Are You Spending Your Time the Right Way?

Harvard Business Online's Conversation Starter: "Though most managers understand intellectually that time is their scarcest resource, few make the effort to gain a strategic perspective on how they spend their hours each week. Still fewer make a regular practice of keeping track of how the priorities they say are most important jibe with the way they actually spend their time. “Those we label natural born leaders know how to leverage their time,” writes Warren Blank in The 108 Skills of Natural Born Leaders (Amacom, 2001). For those in whom this talent is not innate, here’s how to do it."

Excel IF Function Tutorial

Productivity Portfolio: "Oh, have times changed. When I was a kid, my parents constantly told me, “no ifs and buts”. Clearly, Microsoft Excel wasn’t around at that time or I could’ve provided a better argument for using these words. Excel’s “IF” function is a useful feature and one my parents could have mastered."

Horse wanders streets of Chicago 4/28/08

abc7chicago.com: "The horse was seen wandering the streets along Orleans.
Chicago police were called in to help capture the animal. Officers escorted it to a horse carrier.
The Noble Horse Theater is a local riding hall that dates back to the 1870's."

8 Ways to Be Ruthless With Your Time

Stepcase Lifehack: "There are a million and one demands on your time and, whether or not those demands are legitimate, it’s hard to carve out the time necessary to take care of your responsibilities. You have to be ruthless with your time — you have to take care of important tasks before handling issues that just aren’t crucial. You have to set up your own rules for deciding how to spend your time, and those rules may not make everyone around you happy. But you are the only one who can decide what you’ll do today — decide ruthlessly and get your work done."

Email Insanity & the 0.001 Challenge

43 Folders: "All forms of communication where you have to expend time and energy on communicating with a specific person (anything that has a notion of “To” in the interface that you have to fill in) are doomed to fail at some limit. If you are really good you might be able to respond to dozens (some claim hundreds) of individual emails a day but at some point you will simply be spending all your time writing email rather than actually “working” on any thing in particular"

Toxic Avenger: The Musical: Toxic Avenger Goes On All Singing, All Dancing Rampage

IO9: "One of the weirdest mutant exploitation movies of all time has been turned into a musical, being staged in New Jersey. The Toxic Avenger, formerly a bizarre B-movie about a skinny nerd who becomes a deformed super-hero after falling into a barrel of toxic waste, has been adapted into a stage musical twice before — but this time around, it harnesses the awesome songwriting skills of a Bon Jovi member. Learn more, and listen to one of the musical's songs, after the jump."

Peek in the stage door: Seattle Children’s Theatre

Backstage at BackstageJobs.com: "Since its inception, Seattle Children’s Theatre has strived to provide innovative artistic programming and professional theatre for the young people and families of the Puget Sound region."

Grou.ps Wants to Enable Your Team’s Collaboration «

Web Worker Daily: "Grou.ps, aims to be a catch-all for teams seeking collaboration. This Swiss army tool of a collaborative site includes ‘Modules’ that enable various degrees of functionality, based on your teams’ needs."

How Good Lighting Can Make Digital Renders Look Real

Wired: "Thanks to HyperShot, instead of spending weeks building expensive mock-ups, designers at Apple, Ford, Microsoft, and Nokia can now impress their overlords with exactly what their concepts will look like in the hyperreal world — straight from the computer models."

Dominique Schinabeck

Pop City: "The first thing Dominique Schinabeck wants known is that despite having grown up in Switzerland, shushing down slopes in Davos and St. Moritz, she has never strapped on skis in her native country, America. Someday, maybe, but right now she’s too busy running Acutronic USA, the Pittsburgh-based subsidiary of the Swiss world leader in motion simulators – vital for the aerospace, maritime, defense, and automotive industries."

Validation for RateMyProfessors.com?

Inside Higher Ed: "But what if the much derided Web site’s rankings have a high correlation with markers that are more widely accepted as measures of faculty performance? Last year, a scholarly study found a high correlation between RateMyProfessors.com and a university’s own system of student evaluations. Now, a new study is finding a high correlation between RateMyProfessors and a student evaluation system used nationally."

Freelancing, finance, self-employment

Salon Life: "That's why I decided to get a handle on the noncreative side of my life -- not just my taxes, but on all the mounting challenges of being my own boss. What was the smartest way to plan for retirement? What were the best resources for health insurance? How could I, starved for human contact, avoid leaping on my fiancé like a puppy every time he walked in the door? I wanted to better manage both my finances and emotions -- and reach a stage where bouts of depression and frustration came less frequently than my paychecks."

The Week in Tools: Toolmonger Top 5

Toolmonger: "It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger. If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:"

Half A Biscuit Is The Whole Idea

Toolmonger: "When biscuits came out in 1956, they changed woodworkers’ approach to butt joinery. Simply by lining up two separate slots and inserting a glue-covered biscuit, you could join panels easily. Now Lamello, the company that brought us the biscuit, has come out with a new way to join wood: the Fixo biscuit."

Pay What You Want Kicks Some Ass

(Theatreforte): "As you may recall, we recently produced Sheila Callaghan's Dead City here in Columbus, and we priced all the tickets for all the shows as 'Pay What You Want.'
Well, some folks called it 'Pay What You Can' or 'Pick Your Price' and one newspaper came up with 'Pay As You Go', which sounds like a whole other bizarre and interesting idea. (Pay $X for the first act, if you like it, pay $X more for the second act.) Anyway..."

On-line Scheduling Made Easy

Ian's Messy Desk: "Jiffle is a handy online service that handles the process of scheduling meetings. Jiffle’s technology allows you to selectively share your calendar and availability with contacts and eliminate the time-consuming back-and-forth process often required to set up meetings with colleagues and clients."

More on church floor collapse at Christian rock concert

Backstage at BackstageJobs.com: "It currently appears the floor collapsed due to concert-goers jumping to the music as the band played their second song of the evening. After the section of the wooden floor collapsed, water pipes that had been attached to the underside of the floor broke, pouring water onto the victims that had already fallen 10-15 feet."

Dual Boot: Have Your Mac and Windows Too with Boot Camp

LifeHacker: "You can have both a Mac and a PC on a single computer, using Apple's new Boot Camp software. Boot Camp lets you install Windows on your Mac in addition to Mac OS X. With Boot Camp set up, when you start your Mac, you can choose whether to use OS X or Windows. Boot Camp is a great way to consolidate the computers in your life and to run essential Windows programs that aren't available on the Mac. Here's how to set up Boot Camp to get a Mac and PC all rolled into one."

Part of Point State Park to reopen in early June

Post Gazette: "Sun worshippers trapped in the glass-and-steel office towers of Downtown can rejoice -- Pittsburgh's 'front lawn' is coming back."

'Bodies' ends successful, controversial run

Post Gazette: "'Bodies ... The Exhibition' will end its seven-month run at the Carnegie Science Center on Sunday, having generated more attendance and more controversy than any offering in the center's 18-year history."

How to Ruthlessly Reclaim Work Day Time

Lifehack: "When you’re starting a small business or working from home as a freelancer, you need to make every minute of time count; it’s a race against the clock to break even before your new endeavor uses up your savings and breaks you."

Monday Master Class: The Study Hacks Guide to Exams

Study Hacks: "As we careen into May, there is one thing likely dominating your college student mind: exams. In recognition of this (terrible) reality I’m dedicating all of this week’s posts to strategies, tips and screeds about kicking ass during finals period. Today, we’ll get things started by dipping into the always exciting Study Hacks archives to highlight some of the most important test taking related posts you may have missed."

Event Scheduling: Presdo Simplifies Scheduling Get-Togethers

LifeHacker: "Next time you agree to meet someone for coffee or lunch 'sometime soon' head over to collaborative scheduling webapp Presdo. In Presdo's single entry box enter the event, your cohorts' names, and a time (vague times like 'afternoon' or 'next week' work too)—like 'Powwow with Adam, Kevin, and Tamar next week'. Presdo will create an event where you can enter a description, pick a location and shoot off an invitation email to whomever is joining you. You can suggest times and dates, and your invitees can choose which ones work for them. Check out Presdo's two main screens in action."

TechShop

Cool Tools: "Wouldn't it be great to have a full machine shop at your disposal, with dozens of industrial tools also at your disposal, and all you have to do is contribute to the upkeep? TechShop is just that -- a membership-based fabrication and invention shop. I've been a member since before TechShop really even started, back when it was just some guys passing out flyers trying to gauge interest. For $100 a month, members can use any tool in the shop on which they've received training. MUCH cheaper than buying your own gear. The list of equipment is pretty extensive, too, and new items are arriving frequently (like a new hot-wire foam cutter)."

10 Life Lessons From a Child

Ian's Messy Desk: "Edward Mills posted the Top 10 life lessons he’s learned from his daughter. I really like what he’s shared, not so much because I’ve analyzed the lessons and found them useful, but because I live the behaviours and found them helpful. It’s easy to support ideas you already agree with than to open your mind to different ideas."

Remote Video Conferencing + Whiteboard = PalBee «

Web Worker Daily: "One of the benefits of close proximity to your colleagues is face to face meetings to draft out an idea on a whiteboard. PalBee is a new web application that allows you to do this online. Similar to Twiddla, but PalBee adds video conferencing."

Theater things that don't make sense: Vol. 1

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: "Did you know that if you produce a show in any Broadway or Off-Broadway theatre in New York City or any major touring house across the country and want to sell merchandise (t-shirts, CDs, etc.), you will be forced to a pay a commission to the theater owner? (10%, 15%, even higher in some markets!)"

Projjex: A New Player in Project Management «

Web Worker Daily: "Managing projects in an internet based environment can be difficult. We have options such as Basecamp from 37Signals, Zoho, and even an open source tool called Project.net. There is a new player on the block called Projjex and it has some promising features."

Michaels - 20% off purchases coupon

Bargainist: "In one of the best deals we've seen from Michaels, this printable coupon takes 20% off an entire purchase. Redeem on craft, floral, framing, general crafts, and home decor items."

Health Insurance for Freelancers

FreelanceSwitch - The Freelance Blog: "So you’re sick of the cubicle, middle management and 9-5 hours. You dream of quitting and freelancing full time but there’s one thing holding you back: the company health plan. This is by the far the most common reason I hear from Americans on why they won’t quit the full-time job."

3D printed Cinderella's Castle from Disney

Boing Boing: "Matt Mason, author of The Pirate's Dilemma, sez, 'I thought you'd be into this 3-D printed scale model of Cinderella’s Castle I received in the mail today."

Delay the messages you send from Microsoft Outlook

CNET Blogs: "Since I started using Gmail as my primary e-mail program a couple of years ago, I haven't missed much about Microsoft Outlook. However, there's one useful Outlook feature that Gmail lacks: the ability to delay sending all of your outgoing messages, or to set individual messages to be transmitted at a particular time in the future."

Clearance Sale

Awesome and in good condition.
Various IKEA furniture for sale in Pittsburgh.
2 – 3 drawer chests
1 – desk with side pull out
1 – double bed
1 – mattress

go here for more info:
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/fur/661056529.html

Clearance Sale

For Sale by Laura Bacon

Contact @ (703)509-6369 or lbacon@andrew.cmu.edu
All prices negotiable

Furniture:

Ikea Wood Bookshelves ($125 for all):
($40 a piece) 2 bookshelves @ 3’3” X 6’10”
($20) 1 bookshelf @ 1’8” X 6’10”
($40) 1 bookshelf @ 3’3” X 6’10” w/ 2 drawers and two doors

($15) Dark wood Corner TV stand
($10) Dark Wood Side Table on Wheels


Art Supplies:

Foam Core ($25 for all or $5 a sheet $6.50 at artist & craftsman)
3 black @ 30”X40”
3 white @ 30”X40”

Bristol Pads ($5 a piece $6.50@ art store)
4 bristol plate @ 11”X14”
3 brisol vellum @ 11”X14”

Sketchbooks ($5 a piece)
3 spiral @ 11” X14:


($25) Cut Foam Core Sheets (large Bin)
($25) Basswood, Balsa Wood, and Metal Rods (assorted sizes, full 3” di drafting tube)



Additional art supplies available, please call or email as I may have it

The Greenpage Page

Those stories in the sidebar under "Coming Next Wednesday, Maybe" are culled from feeds I follow in Google Reader. Not everything I mark actually gets posted to the News From the Real World page though. If you're interested in seeing the whole enchilada you can always check here

"Greenpage via DBTHETD"

Or you can subscribe to the feed.

CMU Strategic Plan

All members of the university community are encouraged to attend:

Today (4/28): Finance & Infrastructure, 6-8 p.m. in Rangos 3, UC.

Tuesday (4/29): General Discussion (all six pillars of the strategic plan), Noon-1:30 p.m. in Rangos 2, UC.

Wednesday (4/30): Research, 10-11:30 a.m., Dowd Room, UC.

Wednesday (4/30): Education & Student Life, 5-6:30 p.m., Adamson Wing, BH 136A

Additional meetings, copies of the current committee drafts, and other details are available at: http://www.cmu.edu/strategic-plan/

Tribute to Fosse

For those of you who missed if last time, there will be one final Encore performance of "A TRIBUTE TO FOSSE" tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm in the Movement Studio of Purnell. This is a pay-what-you-can event, so no pressure. All are welcome, so please come support your classmates, students, and the seniors.

Stage Review: Excellent 'Don Carlos' has too short a run

Post Gazette: "It is a ravishing start to a turbulent, disturbing play. The sets are limited by choice, combining with gorgeous costumes, highly theatrical lights and directorial bravado such as you expect on the Carnegie Mellon mainstage, but not in its Rauh studio. This is not simply an MFA project, but a full-out, ambitious, largely successful version of Schiller's infuriating masterpiece."

Stage Review: 'Rabbit Hole' digs into couple's grief

Post Gazette: "Imagine a rabbit hole, its entrance concealed, twisting down you don't know where. Imagine yourself following that hole into surreal adventures that parody the world above, as in 'Alice in Wonderland.' Or perhaps there are many holes, wormholes through timespace into parallel universes."

Children's Theater merging with Cultural Trust

Post Gazette: "As a way of ensuring quality children's programming for future generations, the Pittsburgh International Children's Theater is merging with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust."

High-school musicals are a testament to faith

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Every spring magic happens.
In Western Pennsylvania high schools large and small, private and public, rich and poor, the annual high-school musical blossoms anew."

Students get voices in gear

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "It's the best of times and the worst of times for Woodland Hills High School junior Lauren Migliozzi.
Migliozzi, of Churchill, was cast as Mrs. Potts in the high school's production of 'Beauty and the Beast' that ran through Saturday."

Mt. Lebanon theater to get $3 million revamp

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Officials working to reopen the Denis Theatre in Mt. Lebanon outlined plans for the $3 million project Monday."

Children's Theater to merge with Cultural Trust

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "In June, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and the Pittsburgh International Children's Theater will merge their assets and operations, including shared promotion and marketing resources."

Synetic wins big at Hayes Awards

Variety: "Synetic Theater was the top winner at the Helen Hayes Awards in Washington, D.C. April 28, with the local troupe -- which specializes in wordless, movement-based legit productions -- scoring six honors including play."

All the More to Love, a Plus-Size Musical, Will Premiere at Laguna Playhouse

Playbill News: "It's billed as 'a musical about the unusual people who frequent a plus-size consignment shop and their quest for love, self-respect and the deeper meaning of wearing someone else's clothes.'"

Cirque du Soleil's Winter Spectacle, Wintuk, Returns to NYC Oct. 30; Tickets On Sale April 30

Playbill News: "Cirque du Soleil, MSG Entertainment and BASE Entertainment are producing Wintuk, which was designed exclusively for the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden — billed as Cirque du Soleil's first permanent address in New York for a show presented outside the Big Top."

Osmonds Sign for Extended Las Vegas Run

Playbill News: "Danny Gans and Chip Lightman of GansLight Entertainment are producing a 90-minute show that will highlight hits from the Osmonds' careers. The multimedia production – set on a custom-built stage with numerous video screens – will incorporate a large dance ensemble within the format of a variety show. The first performance is scheduled for Sept. 9."

Northern exposure

New Statesman: "Atten-shun! Black Watch finally marches into London this summer - the play, that is, not the eponymous Scottish regiment. The talismanic show for the National Theatre of Scotland, written by Gregory Burke and directed by John Tiffany, premiered on the Edinburgh Fringe in 2006 and has already achieved cult status on three continents. It was hailed as 'the theatrical event of the year' by New York Magazine in 2007, and will be heading back to New York for a second run after the London dates."

'The Injured Party' probes gulf between haves and have-nots

OCRegister.com: "Rather, money is a central theme in Greenberg's newest play, 'The Injured Party,' which debuts this weekend at South Coast Repertory. Its story concerns Maxene, who has a pile of it, and her grandson Seth, who doesn't. Seth, an unsuccessful writer, is convinced that all his life's impediments and frustrations will be solved if he can just get his hands on some of dear old grandma's dough. 'You are the wealthy. We are the living. Redistribution must commence,' he oh-so-tactfully tells Maxene near the beginning of the story."

Jerome Robbins’s Legacy of Anguish and Exuberance

New York Times: "THE choreographer and director Jerome Robbins, who would have been 90 on Oct. 11, died 10 years ago this July. This double anniversary is a cue for worldwide commemoration. “Gypsy,” the show he directed and choreographed in 1959, is again a hit on Broadway. A handsome Robbins exhibition, reflecting many facets of his career, is running until June 28 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, at Lincoln Center. New York City Ballet’s spring season, starting Tuesday, will include no fewer than 33 Robbins works, ranging chronologically from “Fancy Free” (1944) to “Brandenburg” (1997). Other companies — from Seattle to Sydney, from San Francisco to Paris — have presented or will present Robbins programs during the year."

After Adapting ‘Gatsby’ to the Stage, Elevator Repair Service Turns to Faulkner

New York Times: "JOHN COLLINS approaches a play much like a scientist trying to prove a difficult theory. He starts with an untested idea and brainstorms ways to make it work on the stage. Many hypothetical solutions are posed, proved not to work and rejected. Often he finds himself back at Square 1 at the end of a day."

Hollywood may not be able to handle hard times

Reuters: "Although total domestic grosses for 2008 are running just 2% behind last year, that's thanks to the Christmas releases; the spring slate actually lagged 18% behind last year's numbers. Meanwhile, the specter of recession is bearing down on the United States, gas prices are rising and consumers are feeling the pinch."

Morgan Freeman's New Role: An Actor, In Extremis

NPR: "An actor can live — and die — by the power of his voice. And one of Hollywood's most recognizable voices belongs to Morgan Freeman."

Mr Music, back to his old haunts

smh.com.au: "It's astonishing how much and how many people dislike Andrew Lloyd Webber. A musical friend, when I told him I was interviewing the king of musicals, snapped 'Could you shoot him for me?' That seems a lot of hostility to direct at anyone on aesthetic grounds, but it's not unusual; for whatever reason, anti-Lloyd Webberites take far more offence at the rampant populism of Phantom Of The Opera, the glitz of Starlight Express and the bombast of Sunset Boulevard than they would at unabashed trash."

WGA throws writers under the bus

Casting - News: Show Business Weekly: "Eleven weeks after its industry-crippling strike, the Writers Guild of America is clearly not looking to mend any fences. The presidents of the WGA West and East released a letter last week, publishing the names of 21 members who filed for “financial core” status during the strike, and encouraging other members to essentially blacklist them."

Alfre Woodard pays homage to August Wilson

New Pittsburgh Courier: "Alfre Woodard is a very busy sister. She’s been barnstorming across the country for her man, Barack Obama—on the day before the primary—and she will do it again. Woodard has been on the road practically all year, starting with South Carolina."

King Lear: When comedy meets tragedy

The Tartan Online: "Shakespeare’s King Lear is full of madness, plotting, torture, and death, bringing both comedy and tragedy together to the stage. In last week’s presentation of King Lear by the Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, the actors effectively portrayed Shakespeare’s characters in madness and anger."

Three’s company for music technology

The Tartan Online: "In the city of bridges, Carnegie Mellon is a welcome member, fostering connections between numerous colleges and disciplines. The music technology program, a fusion of courses from the College of Fine Arts, the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and the School of Computer Science, is a new and much-anticipated addition to the university’s repertoire."

THE WORK BEHIND THE PLAY

Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com: "THESE days, it's getting trickier to be a playwright. Changing tastes and shrinking budgets have prompted theaters to cut back on, or at least rethink, the ways in which they cultivate new material. Writers programs have been closed, safe bets favored over creative risks, and alternatives -- both bold and bleak -- sought to replace the familiar development cycle of commission, reading, workshop and (if you're lucky) production."

JOHN KOLVENBACH

Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com: "USUALLY, I don't develop plays by using anyone else's process. By the time I get to the theater, the play is reasonably complete. I write, then I do a hundred drafts, then I do readings in my house with actors I know. I rewrite, we do another reading, I rewrite, then I usually do a reading for an invited audience, rewrite, then do a reading for an audience of about 30 people. Then I decide whether it's garbage or something that should be seen. Part of this comes from not wanting to show anyone anything I'd be embarrassed by. Also, I feel like before you want to look to somebody else for an idea, you want to work from the original source."

SHARR WHITE

Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com: "IREAD the newspaper incessantly. I'm always clipping, always looking for compelling ideas. The hardest part is sitting down, the daydreaming part. I can't feel like I want to sit down and start on something until I have the architecture of the world intricately woven enough that I can tell the story in the way I want to tell it. What I look for is scene that is inseparable from character and plot. I am looking to put together a world in which every movement of every character affects the movement of every other character. The introductory paragraph for the play will take a number of days because I've got to get all the ducks in a row."

LAUREN GUNDERSON

Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com: "ALOT of my pieces are science- or history-based, so most of my creative development starts with research. I cram a lot of information into my brain and there's spillage that ends up on the page. Many of my plays are biographical, so I have that person's life to go on as well as the time period they're in. But it's not like a documentary. As the dramatist, I can say who the story is really about and how we are going to tell it."

AMY FREED

Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com: "I'm interested in the intersection of people's inner lives, fascinated by the drive of character, the terrible things that people do and why they do them, and how these things play out in the real world. I crave a kind of theater that operates on several levels, which is not a particularly fashionable thing."

LYNN NOTTAGE

Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com: "'IAM interested in the personal aspects of history, more than history in big, bold letters -- the kinds of intersections that occur between people who might not normally come into contact. Each play happens in a different way. It can begin with a quotation I can't get out of my head, or I can hear the character speak to me. Sometimes something I read will outrage me. 'Vera Stark' began when I saw a 1930s film called 'Baby Face,' with Barbara Stanwyck and Theresa Harris. I was surprised by how progressive the film was, how it showed a relationship between a black woman and a white woman that seemed somewhat authentic. Harris was so beautiful and strong and magnetic. I began to wonder who she was, and how she would negotiate Hollywood."

J. R. Clancy Achieves ISO 9001:2000 Recertification

Live Design: "For the third time since 2002, J. R. Clancy, Inc. has been recertified for the international quality standard ISO 9001:2000. J. R. Clancy is the only rigging company in the American technical theatre industry to achieve ISO 9001:2000 certification."

BSMC Spotlight: John Taylor

Live Design: "John Taylor is an educator with of d&b Audiotechnik. His session at the Broadway Sound Master Classes on Sunday, May 18 will focus on electroacoustics and achieving intelligibility."

Backstage passion

Today’s Local News: "“Technology is wonderful when it works, and sometimes it decides not to work,” Flor said with a laugh. “You can do the best prep in the world, and you can still have a microphone failing. But we are proud of the fact that 95 percent of the time, the audience doesn’t know.”"

College Admissions Process Gets Longer, More Complicated

AACRAO Transcript: "Mike Steidel, director of admissions at Carnegie Mellon University said demonstrated interest “is a huge piece of what we look at.” The university gives students an option to be on a priority waiting list or the regular list. If priority students get an offer in early May, they have just 24 hours to make their deposit or they’re out. The school shows students a financial aid package in advance."

Conservatory Hour

Monday, April 28
Critiques for:

Don Carlos

The Commedia Project

In the Checco Studio A
5:00-6:00pm

j-o-b's

The Williamstown Theatre Festival is seeking a Stage Supervisor for the 2008 summer season. Under the direct supervision of the Technical Director, responsibilities include: maintenance and running of all Festival productions, training and supervision of running crews, operating flying and moving scenery, working in the scene shop as needed, loading in, changing over and striking all Festival productions as assigned, maintaining equipment and facilities as needed, following all Festival safety protocols as required, participating in Festival learning environment for interns and apprentices, and other duties as assigned. The successful candidate will have a BFA Degree and prior professional experience as a Stage Carpenter. Please email resume and cover letter to jdasaro@wtfestival.org with subject heading of STAGE SUPERVISOR SEARCH.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival is seeking an Assistant Costume Shop Manager for the 2008 summer season. Under the direct supervision of the Costume Shop Manager, responsibilities include: assist with the management and supervision of the costume shop, its staff, interns and apprentices working in the shop on all costume needs, including ordering supplies, fittings, maintaining budgets, draping and working with the guest designers to ensure that their designs are accomplished successfully, for all WTF productions, following safety protocols. Assist with the set up and strike of the shop and assist in providing WTF with a departmental bible at the close of the season. Please email resume and cover letter to jdasaro@wtfestival.org with subject heading of COSTUME SHOP SEARCH.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival is seeking a Lead Carpenter for the 2008 summer season. Under the direct supervision of the Technical Director and Production Manager, you will assist in the construction of scenery for all WTF productions, and participate in changeovers, following all WTF's safety protocols. You will provide instruction to interns and apprentices. You will maintain equipment and assist with the set-up and strike of the scene shop. Please email resume and cover letter to jdasaro@wtfestival.org with subject heading of CARPENTER SEARCH.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival is seeking an Assistant Technical Director for the 2008 summer season. Under the direct supervision of the Technical Director and Production Manager, you will be responsible for assisting with the technical drafting for the Festival, implementing technical aspects of the Designers' drawings to ensure that designs are realized successfully, helping supervise load-ins and any construction, as necessary. You will help establish safe working procedures in the shop and in the theatres. You will assist with the set-up and strike of the scene shop, coordinate supply ordering with the TD. Please email resume and cover letter to jdasaro@wtfestival.org with subject heading of ATD SEARCH.

Center for the Arts in Society

The Center for the Arts in Society

End-of-the-Year Student Presentations

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

4:30 PM

Steinberg Auditorium (Baker Hall A53)

http://www.hss.cmu.edu/cas

Spring Concert

The All University Orchestra of Carnegie Mellon invites you to their Spring Concert on Tuesday, April 29 at 8:00pm at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. This will be AUO's debut performance at Carnegie Music Hall!

AUO will present a great variety of music including: Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, Copland's Red Pony Film Suite, Jule Styne's Overture to Gypsy, and more! Plus, the premier of STRING THEORY, AUO's new Chamber Orchestra, performing Mozart's Don Giovanni Overture and Britten's Simple Symphony.

The All University Orchestra, in its 10th year, is open to all members of the Carnegie Mellon University community. Currently, AUO is made up of over 80 members representing all 7 colleges, and 45 majors - all dedicated to making music an important part of their CMU experience. For the past 6 years, AUO has been under the baton of Maria Sensi Sellner.

We would be honored if you could come support all of our dedicated members and enjoy an evening of great music. Admission is free! (visit AUO on the web: www.andrew.cmu.edu/~auo)

Tribute to Fosse

"A Tribute to Fosse" starring: Gabby, Kaleigh, Daisy, Laura, Steffi, Emily, Tro, Dusty, Liam, Michael, and Barrett will have one final performance a week from today for all you lovely faculty and students who missed it last time. The show runs at just under an hour, and will be next Wednesday, April 30th, at 5pm in the Brown Movement Studio. It's a pay-what-you-can fundraiser for the LA Showcase.

Please come support the cast and the senior class!

CFA Announcements

In Concert: The Old and the New Bach and Haydn

Nancy Galbraith Carnegie Mellon Baroque Ensemble & Cellofourte

Sunday April 27 2008, 7 p.m.

Kresge Recital Hall

Stephen Schultz, director for more information visit link: http://music.web.cmu.edu/index.php?sub_page=events

___________________

MAY 2 - MAY 18, 2008 MAYDAY! BFA SENIOR EXHIBITION 2008

Opening reception: MAY 2, 6-8PM

For more information visit link: http://artschool.cfa.cmu.edu:16080/~miller/exhibitions/

Free Bus Ride To Philharmonic Concert ______________________________________

Anyone with a Carnegie Mellon i.d. can take a free bus ride to the Carnegie Mellon University Philharmonic performance at 8 p.m., April 29 at the famed John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. This offer includes a free ticket to the concert!

Hurry and reserve your place today, e-mail music-office@andrew.cmu.edu for your spot.

The bus departs at the University Center turnaround at 12:30 p.m.

They will play works by Edgard Varse (Arcana) and Giacinto Scelsi (Quattro Pezzi), as well as the Stravinsky favorite, "The Rite of Spring."

_________________________

The School of Drama continues Commedia Dell Arte.

Servant of Two Masters

5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 24 on Carnegie Mellons Cut, near the tennis courts

Performances at the SouthSide Works: Scapino

5:30 p.m., Friday, April 25, and Saturday April 26

Servant of Two Masters

1 p.m., Saturday, April 26

Campus Events ______________________________________________________________

CIT, EPP To Host Media Panel About Politics, Public Policy Issues

Carnegie Mellons College of Engineering and its Department of Engineering and Public Policy will host the first in a series of panel discussions, dubbed The Fourth Estate, about how the news media cover politics and impact critical public policy issues from the economy to healthcare and clean air.

The panel discussion will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 23 in the Singleton Room of the Roberts Hall of Engineering.

Jon Peha, a professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, will moderate an expert panel that includes: David Biello, an associate editor of Scientific American; Jon Delano, political editor at KDKA-TV; Doug Heuck, editor and publisher of The Pittsburgh Quarterly; and Tim Hayes, a freelance reporter for TEQ Magazine.

PGH events _________________________________________________________________

Gift To America: SEE THE MURALS, HEAR THE STORY

In celebration of Pittsburghs 250th anniversary, actors and theatrical lighting will bring the murals of Maxo Vanka to life in the play Gift To America, which will run at 8:30 p.m., May 7-10 at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale. The play is written, acted (in part), directed, lit and supported by faculty and alumni of The College of Fine Arts faculty.

The one-hour play is a conversation about the murals among Vanka and Father Albert Zagar, the priest who commissioned the murals, and two female characters. The dramatic reading, which will be accompanied by Tamburitzan music, is scripted by Carnegie Mellon University Professor Emeritus of English David Demarest, and was originally staged in 1981. Described by Time magazine as one of the few distinguished sets of murals in the U.S., the murals depict the ravages of war and the sacrifices of immigrant workers in early 20th century industrial America. They also honor the congregations Croatian heritage and Christian faith. Vanka had recently immigrated when he began to paint the murals in 1937, and called them his gift to America.

The vivid imagery depicted on the walls and ceilings of the Millvale church reveal a passion that is universal and uniquely Croatian. After seeing the murals, Talking Heads rock musician David Byrne of the group The Talking Heads called Vanka the Diego Rivera of Pittsburgh.

The Society to Preserve The Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka is staging the play, and hopes to raise greater awareness of the paintings. The performance will launch a campaign to fund the illumination, restoration and preservation of the murals.

Tickets are $10 and will be available before performances at the church, which is in Millvale off of Route 28. For more information, call Diane Novosel at 724-845-2907.

Spiderman Ride at Universal Studios

Entertainment Engineering - Volume 5 Issue 4: "This exciting adventure ride is located on Marvel Super-Hero Island at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Super Hero Island is home to some of the great characters in Marvel history not to mention some incredible rides"

Robodaddy

Entertainment Engineering - Volume 5 Issue 4: The next movie producer with an Evil-Genius-Attacks –The-World-With-Advanced-Technology should consider hiring Mark Tilden as a voice coach. Tilden projects in conversation a high level of self-assuredness and technical competence, pitched at a near-monotone that would lull a foe into gladly throwing himself out a twentieth-story window, if only because Mark has convinced him that, indeed, the air currents outside flow in a fashion that would gently ease the defenestrated opponent down to the ground, feather-soft.

Finding Your First Apartment in New York City

New York Times: "Spring is the season when newly minted college graduates flock to New York City to start their careers. They begin the search for their dream apartment, brokers say, with the same single-minded determination that earned them their degrees and landed them their jobs in the first place."

J. R. Clancy Is Silver Sponsor of NATEAC 2008

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "J. R. Clancy, Inc., is a Silver Sponsor of the 2008 North American Theatre, Engineering, and Architecture Conference (NATEAC). The conference is scheduled for Sunday, July 20 and Monday, July 21 in New York City."

Professor Dr. Fritz Sennheiser to be Inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "The Consumer Electronics Association(r) (CEA) has announced that Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser is to be inducted into its CE Hall of Fame. The 95-year-old founder of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is one of 12 honorees to be inducted in 2008, and has been chosen by the expert jury in the category Founders and Inventors."

Tryouts for the Rest of Your Life

New York Times: "ON the 16th floor of the Ripley-Grier Studios in midtown Manhattan, Adam Pelta-Pauls nervously paced the hallway. It was a rainy morning in early February, and this 17-year-old senior from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Md., was awaiting his turn to audition for Carnegie Mellon’s vaunted drama school. So were about 30 others."

Alexander Conference

Janet Madelle Feindel is presenting at the International Congress on the F.M. Alexander Technique being held this summer in Lugano, Switzerland. Individuals who are not AT teachers are able to attend afternoon sessions.

Check out their website if you are interested and see below.

www.atcongress.com

New Course

Wanted to draw your attention to the fact that Gregg Franklin and i are teaching our course on Einstein's work, "The Year is 1905: E= mc2, Photons and Relativity" again in the Fall and we have a new course --short description attached

99 305 The Year is 1905: E=mc2, photons and relativity

Tuesday 6:30 - 8:20 PM, Adamson, BH 136A

9 units

99 331 India Today: Industry, Innovation and Education

Oct 31, 5 PM - Nov 2, noon

3 units (on completing paper)

“The struggle of one-sixth of humanity for dignity and prosperity seems to me a drama of the highest order and of great consequence for the future of the world. It has meaning for all of humanity and sheds new light on the future of liberalism in the world.” – Gurcharan Das in India Unbound, 2002

Weekend Intensive Course!

99- 331 INDIA TODAY: Innovation, Industry and Education

3 units ; W

Dates: Oct 31- Nov 2

As a rising state in the world economy, India’s status in the world economy and in world affairs is shifting. INDIA TODAY is a 3-unit course, consisting of 14 hours of classes over a weekend (Friday 5 PM – Sunday 12 noon) with a major paper assignment to be completed for the credit. The course will be a joint Pitt-CMU course, with the lectures taking place at Carnegie Mellon.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the course, the students will have a general understanding of the issues and factors in industry, innovation and education that define India at the present time.

Through the paper, students will explore one of these aspects or interaction between relevant factors in depth.

The course will explore questions such as:

o To what extent has India’s capacity to innovate and education been able to keep up with the industrial growth in recent years?

o Are the industrialized countries losing their monopoly on innovation?

o What are the major impediments to India’s economic growth?

o How are the relevant policy debates shaped in India and in the U.S.?

o What does the economic growth mean for:

o An economically well-off American citizen? An American of lower economic status?

o An affluent Indian citizen? A poor Indian citizen?

o What are the current and future challenges of multinational firms in developing countries and what needs to happen to move towards the path of overcoming these?

The course will open with a keynote lecture on Friday evening. This will be followed by 3 or 4 two- hour instructional lectures on Saturday on the various themes by experts in the fields. Sunday morning will be a panel discussion by these speakers on future challenges, and some possible projections/ recommendations.

Truman Scholarship

Prospective Truman Applicants:

We will have a one hour Harry S. Truman Scholarship info session on April 30th at 4:30. We will begin promptly at 4:30, beginning with instructions and guidelines regarding the policy statement for the Truman application.

If you are receiving this award and info session announcement for the first time, a short description and url for this nationally prestigious award are at the end of this message.

Several items at this point:

1) Please RSVP to me jzang@cmu.edu. If you intend to enter the upcoming Truman Scholarship competition, we expect you to attend this April 30^th info session -- contact me if there's a problem.

2) Please refer to the list below as a reminder of what to prepare/bring to the info session.

3) If any of your peers are interested in the Truman scholarship, they are welcome to attend, but they should contact me directly asap.

4) Location of the info session TBA.

WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU TO THE TRUMAN INFO SESSION -- APRIL 30th at 4:30

> 1) your knowledge of the Truman website - http://www.truman.gov/

> 2) list of people you plan on asking for recommendation letters (three

> kinds of letters required, see website)

> 3) topic(s) for your policy statement

> 4) abstract of why you are pursuing the Truman (only several sentences long)

> 5) statement about how you envision being a change agent (again, no more

> than a paragraph)

> 6) updated resume

Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation
Must be a junior, U.S. citizen, interested in a career in the public sector. Funding is for graduate or professional schools in the United States or foreign countries. Winners receive up to $30,000 for 2-3 years of graduate study. Each institution may nominate up to four students.

Notification of Application Intention: immediately
Campus Deadline: November 20, 2008
Foundation Deadline: TBA (beginning of February), 2009
Campus Representative: Judy Zang (8x1969) or Stephanie Wallach (8x5702)

Word

Please remember that just a word to your students about the importance of the University Course Assessment is the most important factor to increase response rates. Please take a moment to remind your students.

Leagues Fundraiser

It's finally here, and not a second too late!

The 94th Annual Faculty Cabaret!

Featuring Song & Dance from your favorite faculty members!

Friday (THAT'S TODAY!) @ 11pm in the Chosky Theatre.

5 dollar suggested donation for the Senior Class of 2008's Showcase

Come support the faculty and seniors!

Alfre Woodard to participate in Wilson tribute

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "During 'An Evening with Alfre Woodard,' the classically trained film and television actress will sit down for a conversation with KDKA TV-2 personality Lynne Hayes-Freeland at the Byham Theater."

Atlanta Theater Begins 10-Year Project on French Playwright

Backstage: "'In the Solitude of Cotton Fields,' written in 1986, is the first of six plays by the late French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltes that Atlanta's 7 Stages Theatre plans to produce during the next 10 years. It opens this weekend."

SAG Outlines New-Media Value

Backstage: "As SAG continued its negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers on Thursday, the actors union sent its second report to membership, outlining their position on new media and why it is important to actors."

The Shows Must Go On, but Not Until They Change Theaters

New York Times: "The computer-controlled lights and the fog machines were waiting in the wings. More than 600 props — including the maroon queen-size pullout couch and the Zippo lighter — had been packed away. The sets that weren’t being bashed into shape to fit new stages had been muscled onto scenery trucks."

Waters's Raunchy Teens Sing for Love in `Cry-Baby'

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "Lightning doesn't strike twice. ``Cry-Baby,'' the Broadway musical adapted from John Waters's movie, does not repeat the success of his ``Hairspray.'' Some of the creators are different, the material is different and the hero and heroine are disastrously different."

Count On It: Acclaimed 'Adding Machine' Musical Extends in NYC

Yahoo! News: "Good reviews and nominations from the Outer Circle Awards (including Outstanding New Off Broadway Musical), Lucille Lortel Awards (including Outstanding Musical) and Drama League (for Distinguished Production of a Musical) helped prompt the extension."

Roundabout's 'Bette and Boo' to Begin a Day Early; All Seats

Yahoo! News: "In addition, as a special extension of ACCESS Roundabout's $10 preview program, all seats for the June 12 performance will be $10. In the not-for-profit Roundabout's Broadway homes, 100 tickets are offered for $10 to every first preview performance; and during the 2007-2008 season all 500 tickets offered immediately sold out."

Taking PDF printouts with CutePDF!

Daily Autocad: "I am hung up on small but useful programs nowadays. I will mention Foxit Reader to read your PDF files. Yet, I am not using this program to get PDF printouts. The best result in Windows XP operating system can be obtained by CutePDF."

At the Huntington, a fresh start

The Boston Globe: "A play by Richard Goodwin, the Boston-based historian and former speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, is one of the highlights of the Huntington Theatre Company's 2008-09 season, the first under new artistic director Peter DuBois."

'Cry-Baby' goes on a tear when it dances

NY Daily News: "Some musicals have high ideals and aspirations. Some even have something profound to say.

'Cry-Baby' isn't one of them."

Guthrie's pop-culture spectacle

Star Tribune: "Flying fairies, punkish costumes and hip references abound in this funny, over-the-top revival of the Bard's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'"

Stage Preview: Former understudy sees role more fully in 'Rabbit Hole'

Post Gazette: "In high school in suburban Seattle, Erika Rolfsrud remembers, 'I was told I'd never play Juliet. It was playing somebody's mother or the loose woman.' Eventually 5-foot-8 with a dusky voice, she was well into college before she played a lead."

East stage preview: All-County Musical stages 'Les Miz' at Palace Theatre

Post Gazette: "Stage Right's second annual All-County Musical will begin a three-day run Monday at Greensburg's Palace Theatre.
The cast will have 96 members drawn from 14 Westmoreland County school districts as well as Catholic schools and home-schooled students."

Stage preview/North: Sewickley Academy stages fact-based 'Laramie Project'

Post Gazette: "Since 'The Laramie Project' debuted to both critical acclaim and controversy in 2000, the Pittsburgh area has been host to professional and college productions of the show, but Sewickley Academy may be the first local high school to stage it."

Stage Review: 'Risk' daring but short on rewards

Post Gazette: "Presumably the title of George F. Walker's comedy at the young Caravan Theatre, 'Risk Everything,' is in the imperative. That's certainly the mode of its most distinctive character, Carol, a feisty con artist in middle age who rants repeatedly about going for broke -- especially when it's others who'll pay the price."

Stage Preview: Award-winning Woodard comes to town to celebrate August Wilson

Post Gazette: "Afre Woodard is a veteran leading lady of film and TV, coming to Pittsburgh Saturday to honor August Wilson, a writer of plays."

Seton Hill musical revue celebrates Sondheim's early works

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Many of the most famous Broadway musical scores can be attributed to Stephen Sondheim -- from 'West Side Story' and 'Gypsy' to 'Sweeney Todd,' 'Follies' and 'Into the Woods.'"

Young thespians bring 'Les Miserables' to the stage

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "For 96 talented students from 15 school districts and home schools, 'Les Miserables' is the Super Bowl, the World Series and the Stanley Cup all rolled into one."

Technical Direction Internship

Craigslist: "Quantum Theatre is a unique company specializing in site-specific theatre. This summer Quantum will be producing William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline in Mellon Park. We are looking for Technical Direction Interns to assist with all aspects of the technical production."

Stage Management Internship

Craigslist: "Quantum Theatre is a unique company specializing in site-specific theatre. This summer Quantum will be producing William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline in Mellon Park. We are looking for Stage Management Interns to assist with many aspects of managing the production."

Squares vs. Drapes: Cry-Baby Opens on Broadway April 24

Playbill News: "Film writer-director John Waters and his misfit band of characters return to the Broadway stage April 24 when Cry-Baby — Waters' first musical venture since the 2002 Tony-winning smash Hairspray — officially opens at the Marquis Theatre."

Festival of New American Musicals Debuts in L.A.

Backstage: "Four decades after the golden age of Broadway musicals ended in the late 1960s, we are still hearing doomsday reports that the American musical theatre is inching its way to extinction, a victim of the changing tastes of new generations. Don't try to sell that oft-expressed idea to Marcia Seligson, co-executive producer of Southern California's first Festival of New American Musicals. She believes the musical genre is on a creative upswing, and she aims to prove it."

The 10 worst musicals of all time

Telegraph: "As the knives come out for 'Gone with the Wind', Dominic Cavendish looks back on the history of stage disasters"

Scarlett, Rhett Keep Warbling as South Burns

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "The new London musical ``Gone With the Wind'' runs three hours and 45 minutes and includes all the climactic moments of Margaret Mitchell's long book. The producers don't lack ambition. What they need, however, is a pair of scissors -- and some songs."

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

actorsequity.org | News #038; Media: "With the success of our Day of Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity last June, the South Florida Equity Liaison Committee brought another group to help out on March 11th. Eight members of the Equity community gathered at the building site at 7:45am. The only complaint we received pertaining to our previous Habitat day was how incredibly hot it was. In South Florida in June it is easily 90 degrees, even at 7:45am in the morning. This time, in March, things were much more comfortable."

Equity, 4As "Do Not Work" Notice

actorsequity.org | News #038; Media: "Alert: CIRQUE DREAMS JUNGLE FANTASY is a non-union production"

AFL-CIO Launches Online Video Contest: Turn-Around America

actorsequity.org | News #038; Media: "The AFL-CIO has launched the “Turn Around America” video competition - its first-ever online video contest -- and will feature the winners in television ads in part to engage voters and 2008 political candidates in a national dialogue about what is necessary to get America back on track."

'EMANCIPATION' SERVES ITS PURPOSE

New York Post: "THE unusual venue in which it is being performed adds a chilling emotional resonance to 'Emancipation,' Ty Jones' new play about the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner being presented by the Classical Theatre of Harlem. It is the Audubon Ballroom, located on upper Broadway, where Malcom X was assassinated in 1965."

'Screwtape' Gives The Devil His Due

washingtonpost.com: "That smoldering scent wafting along Penn Quarter is not exhaust that's drifted over from traffic on Interstate 395. It's a whiff of infernal brimstone, courtesy of 'The Screwtape Letters,' the diverting, talky, handsomely produced dramatization of C.S. Lewis's book now running at the Lansburgh Theatre."

Setting the stage for theatrical advances

The Japan Times Online: "As Japanese theater finally embraces the Western role of artistic director, changes are afoot on the Eastern stage"

Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's a Flogo!

msnbc.com: "Now, one company aims to indulge those flights of fancy by actually making 'clouds' in the shapes of, well, anything, from the Atlanta Braves' tomahawk to Mickey Mouse's iconic head."

Prepping Children for the 9 to 5

New York Times: "MANY years ago, my son was sitting in his booster seat at the kitchen table, scribbling madly on a legal pad with a crayon. When I asked him what he wanted for breakfast he waved me off with a shake of his head. “I working Mommy or my editor will be mad with me,” he said."

Couple's Custom Microphones Carry Colorful Past

NPR: "The Pelusos are part of a boutique microphone-making movement — an effort to inexpensively replicate the look and sound of classic mikes. Peluso microphones have been used to record the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the bluegrass band Blue Highway and the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, among others."

Miss Landmine: exploitation or bold publicity for the victims?

The Guardian: "In the realm of beauty pageants it is not the stuff of little girls' dreams. Yet after the success of the inaugural Miss Landmine competition in Angola, the organisers plan to take the contest to Cambodia next year."

Skele-Wrench?

Toolmonger: "Garrett Wade sells a crescent wrench that’s been stripped down to its skeleton — all excess metal has been whittled away to leave a wrench they claim is 20% lighter than similar sized wrenches but still maintains 100% of its strength."

Kobalt’s Thru-Ratchet Gets Over Long Bolts

Toolmonger: "These sockets work where deep sockets just aren’t deep enough. Kobalt’s Thru-Ratchet sockets and ratchets are hollow down the center, so they can fit over any length of bolt. In a lot of cases you could get the same performance out of your ratcheting wrenches, but this system allows you to get into deep recesses that would otherwise be inaccessible."

RescueTime Offers Improvements to its Ridiculously Easy Time Management «

Web Worker Daily: "RescueTime, the ridiculously easy time management and analysis application, recently added some great features to its already impressive Web-based service to make it just that much more useful and indispensable in my work routine. The addition of autotagging, group tracking, and improved privacy are the highlights in their most recent release."

Carnegie Science Center to Host Nation’s Largest Robotics Exhibit

Rusty Bridge: "You’ve watched Waterworld, you’ve been to Disney World, now meet roboworld. This 6,000-square-foot permanent robotics exhibit will cost the Carnegie Science Center’s backers a cool $3.4 million. With over 30 hands-on exhibits, at least half of which will be broken by day three, this veritable robopalooza opens Spring 2009."

The Week in Tools: Toolmonger Top 5

Toolmonger: "It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger. If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:"

Proust Questionnaire: David Mamet

vanityfair.com: "During his three-decade career, David Mamet, 60, has been an anomaly in Hollywood: a dramaturge whose scripts are the main attraction. With the release of his latest film, Redbelt, this month, the writer, producer, and director reflects on critics, a recent move, and being a fireman."

The most interesting Shakespeare books, movies, and Web sites

Slate Magazine: "America celebrates Shakespeare's birthday this April 23 with a sonnet contest at the Folger Library and festivities at New York's Shakespeare Society. But as Peter Ackroyd's recent Shakespeare: The Biography reminds us, we're not sure if April 23 was the day Shakespeare was born or the day his birth was assigned."

Change Your Work Hours to Get More Done «

Web Worker Daily: "Getting to know yourself and your own work patterns are key to developing an effective work routine. It took me years to realize that my best hours for writing were between six in the morning and midday. By paying attention to my productivity patterns, I could’ve come to this conclusion a lot sooner and saved myself a lot of time."

Actor/comedian plays for laughs in 'League'

Post Gazette: "The number of flights may be declining at Pittsburgh International Airport, but at least one of the shuttered concourses has been put to good use: For the past two weeks, the film 'She's out of My League' had taken over the closed portion of the B concourse to film scenes for this DreamWorks comedy, due in theaters next year."

Handwriting: A Skill For A Digital Age

Lifehack.org: "It seems like those of us who spend most of our day at a computer are slowly losing those handwriting skills our elementary school teachers spent years drilling into us. More than anything else, it’s a matter of disuse: many people hardly ever write anything out by hand and, if they do, it’s a quick note meant only to last until the next time they’re at a computer."

In Lawrenceville, Art All Night

Pop City: "Consider these 2007 entries: “Breakfast of Champions,” for sale at $150 that uses “ridiculous jewelry, resin, steel and crackling oat bran” as a medium.
Or the oil painting entitled “What Happened to You Steve?”
Or “Cloak” made from acrylic, modeling paste, wooden disk, straw, plaster and dirt. There’s a “Where My Parents Used to Drink” photograph and artwork made of mixed medium called “12 Steps to Flat Abs: The Massacre.”
And there you have a sampling of Lawrenceville's Art All Night, a 24-hour arts marathon that’s as serious about art as it about fun. Organizers say this year’s all-night arts show – which takes place April 26-27 – will be bigger, better and greener than ever."

AMPTP Charges “Unfair Labor Practice” To NLRB Over WGA’s Fi-Core Names Reveal

Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily: "This is clearly a case of fighting fire with fire. There's yet more fallout from that WGA East and West leadership's decision to make public to its members the names of those writers who went fi-core during the strike. Now the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (i.e. the AMPTP) has filed an 'unfair labor practice' charge against the Writers Guild East And West over it with the National Labor Relations Board."

Creating a Better Impression

Lifehack.org: "Sometimes I think I’m the shyest person on the planet. Back in the days when I was interviewing for jobs, I had a sad tendency to work myself into a tizzy about whether I was going to make a good impression. Over the years, I’ve done my best to calm down about introductions, by focusing on what I can do to improve my odds. I’ve found that thinking about what I can do can at least distract me from the worries I might have about a situation."

A Personal Time-Management Self-Assessment

Ian's Messy Desk: "As you hone and improve your productivity skills and systems, it’s a good idea to pause from time to time and assess how well you are implementing your time-management strategies."

I'm Going to the CMU School of Drama - What Computer Should I Bring?

Opinions vary. Overall, it seems like a lightweight laptop with long battery life capable of running WinXP. A sampling of student answers:

Whichever platform they are comfortable with right now. It is necessary to have Word, excel and maybe even PowerPoint for classes. I have a PC and Mac so I have choices. PC is my main platform and I have no problems with it when doing assignments.

There is little need for a certain computer, just as long as you can get work done on it and you feel comfortable using it. Some programs are native/only run on certain operating systems, so that may be a reason to go with that system, AutoCAD is a good example. We have access to different platforms through the many clusters on campus as well.

I worried about this myself before coming here, but what I have learned is that it really doesn't matter, and go with what you are comfortable with/ what you know. That being said, I like my mac. If you plan on using CAD, then you need an intel processor mac so that you can boot in windows when it comes time to open AutoCAD. Otherwise, you can find most applications will work for either platform. If you also CAD a lot, then don't worry about weight, get a large screen so you don't kill your eyes.

I've been very happy with a macbook pro 15.4" running both Mac OS and Windows XP. It allows me to run any program I need for any class at a reasonable speed, including CAD with 3D and Pro Tools. I would suggest that new students try to get a warranty that will last for their time at CMU, because many of us don't have money to replace it during college.

If they plan on being PTM students I would suggest a windows laptop of some sort. Specifically for SM/PM students they should have a full Microsoft Office package which includes publisher. A lot of drama students have Dell's from the Inspiron series. If they get a Dell they should get the 3 year gold package insurance, I have it and it's been really easy to have any problems fixed.

PC

Go with something dependable with a lot of ram, otherwise, any type of visualization software freezes up. I liked my Acer, but it seems to have had a short life. Anything you do for production management needs to be done on a PC because Mac's version of office does not work for what David has us do. IBM laptops seem to last without to much maintenance.

If they are PTM kids, looking to do Production/Stage Management, I found it difficult to use Microsoft on PCs while at school and then do the homework on my Mac...The interface is not, in fact, exactly the same, and I mostly did all my work at school. It was just too difficult.

I have a Macbook that runs 64 bit XP.
Pro: you have both, and it's really sexy.
Con: Windows programs are a little slower due to virtualization, but lag isn't that bad. If I'm doing something that needs a lot of resources, I reboot as XP.

This computer is awesome if you're like me and do both design and PTM (and pretty awesome if you have no idea what you'll be doing for the rest of your stay at CMU).

Tell them that a copy of Windows at the computer store costs like 15 dollars (or something ridiculously cheap), so they don't need to worry about the cost of the second OS.

Go for a laptop over a desktop.
Get on that is as small as you can deal with. Its so much easier to be able to have your computer available to use at school rather than having to use the cluster and you dont realize until you have carried around a computer for 4 years that 12'' is so much lighter than 14''.
(i would even say get a tiny 10'' laptop to carry and have a bigger keyboard and monitor in your room you can use.
Also go for the better battery, outlets are hard to come by in some classrooms and it sucks to have your computer die on you.
As for Mac vs. PC i would say a PC is better. Main reason AutoCad is not a mac based program and you will use AutoCad (but that only applies to DPs), there are other programs i have come across in the PTM world (calendar creator) that are only PC and I remember Jessika had tons of problems with excel transferring files from her mac to a pc (getpiviot data is hard enough to learn without something happening b/c your on a mac and david holcomb has a pc).
however, my next computer is going to be a mac over a pc, just becuase macs dont breakdown as much and there are lots of apple stores i can go to if something breaks and i have yet to find a dell or hp store and it sucks talking to people in India for 3 hours when you need to get your computer fixed.
and CMU is more of a mac campus.
but the only way i would get a mac over a PC is if it had windows on it.

so my final say is, if you can afford it get a mac with windows on it.
if not, get a PC and make sure it had a long lasting battery and its very light.

and dont get vista, you cannot print to trogdor or edit the ptm webpage on a vista computer.

also if you have a choice between something like a dell or some weird brand like segar, dont go for the weird brand, even if it is cheaper, no one will be able to help you fix it (i know from experience).

oh and tell them to get an external hard drive and to always back up your files.

A word on form factor:

13.3" or 14" widescreen is a great form factor for a laptop. I find mine easily portable but big enough for most tasks. I have a pc but Apple also makes a couple in that size now too. They are a good compromise of size and processing power.

If I were to do it again now I would get a simple and cheap ultra portable laptop with a small solid state hard drive for internet and word processing. Then I would have a more powerful desktop to leave at home to run more resource intensive programs on.

Laptop for sure is a must have. PC vs Mac is kinda irrelevant but I lean in favor of macs. Speed isn't an issue until you get to CAD 3D or Vectorworks Rendering, but small is nice to carry around on campus. I have a desktop also so that I can be more flexible and use less wireless bandwidth.

Purchase an apple computer. Runs faster, less susceptible to virus's. They also hold up well to being dropped several times (I would know).
Apple has good customer service, if theirs a problem you can speak to someone in plain English and have it fixed very quickly.
You can even install windows and run AutoCAD and the like. Its like having both operating systems in one.

Many people in drama have macs, I cannot speak for all of them, but I found the operating system to be smoother and Macs to be generally easier computers to use. For years there was a bog debate about macs and PCs for compatibility issues, recently, since 2006 this has been less of a problem due to the integration of intel processors into the full line of Macintosh computers. The campus computer store sells copies of Windows XP professional for $15 which will let students run boot camp on their macs and have a fully functional windows machine alongside their mac. Of course if there is no need for the macintosh side of the computer then students would be better off going with the PC option. The whole platform debate really comes down to what is comfortable for the user and what they are used to.

Laptops are a good idea, not that they would be used in all classes, but the ability to be portable when necessary is very nice. Just make sure that whatever computer you bring to drama is robust enough to handle very frequent use.

As far as software:
Microsoft office for sure
Autocad if you want to for class
Sound editing software is really nice (free from joe pino, i can't remember the url)
Photoshop or equivalent is nice as well

As far as my personal solution:

At home (in my dorm) I have a 24" Intel iMac with a 2.8 Ghz Core 2 duo processor, 2 GB of ram, and 500 GB of hard drive space

in addition I carry my 15" Powerbook G4, still a useful machine even though it is almost 3 years old, (Note: I bought this computer new back in high school and have just kept using it, I would only have one computer if it was not for this older machine and i would not necessarily by two new computers to come to college)

This has worked very well for me, I have had no problem making things work between platforms or integrating anything into the schools network.

Drama League unveils nominations

Variety: "Rialto’s “Young Frankenstein,” which Monday took the award-season lead with ten nods on the Outer Critics Circle list, and Off Broadway’s “The Adding Machine,” which cleaned up with six noms for the Lucille Lortel Awards, will vie for the new tuner trophy against six other productions: “A Catered Affair,” “Cry-Baby,” “Passing Strange,” “Xanadu,” “Next to Normal” and “The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island.”"

Russia bans play about deadly siege at Moscow theatre

The Independent: "A British playwright says her play about the Moscow theatre siege has been banned by Russian authorities after one performance."

Behind the music: Copyright abuse has to stop

Guardian Unlimited: "There's a line in Missy Elliott's hit Get Your Freak On that says: 'I'm copywritten, so don't copy me'. The line always irked me. I may be Swedish but, as a songwriter, copyright is a word I know and use regularly, and of course it should be 'I'm copyrighted'. Missy strikes me as a woman who also knows about copyrights and, judging from the ongoing trial, so does JK Rowling."

The Boys of ‘Billy Elliot’ Are Chosen for Broadway

New York Times: "It’s Saturday night in New York, Baby, and here are three guys at the top of their game, guys whose names will soon be in lights on Broadway, out looking for a good time. Introductions: the one in the madras jacket is David Alvarez, a cherub-faced charmer who hails from Montreal; over here is Kiril Kulish, the elder statesman of the three and, until recently, a left coaster; and the other is Trent Kowalik, the showbiz veteran, a worn Yankees cap slapped on his head with the insouciance of experienced celebrity."

Pittsburgh's City Theatre Plays the Love Game With 'Marriage Minuet'

Yahoo! News: "Billed as a 'contemporary sex farce about love and the literary life,' A Marriage Minuet concerns Douglas (played by Douglas Rees), a college professor and the writer of earnest books that don't sell. His wife, Lily (Helena Ruoti), is his best friend. Rex (Ross Bickell), a womanizer who writes best-selling potboilers, is married to Violet (Deirdre Madigan). When the couples change partners, the result is a dizzy dance complicated by a variety of young women, all played by Tami Dixon."

'Last Starfighter' Musical Will Land at Village Theatre in WA; 'Iron Curtain', Too

Yahoo! News: "Fred Landau and Walter Edgar Kennon's screenplay-inspired The Last Starfighter, gaining a cult following, has been seen in an Off-Broadway run, in a developmental reading at New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and in a full production at NYMF. There's also a cast recording in stores."

Stage Mother from Hell: Needy, Greedy Mama Rose

NPR: "Ever since she made her first appearance in the brassy, larger-than-life performance of Ethel Merman in 1959, Gypsy's Mama Rose has been a touchstone of musical theater."

Enter New Playwrights, Stage Left, in Denver

NPR: "During Kent Thompson's three years as artistic director, Colorado's Denver Center Theatre Company has become one of a handful of regional theaters regularly staging full-fledged productions of new work."

Arts institutions feeling impact of ailing economy

Seattle Times Newspaper: "When the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles was seeking to finance the purchase of art works, it did what cultural institutions often do to raise money: It issued bonds."

Budding opera stars learn to think on their feet in elite LA program

The Dallas Morning News: "They slide, run and leap, morphing into anxious cops and wily robbers.
It's a grown-up version of the classic playground game that forces the up-and-coming opera stars to think on their feet and react quickly to fellow performers."

Mobots skedaddle on record-breaking runs

The Tartan Online: "Between Spring Carnival headliners the Roots and Human Giant, a crowd of people gathered on the grass outside Wean Hall to watch the 14th annual Mobot races, an event with just as much heart — though slightly fewer arms, legs, and opposable thumbs. The term “mobots” is short for “mobile robots,” a blanket term for the competition’s self-contained, autonomous entries."

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

The Tartan Online: "This Carnival, Scotch ’n’ Soda proudly celebrated its 70th anniversary with a performance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. With shows running through all three days of Carnival, Scotch ’n’ Soda delivered power-packed performances and left audiences helpless with laughter."

Booths bring headlines to life

The Tartan Online: "This year’s Booth season, with strong first-time competitors, politically charged themes, and a couple of unfortunate accidents, was worthy of the theme “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”. Booth-building heavyweights and beginners alike were grateful for the sunny weekend, which brought a heavy traffic of students and alumni."

'Frankenstein' tops Outer Critics nods

Variety: "Comprised of journos who cover legit for media outlets based outside of Gotham, the Outer Critics Circle hands out awards to both Broadway and Off Broadway productions."

There’s a show waiting to replace ‘Spamalot,’ but will Wynn bite?

Las Vegas Sun: "After the quick closing of “Avenue Q” two years ago and last week’s announcement that “Spamalot” would end its run July 13, it may be a long time before the bright lights of Broadway shine again on a Steve Wynn property."

Technical minds meet fine art instincts

Las Vegas Sun: "Someone has to figure out the technological trickery that creates the sort of staggering stage magic for which Vegas is famous. And UNLV is taking the lead, inaugurating a multidisciplinary program merging engineering technical expertise with the creative instincts of the fine arts — with the priceless advantage of access to the largest laboratory in the world, the Las Vegas Strip."

Teens have to hustle for summer work

Marketplace: "Teens are going to have a tough time landing a summer job this year. They'll be competing with laid-off workers for the food service or retail work teens typically sign up for over summer vacation."

Yale to Cancel Controversial 'Abortion Art' Exhibit Unless Student Admits It's Fiction

FOXNews.com: "'In this case, we will not permit her to install the project unless she submits a clear and unambiguous written statement that her installation is a work of fiction: that she did not try to inseminate herself and induce miscarriages, and that no human blood will be physically displayed in her installation,' Yale College Dean Peter Salovey said in a statement released Monday."

Tracy Letts' 'August: Osage County' up for more awards

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Stage: "Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer-prize winning comedy, which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company last June, has been nominated for three Outer Critics Circle Awards including outstanding new Broadway play, outstanding director (Anna D. Shapiro) and outstanding actress in a play (Deanna Dunagan for her role of the prescription drug-addicted matriarch Violet Weston)."

Project Bandaloop comes inside for a while, with mixed results

San Francisco Chronicle: "Our locally based Project Bandaloop hasn't been seen much in Bay Area theaters for years. Amelia Rudolph's troupe of athlete-dancers, all skilled rock climbers, seems more likely to be spotted rappelling down Seattle's Space Needle or bounding off Yosemite's El Capitan."

3 ways to approach a killer tale

chicagotribune.com: "For at least a generation now, it's not uncommon to hear the assertion, 'I hate musicals.' One singular show serves as a fail-safe remedy to that misguided notion: Show them 'Sweeney Todd.'"

Boomer nostalgia invades Broadway

chicagotribune.com: "The rise of Barack Obama is seen by some as a final shift from the Boomer-ish battles of the '60s, the emblematic Jane Fonda versus John Wayne debate. Time magazine's Joe Klein has said: 'Everyone's sick of the Boomers. I'm sick of them, and I'm one of them.'"

Conservatory Hour

Monday, April 21

CLOWN FEST

In the Chosky Theatre

5:00 - 6:00pm

A global Goodman Theatre

chicagotribune.com: "After 20 years at the artistic helm of Chicago's pre-eminent theater company, Robert Falls was feted, saluted and otherwise glorified so many times that even the honoree became sick of it all."

Longenbaugh on Theater: Evicting the Arts

(Seattle Weekly): "How do you keep an arts scene from collapsing? Only five years ago Capitol Hill was Seattle's most vital performing-arts neighborhood, with around a dozen small venues filled year-round with theater, dance, and comedy. But the recent development frenzy is doing a good job of wiping much of that out."

Orlando opera, ballet fans resist plan to empty balcony

OrlandoSentinel.com: "Orlando's opera- and ballet-lovers are moving out of the balcony at Carr Performing Arts Centre. And that, the arts groups say, is a good thing."

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Presents GALA 2008

(BroadwayWorld.com): "The star-studded event includes a one-night-only performance of Fire from Heaven: A Celebration of the Imagination in Words and Music, an original presentation of storytelling and songs written and directed by ensemble member Tina Landau and featuring members of the Steppenwolf ensemble."

Stewart returns to his roots for 'Macbeth'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "One recent Monday at 8:30 p.m., Patrick Stewart found himself with nothing to do.
He didn't have to go to work -- his play 'Macbeth' was closed for the night. And Stewart, who has earned raves playing the doomed Scottish king, had not made any other plans."

'Rabbit Hole' a funny, touching play about family

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Director Rob Ruggerio is a long-time fan of playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's work.
He has already directed Lindsay-Abaire's 'Kimberly Akimbo' at TheaterWorks Hartford in Connecticut and his 'Wonder of the World' at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Mass."