News from the "Real World"

'Billy Elliott' brings flair to classic tale at Benedum

2012-02-01T15:22:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The story is familiar.
A young boy being raised by his coal miner father discovers his place in the world is at the ballet barre.
Will he get to study at the Royal Ballet School in London or follow the path of his working-class father and older brother?

Ballet Theatre continues expansion at Strip District site

2012-02-01T15:21:00.001-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is in the midst of a $6 million expansion at its Strip District school and headquarters, which will allow the opportunity to double its current student population and construct a circular driveway around its building.
Both are part of the $1.5 million second phase of the expansion which recently received a $200,000 grant from the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County under the county's Community Infrastructure & Tourism Fund.

Jen Childs steps on comedy's toes in solo show

2012-02-01T15:21:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: After years of helping others develop their solo performances, Jen Childs finally decided it was her turn.
A founder and the artistic director of the 12-year-old 1812 Productions theater company in Philadelphia, Childs has invested her company's and her own energy in supporting the creation and performance of single-artist shows through the company's Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program.

Sunny staging brightens Pittsburgh Public's 'As You Like It'

2012-02-01T15:20:00.001-05:00

Post Gazette: Valentine's Day has come early to the Cultural District with a charming amatory confection, "As You Like It." Whatever Shakespeare meant by that enigmatic title, on this occasion it works: Ted Pappas' Public Theater show should prove to be just how the audience likes it, indeed.
Why not? We need cheering up in this midwinter, with assessments akimbo, potholes looming and the Steelers having fallen short of the Super Bowl. Spring seems a long way off, so why not enjoy a sojourn in the edenic Forest of Arden?

'Mid-Strut' rehearsals energize playwright Eric Burns

2012-02-01T15:20:00.000-05:00

Post Gazette: Eric Burns would have you believe that he's not a social person, that collaboration is against his nature, and that a change has come over him in a few weeks of putting on a show in Pittsburgh.
The Ambridge native and graduate of Westminster College started his career at WQED, became a newsman for NBC and was host of "Fox News Watch," a roundtable for media critiques, while finding time to write eight books. Starting Thursday, The REP, the professional company of Point Park University, will debut "Mid-Strut," his first play to get a full-on regional production.

WAY Without Words

2012-02-01T15:19:00.000-05:00

Carnegie Mellon University: Let's make a game about communicating. Without text or speech.
This was the initial concept of WAY, a gaming experience with no shared spoken language.
The idea was developed by a team of students at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) to encourage cross-cultural communication and collaboration through play.

Megan Hilty Will Be Lorelei Lee in Encores! Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

2012-02-01T15:18:00.001-05:00

Playbill.com: Megan Hilty, the Wicked and 9 to 5 star who will be seen in NBC's new musical series "Smash," will star in the City Center Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Hilty will play Lorelei Lee, the diamond-loving blonde made famous by Carol Channing.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre unveils Uncommon

2012-02-01T15:18:00.000-05:00

Pop Filter Hot Pick: Ready to experience ballet--and the August Wilson Center--like never before?
Two Pittsburgh cultural powerhouses are teaming up to launch a collaborative new approach to dance programming which promises to provide audiences with a rare intimate look at ballet, and breathe new life into the Downtown-based African-American Cultural Center.

Russia's shiny new Bolshoi grappling with gripes

2012-02-01T15:17:00.000-05:00

Reuters: When Moscow's Bolshoi Theater threw open its doors after a six-year renovation, a gilded handle broke off in a reporter's hand during the first dress rehearsal for the opening opera.
It was a palpable sign that after a $700-million restoration Moscow's theatrical jewel is struggling to live up to a centuries-old reputation as a bastion of Russian culture.

Got a question about Broadway? Then call the Hotline: 1-855-SEE-BWAY

2012-02-01T15:16:00.000-05:00

Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer: Well, that's exactly what I thought . . . so then I wondered . . . why doesn't Broadway have a hotline? Why doesn't it have a toll free number that people can just call to find out stuff? Ivory Soap has one. Coke has one.
And now Broadway has one too!
Introducing 1-855-SEE-BWAY, the first ever free Broadway hotline.
Yep, we created 1-855-SEE-BWAY (733-2929) to help answer your questions about Broadway.

The real way to build a social network

2012-02-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

Fortune Tech: Many people are turned off by the topic of networking. They think it's slimy, inauthentic. Picture the consummate networker: a high-energy fast talker who collects as many business cards as he can and attends mixers sporting slicked-back hair. Or the overambitious college kid who frantically e-mails alumni, schmoozes with the board of trustees, and adds anyone he's ever met as an online friend. Such people are drunk on networking Kool-Aid -- and are looking at a potentially nasty hangover.

SAG and AFTRA open up about merger plans

2012-02-01T15:14:00.000-05:00

latimes.com: Hollywood's actors' unions are opening up about their proposed marriage agreement. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists on Tuesday posted details of a merger package overwhelmingly approved by their respective boards last weekend.

Broadway Run for 'Clybourne Park' in Jeopardy

2012-02-01T15:13:00.000-05:00

NYTimes.com: A clash of wills between a powerful Broadway producer, Scott Rudin (“The Book of Mormon”), and an acclaimed playwright, Bruce Norris, is jeopardizing the Broadway premiere this spring of Mr. Norris’s satire “Clybourne Park,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama last year and has been widely viewed as a leading contender for the 2012 Tony Award for best play.

Tale of the Floppy Disks: How Jonathan Larson Created 'Rent'

2012-02-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

NYTimes.com: At 6:44 pm on Feb. 4, 1992, a little-known composer and playwright named Jonathan Larson hit “save” for the first time on a Microsoft Word file containing the lyrics to a half dozen songs loosely tied together with fragments of a story that over the next four years would grow into the mega-hit musical “Rent.”

Shakespeare's skill was in his grammar not his language, academic claims

2012-02-01T15:11:00.000-05:00

Telegraph: For centuries Shakespeare has been celebrated not just for his genius as a playwright, but for creating many of today’s most commonly used words and phrases.

New Ken native opens ballet school in Oakmont

2012-01-31T17:07:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The strength and beauty that is synonymous with ballet has just twirled into a second-floor studio in Oakmont with the new Western Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.
New Kensington native Michael Villella, who has danced professionally with Ballet Austin II and the Oklahoma City Ballet, says he is providing the region with one of the few dance schools dedicated solely to this traditional form of dance, requiring training and then more training, not to mention discipline.

Pittsburgh Musical Theater's 'Spring Awakening' well worth the visit

2012-01-31T17:06:00.001-05:00

Post Gazette: There's a moment you know you're seeing something special. In Pittsburgh Musical Theater's "Spring Awakening," it comes when Logan Williams hits all the right notes as Melchior in the second song of the show. His leading lady, Kathlene Queen, has already set the stage for positive things to come with a voice that should have the audience settling in for a memorable night.

CLO Cabaret's 'Ruthless' skewers film divas, demons

2012-01-31T17:06:00.000-05:00

Post Gazette: "Ruthless! the Musical" was so much fun the first time, Van Kaplan couldn't resist directing it again.
The Pittsburgh CLO executive producer directed the show in the 1990s for the Casa Manana theater company in Fort Worth, Texas, and wasn't about to give it to someone else when he programmed the show for the CLO Cabaret. It marks his directing debut at the venue.

College endowments rebound from recession

2012-01-31T17:05:00.001-05:00

Post Gazette: A survey being released today finds that Pittsburgh's three largest universities, and several smaller campuses in the region, had endowment growth in 2011 that outpaced many of their peers around the nation.
Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University are among 823 public and private schools that participated in a joint survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute. The annual survey covered a 12-month period ending June 30, 2011, and offered evidence that campus endowments are continuing to rebound from the recession.

AFTRA Sound Recording Agreement Ratified

2012-01-31T17:05:00.000-05:00

Backstage: AFTRA singers and other members have ratified the union's sound recording agreement with the major labels, the union announced Monday. The move, by a vote of almost 99 percent in favor, was expected.

'Raisin' and 'Springer' Lead LADCC Nominations

2012-01-31T17:04:00.001-05:00

Backstage: The nominees and special award recipients for the 43rd annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards, honoring distinguished achievements in L.A. theater during 2011, were announced on Monday. Ebony Repertory Theatre Company's revival of Lorraine Hansbury's classic drama " A Raisin in the Sun," currently restaged at the Kirk Douglas Theatre with one lead role recast, and the Chance Theater's Southern California premiere of "Jerry Springer: The Opera" both lead the nominations with a total of eight each.

Working in the Theatre - Casting Directors 2012 - February, 2012

2012-01-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

American Theatre Wing: Casting Directors David Caparelliotis, Tara Rubin and Daniel Swee and moderator Patrick Pacheco discuss the role of the casting director; their collaboration with directors; recasting shows; and whether stars are necessary for success on Broadway today.

Vectorworks in the Cloud and Possible iOS App

2012-01-31T17:03:00.001-05:00

iSquint.net: In a teaser email the Vectorworks just sent out, they demonstrate an architect on site in the middle of a build project looking at his drawing on an iPad. He notices a detail in incorrect. He notifies his design team and it is quickly “updated in the cloud”. Does this mean that Vectorworks will be living in the cloud?

Actors Theatre of Louisville Unveils New Artist Housing

2012-01-31T17:03:00.000-05:00

Stage Directions: Just in time to begin preparing for the Humana Festival, the Actors Theatre of Louisville has opened 18 apartments for visiting artists in the nearby 300 Building in downtown Louisville. They partnered with FBM Properties, which invested $1 million on behalf of Actors Theatre to support construction. Smaller donations were accepted, too—ATL set up a gift registry at Bed Bath and Beyond to help furnish the apartments. ATL unveiled the apartments at a public reception Monday, January 30.

New Standard for Control System for Chain Hoists in Public Review

2012-01-31T17:01:00.001-05:00

Stage Directions: PLASA has a new draft standard in public review, this one surrounding control systems for chain hoists. BSR E1.6-4 - 201x, Portable Control of Fixed-Speed Electric Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry is available for review and comments until March 26.

Who Is More Important? The Event Or Organization?

2012-01-31T17:01:00.000-05:00

Butts In the Seats: I had a small disagreement about marketing with one of the people partnering on a show with us that raised the question about what is more important, the artist or the organization.
The disagreement was pretty simple. We had designed an ad to promote a show. Between the sponsor and creator logos/credits and the general design of the ad, there wasn’t a lot of room left. To maintain a clean, attractive look for the show, I suggested that we omit the three names of the presenters. We would have the name of the theatre, but not “presented by X, Y, Z groups, each of which were fairly long.

China's State TV Making Huge Global Expansion

2012-01-31T17:00:00.000-05:00

The Hollywood Reporter: The killing of a South Korean coast guard officer by a Chinese fisherman should have been tailor-made for China's CCTV News as it embarks on an ambitious plan to become a global network with assertive international coverage.

London Theater Journal: Big Ideas in Small Spaces

2012-01-31T16:59:00.001-05:00

NYTimes.com: Some plays are worth defying claustrophobia for. As a capacity audience crowded onto the benches that surrounded the rectangular stage of the tiny black-box space of the Royal Court Jerwood Theater Upstairs, I could feel my chest tightening and my breath growing shorter. It didn’t help that layers of white balloons covered (and lowered) the ceiling in molecular formations. I had to admonish myself, as I do in such circumstances, “Theater critics do not faint on the job – except, on rare occasion, metaphorically.”

Lincoln Center Theater to Open New Space With 'Slowgirl'

2012-01-31T16:59:00.000-05:00

NYTimes.com: Lincoln Center Theater will open its newest stage, the Claire Tow Theater, with the world premiere of “Slowgirl,” a play by Greg Pierce to be directed by Anne Kauffman (“Maple & Vine,” “This Wide Night”).
“Slowgirl,” which is Mr. Pierce’s New York debut, is a two-character play about a young girl who escapes the aftermath of a horrible accident by turning to her uncle’s retreat in the Costa Rican jungle. Performances will begin June 4, with a June 18 opening.

In Toronto-vs-Chicago theatre war, tax credits are the new ammo

2012-01-31T16:58:00.001-05:00

The Globe and Mail: A new front has opened in the long-standing battle between Toronto and Chicago for the title of North America’s second theatre city: tax credits.
While the subject matter would make for a mind-numbing musical, an act passed by the Illinois Legislature quietly over the holidays has essentially launched the opening shot in a war over War Horse, the West End megahit that Toronto is about to become the third city in the world to stage. Or it might be called the first punch in the Thrilla for Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, the colourful drag-queen musical that entertained Torontonians before it became a hot, Tony-winning ticket on Broadway.

Signature Theater Opens New Home in a Frank Gehry Building

2012-01-31T16:58:00.000-05:00

NYTimes.com: During the depths of the recession in 2009, leaders of Signature Theater Company had a showy selling point in their pitch to raise $38.5 million to build a new home: models of the 70,000-square-foot complex by a star architect, Frank Gehry. Yet Signature, a respected but frills-free Off Broadway nonprofit, lacked a grand space in which to show the models and to entertain prospective donors.

Making 'Billy Elliot: The Musical'

2012-01-29T18:16:00.000-05:00

Post Gazettte: It's a tale about a coal miner's son who wants to be a ballet dancer against his father's wishes. The family drama plays out against a major strike in which the government is out to break the union. Sound familiar?
This scenario could have happened in Western Pennsylvania. But they're actually the dynamic threads that drive "Billy Elliot: The Musical," a quintessentially British production that hit the London stage in 2005, then moved to New York City in 2010, sweeping up a gaggle of awards, including those for best musical, book, score and choreography.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre opens the post-holiday season with an uncommon program

2012-01-29T18:15:00.000-05:00

Post Gazette: There's not much that's ordinary about the centerpiece of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's 2011-12 season.
Rather than the usual switch this time of year from the grand Benedum Center to the more intimate Byham Theater for a few performances, dancers will mount "Uncommon" for seven days at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Downtown. The program, set to live chamber music, opens Friday with nine chances for audiences to see the lineup of Dennis Nahat's "Brahms Quintet," Mark Morris' "Maelstrom" and a world premiere from Complexions Contemporary Ballet's Dwight Rhoden.

Appealing young cast highlights 'Hansel and Gretel'

2012-01-29T18:14:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Pittsburgh Opera's welcome revival of "Hansel & Gretel" in a new production Saturday night featured an especially appealing cast drawn from the young professional singers of its Resident Artists program and impressive stage direction by Ted Huffman.

'Billy Elliot' actors put their own spin on the same role

2012-01-29T18:13:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Ty Forhan is 13 years old, tall and blond with a specialty in hop-hop and a love of acting.
J.P. Viernes is 15, dark-haired, danced for two years with City Ballet San Francisco and has an interest in astronomy as well as dance.
They are two of the quartet of young men who, along with Kylend Hetherington and Zach Manske, share the title role in the national touring production of "Billy Elliot the Musical."

AFTRA Board of Directors Approves SAG-AFTRA Merger Package

2012-01-29T18:12:00.001-05:00

Backstage: The AFTRA board of directors Saturday approved a proposed merger with SAG, triggering a membership vote that could unite the unions by the end of March into a single union, to be called SAG-AFTRA. The move was expected and came a day after SAG’s board passed a similar motion.

SAG Board of Directors Approves Merger Package With AFTRA

2012-01-29T18:12:00.000-05:00

Backstage: The SAG board of directors Friday approved a proposed merger with AFTRA, bringing the two unions a step closer to uniting, eight decades after they were founded on opposite coasts and during very different times. The move was expected, as was the new union’s name: SAG-AFTRA.

How Do We Identify Good Ideas?

2012-01-29T18:11:00.000-05:00

Wired.com: I’ve always been fascinated by the failures of genius. Consider Bob Dylan. How did the same songwriter who produced Blood on the Tracks and Blonde on Blonde also conclude that Down in the Groove was worthy of release? Or what about Steve Jobs: What did he possibly see in the hockey puck mouse? How could Bono not realize that Spiderman was a disaster? And why have so many of my favorite novelists produced so many middling works?

John Shaffner Elected Chair of Art Directors Council

2012-01-29T18:10:00.000-05:00

The Hollywood Reporter: Production designer John Shaffner has been elected to a three-year term as Chair of the Art Directors Council, effective immediately. Shaffner replaces Thomas A. Walsh, who will continue as president of the overall Art Directors Guild.

AFTRA Board Approves Network Code

2012-01-29T18:09:00.000-05:00

The Hollywood Reporter: The AFTRA national board Saturday unanimously voted to recommend the terms of the 2011-2014 Network Television Code agreement to AFTRA members for ratification, as was expected. Ballots will go out to all members in good standing on Monday with a return date of Feb. 22.

Why Children's Theater Matters

2012-01-29T18:08:00.000-05:00

Education.com: Want to boost literacy? Teach your child to imagine the unimaginable? Cultivate curiosity? Get thee to the theater, and bring your kids.
The children's theater movement is led by Europe, but the U.S. is not far behind. And we're not just talking about the bustling theater town of New York. The third largest children’s theater in the world is tucked away in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Other mid-sized cities—from Dallas, to Tempe, to Nashville, are also cooking up kids’ fare in full-time children venues.

AFTRA board agrees to tie the knot with SAG

2012-01-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

latimes.com: The long-sought marriage of Hollywood's two actors unions cleared another hurdle Saturday when the board of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists endorsed a plan to merge with the larger Screen Actors Guild.
As expected, the AFTRA board approved a recently-negotiated merger plan by 94% to 6%, echoing a similar endorsement on Friday by SAG's national board.

UK Court Says You Can Copyright The Basic Idea Of A Photograph

2012-01-28T20:59:00.000-05:00

Techdirt: We've talked a lot in the past about the "idea/expression dichotomy." This is an important concept in copyright law that says you can only copyright the specific expression, and not the idea. This is supposed to protect people from getting accused of copyright infringement for basically making something similar to what someone else made. Unfortunately, as we've been noting with dismay over the past few years, the idea that there's some bright line between "idea" and "expression" has been slowly fading away, and courts are, increasingly, effectively wiping out the distinction. In the US, we've seen this with the ridiculous case between a photographer, David LaChapelle, and the singer Rihanna, because some of her videos were clear homages to his photographs. The expression was entirely different, but the judge didn't think so, and Rihanna ended up having to pay up.

Bar Fight! Sony Sues Karaoke Distributor For Infringement; Gets Sued Right Back For 'Copyright Misuse'

2012-01-28T20:58:00.000-05:00

Techdirt: A great many drinkers have watched helplessly as their BAC became inversely proportionate to their common sense, throwing around cash as thought it were Monopoly money before grabbing the mic to belt out Adele's latest track. Karaoke has been the go-to bar sport for thousands of people who feel the only thing keeping them back from superstardom is sobriety. It's a proven money-maker, but does it make ridiculously large damages-type money?

Is the three-act dead?

2012-01-28T20:57:00.001-05:00

Berkeley Rep Blog: As Berkeley Rep’s new Ground Floor initiative revs up its engines, it’s a good time to talk about what makes new theatre. Is it contemporary stories, contemporary forms, or both? At a company meeting this fall, Artistic Director Tony Taccone declared, “Artists are moving away from the three-act structure. Not because it is a trend, but because the three-act no longer reflects how people think and feel.”

Getting to the ‘What’ of it

2012-01-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

HowlRound: Last Monday I was fortunate enough to be able to attend TEDxBroadway at New World Stages in New York City. With no direct experience, but a keen interest, in the Broadway scene, I was excited to have the opportunity to spend the day listening to fourteen experts, industry and outsiders, answer the question: “What’s the Best that Broadway can be Twenty Years from Now?” Many have done an incredibly thorough job reporting on the event and so I won’t attempt to offer a complete summary. (If you’re interested in such a recap, I recommend Howard Sherman’s live blog of the day’s activities here.)
Much of the conference was spent discussing who Broadway should be attracting (in terms of both audience and industry), how Broadway could be courting said targeted audiences (largely capitalizing on social networking), and why theater. The why was most succinctly and quotably summed up by Gregory Mosher: “You can’t Google a broken heart. That’s what we need Shakespeare for.” A conversation about what the theater in the theaters should look like and what it should address was slightly less fleshed out. I wanted to take a minute to distill the what in hopes of continuing the conversation that was started on Monday.

Rose Brand Accepting Applications for Action Design Competition at USITT

2012-01-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

Stage Directions: Think you’re a great designer? Think you can work fast? Think you can collaborate successfully in a short time, under pressure, with total strangers? If so, Rose Brand wants you to prove it at USITT this spring. Rose Brand is launching the Rose Brand USITT Action Design Competition at this year’s USITT exhibition in Long Beach, Calif.

Black and white and read all over

2012-01-28T20:54:00.000-05:00

WBEZ: When I interviewed Timothy Douglas about his decision to resign as Artistic Director of Remy Bumppo, he said a series of gracious things about divergent artistic visions. These remarks were barely distinguishable from the equally gracious comments made by his successor Nick Sandys. So what is there to write about?
There’s this: When, at the end of the interview, I asked Douglas what else I should have asked him, this is what he said:
"Well, the question is bound to be, ‘Did this have anything to do with race?’ And yes, that was a part of the dynamic.

SAG Merger Ballots to Include Opposition Statement

2012-01-28T20:53:00.000-05:00

The Hollywood Reporter: The merger referendum materials that will be sent to SAG members will include an opposition statement, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, even though merger opponents on the SAG board did not reach the threshold necessary to require this.

Sundance Debut

2012-01-27T16:51:00.000-05:00

Carnegie Mellon University: A feature film debut at the Sundance Film Festival is something Roxanne Benjamin has always strived for.
This year she reached that goal.
Benjamin, a 2009 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's Master of Entertainment Industry Management (MEIM) program will debut her movie V/H/S in Park City, Utah as part of the premier showcase for independent film.

Stage actors find appearances in order for long-running TV series

2012-01-27T16:50:00.001-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Read the cast bios of almost any professional theater production, and you might think that a role on one of the versions of "Law & Order" is a professional requirement.
That might be a bit of an overstatement. But it's rare to find a regional theater or national-touring production without a few performers who list "Law & Order" among their credits.

NYC Sets TV Production Record in 2011

2012-01-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

Backstage: Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Thursday that television production in New York City hit a record high in 2011, Variety reported. The city was the location for 23 series in the 2011-12 season, compared with just nine a decade ago.

John Ford’s ‘Broken Heart’ and ‘ ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore’

2012-01-27T16:49:00.001-05:00

NYTimes.com: THE 17th-century playwright John Ford never met a character he didn’t want to kill: gruesomely, ingeniously, poignantly. He liked them stabbed, starved, poisoned, burnt, bled and assaulted by roving packs of bandits. His two best plays — both having forthcoming New York revivals — boast body counts nearly as long as the cast lists.

Survey reveals effect of being openly gay on actors' careers

2012-01-27T16:49:00.000-05:00

The Stage: Almost half of all gay performers have not come out to their agents, with more than a third admitting they have experienced homophobia in the industry.
The figures are among the findings of a survey conducted by Equity investigating whether it is safe to be ‘out’ in the entertainment industry. The survey was open to all the union’s members, with the majority of those who took part working as performers.

The Data We Need on Women and the Entertainment Industry

2012-01-27T16:48:00.001-05:00

ThinkProgress: I’m pretty excited about the new initiative that’s a partnership between the Sundance Institute and Women in Film to provide more data on the experiences of women in film and television. I think it’s important, though, that we get away from simply reporting the number of movies and television shows that are written, created, directed, or executive produced by women, and to try to get some of these kinds of other numbers

Hacker Spaces Come Meet Your Makers

2012-01-27T16:48:00.000-05:00

Between the Lines: This week I had the opportunity to visit the Noisebridge Hacker Space in San Francisco with an Autodesk colleague Gregory Miller and Alex Peake. Alex is on Kickstarter with a game project named Code Hero where you not only learn about pioneers and computer science heros such as Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, and Alan Turing but learn how to code in the process of the game. It is nice to see not another mind numbing zombie killing game, but one where you learn some programming languages such as JavaScript and Unity3D, and exercise your problem solving skills.

Eiko Ishioka dies at 73

2012-01-27T16:47:00.000-05:00

Variety: Eiko Ishioka, who earned an Oscar for the costumes in "Bram Stoker's Dracula," a Grammy for her design of Miles Davis' album "Tutu" and two Tony nominations for her work on "M. Butterfly," died of pancreatic cancer on Saturday in Tokyo. She was 73.

The Truth About Sleep & Productivity

2012-01-27T16:46:00.000-05:00

Inc.com: Arianna Huffington talks often about how the key to her productivity is sleep.
It's a smart suggestion, not least because so many of us still imagine that the more we work, the more productive we are. For over a hundred years or more, this has been deemed nonsense.

One Secret to Finding New Audiences, or What I Learned from Mohegan Sun.

2012-01-27T16:45:00.000-05:00

Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer: Casinos have a lot on the ‘line’, which is why there is a lot to learn from everything they do.
I stumbled upon a simple little trick that I’ve started using for my shows already, and it has been so successful, I had to share it with you.
It’s simple . . . if you want to get a new audience to the theater, you may have to get that new audience to the theater.

Vectorworks Releases Entertainment and Lighting Design with Vectorworks Spotlight, First Edition

2012-01-27T16:44:00.000-05:00

iSquint.net: Perfect timing! If you are a student looking to enter the 2012 Student Lighting Design Competition, Kevin Lee Allen’s new book, Entertainment and Lighting Design with Vectorworks Spotlight, First Edition might just be what you are looking for! Not only in Kevin Lee Allen one of our judges for the SLDC, he is also an award-winning lighting and scenic designer whose work includes theatre, film, TV, museums and corporate environments.

Pittsburgh Musical Theater casts teen actors in controversial Tony winner 'Spring Awakening'

2012-01-26T15:30:00.002-05:00

Post Gazette: Art can be risky or risque, classical or contemporary, or all of those at once, as in the case of "Spring Awakening." The risque part caused the initial buzz when it clocked into Broadway, and the timeless message and award-winning songs keep it ticking.
The 1850s German play of the same name, about coming-of-age teens coping with clueless abusive adults, was banned in its own time.

Main character takes 'Ruthless' approach

2012-01-26T15:30:00.001-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: For Van Kaplan and Kiesha Lalama, putting a big show on a small stage is a new challenge.
As executive producer of Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Kaplan usually works on a broader campus, such as overseeing or directing that company's musicals for the 2,800-seat Benedum stage or as the producer and director for the National High School Musical Theater Awards at Broadway's 1,621-seat Minskoff Theatre.
That's also true of Lalama, who choreographs for the National High School Musical Theater Awards and the upcoming big-screen film "Perks of a Wallflower."

When you apply for a job and hear...nothing

2012-01-26T15:30:00.000-05:00

Fortune Management: The last time I looked for a new job, about four years ago, the most discouraging part of the process was applying for a position, even going through more than one interview, and then hearing nothing back. Now, it's happening again. I applied for an opening at a company where I've always wanted to work. They called me in for an interview, which I think went really well, about three weeks ago. I've followed up by phone and email a few times to reiterate my interest since then, but I've heard nothing. Nada. Not a peep.

Behind the Scenes: Flying With Cirque du Soleil Aerialists at ‘La Nouba’ at Downtown Disney

2012-01-26T15:29:00.000-05:00

Disney Parks Blog: I recently headed backstage to learn more about the performers in “La Nouba” by Cirque du Soleil at Downtown Disney. There, I met Anna Cueller, Captain of the Silks, who was kind enough show me a thing or two about aerial ballet, one of the many amazing acts performed in the show.

Watch the Walt Disney Concert Hall Get Prepped for "Mahler Project" Rehearsal

2012-01-26T15:28:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles magazine: In the February issue we tell you about “The Mahler Project,” the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s ambitious, nine-symphony program currently underway and culminating at the Shrine Auditorium on February 4, when more than 1,000 musicians will perform Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no. 8.

Occupy and the Arts: Curating by Consensus in Lower Manhattan

2012-01-26T15:27:00.000-05:00

Createquity.: In late September 2011, I started following Occupy Wall Street’s (OWS’s) Arts and Culture committee with the goal of understanding, and critiquing, its organizational structures for a Createquity article. However, I soon found that the same way the movement as a whole resists neatly following one set of demands (though its anti-corporate greed and income disparity message has always been clear), its Arts and Culture activities resist falling into one organizational model—or at least the systems are constantly evolving. This is especially the case now, well into the movement’s post-physical occupation phase. At first I thought this might present barriers to participation for artists, or to arts administrators and curators seeking to donate their organizational skills. Yet I eventually came to believe this looseness could be one of the Arts & Culture movement’s strengths—or at the very least, it has opened up a fertile space for debate about an alternative, “Occupied Art World.”

Fabric origami with Chris Palmer

2012-01-26T15:26:00.001-05:00

Berkeley Rep Blog: Berkeley Rep's shops are filled with pretty awesome, talented artisans who are always curious and ready to learn new things (and build some awesome things too). That tradition continued last Friday when the costume shop hosted an in-house fabric origami workshop taught by the amazing artist Chris Palmer, author of Shadowfolds. He taught members of the costume, prop, and scenic shops his method of folding fabric to make three-dimensional geometric designs.

Long Day's Journey Into Crushing Irony

2012-01-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

NYTimes.com: “Constellations” is the celestial title for the nearest I’ve come across in ages to a play that feels heaven-sent. One wants to say more, of course, but in some ways, one really shouldn’t, since the element of surprise is crucial both to the impact of Nick Payne’s script and of Michael Longhurst’s deeply felt production. The show looks quite likely to be the town’s new hot ticket as it hurtles toward a Feb. 11 close at the Royal Court’s tiny Theatre Upstairs.

London Theater Journal: Comfortably Mousetrapped

2012-01-26T15:25:00.001-05:00

NYTimes.com: It was a dark and stormy afternoon when I ventured into the old building with the twisting staircases, on one of those London side streets that always seems to be in different places when you look for them. Oh, I knew what I was in for: screams, gunshots, a whistling psychopath, fraught minutes in the dark and rigid postures of fear. But I hadn’t come to St. Martin’s Theater to be frightened or even stimulated. I was there for comfort.

'As You Like It' and 'Into The Woods' Will Be This Summer's Central Park Productions

2012-01-26T15:25:00.000-05:00

NYTimes.com: This summer will mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, and to mark the occasion, the Public Theater on Thursday announced a production meant to take full advantage of that setting: a revival of the 1987 Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical “Into the Woods” that is based on an acclaimed London staging performed outdoors in Regent’s Park there.

‘Into the Woods’ Production Born at Catering Firm

2012-01-26T15:24:00.001-05:00

NYTimes.com: Like so many great and fully implausible schemes, a two-nights-only production of “Into the Woods,” running this week on the Lower East Side, was hatched in a crevice of time, when its masterminds were madly busy with other things.

Short plays: the key to dramatic perfection?

2012-01-26T15:24:00.000-05:00

guardian.co.uk: Living in Cambridge has many advantages (architecture, libraries, punting), but access to contemporary playwriting is not one of them. But this week spring has arrived early with the advent of Hotbed, a festival of new plays produced by Menagerie Theatre. The theatrical equivalent of a three-day bender, Hotbed is now a decade old (as someone who first collaborated with the company back in 2002, that anniversary is yet more unwelcome evidence of advancing age). But there've been some great memories from that ten years – all of them short.

Can theatre save Europe?

2012-01-26T15:23:00.000-05:00

guardian.co.uk: Even three years later, the idea of 43 Germans – actors, technicians, etc – landing in Rennes for three weeks is not something the National Theatre of Brittany can forget. "The regulars were wondering what was going on," says François Le Pillouër, director of the TNB. "All the markings had been dubbed into German. Some spectators said it reminded them of the old days … Seriously though, there was a mad energy running throughout the theatre. We had never seen anything like it."

Press Release: CMU Drama Students Explore Theatrical Boundaries in "Playground: Festival of Independent Student Work"

2012-01-25T19:11:00.000-05:00

Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama will present its ninth annual “Playground: A Festival of Independent Student Work” in and around the Purnell Center for the Arts Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 2-4.
The festival opens at 6 p.m., Feb. 2 with musical performances, new plays, lighting and art installations, murals, multimedia projects and other dramatic presentations in the Purnell Center lobby.

'Spring Awakening' tells the age-old story of youth

2012-01-25T18:46:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Asked why he included "Spring Awakening" among his season selections, Pittsburgh Musical Theater founding director Ken Gargaro answers with his head and his heart.
"First of all: the title. It's a recognizable title and I thought it was a modern, popular piece that was a work of art," he says, knowing that it's easier to sell seats for a familiar, recent Broadway hit.

Review: Solo performer's work lights up 'Night'

2012-01-25T18:45:00.001-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The opening-night audience gave Daniel Beaty's "Through the Night" a warm and enthusiastic reception.
Beaty wrote, directed and performed this one-man drama that looks at the stories of six black males struggling to fulfill their hopes for a better life.
He's an engaging and creative performer who uses only his talent, his voice and his posture and gestures to bring the show's numerous characters -- both male and female -- to life.

Young singers tackle two 'children's' operas

2012-01-25T18:45:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The explorations and self-discovery of youth have extra dimensions for singers. They have to learn how to fit convincingly into a wide range of characters, with the flexibility to master different musical styles, and often singing in a foreign language.

Creativity shines through despite tight staging in Kuntu's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'

2012-01-25T18:44:00.001-05:00

Post Gazette: When August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" erupted on Broadway in October 1984, the American theater discovered a new star playwright. But Pittsburgh had met him earlier, first as young Freddie Kittel, then under his new name, well before the first version of "Jitney" premiered here in 1982, launching his 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle.

Stage and screen share symbiotic bond

2012-01-25T18:44:00.000-05:00

Post Gazette: For decades Broadway producers regarded Hollywood as the agent of death. They fought to delay film adaptations of "West Side Story," "Hello, Dolly!" "The Wiz" and other shows for fear that those movies would decimate ticket sales for the Broadway originals and their national tours.

Daniel Beaty is a tour de force in 'Through the Night'

2012-01-25T18:43:00.000-05:00

Post Gazette: As the hopeful American motto has it, "e pluribus unum" -- "out of many, one."
That's just how "Through the Night" proceeds, establishing its many characters and meandering along, only gradually revealing the bonds between them, aiming toward a final midnight when their trials will narrow to a poignant focus. Will they make it through the night?

Stuff To Ponder: Active Interpretation of Culture

2012-01-25T18:42:00.001-05:00

Butts In the Seats: There are numerous television stations, radio shows and newspaper columns featuring people with high levels of expertise talking about sports, yet thousands of people feel no reservation about expressing a contrary opinion loudly in public places and in blog posts. They can hold opposite opinions about games and players from those of their close friends and still remain close. They are not intimidated by those with greater expertise or by the prospect of hurting their personal relationships.
But have you ever been afraid to express your opinion about an artist or arts experience you have had for fear of either appearing elitist to the people around you, even close friends? Or on the other side of the coin, been afraid of appearing insufficiently knowledgeable? Why is that? Feeling unable to discuss these topics, of course, creates a vicious cycle where people continue to feel they can’t discuss these things.

The Conversation After The Show

2012-01-25T18:42:00.000-05:00

2AMt: When a theater is only open to the public for 15 minutes before and after a performance—and is otherwise closed and locked, with the public let in and, if necessary, kicked out—the question arises of how to make the performing arts a conversation, a participatory activity more articulated than active listening. Here’s a simple story of how that engagement happened, in a town of 7,000 people, in a way that I have rarely seen elsewhere.

SDC Wins Arbitration Against Spider-Man for Employment Bonds

2012-01-25T18:41:00.000-05:00

Stage Directions: SDC has prevailed in arbitration against Producers of Spider-Man concerning the Producers’ refusal to post the required bonds for the employment of Director Philip W. McKinley and Choreographer Chase Brock.
Arbitrator Carol Wittenberg has just released her ruling that the Spider-Man producers are bound by the grievance and arbitration provision of the Collectively Bargained Agreement and violated the Agreement when they failed to post security bonds for both Chase Brock and Phillip W. McKinley. In addition, Ms. Wittenberg granted SDC’s request for pre-judgment interest.

SDCF Masters of the Stage - Directing Shakespeare: Shakespeare's Theatre - April, 2001

2012-01-25T18:40:00.001-05:00

American Theatre Wing: In 2001, Michael Lupu, senior dramaturg for the Guthrie Theatre, provided directors at the "Directing Shakespeare Symposium" with a brief lesson he called "Shakespeare 101." In this twenty-minute discussion Lupu talks about audience expectations in the Elizabethan period, the history of Shakespeare's company "Lord Chamberlain's Men," and how the shifting of Shakespeare's theatre midway through his career may have affected his writing.

Spider-Man Producers Sue Taymor and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society for Conspiracy

2012-01-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

Stage Directions: The producers of the musical SPIDER-MAN Turn Off the Dark today filed an answer and countersuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Tuesday against Julie Taymor and her company, LOH, Inc. The producers’ answer responds to the complaint that Taymor and LOH filed on November 8, 2011, in which they assert that the current version of the musical infringes Taymor’s alleged copyrights and also raise certain contractual and state law claims, including a claim seeking to bar the producers from bringing SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark to non-Broadway venues.

Ownership Mentality: Art Gallery Prohibits Sketching

2012-01-25T18:39:00.001-05:00

Techdirt: I've always been a bit baffled by No Photography signs in museums and art galleries. Presumably they exist to make the exhibits more exclusive and attractive, but that misses the point of why people visit museums: they want to see these things in person, which is a vastly different experience from simply knowing what they look like. Nobody has ever seen a photo of a dinosaur skeleton or Michelangelo's David and thought "oh good, now I don't need to go see that for real."

10 Takeaways from TEDxBroadway

2012-01-25T18:39:00.000-05:00

Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer: I had high expectations for the first ever TEDxBroadway, but we were blown away by the presentations given by our big-brained speakers. It was an exciting and inspiring day and all of us were so thankful to each and every presenter, and especially to each and every audience member who gave up a day's worth of work and $100 to focus on what Broadway could be in twenty years.

SAG-AFTRA merger means some union dues will rise as others fall

2012-01-25T18:38:00.001-05:00

latimes.com: The proposed merger between the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists will bring higher dues for some actors and lower dues for others, depending on which labor group they already belong to before the marriage.

The End of Public Domain?

2012-01-25T18:38:00.000-05:00

Dvorak News Blog: Congress may take books, musical compositions and other works out of the public domain, where they can be freely used and adapted, and grant them copyright status again, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

Tyro Technics: Young Designer To Watch, Anthony Mattana

2012-01-24T15:18:00.000-05:00

Live Design: Anthony Mattana, Sound Designer and Composer
Home base: Brooklyn, NY
Current project(s): A workshop with The Deconstructive Theatre Project: The Orpheus Variations; Execution of Justice at New School University

Rave Promoters Paid Millions to L.A. Coliseum Union Workers Under the Table and in Cash, Sources Say

2012-01-24T15:17:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles News - The Informer: More than $2.5 million in cash was paid to union hands who worked concerts, mostly controversial raves, at the publicly run L.A. Coliseum and Sports Arena, according to sources and documents obtained by the Weekly.
On Tuesday lawyers for the Coliseum planned to amend the body's lawsuit against the rave promoters and its former managers to include allegations that this money was misappropriated, according to a statement.

Scene Shop Supervisor

2012-01-24T15:16:00.000-05:00

Harvard University - Job details: The Scene Shop Supervisor directly supervises scenic craftsmen and casual laborers in the construction and installation phases of each production according to plans produced by and within guidelines set by the technical director. Manages the maintenance and operation of equipment related to the construction of scenery as well as that relating to the facility itself. Manages budgets relating to inventories, supplies, tooling, and repairs, as well as cost estimating for pertinent improvement projects. Assists in the planning of shop work flow, and advises on technical and procedural solutions to construction problems.

IATSE, Teamsters focus on health care

2012-01-24T15:15:00.001-05:00

Variety: With healthcare costs expected to dominate, Hollywood's below-the-line unions have set March 5 as a start date for contract negotiations with the congloms -- less than four months before the current master contract ends July 31.
The first round of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers should last for several weeks. The unions -- the West Coast locals of the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical & Stage Employees and Local 399 of the Intl. Brotherhood of Teamsters -- are expected to negotiate jointly on healthcare and retirement issues while holding separate bargaining on the remainder of their contracts.
Reps for IATSE, the Teamsters and the AMPTP had no comment on the negotiations.

Tax Break Bill Gives Incentives for Broadway Shows

2012-01-24T15:15:00.000-05:00

Gapers Block Mechanics | Chicago: Part of the recently passed "Tax Break Bill," or SB 397, includes the Live Theater Production Tax Credit Act. This act will give any for-profit production that does a long run or a pre-Broadway run in Illinois up to $2 million in tax credits for one fiscal year.
The only other state that has a similar tax credit for theatrical productions is Louisiana, although New York City also has a tax exemptions for theatrical productions.

Daniel Renner to Join TDF as Director of Education

2012-01-24T15:14:00.000-05:00

Stage Directions: Theatre Development Fund (TDF), the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, has named Daniel Renner to the position of Director of Education. Mr. Renner, who is one of the country’s leading theatre arts educators, is currently the Dean of the National Theatre Conservatory and Director of Education for the Denver Center of the Performing Arts. He will begin his duties full-time with TDF this May and will consult with the organization until then.

ETCP examinations at USITT 2012

2012-01-24T15:13:00.001-05:00

LSi Online News: The ETCP examinations will be given at USITT's Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Long Beach, CA. All three examinations will be given at the same time and are scheduled for the morning of Saturday, 31 March. Candidates who wish to take more than one exam should contact ETCP. Interested applicants must submit their application, along with supporting materials and fee, to the ETCP office no later than 1 March 2012.

University Job: Assistant Professor (Technical Director/Production Manager), University of Texas, Arlington

2012-01-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

academickeys: Serve as the departmental technical director for seasonal productions; fulfill duties as production coordinator; supervise Scenic Studio Supervisor and work/study students; and, teach Stagecraft, Practicum Lab and other courses or design assignments, as workload will allow.

University Job: Technical Theatre Director, Chipola College

2012-01-24T15:12:00.001-05:00

academickeys: Design and manage technical aspects of theatre productions; instruct, supervise and evaluate students involved in stagecraft, lighting, sound, audio and other technical operations; supervise volunteers, guest artists and contract employees involved in set design and construction; electrical, lighting and sound board operations; set dressing; fly wall/scene change activities; skilled crafts; and, other technical aspects of theatre productions. Participate on College committees, as needed.

University Job: Contract Faculty Position/Production Stage Manager and Teacher, Ball State University

2012-01-24T15:12:00.000-05:00

academickeys: Contract faculty position available August 17, 2012, in stage management. Responsibilities: teaching courses in stage management, design awareness, stagecraft, and other related theatre courses at the undergraduate level; training and supervising all student stage managers within the department’s undergraduate Production Option and working in collaboration with theatre and dance faculty, staff, and students in facilitating the production program at Ball State University, including two dance concerts per season.

University Job: Technical Director, Lecturer in Theatre Arts, Baylor University

2012-01-24T15:11:00.000-05:00

Academic Keys: M.F.A. in technical direction required. Share technical direction responsibilities for an 8-show season. Teach undergraduate courses in basic scenic construction and technical theatre practices. Knowledge of CAD, Vectorworks, and competence at computer drafting is essential. Co-supervise student workers in scene shop, as well as a staff shop foreman and assistant technical director.