the LDI Show took place at a breakfast presentation. (LDI took place in Las Vegas, December 7-9). The award for sound product went to the Qu-Series of mixers from Allen & Heath. Designed for small to mid-sized applications, it was cited as being reliable and budget-friendly.

Kate Hudson to receive Costume Designers Guilds Spotlight Award

Mint: Actor Kate Hudson is all set to be honoured with the prestigious Costume Designers Guild's (CDG) Spotlight Award, recognising performers whose careers demonstrate a sustained commitment to excellence and a deep appreciation for the critical role costume design plays in storytelling, according to Variety.

PAUL TAZEWELL

Hollywood Authentic: Paul Tazewell has profoundly impacted theatre and film. As well as receiving an Oscar for his work on Wicked earlier this year, he also won the Critics’ Choice Award, the Costume Designers Guild’s Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film award, the NAACP Image Award, and the Innovator Award from the African American Film Critics’ Association, underscoring his critical role in bringing the fantastical world of Oz to life.

Paul Tazewell & More Nominated for Costume Designers Guild Awards - Full List of Nominees

www.broadwayworld.com: Tony Award-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell has been nominated for his costume design work in Wicked: For Good at the 28th Costume Designers Guild Awards in the category of Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film. Tazewell previously took home the award for the first film earlier this year.

Hilti Takes on Heavy Duty Work with its Unified Battery Platform

Engineering News-Record: When Hilti announced its Nuron battery platform in 2021, there were open questions on whether its commitment to a single 22-Volt battery format would hold as it moved into more demanding applications normally dominated by corded and gas-powered tools.

“Midnight Radio Lampoons Christmas Vacatyinz” at Bricolage Production Company

The Pittsburgh Tatler: It’s December, an’ lemme tell yinz what, that means Bricolage Production Company’s holiday Midnight Radio is crawlin’ ahtta the woodwork again, n’at — this year doin’ up a whole jagoff-y spoof of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, turned into a big ol’ comedy present duct-taped together speshly fer Picksburgh. They’re callin’ it Christmas Vacatyinz, ‘cause of course they are.**

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Thomas G. Moses and His Scenic Designs for the Oakland Scottish Rite

Drypigment.net: Tens of thousands of historic opera houses were constructed between 1850 and 1950. Of that number, a significant percentage was lost to fire and other natural, or manmade, disasters. Many of the remaining structures fell prey to building renovations, repurposing, and demolition. Thousands were gutted, transformed into department stores, apartment complexes, and office spaces.

'Theater is the sun' for Karla Boos, and will remain so as she retires from Quantum Theatre

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It could have happened in any mid-size American city, but it happened here: A young woman arrived in 1990 to start a theater company with big hopes, bigger ambitions and some scraps of experience.

Best Cordless Reciprocating Saw 2024 - Tested and Reviewed

www.protoolreviews.com: After testing dozens of options over the years and weighing them against our collective decades of experience, we’ve narrowed down the absolute best cordless reciprocating saws (AKA Sawzalls) from manufacturers we trust the most. We rounded up the newest, most advanced models and tested them head-to-head in a series of experiments to help you decide which model is the best or simply see how well your favorite brand competes.

Kathy Hochul Signs SAG-AFTRA Bills to Regulate AI Performers

variety.com: Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed two bills backed by SAG-AFTRA that will regulate the use of “synthetic” AI performers in New York. One bill will require disclosure when an AI performer is used in advertising, while the second will forbid the use of a dead performer’s likeness to create a deepfake without the estate’s consent.

Best New Milwaukee Tools: Winter Update 2025

Pro Tool Reviews: Milwaukee puts out tons of new products every year—often well over 100! It can be tough to track everything, so I aim to keep you up to date with the best new Milwaukee Tools as they’re announced.

Women Directors Are Reshaping Our Perception of the Arab World

www.indiewire.com: While its submission process certainly has its faults, the Best International Feature category has only gotten more and more exciting each year in the past decade since the Academy reconfigured its diversity efforts. No longer are films in languages other than English partitioned from consideration in other categories, save for a few outliers.

2026 Music Festivals: The Ultimate Guide You’ll Check All Year

www.ticketnews.com: As 2025 nears its end and we approach a new year, festivals are already popping-up across North America for 2026. We’ve rounded-up a list of must-see festivals from all different genres; whether you’re looking to put on some cowboy boots and sing along at Stagecoach and Cattle Country, dance the night away at EDM’s Ultra and EDC Daisy Carnival, head-bang alongside metalheads at Louder Than Life and Aftershock, or reminisce with early 2000’s rock at When We Were Young and Sick New World — we’ve got you covered.

Springboard to Design Launches $150,000 Fundraising Campaign

Playbill: Design Action's Springboard to Design program, which offers tuition-free theatrical design mentorship and training to high school students from underrepresented communities, has launched a fundraising goal of $150,000.

Top Rock Tours of 2025: 10 Highest Grossing Tours

www.billboard.com: Much has already been made of rock’s decline in popularity over the last several decades. It’s still the biggest revenue generator in live music, but hits an all-time low on the 2025 Top Tours chart. At 30.2% of the year’s top 100 tour grosses, the genre represents less than half of its share from the 1990s after consistent dips throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

American Academy of Dramatic Arts Launches New Works Project for In-Development Musicals

Playbill: The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is launching a new initiative to present readings of in-development musicals, New Works Project, December 15-16, with readings of Winner and Much Ado.

What's That Red Square on My Tape Measure?

www.familyhandyman.com: If you’ve ever taken a close look at some of your tools, you’ve likely noticed perplexing features on them. Surely these features serve some purpose, but they’re not always intuitive. Take tape measures for example. There are all kinds of marking on them. But do you know why there’s a red square around some numbers on a tape measure? It certainly makes the squared numbers easier to see at a glance, but there’s more to it than just visibility.

Fall of Remembrance and ‘Good Trouble’

AMERICAN THEATRE: As I was gathering my thoughts for this issue’s letter, I couldn’t help but notice that it would be heading to print around the 24th anniversary of 9/11. What’s different in today’s cultural and political landscape from 2001, and what’s the same? What does it take mentally, emotionally, physically to stay true to the North Star of our values? What are we fighting for versus what are we fighting against? Is it possible to both fight for and against simultaneously?

RIGZ! – Roy Bickel Keynote

Live Design Online: A highlight of the second annual RIGZ! on Saturday, December 6, 2025 at LDI 2025 was the keynote by Roy Bickel: From Human Cannonball to Award Winner: The Extraordinary Journey Of Roy Bickel: a master rigger reflects on his six-decade career.

2025 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards Announced

AMERICAN THEATRE: Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre and the publisher of American Theatre, has announced the recipients of the 2025 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards. The awards, totaling $783,000, allow 16 world premiere plays extra time for development and rehearsal with the entire creative team. This support aims to encourage and bolster future productions.

Review Roundup: GOTTA DANCE Opens Off-Broadway at the York Theatre

www.broadwayworld.com: The York Theatre Company and American Dance Machine are now presenting Gotta Dance, co-directed by Nikki Feirt Atkins and Randy Skinner. The production runs through December 28, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Jean’s.

Lessons from the BIPOC Critics Lab at Five

HowlRound Theatre Commons: As a freelance critic of color who works in a field where Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) voices are often excluded, I wanted to build a space that disrupted traditional paths into arts journalism. In 2020, I started the BIPOC Critics Lab, a free, fully digital training program for emerging critics who meet weekly on Zoom over ten weeks for workshops on craft, ethics, experimentation, and industry advice.

Elvis' Birthday Fight Club celebrates 15 years of inappropriate fun with 3 weekends of debauchery

DC Theater Arts: Astro Pop Events is excited to announce the 15th anniversary performance of one of DC and Baltimore’s most bizarre and exciting annual traditions! The annual Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club (EBFC) will kick-off 2026 with glorious debauchery on January 2 and 3 at Washington, DC’s Gala Hispanic Theater and, for the first time, will run for two straight weekends in Baltimore

Re-Imagined Multi-Concept Venue The Bristol Opens In Australia With Martin Audio

ProSoundWeb: A major makeover of a popular Sydney, Australia-based 80s retro venue in the city’s Central Business District has resulted in a completely re-imagined multi-concept venue called The Bristol, with many of its spaces outfitted with Martin Audio loudspeakers and supporting components.