Region's diverse arts mix often spurs commercial development

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Most people value Southwest Pennsylvania's performing and visual arts for their entertainment value -- a night out at 'Mary Poppins,' a trip to see Carnegie Museums' dinosaurs or an excursion to the latest exhibit in the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

Dance review: Point Park dancers dive into moment

Post Gazette: "You might say that Point Park University's Conservatory Dance Company had a heavy history tutorial, as it spanned 40 years from Balanchine to 'Bardo' during its annual sojourn across town to the Byham Theater. But the students learned their lesson well.

Rock knocks on stage door

Variety: "When true rockers and pop stars hit the stage, the results have been decidedly mixed. Long before Bono and the Edge started taking heat for their 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' score, Paul Simon ('The Capeman'), Jim Steinman ('Dance of the Vampires'), Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger ('Cry-Baby'), Styx's Dennis DeYoung (the non-Disney '101 Dalmatians') and the Abba guys ('Chess') experienced the brutal slap that characterizes trying to make the leap from the Billboard charts to the New York boards.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert Kicks Up Its Heels on Broadway Starting Feb. 28

Playbill.com: "Following its North American debut engagement in Toronto, Priscilla Queen of the Desert — drawn from the Academy Award-winning film 'The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert' — begins previews on Broadway at the Palace Theatre Feb. 28 with an official opening scheduled for March 20.

Rude Mechs Bring ‘The Method Gun’ to Dance Theater Workshop

NYTimes.com: "IT began, as actors’ stories often do, with a guru. Her name was Stella Burden, a k a “the other Stella.” Ms. Burden created a risky suite of training exercises called the Approach, attracted a fervent band of followers and abandoned them nine years into rehearsals for a high-concept production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” to be performed without Stanley, Blanche, Stella or Mitch.

‘Spider-Man’ Opening May Be Delayed Again

NYTimes.com: "The producers of Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” are considering delaying the musical’s opening night for a sixth time, people familiar with the deliberations say, to make more changes to the show in hopes of improving its worldwide commercial prospects after theater critics savaged it this month.

How to Throw Punches Without Getting Hurt

NYTimes.com: "THE explosive and angst-ridden writhing, jerking and lunging that Steven Hoggett choreographed for the musical “American Idiot” is hardly typical of Broadway dancing, and to some theatergoers (including, apparently, the Tony voters last season) the approach was not necessarily impressive. Still, the merit of the movement there and in most shows is ultimately a matter of taste. Sometimes, though, the choreography in a show can be just plain incorrect.

Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss on the London Stage

NYTimes.com: "SEE how they writhe. Love, for all the raptures it is said to inspire, can be as uncomfortable as chicken pox. Just ask Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss and Rebecca Hall.
Not that I know anything about these women’s personal lives (or no more than the average reader of Gawker). But each of these in-demand young actresses has taken to the stage here to demonstrate how romance is as likely to prickle, sting and even kill as it is to tickle. Audiences are lining up, and paying top scalper prices, for the privilege of watching them squirm, seethe and turn deathly pale. Which they do, by the way, most convincingly.

Flying Karamazov Brothers Help With Fire Safety Message

NYTimes.com: "From the darkness in the back of the theater, a voice said: “Scene 27, Audio Take 13.” It was the signal for Chief Thomas Galvin’s closeup. Would his eyebrows survive?
The camera rolled. Chief Galvin, who is in charge of the Fire Department’s bureau of training, delivered his line flawlessly—all six words, exactly as they were written in the script.

‘Where Bison Run’ Victor Lesniewski’s Play About Hockey

NYTimes.com: "Unlike baseball and golf, say, the sport of hockey has not inspired a particularly illustrious body of literature. There are only a handful of decent hockey novels, chief among them “King Leary,” by the Canadian writer Paul Quarrington, and “Amazons,” by one Cleo Birdwell, supposedly the first woman to play in the National Hockey League. “Amazons” is actually by Don DeLillo, but for years now he has disowned the 1980 pseudonymous work, which may indicate something of hockey’s status among American literati, at least. By far the best book about hockey is still “The Game,” a memoir by the Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden that was published almost 30 years ago.

‘Treasure Island,’ Directed by the Fight Master B. H. Barry

NYTimes.com: "CONVEYING with any accuracy the goings-on at a recent rehearsal of “Treasure Island” would come most naturally to a comic-book artist or perhaps a writer for the old “Batman” TV show. Swords and oars and barrels and fists oooff and shhkrit into one another, a seemingly endless barrage of chaos until B. H. Barry, the theater’s pre-eminent fight director for some 50 years, dived in for a quick correction. Would-be pirates in sweatpants stood attentively, a thwup morphed into a thwap, and the mayhem began again.

Off to See the Wizard

Theatre Ideas: "As Teresa Eyring notes in her TCG blog, there was a small group of arts 'service organization' leaders invited to DC to discuss the recent #supplydemand issue with NEA leader Rocco Landesman. I was one of those invited. I must admit, I felt honored to be invited to the table.

How To Be A Woman In Any Boys’ Club

Jezebel: "Here are some rules about how to be a girl in a boys' club. This works for any world you're in or want to be in. Pretty much everything in the world is still a boys' club.

Free Open House and 50% off Select Concert Packages at Heinz Hall

Living Pittsburgh: "This free event at Heinz Hall features free food, tours of the hall, a rehearsal viewing, and you can enter to win prizes. Plus, for that day only they’re offering 50% off 4-concert packages. Please visit their website for more information.

Does Star Quad Microphone Cable Sound Better? Let's Find Out!

- John Huntington's Blog -: "For many years, the professional live sound community has, for the most part, stuck to actual science to advance our art, and generally steered clear of some of the outlandish, testimonial-driven claims made in the consumer “audiophile” market. However, in our trade publications over the last year or so, I’ve seen advertisements for audiophile’s gold-plated power cables; an editorial in a professional live sound publication offering a hearty endorsement of the rubbish of “The Secret”; and magical claims about star quad cable and its use for microphones on stage in live sound applications. Because cables are an area that drives audiophiles nuts, that article was the last straw for me, and so I donned my best flame-resistant suit, and engaged in a little online discussion with the author, into which I dragged live sound guru Bob McCarthy. You can read the whole exchange in the comments section of the article, but in my final postings I offered to set up a blind test to actually evaluate the author's claims. He never responded.

Fastball

AmericanTheatreWing: "This past Friday evening, I attended the Waterbury CT Arts Magnet High School’s production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, a production that had been debated, then delayed, and about which I had been fairly vocal in my advocacy. The students acquitted themselves quite admirably, but the real discovery came during the post-performance discussion, which included the entire cast, as well as the actors Eisa Davis and Frankie Faison.

Marketing Intern - Davenport Theatrical Enterprises

The Producer's Perspective Classifieds: "SEEKING:
Full-time Marketing intern
REQUIREMENTS:
-Ability to speak passionately and knowledgably about theatre to marketing partners and potential partners

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Pittsburgh City Paper: "Blame it on my OCD, but when I see a show I like, I always want to see it several more times to understand why it 'works.' Which is why this Carnegie Mellon University production of the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is the third I've seen in the past year.

Churchill in Short(s)?

Pittsburgh City Paper: "In the program notes for Churchill in Short(s)?, dramaturg Ariel Nereson quotes Carol Churchill as saying: 'Playwrights don't give answers, they ask questions.'

Nine Lives, a Musical About New Orleanians, Gets NYC Sneak Peek Feb. 27;

Playbill.com: "The nonfiction book 'Nine Lives,' a biography of nine New Orleans residents and their relationship with the fabled city, has inspired a song cycle and forthcoming album, getting exposure Feb. 27 in Manhattan. Broadway actor and first-time theatre producer Michael Cerveris is in the early stages of helping to turn it into a theatrical musical.

Region's diverse arts mix often spurs commercial development

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Most people value Southwest Pennsylvania's performing and visual arts for their entertainment value -- a night out at 'Mary Poppins,' a trip to see Carnegie Museums' dinosaurs or an excursion to the latest exhibit in the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

Would Change In Tax Law Kill Donations To The Arts?

NPR: "Americans can be awfully generous: The Giving USA foundation estimates that in 2009, more than $300 billion in charitable contributions were made by corporations, individuals and foundations. The money went to a range of nonprofits working in the environment, education, health care and the arts.

Local stars to shine light on HIV/AIDS awareness

The Pitt News: "The Southwestern PA AIDS Coalition will present a talent show— including hip-hop artists Miss Money and Jacquay Hosey and female impersonator, singer and dancer Akasha Lestat.

Kuntu Theater shows has student previews

The Pitt News: "Today through March 12, the Kuntu Repertory Theater will present the show “Mahalia Jackson: Standing on Holy Ground.”

Luis Alfaro, playwright of 'Oedipus el Rey,' on mission to change face of theater

washingtonpost.com: "When Luis Alfaro came to town recently, he got right down to his job as a playwright. Which for him meant getting out of the theater.

‘Drumline Live’ completely spectacular

newpittsburghcourieronline: "Pittsburgh audience members who expected to see drummers during the recent performance of “Drumline Live” at the Benedum Center got a totally unexpected show complete with singers, dancers, musicians and of course, the drumline.

Circus Theatricals changes its name to New American Theatre

latimes.com: "Circus Theatricals, a respected stage company on the Los Angeles scene since 1995, has changed its name to the New American Theatre in anticipation of moving into a new space this spring.

‘Spider-man’ opening may be delayed again

thestar.com: "The producers of Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” are considering delaying the musical’s opening night for a sixth time, people familiar with the deliberations say, to make more changes to the show in hopes of improving its worldwide commercial prospects after theatre critics savaged it this month.

Carnegie Mellon students creep their way to fame and plagiarism dispute:

The Tartan Online: "Rarely do college students take center stage in national debates about artistic plagiarism, but that’s exactly what happened to Carnegie Mellon first-years Joe Reilly, a CFA student, and Sean Hoffman, an H&SS student. Their video “What is The Creep” made national headlines after Saturday Night Live released a digital short, “The Creep,” that eerily echoed some of the elements of the Carnegie Mellon students’ video.

‘History Hungama’ entertains and educates audience

The Tartan Online: "The Mayur South Asian Student Alliance, or MayurSASA for short, presented its 2011 show “History Hungama” on Saturday, giving its viewers a true taste of Bollywood. Just like any Bollywood movie, it had fashion, a catching story line, and dances, resulting in a two-hour dose of good entertainment. The Mayur show also had an intermission for refreshments that offered a true taste of India. For those who do not know a lot about Bollywood, it’s extremely glamorous. It isn’t just about the story or the actors — rather, it’s about the whole production.

Derek Jacobi, From Shakespeare To Slapstick

NPR: "Derek Jacobi is one of Great Britain's leading actors, with decades of work for the stage, film and TV. He's in movie theaters now, playing the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Oscar favorite The King's Speech. His latest stage triumph: an award-winning turn as Shakespeare's King Lear at the Donmar Warehouse in London. It comes to BAM, in New York, from April 28 to June 5.

Commentary: The financial drama at Intiman

Seattle Times Newspaper: "The financial emergency at Intiman Theatre raises some questions about what went wrong, and what's being done to fix it, writes Seattle Times theater critic Misha Berson.

'Lonesome West' performances canceled

Pittsburgh Tribune: "Illness has forced cancellation of the final performances of 'Lonesome West,' a production of The Rep, Point Park University's professional theater company.

Off Broadway Looms Larger for Hits

NYTimes.com: "Any television executive knows that the big money is in reruns: Hit shows like “Seinfeld” and “Star Trek” keep raking it in long after the writers penned their last scripts. Now a group of theater producers is putting a twist on that business model, taking long-running Broadway hits and moving them Off Broadway to test if they can live on in rerun mode, where costs are lower and the profit potential is significant.

New Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel Pledges Support For Arts

chicagotribune.com: "Before he was elected as the new Mayor of Chicago, we asked Rahm Emanuel some probing questions about the local arts scene, from the Loop Theatre District, Millennium Park and Chicago's music industry to the city's Department of Cultural Affairs. Here is what he said:

Jeffrey Tambor Pulls Out of 'La Cage aux Folles'

Backstage.com: "Jeffrey Tambor has pulled out of Broadway's latest revival of 'La Cage aux Folles,' citing complications from a recent hip surgery.

Seriously sexy, but properly goofy

thestar.com: "Puck is in need of an anger-management lesson. The dark forest will make the assortment of vampires and brunettes with low self-esteem roaming The Twilight Saga feel right at home. Our young lovers turn on each other so readily, they prove beyond doubt that it was Shakespeare who coined the phrase frenemy.

Whoopi is in the building: 'White Noise' announces cast and begins rehearsals

The Theater Loop: "'White Noise,' the new pre-Broadway musical produced by Holly Way, Jay Strommen, Jimmy Mack, Deborah Taylor, Chris Bensinger, Tom Leonardis and Whoopi Goldberg and directed by Sergio Trujillo, has announced the cast of its Chicago premiere.

Carnegie Mellon raises tuition

Post Gazette: "Carnegie Mellon University is raising tuition by 4 percent for incoming students this fall and by 3 percent for returning students, school officials announced today.

A Second Spider-Man Musical Swings Into Town

NYTimes.com: "Frustrated by the web of delays engulfing “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” the $65 million Broadway spectacle that is now to open on March 15 (if not later), Mr. Moran, an improv comedian and a composer, has decided to beat Julie Taymor and her team to the punch by opening his own show about that comic-book wall-crawler one day earlier, on March 14.

Third 'Spider-Man' Musical Headed to New York

The Hollywood Reporter: "With Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark set to open March 15 and comedian Justin Moran's The Spidey Project: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility scheduled to open the day before, now comes word that another production, titled Spidermann, will beat both productions’ opening days.
Spidermann opens March 13 for three performances only at the Tank in Manhattan, the New York Times reports.

‘Spider-Man’ May Be Bound for Joe Allen’s Wall of Shame

NYTimes.com: "By now, you probably know that “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” risks becoming to Broadway musicals what the Titanic was to ocean voyages. If things keep going the way they have, with previews constantly extended, Wal-Mart might open in New York before this $65 million show does.

Off Broadway Looms Larger for Hits

NYTimes.com: "Any television executive knows that the big money is in reruns: Hit shows like “Seinfeld” and “Star Trek” keep raking it in long after the writers penned their last scripts. Now a group of theater producers is putting a twist on that business model, taking long-running Broadway hits and moving them Off Broadway to test if they can live on in rerun mode, where costs are lower and the profit potential is significant.

Autodesk: The Secret Star Behind Oscar-Winning Visual Effects

Fast Company: "No matter which film walks away with the Oscar for Best Visual Effects on Sunday, one organization that has previously made Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list will be a clear winner: Autodesk. Every single movie nominated this year--from Alice in Wonderland to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Herafter to Inception to Iron Man 2--used its software to craft some portion of their effects.

5 Tips for Effective Digital Note taking

lifehack: "Being a full time student, working two part time jobs, being married, and doing some writing and development on the side proves to be daunting. With my discovery of GTD a few years back I was like everyone else; enamored with the idea of getting things off their mind to then produce better and more effectively. I instantly grabbed onto the practice of “ubiquitous capture” by taking notes so I wouldn’t let as many things fall through the cracks.

Art Talk with Writer Bassey Ikpi

Art Works: "Bassey Ikpi is a Nigerian-born writer who was a featured cast member in the National Touring Company of the Tony Award-winning Broadway show, Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry Jam. She is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and is currently working on a memoir documenting her life living with Bipolar II Disorder.

Wisconsin vs Unions. Cut through the rhetoric, then choose sides.

Backstage at BackstageJobs.com | Life behind the scenes…: "I’ve avoided writing this simply because I’m shocked and sickened by the statements and actions of the Wisconsin governor and the majority of the GOP members of the Wisconsin legislature. It pains me that instead of simply being honest and truthful in their statements of what the problems are and what needs to be done to correct them, (including a possibility that the current Wisconsin leadership created their current immediate deficit due to new programs and tax cuts) a faceless villain called “the unions” has been created to be blamed. To solve the supposed “union” problem, the rights of the people will be taken away.

Innovations and Ovation for Drama Desk Awards

Backstage: "Another New York theater awards show is heading to national television. On Wednesday, Robert R. Blume, executive producer of the Drama Desk Awards, announced the telecast and several other changes to the annual ceremony.

Stage reviews: Acting pros show dark and light sides on Broadway

Post Gazette: "The name of a movie or TV star at the head of a Broadway cast likely is there mainly to sell tickets -- witness 'Grease' or 'Chicago,' long runs that have exploited marquee power to keep on running.
But this happens less often than you might think. A performer is more or less naked on the live stage, especially in a play as opposed to a musical, and star vanity doesn't welcome that exposure. Conversely, because screen stars have often had their early experience on stage, what may seem like exploiting a famous name often turns out to reveal stage-worthy skill.

Showcase moves Point Park dancers toward future

Post Gazette: "Rigorous rehearsals, studying with repetiteurs, executing works by dance icons George Balanchine and Bill T. Jones -- it's an agenda fit for professional dancers.
Yet, it's all in a day's work for students with Point Park University's Conservatory Dance Company gearing up for their annual showcase at Byham Theater, Downtown. From Thursday through Saturday, the dancers will stage choreography by Trey McIntyre and Toru Shimazaki and works danced by powerhouse troupes such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.

2011 High School Musicals

Post Gazette: "Here is the Post-Gazette's annual list of high school musicals in Western Pennsylvania. Although some shows have begun, most are scheduled from the beginning of March through the first week in May.

'Three Sisters' puts art in motion to share Ukranian culture

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "No matter what cultural background you're from, good dancing and a good fairy tale have universal appeal, says the director of an original Ukrainian dance show making its premiere Saturday.
Dancers from the Kyiv Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and School in Carnegie will, like a folksy ballet, tell the story of 'Three Sisters' entirely through dancing, with dancers in colorful, ethnic costumes. Artistic director Natalie Kapeluck co-penned the libretto, which tells the story of a book-loving Ukrainian girl who literally gets pulled into a book that contains three adventurous stories for her and her sisters. 'Three Sisters' is full of magical fairy-tale elements, Kapeluck says.
'It's like going to see ... the Ukrainian 'Sleeping Beauty,'' she says.

Riverdance lets loose the joy found in dance

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "For centuries, Irish dancers competing in their sport have looked pretty solemn: They hold their arms stiffly at their sides, and look serious, stoic and humorless as they dance in their Celtic costumes with kilts, says the senior executive producer of 'Riverdance.'
Yet 'Riverdance,' which is coming to the Benedum Center this weekend for three performances, gives audiences a better feel for the friendly, jubilant personality of Irish folks, and has a more modern, mainstream look, Julian Erskine says. And, most of all, the performers smile and have fun, he says.

Kodo beats with the living heart of drumming

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "After 30 years of performing and multiple North American tours, Kodo is already widely known as the troupe of Japanese performers with big drums and an even-bigger impact.
But those who attend either of the two shows scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at the Byham Theater, Downtown, will see that there's a lot more to Kodo than men with drums.

Adam Driver, From the Marines to ‘Angels in America’

NYTimes.com: "The moment that persuaded Adam Driver to pursue an acting career didn’t come when he was cast as the Leading Player in a college production of “Pippin,” or even when he was accepted to Juilliard. It happened one thankfully windy afternoon as a cloud of deadly white phosphorus — a high-powered chemical that can burn through cars — inched its way toward him and a group of fellow Marines during a mishap in a California training exercise.

Boost Your Freelancing Career by Making the Most of LinkedIn Groups

FreelanceFolder: "As a freelancer, you likely recognize how important the Internet has become to the success of your business. Potential clients and freelancers now regularly communicate and research each other online. As such, if you aren’t yet a member of the top online social networks, this should be a primary goal of developing your freelance career.

Lightwright Touch iPad App Released in iTunes App Store

iSquint.net: "Yes, the day has come. When the iPad was announced over a year ago, people went ecstatic. Then came the dreamers, what can we do with the iPad, how can it make our lives easier? In the lighting industry, it was easy, put Lightwright onto the iPad. It took almost a year since the iPad was released into the wild, but that dream has become a reality.

SDCF Masters of the Stage - Rob Ashford and Michael Grandage - December, 2010

American Theatre Wing: "On December 18, 2010, SDCF hosted their second One-on-One Conversation of the 2010-2011 season in the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row with Donmar Warehouse Artistic Director Michael Grandage (Red, Hamlet) and Broadway Director/Choreographer Rob Ashford (How To Succeed In Business..., Promises, Promises) and moderated by SDCF Executive Director Laura Penn. The two directors discuss their trajectories from small town upbringings to the big city and from performing careers to directing. Other topics include the story of their professional relationship with each other, their rehearsal processes from first day to opening night and their views on mentorship. Full of humorous anecdotes, this conversation provides a unique opportunity to hear the voices of two trans-Atlantic masters of the craft in the prime of their careers.

Soundworks Collection: Walt Disney Imagineers

Vimeo: "The vision and showmanship of Walt Disney has touched more corners of the world and hearts through his many films and theme parks. Since opening his first park 'Disneyland' on July 17, 1955, Walt and his team of dream makers known as 'Imagineers' have created many theme parks around the world.

Hear! Hear!

Theatre Safety: "Ever have that funny ringing in your ears that just won't go away? Maybe feel like you can hardly hear anyone around you and you have to speak-up to be be heard? Maybe everyone thinks your audio mix sucks, but they won't tell you? It could be that you have suffered hearing damage. This can be very serious, as most damage is collectively irreversible - it just gets worse, and never gets better.

10 Ways to Make Your Interviewer Love You

College Candy: "The dreaded job interview. No matter your resume and talents if you mess this up you won’t get that job. In today’s tough economy you need every possible edge. It can be a simple equation: You want to be liked—not hated.
Here are ten simple things to do that will dramatically increase your chances: from wearing the right expression, to knowing what not to say, to never ever breaking a sweat.

Why the SAG-AFTRA Merger Might Not Happen

Backstage: "All signs point to a merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The boards of the dominant actors unions have held preliminary votes, committees are meeting, and at January's SAG Awards, such members as Melissa Leo and Julianna Margulies declared themselves in favor of a combination. Inside L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium that night, SAG president Ken Howard drew applause when he predicted a merger by 2012.

AFTRA Speaks Out for Public Sector Union Members

Backstage: "A struggle over public employee unions has gripped Wisconsin since last week, when the state's Republican governor announced a proposal to limit wages, require employees to pay more for pension and health benefits and, perhaps most controversially, constrict the scope of collective bargaining and force such unions to hold yearly votes on whether they should remain in existence.

'Spider-Man's' Broadway Producers Hire Musical Consultant

Backstage: "The producers of the Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' have hired a veteran musical supervisor and conductor to help with the production, the New York Times reported.
Paul Bogaev -- whose Broadway credits include 'Tarzan,' 'Bombay Dreams', 'Aida,' 'Sunset Boulevard', 'Aspects of Love,' 'Chess' and 'Starlight Express' -- has been tapped as a consultant to work on the vocal and orchestration arrangements and sound quality of the songs, 'Spider-Man' spokesman Rick Miramontez told the Times.

Cirque du Soleil Puts Record $57 Million in Russian Show

Backstage: "Canadian circus company Cirque du Soleil will invest a record $57 million in a new show in Moscow next year to test the ground before launching a permanent show in Russia by 2015, its president said Monday.
'Zarkana' is Cirque du Soleil's first new show in Russia and will be the most expensive non-permanent show the company has ever made to date, Daniel Lamarre told reporters.

SAG Members Ratify Basic Cable Live-Action Agreement

Backstage: "In national voting completed Tuesday, SAG members approved a new, three-year contract covering basic cable live-action programming.
The new pact goes into effect July 1 and runs through June 30, 2014.

Jackson, 'Hobbit' Crew Offer N.Z. Earthquake Assistance

Backstage: "As rescue and recovery moved into a second night in New Zealand following Tuesday's devastating earthquake in Christchurch, Peter Jackson and 'The Hobbit' production have offered any practical assistance they can to their fellow New Zealanders and others affected by the tragedy, while others in the industry are starting to galvanize for fundraising efforts.

MPTF to Keep Acute-Care Hospital Open, Expand Services

Backstage: "Reversing its controversial 2009 decision to close its longterm care facility, the Motion Picture and Television Fund announced today that the unit will remain open under a new agreement with Providence Health & Services.
The MPTF said it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Providence that will allow it to broaden and expand healthcare services to the entertainment industry at its Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills.

Showcase

PGHShowcase_Poster(b&w)

Internships

Trinity Rep intern flyer 11-12

Study abroad programs increase in Carnegie Mellon student body

The Tartan Online: "Recently, young adults have been taking advantage of the opportunity to travel, as the number of students studying abroad has been on the rise. Carnegie Mellon’s Office of International Education (OIE) and its study abroad office offer 43 university-sponsored programs in 26 countries, providing various options for students.

Guild to hold new board election after Labor Dept. says Wexler was unfairly disqualifed

Company Town | Los Angeles Times: "Haskell Wexler has won two Academy Awards and was judged by his peers as one of the 10 most influential cinematographers in movie history.
But the 89-year-old director of photography best known for his work on the 1966 film 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' and the 1966 movie 'Bound for Glory,' was nonetheless disqualified from running for a seat on his own union's national board last year because the guild determined that he had not spent enough time 'working at the trade.'

Film World Unions Squabble Over Tax Dollars

Big Hollywood: "As you all know, I am a producer of feature films, well mostly TV movies. Thus far, most of my films have shot overseas in order to keep costs down. A number of them could have and would have been shot in America had there been any kind of tax incentives to level the playing field with the cheaper labor rates found in Thailand, India and Eastern Europe.

Pittsburgh Could Lose 'Dark Knight,' Other Films Without Tax Credits

WTAE Pittsburgh: "The Dark Knight's chances of rising in Pittsburgh could be put on ice, and this time it has nothing to do with Mr. Freeze.
A freeze on remaining funds in Pennsylvania's Film Tax Credit Program could cause the state -- and Pittsburgh -- to lose as many as five feature films, including the highly-anticipated Batman sequel, 'The Dark Knight Rises.'

Grammy Nominees Put Full Sail University in the Spotlight

TIME: "At this year's Grammys, the five nominees for Album of the Year have something peculiar in common: they were all were mixed or engineered by graduates of Full Sail University. In fact, this year's Grammy-nominated projects were worked on by 74 alums of Full Sail U in total.
Full who?

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

Are You Addicted to Stress? The Experts Weigh In

lifehack: "Ever since the 1980s, there has been an increasing amount of media coverage on stress-related topics. For decades, scientists, researchers, and doctors have been investigating how the human body responds to stress, and whether it is possible for some people to become addicted to stress.
While there are no hard figures to reveal how many Americans may be suffering from stress addiction, experts do agree that people suffering from this problem face varying degrees of danger to their health.
Are you addicted to stress? And if so, does that mean you will be facing serious health problems down the road? Or, will you be one of the few people who benefits from stress addiction?

Posted by David at 2/21/2011 01:26:00 PM <-- Comments Here

The Professor Has Left the Building. Thank You, and Goodnight.

Inside Higher Ed: "It captures how we all feel about telemarketers calling us at home. Now if only I could figure out a way to get this message across to my students. No, they haven’t called me at home (probably because I haven’t made my number public) but they email me – constantly. They email me at midnight, 3 am, 6 am, while I’m on vacation, and while we’re on semester break.

Posted by David at 2/21/2011 12:04:00 AM <-- Comments Here

Cheat Sheet: 10 Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Word

gizmodo: "Microsoft Word. The name's practically synonymous with 'productivity app.' If you're reading this article at work you've probably got a Word doc open right now, and you might think you've got a good handle on Microsoft's word processor. We'll bet you don't know as much as you think you do. Don't believe us? Read on for 10 quick tips and tricks for Microsoft Word.

Posted by David at 2/21/2011 01:26:00 PM <-- Comments Here

Don't Know Much About 401K's

Jezebel: "Living in a capitalist economy means that one's life path is largely dictated by getting money, spending money, and saving money. Most people are plenty good at spending money, and some people are pretty great at getting money, but few excel at saving money, mostly because saving money is boring, not fun, and not simple, but oh so necessary.

Posted by David at 2/21/2011 01:28:00 PM<-- Comments Here

10 Tips for Saving Money as a Freelancer

FreelanceFolder: "Now that I’ve been freelancing for well over a year, I’ve dealt with my fair share of expenses, taxes and other terrible money sucking things we have to deal with as the self-employed. There are several ways to manage these of course, and ways to save money doing so.
Unfortunately, just because we stay at home it doesn’t mean that we save more money than someone who works outside of the home. Yes, we have to pay for less gas, we don’t have to pay to eat out, nor do we have as many car expenses. But if you’re not careful, you can actually spend a lot more than someone who does drive 30 minutes away to work.
Here are ten of the ways I’ve found to save money for everything we deal with as business owners.

Posted by David at 2/21/2011 01:25:00 PM <-- Comments Here

Troubled Spider-Man musical hires new writer

thestar.com: "The producers of the embattled Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark have hired HBO writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to rewrite the book, according to entertainment website Deadline New York.

Posted by Dale at 2/20/2011 11:50:00 PM <-- Comments Here

Reefbot

Carnegie Mellon University: "The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's Open Oceans tank is home to a vast array of sea life. At two-stories, it holds 100,000 gallons of salt water and 30 species.
Oh, and one submersible robot named CLEO.

Bodiography stays contemporary with medical theme

Post Gazette: "Bodiography artistic director Maria Caruso has always moved in grand ways. Upon graduation from college, she immediately elected to begin her own company and has hired seasoned guest artists like Johann Renval, Anjali Austin and Lynne Taylor-Corbett to aid in her choreographic development.

Being Harold Pinter Benefit Takes Place in Chicago Feb. 21

Playbill.com: "Members of the Chicago theatre community join cast members of the Belarus Free Theatre for the Feb. 21 benefit performance of Being Harold Pinter, the heralded political work that debuted Off-Broadway at the Public Theater earlier this winter.

Wooster Group Does Tennessee Williams’s ‘Vieux Carré’

NYTimes.com: "The Wooster Group was just getting started in 1977 when Tennessee Williams’s once-glorious career was fading. That was the year his “Vieux Carré” opened, and quickly closed, on Broadway, the year in which he wrote: “No one is more acutely aware than I that I am widely regarded as the ghost of a writer.”

Don't Know Much About 401K's

Jezebel: "Living in a capitalist economy means that one's life path is largely dictated by getting money, spending money, and saving money. Most people are plenty good at spending money, and some people are pretty great at getting money, but few excel at saving money, mostly because saving money is boring, not fun, and not simple, but oh so necessary.

Kabuki Props

Props: "Kabuki is a traditional form of theatre in Japan which began around four hundred years ago. It is a highly stylized form of theatre, and its use of props is very formalized and full of tradition. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how they use and make props in Kabuki. I don’t speak or read Japanese, so while I took care to double and triple-check all the terminology, someone more knowledgeable than I may still find mistakes. Still, I hope you’ll find what follows to be a good overview of props in Kabuki theatre.

Ridgid Dual Blade Saw | Tool Snob

ToolSnob.com: "Has anyone ever used one of these dual blade saws? We haven't and for years, we've been searching for someone who has. The closest first hand information we got was from a mason a few years back, 'yeah, this friend of a friend had one and said it was pretty cool. So to us, this means that a friend of a friend of a friend likes it. Totally reliable information. We're not sure if this information scarcity is due to that fact that people just don't know about the tool or that people do know about it, but they really just don't care.

Materials, Structures, Standards

Cool Tools: "This book, also known as MSS, is an outstanding work of architecture reference. It is 264 pages of impeccably drafted architectural and design elements with a wonderfully accessible style. It is full of annotated scale drawings designed to convey as much information as possible using few words.

Cheat Sheet: 10 Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Word

gizmodo: "Microsoft Word. The name's practically synonymous with 'productivity app.' If you're reading this article at work you've probably got a Word doc open right now, and you might think you've got a good handle on Microsoft's word processor. We'll bet you don't know as much as you think you do. Don't believe us? Read on for 10 quick tips and tricks for Microsoft Word.

Are You Addicted to Stress? The Experts Weigh In

lifehack: "Ever since the 1980s, there has been an increasing amount of media coverage on stress-related topics. For decades, scientists, researchers, and doctors have been investigating how the human body responds to stress, and whether it is possible for some people to become addicted to stress.
While there are no hard figures to reveal how many Americans may be suffering from stress addiction, experts do agree that people suffering from this problem face varying degrees of danger to their health.
Are you addicted to stress? And if so, does that mean you will be facing serious health problems down the road? Or, will you be one of the few people who benefits from stress addiction?

10 Tips for Saving Money as a Freelancer

FreelanceFolder: "Now that I’ve been freelancing for well over a year, I’ve dealt with my fair share of expenses, taxes and other terrible money sucking things we have to deal with as the self-employed. There are several ways to manage these of course, and ways to save money doing so.
Unfortunately, just because we stay at home it doesn’t mean that we save more money than someone who works outside of the home. Yes, we have to pay for less gas, we don’t have to pay to eat out, nor do we have as many car expenses. But if you’re not careful, you can actually spend a lot more than someone who does drive 30 minutes away to work.
Here are ten of the ways I’ve found to save money for everything we deal with as business owners.

The Professor Has Left the Building. Thank You, and Goodnight.

Inside Higher Ed: "It captures how we all feel about telemarketers calling us at home. Now if only I could figure out a way to get this message across to my students. No, they haven’t called me at home (probably because I haven’t made my number public) but they email me – constantly. They email me at midnight, 3 am, 6 am, while I’m on vacation, and while we’re on semester break.

At BAM, A Raft Of Classics, From Overseas

NPR: "New York is one of the world's great theater cities, but it's not every season that several of the world's greatest theater companies visit — and bring some of the greatest classical plays to share.

Rhubarb Festival: Lady Gaga gets a musical of sorts

The Globe and Mail: "Of A Monstrous Child: a gaga musical, Saturday night’s one-off performance from the Ecce Homo theatre company, caught my eye for several reasons: It's about chart-topper Lady Gaga, it stars Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s Bruce Dow and, provocatively, Michael Alig, the convicted murderer who was the subject of the 2003 movie Party Monster, is listed as a co-writer. Over email, I conducted a Q&A with writer and director Alistair Newton to find out more.

Troubled Spider-Man musical hires new writer

thestar.com: "The producers of the embattled Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark have hired HBO writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to rewrite the book, according to entertainment website Deadline New York.

Take Action: Support the NEA and Arts Education

Actors' Equity Association: "Since the alert about the funding cuts being proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) the situation has worsened. Overnight, the House Appropriations Committee made even deeper cuts to the NEA and dozens of other programs and agencies. The proposed cut to the NEA is now set at $22.5 million (yesterday it was $12 million) which would represent the largest cut to that agency in 16 years.

New Two-Year COST Agreement Ratified

Actors' Equity Association: "Faced with claims by Council of Stock Theatres (COST) members that they were continuing to experience economic distress, and their determination to impose a financial freeze, Equity was equally steadfast in its goal of improving minimum salaries after a previous two-year freeze.

Eric Simonson readies Broadway play about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson

The Theater Loop: "The Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Eric Simonson appears to have found a viable new niche: plays about sports figures. Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo, the producers of Simonson's 'Lombardi,' currently telling the story of Vince Lombardi on Broadway, announced Thursday that they will produce a new play called 'Magic/Bird,' a piece telling the 'intertwined life stories' of the basketball greats Larry Bird and Earvin 'Magic' Johnson.

Second City to take over Tony 'N' Tina's joynt and build new 280-seat theater

Chicago Tribune: "econd City is to announce Monday that it will create a new venue in the Piper's Alley space formerly occupied by the show 'Tony 'N' Tina's Wedding.' The 280-seat space, which will be developed in partnership with Levity Entertainment and does not yet have a name, will be used for stand-up and comedy-cabaret shows, as well as improv shows and new concepts and theater pieces developed by Second City Theatricals.

Camelot’ a keen mix of humor and drama

The Pitt News: "King Arthur fans, take note: The Round Table can only host Pittsburghers for a few more days. This is the last weekend to see King Arthur and company take to the O’Reilly Theater stage for a delightful Ted Pappas-directed rendition of the musical drama “Camelot.” Centered around an affair between Lancelot and Arthur’s wife Guinevere and the subsequent repercussions, the play is rife with both tragedy and humor.

Following August Wilson: Book, tour delineate important Hill District sites

Post Gazette: "As he refined his powerful voice, first as a poet and later as a playwright, August Wilson heard lively rhythms in African-Americans' voices in Hill District jitney stations, barbershops and diners. His carefully attuned ear absorbed stories of struggle and dreams deferred, rich fodder for the cycle of 10 bittersweet plays he produced before his death in 2005. Now, with a new book that fits in your pocket, you can take a five-mile walking tour of the places that fueled the author's imagination even after he moved away in 1978.

Local groups helping nurture a strong dance community

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "When dancer and choreographer Maria Caruso moved back to Pittsburgh a decade ago, she reached out to the local dance community, to little avail. The only response she got was from Michele de la Reza and Peter Kope, co-directors of Attack Theatre. 'Otherwise, I didn't get a warm and fuzzy response back then,' says Caruso, founder of Bodiography Contemporary Ballet.

Spider-Man Spokesperson Says Producers Not Planning To Bring in a Co-Director

Playbill.com: "Earlier this week it was reported that playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa had been approached about tweaking the book of the new musical Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, which is currently in previews at the Foxwoods Theatre. The New York Post is now reporting that producers of the $65 million production are also looking to hire a co-director.

How to Make a DIY Adjustable Drafting Table from Any Desktop

Curbly | DIY Design Community: "The DIY Drafting Table Having figure out adequate storage solutions, a media workstation, and an all-purpose desk for general work, the last major furniture solution loomed: I needed a large work surface for art and craft projects: sewing, fabric-cutting, drawing, papercrafts, design and layout, etc. It'd have been awesome to have a dedicated cutting table and an drafting table, but I wouldn't have the room. A large drafting table would work, but they're often very large, and the support trestles can take up a lot of space, and I didn't have any to spare.

Spider-Man: Broadway Isn’t The Finish Line

2AMt: "What I haven’t heard mentioned in articles and reviews about Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is that, in 2011, for a mega-musical of this kind, Broadway is just an out-of-town tryout. Instead, the producers’ goal is to have a show that will eventually be up and running in a few dozen cities on six continents, simultaneously.

Eight Years Ago, A Handful of People Didn’t Do Their Job, & 100 People Died

Backstage at BackstageJobs.com: "Eight years ago tomorrow, February 20th, The Station nightclub in Rhode Island caught fire and burned to the ground. The fire was started when pryo, loaded too much for the size of the venue and placed too close to a wall, was launched by the manager of the onstage band and ignited the wall at the rear of the stage. The fire spread quickly, causing audience members to panic, not look for other exits, and head for the narrow hallway and door they had entered from. While there were technically enough exits for the crowd, some had been blocked by vendor and sponsor tables set up for the show, preventing easy escape. 100 people were killed.

New SCR leader is 'artistic, creative and approachable'

Daily Pilot: "After 47 years of leading Costa Mesa's acclaimed South Coast Repertory theater company, co-founders David Emmes and Martin Benson will soon finally relinquish their shared role of artistic director to Marc Masterson, an outsider from out of state.
'I don't think anyone should expect drastic change or sudden shifts of direction, but I do think that there is a new perspective … A different set of connections and a different way of working perhaps,' Masterson told the Daily Pilot in a phone interview on Friday, during a brief visit to Southern California.

A stark 'King Lear' graces The Oaks

Post Gazette: "To fully experience the National Theatre Live broadcast of 'King Lear,' arrive early to The Oaks Theater in Oakmont and know this is not the National Theatre onscreen.
Rather, it's London's intimate, 250-seat Donmar Warehouse, a small box with a thrust stage and level access through a shopping center. Donmar has sent 'Frost/Nixon,' 'Red' and 'Jude Law's 'Hamlet' to Broadway.

'Lonesome West' is a laugh-out-loud dramedy

Post Gazette: "It has all the apparent ingredients for warm-hearted domestic drama: two unmarried brothers, a pretty young woman and a soulful parish priest; a playwright who's absorbed all the great Irish playwrights from Synge to Beckett to Murphy (plus Sam Shepard's 'True West'); a colorful Connemara setting; and a detailed rural cottage that isn't a theatrical set so much as the real thing with a few audience seats wrapped around like wallpaper, making us part of the family.

'60s rock musical 'Hair' is fun but a little tangled at Heinz Hall

Post Gazette: "In the end, you're invited onstage to join the tribe in a celebration of the tune-in, turn-on, drop-out musical 'Hair,' but not before you're hit with a reminder that the peace and love generation was born out of an unpopular war and a drafted American military. Sorry to start with such a downer, man.

Cast works hard to make 'Hair' shine, sometimes too hard

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "'Hair' is a musical that works overtime to make the audience to like it. And the harder it works, the less I like it. Mine definitely is a minority opinion. Those attending Tuesday night's opening of the PNC Broadway Across America -- Pittsburgh presentation of this iconic 1960s musical overwhelmingly embraced this tribe of youngsters high on peace, pot and possibilities.

'Juan and John' explores aftermath of striking out in anger

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "There's more to baseball than hitting balls, running bases and scoring. For artists, baseball often becomes a metaphor to discuss larger political or historical events. Roger Guenveur Smith is one of the most recent to employ the sport. His 2009 solo-performer piece 'Juan and John' uses the 1965 brawl between Giants pitcher Juan Marichal and Dodgers catcher John Roseboro for his tale of race, retribution, redemption and forgiveness.

PStage Right takes a song-filled look at 'Working'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Stage Right celebrates the meaning of 'All in a day's work' for a variety of people in different professions at Greensburg Garden and Civic Center this weekend. The Greensburg-based professional theater company will stage three performances of 'Working,' a musical based on the best-selling book of interviews with American workers by Studs Terkel. With a score by award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz ('Wicked,' 'Godspell') and other artists, the show focuses on the hopes and dreams of everyday workers who share their thoughts through monologues and songs.

Shakespeare Is Everywhere in New York These Days

NYTimes.com: "THIS is the last weekend to see the New York production of “The Merchant of Venice” starring an Academy Award winner in one of Shakespeare’s greatest roles, Shylock the moneylender.

Masterson moves to South Coast Rep

Variety: "Marc Masterson is exiting his post as a.d. at the Actors Theater of Louisville, Ky., to take up the reins at Costa Mesa's South Coast Repertory. Masterson has spent 11 seasons in the top post at ATL, the theater that programs and produces the Humana Festival New American Plays.

New Name & Logo For UK PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund – StageHand

iSquint.net: "StageHand has been chosen as the new ‘public facing’ name for the Production Services Association (PSA) Welfare & Benevolent Fund after a PSA Conference call for ideas by the Fund’s chairman, Mike Lowe of Britannia Row Productions. It comes with a new logo depicting a helping hand.

Is your theatre or production in danger of an ADA lawsuit?

The Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark: "If you produce or operate a venue that houses Movies, concerts, or performing arts works, like theatre, comedy or spoken word performances, you may not be aware of the scope of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires that you make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.
Sure, we’ve all made entryways wider, installed ramps, and configured seating to allow for patrons in wheelchairs. But what about those patrons with less obvious disabilities, such as deafness and blindness?

SawStop Might Meet a Competitor: ‘SawDrop’

Popular Woodworking: "Ten years ago, table saws were about to change. In 2001, you could buy a cabinet saw, such as a Delta Unisaw, a Powermatic 66 or a clone of the Unisaw made in Taiwan. Or you could get a contractor’s saw, a heavy but relatively portable table saw. Benchtop saws were not a significant part of the market, and things hadn’t changed much since the end of World War II. All the saws at the time had one thing in common: awful guards that were rarely used. Things were changing on two fronts. Underwriter’s Laboratories and the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) were looking into bringing American saw’s guard systems into the modern age, spurred in large part by a pesky woodworker from Berea, Ky., named Kelly Mehler.

Millennium Park Garden Deemed Not Copyrightable, Because Gardens Are Not Authored

Techdirt: "Eric Goldman points us to a fascinating ruling concerning whether or not an artistic garden can be covered by copyright (pdf). The ruling itself (embedded below) is interesting for a variety of reasons. It goes over the basics of 'moral rights' in US copyright in great detail. As most people know, for the most part, the US does not recognize moral rights -- even though the Berne Convention (which the US has tragically signed on to) requires it. Partly to get around this, the US did put in extremely limited moral rights for a very small subset of works, and part of this case revolves around that.

On Location: Michigan to Hollywood -- 'Get off my lawn'

Los Angeles Times: "Like the Clint Eastwood character in the Detroit-area-set movie 'Gran Torino,' the new governor of Michigan is telling Hollywood to get off his lawn.
Rick Snyder, a Republican who was elected governor of the Great Lakes State on a platform to curb spending, wants to gut Michigan's film tax credit program, one of the most generous in the country. In his $45-billion budget plan, unveiled Thursday, Snyder proposed reducing or eliminating various state tax credits, including those awarded for filming.

Who Left-out the Steel? A new endangered species: Gridirons

TheatreFace: "As both a facility designer and a rigging systems inspector I have come to notice a disturbing trend in Theatre Stage House designs: No walk-on gridiron deck.

In The Wings - Theatrical Milliner - February, 2011

American Theatre Wing: "Theatrical Milliner Lynne Mackey makes customized hats for stage productions. Theatrical hats are created for a specific show, character, and costume design, fitted for each individual actor including their wig and microphone pack. Mackey must make adjustments for the needs of the sound designer, lighting designer, and choreographer to not impede their work. Seen here are dozens of hats, including large handmade ones from Mackey's favorite show The Color Purple.

Rose Brand Runs Contest to Promote How-To Blogs

Stage Directions: "Rose Brand is inviting all bloggers to guest-post on their “Know-How” blog. Rose Brand has started an ongoing “How Did YOU Do It?” contest, inviting all backstage-types to write up a post about how they solved a technical problem. Rose Brand will review the entries, and publish ones they deem worthy. Prizes include the exposure of appearing on the Rose Brand site, and a gift card. Rose Brand says there can be an “unlimited” number of winners—but you have to submit by April 25, 2011.

Is this how the Escher Waterfall machine works?

Boing Boing: "Yesterday, I blogged about an anonymous YouTuber who appeared to have built a machine that could make Escher's impossible self-replenishing waterfall a concrete reality. David Goldman thinks he knows how it was done, and sent this diagram along.

Journalism Majors Beware: New Tests Hold Schools Accountable for Students' Practical Skills

Fast Company: "Many college graduates are devoid of practical skills, according to new evidence from the provocative book, Academically Adrift. Fed up with the disconnect between employers and schools, two new tests aim to measure how schools prepare students for the real world: Britain may publish how economically successful a school’s students are after graduation, and the Collegiate Learning Assessment determines whether university graduates have any workplace communication skills.

Paper Machete: Fan's review of Spiderman: Turn off the Dark

WBEZ: "Paper Machete regular Jack Tamburri reviewed Spiderman: Turn off the Dark back on January 15, after seeing a preview. Out of deference to theater custom of not reviewing a show while it is still in previews, we've kept that review in the can.
Now that the reviews are out of the bag in NYC, though, it's our pleasure to release this Machete review by a young Chicago director and devoted Spiderman fan boy. Needless to say, Tamburri was ahead of the opinion curve.

Why I Love My 3D Printer

MakerBot Industries: "On Friday, February 11th, a young inventor named Schuyler, age 10, stepped on to the stage in front of a sold out crowd of 850 people at Ignite Phoenix and proceeded to explain why he loves his 3D printer, a MakerBot.

Frankenstein on stage: a case of double vision?

guardian.co.uk: "Danny Boyle's hotly anticipated production of Frankenstein, in a new version by Nick Dear, opens next week at the National theatre. The show's two leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, will be alternating the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, so, unless they can afford to go twice, audience members are going to have to choose which way round they want to see the casting. But is this doubling up just an astute marketing ploy? Or is it, perhaps, a broader commentary? Can the relationship of Frankenstein and the Creature tell us anything about the symbiotic relationship of stage and audience? Even about the theatre itself?

AGMA, AFM Partner Against NYC Ballet

Backstage: "The American Guild of Musical Artists and the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 announced Thursday that their respective negotiating committees met on Jan. 24 to discuss ways to combat the ballet's 'unacceptable approach to contract negotiations.' AGMA represents dancers; Local 802 represents orchestra musicians. Members of both unions are working under contracts that expired in August.

Pinburgh

Vimeo: "A short fantasy set into panoramic Pittsburgh industrial landscapes drawn by muralist Doug Cooper, Andrew Mellon Professor of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. A guy on a street car sees a dancer on city steps who then enters a bar where someone is playing pinball, and the game is joined with the entire city activated in a city-wide game. The film features CMU School of Drama's PigPen Theatre as actors and as the creators of the score

'Movie Sets' exhibit takes in the big picture

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Artist and Carnegie Mellon University architecture professor Doug Cooper always envisioned his large-scale panoramic drawings of Pittsburgh as backdrops for movie sets. But it wasn't until recently that he had the opportunity to incorporate them into an actual motion picture. Now the completed film 'Pinburgh' is available for viewing on Vimeo.com.

More Really Scary Rigging!

Briefingroom on LiveDesignOnline: "The photos of real rigging, sent to Clancy staff members by rigging inspectors and theatre managers, have generated more than one thousand friends to date for the page.
Here’s how it works: Each week, Clancy posts a new photo of a rigging accident-waiting-to-happen at http://www.facebook.com/JRClancy . These photos stand as vivid examples of amateur errors, often involving hardware that was never meant to bear weight.

Feedback from the issue of 2.17.2011

Anchorage Press: "It’s too bad Scott Christiansen didn’t have the time to actually talk to any boots on the ground who worked on the two big movies that came to town, or to anyone from our union about films (“Film schooled,” February 10). I am a member of IATSE Local #918. We are a theatre and film union that started a local chapter in 1983. You know us as the folks that set up the Anchorage Symphony, Anchorage Opera, and the Broadway shows like Spamalot and The Lion King when they come to town. Observant viewers have probably seen our ‘bug,’ a five point IA logo at the bottom of the credits for major movies and TV shows. The biggest difference between Everybody Loves Whales and Ghost Vision was the former was a union movie and the latter was not.

State Budget Cuts May Turn off Federal Arts Spigot

Smart Journalism. Real Solutions. Miller-McCune.: "The Arizona Commission on the Arts recently inaugurated a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of arts education. Fittingly, it features imagery that is imaginative, provocative and disturbing, including a paint brush that morphs into the type of needles junkies use to shoot up. The caption is concise and compelling: “Kids will leave their mark, with or without the arts.”

Registration Open for Int’l Symposium on Chicago Theatre

Stage Directions: "How has Chicago theatre developed from a grassroots movement to a global phenomenon over the past 50 years? What is the current state of “the beating heart of American theatre,” as British critic Michael Billington recently described Chicago? And what is the future of theatre in Chicago – in America and around the world – in a time of rapidly escalating technological innovation and globalization?

Yussef El Guindi Wins Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award

Stage Directions: "Seattle-based playwright Yussef El Guindi, author of numerous plays including Our Enemies (Osborn Award), Back of the Throat and Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes, has been selected to receive the 2010 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award. Honorable mentions went to playwrights Nastaran Ahmadi, Denmo Ibrahim, Ken Kaisser, Mona Mansour and Heather Raffo.

Technical Director Job at University of Maryland, College Park

Mid-Atlantic HERC: "The Technical Director is responsible for managing the execution of the scenery, props, paint and related needs for the Center's academic productions and other Center users as assigned. The Technical Director oversees all scene, prop and paint shop activities and scheduling. The Technical Director also supports the Production Services department in accomplishing the work of the Center as it relates to performance construction or engineering.

Two Kansas City Women File $4 Million Lawsuit Against Billy Elliot

Playbill.com: "Two women from Kansas City, MO, who attended the Nov. 23, 2009, performance of Billy Elliot The Musical have filed a $4 million lawsuit over injuries sustained while watching the hit musical, according to the New York Post.

Getting Swinging Lights to Stop on a Dime

Entertainment Engineering: "The Royal Shakespeare Company recently went through a $200 million refurbishment at Stratford-upon-Avon. During that refurbishment, it was decided that the lighting system design needed to be approached differently than in the past, and had to be driven by health and safety concerns. For example, in the past, maintenance personnel had to climb scaffolding to where fixtures were mounted then, while strapped into a secure harness, reach to replace the bulbs or perform maintenance tasks. The reduction of bridges or trusses would eliminate the need for maintenance crews to work at such heights during routine work or when adjusting the lighting. The original idea was to be able to hang the lights from cables that could be lowered to the maintenance crew. By doing so, the RSC would be able to provide higher levels of safety, and save on maintenance times, both of which were expected to produce a cost savings.

Sennheiser Canada Presents Live Mixing Workshop This Month in Toronto

Briefingroom on LiveDesignOnline: "Audio specialist Sennheiser Canada announced that it will be hosting a very special live mixing workshop February 21st through 23rd in downtown Toronto. The workshop provides audio engineers with a complete overview of how to set up and run a live event

J. R. Clancy Supports PAMC "Roadie for a Day" Boot Camp

PLSN: "What's so tough about being a roadie? Performing arts venue managers will learn the answer to this question first-hand when they participate in this year's Performing Arts Managers Conference (PAMC) 'Roadie for a Day' Boot Camp on Saturday, Feb. 26.
The event will be held at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas as part of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) annual PAMC conference, which continues through March 1 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel.

ETC Plans First End-User Workshop at Company Headquarters

PLSN: "ETC is hosting an end-user training event at its headquarters for the first time. CUE - which stands for Create, Understand, Experience - targets lighting professionals of every skill level.
CUE's mission is to create closer connections between ETC and its customers, and to foster knowledge exchange between end-users themselves. Hands-on product training will be led by the ETC employees who create and develop the company's gear and by other leading industry professionals.

Union chiefs travel to Hollywood to get film work for Massachusetts

The Boston Globe: "Boston union chiefs traveled to Hollywood this week to deliver a message to film studio honchos: We’re good guys. Really.
Not long ago, local trade unionists who worked on television and movie sets had a reputation for adding unnecessary costs and workers to a job. According to one union leader, “a few greedy people’’ even peddled movie scripts and rental properties to out-of-town producers or demanded film roles from directors on the set.
“We’ve had a sordid past in the motion-picture industry,’’ said Sean M. O’Brien, president of the Teamsters Local 25.

America's Most Promising Startups: Cutting Merchants' Fees for Credit-Card Processing

BusinessWeek: "In 2008, Sean Harper, 30, and Josh Krall, 32, grew frustrated shopping for credit-card processing while running their own businesses because they found it hard to compare rates and services.

Legends Of The Wall, Part 2: Creating Content

Live Design: "Much of the content seen during Roger Waters’ The Wall tour is based on the original 35mm animations created by Gerald Scarfe for the 1982 film, The Wall. What makes these images different is that, rather than being inspired by WWII, as many animations in the film had been, they’ve been updated to offer a 3D look and contemporary political and social commentary. For “Thin Ice,” for example, hundreds of real images of loved ones lost at war came from a call for submissions on Waters’ website.

Disney union members protest ahead of contract talks

cfnews13.com: "Earnings are up at Disney, but union members say the company is still refusing to give employees a small raise.
Contract negotiations between Disney and the Service Trades Council, its largest union, have been going on for more than six months.
However, neither protests nor increased profits are having much effect.
At Disney, earnings may be up $1.3 billion, but the offer is the same.
This is something union leaders representing more than 20,000 Disney employees don't understand.

Articulture

If you've been looking for a chance to get more involved in the Pennsylvania art scene, now's your chance!

Articulture is a community supported art project - essentially, nine artists have been commissioned to create fifty original art pieces that will fit into a 12X18X12 inch box.

As I understand it, each box is individually constructed, some out of metal by the Amish community, some out of wood - the box itself is worth $150 or so.

Inside the box are nine art pieces, specifically curated by the project creator, Chad Herzog. Each piece would sell in a gallery for at least $75, so you're getting more than $1000 worth of art for only $300. (Including one of my image/plays, which are printed using archival ink on museum-grade paper - they're so nice I couldn't afford to print extra copies for my self)

Please visit the Articulture Website (http://www.articulture.us/) or more information on the artists or to sign up for a share.