NFTRW Weekly Top Five

Here are the top five comment generating articles of the past week:

These Photos Show How Fucking Hard It Is To Put On A Theatre Show

www.buzzfeed.com: In the lead up to opening night, set builder Boaz Shemesh took his iPhone behind the scenes to reveal how he made the stage look like a British country estate from 1809, as well as when the time jumps to the 1990s.

Posted by David at 17 Comments Here

Standing Ovations Should Be Reserved for Productions That Earn It

OnStage: What began as a casual thought about standing ovations these days, became, as I sat down to write, something of a tricky process, because standing ovations are a highly subjective response to theatrical stimuli; individual to the person on their feet. I watched a performance recently which, in my opinion, was very well done, although the script (again, in my opinion) did not lend itself to a standing ovation. Heartfelt, though seated applause, and quiet reflection on what's just been seen, perhaps. Yet all around me, people were getting to their feet to applaud in what seems these days to have become a meaningless, borderline trivial gesture. Something you're expected to do when a show is over.

Posted by David at 16 Comments Here

Professional mermaids work their tails off

CNN.com: Jumping into a pool of women and men wearing fish tails is like being in an aquarium where characters from a familiar Walt Disney movie have come to life.

The multicolored fins bedazzle the startled swimmer with their sparkles and their synthetic scales light up the chlorinated water. The mermaids, mermen and merchildren look at ease free diving up to 15 feet deep, their eyes wide open and their mouths fixed into effortless toothy-smiles. But what looks easy to these "merfolk," has actually taken a lot of time, practice and money.

Posted by David at 9 Comments Here

Are We Living in a New Golden Age of Musical Theatre?

Playbill: Somehow, when we weren't looking, it became cool to be a musical theatre fan. No longer relegated to a “niche market,” musical theatre has captured the national spotlight in recent years. Movie musicals are now a staple of Hollywood's peak holiday release season—with Into the Woods debuting Christmas Day of 2014 and Les Misérables garnering unprecedented attention for live singing on Christmas 2012. The 85th Academy Awards included a 12-minute tribute to movie musicals, in honor of the 10th anniversary of Chicago, which ushered in a resurgence of the bygone art form.

Posted by David at 8 Comments Here

14 Ways Doing Theater As A Kid Can Help You As An Adult

www.buzzfeed.com: In school there are make-up tests and project extensions, but in theater the show must always go on, whether or not you’re ready. Being in a play teaches you (forces you, actually) to find creative ways of meeting your deadline and coming up with effective shortcuts in your work.

Posted by David at 7 Comments Here