CMU School of Drama


Thursday, May 31, 2012

6 Ways To Sell A Resume That Lacks Experience

thegrindstone.com: As a student or recent graduate, it can be difficult to draft a resume when you don’t have a ton of work experience under your belt. But this isn’t the only thing potential employers want to see on your resume. There are plenty of other things you can highlight on your resume, even when you have a small amount of work experience.

The Choreography of Tony Nominees

NYTimes.com: To see how hard it is to judge choreography in musicals, you need only watch all four of this year’s Tony nominees. What criteria are involved? In ballet and modern dance, choreography is the shaping factor, the ingredient that brings music, subject matter and performance together into a whole; in a musical, that’s seldom so. But the great choreographers are great directors too: inventors of their own genres of theater.

Theme parks in the era of narrative

themeparkinsider.com: It's spring, which means new attraction openings - and the big media outlets paying their annual glance at the theme park business. The New York Times framed this year's openings as a battle between Disney and Universal, which it certainly is. But I think there's a more useful angle from which to look at what's happening in the world of theme parks.

50 Years of the Delacorte Theater - An Oral History

NYTimes.com: IN the 50 years since Joe Papp successfully lobbied the city to build an amphitheater in the middle of Central Park, the Delacorte Theater has played host to all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays plus a smattering of Chekhov, Brecht, Ibsen, Aeschylus and, as of this August, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine (“Into the Woods”). During that time, more than four million patient theatergoers have waited in line to see a potent mix of raw talent, seasoned stage veterans and Hollywood imports do battle against the Central Park fauna, the occasional helicopter and the more than occasional thunderstorm to perform the classics free.

Obie Awards Celebrate Off-Broadway Artists

Stage Directions: The Village Voice Obies have always stood for the art-y, idealistic tenor of Off-Broadway. This year they’ve chosen to honor Amy Herzog and her play 4000 Miles with the Obie award for Best New American Play. They also gave a Lifetime Achievement Obie Award to Caridad Svich, a playwright, translator, and teacher. On the technical side, Mark Barton was given an Obie for Sustained Excellence of Lighting Design, Mimi Lien received one for Sustained Excellence of Set Design and Matt Tierney and Ben Williams won one for their sound design for The Select (The Sun Also Rises) at New York Theatre Workshop.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The drama's outside: protests target Israeli take on Shakespeare

The Independent: Security around the Globe to Globe Festival escalated last night, to put it mildly, when Habima, the National Theatre of Israel, presented The Merchant of Venice. These precautions are hardly surprising, given the controversy aroused by the decision to invite Habima to participate in the international Bard-binge. Nor were the peaceful, heavily policed protests outside. The pro-Palestinian contingent handed out engravings of a Shakespeare saying: "No! to Occupation & Colonisation For 'Tis Illegal Under International Law". The pro-Israeli group waved placards declaring that "Boycotts Divide".

Silent Heros

Pittsburgh City Paper: Playwriting's a son-of-a-bitch. There's so much to do: keep the story moving but let the drama breathe; stay ahead of the audience but only so far; develop characters unique and organic; write with insight and wit ... It's no wonder playwrights drink. South Park Theatre presents Linda Escalera Price's 2002 drama Silent Heroes, and watching her work all those dramaturgical levers can be dizzying.

Whether or Not to Monitor Weather

Theatre Safety Blog: To be, or not to be (rained-out, or sued out of business), that is the question. As exemplified by recent weather-related event catastrophes, the monitoring of the local weather is no longer an option. Sanity and safety dictate that event planners have accurate and knowledgeable weather experts closely monitoring the skies.

Costumes help tell the tale of Noel Coward's 'Private Lives'

TribLIVE: When Ted Pappas thinks about "Private Lives," he imagines a deluxe universe where everything and everyone is neatly finished and exquisitely polished. Written in 1930, Noel Coward's comedy inhabits the chic upper-class world of British socialites who have the time, money and enthusiasm to pursue an elegant life of travel, dressing and entertaining.

Equity to fight "stuffy, ineffective" image

The Stage: Equity has agreed to engage with its critics after warnings that the union is seen as “stuffy, ineffective, disconnected, impotent” by some parts of the industry. The West End Deputies’ Committee, who put forward a motion addressing this criticism at the annual representative conference in Birmingham, said that the hostility derived partly from “perceived weaknesses” of the union’s dealings with the Society of London Theatre.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Your Guide to Router Collets

Popular Woodworking Magazine: A collet is the steel sleeve that holds a router bit in a router. The collet works with the router shaft (connected directly to the motor) and the collet nut.

How to Age Your Hardware

Popular Woodworking Magazine: ’ve used a lot of different methods to add age to my hardware – everything from a propane torch to ammonia to gun blue to (yes) human urine. Whenever I discuss these methods, I get complaints. So in an effort to garner more complaints, here’s another one: Jax Chemicals. These are the formulas that metalsmiths use to add patina to their work and were recommended to me by a couple of woodworkers.

Crap Detection 101

City Brights: Howard Rheingold | an SFGate.com blog: The answer to almost any question is available within seconds, courtesy of the invention that has altered how we discover knowledge – the search engine. Materializing answers from the air turns out to be the easy part – the part a machine can do. The real difficulty kicks in when you click down into your search results. At that point, it’s up to you to sort the accurate bits from the misinfo, disinfo, spam, scams, urban legends, and hoaxes. “Crap detection,” as Hemingway called it half a century ago, is more important than ever before, now that the automation of crapcasting has generated its own word: “spamming.”

It's All About Listening with Meyer Sound at InfoComm 2012

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: The listener's experience comes first and foremost for Meyer Sound, and InfoComm 2012, exhibiting in booth C9717, running June 13-15, in Las Vegas, Nevada, will bring this emphasis into focus. Starting with the immersive multichannel sound event entitled "Surrounded in New York," the Meyer Sound systems in action at the show will surely leave an ear-opening impression with the visitors.

AV: Accuracy vs. Realism: Simulating The “Human” Side Of Audio Measurement

Pro Sound Web: The human auditory system is equipped with two inputs - left and right ears. This “binaural” processing system provides us with the ability to localize where sound is coming from, something that a one-eared listener would have difficulty in doing.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Slideshow: Maker Faire Bay Area 2012

EDN: Maker Faire, held every year at the San Mateo Event Center, is a two-day gathering of people who design, build, and improve Things. And if the Things are something you can ride in, or ignite, or make noise/music with—all the better. The event is a paean to current and future engineers, and to the craft of Making Things.

Linkin Park Tours with Severe Weather Warning System

FOH online: In preparation for the May 18 launch of their 2012 Living Things tour, Linkin Park hired Weather Decision Technologies (WDT), a Norman, OK-based storm forecasting service with a staff of 75, to provide a color-coded weather emergency plan along with on-site weather experts for outdoor shows. Jim Digby, Linkin Park tour manager, is also a founding member of the Event Safety Alliance, which counts WDT as a new corporate sponsor.

Actors' Equity Releases Statement on Spiegelworld Controversy

broadwayworld.com: As BroadwayWord reported yesterday, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) put on its largest demonstration in the theater district since the Great Broadway Strike of 2007 when hundreds of union stage technicians and union supporters took to the line on West 45th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue on Tuesday, May 22, to protest the use of non-union lighting and audio technicians on the non-union tent show, Spiegelworld's "Empire New York."

Broadway brawl over circus tent

Crain's New York Business: The stagehands union took to the streets near Times Square Tuesday to protest the new circus variety show, Spiegelworld's Empire New York, over its use of nonunion lighting and audio technicians. Executives at the union, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, said they expected hundreds of members to protest all day and into the night outside a large tent that was constructed at 265 W. 45th St. to house the show. It is expected to be the union's largest demonstration in the theater district since the Broadway strike of 2007.

How could technology change theatre criticism for good?

guardian.co.uk: Discussions about the future of theatre criticism seem to be evergreen. It is a debate that continues to impassion bloggers, and one that arose again at the latest instalment of Devoted and Disgruntled back in February, in a session challenging the barrier traditionally erected between theatremakers and critics. One linked but relatively neglected aspect of the conversation, however, is how criticism might fully explore and exploit the growing possibilities allowed by digital developments.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Creating Three-Dimensional Foliage Scenery = The Most Fun You’ll Ever Have

Rosco Spectrum: Peter Miller, Theatre Design Department Faculty at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, had an inspired revelation at USITT in 2011. He noticed that many of the set designs that required foliage included uninspired, one-dimensional tree-scape drops. So, Peter determined to create a three-dimensional scenic treatment that would envelop the audience into the forest or jungle of the stage set, and show the piece at the next USITT Conference in 2012.

My Dolby Atmos Demo was Over the Top

residentialsystems.com: Having read about the ceiling speaker aspect of Dolby’s new Atmos commercial movie theater surround sound technology, I was very curious to experience it first hand during my visit to Dolby Laboratories headquarters in San Francisco this week.

Recording: In The Studio: Revelations In Recording & Mixing

Pro Sound Web: The ability to record and mix music is no doubt a skill and an art form. Developing it takes time, and requires many “failures,” experiments, and learning experiences. In my opinion, to truly succeed and excel in the recording industry – or any industry for that matter – you must have a craving and a passion to absorb the infinite amount of knowledge that’s out there.

Evanston looks for 'arts roadmap'

Evanston Now: The study seeks to learn from residents what role they see the arts playing in the civic and economic life of Evanston today and in the future. The community foundation's last major involvement in the arts area, Bobkiewicz said, came in a 2006 report that saw Evanston as having the potential to be "an extraordinary arts community."

Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston Teams with Bentley University to Provide Microfinancing to Artists

MarketWatch: The Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston, a non-profit organization committed to strengthening the region's arts economy, today announced it has partnered with Bentley Microfinance Group of Bentley University to create The Artist Investment Fund. The Fund will provide microloans, financial literacy and credit building services, and business development support to area artists.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

New Exhibitors & New Seminars

Plasa Focus: Nashville: Three new sessions have been added to an already stellar line up of speakers due to take the stage at PLASA Focus: Nashville, a new style of regional event taking place, for the first time, at The Nashville Municipal Auditorium, on July 11-12, 2012. Joining other exhibitors, such as Clay Paky, Barbizon Lighting, Robe, and Martin Professional, PLASA Focus: Nashville is proud to announce the recent additions of 4Wall, Drape Kings, The Light Source, Interspace, IATSE, SeaChanger, Techni-Lux, and ZFX, to its growing floor plan.

International Cinematographers Guild Panel to Discuss the New Digital Hyper-Reality at Cine Gear Expo

SHOOTonline: A panel of pioneering filmmakers, appearing at an event hosted by the International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) at the Cine Gear Expo at Paramount Studios, Hollywood on June 2, will discuss how hyper-real filmmaking with new digital tools and techniques is radically changing production.

Obie Awards Celebrate Off-Broadway Artists

Stage Directions: The Village Voice Obies have always stood for the art-y, idealistic tenor of Off-Broadway. This year they’ve chosen to honor Amy Herzog and her play 4000 Miles with the Obie award for Best New American Play. They also gave a Lifetime Achievement Obie Award to Caridad Svich, a playwright, translator, and teacher. On the technical side, Mark Barton was given an Obie for Sustained Excellence of Lighting Design, Mimi Lien received one for Sustained Excellence of Set Design and Matt Tierney and Ben Williams won one for their sound design for The Select (The Sun Also Rises) at New York Theatre Workshop.

Patrick Wilson's (A'95) Keynote Speech

YouTube: Actor Patrick Wilson (A'95) delivered the keynote speech at Carnegie Mellon University's 115th Commencement ceremony on May 20, 2012. Patrick, a graduate of CMU's School of Drama, is a widely talented and successful performer whose credits include Angels in America, Little Children and Insidious.

THE TOP 10 QUANT SCHOOLS OF 2012

Advanced Trading: A lot has happened in the capital markets since 2008, when Advanced Trading first published its ranking of quant schools. Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers imploded, Merrill Lynch is now the wealth management arm of Bank of America, and a raft of new regulations, including Dodd-Frank, has changed the way businesses operate.

Friday, May 25, 2012

IATSE Tells Saskatchewan to Reintroduce Refundable Tax Credit, Or Else

The Hollywood Reporter: Head-scratching Canadian producers, worried about the hit to Canada's reputation for tax credit stability, have deemed Wall either smart like a fox, ideologically-driven against Hollywood producers, or blind to the reality of film and TV economics.
And Wall has had Hollywood stars like Sons of Anarchy's Kim Coates rallying outside the provincial legislature for an end to a long-running tax credit fracas that threatens to send local talent to Vancouver and Toronto in search of work.

Strike looms at Festival

Beacon Herald: On the eve of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s 60th season the theatre is on the verge of a labour dispute.
Fifty-three box office staff almost unanimously turned down the Festival’s latest contract offer Wednesday. Box office staff belong to IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Local 357.
Box office staff, which includes the call centre, could be locked out or could go on strike anytime beginning Friday.

Stratford Festival faces first strike in 60 years

TheSpec: The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is facing the first labour action in its 60-year history, right on the verge of its Monday night season opening.
The 53 members of the box office staff (which also includes the festival’s call centre) turned down the festival’s contract offer on Wednesday, putting them in a strike or lock-out position immediately.
This is the first contract for the employees, who only recently joined Local 357 of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

How to handle negative reviews (and come out ahead)

She Writes: I’ve been getting myself psyched up for negative reviews. Not that I’m in any way looking forward to them, but I’m a realist. I know negative reviews are a sobering reality for every author and for every other artist putting him or herself out there for others to judge. And so I’m trying to prepare myself, with the lofty goal of not dissolving into a puddle of insecurity and self-loathing when the first non-glowing reviews hit my screen.

Opera News Will Stop Reviewing Metropolitan Opera

NYTimes.com: Opera News, 76 years old and one of the leading classical music magazines in the country, said on Monday that it would stop reviewing the Metropolitan Opera, a policy prompted by the Met’s dissatisfaction over negative critiques.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Gershwin Awards Celebrate High School Theater Performers

backstage.com: The winners of the Gershwin Awards and New York City’s Gershwin candidates for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA), also known as the Jimmy Awards, were determined on Saturday at the CAP 21 Studios in New York City.

Broadway Director Julie Taymor Is Back With a Vengeance

The Daily Beast: The first thing you see at the beginning of The Lion King on Broadway is a giant orange circle. It appears in the form of the sun, the backdrop on stage, and, as the show’s director, Julie Taymor, will tell you, it’s intentional: a “leitmotif, like in opera” for the Circle of Life (which is itself the first song of the show), of giving and taking, of the ways in which we go from high to low and back again. Over the next two hours, terrible things happen: Simba, the young lion at the center of the story, witnesses the death of his father, is driven from the kingdom, retrenches in the wilderness, and learns, ultimately, how to fight back and claim his place at the top of the food chain.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Broadway Box Office: 'Lion King' Leads; 'Evita' Breaks House Record

backstage.com: "The Lion King" remained on the top of the Broadway box office this past week, just edging past "Wicked." Meanwhile, "Evita" broke the house record at the Marquis, soaring to the number-three spot on the chart.

SAG-AFTRA Names Top Leadership

backstage.com: Actors learned who their lead advocates in halls of power will be as SAG-AFTRA named its top leadership May 20. Meeting for the first time since the two unions merged earlier this year, SAG-AFTRA's national board of directors announced David White would serve as its executive director. The union had been operating under the leadership of co-presidents Ken Howard and Roberta Reardon with White officially serving as executive director of SAG.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Amateur Theatre Company to Perform at Stratford-Upon-Avon

literarybelfast.org: It is a significant journey, spanning far more than mere miles, from performing with a local amateur drama group to stepping out into one of the world’s most famous theatrical spaces.
Small wonder then, that a high level of excitement is building in the run-up to the RSC Open Stages Showcase at the Lyric Theatre, after which one of the seven participating groups will be invited to appear at the company’s spectacularly rebuilt home in Stratford-upon-Avon in July 2012.

Spider-Man Honored By Outer Critics Circle

livedesignonline.com: Designer George Tsypin was honored by the Outer Critics Circle with their annual award for Outstanding Sets for his work on Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, with the show's costumes also winning with a posthumous award for designer Eiko Ishioka. In the lighting category, UK-designer Hugh Vanstone was honored for Ghost: The Musical.

Live Sound: Care & Feeding: Keeping Gear In Top-Flight Shape

Pro Sound Web: To get the most mileage out of gear, regular equipment inspections and Preventative Maintenance (a.k.a., PM) are a must.
All equipment in your inventory should have PM scheduled at least once a year, and more frequently if it goes out the shop door a lot and/or is exposed to harsh environments.

Women in AV to Stage Donation Drive at InfoComm for Local Charity

PLSN: Women in the AV industry (WAVE) will be collection donations for a local non-profit organization during InfoComm 2012, Southern Nevada Children First. They will be raising money for the group at the NSCA Women in AV Reception and at the InfoComm WAVE luncheon.

Local One Stage Union Will Protest at Spiegelworld Empire Tent in Midtown

Playbill.com: Members of Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) will voice their concern about a new midtown circus-cabaret show's lack of union tech employees on May 22. A demonstration will take place starting at 11 AM at 265 W. 45th Street, at Eighth Avenue, the site of Spiegelworld's new tent show, Empire.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Stage review: Irresistible cast, music burst forth in 'POP!'

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The big "Bang" of a gunshot is the first sound you hear in the beguiling musical "POP!" at City Theatre, followed quickly by a tentative "Ouch" as the lights come up, revealing an easily identifiable Andy Warhol topped by an unkempt white wig.
Just like that, we are transported to 1968, to the moment the real-life Warhol was the victim of a near-fatal shooting. That's what history tells us. What librettist/lyricist Maggie-Kate Coleman and composer Anna K. Jacobs have in store is quite another story.

Draw Your Own Synthesizer, Dude

Discovery News: Hey knob-twister: So you're unloading the van for your first big show at Greenpoint's new secret club in that abandoned doll head factory, but something's missing. Dude, you forgot your synthesizer back at your practice space in Williamsburg and your songs are all but dead on arrival without those big synth washes. Dude, what are you going do?
Draw one. That's right, draw one. C'mon, you can do it. Put your Oberlin bachelors degree of fine arts to some use.

'Girls Only' show heads to CLO Cabaret

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The title "Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women" is an invitation for female bonding and a warning to guys -- there's a lot of girly-girl stuff going on in this show, from tween-age diary entries to teen idol crushes. Think frilly pink pillows, Shaun Cassidy posters and "Girltini" cocktail recipes, and you get the idea of what's in store at the CLO Cabaret throughout the summer at Theater Square in Downtown Cultural District.

Arduino Grande is a 'comically large,' fully functional microcontroller

The Verge: Arduino microcontrollers are small enough that we've seen them used in everything from milk jugs to microwaves, but John Edgar Park wanted something bigger: so he's built the Arduino Grande.

Nitro Pro 7: A Great Adobe Acrobat Alternative

lifehack.org: The Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) has become a popular standard for publishing documents online, do it yourself publishing of eBooks, and even for sending business documents out for review. Adobe Acrobat Professional is the best known standard application for creating and editing PDFs.

How Women Can Get Ahead: Advice From Female CEOs

WSJ.com: Our recent recounting of how Jack Welch clashed with a group of female executives over how best to advance to the top of corporate America touched a raw nerve in the business world.
Readers fired off a barrage of comments. "He's right," one wrote about the former CEO of General Electric GE +0.37% . "RESULTS—that's all that counts, period."
Not so, wrote another: "Mr. Welch's notion that his career, or anyone's, is a result of a single androgynous metric—'performance'—is false." The workplace is still an "old boys' network."

Floating set

Berkeley Rep Blog: Whenever she's working on a set for a Berkeley Rep show, Scenic Charge Artist Lisa Lazar emails awesome photos with commentary to the entire staff. Here's her step-by-step of the set for Dael Orlandersmith's Black n Blue Boys / Broken Men, which begins performances on May 25.
Here’s another glimpse into the recent activities in the scene shop. Dan Ostling’s design for Black n Blue Boys looks stark and austere, but it offers a lot of technical challenges.

'Exorcist' turns Shields' head

Variety: Brooke Shields and Richard Chamberlain will topline the cast of the upcoming stage adaptation of "The Exorcist," bowing this summer at the Geffen Playhouse.
Shields will play the mother of a possessed girl in the famous tale of demonic possession, with Chamberlain onboard as one of the priests enlisted to exorcise the girl.

The End of ‘New Writing’?

Exeunt Magazine: Before you come at me with the brickbats and rotten tomatoes, let me first explain what I am not talking about.
I am not talking about getting rid of writers, or plays, putting on plays by first time writers or young writers or not quite as young as they once were writers. I am still as passionate as I ever was about putting on plays written by all kinds of people.
What I am talking about is re-thinking and re-fashioning of the processes, assumptions and aesthetics that make up the sub-genre of British theatre known as New Writing, and most particularly an end to the, in my opinion, unnecessary opposition between New Writing and New Work.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Review: City Theatre's Warhol musical has plenty of 'Pop!'

TribLIVE: It's tempting to think of the musical "Pop!" as a portrait of Andy Warhol brought to life.
Like one of Warhol's signature silk-screens, Maggie-Kate Coleman and Anna K. Jacobs' musical grabs your attention with its vibrant, high-contrast, abstracted characters reduced to their basic elements for effect.

'Girls Only': CLO Cabaret show celebrates theater for women

TribLIVE: A night at the theater can be a source of female bonding.
Once women shared secrets, experiences and laments at girls-only events such as quilting bees, afternoon teas or home-based housewares and cosmetic sales events disguised as parties.
As men increasingly invade the once-female sanctuary of bridal and baby showers, an increasing number of theater events are focusing on women.

Watch Neil Gaiman's inspiring commencement speech about succeeding in the arts

io9.com: For all the art students about to enter the working world without a roadmap, author Neil Gaiman offers his advice on making great art, honing your skills, and keeping in mind that friendliness and punctuality can be as important to your career as talent.

'Priscilla' Closing; 'Newsies' Extends; 'Ever After' Announces Run

backstage.com: As Mitt Romney pointed out this week in the wake of the J.P. Morgan shortfall, someone’s huge loss is a big gain for someone else. "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" is closing at the Palace Theatre June 24 after 526 performances. But that means the theater is free and, according to reports in the New York Times and elsewhere, the next likely occupant will be the revival of "Annie." Scheduled to open this fall, the title role has been cast (Lilla Crawford) and so have the other orphans, but if the show is a hit, they'll need plenty of additional little girls and adults. The casting director for "Annie" is Pat Goodwin of Telsey + Company. In addition, "Priscilla" is planning a national tour, so there are more potential jobs there, too. Craig Burns, also of Telsey + Company, is the casting director for "Priscilla."

Osaka Station City Water Display Draws with Water

Technabob: Did you ever think that a fountain could be used to tell the time or to display pics? Well the Japanese sure did and this latest kind of display is pure awesomesauce, as it can even display artwork.

Millennials: Young, Broke, and Spending on Luxury

thefiscaltimes.com: Shaun Spellman, a 27-year-old owner of an Internet marketing firm, recently paid $300 for the newest Android cell phone the day it was released, even though he believes it will drop in price within a few months. But for Spellman, the benefit of having the latest technology is worth it. Though he's saving for an October wedding and a new home, "that doesn't stop me from making some purchases that I consider necessities." He skimps in other areas, driving a 1997 Camry and eating out only when he has a daily deal coupon.

Broadway hopefuls go Down Under

Variety: The stage musical version of "An Officer and a Gentleman," which opened May 19 at Sydney's Lyric Theater, reps the latest in a string of ambitious tuners hoping to use a Down Under run as a springboard to Broadway or the West End.
It's not such a crazy idea, given the international play enjoyed by Oz-originating titles such as "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "Dirty Dancing."

Scottish theatre companies reeling from arts funding changes

The Stage: A major shake-up in Creative Scotland’s funding strategy has left the country’s independent theatre sector uncertain for its future.
Companies and individual practitioners are questioning whether they will be able to continue under the new regime, while there are warnings that individual artists will leave Scotland.
The overhaul follows a review of “flexibly-funded” organisations which currently receive a two-year funding commitment. Flexible funding will be removed in April 2013 when some umbrella organisations will receive an annual “service level agreement” - while the majority of independent companies will receive “investment based on proposals”.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Carnegie Mellon students get naughty, nice with new-media art

CNET: It's end-of-term time, which means brainy college students throughout the land are busily quaffing coffee and eschewing sleep to get their final projects sewn up.
That means too, of course, that many of these compelling projects are being put on display for the first time.

Review: 'Linthead' an evocative Depression-era tale

latimes.com: From director to playwright to cast, many of those participating in “Linthead,” a guest production at Santa Monica Playhouse, are alums of Carnegie Mellon.
That collegial camaraderie is evident throughout this flawed but evocative world premiere, which centers around the attempted unionization of a cotton mill in Depression-era South Carolina.

Judge orders ‘Spider-Man’ producers turn over documents to stuntman who claims he was injured

The Washington Post: Producers of Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” were ordered Thursday to turn over any relevant information to a stuntman who claims he suffered a concussion, whiplash and two holes in his knees while performing as the comic book hero.
Justice Ellen M. Coin of State Supreme Court in Manhattan granted Richard Kobak’s request that 8 Legged Productions, the producers of the $75 million show, hand over any memos, emails or any other evidence as he weighs pursuing a negligence lawsuit.

Fill-osophy 101: Using Fill Loudspeakers To Optimize Coverage, Localization & More

Pro Sound Web: A well-designed main/primary loudspeaker system is expected to provide clear and intelligible sound to the entire audience.
Over the years our industry has benefitted from a steadily growing selection of types and configurations of primary loudspeakers to do this; they possess the specific characteristics (performance and physical) that we need in our base inventory, or for a given project, or to solve a specific problem.

78th Annual Drama League Award Winners Announced

backstage.com: The winners of the 78th annual Drama League Awards were announced today at a luncheon ceremony hosted by Stockard Channing ("Other Desert Cities") and John Larroquette ("Gore Vidal's The Best Man") at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.

Teamsters Chief Leo Reed Says Contract Talks with AMPTP Should Resume Soon

Below the Line: Negotiations between Teamsters Local 399 and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on a new three-year pact adjourned on April 5 after three days of preliminary talks. And they haven’t resumed since.
Meanwhile, IATSE on behalf of its 15 Hollywood locals that represent below-the-line crew members on movie and television productions announced on April 13 that it had reached a preliminary agreement with AMPTP for a new three-year contract after only 4 ½ weeks of talks – including a four-week recess to review offers.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Speakers & Honorees-Commencement Weekend

Carnegie Mellon University: Patrick Wilson, a 1995 graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, is a widely talented and successful performer. His work as a stage, film and television actor, as well as a singer-songwriter, has brought him critical acclaim, as well as numerous awards and nominations. Wilson has deep roots at Carnegie Mellon and has remained generously supportive and active with the university in many ways, including his participation in well-received student workshops.

Distinctly Dutch Festival closes on a female note

TribLIVE: Pianist Amina Figarova has become proud of the open-mindedness in her adopted home of the Netherlands.
That pride is shared with two natives of the Lowlands, trumpeter Saskia Laroo and saxophonist Tineke Postma.
It is an attitude that should provide driving energy this weekend for two Dutch Women of Jazz concerts at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the North Side. They are the closing acts of the Distinctly Dutch Festival put together by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Warhol musical POP! has bite

Pittsburgh City Paper: The considerable punch of City Theatre's POP! is a collective power building almost intangibly to land, at the end, like a sock in the jaw.

"Happy Ending" & "Day of Absence"

Pittsburgh City Paper: Given the success of and controversy about the movie The Help last year, it certainly would be instructive to hear from real African Americans of that period on "domestic service" and the larger community. Kuntu Repertory Theatre delivers, diving into 1965 for the vision of Douglas Turner Ward's "Happy Ending" and "Day of Absence."

UNLV graduates first class in high-flying new entertainment engineering program

Las Vegas Sun: Emily Black was flying high when she received her diploma from UNLV on Saturday.
Literally.
As one of the first people to earn a bachelor's degree in Entertainment Engineering and Design, a program that began five years ago at UNLV, Black soared across the stage while suspended from a cable system similar to those that carry aerial acrobats in Cirque du Soleil productions.

New York’s Production Boom Means More Work for Actors and CDs

backstage.com: Film and television production in New York City has grown significantly over the last decade and is currently the largest in the city's history. The industry generated $7.1 billion in revenue for the city in 2011, employing 130,000 people.
Casting director James Calleri, who casts for theater, film, and television in New York, told Back Stage that the increase in onscreen opportunities also has far-reaching benefits for the theater community.

Lawsuit Against SAG-AFTRA Dropped

backstage.com: SAG-AFTRA can move forward as a joint organization after holdout opponents of the merger voluntarily dropped their lawsuit aimed at divorcing the two.
A group of SAG members, which included actors Martin Sheen, Ed Asner, and Ed Harris, filed suit earlier this year to stop the vote on the merger. When that suit was rejected by a judge in March, the group continued its legal battle until Wednesday, May 17.

Against Ovation Inflation

NYTimes.com: I would like to make the case, officially and urgently, for the return of the sitting ovation. Because we really have reached the point where a standing ovation doesn’t mean a thing. Pretty much every show you attend on Broadway these days ends with people jumping to their feet and beating their flippers together like captive sea lions whose zookeeper has arrived with a bucket of fish.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Chicago Scenic Scored Big at Super Bowl XLVI

Chicago Scenic Studios, Inc.: The "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" show joined the Super Bowl XLVI week festivities by broadcasting from the Hilbert Circle Theater in Indianapolis, and Chicago Scenic helped create the show's Super Bowl set.

InfoComm AVnu Alliance Pavilion to Feature Live Demos, Certification Info

FOH online: From June 13-15, InfoComm 2012’s AVnu Alliance Pavilion will include demos from 15 participating companies including Avid, Biamp, Bosch, Harman, Meyer Sound, Riedel, Sennheiser and Yamaha. Visitors can also get info on the AVnu Alliance’s new certification program for industry professionals.

Freddie Mercury Next Dead Star To Have Holographic Show

Geekosystem: Brace yourselves: In the wake of Tupac’s surprising and widely-discussed “holographic” performance at Coachella, there are now plans to bring another famous celebrity back from the grave to rock once more. Brace yourselves again: It’s Freddie Mercury. Really though, neither of those things should be a surprise. Technically, the upcoming Freddie Mercury phantasm is being referred to as an “optical illusion” and the performance was in the works long before Tupac ever screamed “Coachella!” but still: Holographic Freddie Mercury. Who can honestly say they didn’t see this coming?

Eight projectors, 3D video light up Higbee Building for Horseshoe Casino Cleveland opening


newsnet5.com: The grand opening of the new Horseshoe Casino Cleveland featured a ribbon-cutting like nothing this city has ever seen. On Monday night, a 3D video was projected on the top eight floors of the 12-story Higbee Building in downtown Cleveland. The video will be replayed Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:45 p.m., 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. “It’s something that Dan (Gilbert) saw a while ago and he wanted to modify it and bring it to Cleveland,” said Chief Operating Officer of Rock Gaming Matt Cullen.

Voice of the people

The Stage: Monday’s Guardian included a full page ad for the new Wildworks outdoor show Babel, being presented as part of World Stages London, containing critical quotes. “Heart-warming and uplifting,” says one. “Eye-opening and inspiring,” says another. Yet another claims, “loved it, incredibly impressive and uplifting.” And who wrote them? Tom, Dick and Harry, that’s who — or rather, Tom, Ambra and Hunt. As the tagline over the ad puts it, “The People Have Spoken!”

Former Phish manager brings acoustics to the table

SmartPlanet: A former retail space in Berkeley, California is decked out with a custom sound system made of 123 speakers, subwoofers, and microphones, all controlled by an iPad. The 3,000 square foot space isn’t a concert hall or music studio but a restaurant owned by John Paluska, the former manager of the rock band Phish. In an article for the SFGate, Stacy Finz details how the restaurateur created a space with lively buzz that still lets patrons hold comfortable conversations.

Church Sound Files: What You Need To Know About Wireless Systems

Pro Sound Web: Anyone who has used wireless microphone systems for even a short time doesn’t need to be sold on their advantages. “Going wireless” allows concentration on the message rather than on the mechanics of delivering the message. (No more pesky mic cables!) Yet wireless systems can be slightly mysterious, prompting suspicion among some users - particularly if they’ve experienced problems for unclear reasons.

Broadway League Launchs Viva Broadway to Reach Out to Hispanic Community

Stage Directions: Broadway was once called “The Great White Way,” and lately it’s been under fire for hewing a little too closely to that appellation. There are lots of creative, intelligent people working to address that issue, however, and the Broadway League has just launched a new initiative to broaden the audience. Called “Viva Broadway,” the initiative aims to develop a partnership with the Hispanic community, reaching out to them as an audience and to help them view Broadway as place to build a career. To start with they’ve partnered with New York City’s Latin Media and Entertainment Commission to increase awareness of Broadway’s shows and educate the Hispanic audience on how to navigate the ticket buying process and they’re looking to create Broadway Speakers Bureaus to let students know about the jobs available in theatre.

National Alliance for Musical Theatre Awards $48k in Grants

Stage Directions: The National Alliance for Musical Theatre has awarded 15 new grants, totaling $48,000, to 14 organizations from its National Fund for New Musicals. Diversionary Theatre in San Diego, Calif., Playwrights Horizons in New York, and TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, Calif., earned National Fund Grants for $10,000 to support full productions. National Fund Grants offering support between $2000-$3000 and $1,000 Writers Residency Grants were also awarded. More details about the fund and a full list of orgs receiving money after the jump.

David Lynch shows how audio can be creepier than any image in Eraserhead

The A.V. Club: People often insist cinema is a visual medium. I understand what they mean—they’re trying to distinguish movies from literature or theater, which mediocre directors too often pointlessly strive to emulate. But that isn’t true. Even in the silent era, films didn’t unspool in complete silence, excepting perhaps the very earliest exhibitions of Lumière and Edison shorts. And since the advent of sound—what’s it been now, 85 years?—just as much artistry and technical know-how has been expended on the audio as the visuals.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Indiana State Fair Announces Management Changes

PLSN: On May 10, the Indiana State Fair Commission announced several changes in its management. Fairgrounds facilities manager Dave Hummel has retired and will be replaced by Ray Allison, who had been the fair’s director of safety and security. David Shaw has been named chief operating officer for the fairgrounds. Jessie Olvera is the fair’s new director of safety and security.

Mixing Dream Theater With A Midas Touch

Pro Sound Web: Independent FOH engineer Nigel Paul is using the Midas PRO9 digital live audio system for the band’s ongoing world tour. Dream Theater has been on the road almost continuously since July 2011 in support of its 11th studio album, A Dramatic Turn Of Events. Clair Global is the audio provider.

Is This A Movement

seanchristopherlewis.com: This week I am in Putney Vermont at Sandglass Theatre on an NPN Residency. Putney is small- about 2,000 people. I’ve taught at five different schools, from middle school to college, and I run into students from each class every time I buy bread at the Co-op. There’s a nice sense of community. Transition Putney asked me to speak last night. It’s a group aiming to build resilient communities. Stronger communities, really- as they face oil depletion, unemployment, business collapse and so on… the question was posed “can the arts foster a more resilient community?”

Union Roundup: IATSE Busts a Move, Openly Organizes VFX Workers

Below the Line: “The IA,” according to organizer Peter Marley, “has become more political than it was in the past.” Marley was speaking over Mother’s Day weekend on a podcast at the redoubtable FXGuide website, more or less officially announcing an initiative that broke last week via the arrival of a website: Namely that after years of talk on the subject, IATSE is openly recruiting visual effects workers to come join a union.

Real World Gear: Options Abound With The Latest Digital Consoles

Pro Sound Web: The tide of digital consoles continues to rise. In general, they’re getting smaller and lighter, but overall capabilities are increasing at a steady pace. Already this year we’ve seen several companies introduce new models and series, and they all look to be smartly executed packages, providing users with more. More I/O. More networking. More recording capability. More effects. And, well, just more.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

5 things a robot taught me about acting


CNN.com Blogs: I’ve long aspired to put robots on stage, which is strange to say since the first appearance of a "robot" was on a stage. The play, which was called "Rossum’s Universal Robots," by the Capek Brothers, introduced the word ‘robot’ into the lexicon in 1920. Ever since, that word - and the themes of the play - have been embraced by science.
But not by art. At least until recently.

Coming-of-age comedy earns CMU student film prize

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: If Yulin Kuang's 16-year-old self could only see her now. The 22-year-old, days from graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, spun her adolescent anxieties and delightfully distinctive voice into a script called "The Perils of Growing Up Flat-Chested." On Saturday, she won first prize and $15,000 in the Steeltown Film Factory contest.

Visual Effects Guild - the IATSE interview

fxguide: In this exclusive interview with fxguide Peter Marley, International Representative for the IA discusses why the IA feels the time is right for a Visual Effects Guild. We discuss portable benefits, pension, residuals, the process of organizing and take a look at efforts going on now to organize.

Creating ‘Fantasmic!’ for Disneyland Park

Disney Parks Blog: “Fantasmic!”, the incredible nighttime spectacular at Disneyland park, marks its 20th anniversary this weekend. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the show. What had been a tranquil scene during the day was magically transformed at night by the power of Mickey’s imagination, and when the Sailing Ship Columbia fired its cannon and suddenly appeared as Captain Hook’s galleon during the show, it gave me goose bumps. It still does!

How Do I Stop Procrastinating When I'm Surrounded By Procrastinators?

lifehack.org: I was meeting the new lady I’m dating at our local federal tax center before going out to dinner with her. This is because when it comes to filing her income tax returns, she’s a chronic procrastinator. This particular day was the deadline for filing tax returns and when we spoke just the night before, my lady friend revealed that she had not even started on her income tax yet.

Village People Singer Victor Willis Breaks Silence About Copyright Lawsuit Win

Hollywood Reporter: Victor Willis, the songwriter and original lead singer of the Village People, isn't done being a provocative figure in the music business. Fresh off a victory earlier this week in a battle to terminate his share of a copyright to the band's hit songs, including "YMCA," Willis has scored a second victory in an unresolved battle to cancel the music publisher's trademark rights to "Village People." Willis is alleging that the song publisher has committed fraud, and in an exclusive interview with THR, tells us what he intends to do with his terminated rights and how joint agreements by publishers and record labels have robbed songwriters like himself of revenue.

Royal Court names Vicky Featherstone as Cooke successor

BBC News: The Royal Court theatre in London has named Vicky Featherstone, head of the National Theatre of Scotland, as its first female artistic director. Featherstone, who kicked off her career as an unpaid assistant director at the Royal Court, will succeed Dominic Cooke when he steps down in April 2013.

Are films too rude, crude and lewd? Critic's Notebook

latimes.com: At first, the email rants from readers expressing their distress about Hollywood's increasing reliance on foul language were a mere trickle. Like the way one couple lost faith in one of their favorite actors, Paul Rudd, mortified by his graphic pep talk to his private part in"Wanderlust." Before those complaints could be chalked up to a prudish few, they grew into a steady stream of frustration, such as the distinct distaste for the dialogue in writer-director-actress Jennifer Westfeldt's indie comedy"Friends With Kids." As one put it: "When did 'adult' start to mean infantile?" and she wasn't talking about the babies.

Why Broadway Is Betting on Big Stars

Backstage: Fifteen years ago, the Broadway theatrical world was in such dire straits that a group of theater veterans turned for help to Bain & Co. -- now famous for its ties to Mitt Romney. In a dire report, the consultancy noted that the cost of producing a show had risen 400 percent during the previous 30 years while ticket prices had climbed only 80 percent. They recommended a very Republican course of cost-cutting measures, concluding, "If the issues are not addressed … Broadway will dwindle to five or 10 theaters filled with musicals."

Saturday, May 12, 2012

An Uncontroversial Use of Cell Phones in Movie Theaters with This American Life Live

Technology in the Arts: This American Life Live made us use our cell phones in theaters this last Thursday, May 10, 2012. It was great. In fact is was so engaging that we made music together. The audience stomped and snapped their fingers along to music that OK Go was playing live.

International groups at core of children's festival

| TribLIVE | Pittsburgh: The 26th Pittsburgh International Children's Festival opens on Wednesday with its tried-and-true formula of performances and activities designed to entertain and amuse children and the adults who accompany them, plus a few changes and adjustments. At the heart of the festival are performances featuring musicians, puppeteers, actors and storytellers from faraway places that include The Netherlands, Bangladesh, Senegal, Australia, Venezuela and Scotland.

Summer Times: Stage includes Broadway tours and more

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Days in the sun are fun, but uh-oh those summer nights at the theater. Pittsburgh CLO kicks off its 66th summer season by bringing the Broadway tour of "Come Fly Away" to the Benedum Center starting June 5, then ends the schedule with the tour of "The Addams Family," a joint presentation with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. In between, CLO's musical revivals include "Annie" with Sally Struthers and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard," starring Tony nominee Liz Callaway.

"Three Sisters" century-old theme still relevant today

| TribLIVE | Pittsburgh: Celebrated Russian author Anton Chekhov wrote "Three Sisters" more than 100 years ago, but its themes remain universal, Sean O'Donnell says. "We have all longed for more or felt paralyzed by our circumstance, or felt the overwhelming despair of hopelessness," says O'Donnell, who is directing the play this weekend and next at the New Olde Bank Theatre, Verona, where he is artistic director and co-founder. It is a play that transcends time and explores the human condition, the Freeport native says.

Weekend Coffee: The 3D Printing Revolution

Big Think: For a mental health break, this weekend I wanted to write about something extremely cool: 3D printing, an emerging technological trend that's been covered by, among others, the Telegraph, the Economist, PC World, as well as right here at Big Think's IdeaFeed. As opposed to traditional "subtractive" methods of carving or sculpting, 3D printing is an "additive" method of manufacturing that builds up solid objects one thin layer at a time.

Theatre hacking: what's it all about?

guardian.co.uk: Forget the antics of Anonymous or LulzSec or even News International. For my money, the most audacious hacking in recent memory took place at a Montreal theatre last November. Local playwright Olivier Choinière held one of his occasional déambulatoires théâtrals – a kind of promenade theatre where the audience is directed around a public space while listening to an audio play on an MP3 player. Instead of roaming the streets of Montreal, however, the audience for Choinière's Projet blanc – as this one-night event was called – found themselves being led to outside the city's classical theatre company, the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM).

Theater Talkback: Live and Laughing

NYTimes.com: I have to admit I approached the Music Box Theater, where the buzzed-about London import “One Man, Two Guvnors” opened on Broadway recently, with some trepidation, an anxious sense that the giddy delights of this updated version of an Italian comedy would leave me stone cold, as farces often do.It wasn’t just a matter of longstanding antipathy to the sometimes strained mechanics of the genre. The fact is I had already seen the show, after a fashion, and found it such a dud that I left before the first act was over.

Friday, May 11, 2012

EPISODE 1 - ON THE PLANET MONGO!


TheSpecial Topics in Sound Design Class Presents...

The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of
FLASH GORDON!
Theoriginal episode of the Flash Gordon radio serial performed live on stage withoriginal music and sound effects performed on circuit bent and builtinstruments by Erik Lawson and Chris Rummel.

ALSOFEATURING the vocal talents of: Denee Benton, Cory Cott, Adrian Enscoe, DavidAndrew Laws, Brian Morabito, Grace Rao, Sophia Shrank

EPISODE 1 - ON THE PLANET MONGO!
MondayMay 14th
5pm
Inthe Rauh Theater
Free, and right after crits!
Join us for some end of semester fun!

Next week’s LightFair (aka LEDFair) promises newest in solid-state lighting

Blog on EDN: Next week is the lighting industry’s pre-eminent trade show, LightFair, which to be as accurate as possible should change its name to LEDFair. The show fills up the massive Las Vegas Convention Center, and virtually every booth there is showing off LED-based lights. Which is a little strange because as it stands today, LEDs have very little penetration into the general lighting market.

Turning the Dance Floor on its Side

Art Works: Anyone who lives in or has visited Washington knows the Old Post Office Pavilion. Built in 1899, the building is a major city landmark, renowned for its gorgeous Romanesque revival architecture and 315-foot clock tower. It’s also home to several federal agencies, including our very own NEA. But tonight at 9 p.m., the historic Old Post Office will transform into a vertical stage when frequent NEA grantee Project Bandaloop dances, leaps, and twists along the façade as it performs its aerial production of Bound(less).

Girl, 10, ready to pitch business idea to Warren Buffett

WTAE Home: It's not every day a 10-year-old gets to pitch her business idea to billionaire Warren Buffett, but Aria Eppinger is ready to do just that, even if she is admittedly a little nervous.

How to make your own Arduino board

instructables.com: If your are like me which I am guessing you are, then ever since you got into doing stuff with arduino you have wanted to make your own arduino board. You may be surprised to find out that making the prototyping board is actually very easy, and can have several advantages over using the commercially sold board. For one thing, All the components together cost a little over 15 US dollars as opposed to the $30 that the Uno board sells for. second, you may not actually want a board, but may simply want the atmega chip as the heart of the project, like if you are making a synthesizer or even a robot.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Let them Eat Opera: Pennsylvania Governor Corbett Gets Honored for Supporting Arts While Slashing the Arts

Big Think: What do you get for being a governor who cuts $860 million from his state’s education budget and forces schools to slash their arts education? A Lifetime Achievement Award for support of the arts from the Pittsburgh Opera. That’s what’s happening this Saturday to Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett and his wife, Sue. They’re to receive an award from the Opera while Corbett is in the midst of cutting basic-education funding, distressed-schools funding, higher education, and early childhood education.

Noises off: Will social media change the face of theatre?

guardian.co.uk: Brace yourselves. Things are about to take a turn for the meta. Theatre bloggers have been discussing theatre as it exists on the internet. So that's an online writer writing about online writing about online theatre. Got that? Good. Broadly speaking, theatre exists in two forms online. There's theatre as digital content – live broadcasts, online video and so on – and there's digital content related to theatre, like marketing or education tools.

Streaming ahead

FT.com: If pictorial reproduction can be traced to founding and stamping in Ancient Greece, textual reproduction to the printing presses of the Middle Ages, sound to the recording experiments of the late 19th century and the moving image to a few years later, then opera – that messy, mongrel art form – is finally having its moment.

Simple Tool: The Importance Of Recording Live Shows For Later Evaluation

Pro Sound Web: Several years ago, I had the pleasure of mixing a few times for a very talented rock band. The first show was a CD release party at a local all-ages club, and I got a call about an hour before the band was to take the stage. On the other end of the phone was the band’s bass player (an old friend), who asked me to come down and mix. They were the second band that night and had no confidence in the mix engineer after hearing the first band. We sealed the deal with food, a T-shirt and a CD.

League of Professional Theatre Women Present Legacy Project Honoring Pioneering Women Producers

Stage Directions: The League of Professional Theatre Women will present a day-long tribute to the pioneering women of 20th century theatre, including many of those responsible for laying the foundation of regional theatre. The program will offer a day of lectures and discussion on theatrical figures such as Eva Le Gallienne, who created The Civic Repertory Theatre; Margo Jones, who pioneered theatre-in-the-round and was a harbinger of the regional theatre movement; Lucille Lortel, leader in the Off' Broadway movement. The presentations will be given by historians (Susan Quinn, Furious Improvisation), biographers (Alexis Greene, Lucille Lortel: Queen of Off Broadway), and scholars (Wendy Ann Vierow, American Stage Directors of the Twentieth Century). The event is free.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Student actors shine in Bus Stop

The Tartan Online: In the middle of a raging winter storm, two cowboys, a pedophilic professor, and a saucy showgirl get off a stranded bus, forced to stay the night in a small Kansas diner.
Thus begins the School of Drama’s production of Bus Stop, a play written in 1955 that tells the story of a few eccentric people in an enclosed space who cross paths and are ultimately forced to evaluate their own identities in the process. Bus Stop, which opened last Thursday, is a rich adaptation of a thoughtful play, brought to life by the acting of skilled drama students.

Bus Stop

Pittsburgh City Paper: Where's the crotch?
As enjoyable as the Carnegie Mellon University production of William Inge's comedy Bus Stop is, there seems to be a big hole where a big ... well, you get the idea.
Set in a small-town bus stop on a frozen 1955 night somewhere outside of Kansas City, Inge tells the tale of weary folk forced together when a blizzard waylays their bus.

Confirmed by Nonprofit Quarterly: Generating online content is NOT optional.

Technology in the Arts: As recently reported by Nonprofit Quarterly, “Nonprofit employees have always had to wear a lot of hats: fundraiser, marketer, grant writer, etc. Here’s one more you need to get used to wearing: publisher. Fortunately, this additional job has a real benefit, as it engages current and potential supporters with useful, interesting and credible information that directly drives donor support.”

newMoves hits its stride again this weekendh

| TribLIVE | Pittsburgh: Festivals should have an extravagant quality, the more the merrier.
The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater's newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival was created in 2009 to present a wide array of new voices in dance. This year, it will expand its offerings to 16 choreographers and 42 dancers over three evenings of performances, plus introduce a symposium on contemporary dance each day of the festival.

The Female of the Species

Pittsburgh City Paper: Usually an "adult language advisory" outside a theater portends mainly extensive dependence upon obscenities. But, by golly, at the Little Lake Theatre Co. production of Joanna Murray-Smith's The Female of the Species, there is actual grown-up talk. Oh, sure, there's the F-word and such, but also extensive name-dropping of real late-20th-century intellectuals, and masticating their philosophies and hypotheses. Oh, and it's funny.