News from the "Real World"

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.

After 320 years, Paris theatre's stage hands demand égalité

2012-01-24T15:10:00.000-05:00

The Independent: The most prestigious theatre company in France, the Comédie Française, has been thrown into confusion over a 332-year-old pay agreement.
The classical theatre company has cancelled its published programme after backstage staff called an indefinite strike against a pay and bonus system which has been unchanged since 1680.

Catch Me If You Can Tour Will Launch As Non-Equity This Fall

2012-01-24T15:07:00.000-05:00

Playbill.com: The first national tour of the Tony Award-nominated musical Catch Me If You Can, based on the Dreamworks film about a charming young con-man on the run for money and adventure, will hit the road in a non-Equity production this fall.

'Phantom of the Opera' epitaph: We did well to survive six years

2012-01-24T15:06:00.000-05:00

Las Vegas Sun: In Twitter-speak, it was hashtag-buzzkill.
The information from Scott Zeiger to the “Phantom -- the Las Vegas Spectacular” team was imparted in halves. The co-CEO of BASE Entertainment called a backstage meeting of the company that stages and stars in the Venetian spectacle after the performance Jan. 10.

College Majors That Are Useless

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

Yahoo! Education: If you're considering going back to school in hopes that you'll graduate to more opportunities, there are certain degrees that you might want to avoid.
Consider the National Association of Colleges and Employers' (NACE) 2012 Job Outlook study, which surveyed almost 1,000 employers on their future hiring plans. Many areas of study, such as fashion design and the performing arts, didn't even make the list.

'Wit,' Starring Cynthia Nixon, Took the Long Road to Broadway

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

WSJ.com: "Wit," a drama about a poetry professor with stage-four ovarian cancer, opened off-Broadway in 1998 and quickly began racking up accolades. It picked up numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, and was soon was being staged around the country.

Live Design Expands Master Classes Brand, Announces BMC Dates

2012-01-24T15:04:00.000-05:00

Live Design: Live Design has announced changes and additions to its burgeoning Master Classes franchise, adding several new events to the calendar, new venues, and price structures for its existing events, and other exciting features.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

2012-01-23T18:21:00.000-05:00

Here are the top five comment generating posts from the past week:

Cirque du Soleil's Ovo: How to make costumes that look like bugs
LA Weekly: "I was always fascinated by insects since I was a child. I would go into my backyard and look under rocks, to see what the insects were doing," says costumer Liz Vandal, whose first assignment for Cirque du Soleil is Ovo, a show about the insect universe.
Posted byDavidat1/21/2012 11:14:00 AM <-- Comments Here
This Guy Didn't Know He Shot Himself in the Head with a Nail Gun
Gizmodo: Dante Autullo is a tough guy. He's also, according to his wife, a very accident prone guy. So when he accidentally hit his head with a nail gun and only saw a scratch, he didn't think anything of it... EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A FREAKING NAIL LODGED IN HIS BRAIN.
Posted byDavidat1/22/2012 04:59:00 PM <-- Comments Here
Why I Won’t Hire You
Golem Technologies: I will be very honest with you in this post. Most interview articles only show obvious mistakes, as if most people don’t know showing up late is bad form. I will tell you the things I didn’t really know about until I was the one interviewing, and interviewing for a variety of positions and person-types. No interview prep article ever prepared me in the right way for how interviewers really think. That is what I will be sharing with you today.
When you first walk in to my office, I am expecting you to be one of the 99%+ people who I know I won’t hire in the first 5 minutes. I am hoping I will be proven wrong, because I really want to hire you and be done interviewing. Unfortunately, most people looking for jobs don’t deserve them. Here are the most common ways I know you don’t deserve any job I have to offer.
Posted byDavidat1/19/2012 05:03:00 PM <-- Comments Here
10 Questions for a Broadway Pro: This guy cleans up on Broadway.
Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer: Bruce Barish and his wife Sarah could be the busiest couple on Broadway. What do they do? Well, you know how most theater folk are night owls? Well, these two can't be . . . because if they slept in, 80% of Broadway would be naked.
Posted byDavidat1/22/2012 05:03:00 PM <-- Comments Here
Follow-up to Indiana State Fair Stage Canopy Collapse
TheatreFace: Following the weather-induced collapse last summer of the stage canopy at the Ind..., the Indiana State Legislature announced today that a Senate Bill was authored that addresses the need to have outdoor entertainment structures inspected before use. The bill was passed and forwarded to the House for consideration.
Posted byDavidat1/22/2012 05:01:00 PM<-- Comments Here

10 Questions for a Broadway Pro: This guy cleans up on Broadway.

2012-01-22T17:03:00.000-05:00

Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer: Bruce Barish and his wife Sarah could be the busiest couple on Broadway. What do they do? Well, you know how most theater folk are night owls? Well, these two can't be . . . because if they slept in, 80% of Broadway would be naked.

Follow-up to Indiana State Fair Stage Canopy Collapse

2012-01-22T17:01:00.001-05:00

TheatreFace: Following the weather-induced collapse last summer of the stage canopy at the Ind..., the Indiana State Legislature announced today that a Senate Bill was authored that addresses the need to have outdoor entertainment structures inspected before use. The bill was passed and forwarded to the House for consideration.

San Francisco

2012-01-22T17:01:00.000-05:00

HowlRound: There’s an old (and annoying) line about how if you’re smart and ambitious you move to New York, if you’re ambitious but not smart you move to LA, and if you’re smart but not ambitious you move to San Francisco. Sixteen years ago I arrived here by accident in someone else’s car, and since then I’ve found myself often engaged in the examination of the kind of ambition that we have in this city.

This Guy Didn't Know He Shot Himself in the Head with a Nail Gun

2012-01-22T16:59:00.000-05:00

Gizmodo: Dante Autullo is a tough guy. He's also, according to his wife, a very accident prone guy. So when he accidentally hit his head with a nail gun and only saw a scratch, he didn't think anything of it... EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A FREAKING NAIL LODGED IN HIS BRAIN.

Five Best Online Meeting Services

2012-01-22T16:58:00.000-05:00

Lifehacker: If you work at a company with employees in offices around the globe, or you work in a small company but want to collaborate with a contractor who works from home or vendor across the country, you need a service that will let you connect with your team, share documents, collaborate on them, and in some cases even share your screen or webcam with them. Here are five of the best services to conduct productive online meetings, based on your nominations.

Can Women Write Good Plays?

2012-01-22T16:57:00.001-05:00

2AMt: I’m 22 years old, a student at NYU’s Dramatic Writing Program. I’m sitting in a coffee shop, surrounded by friends. The topic of conversation is how a teacher admitted that he couldn’t name a female playwright he liked. I don’t know if this story is true. I don’t care since I don’t have a class with him.

Key SAG Rule to Survive Merger

2012-01-22T16:57:00.000-05:00

The Hollywood Reporter: SAG’s Global Rule 1, which requires members to work only under a union contract, will be retained in a merged SAG-AFTRA, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Opponents of merger had raised the possibility that this would not be the case, since AFTRA has no analogous rule.

SAG Merger Skeptics Retain Law Firm

2012-01-22T16:56:00.000-05:00

The Hollywood Reporter: Declaring themselves “hesitant” to support the proposed merger of SAG and AFTRA, a group of unnamed SAG actors posted a statement saying that they have retained a local law firm “to represent us in our legal quest to compel SAG to conduct a feasibility/impact study [regarding the effect of merger on the SAG pension and health plan] and publicly announce the results of the study prior to the merger referendum vote.”

Theatre company to call time on the rule of Blanchett and Upton

2012-01-22T16:55:00.000-05:00

www.smh.com.au: ''IT'S been an interesting experiment but enough is enough.''
This was the thinking behind the Sydney Theatre Company deciding to end the reign of Cate Blanchett and her husband, Andrew Upton, as co-artistic directors running the company next year.
It is believed the decision by the couple and the STC board was mutual.

'Flashdance' national tour to start here

2012-01-21T11:31:00.001-05:00

Post Gazette: Oh, what a feeling: "Flashdance -- The Musical," the stage adaptation of the movie that was shot in Pittsburgh, will open on Broadway in the fall, then launch its national tour at Heinz Hall on New Year's Day 2013.
Casting and additional cities for the touring company, coming here as part of the PNC Broadway Across America -- Pittsburgh series, will be announced in the coming months.

'Flashdance' heads to Pittsburgh stage

2012-01-21T11:31:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Flashdance -- The Musical" will launch its national tour in Pittsburgh on Jan. 1, 2013.
The show will be presented at Heinz Hall as a presentation of the PNC Broadway Across America -- Pittsburgh series.
The musical follows Alex Owens, a working-class girl from Pittsburgh who spends her days working at a steel mill, her evenings performing as a dancer at a local bar and dreams of becoming a student at a prestigious dance academy.

Some performers seek different career path after last dance

2012-01-21T11:29:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Change might be inevitable. Sometimes, it's even predictable, but managing the transition and adjusting to it emotionally can be challenging.
Dancers retire anywhere from age 20 to 45, says Terrence S. Orr, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's artistic director.

Costumes help set the mood in 'As You Like It'

2012-01-21T11:22:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: For anyone who doubts that we need another production of "As You Like It," Gabriel Berry has a ready answer.
"It's January in Pittsburgh," Berry says. "This is a chance to get to the countryside and watch the flowers bloom."
Berry is the costume designer for "As You Like It," which began previews Thursday at the O'Reilly Theater, Downtown.

Nominations Open for PA Tech Awards

2012-01-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

TECHBurgher: The PA Tech Awards 2012 announced the opening call for nominations for the annual gala that celebrates and honors the brightest technology leaders and innovators from across the state. Set for Friday March 30, 2012 at Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, the PA Tech Awards brings together hundreds of attendees from companies large and small for what promises to be the networking event of the year.

Costume Designers Guild Announces Awards Nominees

2012-01-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

Below the Line: The Costume Designers Guild announced the nominees for the 14th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards. The winners will be revealed at the awards gala hosted by award-winning film and television actress, Jane Lynch, with Lacoste as presenting sponsor and Disaronno as supporting sponsor on Feb. 21 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Honorary awards will be announced next week.

Parts of a Cigar, Cigarette, Pipe and Matchbook

2012-01-21T11:18:00.000-05:00

Prop Agenda: Theatre and films seem to have an awful lot of tobacco smoking in it, so it can be useful to the props person to be able to identify the parts and anatomy of common smoking devices. Cigars, cigarettes and pipes have endless variations of shapes and styles and have evolved much throughout history, but they do have parts that have remained somewhat consistent over time.

'Spider-Man' Producers File Nasty Countersuit Against Julie Taymor

2012-01-21T11:17:00.000-05:00

Hollywood Reporter: In a filing today in New York federal court, Michael Cohl's 8 Legged Productions alleges that Taymor failed to live up to her obligations by declaring that "she could not and would not do that she was contracted to do, thereby causing significant unneccessary expense, delay and other harm."

Cirque du Soleil's Ovo: How to make costumes that look like bugs

2012-01-21T11:14:00.000-05:00

LA Weekly: "I was always fascinated by insects since I was a child. I would go into my backyard and look under rocks, to see what the insects were doing," says costumer Liz Vandal, whose first assignment for Cirque du Soleil is Ovo, a show about the insect universe.

Productivity Made Simple: The Key to GTD

2012-01-21T11:12:00.000-05:00

Lifehack: At this point you already know what the main elements of productivity are and where to start with GTD. This is all great, but we’re still lacking one important piece of information…
What the hell to do with all this stuff?!

Prepare to Ace Your Job Interview with This Interview One-Sheeter

2012-01-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

lifehacker: As you know, preparation is the key to doing well on a job interview and hirers tend to ask the same kinds of questions. This job interview one-sheeter is like a CliffsNotes for getting your strategic answers together.

Job Search Tips That Will Get You a Job in 2012

2012-01-21T11:06:00.000-05:00

Wise Bread: Unemployment has dipped to 8.6%, but there are still quite a number of people who are searching for jobs. Even among my circle of friends, I see that some of them are still facing layoffs or are struggling to find jobs. There really is a trick to job hunting, and interviewing is a skill you can pick up. Make sure you're not doing the wrong things by reading a roundup of the best job search tips we've featured in the past, and use those to get your dream job in 2012!

Stage role for TED

2012-01-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

Variety: This week, Broadway types are just as likely to be talking about holograms and genomics as they are about ticketing and "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" lawsuits.
TEDxBroadway, a day-long conference organized by a trio of legiters, aims to get theater folk thinking ahead -- way, way ahead: The theme of the Jan. 23 event is "What Can Broadway Be in 20 Years?"
It's an unusual confab for the small, close-knit industry, which usually focuses more on day-to-day concerns of putting up and running a show. It's also an event that could make waves precisely because the community of Broadway movers and shakers is relatively small.

Theater Notes: Pittsburgh Westinghouse picked for musical theater project

2012-01-20T15:40:00.000-05:00

Post gazette: Pittsburgh Westinghouse 6-12 has been chosen to participate in the "Make a Musical" Junior Theater Project, which aims to create sustainable musical theater programs in underserved middle and high schools. The initial 20-city program is being launched by NBC (which will premiere the pilot "Smash," about the making of a Broadway musical, on Feb. 6) and Music Theatre International.

'Creative Clash!' brings titans of tech and art together to plan the future

2012-01-20T15:39:00.001-05:00

POP City: Pittsburgh Technology Council is billing "Creative Clash!" as "The future of creativity, technology and a new innovation community in Pittsburgh." As the first event of PTC's new Creative Technology Network, in partnership with the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Jan. 26 presentation, panel discussion and reception will bring together some heavy hitters in the tech/arts community