Gov. Phil Murphy Promotes New Jersey in Hollywood

variety.com: Gov. Phil Murphy has made TV and film a top priority for New Jersey ever since he took the helm of the Garden State in 2018. This week, Murphy made a West Coast swing to talk artificial intelligence with firms in the Bay Area and to talk new business with studios in Hollywood.

The Wiz revival’s choreographer: JaQuel Knight talks the Tin Man, the Poppy Girls, and Black excellence.

slate.com/culture: When it was announced that JaQuel Knight would choreograph the stage revival of The Wiz, a particular cross-section of the internet emerged to express a lot of excitement. These fans were not only those deeply familiar with the 1978 Sidney Lumet film or the 1974 Broadway production upon which the film was based, but also followers of today’s top-tier pop stars, female rappers, and R&B singers.

Even Melissa Barrera Didn't Know 'Wonka' Was a Musical

www.indiewire.com: “Wonka.” “Mean Girls.” “Joker: Folie à Deux.” “The Color Purple.” Hollywood might not be loud about its recent uptick in big-budget musicals — remember those stories about audiences not realizing that recent “Mean Girls” remake was, in fact, a musical? — but that doesn’t mean the classic genre isn’t still whirling its way through movie theaters.

Meet the Music Fan Who Runs One of the World's Busiest Arenas

www.businessinsider.com: It may not be the world's most famous, but London's O2 Arena is now one of the busiest. The venue, part of what began life as the Millennium Dome but was renamed The O2 following its sponsorship by a cell network, sold a record 2.5 million tickets last year — about 200,000 more than in 2022 — according to AEG.

Season Finale 'Andy Warhol in Iran' Marks Masterson's Final Chapter as a City Theatre Artistic Director

onstagepittsburgh.com: It won’t be long before Marc Masterson wakes up to new adventures and some well-earned “me” time, and without the exhilaration and headaches of running a theater company. Just now, however, he’s in the thick of what he also has been doing for nearly four decades – working on a developing play.

10 Years Of Squeek Lights

www.limelightwired.com: Victor Zeiser launched Squeek Lights in 2014, beginning in a compact 5x8 storage unit in Queens. With a rental fleet now exceeding 1,000 fixtures and extensive pre-production and rehearsal areas designed for refining live performances, Squeek Lights has evolved into a cornerstone of the industry while maintaining its local shop feel.

Phish’s Trey Anastasio shares why playing at the Sphere in Las Vegas is unique

Fast Company: Over the 40 years since the band was formed at a Vermont college, Phish has amassed a reputation for its dedicated legion of fans and the dazzling light shows that accompany the improvisational jams. It follows, then, that the next stop for Phish is the new temple of immersive performances: the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Some Toronto theatres have been duped by AI-generated reviews. What role will they play in arts marketing moving forward?

www.thestar.com: These quotes describe two Toronto theatre shows. Two are from well-respected local media outlets, and one is from what many experts say is a source known for its AI-generated news. It’s hard to tell the difference. Even those in theatre marketing are grappling with how to tell those fake reviews apart from real ones.

‘We still haven’t cracked it!’ How much does a play change during previews?

Theatre | The Guardian: Rachael Stirling picks her way from the back of the stage, joins her colleagues in the stalls, and then promptly bursts into tears. “I’m tired,” she explains. Stirling is playing Sarah Siddons, the great 18th-century actor, in The Divine Mrs S at the Hampstead theatre in London, and we’re chatting right in the middle of the preview period. It’s a fraught time.

Who Decides the Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards?

www.broadwayworld.com: The Lucille Lortel Awards are the only awards to deal with solely off-Broadway. The Lortels, which feature performance nominations irrespective of gender, have fairly typical categories. Nominations have already been announced with winners coming May 5.

What Real Dancers Think of Balletcore

Dance Magazine: Whether you like it, loathe it, or roll your eyes at it, you can’t miss it: Ballet-inspired clothing for the nondancing consumer is everywhere. The fashion and ballet worlds have a long and storied relationship, but ballet-aesthetic streetwear’s recent resurgence in popularity has been striking. According to fashion insiders, “balletcore” is already a defining trend of 2024.

How ‘Stereophonic’ Made Musicians Out of Actors

The New York Times: About a week into rehearsals for the Off Broadway premiere of David Adjmi’s latest play, “Stereophonic,” Will Butler sent an email to the cast. Butler, a former member of Arcade Fire, had a new band, Will Butler + Sister Squares, and a new self-titled album. A club in Brooklyn would soon host the record release party. Butler, the composer of “Stereophonic,” had a proposition: The actors should open for him.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

How Do They Make it Rain On Stage in The Notebook?

Playbill: If you’re going to see a new Broadway show this season, you may want to make sure and bring an umbrella. It’s been raining an awful lot outside, but we’re far from safe indoors, at least on Broadway. The Notebook and The Outsiders both prominently feature rain scenes—and even Off-Broadway’s Teeth gets in on the trend, too!

Posted by David at 4/18/2024 10:26:00 AM

Best Tape Measure Reviews for 2024

Pro Tool Reviews: Tape measures are a staple in everyone’s toolbox from the most seasoned Pro to the greenest DIYer. Ranging in length and price, most cost less than $30, and there are options under the $10 mark. But are all tape measures created equally? Of course not. We’re breaking things down into the categories our Pro team says are most important when looking for the best tape measure.

Posted by David at 4/19/2024 10:17:00 AM

What I Wish My Sound Guy Knew About Mixing Drums

Church Production Magazine: One of the most common conflicts between the platform and the booth is within the drum cage. Both the drummer and the sound engineer have an idea of what they want the drums to sound like, feel like and how they should be experienced within the mix. The challenge is that often their ideas of how to accomplish excellent drum mixes are different.

Posted by David at 4/19/2024 10:18:00 AM

to make sense of color, google plays sound frequencies with changing neon lights in milan

www.designboom.com: For Milan Design Week 2024, Google Design Studio is making sense of color. In fact, that’s the name of the immersive light and sound installations, in collaboration with arts and research lab, Chromasonic. When visitors enter the exhibition at Garage 21 in Via Archimede, 26 until April 21st, they find 21 open-box rooms flanked with semi-translucent panels. Inside each box, overhead neon lights shift their hues as the rhythm of the sound frequencies being played in the background changes.

Posted by David at 4/17/2024 10:19:00 AM

Why So Many New Broadway Shows? The 2024 Spring Season By the Numbers

www.broadwayworld.com: Another openin', another show- words to take literally this spring. If you've been following this Broadway season and have been getting a sneaking suspicion that the spring calendar (see below) is looking a little bit crazy, you're not wrong...

Posted by David at 4/15/2024 11:31:00 AM

 

How ‘Hadestown’ went from surprise Off-Broadway hit to Broadway mainstay

www.broadwaynews.com: When “Hadestown” premiered Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), there wasn’t a plan to take it to Broadway. “At that point, I was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to get a warehouse space and make it an immersive thing,” “Hadestown” lead producer Mara Isaacs told Broadway News. “Then what we learned from watching the way audiences responded to the show was that we actually had something that was commercial.”

Video Games Are a Playwright’s Muse, Not Her Hobby

The New York Times: The writer Bekah Brunstetter is decidedly not a video game aficionado. Her personality type — “psychotically obsessed with productivity,” as she put it — has sealed off all gaming rabbit holes for the past 25 years.

Blending Worlds: The Rise of Phygital Spaces

Architect Magazine: “Phygital” refers to the convergence of the physical and digital realms. Phygital space represents a growing phenomenon made possible by the increased sophistication and proliferation of electronic technologies in the designed environment. This trend is exemplified by immersive art, in which simple gallery spaces are transformed into alternative worlds via seamless projection capabilities. Music performances, conferences, and other live events are likewise becoming more phygital.

‘For now, they still need you’: Video game creators scramble to unionize as AI threat looms

au.news.yahoo.com: With his black beanie hat and expressive facial muscles, ‘Bloom’ appears much like any other modern video game character – right down to his emotional backstory. "Yes, I’ve lost many," says Bloom when asked what the resistance struggle had cost him. "My son, my friends, my home. But every loss only fuels my determination to keep going."

Phish At Sphere Las Vegas

Live Design Online: Abigail Rosen Holmes, Moment Factory, Chris Kuroda, Atomic Design, and Tait provide design and production elements for Phish — an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont in 1983 features guitarist/lead vocalist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell — at Sphere Las Vegas, with four shows on April 18, 19, 20 & 21, 2024.

What I Wish My Sound Guy Knew About Mixing Drums

Church Production Magazine: One of the most common conflicts between the platform and the booth is within the drum cage. Both the drummer and the sound engineer have an idea of what they want the drums to sound like, feel like and how they should be experienced within the mix. The challenge is that often their ideas of how to accomplish excellent drum mixes are different.

How Wētā brought costume designer’s vision to life

The Post: About 100 staff at Wētā Workshop worked to create intricate but durable costumes for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, now on display at Tākina. The special effects and prop company was approached by award-winning costume designer Ruth Carter with an “amazing vision” for seven costumes to be brought to life, says Wētā Workshop art director Lans Hansen.

Best Tape Measure Reviews for 2024

Pro Tool Reviews: Tape measures are a staple in everyone’s toolbox from the most seasoned Pro to the greenest DIYer. Ranging in length and price, most cost less than $30, and there are options under the $10 mark. But are all tape measures created equally? Of course not. We’re breaking things down into the categories our Pro team says are most important when looking for the best tape measure.

Hamilton costume designer Paul Tazewell brings colonial flair to contemporary fashion

The Straits Times: When Hamilton first graced the Broadway stage in 2015, few could have predicted the seismic impact the Tony Award-winning musical about United States founding father Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the American Revolution would have beyond theatre.

Pixel Artworks’ butterfly show spreads its wings to Brighton

www.avinteractive.com: Immersive experience studio Pixel Artworks has signed a deal to stage its augmented reality (AR) experience, The Butterfly Trail, The Butterfly Trail at Brighton’s Spiegeltent festival.

Inside Grown-Ish’s Costume Design And The Legacy The Show Will Leave Behind

Essence: The core of grown-ish has always been centered around its ensemble cast as they navigate their experiences in college. Through style, Michelle R. Cole, the nine-time Emmy nominee and lead costume designer for all six seasons of the Freeform sitcom, has shaped a cohesive universe.

Cosm's first 'shared reality' venue to open in LA in late June

www.avinteractive.com: Immersive sports tech specialist Cosm will open its first 8K+ ‘shared reality’ venue, in Los Angeles, on 29 June. On its opening night, the 6,000 sq metre experiential venue will show UFC 303 on its 27m-diameter 8K+ LED dome.

46 Mapped Projectors Market Star Wars Products On One Face Of NYC’s Empire State Building

Sixteen:Nine: Forty-six projector were sync’d and blended to fill the upper levels of one facade of the Empire State Building in New York with a five minute show celebrating the Star Wars movie series and encouraging fans to buy various consumer products marketed by Lucasfilm during its “Imperial March” marketing campaign.

Tonys Best Musical: Closed shows nominated for first time since 2013?

GoldDerby: According to the combined predictions of Gold Derby users as of this writing, two closed shows are expected to receive nominations for Best Musical at this year’s Tony Awards. They are “Days of Wine and Roses,” which is in fifth place with 19/2 odds, and “Here Lies Love,” which is in second with 5/1 odds. Traditionally, however, closed shows tend to struggle getting Best Musical noms.

‘Although I’m tetraplegic, I’ve started to feel normal’: Hanif Kureishi on staging The Buddha of Suburbia

Theatre | The Guardian: It’s been an unfathomably difficult 18 months for Hanif Kureishi. In 2022, the esteemed British writer went to Rome with his wife for Christmas, where he fainted and fell. When he woke up in a pool of blood he had lost the use of his hands, arms and legs. For more than a year, he was confined to hospital beds, questioned and prodded by doctors and nurses. He couldn’t sit, he couldn’t walk, and he couldn’t pick up a pen to write.

Transforming Fabric into Flesh, Tamara Kostianovsky Fuses Cruelty and Beauty

Colossal: If you walked into an exhibition featuring work from Tamara Kostianovsky in recent years, you likely encountered life-sized carcasses dangling from meat hooks. The Argentine-American artist (previously) is perhaps best known for these carnal sculptures of bone and flesh made from patterned fabric scraps. Newer additions include botanical vines winding through ribs and tropical birds perched inside that vacillate between beauty and brutality.

Documentary and AI: Archival Producers Draft Set of Best Practices

www.hollywoodreporter.com: As filmmakers start to incorporate more generative artificial intelligence into documentary production, leading to mounting concern over the use of “fake archival” materials, a group of producers is pushing ahead in their efforts to establish guardrails around the use of the technology in fact-based storytelling.

Paris Olympics Organizers Opening Ceremony Security Plans

variety.com: With France on its highest level of security alert amid geopolitical turmoil in Ukraine and the Middle East, organizers behind the Paris Olympics are still going ahead with ambitious plans to host the opening ceremony along the Seine river on July 26.

How Do They Make it Rain On Stage in The Notebook?

Playbill: If you’re going to see a new Broadway show this season, you may want to make sure and bring an umbrella. It’s been raining an awful lot outside, but we’re far from safe indoors, at least on Broadway. The Notebook and The Outsiders both prominently feature rain scenes—and even Off-Broadway’s Teeth gets in on the trend, too!

Edit on the World’s First 8K Mini LED Professional Monitor

nofilmschool.com: Along with a massive new 135-inch monitor that easily doubles as a cinema screen for your home theater, ASUS is turning some heads at this year’s NAB conference in Vegas with its state-of-the-art displays and monitors designed to give creators the ability to stay at the cutting-edge of XR and virtual production with exceptionally high-resolution footage.

Disneyland Parades & Characters Cast Members File with the NLRB for Union Representation

www.broadwayworld.com: Disney Cast Members who work in the Parades and Characters departments and the president of Actors’ Equity Association have revealed that the union has filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board for union recognition, with Equity serving as their bargaining representative.

Winners of ISFD competition for students and craftsmen

Woodworking Network: The professional and student winners of the International Society of Furniture Designers (ISFD) 2024 Innovation+Design (I+D) competition were announced at the “Meet the Makers” Market reception held at the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame on April 13th. The finalists and winning projects will be displayed at the Hall of Fame, 311 S. Hamilton, High Point, from 9 am-5 pm during the Spring High Point Market.

Hollywood's AI Concerns Present Complex Challenges for Legal Eagles

variety.com: Technology has been disrupting Hollywood even longer than the L.A. district now synonymous with the entertainment business has existed. From Thomas Edison’s 1877 invention of the phonograph to the turn-of-the-19th-century introduction of the radio, followed by the VCR and the internet, businesses and business models built to serve one generation of technology have often stumbled — and sometimes toppled — when confronted with the capabilities and consumer expectations created by another.

Documentary Producers Set Up Best Practices for Using Generative AI

www.indiewire.com: A group of documentary filmmakers, producers, and archivists has written a series of guidelines on how they believe filmmakers should — and should not — use generative AI in their documentary movies.

'Crazy Rich Asians' gets Broadway musical from Jon M. Chu

Los Angeles Times: “Crazy Rich Asians” will soon come to Broadway, years after author Kevin Kwan’s bestseller jumped from page to screen in a watershed moment for Asian representation in Hollywood.

Feds Prep Lawsuit Against Ticketmaster Parent Live Nation

www.thewrap.com: The Justice Department is preparing to sue Ticketmaster parent Live Nation amid continued criticism for the concert promotion and ticketing giant over exhorbitant fees, poor customer service and anticompetitive practices, The Wall Street Journal reported. An antitrust suit could be filed as soon as next month, according to the Monday report. The specific claims the department might bring could not be learned.

A Closer Look at Designer Gabriela Hearst’s Costumes for 'Carmen'

www.elle.com: When Gabriela Hearst signed on to create the costumes for the San Francisco Ballet’s recent production of Carmen, she understood that she was becoming part of something truly new. The performance was being choreographed by Arielle Smith, who wanted to tell the age-old story from a different point of view, and it would be part of the first season fully curated by the company’s artistic director, Tamara Rojo.

Pre Or Post EQ? A Key Question When Mixing Monitors From Front Of House

ProSoundWeb: There may not be a more divisive topic in the mixing-monitors-from-front-of-house conversation than whether one should mix monitors pre- or post-EQ. I’ve read numerous discussions on forums and social media with engineers frantically arguing their side as the only valid approach. I thought it would be wise to deconstruct this topic and present positives for both sides as well as a workaround.

New York Production Vets Expect IATSE Strike Threat To Hamper Film And TV Shoots Before 2025 Rebound

MediaMKRS Summit: Four New York film production veterans, spanning the perspectives of unions, vendors and city government, agreed that the looming IATSE strike threat will restrict shoots this year before a rebound in 2025.

Working Smarter, Not Harder

JLC Online: In my last article, “Rules for Better Framing” (Nov-Dec/23), I introduced some guidelines that are important to follow to be a good house framer. These were general concepts that apply to any complex job that is part of a larger, integrated project, and they were mostly aimed at the person managing the job. In this follow-up article, I summarize principles and habits that are necessary to adopt to be an efficient and valuable worker, whether a laborer or a highly skilled artisan. As in the previous article, these are general concepts that apply to any trade.

to make sense of color, google plays sound frequencies with changing neon lights in milan

www.designboom.com: For Milan Design Week 2024, Google Design Studio is making sense of color. In fact, that’s the name of the immersive light and sound installations, in collaboration with arts and research lab, Chromasonic. When visitors enter the exhibition at Garage 21 in Via Archimede, 26 until April 21st, they find 21 open-box rooms flanked with semi-translucent panels. Inside each box, overhead neon lights shift their hues as the rhythm of the sound frequencies being played in the background changes.

From ‘Woman King’s’ Costume Designer to ‘The Menu’s’ Production Designer, Variety Names 10 Artisans to Watch for 2022

uk.style.yahoo.com: The honorees will be feted at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Oct. 27. With the event, Variety is looking to spotlight the behind-the-scenes artists that are invaluable to this year’s best films and shows and are rising stars in their fields.

Help, here comes an AI-Generated Romantic Comedy

boingboing.net: TV manufacturing conglomerate TCL has just announced plans to release the first ever fully AI-generated TV movie special. It's called Next Stop Paris, because of course it is. Here's the official synopsis (which may as well be AI-generated, if it's not already).

Important Aspects To Consider When Investing In A New Loudspeaker System

ProSoundWeb: Your inventory is tired and may be outdated. The new technologies are genuinely impressive. Better yet, manufacturers are chomping at the bit to get you into a new system. You’re in the catbird seat (thank you, Red Barber), but there’s a lot to consider. So get a cup of coffee, and walk through this with me. If you’re in the middle of a deal, or even if your new system was just delivered, it’s not too late to consider much of this as well.

Obsidian Train the Trainer Initiative Bearing Fruit

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: Last November, Obsidian Control Systems initiated Train the Trainer workshops aimed at training its European partners on the specifics of the intuitive ONYX lighting control platform. The sessions, specifically designed to springboard an Obsidian awareness campaign and grow the ONYX community, are bearing fruit as trainers across Europe amplify the platform's reach by training other partners and end-users.

How This Designer Created the Costumes on 'Road House'

nofilmschool.com: Costume designer Dayna Pink had a lot to contend with on Prime's new film, Road House. The film was a reimagining of an existing universe, 1989's Road House, this time around directed by Doug Liman. She was tasked with dressing a large, diverse cast and coming up with outfits that would reflect the main characters' background in UFC and allow them to have all-out fights.

Quintessence director Alex Burns addresses community concerns about his “all-male” Shakespeare productions

Broad Street Review: “By embracing its theatricality, all-male Shakespeare will allow us to push the limits of the horror that this play demands,” Quintessence Theatre Group artistic director Alex Burns said in a statement on the casting of his all-male Macbeth (extended through April 28, 2024). The note appeared in marketing emails and on the show’s webpage, but later, following a backlash, the company quietly removed it (a team decision, Burns said).

A Speculative Love Performance in the Margins

HowlRound Theatre Commons: I watched UNLOVE when I visited the Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre for the second time, in September 2023. During my first visit, it felt like an exceptional experience to try to figure out various social codes and layers of a country that I had only a minimal grasp of through theatre. However, since then, I feel I’ve developed a stronger acquaintance with theatre in Georgia. This involves a different kind of understanding, evaluation skills, and curiosity.

Cultural Trust bringing revival tour of Stephen Sondheim's 'Company' to Benedum Center

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The national tour of “Company” is stopping by Downtown’s Benedum Center from Tuesday through April 21. Anyone familiar with Sondheim and George Furth’s 1970 musical should know this “Company” tour is based on the Tony-winning 2021 revival that swapped its protagonist’s gender and modernized the show’s portrayals of relationships, marriage and the very human desire for companionship.

How Doja Cat’s “Fever Dream” Coachella Fashion Came to Life

Vogue: Tonight, Doja Cat’s Coachella set made history, as she became the first female rapper to ever headline the annual star-studded music festival. And the performer certainly didn’t disappoint, performing a lineup packed with her greatest hits—and plenty of avant-garde fashions too. “This show is very special because it’s a representation of how I’ve evolved in the past two years,” Doja tells Vogue. “It’s poetic to how I’ve come to love myself for who I am. The plastic and synthetic materials all are a nod to this sort of ‘scientific’ exploration of the self—a dissecting of the mind, and deeper understanding of what makes us the way we are.”

FAFSA Glitches Cause Chaos for Millions of College Students

reason.com: This year's Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA) form—which is required for students seeking federal loans and grants, as well as institutional financial aid at most colleges—has been riddled with catastrophic technical bugs. How did the situation get so bad? It starts with an attempt to simplify the form—in part, by importing families' financial information directly from the IRS.

IATSE Has "Cautious Optimism" About General Negotiations With Studios

deadline.com: IATSE is looking to wrap up local-specific negotiations with the studios this week before the guild turns its attention to general contract talks. There are just three locals left to strike tentative deals with the Alliance of Motion Picture Television Producers on craft issues. Locals 44 and 705 are slated to begin talks Monday, and Local 884 will be the last to start bargaining, likely later in the week.

Tandem Touring: Mixing Monitors As A Dual-Engineer Team

ProSoundWeb: For the majority of bands, one monitor engineer is all they need. We’re skilled at juggling many different mixes and fielding several requests at once – after all, that’s the job. Even when we find ourselves on a tour where we would welcome another engineer and console to share the load, the realities of logistics and budgets mean that it’s not practical for most touring acts.

‘Rust’ Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Is Sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter

The New York Times: The armorer on the film “Rust,” who loaded a live round into a revolver that went off on the set in 2021 and killed its cinematographer, was sentenced on Monday to 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. The sentence was the maximum that the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, could receive.

Civil War Sound Editor on Whether Garland's A24 War Movie Is Too Loud

www.hollywoodreporter.com: In notching A24’s highest-grossing opening weekend to date, Alex Garland’s debate-stirring combat film Civil War has made plenty of noise — both figuratively and literally. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny and Wagner Moura, the project has spurred conversation over its depiction of a small group of journalists witnessing the violently divided U.S. en route to collecting $25.7 million at the domestic box office this weekend.

‘Rust’ gun supervisor sentenced to 18 months in prison over fatal shooting on movie set

PBS NewsHour: A movie weapons supervisor was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust,” during a hearing Monday in which tearful family members and friends gave testimonials that included calls for justice and a punishment that would instill greater accountability for safety on film sets.

2024 Olivier Awards: The Snubs and Surprises

The New York Times: On Sunday night, the Olivier Awards — Britain’s equivalent to the Tonys — took place in London. As expected, “Sunset Boulevard” took home the most trophies (and will have a Broadway run later this year), but there were also some surprise winners. Matt Wolf and Houman Barekat, The New York Times’s London theater critics, joined the reporter Alex Marshall to discuss the winners, the snubs and the last year in British theater.

'Rust' Armorer Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison

collider.com: Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the western Rust, has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison for her role in a tragic on-set shooting accident that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. She was convicted of the crime, but acquitted on the charge of tampering with evidence, last month.

An artisan’s magic brush

It's Your Yale: Behind the stage of the University Theatre on York Street sits a small properties (props) shop. Packed with a variety of hand and power tools and active projects, it is where David Schrader creates all manner of props, special effects, or set dressings for Yale Repertory Theatre stage productions.

Why So Many New Broadway Shows? The 2024 Spring Season By the Numbers

www.broadwayworld.com: Another openin', another show- words to take literally this spring. If you've been following this Broadway season and have been getting a sneaking suspicion that the spring calendar (see below) is looking a little bit crazy, you're not wrong...

Finding Peace: Strategies for a Calm and Productive Team Environment

Church Production Magazine: There’s no getting around the need for tactile knowledge of AVL systems for someone in a production lead role. Likely, you’re an expert in just one of those areas with a working knowledge of the others, or you’re like me—a generalist who’s willing to do some homework when needed. Either way, no production leader could do their job without the basic skills needed to complete it, but being a production leader requires skills that are usually intangible.

Revised Unsinkable Molly Brown Musical Released for Licensing

Playbill: Music Theatre International has released Dick Scanlan's revised version of Meredith Willson's The Unsinkable Molly Brown for licensing in the U.S. This new version, which features a new book and a revised songlist interpolating some tunes from Willson's archives, premiered at Denver Center for the Performing Arts in 2014, later playing Off-Broadway via Transport Group in 2020.

Checking in with ChiArts

Chicago Reader: Monday night, Mayor Brandon Johnson sat down with Clinée Hedspeth, the new commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), at University Club of Chicago for a lovefest/general discussion about the state of the arts in Chicago. There were no big surprises or major announcements during the event. (Hedspeth is also chair of the University Club’s literature and arts committee.) But in his opening remarks, Johnson said, “As a former teacher, I know the best way to ensure that art continues is by reaching our young people. Too often we see the arts cut from schools or greatly dialed back due to historic disparities, inequities, and budget restrictions. So, I challenge us all today to continue to reach out and fight for quality arts education for every resident, no matter their zip code.”

A new take on 'Peter Pan' soars into the National Theatre

DC Theater Arts: Are any of us really in a hurry to grow up? The lively crowd at the National Theatre Wednesday evening would respond with a resounding “No!” Broadway at the National is currently featuring a new adaptation of Peter Pan the musical, revamped by celebrated playwright Larissa FastHorse. This new take on the original features a few new numbers and clever updates while sticking to tried and true classics. If the raucous applause upon Peter’s first flight onstage is anything to go by, this generation of theatergoers is just as interested in Peter and his story as they were in 1989.

Saudi Entertainment & Amusement (SEA) Expo to highlight empowerment of next generation Saudi workforce for attractions sector

InPark Magazine: With the Saudi entertainment sector in the midst of a momentous transformation, industry experts remain fervent that training and development, and cultivating a new dynamic workforce are prerequisites for the continuous success and longevity of the entertainment industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

IATSE Nears End of Local Talks, as Two Guilds Reach Tentative Deals

variety.com: IATSE announced Friday that two more local guilds have reached tentative deals on a new contract, bringing the union closer to an agreement on all “craft-specific” matters.

Wesleyan’s Jeanine Basinger on TCM Festival Robert Osborne Award Honor

www.hollywoodreporter.com: Jeanine Basinger, a veteran film professor, historian and author, helped build Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, into a film powerhouse during her 60 years at the institution. On April 20, the esteemed academic will receive the TCM Classic Film Festival’s Robert Osborne Award, which recognizes an individual who has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive for future generations.

How Michael Greif Directed 3 Broadway Musicals in a Single Season

Playbill: On that impressive list are Hell's Kitchen, marking the Broadway songwriting debut of Grammy winner Alicia Keys (Shubert Theatre); The Notebook, Ingrid Michaelson and Bekah Brunstetter's musical adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel with co-direction by Schele Williams (Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre); and the short-lived Broadway run of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas' Days of Wine and Roses after an acclaimed Off-Broadway engagement in 2023 that also starred Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James (which played its final performance March 31).

SO – IL weaves 3D knitted installation 'common thread' in bruges

www.designboom.com: New York-based architecture studio SO – IL presents Common Thread, a textile installation for Belgium‘s 2024 Bruges Triennial. Opening on April 13th, the project revives a previously inaccessible 19th-century monastery courtyard, transforming it into an immersive pavilion that blends history, craft, and technology. Common Thread takes shape as a 3D knitted textile passage that winds its way through the secluded courtyard.

Miami City Ballet Management Held a Captive Audience Meeting

American Guild of Musical Artists: Ever heard of a "Captive Audience Meeting"? Let's break it down. It's a meeting where employees (in this case, the dancers of Miami City Ballet) are required to attend and listen to anti-union messages from their employer (Miami City Ballet). For example, the meeting on April 9 was a scheduled part of the MCB dancers’ day.

Use the ‘GTD’ Method to Actually Get Through Your To-do List

Lifehacker: The Getting Things Done (GTD) method has been around for years, frequently cropping up on productivity blogs and forums since David Allen first released Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity in 2001. Since then, he’s updated the book a little and the concept has continued to proliferate. Here’s how to use it in your own life.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

Lunar Gala: A night to remember

The Tartan: I’m embarrassed to say that it took me almost three years at Carnegie Mellon to make it to the famed Lunar Gala. Given the hype I’ve heard, I was expecting to enter the show and be magically transported to some ethereal time and place. In retrospect, this was an unrealistic expectation, but I still really enjoyed the show. This year’s Lunar Gala, “Liminal,” focused on the spaces between spaces — transitions between states.

Posted by David at 4/11/2024 10:42:00 AM  

Huey Lewis Lost His Hearing. That Didn’t Stop Him From Making a Musical.

The New York Times: After Huey Lewis learned that a syndrome of the inner ear called Ménière’s disease had caused him significant hearing loss and left him unable to play or hear music, he faced the difficult task of having to tell his friends and peers.

Posted by David at 4/12/2024 10:21:00 AM

Immersive The Lord of the Rings Musical To Make US Premiere

Playbill: A new production of the 2006 stage musical The Lord of the Rings is coming to the US. Adapted from the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, Paul Hart's production will be presented in collaboration with Chicago Shakespeare Theater this summer from July 19 to September 1.

Posted by David at 4/12/2024 10:12:00 AM

What Is the Male Gaze?

nofilmschool.com: One of the topics Hollywood is coming to reckon with now is the question, "What is the male gaze?" Throughout the history of movies and TV, we've seen a lot of things made from the heterosexual male point of view. That perspective has not always been respectful of women characters or the female body.

Posted by David at 4/08/2024 10:25:00 AM

Safer table saws may get mandated, possibly preventing severed fingers

NPR: One day about 20 years ago, Tom Noffsinger experienced every woodworker's worst nightmare: One final cut on his table saw before knocking off for the day turned into a trip to the emergency room. It was afternoon, and he'd been in his shop since morning. "I was a little tired. I should've quit," Noffsinger says. "I ran my hand right into the blade and nearly cut my thumb off."

Posted by David at 4/10/2024 10:31:00 AM