Disability and Management

HowlRound Theatre Commons: Nicole Kelly and Jenn Poret are two examples of leaders with disabilities. They are both arts managers who also wear a variety of hats in other aspects of their lives. Nicole is a former Miss Iowa, podcast host, educational lecturer, and limb-difference awareness advocate, while Jenn is a freelance stage manager, swimmer, and a founding member of a health and wellness group in her community called Geese Revolution. In this article, Jenn and Nicole brainstorm and discuss the various ways their disability identities intersect with their roles as managers, as well as the advantages and challenges that come with the territory.

What's behind the Spice Girls' sound problems?

BBC News: If you believe everything you read, the sound at the Spice Girls' recent comeback shows has been zig-ah-zig-awful.

Some fans who attended the opening night in Dublin complained about muffled vocals and being unable to hear the band speaking between songs.

Mel B acknowledged the issues in an Instagram video, saying she hoped "the vocals and the sound will be much, much better" for the second show in Cardiff.

Introducing True Rosco Color™ Created Exclusively By DMG Lumière MIX® LED Technology

Rosco Spectrum: It’s been over a year since we introduced the DMG Lumière MIX LED Technology, and one of the attributes filmmakers have appreciated most is its ability to accurately match Rosco gels on traditional light sources. We call that ability True Rosco Color, and we put it to use in a recent marketing campaign to promote MIX.

The Importance of Including the Disabled Designers

HowlRound Theatre Commons: American theatre is slowly waking to the idea that equity, diversity, and inclusion is not only a good idea but is essential to our art. Disabled characters should be crafted with nuance and depth, people of color need to be on our stages in non-appropriative fashion, women need to be treated equally and with respect, LGBTQ+ people need to be embraced and not used. Our stages and our audiences must represent the kaleidoscopic panoply of the human experience. While many theatre artists today acknowledge the power of diverse lived experiences, one thing we are still missing is disabled designers. Where are they, and why aren’t they employed?

Hamilton parody is pure, absurd fun

Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Lin-Manuel Miranda wants a revolution, but not the kind that builds democracy in America. The bright-eyed, idealistic Miranda of Spamilton is fighting on the battlefield of Broadway.

Spamilton: An American Parody lampoons Miranda’s smash hit Hamilton with a winking reverence. Author Gerard Alessandrini’s imagination is on full display in the satire, producing wild musical mashups (the “Lion King and I” a personal favorite), crazy plot points, and surprisingly frequent use of hand puppets.

Reimagining The Music Of 'Oklahoma!'

www.forbes.com: A vital and visceral production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!,” directed by Daniel Fish, is currently playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre in New York. It’s a show loaded with astonishments, not the least being the new musical arrangements for seven-piece band by Daniel Kluger. Mr. Kluger has been nominated for a Tony Award for his work, which partly involved extricating the tunes from Robert Russell Bennett’s beloved original orchestrations.

Eisenhauer Lights Up Broadway

www.cmu.edu/news: For Peggy Eisenhauer light is more than just illumination — it has a musical quality and rhythm. She came to the medium quite early, at age 13, in fact. "I started to hang around this theater company in Nyack, New York, and they sent me to the lighting board for a rehearsal and showed me what to do with the little controller.

Wagner's "Pretty Woman" a Record-breaker on Broadway

www.cmu.edu/news: Paula Wagner has experienced a sort of homecoming this year. Returning to her roots in the theater, the powerhouse film producer has brought the musical adaptation of the beloved 1990 movie "Pretty Woman" to the stage.

Coleman Offers Sound Advice for Women on Broadway

www.cmu.edu/news: Liz Coleman is a "sound sister," very much in tune with her professional and personal journey. As one of about ten women working as a sound engineer on Broadway, she and her fellow female sound artists often gather for an event they call "Sound Sister Sunday," to network and share their experiences working in the male-dominated discipline.

‘Within These Walls’ and ‘Dreams of Flight’ Have Wings on Angel Island

noproscenium.com: It’s been raining all week, and today is no different. I’ve woken up early on a Saturday morning to make the trek across San Francisco to the pier, where my ferry awaits to take me to Angel Island. On its quick trip through the Bay, the boat passes the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. Looking back, Ghirardelli Square and Coit Tower recede into the distance, and, ahead of us, the shores of Sausalito and the Marin Headlands come into view.

Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: Theatrical Stage Employees

AFL-CIO: Next up in our series that takes a deeper look at each of our affiliates is the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

Name of Union: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees

Mission: To support members' efforts to establish fair wages and working conditions throughout the United States and Canada, embrace the development of new entertainment mediums, expand the craft, innovate technology and grow the union to new geographic areas.

How Michael Krass Used Fashion to Make Hadestown’s Players Into Singular Characters

Playbill: For more than four years, Michael Krass has been clipping images from his library, pinning photographs to walls, and poring over color palettes and fabrics to create his piece of Hadestown. As the costume designer for the 14-time Tony-nominated Broadway musical, Krass has been on board since the lead-up to the show’s Off-Broadway run at New York Theatre Workshop and, through his wardrobe designs, helped create a new interpretation of characters who have lived since the ancient Greeks.

Why Aladdin wears many layers in Disney's live-action remake

EW.com: When EW revealed the first look at Guy Ritchie’s live-action Aladdin remake in December, there was one question (no, not Will Smith’s Blue Genie-gate) that was perplexing a lot of fans: in the arid heat of Agrabah, just why is Disney’s beloved street rat wearing so many layers of clothes?

“That’s the question on everyone’s lips,” said costume designer Michael Wilkinson, with a laugh.

And turns out, there’s a simple answer.

Pittsburgh CLO Puts the Fun in Summer with “Spamilton An American Parody”

Pittsburgh in the Round: The Pittsburgh CLO is putting the fun in musical theater this summer by producing the hilarious Spamilton An American Parody at the Greer Cabaret Theater in Pittsburgh.

I recently had the pleasure of seeing this musical spoof of the Broadway hit “Hamilton” that is part of the Pittsburgh CLO’s Kara Cabaret Series running now through August 25.

Composer Ryan Shore Discusses Bringing New Sounds to the Star Wars Franchise

Sound & Picture: When legendary composer John Williams told KUSC last year that Star Wars: Episode IX would be his last entry in the saga, the chatter about who would replace him began immediately. Although some argue that Williams’ score can never be topped, there’s no denying that a new maestro with a fresh take on the franchise will be an interesting thing to hear. A possible contender is Emmy and Grammy-nominated composer Ryan Shore.

Disability, Identity, and Representation

HowlRound Theatre Commons: Theatre is an art form that seeks to reflect and change society. As a Seattle-based dramaturg who identifies as a disabled artist, I recognize a glaring need for more disabled theatremakers in the industry—to enrich the theatrical landscape with diverse perspectives, challenge the norms, and encourage new ways of thinking.

Broadway Museum in the Works

www.forbes.com: Broadway producer Julie Boardman and marketing executive Diane Nicoletti are preparing to open a state-of-the-art museum about the history of the Great White Way in the Theater District. Spotlighting the evolution of the industry from the late 1800’s, the Museum of Broadway is scheduled to run from April through December 2020 with the possibility for an extension.

The Complete Guide to Recording Vocals

Pro Audio Files: Most of the music I record is Pop, RnB, and Hip Hop. I’ve been the recordist for Akon for over a year now. I’ve recorded Dizzee Rascal, SisQo’, Becky G, Ozuna, and countless other incredible vocalists. I say all that to say this: I record a lot of vocals in genres which are heavily vocal-centric.

Recording vocals is an interesting process. There’s a technical side and an artistic side to it. There’s an ideal way to do it, and a practical way to do it. Ultimately as an engineer or producer, it’s our job to facilitate the artist’s performance, so we’re always catering to that.

Monticello High School's Madeline Michel to Receive 2019 Excellence in Theatre Education Tony Award

www.broadwayworld.com: The Tony Awards announced today that Theater Director Madeline Michel from Monticello High School in Charlottesville, Virginia, will receive the 2019 Excellence in Theatre Education Award.

How Zachary Quinto Transformed Into a 135-Year-Old for ‘NOS4A2’

Variety: Much of an actor’s job is to convey a character’s inner emotional truth. That can prove complicated when the character requires layers of prosthetics and specialized makeup to come to life. Such was the challenge for Zachary Quinto, who portrays Charlie Manx in AMC’s “NOS4A2,” an adaptation of Joe Hill’s novel about a supernatural being who feeds on the souls of children to replenish his youth. But Quinto had the aid of special makeup designer Joel Harlow, with whom he had collaborated on the “Star Trek” films.

ABTT search for Technician of the Year 2019 ‘Star’

ETNow.com: The ABTT’s annual search to find its Technician of the Year is gathering pace and if you know of an outstanding individual working in our industry today who deserves recognition for their contribution to the art of technical theatre, then now is the time to act. Deadline: Friday, 31 May 2019.

“The Modern on Stage / The Dream of the House”: An Interview with Jan Pappelbaum, Set Designer at the Schaubühne, Berlin

The Theatre Times: Jan Pappelbaum is one of the most inventive and internationally renowned set designers, from the Schaubühne in Berlin, Germany. He is a permanent collaborator of the theatre director Thomas Ostermeier. Together they created the very inventive staging of masterpieces like Hamlet, Richard III, A Doll’s House, and Hedda Gabler (2006). Jan Pappelbaum was a guest mentor of the creative workshop for contemporary theatre set design in Skopje, and he held a workshop at the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje (12–14 April 2019), a collaboration supported by the Goethe Institute Skopje.

“Spamilton: an American Parody” at Pittsburgh CLO

The Pittsburgh Tatler: It takes a deep love of a subject to parody it successfully, and Gerard Alessandrini, creator of Spamilton: an American Parody as well as the previous hit sendup Forbidden Broadway, clearly loves Broadway musicals. If you’ve seen Forbidden Broadway, Spamilton’s setup will be familiar – one piano, small cast playing multiple parts, and nonstop spoofing of the tunes, characters, and plots from current (and past) Broadway musicals. And although, as the title and visual branding make clear, the focus of the satire here is on Hamilton, as with Forbidden Broadway Alessandrini grinds the entire industry of musical theatre through his mockery machine.

There’s now a museum dedicated to Robert Moog and synthesis called the Moogseum

The Verge: Robert Moog changed the landscape of music forever when he launched the first commercial synthesizer in the ‘60s. Since then, the Moog name has become synonymous with synthesis and iconic pieces of hardware like the Minimoog. Now, the Bob Moog Foundation has opened the Moogseum — a museum dedicated to Moog’s work and other important music devices — in Asheville, North Carolina.

Avid CNC's 4-Axis CNC Machines

Tested: We check in with the team at Avid CNC--formerly CNC Router Parts--to see their new 4th rotary axis on their Pro line of CNC machine kits. Owner Ahren Johnson explains to us the capabilities of this machine, and digital fabrication producer Sami Woolhiser demonstrates their awesome ping pong ball crossbow that was mostly made using these CNCs!

Charlottesville drama teacher to get special Tony Award

StarTribune.com: The special Tony Award that honors educators this year will go to a drama teacher in Charlottesville, Virginia, who has encouraged her students to explore their differences and heal rifts, especially following a deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in the city.

Hamilton: The Exhibition | Creative Director Designer David Korins

www.livedesignonline.com: David Korins, who designed the scenery for the hit musical, Hamilton, also serves as creative director and designer for “Hamilton: The Exhibition,” which is currently in Chicago before embarking on a tour of US cities. With 25,000ft of exhibit space, the exhibition take visitors back in time, into the world of Alexander Hamilton and the founding of America.

Elevate Your Storytelling With Rosco SoftDrop®

Rosco Spectrum: For an inspired, fresh approach to filmmaking, sometimes it helps to examine the latest projects coming out of film schools around the world. Paul Nungeßer, for example, is a third-year cinematography student at the internationally renowned Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany who has several short films, a feature documentary and a series of music videos and commercials under his belt. For his recent Filmakademie project – a “cinematic poem” entitled 8’20” – Paul knew he would need the scenery in the background to help him tell the story, and he shared with us how he used a Rental Rosco SoftDrop to advance the plot of his short film.

With More Female Screenwriters Do Korean TV Dramas Pass the Bechdel Test?

www.forbes.com: Prime time TV programming in Korea, much like prime time in the US, has broadened efforts to appeal to young female viewers by featuring more complex, communicative female characters. However, in the U.S. most of those characters are created by men. According to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, only 27 percent of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors and photography directors working on U.S. network programs are women. In Korea the number of female screenwriters is closer to 90 percent.

Boycotting Georgia Film Leaves the State for Dead

Movies :: Heartbeat Bill :: Paste: I live in Atlanta, the culturally vibrant, liberal hub of a historically red state. Few may know us as the “Hollywood of the South” thanks to our booming film industry, but most know us for our illegitimate governor, Brian Kemp, who recently signed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. Starting in 2020, this “heartbeat bill” would make abortion illegal after six weeks, before most women even know they’re pregnant, and prosecute women on charges of conspiracy for out-of-state abortions.

Broadway Is Experiencing an Economic Boom Due to Must-See Shows

Variety: Here’s an old Broadway story, probably apocryphal, but with the ring of truth: A worried producer checks in on his ticket sales to see how his show is doing. “We had a terrible night, boss,” the treasurer tells him. “We did one penny.”

The producer sulks through Shubert Alley and runs into a rival. “How’s your show doing?” the rival asks.

“Oh, I had a terrible night,” the producer says. “I only did 2 cents.”

“Bright Star” at Front Porch Theatricals

The Pittsburgh Tatler: The mission of Front Porch Theatricals is to present high quality productions of hidden gems from the musical theater world – shows that may not have achieved great fame or longevity on Broadway but that deliver an emotional and theatrical punch nonetheless. With Bright Star, the top-notch artists they have engaged at every level certainly deliver on that mission, although whether or not the musical itself deserves more acclaim than it has received to date may be a matter of the viewer’s tolerance for melodramatic sentiment.

Agencies Offer to Restart WGA Talks to End Packaging Fee Standoff

Variety: Hollywood’s largest talent agencies have offered to restart negotiations with the WGA to end the standoff over the guild’s effort to impose new rules on talent agents.

In a letter to WGA West president David Goodman sent Wednesday, UTA co-president Jay Sures extended an olive branch and suggested resuming talks next week. UTA later sent the letter as an email message to its former writer clients. Goodman had been a longtime client of UTA until the breach that began on April 12.

Could Musical Theater Made to Broadway and Chill Be Next?

Dance Magazine: When a musical prepares to make the transfer from a smaller, lesser-known venue to Broadway (where theaters hold 500-plus seats), often there's a collective intake of breath from all involved. After all, a bigger house means more tickets to sell in order to stay in the black, and sometimes shows with even the most tenacious fan bases can't quite navigate such a jump. But what about the transfer from stage…to screen? Is Broadway ready to be consumed from the comfort of your couch?

USITT Inaugural Digital Media Symposium Launches in September

Stage Directions: USITT announces the inaugural USITT Digital Media Symposium, which will take place September 4-6 in Binghamton, NY, in association with the LUMA Projection Arts Festival, America's premier projection arts festival. The Digital Media Symposium will offer two exciting days of digital media creation, education, and artistry to attendees.

An Interview with Set Designer Rachel Hauck

The Interval: This season, two of the most complicated sets on Broadway were designed by Rachel Hauck. And by complicated, I don’t just mean technically (although one of them has swinging lights and a turntable and a big reveal, and listen, you try fitting all of that into an old Broadway theatre with limited fly and wing space). This season, Rachel Hauck designed the two most emotionally complicated sets on Broadway.

An Amazon Show Hs Pulled Out of Georgia Over Heartbeat Bill

Time: This week, the director Reed Morano was supposed to fly to Georgia to scout locations for a new show for Amazon Studios called The Power. The drama series is adapted from a novel by Naomi Alderman, in which young women suddenly develop the power to release electrical jolts from their fingers, shifting gender and power dynamics around the world. At least two scouts hired by the show had been working in the Savannah area for several months, prepping for her arrival.

Review Roundup: See What Critics Thought of MAC BETH

www.broadwayworld.com: In Schmidt's production seven girls meet up to do a play in an empty lot outside the city on an autumn afternoon. School uniform tartan transforms in this American urban wasteland. The girls are witches, ghosts, and kings. Using only Shakespeare's text, they hurl headlong into the unchecked passions of Macbeth as the line between real life and blood fantasy quickly blurs. Through prophecies and smartphones, unexpected resonances emerge from Shakespeare's dark nightmare of ambition gone awry.

Theater director Kenny Leon’s latest is an all-black version of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ in Central Park

New York Daily News: The groundbreaking director who brought Diddy — and the words of Tupac Shakur — to Broadway is now reimagining a hallowed Shakespeare classic.

Kenny Leon, who won the 2014 Tony Award for his revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun," is staging the William Shakespeare comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater with an all-black cast and set in a modern-day Atlanta mansion — with music and dancing.

Playhouse's Land Acknowledgement Recognizes That Cincinnati Was Built on Shawnee and Myaamia Lands

www.citybeat.com: If you've been to a recent show at the Playhouse in the Park, you may have noticed a new addition in their programs: a "Land Acknowledgment."

"As a step toward honoring the truth and achieving healing and reconciliation with those Indigenous Peoples who were affected most by the Doctrine of Discovery* and broken treaties, we acknowledge the traditional Shawnee and Myaamia (Miami) lands on which we now stand, and on which the City of Cincinnati was built," the notice reads.

Leslie Odom, Jr. Tells CMU Graduates To Live Intentionally

www.cmu.edu/news: Carnegie Mellon University celebrated its 122nd Commencement on Sunday, May 19. President Farnam Jahanian told the Class of 2019 it has made the university into a stronger community.

"I want to thank you for making CMU better," Jahanian said. "Now is your time to unleash your extraordinary energy and skills on the vast opportunities ahead of you."

More than 5,600 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees were conferred at CMU's main commencement ceremony.

Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor and singer Leslie Odom, Jr. this year's keynote speaker, urged students to take that energy and use it intentionally.

This Old House's Legacy for Home-Improvement TV

The Atlantic: Now in its 40th season, the PBS home-improvement show This Old House feels like the TV equivalent of New England clam chowder: hearty, wholesome, and old-school. The cast—headed up by the master carpenter Norm Abram and rounded out by the contractor Tom Silva, gardener Roger Cook, plumber Richard Trethewey, and host Kevin O’Connor—returns autumn after autumn, as consistently as uncles you might see every year at Thanksgiving dinner.

Sound System of The Shed | Jim van Bergan Production Audio

www.livedesignonline.com: Its programming is ambitious, its architecture astounding. It’s The Shed, New York City’s latest addition to the arts scene. Occupying a position of honor adjacent to Hudson Yards on the West Side of Manhattan, this multi-arts complex has sophisticated technical capabilities. Jim van Bergen, head of sound for The Shed, provided production audio for the first series of shows, including Norma Jeane Baker of Troy, Reich Richter Pärt, Soundtrack of America, and Björk’s Cornucopia.

“We Are Among Us” at City Theatre

The Pittsburgh Tatler: Stephen Belber’s new play We Are Among Us pries open the lid on what one of its characters describes as “a really fucked up situation.” In other words, the US involvement in Afghanistan.

How ‘Gary’ Does the Dicks

www.vulture.com: I never thought I’d write a fact-checking email in which I asked, “Is the corpse that Nathan Lane masturbates the same one that pees on his face?” But then again, I never thought I’d see a play as filthy as Taylor Mac’s Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus on Broadway.

Celebrating George Romero: The visionary filmmaker’s archives help him live on

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The University of Pittsburgh’s decision to acquire the archives of George A. Romero is a laudable one, preserving the visionary filmmaker’s work in his adopted hometown for all to view.

Leslie Odom Jr. evangelizes at CMU's graduation ceremony

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteIf Leslie Odom Jr. sounded evangelistic Sunday while addressing Carnegie Mellon University graduates, maybe it’s because he is filming a pilot for the ABC network about three young pastors at a hip, diverse church in Los Angeles.

New 4th Street Underpass Lighting Adds a Welcome Splash of Colour

SkyriseCalgary: For many years Calgary's downtown CP railway underpasses have been unfriendly, dark, dilapidated corridors, traversed by pedestrians only out of necessity. Calgary's downtown underpasses are important connectors between the downtown CBD and the Beltline, and are used by thousands daily. The 4th Street SW underpass was no exception, as one of 6 downtown underpasses in desperate need of an upgrade.

Deaf And Hearing Broadway Vets Reunite For Presentation Of New Musical STEPCHILD

www.broadwayworld.com: A recipient of DCA's inaugural CreateNYC Disability Forward Fund, IRT Theater will present six work in progress presentations of the new musical, Stepchild. This fully accessible piece is a radical retelling of Cinderella, seen through the eyes of a young Deaf woman coming of age in a kingdom violently intolerant of difference. All presentations will take place at IRT's Greenwich Village home from May 29- June 2, 2019.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s biggest drama this season is change and challenges

OregonLive.com: On the surface, it’s just another season for the 84-year-old Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Theatergoers, from high school students to retirees, are trooping through downtown Ashland, strolling through Lithia Park and applauding productions from Shakespeare retellings to a hit Broadway musical to new works. Directors and actors are leading tours through the festival’s three theaters. Six miles away in Talent, the festival’s production staff is crafting sets and props daily.

Leslie Odom, Jr. To Give Keynote Address at CMU Commencement

www.cmu.edu/news: Odom, Jr., who earned his bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon's College of Fine Arts in 2003, will receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree during the ceremony. Odom, Jr. won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Aaron Burr in "Hamilton." He also won a Grammy as a principal soloist on the original cast recording.

Masterforce Cordless Brushless Reciprocating Saw 2410479 Review

PTR: If you’re near one of the 300+ Menards retail stores in the country, the Masterforce brand likely isn’t a new name to you. The rest of us are getting used to it and we’ve been happy with what you get for your money so far. Today we’re looking at the Masterforce cordless brushless reciprocating saw.

‘Big Bang Theory’ Set Decorator, Prop Master Recall Series’ 12 Seasons

Variety: Just like the lead actors on CBS comedy “The Big Bang Theory,” many of the show’s crew members have been part of the hit series from its beginning, 12 seasons ago — including prop master Scott London and set decorator Ann Shea.

In anticipation of the program’s upcoming finale on May 16, London and Shea shared some behind-the-scenes secrets from Stage 25 on the Warner Bros. lot, where “Big Bang” is shot.

Stacey Abrams offers Hollywood an alternative to boycotting Georgia over heartbeat bill

Salon.com: Hollywood’s predicament over how to handle the passage of Georgia’s Heartbeat Bill may have just gotten a whole lot easier this week thanks to ex-gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. While national media attention focuses on the wave of anti-abortion laws aimed at toppling Roe v. Wade, calls for Hollywood to boycott Georgia, the film/TV industry’s biggest production hub, have intensified.

Yesterday, in an interview with the LA Times, Abrams offered Hollywood an alternative to a boycott: Stay and help join the fight.

Acknowledging Impact, Regardless of Intent

HowlRound Theatre Commons: I am a recent graduate of a prestigious BFA theatre conservatory. Shockingly, this is not the part of my identity that makes me stick out to employers and other arts professionals. I am also a mixed-race Asian American woman.

It’s true that staff lists at theatre companies have been diversifying. Changes aren’t happening quickly enough, though, and the industry is experiencing growing pains—something that is natural now that those who have been in power for so long are being asked to think critically about their power and privilege.

Video-Game Engines Rendering Visual Effects on Movie Sets in Real Time

Variety: Donald Glover was blown away. “This is the coolest thing I have ever done,” he could be heard muttering into a hot mic after he had put the Millennium Falcon into hyperdrive for the first time on the set of “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

Virtual reality on theme park rides: 2016-2019

www.themeparkinsider.com: In 2016, Universal Studios Japan and Britain's Alton Towers added virtual reality to roller coasters at their theme parks, kicking off an industry craze to add VR on any number of aging attractions for a creative (and marketing) boost.

“King Lear” at Quantum Theatre

The Pittsburgh Tatler: Not going to bury the lead on this one: Quantum Theatre’s production of King Lear is a production you don’t want to miss, so check the weather for the rest of the week, get yourself a ticket for what looks like a dry night, and hope that the weather gods are on your side.

Worker injured in Eurovision venue accident dies

The Times of Israel: An Israeli man injured on Monday when a lighting rig fell on him during preparations for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest at the Expo Tel Aviv fairgrounds has died, hospital officials said Wednesday.

Design Engineer, Nicole Parker shares the conceptual design process + engineering methods behind one-of-a-kind TAIT Projects

TAIT: Nicole Parker is a Design Engineer for Permanent Installations at TAIT HQ. In her role, Nicole designs and engineers one-of-a-kind animatronics and show action equipment for theme parks and theatre venues. On this episode of #TAITTakeOver, Nicole shares a ‘day in her life’ and brings you to team meetings and brainstorm sessions where the conceptual design process and engineering methods come together to create extraordinary experiences.

How Disney uses more than 7,000 props to make Galaxy’s Edge look and feel like a ‘Star Wars’ movie

Orange County Register: Walt Disney Imagineering will add thousands of set dressing props to Galaxy’s Edge to ensure the new Star Wars land coming to Disneyland has the authentic look and feel of the original film trilogy from the 1970s and ‘80s.

“I’ve got a team of artists that work with me in a top secret location and we’re building all of these props,” said Eric Baker, Walt Disney Imagineering creative director for props and set dressing. “We’ve shipped over 7,000 props to Anaheim already and there’s more on the way.”

#101Wednesdays: Who is an AHJ and what is...

NFPA Xchange: Generally when people walk into a building, they assume that the building will provide a reasonable degree of life safety. NFPA 101, along with other codes and standards, provide the road map to achieving the reasonable degree of life safety that is generally expected by the public. However, unless enforced, codes and standards do not have the ability to protect building occupants. The authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) plays a vital role in enforcement of the code for the entire lifetime of a building; during construction, occupancy, and rehabilitation.

EQT Children’s Theater Festival increases footprint and introduces pop-up shows

Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: After 33 years of producing quality children’s entertainment in Pittsburgh, the EQT Children’s Theater Festival (May 16-19) still has a few surprises up its sleeve – actually, quite a few. This year, families visiting the festival will be treated to a series of roving, pop-up performances from local artists like the River City Brass Band or theater group Hiawatha Project.

Behind the Scenes at Shakespeare Theatre Company's Props Warehouse

DC Metro Theater Arts: Staging an epic that involves a bloody chain of events in “a deluge of violence,” as the Shakespeare Theatre Company describes The Oresteia, requires not just the skills and talents of the actors on stage and the boldface names of the creative team. It also demands the talents of those usually unobserved–those who work deep backstage.

Designing in Duplicate

Stage Directions: Costume designer Kärin Simonson Kopischke was presented with the rare challenge of designing two different productions of Pippin back-to-back—and triumphed. Over her decades-long career, Simonson Kopischke has earned a stellar reputation for professional and technical excellence.

Responsible Theatremaking

HowlRound Theatre Commons: Treating audiences and fellow artists with care and respect is paramount when it comes to creating theatre. In an age when every production has the capability to reach and impact large groups of people, artists need to be mindful of how their choices affect the public—especially with regard to sensitive content.

Aardman's first original 4D movie is coming to Efteling

www.themeparkinsider.com: Oscar-winning animation studio Aardman — the studio behind Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and Chicken Run — is creating is first original 4D movie for a theme park. And it is coming to The Netherlands' Efteling later this year.

Who Was Shakespeare? Could the Author Have Been a Woman?

The Atlantic: On a spring night in 2018, I stood on a Manhattan sidewalk with friends, reading Shakespeare aloud. We were in line to see an adaptation of Macbeth and had decided to pass the time refreshing our memories of the play’s best lines. I pulled up Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy on my iPhone. “Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,” I read, thrilled once again by the incantatory power of the verse. I remembered where I was when I first heard those lines: in my 10th-grade English class, startled out of my adolescent stupor by this woman rebelling magnificently and malevolently against her submissive status.

Farm Dinner Theater

Blogs | CDC: It is not new news that agriculture has excessive worker injury rates. Nor that senior farmers and adult farmers in the South experience some of the highest occupational injury and mortality in the nation. There were an estimated 58,385 work-related adult farm injuries (more than six every hour) in 2014. In 2016, 417 farmers and farm workers died from a work-related injury.

KwikPro turns the traditional cordless-tool format on its head

newatlas.com: A British engineer with a long career in electric vehicles and hovercraft has created the space- and weight-saving KwikPro system, which he hopes will revolutionize the way tradespeople work – and get around. The 10-piece array of trade-worthy tools fits into just one case, because the motor is in the handle, not the head.

Prague Quadrennial 2019: Imagination, Transformation, Memory

The Theatre Times: This summer, a wonderful artistic tradition will return to the city of Prague, as the Czech capital opens itself to the fourteenth edition of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. Established in 1967, the PQ has continuously evolved while staying true to its mission: to act as “a global catalyst of creative progress by encouraging experimentation, networking, innovation, and future collaborations.” Some numbers to give you a sense of the breadth of this year’s event: over 800 artists from 79 countries will give more than 600 performances, all in the space of 11 days. From June 6 through 16th, Prague will once again assume its rightful place as a global capital of experimental theater.

Scribe Stats: Broadway's Most Produced Playwrights Of the Decade

www.broadwayworld.com: Each season, Broadway champions works both new and old, welcoming a fresh crop of plays from playwrights both at home and abroad. Their works enrapture audiences, dazzling in their relevance, sparkling in their spectacle, and often challenging in their complexity.

Lesbian Pirates! A Historical Look At Disability And Queerness

The Theatre Times: Lesbian Pirates! is a musical based on the untold true story of the ruthless, maverick and lesbian pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Currently, in development, Natasha Sutton Williams tells Colin Hambrook the story behind this Working Birthday production.

Acting Under the Influence: Comedy or Tragedy?

OnStage Blog: Actors have a long association with alcohol. There are many famous actors with a history of alcohol abuse, including Peter O’Toole, Richard Burton, Errol Flynn, and Humphrey Bogart, to name just a few. Gerard Depardieu once famously claimed that he could drink up to 14 bottles of wine a day! But famous actors often live by a different set of rules. I wondered how community theater or regional actors would answer the question: Have you ever rehearsed or performed on stage while "under the influence"?

Safe Space?

Footlights: I recently came upon an audition notice, and what caught my eye was the phrase, “safe space”. This struck me as a bit odd because art is about seeking the truth. The truth of the artist. A composer may struggle over a single note, a painter a single color, a dancer a step, an actor a character. Each artist knows that every choice is crucial to the creative process. And every decision fills the artist with a quandary. A quandary may last a moment, it may last days, it can span years, and if you’ve ever experienced it, it is the antithesis of safety. It is being lost, and lost leaves us vulnerable, unsafe.

HBO Shot ‘Chernobyl’ Miniseries Inside Lithuania Nuclear Plant

Variety: HBO’s “Chernobyl,” a five-part miniseries that debuted May 6, dramatizes the true story of the 1986 nuclear accident that was one of the worst human-made disasters of all time. Though the event is no secret, press coverage in the months and years that followed painted broad strokes and sweeping statements. The miniseries offers viewers a tighter focus, examining the women and men who were caught in the middle of the catastrophe.

LADY ON THE VERGE

newyorkstyleguide.com: While it can be argued that costume designer Tracy Christensen isn’t quite privy to the byzantine nature of the fashion industry, MasterVoices’ “Lady in the Dark” proves she can intuit its tortured psyche. With a little assist from Vogue’s own international editor-at-large Hamish Bowles and marquee brands Zac Posen, Thom Browne, Marchesa, and Brooks Brothers, Ms. Christensen adeptly simulates the milieu to within reasonable authenticity while deftly fulfilling multiple creative and practical considerations. After all, she couldn’t very well just employ dresses sampled for statuesque models and expect them to work on women with curvier frames, or for that matter, allow unfettered movement for the dancers.

Transgender actor helped rewrite role in 'Things I Know to Be True'

www.azcentral.com: Australian playwright Andrew Bovell earned widespread acclaim for 2016’s “Things I Know to Be True,” about an empty-nest couple forced to reckon with four adult children who turn out to be not quite the people they thought they were.

For the play’s U.S. premiere — a co-production by Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and Arizona Theatre Company — Bovell and the director, Mark Clements, chose to transplant the action to the Midwest, recasting the story for an American audience.

Northlight Theatre has new plan to move to Evanston, building its own theater

Chicago Tribune: In a pivot away from developers and controversial Evanston high-rises, Northlight Theatre says it has made a fresh plan for a new home. Northlight said Friday that it has signed an option agreement to purchase (and then demolish) an existing Evanston building located at 1012-1016 Church Street in the near north suburb, and then build a new, low-rise theater that it says will be "transformational" for the 45-year-old non-profit theater.

Safety Habits and the Benefits They Bring

Grainger Industrial Supply: “Safety should be a habit.” It’s an admirable idea, and it’s frequently stated as a goal. But what does it really mean? In this article we'll look at good safety habits in the workplace: what they are, why they’re important and how they come about, and providing strategies to build safe work habits on the job. You can also read our list of signs that safety habits have been established in your workplace to get concrete and actionable guidance on what to look for.

CMU Launches Undergraduate Program in Film and Visual Media

www.cmu.edu/news: Carnegie Mellon University will offer a bachelor's degree of arts in film and visual media beginning in fall 2019. The program, based in the Department of English, will focus on the critical study of screenwriting and on films as cultural and political texts.

PGAV Destinations: An industry of partnership and collaboration

InPark Magazine: The limitless potential of partnerships crosses oceans, crosses borders, and ferries us all – together – into the future of themed entertainment. Without this collaboration, we only grow more distant and fractured. In the attractions industry, the best practices we now enjoy in terms of partnerships and amicable collaborations took time to evolve. It took decades of learning, growth, and proven success for cross-skillset, cross-institution, and even cross-country teamwork to become a key ingredient in today’s themed entertainment innovation.

Laughter and Light Abound in Prime Stage's "Twelfth Night"

Pittsburgh in the Round: Kudos to Prime Stage for a Twelfth Night that truly sings. Stage director Andy Kirtland has created a lovely adaptation of Shakespeare’s 1601 comedy. A vibrant intimacy connects the players and audience, supporting a wonderful production that’s superbly enjoyable for both those who know this play and for anyone experiencing Shakespeare for the first time.

Review Roundup: Critics Sound Off On The World Premiere of AUGUST RUSH: THE MUSICAL

www.broadwayworld.com: Evan Taylor, an 11 year old orphan, believes in music like some believe in fairytales. In a cruel twist of fate, Evan's mother, an accomplished classical cellist, and his father, the lead singer of a rock band, don't even know he exists in this world. Even after so many years gone, Evan has not given up hope as he relentlessly searches for the parents he knows need him. Quickly discovering he too is a musical prodigy, Evan surrenders himself to the symphony of sounds and follows the music. In this inspiring love story, music is everywhere, but will it lead Evan home?

Lessons from pop-up museums - engaging with the trend

blooloop: In the age of selfie culture and getting the ‘perfect’ Instagram shot, pop-up museums have been thriving. Are there lessons to learn from this success, and what can traditional museums gain from the pop-up trend?

He Makes Sure This Play Is Always a Disaster

Theatre Development Fund – TDF: Matt DiCarlo has spent the last two years making sure The Play That Goes Wrong goes right -- or, more accurately, wrong, first as stage manager, then as associate director and now as the director of the Off-Broadway transfer of the long-running Broadway farce. A slapstick-filled comedy about an inept college drama club doing a catastrophic performance of a '20s murder mystery, the show originated in London before landing stateside, where DiCarlo initially signed on as stage manager.

‘Lady and the Tramp’ Will Feature Janelle Monae, Redo Siamese Cat Song

Variety: Grammy winner Janelle Monae will contribute new music to the Disney Plus streaming title “Lady and the Tramp,” in addition to her voice role in the live-action reboot.

Monae will perform two original songs for the film, led by Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux. Monae’s artist collective Wondaland is also “reinventing” a track from the original 1955 animated movie, individuals close to the project said.

What Is Performance Art?: We Explain It with Video Introductions and Classic Performances

Open Culture: If you asked me to define performance art, I’d probably stumble into a couple of clichés—you know it when you see it, you kind of have to be there, etc. Such vague criteria could mean virtually any event can be called performance art, and maybe it can. But the precedents set in the art world over the course of the 20th century narrow things a bit. PBS’s The Art Assignment primer above tells us that performance art is “a term used to describe art in which the body is the medium or live action is in some way involved.”

Adam Savage Exclusive Book Excerpt From Every Tool's a Hammer

io9.gizmodo.com: Adam Savage is known to most people from Discovery Channel’s popular series MythBusters, but if you’re a sci-fi fan, you’ve no doubt taken notice of his extracurricular activities as well—many of which are inspired by Savage’s fascination with iconic props from some of his favorite movies. Now he’s got a new book that offers a peek into his creative process.

"Pose" Star Billy Porter and Sam Ratelle on Met Gala 2019 Look

PAPER: Everyone gagged at last night's Met Gala entrance by the one and only Billy Porter, the Pose star, and genderfluid performer who has been fiercely undergoing a playful, celebratory, and unapologetic fashion evolution.

CBS Sets New HR Measures

Variety: CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl and CBS Television Studios president David Stapf sent a memo to staffers today, informing them of the new measures being implemented. The memo, a copy of which was obtained by Variety, states that each CBS Studios production will now have a dedicated HR person assigned to it.

“Indecent” at the Pittsburgh Public Theater

The Pittsburgh Tatler: Indecent is a rich and complicated piece of theatrical writing that uses the history of another play, Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance, to tell the story of Eastern European Jewish aspirations and persecutions in the early twentieth century. Its sweep is simultaneously intimate and vast, using a narrow focus on a Yiddish theater troupe to illuminate the historical pressures that buffetted Jewish and queer artists and immigrants in both Europe and the United States.

How to Model a Healthier Professional Culture That Benefits Marginalized Artists and Administrators

HowlRound Theatre Commons: I’ve been obsessed with the nearly inexplicable sensations I feel whenever I walk into a rehearsal space, a production shop, or the offices of a non-profit theatre company. As someone who has been freelancing, organizing, and creating performance art in Philadelphia, I have come to believe that all professional spaces have their own spirit or aura that’s informed by how the organization treats their people.

Personalization prevails

InPark Magazine: Holovis, a leading experiential design company, is using its R&D muscle and technical savvy to help build state-of-the-art technologies and tools for the future of guest experience. That vision of the future is one of personalized attractions and experiences in seamless, immersive, responsive environments – where technology is transparent, and guests are empowered to choose their own adventures.

The Gender Problem ‘Tootsie’ Can’t Dress Up

AMERICAN THEATRE: When David Yazbek and Robert Horn’s new musical Tootsie opened on Broadway a few weeks ago to mostly rave reviews (all written by cisgender critics), New York magazine’s Sara Holdren was one of the only critics to call out the dated gender politics of the show, based on the 1982 film. I was shocked, however, that none of the critics noticed the larger problem: the show’s entire premise is transphobic. Although there are no trans characters in the musical, trans people are the butt of every joke, a silent specter of mockery, as the whole musical revolves around a never-ending “man in a dress” joke, a trope that’s rooted in transmisogyny (hatred of trans women).

‘Miss Saigon’ and ‘Butterfly’ bring issues of ‘cancel culture’ to the fore

HoustonChronicle.com: The Houston arts scene has arrived at a crossroads.

This month, Houston is home to two musicals that audiences and artists are increasingly describing as problematic, even controversial — “Miss Saigon” at the Hobby Center beginning its run Tuesday and “Madama Butterfly” at Opera in the Heights, which ended a run on Saturday.

Utterly Precise Light Painting, Thanks to CNC and Stop Motion

Hackaday: Light painting is the process of moving a light while taking a long-exposure photograph, which creates a sort of drawing from the path of the light source. It’s been done in one way or another since at least the early-to-mid 1900s, but modern hardware and methods have allowed for all kinds of new spins on this old idea.

Can Economic Impact Make a Case for Arts Nonprofits?

www.clydefitchreport.com: Arts nonprofits provide huge positive cash flow to their communities. So do casinos, malls, stadiums and any other establishments that offer ample opportunity for secondary expenditures from a patron. Parking, babysitting, meals, shopping opportunities — these are not insignificant to the power of the arts to help a region succeed.

Cirque du Soleil’s next Las Vegas show a radical departure from its acrobatic present

SFChronicle.com: For 35 years, Cirque du Soleil has sold tickets and stunned audiences by creating live, theatrical spectacles that largely follow an understood, if not explicit, set of rules: The music is live. The narrative is loose. There are no stars. High-tech stages and sets support the sense of wonder, created largely by acrobats doing things you didn’t know a human body could do. I’ve left most Cirque shows feeling awed and inspired — and like I desperately needed to hit the gym.

Universal shows its practical side with a new animated Hagrid

www.themeparkinsider.com: Universal Orlando this morning dropped teaser photos and a video for what it is calling its most advanced animated character yet — a seven-foot, six-inch Hagrid that will host the upcoming new roller coaster in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

How A Picnic Spot Became A Pittsburgh Tradition: Kennywood's History

90.5 WESA: Kennywood Park is a staple for many Pittsburghers. The amusement park isn’t the largest and doesn’t have the fastest rides, but visitors return each season for a taste of nostalgia and the classic, rickety wooden roller coasters.

How These Black Playwrights Are Challenging American Theater

The New York Times: They are the talk of the theater world: a generation of black playwrights whose fiercely political and formally inventive works are challenging audiences, critics and the culture at large to think about race, and racism, in new ways.

Ridgid 18V Cordless Butane Heat Gun

Pro Tool Reviews: Pros from nearly every trade can find a use for the Ridgid 18V Butane Heat Gun and its adjustable 1100°F max on-demand heat. I regularly use a corded heat gun with dual temperature modes. My unfamiliarity with—and skepticism about—using and re-filling a butane tool burned off pretty quickly. Let me show you how this tool saved me some setup and tear-down time.

Sam Parker And CHAUVET Professional Reflect Sharon Van Etten's Evocative Music On Tour | CHAUVET Professional

www.chauvetprofessional.com: After acting in the hit Netflix series The OA and scoring the film Strange Weather, singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten returned to the recording studio last year to cut her fifth LP, Remind Me Tomorrow. Early in February, she embarked on a 16-city US tour in support of the album. Setting the visual tone for her viscerally potent blend of deeply personal music was a Sam Parker lighting design anchored by CHAUVET Professional Rogue and COLORado fixtures, supplied by Squeek Lights.

The LED Revolution With Lighting Designer Justin Townsend

www.livedesignonline.com: I came up in a world where color was precious, careful, determined. Color was almost like egg tempura paints, dyes floated in egg whites to be carefully painted with. We used to gather around the swatch books and tell each other our favorite colors, swapping stories about Skelton Exotic Sangria and Bastard Amber. Those choices become the backbone and structure of the design. Color was an investment—a bold choice made in the studio before arriving in tech.

Lucy Liu Becomes Second Asian-American Woman with Star on Walk of Fame

Variety: Lucy Liu became the second Asian-American woman with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and gave thanks to the first recipient, Anna May Wong, for paving the way for representation during the ceremony today.

The 10 Best Booths at Frieze New York 2019

Artsy: At the ferry stop for boats heading to Randall’s Island this morning, a security guard called, “Frieze art! Art show! Art show!” Step right up. Like a circus, Frieze New York takes place under a giant tent, and draws in bustling crowds that are eager to take in the main attraction.

Knit 1, Purl 2: Assembly Instructions for a Robot?

www.cmu.edu/news: Carnegie Mellon University researchers have used computationally controlled knitting machines to create plush toys and other knitted objects that are actuated by tendons. It's an approach they say might someday be used to cost-effectively make soft robots and wearable technologies.

Have we finally outgrown human resources?

www.fastcompany.com: Several weeks ago, I was moderating a panel of chief people officers in San Francisco. The discussion spanned career paths, the future of work, diversity and inclusion, and a host of other topics germane to leading people teams in today’s world of work.

One of the more spirited exchanges was during a discussion about the term “human resources” (HR).

Mr. Dreyfoos wants to rebrand his namesake school so badly he’s willing to pay

News - The Palm Beach Post - West Palm Beach, FL: Alexander Dreyfoos Jr. has been clamoring for years for his namesake school – Dreyfoos School of the Arts – to tweak its name. So far, his suggestion has been politely declined.

But what a difference $1 million makes.

An Interview with Dramaturg Sarah Lunnie

The Interval: Unless you are a true theatre aficionado, chances are that you have not encountered many career dramaturgs. Yet, as part editor, part audience, and part sounding board, dramaturgs are vital collaborators in the process of creating a new play or reinterpreting a classic one. Sarah Lunnie is a dramaturg extraordinaire, focusing on the development of brand new dramatic works.

Curators of Everyday Objects: The Work of Prop Masters

Stage Directions: Why does this level of detail—what some might consider a “luxury” in the realm of quickly produced, budget challenged theatre—matter? Every prop master will give you a slightly different answer colored by their own experiences and approach to the job. What I tell my students is this—it matters because what we’re creating on the stage is the world in which the show exists. Whatever it is we’re doing, the show has a reality in which it exists and it’s our job to research, manufacture, procure, restore, and curate the objects that populate that reality. Prop people are curators of everyday objects across decades and centuries.

TPi Awards 2019

TPi: Since its inception in 2002, the TPi Awards has consistently grown in size and status. Nowadays the event is dubbed by the industry as the premier networking date for the live production industry. Each year, revellers descend on Battersea Evolution donning their Sunday best to acknowledge and reward the achievements of the most talented and successful individuals and service companies working within the industry.

Documenting My Story as an Autistic Playwright

OnStage Blog: Those who know me best know me as a playwright, screenwriter, self-producing artist, reviewer, blogger, and occasionally as an actor and poet, among other things. They know that on the rare occasions when I’m not writing and producing, I’m most likely to be found scrolling through my laptop while drinking way too much coffee. Or they may know that even to this day, I’m a lifelong fan of The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Batman, and Harry Potter, among other things.

Will Theatre Ever Regain Centerstage in Our Culture?

AMERICAN THEATRE: Those who love the theatre, especially those who’ve loved it a long time, know that old lost-cause feeling—the sneaking suspicion that they’ve hitched their wagon to the wrong horse and the world is passing them, and their beloved art form, by. At least, speaking for myself, I’ve lived with that sense of shrinking ground—a constant fading of something that was a shining beacon long before, just before, or possibly at the very beginning of my own experience of it—for so long that it’s like an old friend I greet the way Lead Belly once saluted his own métier: Good morning, blues; blues, how do you do?

The Pros, The Cons, and The Promise of Alien the Play

Stage Directions: In space, you may have heard, no one can hear you scream. However, in North Bergen, NJ, when you scream in outer space, you can be heard around the world.

That was the case when North Bergen High School mounted Alien the Play, an adaptation of and homage to Ridley Scott’s celebrated 1979 film, which at the root of the movie’s stunning visual sci-fi design, was about a group of people trapped in a haunted house with a monster, only in this case, the house was a space ship.

How the cats in 'Pet Semetary' were trained for TV and movies

Business Insider: If you have a cat or have ever been around one, you know that they tend to have a mind of their own. But what do you do when you need them to behave in a certain way? Like in a movie, for instance.

Well, you train them.

Stanley Kubrick’s Meticulous Set Designs Made His Films Strikingly Eerie

Artsy:  Stanley Kubrick once said that “most films are little more than stage plays with more atmosphere and action.” Going beyond the relationships between a scene and a sentence, the director relied on an expanded definition of film grammar to underpin his stories: The lighting, sets, and props acted as commas, semicolons, and dashes to join his narratives and define their rhythm. In an exhibition about Kubrick at London’s Design Museum, which runs until September 15th, it’s these environments—and the meticulous research on which they were based—that take center stage.

“In the Advanced Portion of the Class, We’ll Set You on Fire”: Stunt School at Age 33

Filmmaker Magazine: I have a Master’s degree, but my return to school as a 33-year-old wasn’t to chase a Ph.D. In my re-entry to so-called academia, I didn’t even crack a book open. The extent of my reading came in the form of reviewing consent waivers that outlined how I couldn’t take legal action against anyone who set me on fire or threw me off of scaffolding.

Aaron Sorkin talks ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and disavowing the white savior role

Los Angeles Times: Interior. Restaurant at a Beverly Hills hotel, early March. Music spritzing luxuriously in the background. A publicist finishes her breakfast. In walks a frazzled middle-aged theater critic. Publicist retrieves him. The two exchange pleasantries, then dive into the reason for this interview: Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of Harper Lee's “To Kill a Mockingbird," which has become one of the biggest hits of the Broadway season.

Five Carnegie Mellon Alumni Nominated for 11 Tony Awards

www.cmu.edu/news: Five Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama alumni received a total of 11 Tony Award nominations this morning for their Broadway work behind the scenes. This marks the 11th consecutive year that at least one Carnegie Mellon graduate has received a nomination.

Hamilton got a few things wrong. This traveling museum corrects the record

www.fastcompany.com: There’s a powerful scene in the second act of Hamilton in which Aaron Burr is left seething in resentment after Alexander Hamilton refuses to endorse him in the election of 1800, a political slight that ensures Thomas Jefferson’s ascendancy as America’s third president. For Burr, losing the White House is one humiliation too many, the last straw in a lifelong rivalry with Hamilton that he can no longer bear. In response, he challenges Hamilton to a duel.

A New Kind of ‘Hamilton’ Show, This Time on Lake Michigan

The New York Times: Audrey Burcham and Grace Troelstrup got up at 5 a.m. Saturday to be sure they’d make it on time. By 7, three hours before a large “Hamilton” exhibition opened here, they were standing at the front of the line with their moms. Audrey, 12, was clutching an Alexander Hamilton doll as well as a hard-bound collection of inspirational tweets from Lin-Manuel Miranda and, of course, a Playbill; Grace, 13, was wearing a gold star “Hamilton” knit cap and toting “Hamilton: The Revolution,” the explanatory book known to fans as the Hamiltome.

How Lucy Liu Battled Against Lack of Diversity to Become a Hollywood Star

Variety: 2019 may just be the year of Lucy Liu.

The actress-turned-director-and-producer will wrap up her seven-season run as Dr. Joan Watson on CBS crime drama “Elementary” and then star in new streaming series, “Why Women Kill,” which she will also direct. She also inked a development deal with ABC Studios Intl. for “Unsung Heroes,” an anthology series that centers on the untold story of a woman who was a pioneer in her time. And, on May 1, all these achievements (and more) will be celebrated with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

WGAW 2017-2018 Inclusion Report: Women, Minorities Still Marginalized

Variety: Women and people of color are making progress as writers in television but systematic discrimination in hiring persists, according to the WGA West’s latest inclusion study.

Among the key findings of the WGA West’s Inclusion Report Card for the 2017-18 television season is that women and people of color remain underrepresented relative to their percentages in the U.S. population, and discrimination worsens at upper levels.

Christo Took Extreme Measures to Realize The Floating Piers

Artsy: In 2016, Christo realized an artistic vision he’d first dreamed up in 1970: simulating the act of walking on water. When he opened his elegant execution, entitled The Floating Piers, crowds converged on the gold fabric–sheathed walkways that extended 3 kilometers into Italy’s Lake Iseo, connecting the islands of San Paolo and Monte Isola to mainland Sulzano. For 16 days, audiences walked over the piers and watched the hues of the installation—and the lake itself—change as daylight waxed and waned.

Marin Mazzie, Jason Michael Webb, and Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Co, to Receive Special Tony Awards

www.broadwayworld.com: The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced that Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company the creators of the character/puppet "Kong" for King Kong; musical director and arranger Jason Michael Webb and the late actress and advocate Marin Mazzie; will be each be presented with a Special Tony Award for their outstanding contributions to the theatre and community.

Set Design Rookie Mistakes

Dramatics Magazine: WHEN AUDIENCE MEMBERS walk into a theatre, the set is likely one of the first aspects of the production they’ll see. Sets help create the world envisioned by a play’s author, director, and designers. Good ones do this at first glance.

Matthew Modine Running for SAG-AFTRA President

Variety: Veteran actor Matthew Modine is running for president of SAG-AFTRA as the head of the ticket for the Membership First faction of the performers union.

Modine was first elected as a member of the SAG-AFTRA national board in 2017. He’s the first candidate to announce for the presidency.

CMU Works To Promote Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Year-Round

www.cmu.edu/news: April 30 marks the end of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but at Carnegie Mellon University staff and faculty work throughout the year to end sexual assault. According to a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in 2015, 1 in 5 women said they were sexually assaulted in college. According to the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, the prevalence in the LGBTQ community is reported to be higher.

2019 TEA Thea Awards

InPark Magazine: The 2019 recipients of TEA Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement shared a common trait – the use of technology as a tool to convey a story or evoke emotion.

“Technology is becoming a bigger part of the experiences created for themed entertainment related attractions and events,” said Technifex president Monty Lunde, founder of the TEA.

Concr3de wants to 3D print Notre-Dame's new gargoyles from rubble

www.fastcompany.com: When Notre-Dame was partially destroyed during a fire this month, the world mourned not just the loss of the building, but the ornate stone details that didn’t survive. Architecture firms are already racing to propose plans to rebuild the cathedral’s roof, but one company is proposing a plan to resuscitate its fallen gargoyles and chimeras–by transforming the rubble and ashes into material that can be 3D-printed into exact replicas.

Moog's synth family has a new mother

newatlas.com: Moog Music hosted its annual music, art and technology expo – Moogfest – at the weekend, and took the opportunity to show off a new four note paraphonic analog synthesizer called the Matriarch.

A Magical Adventure To An Invisible Blue Moon Created With Rosco Fluorescent Paints

Rosco Spectrum: The popularity of the Pete The Cat books has driven audiences to come see their favorite blue cat live on stage. In the show, Pete takes Jimmy on a true adventure, mostly by means of a magical VW bus. My assistant and I used Rosco Scenic Paints for the whole set as they’re very colorful and we felt they were the best choice to convey the feel of the designer’s concept. At one point, Jimmy and Pete travel to the moon and it was decided by Set Designer Alessia Carpoca, Lighting Designer Aimee Hanyzewski and Director Ron Chisolm to make the moon glow using black light UV effects.

Crying in theater: How one play encapsulates our desire to shed tears with strangers

Los Angeles Times: Anne Nemer and her best friend from college, Elizabeth Bates, had a pretty good idea of what they were walking into when they attended “Tiny Beautiful Things” at Pasadena Playhouse.

The play, adapted by actress Nia Vardalos from Cheryl Strayed’s bestselling book of the same name, revolves around Strayed’s stint as the anonymous “Dear Sugar” online advice columnist and the words of wisdom she dispensed.

Review Roundup: TOOTSIE Opens On Broadway - See What The Critics Had To Say!

www.broadwayworld.com: TOOTSIE features an original score by Tony Award-winner David Yazbek (The Band's Visit, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), a book by Robert Horn(13; Dame Edna, Back with a Vengeance), choreography by Tony Award nominee Denis Jones (Holiday Inn, Honeymoon in Vegas), and music direction by Andrea Grody (The Band's Visit). Tootsie will be directed by eight-time Tony Award nominee and Olivier Award winner Scott Ellis (She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century).