Discovering Cutting Edge Technology through USITT

sightlines.usitt.org: Technology can be a wondrous thing. It can also be scary, or difficult, but usually it advances in response to a problem. Successful technology is rarely the first solution but a compilation of attempted solutions that build on other questions asked.

Shane Smith: TV and Film Production Costs Don’t Make Sense in the Digital Era

Variety: I think the biggest issue for legacy media — both TV and film — is that it just costs too much money to develop a TV series or movie. And most of them don’t work. Then the one that works has to pay for the rest.

If you look at film, distribution is pre-bought. If you’ve paid for the distribution, you say, “I have to make sure it’s a film that gets enough butts in the seats.” I think that’s the problem: It becomes prohibitively expensive, and you can’t develop films for a smaller amount of money.

Themendous Sizzle part 3 of 4

YouTube: What happens when you get hit with a 5 day deadline? The shop starts to get dirty in this part 3 of a hard hit deadline for Jimmy Buffet's Margartiaville in Jamaica. Having just gotten hit by Hurrican Sandy, they had an urgent need to rebuild, and came to us; Themendous, for that very help.

Incentives Scorecard: South Carolina Boasts Aggressive Production Lures

Variety: From “Dawson’s Creek” to “Forrest Gump,” South Carolina has seen its share of filming. The state lures productions with aggressive incentives, an experienced crew base, mild climate and the antebellum architecture of Charleston.

Experience Counts in WGA Foundation’s Veterans Project

Variety: Born to a military father in Thailand, raised in Germany and having served in the U.S. military herself out of high school, she says she’s seen so much of life that she needed an outlet to tell about it. “So I transitioned to being a filmmaker,” she says.

“Wonder Buffalo” is Berg’s first fully realized project, one that she developed at the Writers Guild Foundation’s Veterans Writing Project.

3D printing: Who’s investing now and what’s coming next

Tech News and Analysis: Printing has come a long way since Gutenberg and the first printing press in 1439. The printing industry has evolved from the golden age of printing blocks to modern 2D printers capable of mass-producing documents in minutes. We have seen these devices become an integral part of our lives, but today’s technology is taking them even further for the everyday consumer.

The NFL wants you to think these things are illegal

Ars Technica: The Super Bowl is the NFL’s flagship event each year, and the league has invested a lot in the event’s branding and broadcasting. In light of that investment, it’s understandable that the NFL would be protective of its trademarks and copyrights surrounding it. But that protectiveness has led to the NFL, and other businesses around it, perpetuating a number of myths about what you can and can’t do with the Super Bowl—including the words “Super Bowl.”

Prop Thtr: Not About Money, But Art

The Clyde Fitch Report: 1981. Do you remember what you were doing that year? I learnt to walk, talk and eat with a spoon. Yep, it was a big year for me. It was also a big year for Stefan Brun and Scott Vehill because that’s when Prop Thtr mounted its first production. And just sit on this for a moment: Prop Thtr is still here. They are not only in performance with their latest production, Viral Kitty, written by Paul Carr, but hosting Rhinofest, Chicago’s longest running fringe festival.

The Curious Case of the Bus Mom

Dimmer Beach: Quite simply, a Bus Mom takes care of the bus when the driver is at the hotel during the day. Your bus is your house on the road, and just like you have to clean and stock your house with food, you have to do the same with your bus. I was a Bus Mom, and a damn good one (if I say so myself). There are three main responsibilities for a Bus Mom

Google's 3D-Scanning Project Tango Just Got a Little More Real

gizmodo.com: Google ATAP (that's Advanced Technology and Projects) is where wonderful things are born. Things like the animated magic of Glen Keane's Duet or the modular Project Ara smartphone. It's all great stuff, but it's also all experimental—if a project doesn't make enough progress in two years, it's dead. But Google's Project Tango is alive and well: it just graduated from ATAP.

Why Do We Love Football So Much? Theater Tackles Tough Questions

Shots - Health News : NPR: Football injuries have long been seen by some as a badge of honor. A broken sternum, a busted knee, a pierced kidney: all evidence of tenacity on the field.

But the emerging science around head injuries in football — and the long-term effects of repeated concussions – is forcing players, team owners and football fans to come to grips with the idea that the sport they love may be extracting a much higher price than anyone knew.

What Went Wrong With the Spider-Man Musical

WIRED: It’s too bad Glen Berger doesn’t have spidey sense; it would have warned him to run away. But in 2005, when Berger was hired to work on a Broadway musical adaptation of Spider-Man, it seemed like a dream come true for the well-respected but financially struggling playwright. In the wake of the Spider-Man films, a musical version seemed like a surefire hit, especially given the director (Julie Taymor of The Lion King fame) and composers (Bono and Edge of U2). Everyone involved thought the show would be brilliant.

‘Rasheeda Speaking’ Stars Tonya Pinkins and Dianne Wiest

NYTimes.com: A dark comedy about racism both covert and obvious, written by the Chicago playwright Joel Drake Johnson, “Rasheeda Speaking” begins previews Tuesday at the Signature Center in a New Group production directed by Cynthia Nixon.

Mystery of Vibration Measurement in the U.S.

Sensidyne: Vibration, specifically hand arm vibrations (HAVs), has remained somewhat of a mystery for most safety professionals in the United Sates. Why is it that a hazard acknowledged around the world seems not to effect American workers?

A Trip to the Work Boot Factory

Tools of the Trade: Before a recent trip to Portland, Oregon for JLC LIVE, I arranged to visit the headquarters and U.S. factory of footwear maker, Keen. Originally known for making sports sandals, the 10-year old company has since expanded into other categories—most recently, work boots. Their Industrial Line includes boots with features such as puncture-resistant soles, metatarsal guards, slip-resistant tread, and steel, composite, or aluminum toes.

Pittsburgh Benedum Center Adds TSL Soundfield Microphone System

Sports Video Group: The Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was constructed in 1928 as a “movie palace”. Over the years, it hosted legendary music performances from The Grateful Dead, to Bob Marley and more. Now known as the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, it is home to the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Recently, Chris Evans, house sound engineer for the Benedum Center, installed the TSL ST450 MKII Soundfield microphone system.

Recording: In The Studio: Is Less Really More? Sometimes…

Pro Sound Web: Beefy computer processors. Humongous track counts. More virtual instruments and plug-ins than anyone could possibly ever need.

And, it’s all (relatively) inexpensive.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather be a recording engineer now than 1981. There have been so many advances in technology, so many ways to get really great-sounding music.

But is there a downside to all these options? Absolutely.

CA bill would give NFL cheerleaders employee rights

UTSanDiego.com: Professional sports cheerleaders in California — including the Charger Girls — would gain employee rights and benefits under a bill introduced Thursday by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, D-San Diego, said her bill, AB 202, would protect cheerleaders from workplace abuses, including unpaid overtime and being forced to spend significant personal funds on the job, by giving them rights equal to the team’s employees. The teams would have to treat cheerleaders as employees under California law.

New Milwaukee M18 Sawzall Reciprocating Saw

ToolGuyd: Milwaukee has come out with a new M18 cordless Sawzall reciprocating saw, model 2621. The new saw was designed to replace their previous brushed motor recip saw, model 2620, and offers a couple of updated features and capabilities.

Warner Music Group Settles Lawsuit Over Unpaid Interns

The Hollywood Reporter: Warner Music Group has now become the largest music company to resolve litigation over its past internship programs. On Thursday, the attorney for the plaintiffs wrote a letter to the judge announcing that the substantive terms had been agreed upon by the parties.

The Massive Cost Of Hosting A Super Bowl, By The Numbers

ThinkProgress: When Tom Brady and Richard Sherman square off in Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday in Glendale, AZ, the city of 230,000 will be in the home stretch of its week-long hosting duties. But the huge expenses of becoming a magnet for big events in sports will linger.

Students assigned to erect new porn genre at Carnegie Mellon, grades based on arousal

www.campusreform.org: A new course at Carnegie Mellon's School of Art is requiring students create a new genre of pornography or sexual fetish that will be graded on the basis of arousal.

Internet Resistance, according to the online syllabus, is a course where students “develop terrible ideas for the networked society” and discuss “critical issues in cyberculture.”

Game On

Carnegie Mellon University: "Why is my heart broken?" asked Dani Belko, a producer at Schell Games, as she played a videogame called "A Plug's Life" on a large screen in Carnegie Mellon University's Hunt Library.

Controlling a small electrical socket (with a comically split heart) around a virtual world, she was play-testing games as part of this year's Global Game Jam, the world's largest game creation event where people created and shared games online over 48 hours. This year's theme was "What Do We Do Now?"

Some 25,000 people created more than 5,000 games in 78 countries Jan. 23-25.

Avant-Home-and-Garden: Site-specific Theatre and the Politics of Public and Private Space

HowlRound: Approaching an unaddressed house at 10:00pm on a foggy Seattle night, I felt the same flailing thrill of stepping off a curb that I’d felt six months earlier at a community garden in Brooklyn. It’s a sense of griplessness I get in social situations with unfamiliar rules, but it’s unusual for me to feel it going to the theatre—a space in which, as Richard Schechner notes in Environmental Theater, the rules of behavior are usually well regulated and strict.

Increase in funding for Maclab

Leduc Rep: The City of Leduc and Black Gold Regional Schools (BGRS) division are increasing their financial support of the Maclab Centre for the Performing Arts after a recent vote by a local theatre union to represent Maclab staff.
According to a letter written to Leduc city council by Maclab Centre For the Performing Arts Society president Fern Richardson, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 210 voted in mid-November to represent the Maclab’s theatre technicians, a move that was supported by the Alberta Labour Relations Board, despite a challenge by the Maclab.

The Impact Of Acoustics On Worship Music Styles

Pro Sound Web: If you asked people how they fell about “room acoustics,” you’ll find that many don’t even know what it is. We’re immersed in reflected sound every minute of every day, but it’s largely taken for granted unless it becomes very annoying.

Stiletto Titanium Hybrid Fiberglass Handle Hammers

Tools of the Trade: I’ve used many different hammers over the last 20 years. In 2002 I bought a Stiletto TiBone hammer and never looked back. A few years ago they incorporated a side nail puller into the head of the hammer, making a perfect hammer even “perfecter”.

Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to host humanities festival

TribLIVE: Pittsburgh long has been known for its many bridges.

The Humanities Center of Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust are about to add another one.

With the first Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, the organizations hope to connect the academic world to the broader community.

Broadway Goes Green on February 4

The BroadwayBlog: Kermit the Frog used to sing, “It’s not that easy being green.” He must have lived in New York City, where it can be a challenge to responsibly dispose of electronics. Fortunately, the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is sponsoring an E-waste drive for the theater industry and fans on Wednesday, February 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Gershwin Theatre Breezeway at 222 West 51st Street

Lifeline Theatre Names Lavina Jadhwani as Casting Director

www.broadwayworld.com: Lifeline Theatre welcomes Lavina Jadhwani as Casting Director beginning February 2 marking the transition of the role from a volunteer position to a salaried member of the administrative staff. Reporting directly to Artistic Director Dorothy Milne and Managing Director Allison Cain, Jadhwani will be responsible for overseeing the audition processes for the company, collaborating closely with directors to fulfill the casting needs for Lifeline's three MainStage and three KidSeries productions every season

PAC: Technical director died in fall, OSHA investigating

Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports: Officials have confirmed a 54-year-old man working at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center died after a hydraulic lift toppled over Wednesday afternoon.

David Swain, Technical Director for the Performing Arts Center, was found unresponsive on the stage next to the basket of a toppled lift around 4:22 p.m., according to North Charleston police. There were no witnesses that saw the lift fall, officers say.

Swing a Mallet and Light Up A Bridge in This Giant Strongman Game

The Creators Project: Step right up! The high striker—also known as the strongman game—a mainstay attraction at many a carnival, festival, and fairway, just got the high tech update it's been waiting for. Created by Beam’Art, the small creative company formed by Benjamin Petit and Antoine Vanel, Hi Striker is an interactive installation that takes the classic "how hard can you swing a hammer" challenge to soaring new heights.

Adobe is suing Forever 21 for pirating Photoshop

The Verge: Forever 21 has been pirating photoshop, according to a new lawsuit from Adobe, and it's facing serious fines as a result. The suit was filed yesterday in California District Court, alleging that Forever 21 pirated 63 different instances of Adobe software including copies of Photoshop, Acrobat, and Illustrator.

Arcade Hosts Pittsburgh's First Sketch Comedy Festival

PMWeekend - January 2015: Laugh off your winter-weather bad mood this weekend at Arcade Comedy Theater’s first sketch comedy festival, Sketchville. Fans of “Saturday Night Live” and “Portlandia” should enjoy the three-night, six-show, BYOB event featuring performances from eight groups.

Drama Behind Reality TV Cameras Puts Producers on the Line

www.aflcio.org: Inhumanly long hours, cruelty, frayed nerves. And that’s just behind the cameras at reality shows. “It’s scary and nerve-wracking,” said Sevita Qarshi, a producer walking the line Thursday outside the Realscreen conference at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.>

You Thought You Knew 3D

The CAD Insider: Most of us work in 3D. Quite a few buildings are 3D BIM. Product design is done with solid modeling. Even mapping and GIS professionals realize the world is not flat. But even while making and visualizing in 3D, we often have only our imagination to see our creations in the world in which they will exist. A new building has to be imagined in the city block. A car has to be imagined being assembled on the line.

What to Know about Adding Lighting to Houses of Worship

www.avnetwork.com: The year 2015 is finally upon us and yet many of house of worship facilities seem to forget that “L” part of the holy trifecta. And by trifecta, I’m of course referring to AV L systems.

'Brahman/I' uses humor to address stereotyping and finding an identity

TribLIVE: A community center in Friendship becomes a kitschy comedy club, while a stand-up comedy routine offers a hilarious exploration of identity and acceptance in Quantum Theatre's production of “Brahman/I.”

Subtitled “A One-Hijra Stand-Up Comedy Show,” Aditi Brennan Kapil's play explores history, mythology, gender, ethnic heritage and high school.

View from the ArtsBridge: A Junior's Advice on How to Choose a College

ArtsBridge: In our View from the ArtBridge blog series, we’re highlighting members of the ArtsBridge community, mining them for advice for students still in the throes of the application process. Wondering where to apply? How to choose a college? How to prepare for your auditions? ArtsBridge students have advice!

TDF Launches PXP Forum for Young Theatregoers

Stage Directions: The Theatre Development Fund launched PXP, an student-run online forum built to engage students in the creative process and provide opportunities to attend live performances.

Visual Statement: Ra Ra Raas

The Michigan Daily: If you have never seen a Raas team in action, I would highly recommend it. On Saturday January 24, 2015 I followed the teams competing in the Dandia Dhamaka Raas Competition, a competition between universities from across the United States in a form of traditional Indian dance.

NAMM Round-Up, Part 1

Stage Directions: The 2015 Winter NAMM show took place last week, from Jan. 22-25, and as always it held a cornucopia of new sound gear. This year’s bumper crop of gear includes new analog mixers from Soundcraft (its Signature Series) and Allen & Heath (Zed Power 1000); an expanded-through-combining digital mixing system from PreSonus (StudioLive AI Mix systems); Portable PA's from JBL (SRX800 Series), Mackie (Freeplay) and others; new wireless microphone systems from Sennheiser (the Evolution Wireless D1), AKG (DMS800) and others; as well as big changes to Pro Tools from Avid and much, much more.

street light disco illuminates sydney with reflective optical effects

www.designboom.com: located in sydney’s martin place, a pedestrian promenade in the heart of the central business district, office feuerman has built an installation called ‘street light disco’. the project takes the vertical banner, which is typically used as a marketing device, and reinvents it as a dynamic and interactive surface, creating a new sensory experience. a familiar piece of city infrastructure is transformed, altering the existing urban streetscape and encouraging the passersby to pause and enjoy the public space of the metropolis.

So Many Questions: Choreographer Melissa Barak enjoys sharing the creative process

TribLIVE: If the only thing you associate ballet with is the old-school version of “Swan Lake,” take note: Barak Ballet founder and New York City Ballet alum Melissa Barak is bucking the idea that being en pointe can never be cutting edge. Ballet in the 21st century is becoming more collaborative, she says. From hip-hop to comedy, it's creative prowess is bound only by the limits of the imagination.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre broadens range for season

TribLIVE: The increasing strength of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has emboldened artistic director Terrence Orr to offer up an ambitious range of dance for the company's 2015-16 season.

The company will perform works from 1856 to 2010 by nine choreographers, presented in three full-length ballets and two mixed programs.

Performances will be at the Benedum Center, Downtown, except as noted.

The Coolbox Tool Box Has Everything But the Kitchen Sink

ToolGuyd: The Coolbox has a slew of built-in features, such as a whiteboard, a 3-outlet power bar, a built-in 20V 5Ah LiPo battery, a 12′ retractable power cord, a bottle opener, LED flood light, USB charging ports, Bluetooth speakers, a smartphone and tablet stand, a smartphone compartment, and a digital clock.

Buzzwords To Avoid During Your Next Job Interview

AskMen: LinkedIn has been busy compiling the most overused buzzwords on its global network of profiles during 2014. If you want to stand out at your next job interview or in your next application, you might want to avoid describing yourself as "motivated," "passionate" or "creative."

Episode 40 - Broadway to LA

Costume Cafe: Hello! Last week I hosted my second ever Costume Café Live at Maker City LA. What an evening of good company and grand conversation! Tony Award-Winning Costume Designer, Linda Cho and Master Craftsperson, Hallie Dufresne of the LA Opera Costume Shop bantered about designing and building elaborate costumes from Broadway to LA and the creative challenges they faced along the way. Linda and Hallie are currently collaborating on designing and building costumes for the upcoming LA Opera production of The Ghost of Versailles, premiering on February 7, 2015 in downtown Los Angeles.

4 out of 5 musicals failed their investors

New York Post: Pronounce the word artist, to conjure up the image of a solitary genius. A sacred aura still attaches to the word, a sense of one in contact with the numinous. “He’s an artist,” we’ll say in tones of reverence about an actor or musician or director. “A true artist,” we’ll solemnly proclaim our favorite singer or photographer, meaning someone who appears to dwell upon a higher plane. Vision, inspiration, mysterious gifts as from above: such are some of the associations that continue to adorn the word.

The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur

The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur - The Atlantic: Pronounce the word artist, to conjure up the image of a solitary genius. A sacred aura still attaches to the word, a sense of one in contact with the numinous. “He’s an artist,” we’ll say in tones of reverence about an actor or musician or director. “A true artist,” we’ll solemnly proclaim our favorite singer or photographer, meaning someone who appears to dwell upon a higher plane. Vision, inspiration, mysterious gifts as from above: such are some of the associations that continue to adorn the word.

USITT to Honor Scenic Designer Douglas W. Schmidt with Distinguished Achievement Award, New Book

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: Set designer Douglas W. Schmidt is USITT's 2015 Distinguished Achiever in Scene Design and the subject of its new book, The Designs of Douglas W. Schmidt, to be released at USITT 2015 in Cincinnati.

A Love Note to the Audio Kingdom

www.avnetwork.com: “Audio is King”—that was the soundest piece of advice that came from my college experience.

I first heard the statement in my digital journalism class, a course geared towards teaching us the skills necessary to produce and edit our own videos for a news environment.

A Carpenter's Tool Vest

Tools of the Trade: For the last couple of years I've been wearing a Björnkläder Jubilee Carpenter's Tool Vest. I got it because it has better storage options than traditional tool belts.

I dislike wearing tool belts because they're bulky and the tools hang out and scratch finish surfaces, so for most of my career I worked in cargo pants with the pockets stuffed full of tools and supplies.

Should You Hire “Old” People?

Remodelers Advantage: I was interacting with a younger contractor about his search for an estimator.

Here is what the contractor wrote to me:

I wanted to get your opinion on a quick question. How much weight should I be placing on age when looking at potential candidates for the Estimator?

Storm forces Broadway, Theater Hall of Fame induction to go dark

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The show must go on? Apparently, not always. Early this afternoon, in the face of accumulating snow and a blizzard predicted to drop two feet of the stuff on greater New York by Tuesday morning, the Shuberts, Nederlanders and their brethren pulled the plug on Broadway.

Midnight Rider: New ‘Safety for Sarah’ PSA Debuts at Sundance

Variety: The parents of Sarah Jones, the camera assistant killed a year ago on the “Midnight Rider” set, have launched a new effort to push for safety on sets.

Richard and Elizabeth Jones unveiled a new public service announcement Monday at the Sundance Film Festival and spoke at a panel on film set safety.

This Museum Displays Stolen Artworks in Augmented Reality

The Creators Project: Before ITP graduate student Ziv Schneider created the Oculus Rift-accessible Museum of Stolen Art, halfway across the world another institution—also called the Museum of Stolen Art—was debuting its gallery exhibition of works currently reported stolen or missing. Works could be viewed through the screen of a tablet or phone.

Watch Four Disney Artists Paint One Tree

MAKE: As parts of Walt Disney’s creations come out of the vault, some kind souls have taken it upon themselves to upload some old goodies on YouTube for our enjoyment. Four Artists Paint One Tree is an interesting documentary that surfaces ideas about art, style, and collaboration. In some ways, you can see the art studio of Walt Disney as a Open Source artistic culture where a plethora of artists come together to create each scene.

Go behind the scenes of Varekai in Tulsa

www.cirquefascination.com: The idea of Cirque du Soleil rose out of the work of a group of Quebec street performers who dreamed of creating a new kind of circus to entertain audiences around the world with shows that demonstrated all the strength, flexibility, daring and humor of which human beings are capable.

Runaway Lab Theatre’s “FAUST (SAVE ME OR I’LL DIE)” In Different Locations Throughout City Of Chicago

SHOWBIZ CHICAGO: February 27th through March 22nd 2015, The Runaways Lab
Theatre Company will present their production of “Faust: Part 1″ by
Johann Von Goethe in 19 different secret locations across the City of
Chicago, from Pilsen to Roger’s Park. The show will never be performed
twice in the same space.

What Will Your Learning Space Look Like in 2018?

www.avnetwork.com: The building blocks for the future of learning space design are already around us. Exploring five key areas will highlight the challenges our industry must overcome to make that future a reality. But first, one must understand the overarching educational trend that is driving the process: the collaborative classroom.

The Importance of CPR & AED Safety Training

Occupational Health & Safety: Before convincing a company's leaders to install automated external defibrillators in their offices and campuses, Marc Lawrence says he often has to start with a heart lesson. First, he has to explain that sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack, that there often are no symptoms, and that it's not something that only affects mostly seniors, but can happen at any age.

OSHA Training Course Offered by USITT, IATSE, & IATSE Training Trust Fund March 16-17 in Cincy

Stage Directions: USITT, IATSE & IATSE Training Trust Fund are collaborating to run an OSHA 10/General Entertainment Safety training class prior to USITT's 2015 Annual Conference & Stage Expo this March.

Nemetschek Vectorworks Launches Conference Pass Giveaway Program

Stage Directions: Under Nemetschek Vectorworks' Conference Pass Giveaway program, three entries will be selected throughout 2015 to attend 2015 PLANET Student Career Days, USITT's Annual Conference & Stage Expo 2015, or LAbash2015.

Multichannel Power Amplifiers: The Evolution Of “Heavy Metal”

Pro Sound Web: Using our Stephen Hawking approved design for a real time machine, we journey to the dawn of the last century.

It’s the summer of 1905 and in under a year the mechanical age will give way to the dawning of the electrical age. At this time the world is dominated by giant machines that can truly be called “heavy iron.”

PCC foes dueling over Craiglist call for workers

www.philly.com: The Craigslist post looked promising:

"Immediate help needed $16hr. + OT," read the headline, followed by "Help needed at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia over the course of the next six weeks."

The posting went up Tuesday evening.

What Does Privacy 'Look' Like? Carnegie Mellon Project Seeks Drawings

Campus Technology: To a kindergartener privacy looks like what Spiderman needs to put his costume on. To somebody in her 60s, it's a picture of somebody walking the dog in the countryside "away from everyone" to have time for "thinking and reflecting." These are the kinds of drawings Carnegie Mellon is receiving through its invitation to people to draw what privacy means to them. So far, the Pittsburgh university has amassed "hundreds of drawings" from participants aged five to 91.

A Practical Guide for Choosing Microphones in Corporate Installs

www.avnetwork.com: Beyond the world of wired and wireless vocal and instrument microphones, there is a broad range of options suited to corporate applications. Increasingly, it seems, mic manufacturers are also making complete systems available that expand the telephony, telepresence and discussion options available. So which mic is right for your project?

Imagine Dragons to play a concert on a flight from Las Vegas

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Southwest Airlines is taking Las Vegas indie rock band Imagine Dragons to new heights.

The Dallas-based airline, the busiest commercial carrier at McCarran International Airport, will host a concert on a flight between Las Vegas and Atlanta as part of a promotion for the release of the band’s new album on Feb. 17.

Nominations open for Excellence in Theatre Education Award

The Tartan Online: Last year, Carnegie Mellon University became the exclusive higher education partner of the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre. As a result, the next Tony Awards will feature a new category: The Excellence in Theatre Education Award. Nominations for the award are now open, and Carnegie Mellon will play a major role in granting this award.

Bill Nye says Bill Belichick made no sense

ProFootballTalk: “We took 12 brand new authentic NFL footballs and exposed them to the different elements they would have experienced throughout the game.” said Thomas Healy, founder of HeadSmart Labs and a masters student in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon. “Out of the twelve footballs we tested, we found that on average, footballs dropped 1.8 PSI when being exposed to dropping temperatures and wet conditions.”

Mic Techniques For Taming The Live Stage

Pro Sound Web: Let’s face it—the live sound reinforcement realm presents some microphone challenges that regularly threaten sound quality.

Look at the conditions. The monitors feed back. They leak into the vocal microphones and color the sound. The bass sound leaks into the drum mics, and the drums leak into the piano microphones.

How Broadway Is Losing Its 'Middle Ground'

NPR: Broadway is New York's biggest tourist attraction and brought in $1.3 billion in ticket sales last season. But it's also a high-stakes gamble for producers, since only 1 in 4 Broadway shows turns a profit. This month, two of the fall's most highly anticipated musicals, a revival of Side Show and The Last Ship, with songs by Sting, have thrown in the towel — closing, having lost almost their entire investments.

Cinema of the North

MinnesotaPlaylist.com: First of all, I think it’s important to stop referring to Minnesota as the Midwest. Not only is it unspecific (are we talking about Ohio? Missouri? Nebraska?), it’s also exactly the sort of quiescent, “okay whatever works for you guys” attitude that makes it hard to take ourselves seriously.

We’re the Northern Borderlands, the edge of the country, the North. Being an actual place, instead of a mid-place, brings with it certain rights, privileges and responsibilities. We get to talk about what’s special and strange about here, what makes it different than elsewhere, and what that means to our culture and our art.

Plan seeks diversity at SoCal theater companies — but some question it

LA Times: A group of Los Angeles theater leaders will announce this week an aggressive plan to diversify Southern California theater companies, the productions they present and the audiences they draw.

Tim Dang, producing artistic director of East West Players, has written an initiative that calls for at least 51% of those employed by Southern California theater companies by 2019 to be people of color, women or those younger than 35.

News: Pittsburg Benedum Center Explores New Dimensions with TSL Soundfield Microphone System

news.creativecow.net: The Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was constructed in 1928 as a “movie palace”. Over the years, it hosted legendary music performances from The Grateful Dead, to Bob Marley and more. Now known as the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, it is home to the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.

“Invisibilia” and the Evolving Art of Radio

The New Yorker: In an early episode of “Invisibilia,” a new NPR show about the unseen forces that shape human behavior—thoughts, emotions, assumptions, ideas—Ira Glass asked the co-hosts, Alix Spiegel and Lulu Miller, if they had brought a rat into NPR headquarters. (The episode guest-starred, “Serial”-style, on that week’s “This American Life.”) Yes they had, they told him, and they’d asked their co-workers a question: “Do you think that the thoughts that you have in your head could influence how that rat moves through space?”

In Legal Maneuver, City Opera Chooses Lower Bid for Company's Assets

Playbill.com:

The sale of City Opera's assets and name continues to go unresolved.

City Opera filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2013. After a court auction was held Jan. 20, a board member of City Opera said the organization preferred the bid made by NYCO Renaissance, even though Opera New York offered $250,000 more, according to the New York Times.

Strand Centennial Video Project: Paul Vincent

Theatre content from Live Design: The Strand Centennial Video Project is a series of interviews produced by Live Design for Philips Strand Lighting as part of the company's centennial celebration. The fifteenth in the series is with Paul Vincent, president of Vincent Lighting Systems.

Hugh Jackman and Judith Light Want You to Nominate Your Teacher for the Excellence in Theatre Education Award - Video Flash - Jan 22, 2015

www.theatermania.com: The Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University recently announced a new partnership presenting the inaugural "Excellence in Theatre Education Award." The annual award will recognize a theater educator in the United States who has demonstrated impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession.

The Moments

Dimmer Beach: This week I’m going to take a look at that wonderful time known to all designers when the rig is first loaded in and you get to start programming. Here is a bit of insight into three moments that designers have when programming a show.

And this week it is in a very particular order.

First Look at the Largest Disney Theme Park Castle in the World

www.themeparkinsider.com: Shanghai's castle will be Disney's largest, housing a boat ride as well as a princess meet and greet, a "Once Upon a Time Adventure" walk-through attraction, and a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Here's what the exterior will look like, according to Disney's design concept:

Bringing Theatre into the Digital Age

HowlRound: While theatres struggle throughout America, London has embraced the digital age by distributing theatre productions online by streaming to movie theaters and through digitaltheatre.com. By bringing American theatre into the digital age, we can create a larger market for productions and artists. Why hasn’t the US theatre community caught up and done this? Our licensing and union restrictions that prevent film distribution were put in place with the best of intentions, but are now holding the theatre industry back.

Guest Post: How the Female-Heavy Crew Making 'Little Accidents"

Women and Hollywood: Although it was never an intentional goal, one of the best aspects of making Little Accidents was making a film with so many strong women up and down the ladder of production and finance.

I became aware of Sara Colangelo’s script for Little Accidents from a number of people who called me to buzz about it out of the Sundance Labs. I read it quickly and was very impressed. It was a big, muscular script set in the world of coal country, but at the same time it was a very intimate portrait of families grieving.

80,000 Media Assets Freely Available Via The Public Domain Project

Co.Design | business + design: It can be hard for artists, designers, photo editors, and other creatives to track down Public Domain materials for their work. A number of resources offer copyright-free material—like Shutterstock or the National Archives—but none are so vast and localized as the Public Domain Project, launched this week by royalty-free video marketplace Pond5.

Atmospheric Installation Brings Outdoor Weather Inside

The Creators Project: Fog floats, wind blows, rain falls, and the sweet sounds of nature fill your ears, but you're not standing outside on a grass field—you're actually in The Weather Machine, an installation that recreates the elemental conditions occuring outside of its housing's four walls. "The audience is situated at the heart of an unfolding landscape, following a disjointed, poetic text as the atmosphere around them takes shape," explains David Shearing, who created the work in collaboration with composer James Bulley and writer Kamal Kaan.

A Cautiously Optimistic Cuban American

HowlRound: On December 17th the Obama Administration announced the historic reestablishing of diplomatic ties with the Cuban government. As a Cuban American I am cautiously optimistic and grateful for this first step toward ending the US embargo of Cuba, a policy which has been in place for more than fifty years. The embargo has proven to be ineffectual at best and, at worst, become the scapegoat to which the Cuban government can point as the source of all Cuba's ills.

Point Park's Playhouse plans draw criticism from some preservationists

Pittsburgh Business Times: Point Park University has been working for more than a decade to bring its Pittsburgh Playhouse downtown, but there are still a few hurdles to cross before the university's vision becomes a reality. Chief among them: concerns from some preservation groups over the university's plans for three turn-of-the century buildings it owns along Forbes Avenue.

#28 Adam Koch

in 1: the podcast: This week’s guest is scenic designer Adam Koch! Adam and Cory go way back and discuss how they met 10 years ago at Pittsburgh CLO. Adam shares stories of shows at The Muny, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, and Signature Theatre and how he approaches designing sets for big musicals like ‘Miss Saigon’, ‘Big Fish’, ‘Dreamgirls’, ‘Kiss of the Spiderwoman’ and more. Cory and Adam also muse on topics such as designing for every seat in the house, why too much success too early is not always a good thing, what it’s like to design a Broadway show that never gets produced, and Adam recounts a moment of horror that happened at the infamous Black Party

Miss Universe National Costumes 2014, Part 1: Bird Women & Show Girls!

Tom & Lorenzo Fabulous & Opinionated: “Arise, my feathered sisters, ARISE! The day has come when we will take this world as our own and glorify our egg-laying mother-goddesses! *SKREE*”

Sony, Google, Apple Hit With Lawsuits Over Pre-1972 Music

The Hollywood Reporter: All of the leading providers of streaming music are now in the scorching hot legal zone involving pre-1972 music after seven lawsuits were filed on Thursday against Apple's Beat Electronics, Sony Entertainment, Google, Rdio, Songza, Slacker and Escape Media Group (operator of Grooveshark).

Life sucks, maybe, but watching the Posner play is pure bliss

DC Theatre Scene: I’m head-over-heels in love with this play. We all know the pain of age or overwork or of desperately loving someone with whom you could never share a kiss. It aches and it sucks. But all that aching and sucking is what makes you feel alive, and the unfulfilled longing that you feel so deeply lets you know that your feelings run that deep.

TEDxBroadway Is Back — and It Won’t Be the Same Without You!

Selling Out: Do you remember field trips?

Nothing could make my 8-year-old self more excited than knowing that, instead of a normal school day, we were going someplace special. If you, too, liked that feeling (or if you never got to experience it), then I would love to see you at TEDxBroadway. It’s a field trip day, but designed for your adult self.

If you’ve never been, it’s a day full of presentations, but not like any you’d expect at a regular conference. Bullet points are banned, presenters have a tendency to break out in song, no presentation is more than 15 minutes long, and there are cookies. Good ones!

A Leatherman Bracelet Puts 25 Tools On Your Wrist

gizmodo.com: Multitools are fabulously useful, unless you do not have yours handy when you need it. It doesn't matter how many gadgets you cram into an all-in-one, if it is being a really efficient use of space on your nightstand. Frustrating. A wearable multitool you never take off, though, yeah, that sounds promising.

How the Production Designer of 'A Most Violent Year' Recreated 1980s New York

The Creators Project: John Goldsmith had to scale things back to create the world of J.C. Chandor's new crime drama, A Most Violent Year (in theaters now). Not only did the architecturally-educated fine artist-turned-production designer have to subtly recreate the gritty realities of New York in the 80s, he had to do so on a bare-bones design budget. Having previously worked with Chandor on the Academy Award-nominated survival drama, All is Lost, however, Goldsmith knew exactly where to start: the characters.

“The Director is the Film’s Immune System”: How to Change the World | Director Jerry Rothwell

Filmmaker Magazine: Fear is a constant companion when filmmaking, in my experience. I’ve learned to welcome it, as a sign that I‘m pushing my own boundaries a bit, not retreating into the easiest option. The absence of that nagging background anxiety is a sign I may have settled for less than I should have.