Friday, February 28, 2020
Stage Managers in Performances
Dramatics Magazine: FOR MANY STAGE MANAGERS, opening night feels like a finish line. All the months of preparation, weeks of work, rehearsals, tech, and previews culminate in one night of celebration, in one (hopefully) amazing performance. There’s much rejoicing, many congratulations, and more than a few fond farewells as the director, designers, and artistic team head off to their next projects.
Updating "Romeo and Juliet" in a Bid to Fight Prejudice in Japan
The Theatre Times: With William Shakespeare’s iconic use of English lost in translation, bold and reimagined versions of his works have long blossomed in Japan, as dramatists have mainly taken inspiration from the storylines instead.
For example, two highlights from the past 20 years would surely be The Kyogen of Errors, a 2001 take on The Comedy of Errors in traditional comic kyogen style by Mansai Nomura, and Hideki Noda’s 2019 production Q: A Night at the Kabuki, a Romeo and Juliet story set in medieval Japan, with a soundtrack taken from Queen’s classic 1975 album, A Night at the Opera.
For example, two highlights from the past 20 years would surely be The Kyogen of Errors, a 2001 take on The Comedy of Errors in traditional comic kyogen style by Mansai Nomura, and Hideki Noda’s 2019 production Q: A Night at the Kabuki, a Romeo and Juliet story set in medieval Japan, with a soundtrack taken from Queen’s classic 1975 album, A Night at the Opera.
TPi Awards 2020
ETNow.com: Robe played a major role in delivering another stunning lighting design for the Total Production International (TPi) Awards, produced by TPi Magazine, part of Mondiale Media, an annual event to honour some of the best creative and technical achievements in the world of live entertainment for the preceding 12 months.
Fuller: Does What Happened In D.C. Stay In D.C.?
www.ticketnews.com: Yesterday, February 26, 2020 there was yet another ticket hearing on Capitol Hill. Congress is looking into whether the ways in which live event tickets are sold disadvantage consumers. The answer is not complex. It’s yes.
There to be questioned were representatives from six big ticketing companies: Ticketmaster, AXS, StubHub, Vivid Seats, Tickets.com and TicketNetwork. These companies didn’t send their flacks, they sent their assassins.
There to be questioned were representatives from six big ticketing companies: Ticketmaster, AXS, StubHub, Vivid Seats, Tickets.com and TicketNetwork. These companies didn’t send their flacks, they sent their assassins.
Putting The Fund in Funding on Broadway
The Producer's Perspective: Sure, investment funds were fine when you were buying a basket of boring stocks to prepare for your retirement, but for Broadway? For any kind of art where so much emotion is involved? One of the key criteria I recommend in this book before anyone invests in a Broadway show is to make sure you love the show. I never thought investors would take to getting in a bunch of shows at once, especially if that fund was blind.
How to Overcome Creative Obstacles
Adobe 99U: Many of us are busy, overextended, and doing our best to cram as much as we can in a day. No wonder many of us struggle to find time to properly ruminate on a big idea that’s been lingering. It might flourish into something significant, but only if you give it the space and attention it needs. You might think that multitasking is the answer, and fruitlessly keep adding it to the bottom of your to-do list.
What Is a Resume? Your Guide to: Purpose & Definition (+Top Examples)
business.tutsplus.com: A resume is a formal document that shows a potential employer your skills, education, and experience. In most cases, you’ll make a resume to apply for various job openings. A resume is usually required for a job application within a company or organization that doesn't rely on application forms alone.
Kraftwerk Living Technologies wins Inavation Award
blooloop: Kraftwerk Living Technologies is proud to announce that it has won an Inavation Award in the category of “Leisure & Entertainment Facility” for its cutting-edge multisensory theatre attraction, Magic Glaze 5D, located at the Tonguan Kiln International Cultural and Tourism Center in Changsha.
Women in Audio Engineering
SoundGirls.org: During the first week of November, my alma mater, the DePaul University School of Music, held an 11-day music festival with numerous masterclasses, panel discussions, and concerts to commemorate the unveiling of its new Holtschneider Performance Center. I was asked to take part in the panel discussion sponsored by the Sound Recording Technology department titled Women in Audio Engineering.
CNC Machining Is The Foundation Of The Future
Fareastgizmos: Various reports in the last year or two have indicated that the CNC machining industry is set up for significant growth. This industry can involve a number of different specific practices, but broadly speaking it concerns the use of automated equipment to cut, turn, and shape materials so as to form final products. And in late 2019, AP News cited market projections forecasting a near doubling of this industry in the span between 2018 and 2028, as a result of “increasing awareness about energy and heavy industry worldwide.”
NHL Seattle To Pay For Fans' Transit To Home Games
www.ticketnews.com: When the NHL’s newest expansion team debuts in Seattle next year, local hockey fans will be able to get to and from the games free of charge. NHL Seattle announced an ambitious plan to provide free transit options for ticket holders in an effort to enhance fan experience and remain environmentally friendly.
'That's Rock 'n' Roll!' Get Inside Madison Square Garden as 18,000 Students Cheer on To Kill a Mockingbird
Broadway Buzz | Broadway.com: The roar of the 18,000-member crowd as the players took their places at Madison Square Garden was enough to knock you back. But this wasn’t a Knicks game; this was an audience of New York City public school students cheering for a play. Madison Square Garden—known more for concerts and sporting events than theater—presented its first-ever play on February 26. Students from across New York City’s five boroughs assembled for a free performance of Broadway's best-selling To Kill a Mockingbird.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
As Fates Would Have It - What We Learn From Minor Players In Greek Tragedies And Hollywood Films
The Theatre Times: Many will be familiar with the looming presence of Oedipus or Antigone in Classical Greek tragedy. But how many remember the so-called secondary characters (nurses, soldiers, pedagogues) with whom the great heroes of the past appeared on stage?
“Minor” characters of 5th century BC works have an important role in encouraging audience reflection.
“Minor” characters of 5th century BC works have an important role in encouraging audience reflection.
Mike Baldassari Shares The Origin Story Of R381 - His Namesake Blue -
www.rosco.com: When is blue not blue enough? When you’re Tony and two-time Emmy-nominated lighting designer Mike Baldassari, the answer to that question was always “once the light dims down far enough – then it’s just a muddy brown.” Having worked on Broadway, feature films and TV specials, Mike had seen the vibrant blues he’d chosen for his lighting designs turn to mud as the light dimmed down time-and-time-again. That is, until Rosco made him the blue he needed.
One Year In, Artists Rep Reflects on Life without Space
Portland Monthly: “Not all who those wander are lost,” a sentiment penned by J. R. R. Tolkien, is a classic Etsy maxim, replicated on many a hand-stitched tea towel—but that makes it no less
true for the members of Artists Repertory Theatre.
The company is midway through its first year as a theater-in-exile while its longtime building in Goose Hollow is transformed into a state-of-the-art performance space and 21-story residential tower.
true for the members of Artists Repertory Theatre.
The company is midway through its first year as a theater-in-exile while its longtime building in Goose Hollow is transformed into a state-of-the-art performance space and 21-story residential tower.
Visual Storytelling in Socially Engaged Performance
HowlRound Theatre Commons: I grew up in the former Soviet Union when explicit commentary or criticism on society through verbal means was taboo, if not outright dangerous. Because of this, theatre artists behind the Iron Curtain learned to master the expression of social and political messages through the use of visuals. More than any political text could have, images conveyed the mood and attitude about the political situation. Although the political conditions and theatrical climate have transformed dramatically since then, I am convinced that the use of visuals as a means of expression remains essential in today’s politically and socially engaged theatre.
"Send the Actors to Set with Everything They Need For Their Bodies": Costume Designer Keri Langerman Dresses The Photograph
Filmmaker Magazine: The elements that set our old and new lovers apart — space, time, and climate — manifest naturally as distinctions in garb. Well-to-do urbanites in cashmere lay into plush sofas to mingle. In Pointe à la Hache, the clothes lay less but as quaint. The film always looks delicate. Mae is always made to look stunning. The threat to romance is situational and barely encroaches on their comfort or ours. The stakes are low. This is a major studio allowing successful black characters to buoy as mildly as the genre’s white staples have.
'I can hear them three floors away!' The theatres where you don't have to behave
Stage | The Guardian: It started with the toes. Someone slipped off their shoes at a West End show, propping up their bare feet; their neighbour tweeted a photo in disgust. Joe Douglas, artistic director of Live theatre in Newcastle, popped up to say that he wasn’t bothered. “Our theatre IS your house,” he tweeted. “If your feet smell or the actors are pissed off with your feet being on the stage, we might have words. Otherwise, crack on. #makeyourselfathome”
A Parade of Earthly Delights: Floating Bosch Parade Celebrates Painter Hieronymus Bosch in Spectacular Aquatic Event
Colossal: A floating parade dedicated to painter Hieronymus Bosch (previously) honors the artist’s fascination with the fantastical and absurd in an annual event that embodies his philosophy and aesthetic. The 2019 occurrence of the Bosch Parade included a musical performance played on a partially submerged piano and a scene with two people straddling enormous horns, just two of fourteen vignettes devoted to an evolving story about “power and counterforce, battle and rapprochement, chaos and hope.”
Black to the Future festival looks at past and new possibilities for Black arts and social justice
Features | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: For four days, the University of Pittsburgh will highlight Black music, dance, poetry, and more for Black to the Future: A Festival of Art, Social Justice and Dreaming.
Presented during Pitt’s official K. Leroy Irvis Black History Month celebration, the festival — running Feb. 26-29 — highlights local, national, and international Black artists.
Presented during Pitt’s official K. Leroy Irvis Black History Month celebration, the festival — running Feb. 26-29 — highlights local, national, and international Black artists.
Hustle Healthier: A Manifesto on How Touring Artists and Professionals Can Put Their Health First
medium.com: As an artist or touring professional have you ever felt like you don’t have any role models out there showing you alternative ways of coping with the stress of touring? Are you unable to turn down drugs or alcohol and use food as a crutch to deal with stress? Are you caught up in rock and roll lifestyle? Do you have FOMO if you don’t party after the show?
Are you not able to keep up with your “normal routine” — not having time or making the time to work out and sleep, or even have privacy?
Are you not able to keep up with your “normal routine” — not having time or making the time to work out and sleep, or even have privacy?
How to design a tour good enough for Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, or J.Lo
The Verge: J.Lo’sJ.Lo’s It’s My Party tour starts with a bang. The curtain drops, revealing the artist dangled above the stage covered in Swarovski crystals. She’s perched inside a sparkling hoop that sits underneath a wine glass chandelier. There are hundreds of balloons, dozens of dancers, and a multistory video screen, all awash in various shades of violet and rose. It’s a bombastic spectacle — and every detail was designed by a small team of creatives called Silent House.
Photo Coverage: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Makes History at Madison Square Garden Performance
www.broadwayworld.com: Just yesterday, a capacity crowd of 18,000 New York City public school students made history, along side the Broadway cast of To Kill A Mockingbird. Aaron Sorkin's new play, directed by Bartlett Sher, and based on Harper Lee's classic novel, became the first-ever Broadway play to perform at The World's Most Famous Arena, New York's Madison Square Garden.
World of Concrete 2020 - Still Solid After 45 Years
Home Fixated: The World of Concrete trade show is celebrating its 45th year as an event where construction pros can converge to see the latest tools and equipment from hundreds of manufacturers, and of course have a little fun while they’re there. Besides the general distractions provided by the backdrop of Las Vegas, the World of Concrete show hosts an annual competitive spectator sport known as the Bricklayer 500, and you can also chance to find live chainsaw carving, axe throwing, and other delights in the outdoor lots.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Ayrton Perseo builds Castle of Light in Edinburgh
ETNow.com: There are few cities blessed with a more spectacular landscape than Edinburgh. Overlooking the city’s Old Town and with views stretching from the heights of Arthur’s Seat and the Palace of Holyrood to the Palladian elegance of the Georgian architecture north of Princes Street is Edinburgh Castle. As well as housing the Scottish Crown Jewels and the legendary Stone of Destiny, the Castle provides a natural centrepiece for events and celebrations in the city throughout the year, including the Edinburgh Tattoo and the Edinburgh Festival.
KOI announces new Judges appointments for 2020
ETNow.com: The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards, the leading celebration of light and video design in stage and screen entertainment, has announced the appointment of five new judges across its three categories for the 2020 Awards.
Renowned for the professionalism and impartiality of its judges, the KOI Awards invites critics, journalists and industry professionals to form its three independent judging panels for the categories of Concert & Event, Television and Theatre.
Renowned for the professionalism and impartiality of its judges, the KOI Awards invites critics, journalists and industry professionals to form its three independent judging panels for the categories of Concert & Event, Television and Theatre.
HAAS Stainless Cable Rail Basics
www.e-rigging.com: If you've never installed a cable railing system before we can completely understand how at first glance it may seem like a very complex and overwhelming type of project. The good news is that cable railing systems are actually pretty basic, and they're really easy to install!
How a local beer festival helped the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company support new works
Features | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Usually, the only time craft beer and theater go together is when patrons sip a brew before a show. But another connection emerged recently when Mike Potter, one of the co-founders of Fresh Fest, a local event dedicated to showcasing Black brewers, gave a helping hand to the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company
Op-Ed: The Letter to Lyon Opera Ballet Shows How Much Further We Have to Go to Support #MeToo Victims
Dance Magazine: As debate raged online last week over which dance celebrities signed or didn't sign an open letter in support of Yorgos Loukos, who was recently dismissed as director of the Lyon Opéra Ballet following a conviction for pregnancy discrimination, my thoughts kept returning to the silent woman at the heart of this story: Karline Marion, the dancer Loukos let go back in 2014.
Review Roundup: CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND at the Pershing Square Signature Center - What Did the Critics Think?
www.broadwayworld.com: Guitars tuned. Mic checked. Get ready to rock! This darkly funny, electric new play with music tells the story of a Khmer Rouge survivor returning to Cambodia for the first time in thirty years, as his daughter prepares to prosecute one of Cambodia's most infamous war criminals. Backed by a live band playing contemporary Dengue Fever hits and classic Cambodian oldies, this thrilling story toggles back and forth in time as father and daughter face the music of the past.
CBS News previews its debate stage set design
NewscastStudio: CBS News introduced its debate set on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020’s “CBS This Morning” — and the look, like others used this cycle, relies heavily on LED panels but also adds a “forced perspective” look.
Tyra Banks' ModelLand theme park: Tickets on sale for up to $1,495
www.usatoday.com: The model, television personality and businesswoman, 46, is launching ModelLand an attraction in Santa Monica, California, that will "emulate a fantasy version of the modeling world with state-of-the-art interactive entertainment where beauty, fashion, tech, theatre, retail and an eating extravaganza collide," her website describes.
Roundtable: Yolanda Bonnell requested that only people of colour review her work. Why the outcry?
Exeunt Magazine: On Friday 21st February, The Guardian published an article which asked three of their critics (Lanre Bakare, Catherine Shoard and Arifa Akbar) to respond to the fact that a theatremaker in Toronto, who is Ojibwe and South Asian, had asked that her show bug, about “women of an Indigenous family navigating addiction and inter-generational trauma”, be only reviewed by people of colour. The article was pretty baffling to a lot of us.
Robe Helps Fire Fight Australia Concert to Rock
LightSoundJournal.com: Over 20 hugely talented artists including Queen + Adam Lambert, Olivia Newton-John, John Farnham, Alice Cooper, Delta Goodrem, 5 Seconds of Summer, Tina Arena, Ronan Keating, Hill Top Hoods, Amy Shark, k. d. lang and many more entertained 75,000 music fans – and a worldwide TV audience – all helping Fire Fight Australia raise over A$10 Million for bushfire relief during an emotionally charged, high energy day of performance at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.
How I Deal with Racist Remarks as a Ballet Dancer of Color
Dance Magazine: After years of rigorous training, ballet dancers become accustomed to constructive and oftentimes harsh criticism. Being scrutinized is something that comes with the territory.
I myself spent the better half of my high school years in Russia, where political correctness does not get in the way of progress. We were trained to use criticism as fuel to propel us forward. Everything said in class or rehearsal was meant to help better ourselves and not to be taken personally.
But where is the line between helpful advice and offensive language?
I myself spent the better half of my high school years in Russia, where political correctness does not get in the way of progress. We were trained to use criticism as fuel to propel us forward. Everything said in class or rehearsal was meant to help better ourselves and not to be taken personally.
But where is the line between helpful advice and offensive language?
The Winners of the 2019 Excellence in Installation Awards
www.livedesignonline.com: Live Design's readers and industry peers have cast their votes and chosen their favorites in our second annual Excellence in Installation Awards! Honoring visual and sound installation work in such venues as clubs, theaters, arenas, and museums, the Excellence in Installation Awards help extend the brand’s focus into the overall live experience
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Harikrishnan designs inflatable latex trousers with "impossible" proportions
www.dezeen.com: For his graduate collection at the London College of Fashion, menswear designer Harikrishnan has matched cropped tailored jackets with billowing latex trousers to create exaggerated silhouettes.
Museums Across Northern Italy Shutter as the Country Takes Emergency Measures to Contain the Spread of Coronavirus
artnet News: Museums across northern Italy have closed their doors as part of a spate of emergency measures to contain the spread of the novel 2019 strain of coronavirus.
Amidst Covid-19 Cancellations, Venues Take Health Measures
www.eventmarketer.com: MWC Barcelona was the catalyst, but a wave of event cancelations are being announced in real time as the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) continues to spread at an unprecedented rate. The majority of cancelations, at present, are pertaining to global shows like MWC and Cisco Live: Melbourne, but U.S. cancelations are also beginning to crop up, including Facebook’s Global Marketing Summit, which was slated for March 9-12 in San Francisco. There’s also growing buzz about Tokyo 2020 and what it would mean to cancel the Summer Olympics, particularly in the wake of volunteer training events having been postponed.
Adam Savage Tours The Expanse's Practical Effects Shop!
Tested: In Toronto, Adam Savage tours Tim Barraball's shop Acme FX, where many of the practical effects for The Expanse are produced. From electronics to metal-working to pyrotechnics to even RAIN and SNOW, Tim and his team do it all, and Adam is in heaven seeing what tools and materials they use to achieve their amazing special effects!
Gender is Performance
HowlRound Theatre Commons: Performativity is an inherent component of the Western notion of gender. Our society teaches children to convincingly portray their assigned gender from a very vulnerable and impressionable age. They are often encouraged and rewarded for displaying the “correct” behavior and interests, and quickly admonished, warned, or otherwise policed for any behavior that deviates too far from the predetermined cultural script.
Production Notes: Shotgun Mic
Nevada Film Office: A shotgun mic is a unidirectional microphone that must be pointed directly at its sound source for proper recording. Shotgun mics are most sensitive to capturing sound entering the front of the mic while softening sounds that enter from the sides or rear of the mic as opposed to omnidirectional mics which capture audio from every direction. Shotgun mics are so named because the body of the microphone is shaped like the barrel of a shotgun. In filmmaking, they are used with boom poles or they can be mounted to a camera.
If My AI Wrote this Post, Could I Own the Copyright?
The Scholarly Kitchen: Every new technology poses challenges for the concept of intellectual property rights ownership. When copyright was first introduced into legislation in the US following the adoption of the Constitution, the copyright of works extended to “maps, charts, and books” and only for a period of 14 years. Growth of the coverage of copyright over time moved forward in fits and starts, occasionally with the not-so-subtle hand of the Supreme Court in the United States.
Episode 206 – The President of Disney Theatrical Group, Thomas Schumacher
The Producer's Perspective: Mr. Thomas Schumacher, the President and Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, who oversees the development, creation, and execution of Disney’s legitimate stage entertainment worldwide. Yeah, we’re talking the guy responsible for getting The Lion King to Broadway, not to mention Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Frozen and everything else under the Disney brand.
How Alex Holmes and Emily Seresin Created the Look of “Invisible Man”
Variety: While Universal’s “The Invisible Man” is based on the studio’s popular 1933 horror feature of the same name, director Leigh Whannell didn’t envision his remake as a fright fest. That provided the marching orders for his artistic team: Production designer Alex Holmes and costume designer Emily Seresin sought to avoid horror tropes, turning the Elisabeth Moss-starring reboot, which bows Feb. 28, into a thriller with horror elements.
Eco-friendly "releasable" superglue is made from plants
newatlas.com: Although so-called superglues can be quite useful, they're typically made from harsh chemicals, plus it's very difficult to "unstick" them once they've set. Now, however, scientists have created a plant-based superglue that can easily be removed when needed.
"Appropriate"
Pittsburgh in the Round: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
The patriarch of a white (usually Southern) family dies. This tragic inevitability sets his family (primarily his adult children) on a pilgrimage to the family estate to root through and divide the assets physically and financially.
The patriarch of a white (usually Southern) family dies. This tragic inevitability sets his family (primarily his adult children) on a pilgrimage to the family estate to root through and divide the assets physically and financially.
Inspire the Next Generation
SoundGirls.org: Why is it so weird for men to see women working in technical jobs in entertainment? Perhaps it’s the same weirdness as seeing a woman as a plumber or construction worker. Plain ol’ sexism. Beckie Campbell, owner of B4 Media Productions and Orlando Chapter head of SoundGirls, recently returned to Central Florida after being out on tour.
Monday, February 24, 2020
CMU Costume Studio Creates Onstage Magic Behind the Scenes
www.cmu.edu/news: The storytelling that happens on stage goes beyond an actor's performance — it begins in the very fabric of their costumes. At the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, costume design and production students use fabric, design and their imaginations to visually enhance an on-stage performance.
Musicians From Outside the UK May Have to Pay to Play Starting in 2021
Consequence of Sound: International musicians looking to perform in the United Kingdom may soon face new restrictions thanks to the country’s exit from the European Union. Once the Brexit transition period ends in 2021, those artists from outside the UK may need to apply for a visa and pay to play.
California’s AB 5: Not as Easy as ABC
AMERICAN THEATRE: Just over a month and a half after Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) went into effect in California on Jan. 1, Liz Lisle, managing director of Berkeley, Calif.’s Shotgun Players, considers her company lucky. AB 5, California’s new bill aimed at reining in employers who incorrectly or wrongfully classify workers as independent contractors, has sent shockwaves through the California theatre community, especially small, non-Equity companies.
Attempt To Put Every Musical Melody Into The Public Domain Demonstrates Craziness Of Modern Copyright
Techdirt: The fact is that many of the copyright lawsuits we see coming out of the music industry mostly revolve around copyright claims on musical melodies. In many of these cases, artists find themselves on the losing end of judges and juries all while claiming that there was no intention to infringe, with the supposedly offending material instead being developed as essentially an independent creation that happened to be similar to previous works.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Beauty and the Beast comforts and dazzles
Dance | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: I have become a bit of a Beauty and the Beast expert over the last week. I recently watched the original French film, La Belle et la Bête, which story aligns very closely to the fairy tale from 1740. Then I watched the live-action remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which is almost shot-for-shot the same as the cartoon version from the 1990s.
A time management coach's tips on getting better organized
www.fastcompany.com: As a time management coach, I clearly care about organization. On a daily basis, I work with goal-oriented individuals trying to find the right balance. That being said, you may be surprised to hear that being overly focused on organization can be counterproductive. I explain with these five tips to living more peaceful and productive lives.
Cannes Film Festival Plots Major Expansion to VR Program
Variety: Cannes XR, the Marché du Film’s program dedicated to immersive and augmented reality content, is set to expand.
For its second edition, Cannes XR has partnered with tech creator Positron and Brogent Technologies to introduce a new VR theater, dedicated space and competition.
For its second edition, Cannes XR has partnered with tech creator Positron and Brogent Technologies to introduce a new VR theater, dedicated space and competition.
Virtual reality and safety training
Safety+Health Magazine: You don a virtual reality headset. Then, the floor begins to shake and the sound of an “industrial whine” is heard as you shoot into an illusionary world 30 feet above the ground on a platform connected to another by a thin walkway.
For many visitors to the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, one of their first experiences is “walking the plank.”
For many visitors to the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, one of their first experiences is “walking the plank.”
Hungary Film Commissioner Csaba Kael on Plans to Boost Biz
Variety: Just months after assuming the role of Hungarian film commissioner, Csaba Káel has designs on revamping the film and television industries to boost content development and production, expand already formidable studio facilities and become a lynchpin for film and TV production and servicing that extends far beyond Budapest.
Respirator fit test requirements
Safety+Health Magazine: Lisa Brosseau has taught or consulted on respiratory protection for about three decades. Yet some aspects of it are unclear even to her.
“That’s how complicated the topic can be,” said the industrial hygiene consultant and former professor at the universities of Minnesota and Illinois at Chicago. “There’s just a myriad of things with respirators that people don’t really understand.”
“That’s how complicated the topic can be,” said the industrial hygiene consultant and former professor at the universities of Minnesota and Illinois at Chicago. “There’s just a myriad of things with respirators that people don’t really understand.”
This Mallet Has Backwards Dovetails… That’s Impossible!
Hackaday: Dovetails are a wedge-shaped joint found in woodworking. The wedge makes for strong joinery because a force that tries to pull it apart also increases the friction on the joint. This mallet has dovetails on either side that keep the head from flying off, but there’s also a through tenon in the center.
50/50 Panel Explores Paths to Equality in the Entertainment Industry
Variety: Rabbatts spoke at an EFM Horizon event co-hosted by the Swedish Film Institute called “50/50 by 2020 – A Roadmap for the Future.” She went on to expound on how to keep up the momentum towards gender equality that has gathered in wake of the #MeToo movement, which itself unfurled out of the Weinstein revelations
Sunday, February 23, 2020
NFTRW Weekly Top Five
Here are the top five comment generating posts of the past week:
Shepherding the Show: A Day in the Life of Hamilton’s Stage Manager
Playbill: By the time Hamilton’s Amber White takes her perch in the stage manager’s booth at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, an entire theatrical engine has been hard at work, ready to cross its final hurdle: show time. As students are returning to campus to pursue their theatrical studies and Playbill celebrates Back to School week, White gives an in-depth look at the technical side of running a show on Broadway, taking us through what it takes to raise the curtain on Great White Way.Live shows get your heart racing – scientists prove it
Stage | The Guardian: Science has proved what theatre and concert-goers have long known. When it comes to emotional impact, watching a live performance is so much more thrilling than a version on screen.
Scientists from University College London (UCL) measured heart rates and sweat glands of audience members as they watched both theatre productions and films. They found that heart rates go up and down with the narrative arc of a story and that the highs are highest and lows lowest at a live show.A new ‘Frozen’ comes to Broadway
Broadway News: On Tuesday night, a new version of “Frozen” will be playing Broadway.
In a step rare for the industry, Disney Theatrical Productions has opted to make changes to the musical, which has been running on Broadway for close to two years. The major changes, which were adopted from the touring production, include a new duet for lead characters Anna and Elsa in the second act, a trimmed entr’acte number (“Hygge”) and the elimination of Anna’s solo, “True Love.”Are Escape Rooms Locked?
Room Escape Artist: No, you aren’t truly trapped in an escape room.
Every modern escape room should always allow players to free themselves in the event of an emergency.
If you visit an escape room company and they insist on locking you in without an emergency exit, you should demand a refund and leave.How to Block Out the World When You're Trying to Work
lifehacker.com: Sometimes, you want to be alone, but your coworkers, pets, or kids won’t go away. Goodbye, productivity. Thankfully, there are plenty of techniques you can use to carve out a little bubble of comfort for yourself when you’re trying to burn through all the items on your to-do list.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Go backstage at ‘Frozen’ at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre and see how an actor becomes Sven the reindeer
The Seattle Times: Eight times a week, at The Paramount Theatre, a man becomes a reindeer.
For the musical “Frozen,” based on the hit Disney animated movie and currently in residence at the Paramount until March 1, an everyday miracle happens backstage, before every show. An actor, by means of a nearly 50-pound design so elaborate that it’s called a puppet rather than a costume, is transformed into a four-legged, hoofed and antlered scene-stealer named Sven.
For the musical “Frozen,” based on the hit Disney animated movie and currently in residence at the Paramount until March 1, an everyday miracle happens backstage, before every show. An actor, by means of a nearly 50-pound design so elaborate that it’s called a puppet rather than a costume, is transformed into a four-legged, hoofed and antlered scene-stealer named Sven.
Behind the Seams: Ballet Costumes Carry an Embodied History
Pointe: Traditionally, ballet costumes are made to have a life of 20 to 30 years. But they sometimes remain in use for much longer, being worn and altered to fit dozens of dancers. Multiple rows of hooks and bars show this progression, but it's more apparent inside the costume, where numerous labels can be found bearing the names of all past wearers.
A New West Side Story for Broadway—Without Jerome Robbins
Dance Magazine: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is celebrated across the dance world for her stripped-down, stubbornly abstract choreography; Ivo van Hove across the theater world for his stark, stubbornly tech-heavy reconstructions of plays and movie scripts. But after this week, the two Belgians are likely to be famed, for good or ill, as the pair who kicked Jerome Robbins out of West Side Story, the classic musical he conceived, directed and choreographed to everlasting acclaim in 1957.
THE MANDALORIAN's Virtual Sets Are Insane
Nerdist: The Mandalorian quickly rose in our collective fan hearts with its look, its action, and its tiniest bounty. It just right away felt like Star Wars, and a lot of that was down to how gorgeous and seamless the settings looked. We believed Mando was on a desert planet fighting Jawas, or collecting a bounty on a bleak, barren tundra. But those planets don’t exist, not really. However, they almost do.
#PayUpHollywood Reveals The Industry's Lack of Diversity
The Mary Sue: Anything worth having doesn’t come easy. It’s an age old adage that is often true: if you want to succeed in competitive fields, you have to bust your ass to get there. Whether you want to have a good career, a healthy life, a functioning relationship, you have to put in the effort to achieve these goals. As the sage philosopher Britney Spears once said, “You want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You want a Maserati? You better work bitch.”
Building a Lego inspired studio for Fox competition show
NewscastStudio: The look on the faces of “Lego Masters” contestants entering the sprawling set created for the new Fox show pretty much says it all: It’s any Lego fan’s paradise.
Production designer Stuart Frossell knows that feeling all too well. Like many kids, he loved playing with Lego growing up.
Production designer Stuart Frossell knows that feeling all too well. Like many kids, he loved playing with Lego growing up.
Tool News Nirvana - February 20, 2020
Home Fixated: It’s late February now; a typically quiet time of year. Workloads for everyone – homeowners and contractors alike – are in a bit of a hibernation mode. Honestly though, here at Home Fixated, we don’t mind too much because it’s also the time of the year for some big trade shows like World of Concrete and ConExpo. Keep an eye out for our in depth show coverage for World of Concrete coming up in the next few days.
The Great White Way. A Book of Woke Supremacy about Broadway’s White Supremacy
New York Theater: Are Broadway musicals covert vehicles for white supremacy? That’s more or less the argument that theater writer Warren Hoffman made in his 2014 book. The title apparently proved popular enough to allow a just-published second edition of The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical (Rutgers University Press, 285 pages), which adds a chapter on “The Book of Mormon” and “Hamilton.”
Adam Savage Examines the Props of Hamilton!
Tested: Adam goes back stage on the San Francisco touring production of Hamilton to check out a few of the numerous hand and stage props used for the musical. The show's prop master gives us an up-close look at some of the iconic objects from the show, from King George's scepter to Hamilton's dueling pistols!
Studio Technologies Announces New Dante-Enabled StudioComm Multichannel Monitoring System
ProSoundWeb: At the upcoming NAB 2020 show in Las Vegas, Studio Technologies (booth C7049) will present its newly announced Studiocomm Dante Audio-over-IP-enabled multichannel monitoring system, made up of the Model 792 central controller and Model 793 control console.
‘West Side Story’ Stalemate: Bernardo’s Staying. So Are Protesters
The New York Times: A half-hour before the start of “West Side Story,” two dozen protesters outside the Broadway Theater inched closer to the production’s turf.
Blocked by parked cars from their usual spot in the street, they instead occupied the sidewalk alongside ticket holders, many of whom looked quizzically at the demonstrators’ signs and fliers.
Blocked by parked cars from their usual spot in the street, they instead occupied the sidewalk alongside ticket holders, many of whom looked quizzically at the demonstrators’ signs and fliers.
These Horror Stories From Hollywood Assistants About Working In The Industry Sound Too Sadistic To Be True
brobible.com: This is a dusty old take but what you are about to read is why the masses cannot take Joaquin Phoenix seriously when he lectures us about milking cows or Leo preaching about the climate, because Hollywood icons thrive in an industry that is rife with power abuse and abject immorality.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
A defense of marathon theater: It can feel like a restorative vacation
Datebook: On Thursday, Feb. 13, I wore loose clothes and packed a sandwich, grapes, oranges, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate chip cookies. I brought reading and work to do during down time. I was preparing for an all-day excursion — not a physical one, but an artistic one. I was about to see marathon theater.
The parking chair as art and an homage to Pittsburghers
News | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Pittsburgh likes parking chairs. It's a cultural touchstone referenced in jokes, on t-shirts, or in an ad promoting tourism to the Steel City. But like most things Pittsburghers claim as uniquely Pittsburgh things — pierogies, basement toilets, hills — the parking chair is not exclusive to Pittsburgh. So why, and when, did Pittsburghers start embracing it with such fervor?
TWICE To Keep Performance Schedule Amid Coronavirus Concerns
www.ticketnews.com: K-pop group TWICE will go forward with their upcoming concerts as planned despite ongoing concerns over the coronavirus sweeping parts of Asia.
Gobo Projections + Augmented Reality Highlight The History Of Vitré, France
Rosco Spectrum: Vitré is a mediaeval city in France that’s been dubbed “The City of Art and History” due to its rich historical and cultural heritage. The city recently installed a nocturnal light tour, entitled “Vitré Lumières,” to highlight the city’s rich history. The lighting scheme for this tourist attraction was conceived by Quartiers Lumières in partnership with Noctiluca.
How to Push your Sound Design to the Max
SoundGirls.org: We get a lot of questions about how much you should do in your sound design pass versus how much to leave to your mixer. So, although I’ve written a few posts on this topic (such as Whose Job Is It: When Plugin Effects Sound Design vs Mix Choices and Five Things I’ve Learned about Editing from Mixing), I thought it was time for another brush-up.
Universal, Geena Davis Institute Team to Improve Latinx Representation
Variety: Universal Pictures announced a one-year partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media at Mount Saint Mary’s University and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering to improve on-screen representation and casting opportunities for the Latinx community.
The Frick Art Museum highlights the dual roles of women in art jewelry with Maker & Muse
Features | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: For centuries, the art world has relegated women to the passive role of muse, a body to be painted and sculpted. Even today, the representation of female artists in museums still lags, contrary to cultural institutions’ claims to care about addressing the problem. One study by Artnet showed that, between 2008 and 2018, only 11% of art acquired for permanent museum collections was by women.
Black Twitter Wonders If Lovers & Friends Festival Is Real
thegrapevine.theroot.com: It was a Tuesday afternoon and I was browsing my Twitter timeline, minding everyone else’s business when I saw it.
There on my screen, adorned in a gaudy blinged-out font, sprinkled with Mariah Carey-inspired butterflies, was what would likely become the most fun time of my life: the Lovers & Friends festival.
There on my screen, adorned in a gaudy blinged-out font, sprinkled with Mariah Carey-inspired butterflies, was what would likely become the most fun time of my life: the Lovers & Friends festival.
Review Roundup: What Did London Critics Think Of BE MORE CHILL?
www.broadwayworld.com: Be More Chill tells the atypical love story of a boy, a girl....and the supercomputer inside the boy's head guiding him every step of the way. The boy is desperately trying to fit in. The girl's longing to be noticed. And the supercomputer just wants to take over the world.
Shepherding the Show: A Day in the Life of Hamilton’s Stage Manager
Playbill: By the time Hamilton’s Amber White takes her perch in the stage manager’s booth at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, an entire theatrical engine has been hard at work, ready to cross its final hurdle: show time. As students are returning to campus to pursue their theatrical studies and Playbill celebrates Back to School week, White gives an in-depth look at the technical side of running a show on Broadway, taking us through what it takes to raise the curtain on Great White Way.
Review Roundup: Atlantic Theatre Company's ANATOMY OF A SUICIDE - What Did the Critics Think?
www.broadwayworld.com: Three generations of women. Their lives play out simultaneously. For each, the chaos of what has come before brings a painful legacy. Winner of the 2018 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Anatomy of a Suicide is a revelatory exploration of mothers and daughters.
Anna Netrebko, Aida, Opera, and Race
The Mary Sue: Anna Netrebko is one of the most celebrated and famous dramatic sopranos in the world. She’s performed in opera houses the world over and it was announced last week that she will be part of a new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida at The Metropolitan Opera. The character of Aida is an Ethiopian Princess made a slave in Egypt. Anna Netrebko is white.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
KOI 2020 to be enhanced with new Awards
ETNow.com: The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced the introduction of two new awards to the Concerts & Events category for the 2020 ceremony. The new awards are being added to the line-up to accommodate the ever-evolving high standards of production in live events.
Live shows get your heart racing – scientists prove it
Stage | The Guardian: Science has proved what theatre and concert-goers have long known. When it comes to emotional impact, watching a live performance is so much more thrilling than a version on screen.
Scientists from University College London (UCL) measured heart rates and sweat glands of audience members as they watched both theatre productions and films. They found that heart rates go up and down with the narrative arc of a story and that the highs are highest and lows lowest at a live show.
Scientists from University College London (UCL) measured heart rates and sweat glands of audience members as they watched both theatre productions and films. They found that heart rates go up and down with the narrative arc of a story and that the highs are highest and lows lowest at a live show.
Woke Supremacy
HowlRound Theatre Commons: Why is the American theatre having such a hard time with race equality? White artistic leaders will be the first to tell you that moving the needle on diversity, equity, and inclusion is both the institution’s and their very own highest priority. “We’re doing everything we can.” But despite the best of intentions, our theatre communities are not moving fast enough. There is a collective cognitive dissonance precisely at the intersection of “white” and “woke,” and it connects to the interlacing histories of racism and capitalism in America. Today, we’re experiencing a brand new permutation of American racism, called “woke supremacy.”
A new ‘Frozen’ comes to Broadway
Broadway News: On Tuesday night, a new version of “Frozen” will be playing Broadway.
In a step rare for the industry, Disney Theatrical Productions has opted to make changes to the musical, which has been running on Broadway for close to two years. The major changes, which were adopted from the touring production, include a new duet for lead characters Anna and Elsa in the second act, a trimmed entr’acte number (“Hygge”) and the elimination of Anna’s solo, “True Love.”
In a step rare for the industry, Disney Theatrical Productions has opted to make changes to the musical, which has been running on Broadway for close to two years. The major changes, which were adopted from the touring production, include a new duet for lead characters Anna and Elsa in the second act, a trimmed entr’acte number (“Hygge”) and the elimination of Anna’s solo, “True Love.”
Sennheiser Digital 6000 takes the stage at Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show
LightSoundJournal.com: Broadcast on Fox to an international televised audience of more than 100 million, this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. While the performance itself only lasted approximately 14 minutes, the preparation was immense and technical execution flawless. According to numbers released by Fox network, this year’s Halftime Show reached more viewers than the game itself – with a total of 104.1 million tuning in from around the world.
On the Field with "The Wolves" Director Rachel M. Stevens
Pittsburgh in the Round: I don’t believe there was a more viscerally tempestuous and discombobulated time in my young life than when I was fully immersed in team sports. Questionably coordinated and ravaged by hormones, every all-girls team I played on–whether it was my lacrosse team, basketball team, field hockey team, or, of course, soccer team–I was acting out every anxiety, confusion and frustration I experienced as tween and teen through meticulously coordinated drills and furiously paced practices and games.
New York Icons: Kaufman Astoria Studios.
slate.com: New York was the first center of American moviemaking. When Thomas Edison and other inventors developed this new technology at the end of the 19th century, New York City was already the American cultural and financial center. With its concentration of performers, storytellers, and entrepreneurs, it was there that the industry first flowered.
Mixing Evolution: Key Steps In The Journey To The Digital Console Platform
ProSoundWeb: Recently I was asked to mix a live show on a console that could only be controlled via a tablet, and I found myself arguing quite strongly that a dedicated control surface was needed to do the job properly.
I have nothing against these types of mixers, particularly in situations where space is limited, costs are an issue or where it’s not possible to put a console out front. They can be very handy – but they’re no substitute for a proper control surface.
I have nothing against these types of mixers, particularly in situations where space is limited, costs are an issue or where it’s not possible to put a console out front. They can be very handy – but they’re no substitute for a proper control surface.
From rep to reps: can a 'Shakespeare gym' solve the crisis in verse-speaking?
Stage | The Guardian: ‘Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue.” So says Hamlet to the players. But has his advice gone unheeded at a time when Shakespearean verse-speaking is widely held to be in decline? The RSC clearly thinks there is an issue as it has set up a Shakespeare “gym” in Stratford-upon-Avon to ensure, in the words of its artistic director Gregory Doran, “Everyone has the iambic pentameter in their bloodstream.” That’s a welcome trend, but I suspect the crisis goes deeper than that – and that classic texts are often regarded as alien, hostile territory.
Women in Sound Design
SoundGirls.org: This year, Jessica Paz changed history by becoming the first woman to receive a Tony Award nomination for Sound Design for the Musical Hadestown. Jessica won that Tony, which also gave her the distinction of becoming the first woman to EVER win a sound design Tony in either category. Prior to this, only one other woman, Cricket S. Myers, had received a nomination for Sound Design of the play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo in 2011.
For the Wilma’s Next Chapter: Four Artistic Directors Instead of One
AMERICAN THEATRE: The Wilma Theater has announced multiple changes in their leadership, including the introduction of director Morgan Green, performer and playwight James Ijames, and director Yury Urnov as three new co-artistic directors under the leadership of longtime artistic director Blanka Zizka, and Leigh Goldenberg as the theatre’s new managing director. The Wilma is calling this new artistic vision “The Next Chapter.”
“The Last Word by Quentin Crisp”
The Pittsburgh Tatler: Kitted out in a lavender gauze scarf, flashy gold embroidered shirt, and bejeweled lapel pins, actor Brian Edward brings Quentin Crisp’s wittily aphoristic autobiography to life in his one-man show The Last Word by Quentin Crisp. The world-premiere performance, which is adapted by Edward and Phillip Ward from Ward’s book of the same name and directed by Spencer Whale, draws on interviews with and writings by Crisp himself before his death in 1999 at the age of 91, and offers a glimpse into both Crisp’s own idiosyncratic life philosophy and the history of what it was like to live as a genderqueer individual in the twentieth century.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
'Museums Can Learn From the Entertainment Industry': Why the Van Gogh Museum Is Launching an Experiential Pop-Up in London
artnet News: Van Gogh is getting the high-tech, 21st-century treatment, as Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum brings a new experiential attraction to London.
Titled “Meet Vincent van Gogh,” the pop-up offers up an audio tour of the artist’s life as told through his letters, illustrated along the way by three-dimensional reproductions of famous works, audiovisual scenes, large-scale projections, and interactive activities.
Titled “Meet Vincent van Gogh,” the pop-up offers up an audio tour of the artist’s life as told through his letters, illustrated along the way by three-dimensional reproductions of famous works, audiovisual scenes, large-scale projections, and interactive activities.
Translating the Bard: What Does a Modern Shakespeare Look Like? By Loren Noveck
WIT journal: Lue Morgan Douthit, longtime director of literary development at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), commissioned a translation of Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens into contemporary modern English in the fall of 2015, beginning OSF’s Play On! project. With the Bard still continuously the most-produced playwright in America, one purpose of the project was to ask why so many companies produce Shakespeare year after year after year. “What are we saying when we say, Here’s this writer who’s ‘universal’?” Douthit asks. “Because some of these plays are hugely problematic. Are we just saying, Well, it’s a reflection of that time and, gee, we’re not that bad now? We’re re-upping every year, and what are we re-upping?”
Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Human Musicians?
Consequence of Sound: Two months before she dropped the news that she’s expecting her first child with Elon Musk, Grimes (aka Claire Boucher, who now legally goes by c, the symbol for the speed of light), lit up music Twitter. The one-time neuroscience major let loose with a provocative forecast on theoretical physicist Sean Carroll’s Mindscape podcast when she shared, “I think live music is going to be obsolete soon,” predicting we might be seeing the last generation of human artists and also inspiring dozens of variations on the same joke suggesting Grimes’ own imminent obsolescence.
Nominees for the Green Room Awards announced
www.limelightmagazine.com.au: Nominations for the 37th Green Room Awards have been announced, celebrating outstanding achievement in Melbourne’s live performance sector across opera, theatre, musicals, dance and cabaret in 2019.
Box Office: How China’s Coronavirus Crackdown May Impact Hollywood
www.forbes.com: The Chinese premiere of No Time to Die has been canceled over ongoing concerns with the coronavirus epidemic that has impacted China over the last two months, the Sunday Times reports. While theaters may open in time for the film’s mid-April release, the splashy in-country promotional tour and red-carpet screening are officially off the books.
Heavy hitters in local art scene to converge in Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's 125th anniversary season
Features | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Heinz Hall was still abuzz last week following a recent article in The New Yorker praising the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the work of its music director Manfred Honeck.
PSO subscribers, donors, and funders gathered at the Downtown theater on Mon., Feb. 10 for the announcement of the company’s 125th anniversary season, and numerous attendees throughout the crowd could be heard talking about the well-shared piece.
PSO subscribers, donors, and funders gathered at the Downtown theater on Mon., Feb. 10 for the announcement of the company’s 125th anniversary season, and numerous attendees throughout the crowd could be heard talking about the well-shared piece.
Under Lockdown and Quarantine, China’s Punk Rock Bands Are Taking the Mosh Pit Online
hyperallergic.com: There hasn’t been a live music show in China since late January.
Venues across the country have shuttered in the wake of the COVID-19 “coronavirus” outbreak, from large rock halls like Shanghai’s Modern Sky Lab to underground nightclubs like Beijing’s Zhaodai. With businesses indefinitely extending the spring festival holidays, and local governments enforcing strict “stay at home” rules, the normally lively music scene in China is temporarily dead and silent.
Venues across the country have shuttered in the wake of the COVID-19 “coronavirus” outbreak, from large rock halls like Shanghai’s Modern Sky Lab to underground nightclubs like Beijing’s Zhaodai. With businesses indefinitely extending the spring festival holidays, and local governments enforcing strict “stay at home” rules, the normally lively music scene in China is temporarily dead and silent.
Are Escape Rooms Locked?
Room Escape Artist: No, you aren’t truly trapped in an escape room.
Every modern escape room should always allow players to free themselves in the event of an emergency.
If you visit an escape room company and they insist on locking you in without an emergency exit, you should demand a refund and leave.
Every modern escape room should always allow players to free themselves in the event of an emergency.
If you visit an escape room company and they insist on locking you in without an emergency exit, you should demand a refund and leave.
HERE Summit & Festival, North America’s Premier Cross-Disciplinary Immersive Gathering, Returns In March
www.forbes.com: The immersive summit returns with a new name, new offerings, and a new Los Angeles-area location: March 27-29 at the Pasadena Playhouse.
It’s not every conference you find yourself in a kick-off session wherein you’re tasked with setting your intention for the festival, finding your power animal, and discussing the relationship between the two.
It’s not every conference you find yourself in a kick-off session wherein you’re tasked with setting your intention for the festival, finding your power animal, and discussing the relationship between the two.
KOI 2020 Extends Awards Categories
TPi: The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced the introduction of two new awards to the Concerts & Events category for the 2020 ceremony. The new awards are being added to the line-up to accommodate the ever-evolving high standards of production in live events.
Conductor Glenn Lewis on Pittsburgh Opera’s “The Last American Hammer”
Pittsburgh in the Round: Pittsburgh Opera’s “Second Stage Production,” always a sure sign that spring is around the corner, and this year Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi’s The Last American Hammer, will have its first performance Saturday evening, February 22, at the company’s Strip District Headquarters.
A Hometown Exhibition Will Showcase August Wilson’s Process
The New York Times: Great playwrights are often eclipsed by their work and the actors who give voice to it, but a coming exhibition dedicated to August Wilson will focus on the man behind the words. The August Wilson African American Cultural Center in Pittsburgh announced on Tuesday that this fall it would open “August Wilson: A Writer’s Landscape,” a permanent show about the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright’s life, creative process and legacy.
Monday, February 17, 2020
Doors Unhinged finds new uses for old doors in Pittsburgh
www.nextpittsburgh.com: Sometimes, when a door opens, the only thing to do is to walk right through it. For architect and Doors Unhinged founder Andrew Ellsworth, it wasn’t a single door. There were many.
He was on the board of Construction Junction, a nonprofit warehouse in Pittsburgh for surplus construction materials, when he noticed something.
He was on the board of Construction Junction, a nonprofit warehouse in Pittsburgh for surplus construction materials, when he noticed something.
Budding Relationships - a review of "The Verge"
'Burgh Vivant: It’s tempting to dismiss Susan Glaspell’s play, “The Verge,” as dated, given its one-year shy of its centenary. However, Glaspell was a powerhouse in her day and has ascended to dramatic legend. She was only the second woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and she cofounded the Provincetown Players, widely considered to be America’s first theatre company. Her 1916 play, “Trifles” traces a woman accused of murdering her husband and was based on a journalism assignment Glaspell covered. “Trifles” always resonated at the college-level, a testimony to Glaspell’s timelessness.
Worst FCC Super Bowl Halftime Show Complaints About J-Lo And Shakira
brobible.com: People will be talking about the Super Bowl LIV halftime show for years. That performance might end up being the most discussed moment in Jennifer Lopez and Shakira‘s careers despite them being two of the most famous singers on the planet over the past few decades.
How to Block Out the World When You're Trying to Work
lifehacker.com: Sometimes, you want to be alone, but your coworkers, pets, or kids won’t go away. Goodbye, productivity. Thankfully, there are plenty of techniques you can use to carve out a little bubble of comfort for yourself when you’re trying to burn through all the items on your to-do list.
China Shoots Set to Resume Despite Continued Coronavirus Threat
Variety: Hengdian World Studios, one of China’s largest, cautiously reopened for business today after it shut down all production in recent weeks to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The move comes a day after Chinese authorities released an official statement pledging government support for the struggling entertainment sector.
The move comes a day after Chinese authorities released an official statement pledging government support for the struggling entertainment sector.
Sexy Vegas revue shows—and their audiences—continue evolving
Las Vegas Weekly: Many couples will celebrate Valentine’s Day in Las Vegas at a sexy, revue-style show where the entertainers wear very little and interact with the audience quite a bit. If that demographic comes as a surprise, you haven’t been to one of these shows. Couples often make up the majority of the audience at topless female revues, while male revues typically see several partners mixed among their primary audience—groups of women.
Court Allows Chooseco's Lawsuit Against Netflix Over 'Bandersnatch' To Move Forward
Techdirt: You will recall our previous posts about Chooseco, the company behind those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from the 80s, and its lawsuit against Netflix. At issue is Netflix's Black Mirror iteration entitled Bandersnatch. The episode essentially runs a choose your own adventure scenario in streaming film, with the viewer being able to control the outcome of the narrative through choice.
Coronavirus Crisis Forces Hollywood Studios to Assess Plans
Variety: As panic roils mainland China and fear escalates throughout globe over the spread of coronavirus, Hollywood studios and content production companies are ramping up their efforts to respond to the human and economic impact of a potential pandemic.
Project Zero Launches Zero Carbon Roadie
TPi: Ocean conservation organisation Project Zero HAS announced Zero Carbon Roadie, an innovative carbon calculator that is set to support touring musicians’ efforts to mitigate their carbon footprints.
This brand-new tool can be used by music artists to reduce their impact on the environment resulting from travel, haulage, power generation and other activities that are part and parcel of touring. The tool uses the latest greenhouse gas emissions data to calculate total emissions and provide a picture of a tour’s overall carbon footprint.
This brand-new tool can be used by music artists to reduce their impact on the environment resulting from travel, haulage, power generation and other activities that are part and parcel of touring. The tool uses the latest greenhouse gas emissions data to calculate total emissions and provide a picture of a tour’s overall carbon footprint.
Get to Know WEST SIDE STORY Choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
www.broadwayworld.com: Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker is one of the most lauded and prolific choreographers in the world of contemporary dance. She has been awarded by countries all around the world for her work - the U.S, Japan, the UK, Italy... She has been named Baroness de Keersmaeker by king Albert II, Officer in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters, and has been honored with the Golden Medal of the City of Lissabon and the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art.
‘A Quick 5’ with Kaitlyn Pietras, Projection Designer for ‘Mother Road’ at Arena Stage
Maryland Theatre Guide: I had a chance to interview Kaitlyn Pietras who designed projections for the production. For those of you who do not know what that is, here is a little insight. Theatrical projection design formerly meant a slide show or a design on a wall. Today in the age of the computer, projection design allows theatre companies to make multiple scene changes, create nighttime or daytime skies, and a multitude of other effects that were only dreams when this writer began her theatrical training in the 1960’s.
Behind the scenes at West Wide Story on Broadway
60 Minutes - CBS News: When the musical "West Side Story" opened on Broadway in 1957, it caused a sensation with the innovative fusion of dance, music and theater - a reimagining of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Tony and Maria are the star-crossed lovers. Rival New York City street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks take the roles of the Montagues and the Capulets. In four days, a new team of creative artists will open the most radical revisioning of the iconic musical ever to hit Broadway.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
NFTRW Weekly Top Five
Here are the top five comment generating posts of the past week:
3 traits you need to make stress work for you
www.fastcompany.com: We all know that person who is constantly stressed out where everything is an ordeal. And then there’s the person who seems to go with the flow, no matter how difficult the circumstances. Sometimes these two people experience the exact same event and react in completely different ways. Why?Despite No Female Directors, Women Still Won Big At The 2020 Oscars
www.forbes.com: A lack of diversity was once again the story when the 2020 Oscar nominations were announced. No female directors were nominated, and in fact many female directed films were left out of the awards altogether (The Farewell, Hustlers, Honey Boy, etc.), in addition to rather a lack of people of color. Knowing that, I settled in on Sunday for a long night of what I assumed would be the presentation of many awards to a long line of white men.Natalie Portman Responds to Rose McGowan’s Oscars Dress Criticism
Variety: Natalie Portman has responded to Rose McGowan’s social media critique of her red carpet protest at the Oscars. The “Black Swan” star created a stir with her decision to wear a black and gold Dior dress that included a cape embroidered with the names of snubbed female directors.How to get comfortable with criticism
www.fastcompany.com: Steven Pressfield, in his bestseller The Art of War, says: “The professional gives an ear to criticism, seeking to learn and grow.”
If you’re a writer (or any creator), you probably know this to be true. You’ve likely tried to accept feedback in a bid to improve your work. But I’m willing to bet that every time someone doesn’t like what you wrote or produced, it stings. And it’s personal, too.Cultural Accuracy Was Key to ‘In the Heights’ Production Design
Variety: In service to the director’s vision on a project, production designer Nelson Coates is an artistic pied piper. “You want to [construct] a visual arc and take people on that journey,” he says.
Having scoured locations in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for Jon M. Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” the two reunite for “In the Heights.” This time the job was to find areas in Washington Heights that represented the area’s diversity.
Friday, February 14, 2020
OSHA Fines Pickathon, GuildWorks After Production Deaths
OSHA issued $31,000 in fines to Pickathon LLC and GuildWorks LLC after two workers died at the Pickathon Music Festival in August in a lift accident, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
From the National Endowment for the Arts Chairman: Celebrating Black History Month
The Craft of the Kroffts: Sid & Marty’s Road to the Walk of Fame
French public buildings to be built with 50 per cent wood
The measure will be implemented by 2022 and affect all public buildings financed by the French state, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Here's how hard it is to be a freelance theater journalist, with or without AB5
You still hear the people sing: Les Mis protest anthem blazes from France to China
Renewing the World (or the Theater, at Least)
Yet, since October, a huge revue theater in the heart of Berlin, the Friedrichstadt-Palast, has been selling out every night it presents a new work from the acclaimed writer-director René Pollesch.
With video cameras and new dances and faces, Ivo van Hove tries to put his stamp on America's beloved 'West Side Story'
Phoebe Waller-Bridge to Speak at the 2020 Women in the World Summit
Projection Designer Elaine McCarthy USITT Award Winner
“Back to the bad old days”: UK crews face Brexit backlash
Napa Valley Wine Train's Murder Mystery Tours Have Harry Potter-Themed Night
Thursday, February 13, 2020
A non-fan of musical theater tries to make sense of CLO Cabaret’s new show, The Book of Merman
Five figures in theatre every architectural lighting designer should know
Groundbreaking Weekend of Women+ allows space to learn and heal
How Creative Couples Balance Their Relationships and Work
Punchdrunk and Sky announce world's first immersive TV drama
AB5 backlash: California's arts community sounds off on new law
The law is intended to reduce worker misclassification, making it harder for companies to treat workers as independent contractors. It establishes a test to determine whether workers are employees who should receive minimum wage, paid sick days and other benefits.
The Socio-Economic-Ethnically Diverse Audience You Seek Is At The Library
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)