Assessing Jeune Leune

Star Tribune: "The news that Theatre de la Jeune Lune would close was a shocker. How could it happen? And what are the implications for theater in the Twin Cities?"

A Roaring Success and Its Effects on Broadway

washingtonpost.com: "Even if you've never seen the musical 'The Lion King,' you might have heard rumbles about why for so long it's been, um, a rather Big Deal:
· It's a tireless Broadway phenomenon, so beloved (and still selling all its tickets) that it opened the Tony Awards telecast this year a full decade after it opened."

N.Y. producers plan new tax attack

Variety: "The Broadway League, the trade association of Rialto producers and presenters, has initiated a concerted effort to secure, initially from New York City but also from the state, the same sort of tax breaks offered to screen producers, who get tax credits of 30% on in-state, below-the-line costs, with an additional 5% in Gotham."

SAG President Doesn't Want to Hear Strike Talk

Backstage: "'We have taken no steps to initiate a strike authorization vote by the members of Screen Actors Guild,' Union President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement Sunday. 'Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction.'"

Hayes, Krakowski bring Damn Yankees to NY stage

Reuters: "There's an unwritten rule: Major stage shows just don't open in this town in the summer, which makes this coming New York weekend sound particularly inviting."

Hollywood counts down to labor cliffhanger

Reuters: "Hollywood's actors and studios traded last-minute barbs on Sunday, a day before their film and TV labor pact was due to expire with no announcement of a new three-year deal."

Cutting Email Down to Size «

Web Worker Daily: "IBM’s Luis Suarez is the latest social networker to argue for reducing your dependence on email as a productivity tactic. Tired of spending hours a day on email, Suarez worked to stop the cycle of emails generating emails, reducing his incoming stream by 80% in a week."

Fcc: FCC To Reevaluate "Embedded Advertising" On Television

Consumerist: "The FCC has announced that they will be examining the practice of 'embedded advertising' on television and will decide on what additional disclosure messages should be provided to protect the audience."

Working at Night is for Raccoons – Not You!

Stepcase Lifehack: "If you’re packing your computer or briefcase and lugging it home to do more work most days you gotta ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” When you’re sitting in front of the keyboard writing an email to someone at the office at midnight would your friends ask, “Aren’t there other things you’d rather be doing?” When you get your paycheck do you think, “I sure get paid well, that’s why I work all the time!” (I won’t even delve into you being hunched over your crackberry during meals, meetings, and otherwise merry-making time.)"

Coroflot Design Job of the Day: Senior CAD Textile Designer, Gap Inc., San Francisco, California

Core77.com: "Candidate actively researches current trends in color, textiles and styles (shops the market, attends outside fashion presentations). Fully responsible for creating and maintaining seasonal color palettes. May identify opportunities for increasing workflow efficiencies. May provide direction and guidance to lower level CAD Textile Designers as needed."

Ask The Readers: Can Social Tools Really Replace Email?

Lifehacker: "Tele-commuter and IBM 'social computing evangelist' Luis Suarez writes in the New York Times that he was able to cut down his weekly incoming email by 80 percent—seriously—by responding to messages that would normally start a chain reaction through wikis, blogs, and instant messaging instead."

Monday Master Class: A Crash Course in Student Time Management

Study Hacks: "I dispense a lot of academic advice on this blog. I’ve dived into the details of note-taking and exam review and paper writing. Loyal readers can casually toss around acronyms like Q/E/C and Q&R, and chat lightly about focused question clusters and flat outlines. These strategies make the academic piece of college life easier. Underpinning this advice, however, and acting as the productivity glue that holds everything together, is the arguably most crucial component: time management."

Jozef Szajna, 86, Writer of Quiet Protest in Poland, Dies

NYTimes.com: "Jozef Szajna, a Polish playwright, set designer and theater director who through often nearly wordless productions evoked the beastliness of humanity, the suffocation of individuality and the oppressiveness of dictatorship — gaining acclaim even during the Communist era — died on Tuesday in Warsaw. He was 86."

'Superior Donuts' - So, How Would You Like Your Culture Clash? Joke-Filled or Sugar-Glazed?

NYTimes.com: "Tracy Letts’s Pulitzer-and-everything-else-winning “August: Osage County” is a full theatrical meal, a nine-course tasting menu of family angst. His new play, “Superior Donuts,” which opened Saturday at the Steppenwolf Theater here, is a much less ambitious repast. It has a lot in common with the deep-fried breakfast food of the title. It’s insubstantial and sweet, with virtually no nutritional value."

Career rose in stalled elevator meeting

Variety: "Imagine the luck: A young actress on her way to an audition steps onto the elevator with the playwright herself, and on the way up, the car stalls, trapping the two strangers. That's how Holly Hunter met Beth Henley, and more than 25 years and a half-dozen collaborations later, it seems fair to say they have both benefited from that long-ago mechanical failure."

Hunter's hair softens, adds depth

Variety: "Long, tousled and Rapunzelesque, Holly Hunter's formidably feminine locks deserve mention as supporting actors in their own right, as they regularly serve to soften and add depth to her typically feisty characters."

Holly Hunter, in her own words

Variety: "The Oscar winner weighs in on a sampling of her most memorable roles."

Holly Hunter finds 'Grace'

Variety: "For every actress who receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a symbol appears denoting the arena -- film, television, theater, etc. -- where the majority of her fame was focused. For Holly Hunter, it could be a toss-up."

Earnings, education linked to evenings out: Statistics Canada

cbc.ca: "The more money you make and the more education you have, the more likely you are to go to movies, plays or concerts, says a Statistics Canada study released Thursday.
The report also suggests that the type of job a person has influences their choice to attend cultural events."

How To Write an Effective Thank You Note for Any Occasion

The Simple Dollar: "With graduation season recently passed and many early summer weddings ongoing, a lot of people are facing the task of writing a big pile of notes to friends and family, thanking them for their gift-giving generosity. I’ve faced down this big task several different times in my life - and interestingly enough, most of those occasions fell squarely in the middle of the month of June."

'Mr. Clock Radio' Wakes Up the Horror

The Underwire from Wired.com: "Everyone remembers iconic pop culture gifts like The Singing Bass and Dancing Flowers. Why do we recall these classic, gimmicky toys so clearly? It's for the same reason we recall the First World War, The Black Death or The Happening -- because they are all human tragedies that could have been avoided."

Shooing Your Work Demons: Time-Wasting Activities

FreelanceSwitch - The Freelance Blog: "Whether you freelance or not, if you’re like many working adults, you probably find yourself wishing there was more time in the week. If you work at home, time has an unusual way of slipping by."

Aspiring Actors, Whose Odds Are as Big as Their Dreams

NYTimes.com: "But, like so many aspiring actors taking a crack at the nation’s theater capital, Mr. Rodgers has been trying to save money any way he can. He is now looking for his third temporary home in three months, having exhausted what he called “the deal of the century” — $100 for two weeks in the East Side apartment of a friend of a friend of a friend. To get around town, he bought a bike for $75 from “this fellow, Carlos” he met on the street."

Theatrical Families Aren’t All Up on the Stage

NYTimes.com: "THAT the theater community functions as one big extended family is a cliché that might have been overheard four centuries ago at the Mermaid Tavern in London. Neither is it news that there are countless biological families within that larger family; audiences have watched generations of Barrymores, O’Neills, Rodgerses and Hammersteins pass through Shubert Alley. But the theater’s family businesses stretch well beyond those who put on the shows. Name a trade tangentially related to the stage, and you can find its version of the Booth clan. Here are a few."

The Greeks Hoist the Theatrical Flag of Scotland

NYTimes.com: "The idea of Scotland’s right to a national theater surfaced at least a century ago during a cultural independence movement. After a separate Scottish Parliament was elected in 1999, the issue rose to the top of the arts agenda again. In February 2006 the National Theater of Scotland commenced, with the young director Vicky Featherstone as chief executive, the even younger director John Tiffany as associate director and several other well-known theater innovators on board."

Stage review: Kander & Ebb musical pays 'Visit' to D.C.

Post Gazette: "A project with a long history, the musical version of 'The Visit' by John Kander and Freb Ebb is now being staged with Broadway-level credentials at Arlington's handsome new Signature Theatre, just across the Potomac from Washington, waiting to see if some Broadway producers finally pick it up."

LD Assistant Demo and Training LIVE over the Internet

Design & Drafting CAD News Feb. 2008: "Join us at your computer to see Design & Drafting's LD Assistant in action – as representative Rufus Warren demonstrates the most comprehensive design and visualization software solutions for the entertainment industry. LD Assistant is a single program solution; you don't need three software packages to get results."

New Class

99-333 Agriculture, Food and Environment

Instructors: Dr. Larry Patrick and Renee Roy

Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30-7:50 PM

Location: Porter Hall 125B

Fall 2008

Course Description

This course reifies Michael Pollan’s (2006) recent assertion that food must be good for the stomach and for the brain. Our present (omnivore’s) dilemma, as it were, is that we in America don’t think about our food. This course takes its participants from the mindless act of consuming food to the brink of true astonishment over the power and impact food production has exerted on the human race and on earth systems over the last ten thousand years. Students taking this course will encounter the agriculture revolution itself and its full impact on societal organization and on natural systems wherever it spread. Both historical and geographical approaches are used to bring students mindfully to their latest encounter with the foods they eat.

Detailed analysis will be given to the relationship of food production to the themes of 1) subsistence livelihood (anthropology and cultural geography), 2) food surplus and the rise of urban-based patriarchy (sociology), 3) the environmental impact of industry-model agriculture (ecology and political economy), 4) today’s agriculture in the context of peak oil (economics), 5) today’s agriculture and the question of its water/carbon footprint, and 6) contemporary, post-industrial farming practices including sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and urban/peri-urban farming in today’s metropolitan areas of the world. Please contact Larry Patrick (larrylpatrick@gmail.com) or Renee Roy (renee.roy@gmail.com) with any course-related questions.

Cinematographers guild blasts SAG

Variety: "With the Screen Actors Guild's contract talks showing negligible progress, the Intl. Cinematographers Guild has blasted SAG's leadership -- and SAG has hit back hard."

Stage Directions Launches 2008 High School Theatre Honors Program, Calls for Nominees

Stage-directions: "This September Stage Directions will feature some of the finest high school theatre programs in its 2008 High School Theatre Honors Program."

Fox Animated Series Future in Doubt

IGN: "As we reported previously, the new Mitch Hurwitz (Arrested Development) FOX animated series Sit Down, Shut Up reached a production snag involving a dispute with their writers. The studio, Sony Pictures Television, insists that the series be under an IATSE contract while the writers insist the show be under the WGA contract. The writers walked off the job, ceasing work until the matter is resolved."

Array of Fixtures Lights Chinese Landmark

PLSN: "The $220 million Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Center (SSCAC), a 150,000 square meter structure, is home to the region’s largest entertainment lighting system for a variety of attractions, including a wide array of equipment from ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls). These include the Grand Theatre with 1,200 seats and an 18-meter-by-18-meter proscenium stage, a 500-seat dinner theatre, seven movie theatres, an IMAX theatre, cafes, conference halls, an art gallery, a science and technology exhibition, a shopping center and gardens."

Capitol Films Nailed Over Financial Shortage

cinemablend.com: "You know the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”? That seems to be the motto for the independent comedy Nailed, which stars Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie has now been shut down four times due to financial problems."

Blood and show tunes: It's `Evil Dead: The Musical'

Examiner.com: "Adding the words “the musical” to a title is, in some cases, automatically funny. '‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore: The Musical.' 'Mein Kampf: The Musical.' 'Spider-Man: The Musical.' (Don’t laugh – that last one is real and coming to Broadway soon.)"

Stage is set New theatre to rival Broadway - National News, Frontpage

Independent.ie: "'That means we will have a venue that matches the world's great theatres and concert halls in its facilities, size and specifications so that all major productions that tour the world can be staged there. We will be hosting the best musicals as well as the major touring ballet, opera productions and drama.'"

Citing Sensitivity About 'Ragtime''s Racial Content, IL Park Officials Cancel Show

Yahoo! News: "The staging, set to play the outdoor Wallace Bowl in Gillson Park, part of the Wilmette Park District in suburban Chicago, was already in rehearsals by the company of more than 40 when they got their notice. According to the Pioneer Press, on June 25 Wilmette Park District executive director Tom Grisamore canceled the show because he was concerned that passersby on the park grounds who did not know the context of the show would take offense to the word 'nigger,' which is used several times in the script and score of the history-steeped show about racism, community, family and justice."

Actors Union Expected to Seek Contract Extension

Backstage: "With Hollywood actors' major film and TV labor contract set to expire in days, union negotiators are expected to seek an extension of the pact with studios, giving them more time to reach a deal and avoid a strike."

Contortionists, Muscle Men Star in Dreamy `Cirque': Review

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "You might skip a musical called ``Southern Pacific'' or ``Sunday in the Park with Joe.'' So be warned that ``Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy,'' which opened last night at New York's Broadway Theatre, isn't affiliated with the acclaimed, overexposed Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil."

Kindle's Bright Idea: College Textbooks

Gizmodo: "Here's one really smart idea that will convert a few Kindle-haters: textbooks. Princeton University Press join Oxford, Yale and the UC in putting some of their titles into e-book form, allowing students to bypass the used book store and directly download their textbooks onto their Kindles."

CAD Wars

Engineering Education for the Non-Civil Minded: "If you are a fan of Star Wars, you will really find this fascinating. This was created in Inventor."

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"

Metal-Cutting Circular Saw

Toolmonger: "With Milwaukee’s 8″ Metal-Cutting Saw you can cut 10-gauge sheet and 1/4″ plate steel all day long, with the convenience of cold-cutting and metal-shaving collection. With proper cutting techniques, Milwaukee claims that the saw can cut 3/4″ steel plate."

Cast Albums Shine a Light on Fresh Broadway Sounds

NYTimes.com: "You can also feel that breeze in the cast album of the Off Broadway show “Adding Machine” and a faint puff of fresh air in the quiet cast album of “A Catered Affair.” There are no plans for a “Cry-Baby” recording, but its witty rock ’n’ roll parody lyrics give the last twist of the knife to “Grease”-era nostalgia; it is now irredeemably camp."

Art Tutor for Senior Citizen

Craigslist: "We're looking for someone to come by once a week to help our Dad with small art projects, mostly water color painting."

Indep. Film, Seeking Camera Man/Woman

Craigslist: "Low-budget indie producer is seeking an aspiring cinematographer to assist in shooting scenes for local full-length feature movie."

PICT board members clash with artistic director

Post Gazette: "In the midst of another artistically successful season, with box office figures just about matching expectation, the Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre has seen the recent mass defection of the five-person executive committee and another half-dozen members of the board of directors."

'Cirque' looks hot to globe-trot

Variety: "Over a five-week period this fall, Cirque will be opening a productions in Macau, Las Vegas and Tokyo, at an estimated total cost of close to $500 million. That's a giant leap forward for an organization that began by mounting one new show every two years."

Stage Review: 'Arrivederci, Al!' is dinner theater with a deadly family

Post Gazette: "The general rule about dinner theater is that it's rarely very good as either. So sending both the drama and restaurant critics might seem like double jeopardy. But given an audience willing to join in and have fun, the experience can add up to something better than the sum of its parts."

Woman returns from L.A. to direct play

Post Gazette: "Director Colleen Reilly, a screenwriter who has lived in Los Angeles for a decade, is the eldest daughter of Saint Vincent theater director and faculty member Joe Reilly. So the stage of Saint Vincent Theatre is as familiar to her as the house in which she grew up."

St. Vincent Theatre brings Jules Verne classic to stage

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The play, set to open today at the Carey Performing Arts Center at St. Vincent College, near Latrobe, invites audience members to journey along with Fogg, played by David Cabot, as he and the rest of the cast encounter stampeding elephants, raging typhoons, runaway trains and more."

Familiar voice will guide Pittsburgh Opera

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Pittsburgh Opera artistic director Christopher Hahn was promoted to general director Wednesday evening at a meeting of the board of directors.
He succeeds Mark Weinstein, who left in January to become executive director of Washington National Opera in the nation's capital."

Pittsburgh Opera names new director

Post Gazette: "The Pittsburgh Opera last night promoted artistic director Christopher Hahn to be its new general director.
Mr. Hahn, who joined the opera company in 2000, succeeds Mark Weinstein, who left for Washington National Opera in January."

Dennis DeYoung's 'Hunchback' Musical Extended in Chicago

Yahoo! News: "This is billed as the world-premiere production of the epic musical. The Hunchback of Notre Dame opened May 19 after previews from May 8. The musical has book, music and lyrics by DeYoung, known for song hits 'Lady,' 'Come Sail Away' and 'Mr. Roboto.'"

SAG Says Studios Offered More to Sister Union

Backstage: "The Screen Actors Guild on Wednesday accused major Hollywood studios of offering a contract deal worth less than an agreement approved by the leaders of a smaller actors union."

Current SAG-AFTRA Battle has Roots in 1980 Strike

Backstage: "It was summer, and the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists were tangling with Hollywood producers over payment for work in emerging media, which would profoundly change the entertainment industry for decades. At one point, after a long, drawn-out battle, one union wanted to end the turmoil and get back to work, while the other indicated that it wanted to keep fighting."

Current SAG-AFTRA Battle has Roots in 1980 Strike

Backstage: "It was summer, and the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists were tangling with Hollywood producers over payment for work in emerging media, which would profoundly change the entertainment industry for decades. At one point, after a long, drawn-out battle, one union wanted to end the turmoil and get back to work, while the other indicated that it wanted to keep fighting."

Actors Make Web Videos to Lampoon Rival Union

Backstage: "While their unions are battling over contracts, some actors are finding comedy in the controversy. In the past few weeks, at least seven satirical short videos about the relationship between the Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have hit the Web. All of them contain messages opposing the conduct of AFTRA, the AMPTP, or both."

Unemployment: 8 Things You Shouldn't Say In A Job Interview

Consumerist: "Most of us know that looking for a job can be a job in itself, but there are few things in life more dreaded than the job interview. Even if you remember to spit out your gum and offer a firm and confident handshake, there is a myriad of conversational land-mines which must be avoided. CNN in partnership with CareerBuilder has assembled 8 things that you shouldn't say during a job interview."

White-Spaces Debate Hits Broadway

Broadcasting & Cable: "Broadway-theater owners squared off with the technology industry Wednesday over the issue of using those white spaces (opponents of the devices call them 'interference zones') between DTV channels for unlicensed mobile devices like laptops and spectrum-sensing radios."

Arts Management

Carnegie Mellon University: "Starting in fall 2009, students will earn both a master's degree in arts management from IMCE and a master's degree in innovation and organization of culture and the arts from the University of Bologna's School of Economics. To complete, the program will take between 28 and 30 months, or six academic terms — with classes held in Bologna and Pittsburgh."

Theatre de la Jeune Lune to Close

The Clyde Fitch Report: "The Board of Directors of the Twin Cites-based Theatre de la Jeune Lune voted this week to list the theatre's headquarters for sale and to shut down the arts group as currently organized. Included in the decision is a planned significant reduction in artistic and administrative staff, effective July 31, 2008."

4 Contacts Every Web Worker Should Have «

Web Worker Daily: "Many business deals depend so much on networking. This may sound unfair, but sometimes our success in business is more about who you know than how good you really are. It also usually follows that the more varied your contacts are, the more insights and opportunities you’ll encounter."

to reuse or invest greener?

ecoTheater: "And so I pose the question: is it better to use the old (but still usable) paint, or ditch it and invest in less toxic paints? Keep in mind, I work for a children’s theater, and so much of the scenery and many of the props will be used and handled by kids. Some of them will even help work on the props as they are created, so exposure to toxins is not out of the question."

Design (WIT #276)

American Theatre Wing: "The panel of lighting designers Jules Fisher (Ragtime) and Donald Holder (The Lion King), scenic designers Eugene Lee (Ragtime) and Ming Cho Lee (The Public Theater), and The Lion King associate costume designer Mary Peterson discuss the challenges of designing their current shows, how sets, lighting, and costumes complement each other, display and detail a costume from The Lion King, and present a model of one of the Ragtime sets."

Disney's theater unit ups Schrader

Variety: "Disney Theatrical Group's David Schrader has been upped to the newly created role of executive vice president, overseeing strategic planning for the division including finance, marketing, sales and public relations for Disney on Broadway as well as its national touring, merchandising, international co-prods and licensing operations."

`Rent' Producer Seeks Break to Give Broadway `White Christmas'

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "McCollum said he's in talks to rent the 1,611-seat Marquis Theatre, which became available on Sunday when ``Cry-Baby'' closed. He said he'll have just 7 1/2 weeks to break even on a show that's big by Broadway standards -- 24 musicians and 32 performers."

The Last Week of the Tour...

Lynn Allen's Blog: "Free Download of Inventor LT 2009!
Inventor LT 2009 has been posted and is available for download! Here you will find the next best thing to the full Inventor package (Autodesk's solid modeling package for manufacturing). Be sure to visit labs.autodesk.com (the land of awesome 'FREE' stuff) to download it."

Will Bebe Neuwirth Star in Addams Family Musical on Broadway?

Playbill News: "The New York Post reports that Neuwirth will play Morticia Addams in the new musical The Addams Family, which will bow on Broadway during the 2009-2010 season. The New York daily also says that Tony winner Nathan Lane, currently on Broadway in November, has been offered the role of Gomez, but he has yet to accept the role."

U.S. Premiere of Shepard's Kicking a Dead Horse Rides Into Town June 25

Playbill News: "The two-hander concerns Americana art dealer Hobart Struther who heads West in search of the 'real thing,' but all he gets is a dead horse and an existential crisis. Shepard penned the role of art dealer Hobart Struther especially for Academy Award nominee Rea. Piszel will be seen in the non-speaking role of Young Woman."

'Colored' revival set for Sept. 8

Variety: "The Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf,” starring India.Arie and produced by Whoopi Goldberg, will begin previews Aug. 19 for a Sept. 8 opening at the Circle in the Square Theater."

'White Christmas' on Broadway?

Variety: "Though 'Cry-Baby' has shed its last tear, the Marquis Theater on Times Square might not be vacant for long. Lead producers Kevin McCollum and Jeffrey Seller are looking to bring their seasonal touring production 'White Christmas' to Broadway for a holiday engagement starting before Thanksgiving -- provided they can make the tough limited-run economics work."

Taiwan Considers Letting Chinese Stars Perform

Backstage: "Taiwan is considering letting mainland Chinese stars perform on the island amid warming ties between the two rivals, a Taiwanese official said Tuesday."

Cathy Rigby stars in 'Peter Pan'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "At an age when a lot of us confine our physical activity to climbing in an out of a golf cart or lifting a beer and cheering at a baseball game, Cathy Rigby is soaring, tumbling and turning cartwheels as Peter Pan."

Stage Review: 'Peter Pan's' magic appeals to the kid in everyone

Post Gazette: "If the thought of never growing up didn't appeal to you before, it will after you see Pittsburgh CLO's production of 'Peter Pan.' Who wouldn't want to stay a kid and fly through the air with Cathy Rigby, who apparently has this eternal youth thing down pat?"

How to Reduce Camera Shake - 6 Techniques

digital Photography School: "In this post photographer Natalie Norton explores 6 ways you can hand hold lenses at low apertures and low shutter speeds and still avoid blurry images caused by camera shake."

Minneapolis' Tony-winning Jeune Lune to close

Yahoo! News: "Theatre de la Jeune Lune, which won a Tony Award in 2005 as the nation's outstanding regional playhouse, is closing at the end of July. The performance company's board voted Saturday for the closure."

In debt, Jeune Lune will close

TwinCities.com: "The board of the idiosyncratic, relentlessly visionary performance company voted the company out of existence at an emotional meeting Saturday. The Jeune Lune name will evaporate after three decades on the local cultural landscape; the theater's home in Minneapolis' Warehouse District will be put up for sale to repay a debt that has grown to the $1 million mark in recent years."

How Tony victories will change Chicago

chicagotribune.com: "Instead of watching the customary likes of Vanessa Redgrave, Cherry Jones or Phylicia Rashad walk off with the Tony for best actress in a play, Chicago theatergoers were confronted instead with the eye-popping, podium-bound sight of Deanna Dunagan—a no-nonsense, 68-year-old Chicago actress whom they've watched pound away on this city's myriad rough-hewn boards for decades."

Headache for SAG

Backstage: "SAG celebrated its 75th anniversary this weekend in the face of a grim reality: There are only eight days left to negotiate a deal with the major producers and studios"

German Stage Director Klaus Michael Grueber Dies, Aged 67

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "The influential German theater and opera director Klaus Michael Grueber died in France last night, a statement from Berlin's Schaubuehne theater said. He was 67."

Letts Scores Tony, Pulitzer, Laughs With Comedy-Drama `Osage'

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "Sitting in an elegant suite at New York's Carlyle Hotel, playwright Tracy Letts wore faded jeans and a T-shirt and passed up an iced bucket of Veuve Clicquot champagne for a humble cup of coffee."

Resource Review 1: Invitiation to the Party

Theatre Ideas: "Walker-Kuhne, who was head of audience development for the Public Theatre and the Dance Theatre of Harlem, clearly outlines a general approach to diversifying your audience that is based on an ongoing relationship based on trust and dialogue. She outlines 'ten tools for building audiences'"

You know, they rent fences… and security services…

Backstage at BackstageJobs.com: "Central Coast Shakespeare Festival, held for the past five years in San Luis Obispo, CA, was abruptly canceled when the school that owns the performance site decided the festival was unsafe"

Goodman Theatre’s top-notch recruitments

Chicago Theater Blog: "In the world of professional sports (and college sports for that matter), recruitment is everything. Entire sportscasts are dedicated to the subject of which team has recruited which top sports talent. Additionally, successful recruitment is often accredited to successful seasons."

Andre Braugher returns to a very familiar 'Hamlet'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "If not for a twist of fate many years ago, Andre Braugher would likely be an engineer right now.
A very intense engineer, but an engineer nonetheless."

Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Innovative Tony-Winning Regional Troupe, to Shut Down

Playbill News: "In the great wilderness of non-traditional theatre in the United States, a tree has fallen. The board of directors of the ambitious, Tony Award-winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis, MN, voted to list the theatre's headquarters for sale and to shut down the arts group as currently organized."

Theater looking for possible Stage Crew members

Craigslist: "McKeesport Little Theater is looking for people to be members of the Set/Stage Crew for their production of Once Upon a Mattress."

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"

Who's in, who's out?

The Artful Manager: "One of the fascinating series of discussions at the National Performing Arts Convention have hovered around what constitutes a ''national performing arts community.'' Given the convening of this event by national service organizations for formally organized, primarily nonprofit cultural organizations, the bias in the perspectives is probably obvious: the ''performing arts community'' includes nonprofit and public institutions, artists, audiences, and supporters in artistic disciplines we know."

Two-week 'experience' focuses on theater in Mon Valley

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The Mon Valley Performing Arts Academy has a few openings left in its Summer Experience 2008.
Applications are available for enrollment in the summer theater school sponsored by California University of Pennsylvania's Department of Theater and Dance."

Broadway Is Fresh and Eclectic This Year. So Why Is the Tony Ceremony So Stale?

NYTimes.com: "Some observers of this enjoyably eclectic and unusually solid Broadway season might want to make that case, but you would expect the Tony producers to take a more sanguine view of the current scene. Instead this year’s telecast seemed desperate to erase distinctions between the nominated shows and the (often justly) overlooked, between seasons present and past."

Stephen Rea and Sam Shepard, Together Again With ‘Kicking a Dead Horse’

NYTimes.com: "TALK about tall, dark and silent. Better yet, don’t, because that would interrupt Stephen Rea’s intense concentration on the computer-screen footage he’s watching of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin in “Limelight.”"

Nicholas Martin Breaks Eggs to Make a Theatrical Omelet

NYTimes.com: "HE remembers it as if it were yesterday. Or certainly second grade. The Brooklyn Musical School Playhouse on St. Felix Street staged the tragic legend of Humpty Dumpty, and Nicholas Martin, then just plain little Joel Martin Levinson, made his theatrical debut as the star."

In ‘Bash’d,’ Two Canadians Use Bawdy Rap to Fire Back at Gay-Bashers

NYTimes.com: "ENJOYING cocktails after a fatiguing rehearsal for “Bash’d,” a “gay rap opera,” Chris Craddock and Nathan Cuckow, the show’s Canadian writers and actors, recalled an evening nearly a year ago. Having just performed at the New York International Fringe Festival, they were strolling down a Greenwich Village street when, Mr. Cuckow said, a young man passed them and hissed an anti-gay slur."

'August' writer dives into 'Donuts'

Variety: "So one could understand if Letts were suffering some personal anxiety, trying to figure out what comes next amid unfamiliar pressure. But in this case, Letts already knew. Before 'August' even opened last July at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, where Letts is an ensemble member, 'Superior Donuts' had been slated for production, also at Steppenwolf, based on a first act draft he had shown to artistic director Martha Lavey. It opens June 28."

OSF Commissions Award-Winning Artists for U.S. History Cycle

Stage-directions: "Alison Carey, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's director of American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle, and Artistic Director Bill Rauch have announced the first theater artists to be commissioned for the 37-play, 10-year History Cycle, the largest commissioning and production project in the Festival's 73-year history."

UI's Hancher Auditorium Flooded by Iowa River

PLSN: "Hancher Auditorium is among 16 buildings on the University of Iowa campus, most located on the arts campus, that have been flooded by the Iowa River. Sally Mason, UI president, said it was too early to know the full extent of the damage, but said the auditorium was inundated to stage level, according to reports. Alan MacVey, chairman of the UI theatre arts department and director of the division of performance arts, saw much of the damage first-hand and described it as “horrible.”"

Sit Down writers take stand

C21Media:: "This new strike could have been avoided had the Writers Guild of America (WGA) not dropped its appeal for guaranteed first-time jurisdiction over animated series, which it did to end its own three-month strike in February. Scribes on Sit Down, Shut Up have stopped work in order to try to win representation from the Guild."

Sit Down, Shut Up writers stand up and walk out

TV Squad: "The writers for the new animated FOX show Sit Down, Shut Up have walked out, saying they were misled by Sony Pictures. They thought that under the agreement reached a few months ago they would be represented by the Writer's Guild of America but Sony actually has them covered under the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Under their rules, writers don't get all those things they fought for, including new media (online, DVD, etc) money or even residuals."

Subscribe to Quantum Theatre's 2008 - 2009 season!

There's still time to subscribe to Quantum's exciting new season, including an outdoor take on Shakespeare in collaboration with the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, a surreal journey through the Frick Art & Historical Center's collection, a flamenco folktale, and a contemporary drama of friendship and betrayal.

Cymbeline
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Karla Boos
July 31 - August 24, 2008
Outdoors in Mellon Park

The Museum of Desire
From a story by John Berger
Directed by Dan Jemmett
November 6 - 23, 2008
The Frick Art & Historical Center

Yerma
By Federico Garcia Lorca
Directed by Melanie Dreyer
Location to be Announced
January 29 - February 22, 2009

Mouth to Mouth
By Kevin Elyot
Starring Karla Boos
Location to be Announced
April 2 - 26, 2009

More About Us
ProArts Tickets

Long Wharf Theatre’s 2008-2009 Next Stage Residency

Positions are still available for Long Wharf Theatre’s 2008-2009 Next Stage Residency Program!

While all of our artistic positions have been filled, we are still looking for enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable residents in the areas of Electrics, Props and Sound. Below is a description of the program taken off our website, and I am attaching an application should you know of anyone who may be interested. We haven’t had much luck in finding viable applicants in these areas!

Obviously we are still taking applications in those three areas, and a quick email to me from any possible applicants would be greatly appreciated! Thanks…

Next Stage is our Early Career Development Program, which is dedicated to engaging and employing a new generation of diverse theatre artists, administrators and leaders.

Residents will work among professionals to learn from hands-on experience and be exposed to the many elements that make a professional theater work.

Besides the individual experience for each Resident position, Next Stage will offer seminars and networking opportunities, as well as the chance to produce a theatrical event highlighting the skills and talents of the Next Stage Program participants.

NEXT STAGE RESIDENT PROGRAM: 2008-2009 SEASON

A Resident is an early career professional working in a specific field gaining hands-on experience and engaging professionals on a daily basis. A Resident is a seasonal full-time position, 2008-2009 dates to be announced.

Benefit Package:

* Weekly Stipend of $100 * Housing (including utilities) is provided * Seminars and Educational Forums * Complimentary tickets to all Long Wharf Theatre Productions * Networking opportunities * Residents will be welcomed at all general staff functions * Residents will be assigned Mentors from the staff. * Job Placement assistance

The Residents participate in and run Next Stage Productions, and present a theatrical event to the public as a showcase of their talents.

Residents are selected by application and interview. Applications received before April 15 will be given first consideration, however we will continue to accept applications until all positions are filled.

We are currently accepting applicants for the 2008-2009 season:

Long Wharf Theatre Next Stage Job Descriptions for the THREE areas we are still in need of. 2008-2009

Lighting This Resident will work primarily with the Master Electrician in hanging and focusing, creation of special effects, assisting in the run of the show, board operation and the maintenance of lighting equipment.

Props The Prop Resident will work hands-on with the properties department in the construction and acquisition of all props for each production, including rehearsal props. Candidates should have a basic understanding of the safe use of all basic power and hand tools, be able to lift furniture, and possess a valid drivers license, with a clean driving record. The Resident will work closely with staff artisans and carpenters, as well as designers, stage managers and directors.

Sound This Resident will gain experience with the Sound Supervisor, in areas of sound design, sound engineering, playback systems, equipment maintenance, sound editing, and will gain board operation experience on all Stage II shows.

J-o-b - TD (Animation)

Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Job Type Preferred Arts/Entertainment Geographic Location Preferred California-Los Angeles/Riverside/Orange/Ventura Job Category Preferred Full-Time Job Postings Application Deadline 08/4/2008 Job Title Technical Director Job Description Summary of Job: The Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank Ca is looking for a Jr. Technical Director. This is an entry Level Position. CG artist with limited or no production experience, but has CG skills comparable to working professionals. Artist is required to have expected skill set, knowledge of Maya, and meet required production deadlines. • Work with each Lead Artist and Technical Director to create rigs for characters, sets, and props • Support CG Artists and Technical Directors with hierarchy set up and skinning • Candidate required to have fundamental rigging skills within Maya • Aid in the research, development and implementation of new tools and techniques. Job Requirements HOW TO APPLY: To apply for this position, you must submit your resume online and reel directly to the animation studio. Before we can review your portfolio, you must fill-out a portfolio release form. To download the form please go to: http://nas.nick.com/SubmissionReleaseForm.pdf Mail the completed form along with your portfolio to: Attn. Portfolio Submissions, 231 West Olive Avenue, Burbank, CA 91502. Please include a cover letter and resume stating the position or positions to which you are applying. Thank you for your interest in Nickelodeon Animation Studios! Salary Information NA Requested Items Cover Letter

Contact Information

Employer : Nickelodeon Animation Studio Recruiter : Alison Mann Apply Online : Yes

J-o-b - TV

Studio Manager / Camera Operator / Production Support

Principal Duties:

SUPPORT all Studio, ENG, EFP and video-related activities and production involving multiple camera types, freelance and staff crews, tape stock, formats, support hardware, light and grip inventory and applications.

Maintain the studio operations which are not limited to NP Studio only but include location productions as well. NP productions may at times be scheduled seven days a week.

Liaison between freelance community and NPP.

Liaison between hardware vendors and NPP.

Ability to serve multiple production positions including but not limited to camera operator, audio, record, grip, teleprompter operator, etc.

Prep of gear and support hardware for next-day productions.

Management of production gear that may need picked up and or dropped off prior to and after productions.

Must work well with people, be a good communicator, have schedule flexibility and proficient with Microsoft Office applications. Operation of all production equipment including:

Basic working knowledge of NP production equipment, (new) and trusted video formats including lighting/grip equipment.

Camera systems including acquisition that is both tape-based and tapeless in workflow.

Audio recording systems applied to audio for ENG and EFP applications.

Prompter operation.

Basic lighting w/ in-house lighting packages as well as rented inventory when needed.

Studio lighting controls and applications. Accountability for all NP production equipment including:

Prep and Post-shoot needs for incoming and outgoing production packages.

Check-ins after usage and its proper storage.

Daily or end-of-day review of scheduled next day productions.

Communication with Account Personnel, Directors, Production Coordinator and Producers

Maintenance of all NPP equipment:

Basic maintenance of all NP equipment.

Reports for all equipment sent out of house for repair with mgmt approval.

Maintain production fleet including inspections, general regular service call, cleaning, fueling, weekly visual inspections and parking.

Maintain studio expendables inventories.

Maintain reasonable level of expendable resources for use in the studio and in the production vehicles.

Order expendables as needed using proper PO and management clearances. This will include the purchase of: Gels, diffusion, lamps. tape stock, labels, paint and production supplies, vehicle fuel, studio cleaning supplies, camera/lens cleaning supplies

General tasks to be done on open days will include the following:

General cleaning of front of building front walkways during winter season.

Support of in-house general maintenance around building: changing lamps, loading dock cleaning and organization.

Labeling all production tape stock with NP labels.

Supervise interns and log hours for reporting purposes.

Retrieve all freelancer reports approve or submit to producer, director or operations manager. Compensation Package:

Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

Must have a minimum of years established in the industry

Must have three professional references. College, internship and or personal references will not be considered. Resumes and brief cover letter should be sent to studiomanager@new-perspective.com

Cable Carriers for the Stage

Entertainment Engineering - Volume 5 Issue 6: "The cable carriers used for KA, Cirque du Soleil’s high-tech show in Vegas, were installed on each of the show’s five stages to support the large number of wires and cables used to control the show’s electronics."

Fire Engine Experience

Entertainment Engineering - Volume 5 Issue 6: "Formations Inc. of Portland, OR was contracted to design an immersive ride focusing on the experience one would have while riding in a real America LaFrance Eagle Fire Engine cab. Their client, the Portland Fire Bureau had a donated front cab section from a real fire engine, complete with most of the electrical systems. The vacant engine compartment became the AV (audio-visual) systems bay and the cabin interior became a virtual theater where visitors could experience the sights, sounds, and feelings of being a fire fighter during an emergency response call."

LEDs On Board Queen Victoria

Entertainment Engineering - Volume 5 Issue 6: "'The Stufish design for the Queen Victoria naming ceremony stage invoked the luxury of a Victorian-style theatre,' says Ala Pratt. 'Blackout helped to create the atmosphere by providing drapes for the Royal and VIP areas, the main tabs plus the blacks, and gauze used for the final reveals.'"

Previsualisation Brings the Spiderwick Chronicles to Life

Entertainment Engineering - Volume 5 Issue 6: "The Spiderwick Chronicles movie is filled with creatures from an 'unseen' world. The various creatures the movie’s actors come upon in the film range in size from the nine-inch brownie, Thimbletack, to the ten-foot fearsome ogre Mulgarath. With so many unusual and complicated non-human characters in The Spiderwick Chronicles, the film’s producers knew the job of creating them might be best split between two visual effects wizards: Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Tippett Studio."

Answers About Acrylic

Sign Builder: Acrylic is a plastic product that's proven ideal for achieving a sophisticated look. Another advantage: It can also be heated to conform to many different shapes.

Why Hardboard?

Sign Builder: What most people call Masonite is more correctly called Hardboard or Hardwood Board. Masonite is a brand name of the Masonite Corporation for a hardboard product appropriately named for William Mason

The Real Deal With DPI

Sign Builder: We've Been dealing with digital prints and wraps for the last year or so, and I've noticed one thing that's never been talked about but I think is really important - "DPI"

Stage Review: Constraints limit dramatic impact of 'This Furnace'

Post Gazette: "Thomas Bell's epic 1941 novel of three generations of Slovak immigrants, as originally adapted for the stage 30 years ago by Pittsburgh's Ironclad Agreement, has now been revived by Unseam'd Shakespeare in a production rich in the human issues of the molding of new Americans in the blast furnaces of capitalism."

Tony-winning Rylance calls on Brits to copy Broadway

The Stage: "Rylance, who received the Best Lead Actor in a Play Award for his performance in the US transfer of Boeing Boeing, said that he had been impressed by the way Broadway used the Tony ceremony to market shows."

Copyright cock-up

globeandmail.com: "Want to rip a DVD so you can show your film-class students a series of clips? Nope. Want to post a Battlestar Galactica tribute video to YouTube? Time to hire a lawyer."

Today, Harvard. Tomorrow ... ?

Inside Higher Ed: "It may seem strange for me, an ordinary mortal, to be defending Harvard’s $34 billion endowment. But we all know the way government works: today it’s Harvard, tomorrow it’s my $34 billion or maybe my 1993 Lexus. Because our government, acting through the Senate Finance Committee, has started to reach into private pockets, where it does not belong."

Clean Is Good

ExhibiTricks: "One downside of 'hands-on' exhibits is that visitors hands can be pretty dirty! Nothing makes a museum or exhibit component look 'poorly maintained' than grime and stains. I really think exhibit vandalism happens less in well-cared for and clean environments, so here are a few favorite tools to help you keep things looking fresh"

Changing the players, and the game

The Artful Manager: "But my full week in Denver, with the 12-hour days of convening and observing with the graduate student team I was co-directing there -- along with Elizabeth Lingo of Vanderbilt University and Caroline Lee of Lafayette College -- left me with a much clearer sense of our field's capacity for collective action. Full details of our findings will be published in our commissioned report in a few months. But my own reflections -- which may or may not reflect the opinions of my peers -- suggest the following"

Video - How Does David Copperfield Fly?

Dvorak Uncensored: General interest observations and true web-log.

Compendium of odd alarms

Boing Boing Gadgets: "Techopolis finds twenty-two of the weirdest alarm clocks available, from 110db Screaming Meanies to contraptions that roll off and hide when activated."

Healing continues following church floor collapse

CanadianChristianity.com: "'WHAT SATAN intended for evil God has turned into something positive,' says Central Heights Church executive pastor Steve Boakes.
Boakes is referring to the aftermath of the collapse of the church floor during a Starfield concert April 25."

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"

Entertainment Weekly Names Top 50 New Stage Classics

Playbill News : "In the 1,000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, which hits newsstands June 20, the editors have chosen the 1,000 best films, television shows, recordings, books, stage productions and more of the last quarter-century."

Weinstein Co. Eyes "Chocolat," "Shakespeare in Love," "Cinema Paradiso" as Future Musicals

Playbill News : "Variety reported June 20 that The Weinstein Company is exploring making musicals of the Miramax films 'Shakespeare in Love,' 'Chocolat,' 'Cinema Paradiso' and 'Shall We Dance.' Bob and Harvey Weinstein ran Miramax before they helmed The Weinstein Company, which has film, TV, publishing and stage interests."

Weinsteins are bound for Broadway

Variety: "The Weinstein Co. -- a minority co-producer on the season's Tony-winning play and play revival, 'August: Osage County' and 'Boeing-Boeing,' respectively -- has developed an ambitious slate of stage projects, likely to kick off with the upcoming tuner version of 'Finding Neverland' in 2010, followed by a stage incarnation of Pink Floyd album 'The Wall.'"

Stage Preview: 35 years of 'Peter Pan' puts a spring in Rigby's step

Post Gazette: "Gymnastics and theater call upon some obviously similar physical skills. But the difference between them, says Cathy Rigby, who has been a champion in both, is that 'gymnastics is about not thinking or feeling, but acting is all about playing in the moment.'"

The innocent goes to a Tony party

Post Gazette: "Go to a Tony party, I was told. The after-parties are really where it's at.
But how?
To wangle an invitation?"

Fledgling theater company invites audience to 'Wild Party'

Post Gazette: "It's summer vacation time, so a little carousing by kids is to be expected.
But one group of young people is taking its wild party to the stage, and not only do these youths invite others to join in, they hope to make it a regular event."

Never say never to Neverland

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "In 1974, a 22-year-old Cathy Rigby first soared onstage as Peter Pan.
Thirty-four years later, she's still flying high as the boy who vowed never to grow up."

'Peter Pan': A history on stage, screen

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Numerous performers have played Peter Pan in plays and musicals since he first appeared onstage in 1904."

Noble Theatre throws 'Wild Party' for inaugural show

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The father-son duo chose the offbeat 2000 Off-Broadway musical to formally introduce area theatergoers this weekend to their new production company, Noble Theatre Productions."

Greta Scacchi's West End worries

guardian.co.uk: "It's a familiar complaint and one voiced only recently by Kevin Spacey. But Scacchi takes things further, suggesting a scheme she hopes will generate greater word of mouth for dramatic productions. As reported by The Stage, she consulted the show's producer Nica Burns on the matter, and as a result, questionnaires were produced asking audience members things like 'How would you describe this production to a friend?' and 'On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate this production?'"

Broadway's `Cry-Baby' to Close Sunday, a Tony, Box-Office Flop

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "``Cry-Baby,'' a musical based on the John Waters movie of the same name, will close Sunday after 113 performances at Broadway's Marquis Theatre. It probably will have lost its entire $10-million-plus capitalization."

Drawing a Simple 3D Stairway

Daily Autocad: "I have talked about drawing a 3D straight stairway in my last article. This time I will explain a 3D circular one. Please remember, the way mentioned here is just one method, you can develop your own method."

Autodesk Wii

The CAD Geek Blog: "I have to admit, when I made that post it was meant more as a joke. Afterall this is a CAD blog, not a Nintendo Wii blog. However this morning I saw a strange post come up in my feed reader – Scott Sheppard over at the “It’s alive in the lab” blog made a post “Wiimote Navigation Add-in for Autodesk Design Review Now Available”. All of a sudden that post back in February about Nintendo Wii didn’t seem so foolish."

City Theater Invites Bloggers to a Show! (RSVP by July 3rd!)

pittsburgh bloggers: "City Theatre announces a special summer engagement of 'The Wonder Bread Years,' a hilarious one-man show by former 'Seinfeld' writer Pat Hazell. An open-ended run of this hit comedy will begin Thursday, July 10, 2008 in City Theatre¹s Lester Hamburg Studio. Anyone who remembers Silly Putty and Sugar Pops will love this entertaining salute to Baby Boomer culture, performed at City Theatre by John Mueller."

Career in Creatures: A Stan Winston Art Retrospective

I09: "With the sad news earlier this week that special effects master Stan Winston had died, Hollywood lost one of its master creature-makers. Though Winston's studio did do some digital effects, Winston may have been one of the last great artists of the animatronic. With the help of a huge group of artists, sculptors, mechanical engineers, and even (at one point) the Sociable Robotics Lab at MIT, Winston built everything from a life-sized dinosaur for Jurassic Park to the uncannily realistic teddy bear bot for the movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He also had a hand in some productions you might not have guessed, like 1970s Wizard of Oz remake The Wiz with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson (holy crap I loved that movie when I was a kid)."

Tell us your AutoCAD story and get a free video camera!

Lynn Allen's Blog: "Announcing the Autodesk Customer Video Project! They will be giving away 100 of the very cool Flip Video Cameras (I want one!) in return for a couple of minutes of video. They are looking for a few good passionate AutoCAD users who want to share their stories with us (how AutoCAD has changed your life, cool projects you've done, etc). You upload the videos to the website then after approval you get to be features on the AutoCAD site! Think of this like the YouTube for AutoCAD fans."

Amazing New Take on House Decoration 3D Wall Paintings

Freshome.com: "When I saw these pictures for the first time I’ve immediately thought at the amazing 3D chalk drawings done by Julian Beever ( see his works here ). What you can see in these pictures is a brilliant new take on house decoration, and I’m sure that that my readers would want to admire these pictures. This guy does an amazing job, but unfortunately the work of this one mystery man has been floating all around the internet for some time now, but does anyone know his name, or something about him. Finally I would like to ask you to post a comment if you know who is the author of these amazing 3 dimensional wall paintings, because he should be getting some commissions."

Music - Nathan Gunn and Paulo Szot

NYTimes.com: "Opera buffs who admire the American baritone Nathan Gunn should perhaps be concerned about his recent forays into musical theater. After stealing the show as Lancelot in the New York Philharmonic’s presentation of Lerner and Loewe’s “Camelot” in May, he scored another triumph as Gaylord Ravenal in the concert adaptation of “Show Boat,” the landmark Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical, at Carnegie Hall on June 10."

3 Lives Inspire Portrayal of a Complex Artist, Louise Nevelson

NYTimes.com: "“This was the first place I came,” Mercedes Ruehl says, looking around the small white pentagonal chapel that Louise Nevelson designed for St. Peter’s Church in Midtown Manhattan. She is describing how she prepared to portray Nevelson onstage in “Edward Albee’s Occupant.”"

A Theater Renaming Will Honor a Foot Soldier of Broadway

NYTimes.com: "The Manhattan Theater Club has announced a new name for its Biltmore Theater. And who will receive that honor, one now shared on Broadway by a select group of people? Maybe a writer, a critic, an actor, a cartoonist? Perhaps an airline or a large multinational bank?"

ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Crew Hiring

Playbill News: "Question: We often hear about the typical audition process that actors go through when they want to join a Broadway production. However, what process do potential backstage crew members go through when they want to join a new/current show?"

Millburn buys Paper Mill

Variety: "By unanimous vote of its Township Committee on Tuesday night, the city has elected to pay $9 million to the Paper Mill for the buildings and the land housing the 1,200-seat nonprofit theater and will lease the property back to the Paper Mill. Millburn Mayor Sandra Haimoff described the decision as good business sense, saying that, despite its monetary woes, the theater remains 'an economic driver for the township. It brings at lot of business to stores and restaurants and so forth in the area.'"

Stage Review: 'Salome' seduces with its surprises

Post Gazette: "There's nothing ordinary about this 'Salome,' an elegant, bloody tale of wayward passion, drenched in poetic extremity. Whatever Oscar Wilde's unlikely prose poem may be on the page, Dubliner Alan Stanford and Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre have realized it as a fastidious tale of lust and superstition, perversion and morality."

Meticulous 'Salome' lingers over details

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Oscar Wilde's 'Salome' has never had an easy time of it.
Its first London production in 1892 was abandoned when England's Lord Chamberlain banned it. Wilde published the play in French in 1893 instead.
When he later commissioned his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, to translate it into English, the resulting script required mammoth revisions.
By the time it finally got staged in 1896 -- in France -- Wilde was in jail."

Should I read a new script before I review the production?

guardian.co.uk: "As well as discussing the various issues facing theatre criticism in our respective countries, comparing the various traditions of reviewing and talking about the problems that we encounter, we are also assessing a large selection of the new plays being shown here. And this is where the differences between critical cultures really start to show. As preparation for our reviews, our coordinator sent us all the respective scripts of the plays that we would be seeing."

'August' poses a potty-mouth problem for Mirvish

TheStar.com: "How do you solve a problem like August: Osage County?
And are Toronto audiences ready for this 3 1/2-hour look at a dysfunctional family, which was crowned on Sunday with the Tony for the best play of the year?
That's a question David Mirvish is grappling with at the moment.
'It's definitely a challenge,' Mirvish said yesterday."

Cirque du Soleil denies rumoured Dubai deal

globeandmail.com: "Cirque du Soleil is dismissing reports that an oil-rich Dubai investment fund has approached the Canadian company with a takeover bid.
British media reports say an investment arm of the Kingdom of Dubai has offered the equivalent of close to $2-billion for the wildly successful Montreal-based circus company.
'Cirque du Soleil is not for sale,' Cirque spokesperson Renée-Claude Ménard wrote in an e-mailed statement to The Globe and Mail yesterday, calling the reports 'rumour and speculation.'"

Disastrous (If Funny) Hamlet Howls in Central Park

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "Oskar Eustis's Central Park revival is the most misguided ``Hamlet'' I have ever seen. If there existed a booby prize for consummate demolition of Shakespeare, Eustis would win it hands down."

Broadway gearing up for fall season

Reuters: "Congratulations to all you new Tony winners. It's a tradition that had a noble start: When the coveted prizes for Broadway's best were handed out for the first time 61 years ago, it was not at the 5,933-seat Radio City Music Hall but rather at a festive dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria, with only eight categories saluted, compared with 21 these days."

Be Accountable

Stepcase Lifehack: "like to think that I am a very good driver, if not an expert. Even so, once in a while I miss a red light, I speed. and sometimes even make a wrong turn. Does that mean I should quit driving altogether?
I don’t think so. I need to be aware of these errors and be careful. Similarly, it is not unusual to miss a project deadline. No matter how well we plan, we may still miss a deadline at some point. Should we be afraid to plan because we fear our plans would slip?
Not at all. We have to put in our best effort and plan. Then we publish that plan, track its activities, anticipate slippages, re-plan and continue tracking."

Priscilla Lopez (DSC #206)

American Theatre Wing: "Tony-winner Priscilla Lopez talks about what drew her to the new musical In The Heights and talks about her patience and faith that by the time it reached Broadway, she’d have her own song in the show. She also talks about her early training, including additional details about her high school years that didn’t make it into the song “Nothing” in A Chorus Line; both her attempted and actual Broadway debuts in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Henry Sweet Henry; her recollections of the workshop sessions that ultimately became A Chorus Line; how she came to channel Harpo Marx for the musical A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine; and how she came to make her Broadway dramatic debut in Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics, some 35 years after her musical debut."

Hollywood braces for actors strike

Marketplace: "Production on movies and television has again slowed to a virtual halt under the threat of an actors strike."

Is Your Time-Management System UGH-ly?

Ian's Messy Desk: "I may be the guy who blogs about time management and productivity, but my wife is the master of putting it into practice. She has a system that works for her. What is the secret of her success? She uses an UGH-ly planner. No, it’s not some fancy new technology—though she uses a PDA—and it’s not some some new binder from DayTimers."

Julie Taymor @ TED (Theatreforte)

TheatreTube: "Julie Taymor gives some great talks. And TED hosts some great talks (check out the YouTube channel). And now, TED hosts one of Taymor's great talks, and puts it on the internet."

Theater things that don't make sense: Vol. 3. We need you. Pay up.

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: "This year's Tony Awards featured more performances than previous years. Why? Because the producers of the Tonys know that performances are what America wants to see."

Yes, It’s (Sometimes) Ok To Be Inefficient «

Web Worker Daily: "Wherever you turn in the blogosphere, you’ll probably encounter dozens of tips on how to be more productive, efficient, and super-focused. A recent news item says that over 90 minutes each workweek is spent on idle web surfing. Upon reading this, the overly productive types are probably going “The horror!”, not realizing that there’s a simple truth behind such news:
We can’t escape inefficiency."

TKTS Discount Ticket Booth to Open in Brooklyn in July

Playbill News: "Theatre Development Fund (TDF) and MetroTech Business Improvement District announced June 18 that the new ticket booth — offering discounted tickets to Broadway, Off-Broadway, music, dance and Brooklyn performing arts events — will be located on the ground floor of the MetroTech Center at the corner of Jay Street and Myrtle Avenue."

Hartford Stage Receives $1 Million Grant for Expansion

Playbill News: "Hartford Stage intends to utilize the funding to support a proposed renovation project that will modernize the current venue and allow an expansion of the current 489-seat theatre. Representatives for the Connecticut theatre said that full details of the renovation will be announced in late 2008."

'Cry-Baby' to close on June 22

Variety: "'Cry-Baby' is the first post-Tony casualty of the summer, with the tuner posting a closing notice for June 22.
Like the 2002 Tony-winning hit 'Hairspray,' 'Cry-Baby' is based on a John Waters pic, but this time out the Waters-inspired material never found traction at the box office or with critics."

Peter Flynn to Helm Ithaca's Hangar Theatre

Yahoo! News: "Bushlow stated, 'Peter Flynn will build on the vision of past artistic leaders, including Robert Moss, Mark Ramont and Kevin Moriarty. With his experience and enthusiasm, we look forward to a new integration of our professional summer season, our acclaimed training programs, and our year-round education programs in local schools.'"

Ashland director takes a new course

San Jose Mercury News: "The Remembrance Tree, standing 18 feet tall in the lobby of the New Theatre at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, may be the perfect symbol of Bill Rauch's approach to drama.
The maverick who took the helm of the festival last year already has struck a chord with the Ashland community and forged that feedback into art."

Regional theater has good showing at Tony Awards

www.kansascity.com: "It was a great night for regional theater at the 2008 Tony Awards, the annual extravaganza designed to celebrate the art and promote the business of Broadway."

Can serious drama compete against the musical?

Times Online: "There is something I'm quite worked up about at the moment. After eight years away, I'm back in the West End, and I'm seeing first-hand what everybody has been complaining about in the business. The straight play is an endangered species. The last time I was in the Vaudeville Theatre was in Uncle Vanya, with Michael Gambon, in 1988."

Theatre should be free for kids, argues playwright Wood

The Stage: "“Children’s theatre should be getting, if not as much as, more funding than adult theatre. Our seat prices have rightly to be kept low, yet the production values we keep as high as possible, and there is a natural gap there between revenue and expenditure. How do you fill that? We try to get sponsorship, we try to get funding, but small people attract only small funding.”"