A Tony Award Voter's Guide To Sound Sound, Part One

www.livedesignonline.com: At the Tony Awards in 2008, sound designers were among the recipients for the first time. Sound design is an art, after all, and finally, everyone knew it. “I had always thought if I show up and do my job well, everyone will understand and recognize what I do. The value of that work spoke for itself,” says Lindsay Jones.

First Impression: Mackie MP Series Professional In-Ear Monitors

Church Production Magazine: There’s no denying it: in-ear monitoring has been one of the greatest leaps forward in live sound, especially in smaller venues (like most churches). Banishing monitor bleed, reducing on-stage volume levels, giving performers greatly increased clarity—all these benefits are courtesy of those little monitors you put directly in your ears.

A Wrinkle in Time Hair Stylist Kimberly Kimble Interview

Collider: On a sci-fi/fantasy project like A Wrinkle in Time, every department of the production, from design to costumes to hair and make-up to props, to visual effects, etc., has to be firing on all cylinders and collaborating together as one cohesive unit. And while the characters from Earth have everyday wardrobe, hair and make-up, it is a story that travels through time and space and to other planets, and that includes characters who have a wide variety of looks, each fitting their personality and providing a visual representation for who they are.

‘Non-Player Character’ Puts Gamergate on the Theater Stage

KQED Arts: Over the past week, teenage survivors of a mass shooting, perpetrated by a former classmate, were attacked online by self-proclaimed patriots; Russian twitter-bots were purged by the thousands; and social media pile-ons continued to rule the public discourse — all scenarios foreshadowed by the roiling 2014 controversy that was Gamergate.

Oklahoma!

Pittsburgh in the Round: When trying to hear a song, watch a video, or learn more about the musical Oklahoma!, one cannot simply type the word “Oklahoma” into a search engine. There is something huge that differentiates the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic from America’s 46th state.

It’s an exclamation point!

How Mad Should I Be About the Whitewashing in Annihilation?

www.vulture.com: Get out your TI-89 outrage calculators, because it’s time to calibrate the proper amount of emotion to expend on another instance of Hollywood whitewashing. On the docket is Annihilation, a trippy, LSD-infused sci-fi film by Ex Machina’s Alex Garland starring Natalie Portman as a biologist exploring a top-secret zone called Area X. The movie is an adaptation of a Jeff VanderMeer book of the same title, the first part of the Southern Reach Trilogy.

Pilot Season 2018: One of the Most Diverse Yet?

Variety: Inclusivity matters — and this year, the networks are finally stepping up. The current pilot season is shaping up to be one of the most diverse yet. With 54 of the season’s 75 pilots cast so far, people of color have been cast in lead roles in approximately 56% of new projects across all of the networks.

The Challenges Behind Staging San Diego Opera's 'Turandot'

KPBS: Any opera is a challenge to produce. But the director of San Diego Opera’s "Turandot" had to cope with a heroine she didn’t initially understand as well as sets and costumes coming from two other productions. But these elements all came together to make a beautiful show.

Detoured: Fabbing At The Art Institute Of Chicago

Hackaday: Among [Majenta]’s other duties at the Design Lab is on the social media front, showing off the capabilities of other design spaces around the country. Her first video in this series is from her alma mater, the Art Institute of Chicago.

Female TV Writers in the U.K. Demand a Better Shot at the Top Series

Variety: A group of 76 female TV writers has sent an open letter to drama commissioners in Britain, asking that women be given greater opportunities to write, and write for, the biggest shows.

Stuntwomen From Foxy Brown To Black Panther On Hollywood’s Hardest Job

www.fastcompany.com: Picture a job that requires long hours, dangerous physical tasks, a high risk of injury, and enduring discrimination and a lack of opportunity.

These are the challenges faced by black stuntwomen.

Pittsburgh Public Theater's 2018-2019 Season!

Pittsburgh in the Round: The Pittsburgh Public Theater announced their 2018/19 season at a member’s reception on Tuesday night. Board Chair Michael H. Ginsberg officially passed the baton from Ted Pappas, the retiring Producing Artistic Director, to the new team of Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski and Managing Director Louis A. Castelli. Kaminski is the current Associate Artistic Director at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Castell has been with Pittsburgh Public Theater for 20 years.

12 Tips for Composing Music for TV Shows

The Pro Audio Files: Do you ever find yourself watching TV and think that you could produce the music heard on the show? If you have decent production, editing, and mixing skills, then chances are you have what it takes. The following are 12 things to consider if you’re looking to compose for TV.

Director Lynne Ramsay: ‘I've got a reputation for being difficult – it's bullshit’

Film | The Guardian: I’m not sure what I think film directors look like (Do they wear visors? Carry a loudhailer?), but I am very sure Lynne Ramsay doesn’t look like one. In her big beanie hat and jumper, her jeans and boots, Ramsay is a dead ringer for an art student bunking off lectures. Before she sees me, I spot her smoking a roll-up at a table outside the west London cafe where we’re meeting. She’s making notes in an exercise book; she looks perfectly happy.

Filmmaker Lynne Ramsay on Being "Difficult"

The Mary Sue: When you’re a male director with an uncompromising vision, you’re a visionary talent. When you’re a female director who does her job, you’re difficult. We’ve seen time and time again the discrimination against female director painted as too emotional, weak, or difficult by the same institutions that praise male directors for literally traumatizing people.

Podcast Episode 149 – Broadway Hair and Wig Designer, Charles LaPointe.

The Producer's Perspective: If you asked me what the one area in the theater I know the least about is it would be Hair and Wig Design.

That’s why I decided to do something about it and ask one of the best in the biz to help explain it to me, one weave at a time.

And who better than Charles LaPointe, the designer of everything from Hamilton to Holiday Inn.

The Best Of Katsucon, 2018's First Big Cosplay Show

cosplay.kotaku.com: The North American cosplay calendar kicks off every year with Katsucon, a massive show held every year just outside DC that attracts around 20,000 fans.

That’s not how many cosplayers there are, that’s just the overall attendance figure, but it can feel like they’re one and the same when you look at how much quality cosplay was on show between Feb 16-18.

Women of Color UNITE: How One Producer is Changing Entertainment

The Mary Sue: Within the entertainment industry, being a woman of color can be a tricky thing. When people talk “inclusion” they often talk about including “women” and “people of color,” as if those are always two separate categories. As if there aren’t women who identify as both. And so what ends up happening in practice is “diversity hires” being granted to either men of color, or white women, with women of color too often getting lost in the shuffle. Producer Cheryl L. Bedford is looking to flip that script.

Have we reached peak playwright on TV?

WhatsOnStage.com: If you want to see who is hot in theatre writing today, just turn on the TV. We have reached peak- playwright with new series from Jack Thorne, Jez Butterworth, David Hare and Mike Bartlett all following hot on the heels of each other.

From the Artistic Director: For Peter Pan

Breaking Character: Commentators have long noted the dark undercurrents of Peter Pan: the boy who wouldn’t grow up, whose shadow is cut from his body, the island of lost boys, the Freudian pairing of Father with Dr. Hook, the death and resurrection of Tinker Bell. Of course these dark elements are more than matched by Peter Pan’s underlying quest for transfiguration. Taken together, these qualities make Peter Pan a natural subject of interest to Sarah Ruhl, even had she not grown up hearing of her mother talk about playing the title role in the Davenport, Iowa community theater production of it.

The Dancers' Vision: ‘New Works’ from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

Pittsburgh Magazine - March 2018 - Pittsburgh, PA: The slipper is on the other foot for seven Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancers as they temporarily step away from the footlights into roles as choreographers. When the curtain rises on PBT’s “New Works” showcase at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, these artists will watch as their creations take center stage.

Not In Our Schools: Creating Self-Advocating Artists Starts in the Classroom

HowlRound: The 2017 TIME magazine named the collective “Silence Breakers” Person of the Year, honoring the survivors of sexual violence and harassment who spoke up in the #MeToo movement founded by Tarana Burke in 2006, which actress Alyssa Milano made viral in October 2017. Since then, the movement has led to an international discussion about victim blaming, reporting practices, and harsher punishments for sex offenders, as a wave of accusations has shed light on sexual misconduct in the arts, sports, academia, religion, and politics. For the first time, survivors of sexual violence and assault are heard and believed; the torrent of accusations has resulted in multiple firings, resignations, cancelled programming, investigations, charges, and public apologies of perpetrators.

Black Artists Describe What Black Panther Means to Them

The Mary Sue: Black Panther is more than a superhero movie; it’s a movement. That’s the thesis of a new BuzzFeed video titled “The Power of Black Panther”, which consists of a series of interviews and clips from an advance screening at the African Artist Association.

Arjen Tuiten Delivers a Wondrous Makeup in Wonder

Below the Line | Below the Line: To bring the character of Auggie Pullman (a boy with severe facial deformities) to fruition in the film Wonder, makeup effects artist, Arjen Tuiten researched children with Treacher Collins syndrome. “Most of the time, they had a very similar look,” Tuiten stated. “Very distinguished. To create the illusion, I knew Auggie was going to need full prosthetics.”

The Spring Awakening of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Theatre Kids

The New Yorker: They are young. They are bold and self-confident. They are articulate. They are passionate. They are leading a national movement. And they are theatre kids. A fiercely dedicated band of teen survivors of the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, this week are earning international attention through social media for speaking out on gun control in a movement they call Never Again.

Are you surprised that the young leaders of the Never Again movement are theatre kids? I’m not.

Intimate Excellent: They are young. They are bold and self-confident. They are articulate. They are passionate. They are leading a national movement. And they are theatre kids.

A fiercely dedicated band of teen survivors of the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, this week are earning international attention through social media for speaking out on gun control in a movement they call Never Again.

Watch how ILM created Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s opening space battle

The Verge: Star Wars: The Last Jedi scored a handful of Academy Award nominations this year, including one for best Visual Effects. As it did last year with Rogue One, Industrial Light and Magic has released a pair of behind-the-scenes clips that showcase how the film’s special effects came together.

Casting Metal Parts and Silicone Molds from 3D Prints

Hackaday: The invention of the relatively affordable 3D printer for home use has helped bring methods used to produce parts for prototypes, samples, and even manufacturing, closer to designers. This tutorial on how to cast metal parts from 3D printed silicone molds is a perfect example of how useful a 3D printer can be when you are looking to make a custom and durable metal part at home.

Actors Should Be Allowed To Be Parents Too

The Theatre Times: Acting, as the cliché goes, is child’s play. All that dressing up and pretending to be someone else. For those of us who do “normal” jobs, the idea of the theatre actor’s life sounds like a brilliant return to student life. You don’t have to get up early in the morning to commute to an office. Instead, you drink coffee and try to learn things off by heart during the day while in the evening, you do a couple of hours of intense work, then get drunk afterward. And then after a few months, you get to “rest” until the next job comes along.

“Holmes and Watson” at Kinetic Theatre Company

The Pittsburgh Tatler: I’ve seen a lot of Sherlock Holmes in the last few years, both on the screen (as played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and on our local stages (nearly always with David Whalen in the title role). So I’ll admit, when Kinetic Theatre announced yet another episode in the Sherlock Holmes saga – featuring Whalen in the cast, yet again – I paused for a moment to consider how much Sherlock is too much Sherlock. You may be wondering the same.

Black Panther: Building Wakanda

fxguide: Over the US long holiday weekend, writer-director Ryan Coogler's Black Panther smashed box-office records, recording a historic four-day opening gross. It exceeded even the most optimistic prerelease estimates by millions of dollars. The newest Disney Marvel film had the fifth-highest opening for a film ever.

The film expands the VFX Marvel cinematic universe with a rich blend of African and American cultural references and innovations. In the process it delivers a great film with stunning visuals. Much of the film takes place in the Marvel African Country of Wakanda. But how do you build a super high tech futuristic city and still make it respectfully African and not alien?

The Drowsy Chaperone

Pittsburgh in the Round: CMU Drama’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone is a high-energy fun-filled spoof of American musicals from the 1920s. It was created initially as a performance piece in 1997 for the stag party of two actual Canadian actors, Bob Martin and Janet van de Graaff, and made its way to Broadway in 2006.

Ava Duvernay Calls for Systemic Change To Build on Successes Like Hers and Ryan Coogler’s: “We Sit on Top of a Broken System”

The Mary Sue: As part of the What She Said speaker series, Ava Duvernay recently gave a talk at the W Hollywood. She touched on her experience with A Wrinkle in Time, her career in the film industry, and Hollywood’s progress on diversity. While she believes this is “a dynamic time right now, [where we’re] telling our own stories,” she also cautioned against pointing to successes like herself or Ryan Coogler and declaring the problem of racist exclusion over: “When you can name us all on two hands, that’s not change … We sit on top of a broken system.”

Art projections at Merchandise Mart likely to begin this fall

Chicago Sun-Times: Any artist will be allowed to submit their work for possible projection onto the Merchandise Mart’s 2.6 acre “canvas” when Chicago’s latest public art project kicks off this fall, officials say.

Czech Puppetry Practitioners in Poland; or, a Parable on the Importance of Internationalisation in Theatre Training

The Theatre Times: ‘In theatre the national differences, instead of dividing, are now connecting,’ says Polish theatre critic Hanna Usarewicz at the end of her article on the significant presence of Czech and Slovak theatre practitioners on Polish stages (Usarewicz 2012). In contrast to the complex political relations between the Polish and Czech peoples, in both current and historical contexts, Polish–Czech cultural exchange has recently been flourishing.

DEAR EVAN HANSEN Set Designer David Korins Reveals Secrets From the Set

www.broadwayworld.com: David Korins, the award-winning production designer behind shows like Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen and Grease! Live, shared a set secret from Dear Evan Hansen today on his Instagram page. Ever wonder what Evan keeps in his headboard? Now you can find out!

How to Write a Short Professional Bio (With Templates and Examples)

business.tutsplus.com: First impressions count, even online. That’s why your professional bio is one of the most crucial marketing materials you’ll ever write. Whether it’s on Twitter, LinkedIn, your online portfolio or employer’s website, your professional bio is the first thing people will read to understand who you are and what you do. What you highlight in it will affect how readers perceive you—as a job applicant, public speaker, author, entrepreneur, or whatever it is you do.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

$201 million Tepper Quad will change the skyline of Carnegie Mellon, Oakland

www.nextpittsburgh.com: If you’ve looked up in Oakland recently, you may have noticed that — for the first time in years — the skyline is changing.

Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business (ranked #7 by U.S. News & World Report for undergraduate business) is growing fast, and will move into the massive, new yellow brick building rising over Forbes Avenue this summer.

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Whose World Is This? Black Panther Production Designer Hannah Beachler Walks Us Through Wakanda 

theglowup.theroot.com: If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already visited Wakanda—maybe two or three times during Black Panther’s record-breaking opening weekend. Otherwise, I know you wouldn’t want to spoil your upcoming trip by reading the incredible conversation The Glow Up had with the film’s production designer, Hannah Beachler. (Consider yourself warned: There might be spoilers ahead. For instance, did you know that from the aerial view, the Royal Talon Fighter is modeled after a mask from the Dogon tribe?)

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New Lawsuit Claims “The Shape Of Water” Ripped Off A 1969 Play

www.fastcompany.com: The Shape of Water has the most Academy Award nominations this year with 13, including Best Picture. Now, just in time for Oscar voting, a new lawsuit could threaten the film’s chances.

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Taking a Day Job Doesn’t Have to Crush Your Soul

99U: When it comes to talking about creative careers, no one likes to use the C-word: Compromise. Being the best, courting success, and living a personal fairytale are the narratives most commonly spun about what a flourishing professional life is all about. But what about creative people who have plum gigs that still don’t all their bills? What if you count the New York Times as a client, but put in two days a week at a café? What if you’re jetting off to Hong Kong, Osaka, and Tokyo for group shows, but come home to illustrating other people’s books? What if the work you really enjoy fills up your evenings and weekends, but you can count the hoots you give about the daily grind on one finger? We reckon that can constitute a fulfilling working life, too.

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These Are The Four Drivers Of Workaholism

www.fastcompany.com: When I tell people that I study workaholism for a living, I’m usually bombarded by suggestions of subjects I could do a case study on. It seems that everyone can think of at least one person in their lives that they’d label a workaholic–or, perhaps, they identify as a workaholic themselves.

The definition of workaholism has expanded over the years to include motivational, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components–but understanding why you’re overworking can help you unlock ways to deal with it.

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New details emerge for Sphere Las Vegas project near Strip

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Developers of the planned 18,000-seat MSG Sphere Las Vegas received a development waiver from Clark County Wednesday and plans are in the works to add a Las Vegas Monorail stop near the planned spherical performance venue.

Representatives of the company also said the project would require a review from the Federal Aviation Administration because, at 360 feet tall and just off the McCarran International Airport flight pattern, officials want to affirm that the building won’t disrupt air traffic.

Brendan Fraser says he was groped by a powerful man in Hollywood. ‘I became depressed.’

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Brendan Fraser stepped away from the spotlight as his life was catapulted into a state of turmoil after he was allegedly groped by a prominent man in Hollywood.

The actor opened up to GQ in saddening detail about his life and career — particularly about the alleged life-changing experience that occurred in 2003 after a Hollywood Foreign Press Association luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

What a Computational Storyteller (MEXICA) Can Tell Us about Creativity?

The Creativity Post: Can a computer system successfully draft, evaluate, and drive a narrative? Computational creativity researchers have considered this question for decades. MEXICA: 20 Years-20 Stories is the first book of short stories produced by a creative agent capable of evaluating and making judgments about its own work.

New Lawsuit Claims “The Shape Of Water” Ripped Off A 1969 Play

www.fastcompany.com: The Shape of Water has the most Academy Award nominations this year with 13, including Best Picture. Now, just in time for Oscar voting, a new lawsuit could threaten the film’s chances.

Studios Must Face Trimmed Lawsuit Over CG Characters in Blockbuster Movies

Hollywood Reporter: Disney, Fox and Paramount got a mixed decision on Wednesday in a case that tests Hollywood's liability for using a technology determined to be stolen to create photorealistic computer graphic effects in huge films including Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool and Night at the Museum. A federal judge has rejected the plaintiff's bold copyright claim, but won't dismiss assertions that the studios induced patent infringement nor committed trademark infringement.

Marie Antoinette

Pittsburgh in the Round: To enter the University of Pittsburgh’s production of Marie Antoinette in the Cathedral of Learning’s Studio Theater is to be confronted. Actors dressed alternately as nobles or revolutionaries either welcome you to the party as you enter or congratulate you on being on the right side of history, respectively. Accompanying them are at least a half dozen maps and pieces of French art, all plastered by bright red text stylized as graffiti. “Make France Great Again,” reads one, but all pieces more or less emphasize that the tagger in question is not, in fact, With Her.

Makeup Artist Turned Gary Oldman Into Churchill for ‘Darkest Hour’

Variety: The Oscar buzz surrounding Gary Oldman’s turn as Winston Churchill has been deafening since “Darkest Hour” hit the festival circuit last August, and he’s already racked up the lion’s share of this season’s accolades.

‘Annihilation’ is First-Rate Studio Filmmaking – and a Troubling Precedent

Flavorwire: Come Friday, audiences in the United States and Canada will have the opportunity to take in Annihilation, a thrilling and scary new sci-fi movie that sounds, on paper, like a sure thing. It’s based on the first in a series of popular novels. It’s written and directed by Alex Garland, whose previous film was Ex Machina, a critical success and minor financial hit; this marks his ascendance into big, studio pictures. And its cast includes such marquee names as Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Gina Rodriguez. Sounds like a hit, right?