How American Stages Should Look in the Future, According to a Cohort of Emerging BIPOC Producers

Playbill: Earlier this spring, 25 up-and-coming theatre makers completed the inaugural Producing 101 course from Theatre Producers of Color. The program, committed to supporting the next generation of BIPOC producers, ran for 10 weeks and taught the fundamentals of commercial producing, including development paths, financing, and budgeting, with experienced BIPOC and white ally leaders as their guides.

McDonald’s commits to diverse-owned production partners

Reel Chicago - At the intersection of Chicago Advertising, Entertainment, Media and Production: Over the next four years, McDonald’s and Owner/Operators are accelerating the allocation of advertising dollars to diverse-owned media companies, production houses and content creators.

Amazon to stream major National Theatre plays in UK and Ireland

Amazon Prime Video | The Guardian: Amazon has partnered with the National Theatre to stream four high-profile live-recorded stage shows, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag. The shows, which include Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in 2011’s Frankenstein, will be made available to Amazon’s Prime Video customers in the UK and Ireland from 11 June.

ETC lights new Austrian rollercoaster 'Gesengte Sau'

blog.etcconnect.com: ETC’s Mosaic architectural system and Source Four fixtures have been selected for Austrian amusement park Prater’s latest attraction: the new, rapid rollercoaster ‘Gesengte Sau’. Designed and operated by Barth GmbH, the rollercoaster in Vienna offers an immersive experience speeding around an animated, bustling farm with animals and race cars. The ‘Gesengte Sau’ is 610 meters long with a maximum height of 24 meters and a top speed of 60 km/h.

Inside the Broadway Community Project: On Stage, In the Wings, and Throughout the House, 'Props Is Tops'

Playbill: Today, meet Rebecca Jean Heroff. While she likens the Broadway community to “a big family,” she’ll make sure you remember the mantra “props is tops.” As a house props person, Heroff facilitates the steady load-in and load-out of productions at the theatre while maintaining various fixtures of the space (such as seating, the pit, dressing rooms, and green room). The house props team is also present during rehearsals and during the run of the show, and will often be among the first crew members to walk through the stage door for each performance, mopping and vacuuming the stage before others arrive.

Actors' Equity Association Urges All States To Continue Federal Pandemic Unemployment Insurance

www.broadwayworld.com: Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, has released a statement in response to reports that at least 23 states are choosing to terminate their federal pandemic unemployment insurance programs far before their current scheduled expiration of September 6, 2021, potentially affecting nearly 2 million Americans, disproportionately workers of color.

Las Vegas headliners prepare for their comeback, led by four new Resorts World stars

Las Vegas Weekly: It’s never been done before. Resorts World Las Vegas announced four superstar headlining musical residency acts at the same time, ahead of its planned June 24 opening. Starting in November and continuing into March, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan will be performing at the brand-new, 5,000-seat Theatre at Resorts World.

Howard University Renames College of Fine Arts After Chadwick Boseman

www.broadwayworld.com: Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick has announced that the newly reestablished College of Fine Arts will be named in honor of alumnus Chadwick Boseman, whose remarkable career as an actor, director, writer, and producer inspired millions around the world.

The Tony Awards Return! But You'll Have to Pay to See 'Em

thebroadwayblog.com: Let the joyous news be spread! The Tony Awards are finally scheduled! Oh, wait. Now we have to subscribe to Paramount+ to see who wins? Well, yes and no. CBS and Tony Award Productions will celebrate Broadway’s highly anticipated return of live theatre with a multi-platform event, THE TONY AWARDS® PRESENT: BROADWAY’S BACK! on Sunday, September 26 (9-11 p.m. EST) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ and the CBS app.

Biden to Replace Several Trump-Appointed Members of the Federal Commission of Fine Arts

www.broadwayworld.com: The New York Times has reported that four of the seven members of the federal Commission of Fine Arts have been told to resign by the Biden, or face termination. All seven members of the commission were appointed by former President Donald J. Trump.

David Lan: In the age of apartheid, theatre resisted

Theatre | The Guardian: I grew up in South Africa during the bleak, violent, seemingly never-ending iron age of apartheid. In 1971, when I was studying acting at Cape Town University, the National Party government built a monolithic 1,500-seat theatre complex in a commanding position near the centre of the city. The Afrikaner Nationalists had an easy rule of thumb by which to distinguish between the value of white people and black people – we have culture and they don’t.

Disabled people fear being left behind as U.K. culture venues reopen

The Seattle Times: Before the pandemic hit Britain last year, Michelle Hedley could only go to her local theaters in the north of England if they happened to be doing a captioned performance. That happened five times a year — at best, said Hedley, who is deaf.

Broadway Advocacy Coalition Announces Reimagining Equitable Productions Program, Working With COMPANY, TINA & More

www.broadwayworld.com: The Broadway Advocacy Coalition has announced the launch of its newest program, Reimagining Equitable Productions. Created to address the many safety and equity concerns raised last summer, BAC will initially work with the companies of Company and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Disney Theatrical Productions will be working with BAC on a customized pilot process alongside members of the companies of Aladdin (Broadway), Frozen (Tour), and The Lion King (Broadway & Tour).

Colonial Williamsburg is facing up to its own past through theater

The Washington Post: On the streets of Colonial Williamsburg — one of the world’s premier living-history museums — Emily James cuts a formidable figure. Portraying Edith Cumbo, a free woman of color who walked these byways in the 18th century, James tries daily to convey to tourists the humiliations and contradictions Cumbo lived with.

Apart and Together, CMU Celebrates a Class Like No Other

www.cmu.edu/news: Maggie McGrann arrived in Gesling Stadium feeling restless. "I didn't sleep well last night — both from a combo of nerves and because it's a big day. And it was a big year," said McGrann, who graduated Saturday with a master of fine arts in costume design from the School of Drama in the College of Fine Arts. "I'm excited to see my classmates and cohorts who I haven't seen a ton of this year, so I think that contributed to the restlessness."

GLP Rocks Tunnel with Over 200 Creative Light 1

LightSoundJournal.com: In 2020, GLP presented the new Creative Light 1, the first battery operated, completely wireless creative LED system for maximum flexibility—anytime, anywhere. With 24 individually controllable RGB pixels, the Creative Light 1 offers countless design options and can be installed in no time, thanks to the integrated magnet. In March 2021, a small GLP team impressively demonstrated this by transforming a dreary motorway underpass into a pulsating dance temple within a few hours.

Tony Winner Clint Ramos: Where Is The American Theater That Speaks To Everyone?

Deadline: Many theater practitioners feel a profound closeness to their work. It is their life’s purpose. It is their essence. That is how I feel about the theater. So, when Covid drew stage curtains across prosceniums throughout the American stage, I felt my very selfhood slip away.

Tales from a Disabled Theatre School Grad |

www.intermissionmagazine.ca: Before one discusses disability in theatre, it is important to understand that theatre, all theatre, is inherently ableist. From being allowed to perform on stage to having access to the buildings, theatre has obstacles toward disabled acceptance literally built into it. Acting, in particular, exists on the idea that the artist is able to do certain things: memorize scripts, perform physical actions, understand “typical” social norms, work long hours with few breaks, and “see” or “hear” the cues in the show. Overall, disabled actors in the theatre are expected to inherently know how to exist in an able-bodied and able-supremacist society. If they cannot, or struggle to do so, they are often bullied, ridiculed, and harassed.

Broadway Advocacy Coalition launches equity workshop program for productions

Broadway News: The Broadway Advocacy Coalition is launching a program to help productions address equity and safety concerns before resuming performances. The program, entitled Reimagining Equitable Productions, will begin with workshops for the Broadway companies of “Tina,” “Company” and “Aladdin,” both the touring and Broadway production of “The Lion King” and the tour of “Frozen.”

How One Broadway Stylist Found Light in the Darkness of the Pandemic

Playbill: When the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City, like most members of the theatre industry, Greg Dassonville saw his life come to a standstill. The Broadway stylist had been hard at work making a name for himself since founding his business DassonVogue in 2018, styling theatre talent for red carpets, editorial shoots, and more, but suddenly his trajectory came to a halt just ahead of a wave of the Broadway’s spring openings. A season that is typically marked by energetic frenzy and excitement was instead defined by confusion and loss.

SF Sends $1,000 in Monthly Relief to Artists, Critics Say Process ‘Inequitable’

KQED: A total of 130 struggling San Francisco artists are expected to receive the first in a series of six $1,000 monthly payments starting Friday. This cash relief program—called San Francisco’s Guaranteed Income Pilot for Artists—is one of many Universal Basic Income (UBI)-type programs currently underway in cities across the country.

BWW Interview: How Notre Dame Resurrected Their Annual Musical During COVID-19

www.broadwayworld.com: In the midst of a global pandemic and at a time when nearly all live theater and music performances were suspended, University of Notre Dame director of musical theater and assistant professor of the practice Matt Hawkins managed to bring to life a live student performance of Jesus Christ Superstar in Notre Dame's iconic football stadium.

A Harsh Review, Revisited

kottke.org: This is pretty unusual. Years ago, NY Times film critic AO Scott panned Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic and Silverman, instead of reacting in a typical way, ultimately took his core criticism to heart and changed the way she thought about her comedy. The two of them recently linked up for a conversation about the “challenges both of doing comedy and of writing criticism”

Create Subtle Breezy Lighting Effects With Rosco X-Effects®

www.rosco.com: The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas recently unveiled an immersive art installation called The Wishing Tree. Located in an area of the shopping center that resembles an Italian Garden, the new sculpture features peaceful soundscapes and tranquil lighting effects created by Rosco X-Effects LED Projectors. The result is an enchanting experience that strives to inspire and bring hope to anyone with a wish.

Implementing Gamification for Museum Engagement

AMT Lab @ CMU: According to the definition from Dr. Zac Fitz-Walter, who is a master in gamification design, gamification is “the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts. It can also be defined as a set of activities and processes to solve problems by using or applying the characteristics of game elements.” Classical game elements include points, badges, rankings, and other related factors.

Crafting Immersive Pt. 3: Make It Accessible

No Proscenium: First things first, I want to be clear that I don’t consider myself an expert on accessibility. I am in dialogue with accessibility and striving to integrate it more and more in my arts practice. This column is part of that practice and should be taken as a dialogue rather than a hard and fast guide.

Contemporary art meets modern sound technology

LightSoundJournal.com: Expansive performances have been transforming the building and outdoor spaces at radialsystem, a former pumping station in Berlin-Friedrichshain on the banks of the river Spree, into a stage since 2006. Concert evenings in two large halls delight audiences with their unusual settings, smaller studios invite them to experience installations, and the open deck beckons them to listening sessions in the evening sun with a view over the water.

Storytelling Festival - 10th Anniversary

theatre people: Storytelling is ubiquitous — across all cultures, over all time, in all parts of the world, it communicates our shared humanity and is expressed in many ways, from the written to the visual. The Glen Eira Storytelling Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary and opens Saturday 19 June until Sunday 4 July 2021.

Done? - What's Next

Footlights: Several times in my life, I’ve had to write eulogies. Each time it’s a struggle. The summation of life is more than the events — my challenge upon discovering the cessation of operation by the Los Angeles Stage Alliance (LASA) was the value? What was left? Since then, for weeks, I’ve been pounding the keyboard. What happened? What have we learned?

Hollywood Pantages Theater Will Serve As Popup Vaccination Site; All Vaccinated Entered To Win Pair Of HAMILTON Tickets

www.broadwayworld.com: Free COVID-19 vaccines will be available and distributed in the Grand Lobby of the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles to all eligible recipients. All who attend the pop-up vaccination site (including those already vaccinated) will receive a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Hamilton at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre when performances resume.

Why don't I feel more excited about returning to the theatre?

Exeunt Magazine: Right now, all across the country, theatres are reopening their auditoriums to the public. I should be excited, but I’m not. An entire workforce that has been grounded for over a year is suddenly able to have an income again. That’s exciting. But will I be rushing to go back to the theatre? I’m not sure.

Spiral Costume Designer Laura Montgomery on Her Approach to Redesigning Jigsaw

comicbook.com: As evidenced by the film's title, Spiral: From the Book of Saw served as a continuation of the Saw franchise without necessarily being a direct follow-up to its predecessors, with the filmmakers finding ways to embrace the spirit of what came before it while also reimagining those elements for this new outing. Similarly, costume designer Laura Montgomery was tasked with creating an evocative outfit for Spiral's killer that honored the legacy of the original "Jigsaw" killer John Kramer, while also putting her own spin on it for a new generation.

Equity Celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with 'Claiming Our Power' Event Online · Actors' Equity Association

www.actorsequity.org: The Diversity & Inclusion Department invites you to attend “Claiming Our Power: AAPI Agency, Representation and Justice in the Workplace,” a webinar addressing the urgent issues facing people of the AAPI diaspora in the workplace and in society. This event will be held over Zoom (for Equity members) and live streamed publicly via Facebook on Monday, May 24 at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.

What Are Equal-Loudness Contours? (+ Why It Matters)

Pro Audio Files: Any fundamentals of audio production or acoustics course will include a discussion on the Fletcher-Munson Equal Loudness Contours. It is important for audio engineers to understand the implications of this graphic representation in terms of mixing, mastering and how listeners will perceive the music they produce.

Broadway League is 'Evaluating the Revised Guidelines' for Impact on Fall Re-Opening

www.broadwayworld.com: As BroadwayWorld reported yesterday, following the CDC's announcement last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed in a press conference that the state will officially adopt their guidance starting Wednesday, May 19.

Muny condenses season, reduces audience size in return to live musical theater

Arts and theater | stltoday.com: The Muny has announced that it will present five musicals instead of the usual seven this summer in Forest Park, with audience capacity reduced to about 60%.

The Reality of Your Music Industry Dream Job

Complex: After watching Sex and The City, so many young viewers wanted to be professional writers. After watching Dave, they probably wanted to manage an artist or make beats for Trippie Redd. And there’s nothing wrong with that! Pop culture has always shaped our perception of jobs and provided inspiration to aspiring creatives and executives, but it often leaves out some of the less glamorous aspects that no one talks about.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts Will Close for Two Years to Undergo a $66 Million Renovation

Artnet News: The National Museum of Women in Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C., will undergo a full-scale renovation to bring its historic building more fully into the 21st century.

Long Work Hours Lead to Premature Death, WHO Study Says

jezebel.com: It turns out that working long hours—the thing we’re required to do in order to live, in our current societal arrangement—is also the very thing that might end up significantly shortening our lives.

Pittsburgh Black womens' arts group marks 40 years; seeks new, younger members

New Pittsburgh Courier: On a sunny Spring day in 1981, a small group of African-American women from the Pittsburgh area got together and formed what’s now called Women of Visions, Inc. aka WOV. Original members included the late Juanita Miller and Emma Slaughter.

Why fatphobia and sizeism play out in the theater

Los Angeles Times: André Jordan was 22 when he booked a touring production of “Legally Blonde.” The actor, then working multiple part-time jobs and not yet signed with an agent, knew this ensemble role would be a valuable step in his career. There was one caveat, said the casting agent: “The creative team would like you to lose 15 to 20 pounds before you start rehearsals.”

The Women Making Waves in Theatre in Africa Part 2

The Theatre Times: In most parts of Traditional Africa, theatre was a prerogative of the woman. Women were the storytellers, the humor-artisans, the word-spinners whose grease moved the wheels of society. Men from hunting or war would return to the song-singing and dance-dancing of women; the ululations and bosom-shaking of the girls in the arena were the spiritual energy that flexed the muscles of young wrestlers; through old women’s dirges at funerals, families’ loved ones would be given a befitting farewell. The woman crafted the story that kept the family, the clan, the nation, together.

Members of the Broadway community advocate for a more equitable return

Broadway News: As Broadway prepares to reopen, industry members are hoping it will not return to its usual mode of operation. While more than 20 productions have announced plans to return to Broadway this year, few have released equity and inclusion standards or comprehensive safety protocols for the workplace. And so, after months of calls for change within the theater industry, members of the community are shaping their own policies.

Centennial Celebration Planned for Joe Papp

The BroadwayBlog: He revolutionized theater as we know it today. Now, Joe Papp, born ‘Yosl Papirofsky,’ will be the subject of a major memorial commemoration on what would have been his centennial birthday on June 22, 2021. This tribute will be presented by YI Love Jewish (a division of Yiddishkayt Initiative).

Immersive Opera “Laila” at the 50th Hong Kong Arts Festival

The Theatre Times: Laila, a special co-production by the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) and the Finnish National Opera and Ballet (FNOB), promises to be a key highlight at the 50th HKAF. This marks the opera’s first Asian premiere, also its first performance outside Finland. Laila is created by composer Esa-Pekka Salonen in collaboration with dramaturg Paula Vesala, sound designer Tuomas Norvio, and arts and technology specialists the Ekho Collective.

Review: 'Like a resurrection,' Gustavo Dudamel brings the Hollywood Bowl back to life

Los Angeles Times: Unpracticed in saying goodbye, the Los Angeles Philharmonic went silent uneasily 14 months ago. The COVID-19 pandemic hit a uniquely imaginative, welcoming and wealthy orchestra especially hard. Cancellations initially thought to be brief became unthinkably lengthy. Coming back with customary innovation added to the challenge.

IATSE Joins 'We Are The Met' Rally

Opera Wire: In a statement, the union, which represents 350 stagehands and other Met members, said “The performing arts are returning — but not the Metropolitan Opera. On Thursday, May 13 at noon, hundreds of the Met Opera’s artists and backstage workers, joined by government leaders and supporters of labor and opera, will send a message that the famed opera company’s management needs to stop its unfair treatment of its workforce and end its lockout of stagehands — or there will be no 2020-2021 opera season.”

11 San Diego arts groups receive grants from National Endowment for the Arts

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Eleven San Diego County arts organizations received a combined $203,000 in grants Wednesday from the National Endowment for Arts as part of the federal agency’s spring 2021 funding program.

‘We won’t be bouncing back’ – the unsettling truth about the big reopening

Culture | The Guardian: “If we had to close down again,” says Andrew Lloyd Webber, “we couldn’t survive.” Webber is staging his new musical Cinderella, with book by Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell, in a full-capacity theatre in July, having already delayed its premiere twice. He has mortgaged his house in London and will be selling one of his seven theatres. “It cost £1m a month to keep them dark,” he says. “You can’t just lock them up and throw away the key. I don’t run the theatres for profit and there wasn’t a reserve.”

While the Moda Center Welcomes Back Fans, Stagehands Remain Benched

Portland Monthly: At last Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the first Trail Blazers home game at the Moda Center with a crowd, fans posed in front of the “Rip City” sculpture in front of the Essential Forces Fountain. They hovered over the “I” in “City” while someone else captured the moment on their cellphone. Television crews aimed their cameras at the oval building, and reporters talked about the historic nature of the night.

Local arts professionals unite to form Pittsburgh Arts Administrators of Color

Arts + Entertainment | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: A new arts advocacy program is popping up in Pittsburgh. Members of three local arts organizations and Carnegie Mellon University have united to create Pittsburgh Arts Administrators of Color. The goal of PAAC is to “unify and connect arts administrators of color in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.

Carnegie Mellon born, the musical 'Godspell' celebrates 50th anniversary

TribLIVE.com: It will come as little surprise to its legion of fans that the first professional musical to be mounted in the U.S. during the pandemic was “Godspell.” The Berkshire Theater Group in western Massachusetts put on a production in August with plexiglass partitions between the actors and temperature checks for the audience. Why “Godspell”? Its message of hope and love.

Series 3 and Desire Fresnel - Better Together

et cetera...: ETC recently launched two new fixtures for the theatrical market. The Source Four LED Series 3 and the Desire Fresnel. Separately these fixtures are incredibly useful. But together, they can revolutionize how your stage crew runs a load in, how your designers create art, and how your audience experiences the show.

COVID-19 Forced Theatre Outside, and Theatremakers Into a Healthier Mentality

Playbill: It’s no secret that New York City real estate is expensive, and just as the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many New Yorkers to leave behind their apartments, it has also given theatres the freedom to break out of their physical confines. “Because it's so costly to run and operate buildings in New York City, you know we're all very dedicated to using them,” explains BAM Artistic Director David Binder. “This moment where we cannot work in the traditional ways has provided a great, great opportunity.”

Sound System Design for Immersive Spaces

SoundGirls.org: I have always been excited by sound design and its potential for storytelling as well as the evolving technology of the industry. At the start of my career, I was mainly a theatrical sound designer and engineer. Then I got a gig designing sound for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. I had never considered theme park attractions! Since then, I kept getting sound design work for immersive theater and themed events. There are many types of live, immersive storytelling events out there: immersive theater, theme parks, art exhibits, and experiential marketing pop-ups.

See live theater again — outdoors — at this festival inspired by campfire storytelling

The Seattle Times: Over the past year, the pandemic has forced audiences and theater artists to reinvent, reimagine and, in some cases, settle for a different kind of theater. Actors have livestreamed performances from their living rooms or holed up in COVID-19-safe booths to record audio plays. Audiences have gotten used to “applauding” virtually in the form of shout-outs in chat boxes or quietly to themselves in the isolation of their own homes.

Site-Specific Juneteenth Celebration Added to Lincoln Center’s Restart Stages Lineup

Playbill: A site-specific Juneteenth celebration will be presented by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as part of its Restart Stages programming. I Dream a Dream That Dreams Back at Me is conceived and curated by poet and artist Carl Hancock Rux and will unfold in four distinct parts of the Lincoln Center campus June 19, beginning at 7 PM ET.

Virtual Reality in Arts Education

AMT Lab @ CMU: There are two types of virtual reality: immersive and non-immersive. Non-immersive virtual reality enables people to explore computer-generated worlds using a computer screen and mouse or similar navigation device. Immersive VR allows users to explore and interact with a 360-degree room-sized screen. Immersive VR is most easily recognized by VR headsets with controllers that simulate hearing, vision, and sometimes touch. Reality is made up of sensory inputs to the brain, and manipulating those sensory inputs gives people a version of reality that isn't real, but is perceived as real.

‘There are lots of feelings!’ Michelle Terry on reopening Shakespeare’s Globe

Theatre | The Guardian: When Shakespeare’s Globe announced its reopening plans for spring, the headline news was that it had killed off the interval. Shows in its new season will run without a break as part of Covid safety protocols that include, for the first time, seats spread out in the theatre’s yard where groundlings have traditionally jostled shoulder to shoulder.

Some Broadway Performers are Expressing Resistance to Being Vaccinated

Observer: Ever since the new year broke, Governor Andrew Cuomo has been putting in a concerted effort to work towards Broadway theaters opening back up by the end of 2021, for better or for worse. First there was the general initiative to revive arts and culture before the summer, and then, more recently, the announcement came that September 14th, 2021, full-capacity Broadway performances would resume.

Scottish theatres say reopening not viable under Holyrood Covid rules

Theatre | The Guardian: Theatres in Scotland have called for an urgent review of Covid-19 social distancing restrictions for audiences, saying that the current two-metre rule leaves them in a perilous position. On Monday, all of Scotland is expected to move into protection level 2, which permits theatres to open with social distancing and capacity limits agreed with local authorities. But in a survey conducted by the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST), 96% of members responded that it is not economically viable for them to reopen under the current restrictions.

Sexual misconduct in film and TV: how intimacy coordination can help to address the historic issue

theconversation.com: Allegations of serial sexual misconduct by more than 20 women against British actor, director and producer Noel Clarke have revealed a grim picture about the state of the UK film and television industries. At time of writing, more women have come forward.

"The Empire Builders:" A Bold Experiment in Alternative Theatre

The Theatre Times: In what is possibly a first in South Africa and perhaps the continent, this innovative binaural theatrical production, which promises to give the listener a sense of space and dimension of the world of the play (and) which was recorded on separate microphones, ensuring that when listening it is transmitted separately into each ear, was not only novel and ground-breaking, but also futuristic in how the listener is invited to add their own nuances, ideas, and color to co-creating the world of the play and its characters.

Vax Live Concert Sees 27,000 Vaccinnated Fans at LA's SoFi Stadium

www.ticketnews.com: Vax Live, a benefit concert filmed earlier this spring and aired over the weekend, had 27,000 (fully vaccinated) fans in attendance at SoFi Stadium, the largest event in California since March 2020. The event, fully titled “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World” was designed to raise money to fight inequity in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as help push back against hesitancy in taking the vaccination by showing the possibilities of returning to large scale events as the threat from COVID wanes.

This Show Must Go Off - Episode 3

SoundGirls.org: The event I want to talk you through today is another private rental. This was the venue’s first video live stream since the pandemic began. Generally, events like these are pretty rare for us. All systems are set up to enjoy a great experience in the moment. Looking ahead to the future of events, live streaming is going to be a great tool to reach a large and diverse audience, and promote accessibility to more patrons. We look forward to the future of these events and are excited to share all that we have learned from this broadcast.

Olney's outdoor summer programming to uphold its anti-racism pledge

DC Metro Theater Arts: Olney Theatre Center returns to live performances this summer with Olney Outdoors performances on its tree-covered Root Family Stage. The season will feature free Shakespeare, an in-person edition of its popular online series Just Arts: A Celebration of Arts and Activism, jazz concerts, the new Andrew A. Isen Cabaret Series, Theatre for Young Audiences, and more

Latinx Theatre Design Group Brings Positive Change

Dramatics Magazine Online: The 2021 International Thespian Festival offers 50+ workshops on topics from becoming a lighting designer to hip-hop dance to audition techniques in the digital world. Meet Jorge Arroyo, lighting designer and Assistant Professor of Lighting Design at Boston University. His career path started when a college friend snuck him into a theatre show.

Avolites: 45 Years of Creative Visual Control

LightSoundJournal.com: Avolites, a world leader in the innovation of visual control systems, is celebrating its 45th anniversary. First established in 1976 under a railway arch in Hammersmith, London, from its first touring dimmer rack, the landmark Avolites LD dimmer (later to become the FD dimmer), to the launch of its latest flagship Diamond 9 console earlier this year, the company has been at the forefront of technological change in the lighting events industry ever since.

L-ISA is the Perfect Complement to ARTECHOUSE NYC’s Immersive Imagining of Julius Horsthuis’ Geometric Properties

LightSoundJournal.com: ARTECHOUSE NYC, located in a never previously occupied boiler room beneath the iconic Chelsea Market, is one of the most unique art destinations and experiences in New York City. Despite its century-old confines, ARTECHOUSE rightly presents itself as the art organization for the digital age. It’s an innovative space for immersive and interactive art exhibitions dedicated to providing the most advanced platforms for genre-pushing artists experimenting with emerging technologies and new forms of creative expression.

All the tuneful fun of 'Urinetown' done with puppets by Landless Theatre

DC Metro Theater Arts: If there was ever a Broadway show that could be done justice as a puppet musical melodrama, it’s Urinetown. The script and songs of this beloved cult musical are the same. The only difference in this Landless Theatre production is the cast: it’s made up entirely of sock puppets.

Can We Please Stop Using the Term “World Dance”?

Dance Magazine: It's time for our field to retire the phrase "world dance." What does it even mean? Aren't all dances "of the world," whether its ballet's embedded history of Renaissance elites' court spectacles, or embodying the orishas in Afro-Cuban dance? Typically, it's an intermediary—a manager, a producer, a critic—who labels something as "world dance." The term denotes exoticness, authenticity—and it sells. It's also problematic and limiting.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

What Makes People Feel Safe Visiting Museums and Performing Arts Entities? (DATA UPDATE)

Colleen Dilenschneider: The United States is making progress in vaccine distribution! At the time of writing, it’s been reported that about 43% of Americans have received at least one shot and nearly one in three are fully vaccinated. This is long-awaited positive progress for museums and performing arts organizations, which have observed significant drops in attendance since the pandemic began. Though 2021 likely won’t see attendance fully recover to 2019 levels, visitation is projected to continue improving as vaccinations keep rolling out. This is great news! But feeling safe right now isn’t only about the vaccine, according to cultural organization-goers in the United States.

Posted by David at 5/06/2021 12:03:00 PM

Broadway Is Reopening. But Not Until September.

The New York Times: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo says that most pandemic capacity restrictions will ease in two weeks. Mayor Bill de Blasio says he wants the city to fully reopen on July 1. But Broadway, a beacon for tourists and an engine for the economy, is not quite ready to turn on the stage lights.

Posted by David at 5/06/2021 12:05:00 PM

Why gendered leadership traits are a myth

www.fastcompany.com: When I started my career in the corporate world, I absorbed, by osmosis, the way that I thought leadership was. I worked in a male-dominated environment, in that most of the senior leadership was male, and the women that had risen to the top tended to have more stereotypical “masculine” traits.

Posted by David at 5/05/2021 11:41:00 AM

Disney reveals 'real' lightsaber for May the 4th, Galactic Starcruiser delayed

attractionsmagazine.com: To celebrate May the 4th, AKA “Star Wars Day,” Disney Parks has shared a look at the “real” lightsaber shown to the media last month, as well as announced a delay for one of its newest experiences in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.

Posted by David at 5/05/2021 11:37:00 AM

Why You Should Add Your Stories to This Theatre History Time Capsule

Playbill: “Theatre history is a way of understanding of what’s going on in the world,” says Dr. Eric Colleary, the Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. “It’s a snapshot. You can look at a play or a musical, and you can understand what’s going on in the country and world in that moment. You’re able to read a broader sense of social and political history.”

Posted by David at 5/03/2021 11:52:00 AM

 

A Teaching Moment for Juilliard

AMERICAN THEATRE: Marion Grey felt blessed. It was the fall of 2019 and she was finally walking the hallowed halls of the acting school she’d “worked and prayed” and auditioned twice to get into: Juilliard Drama. A 27-year-old from Roanoke, Va., who’d gotten her undergraduate theatre degree from James Madison University, Grey (she/her) threw herself into her classes at the prestigious New York City school, and even after the pandemic hit last March kept herself active and engaged: Last summer, as president of the Juilliard Black Student Union, she helped make a video anthology of music, poetry, and dialogue titled “We the Black Artist.”

Hair, Wig and Make Up Designer Cookie Jordan to be Honored with The Ruth Morley Design Award, June 7

Stage Directions: The League of Professional Theatre Women will be presenting its Theatre Women Awards at a virtual gala on June 7, 2021. This year’s honorees are a diverse group of seven remarkable women theater artists. The Ruth Morley Design Award given to women theater designers of all genres, is being presented to Hair, Wig, and Makeup Designer Cookie Jordan.

Ridgid 18V Brushless Impact Driver Review R862311

Pro Tool Reviews: The Ridgid 18V Brushless Impact Driver is part of the new generation of brushless tools showing up at The Home Depot. The updated Ridgid brushless hammer drill had a big weight and size reduction, but also a power drop compared to Octane. This time, the trade-off isn’t as significant.

Spotlight: The Rapid Development Of Modern Power Amplifier Platforms

ProSoundWeb: Lately I’ve been guilty of taking power amplifiers for granted, and I doubt I’m alone. Current designs are incredibly capable and reliable; provide them with power, signal, and a loudspeaker to drive and they can often be forgotten about until it’s time to load out.

"Legendary" Costumer Johnny Wujek Talks Fashion, Fitness, And More!

fashionweekdaily.com: Gags abound in ballroom competitions—but for HBO’s competition show Legendary, who illicits the sartorial drama that causes the gags? That would be costume designer and stylist Johnny Wujek, known for crafting confectionary outfits for Katy Perry and Kate Mara. On top of a full schedule, Wujek’s been staying busy during the past year. Beyond working on the ultra-entertaining show—don’t miss season 2 premiering on May 6!—he’s been transforming himself mentally and physically too. We sat down with the industry pro for the lowdown on what goes on backstage—plus his own career journey, favorite looks, and his not-so-thirsty thirst traps.

Michael Crow (‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ costumes) interview

GoldDerby “There’s a language to how the Marvel superhero costumes have been created in the past,” describes costume designer Michael Crow. This history greatly aided his work on the new Disney+ series “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.” The popular series follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) in the wake of Captain America’s disappearance.

The photographer who captured the early years of New York’s punk explosion

www.huckmag.com: American photographer Gary Green first picked up the camera as a youth coming of age in suburban Long Island during the late 1960s. “My parents thought it was another thing I’d give up like the saxophone and other hobbies that languished after a year or two,” he recalls. But, to his parent’s surprise, his interest in photography steadily grew into a career.

A Practical Guide to Fall Protection

Fine Homebuilding: We’ve always had a good safety record, but in the early ’90s one of the guys who had worked on our crew had a fall on another builder’s job site. He was 9 ft. off the ground when he broke the metal banding on a bundle of trusses and was knocked off the roof. Just like that, he was paralyzed from the neck down.

The Actors Fund Releases Survey Results for Artists Effected by COVID, Including State of Unemployment and Mental Health

www.broadwayworld.com: The Actors Fund, the national human services organization for everyone in performing arts and entertainment, today released a new survey of 7,163 people helped through February 28, 2021. The purpose of the survey was to help The Fund determine how to best assist those with long-term needs caused by the Covid pandemic. Since the pandemic began, The Fund has helped more than 40,000 entertainment professionals.

New York City Plans City Artist Corps Program to Help Artists Get Back to Work

www.broadwayworld.com: Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs today announced the NYC Artist Corps, a $25 million investment in local artists to bring creative programming and engagement to every corner of the city this summer. The Artist Corps builds on the recently announced City Cleanup Corps, a New Deal-inspired economic recovery program to directly create 10,000 jobs and make New York City the cleanest, greenest city in the United States.

Actors Fund Shares Findings on the Impact of the Pandemic on Entertainment Workers

Playbill: While the theatre community looks ahead to brighter days, the arts-focused human services organization The Actors Fund has released results from a survey of 7,163 people who received pandemic-related assistance through February 28 of this year. The results illuminate the deep hardships felt by arts workers during a health crisis that brought drastic cutbacks and a shutdown of most live performance worldwide.

Seattle’s theater stagehand community, still idled by COVID shutdown, fears a mental health crisis

The Seattle Times: Cole Guinn, the assistant carpenter with Pacific Northwest Ballet, was setting up for a show in March 2020 when the announcement came — all gatherings of more than 50 people were banned under coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions. “We’re done. Everyone’s going home,” the technical director announced. That was the last time many of the crew in that room would work for the next year.

TAIT Talks with David Rockwell

www.taittowers.com: Architect and Designer, David Rockwell, is renowned for his transformative work of public spaces, and has been at the forefront of helping the hospitality sector in New York reconfigure and adapt to a more restricted world. TAIT’s Brian Levine catches up with David to get his thoughts on the role of technology in architecture, the importance of collaboration, and how the pandemic will provide opportunity to shape public spaces for the better.

Broadway Is Reopening. But Not Until September.

The New York Times: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo says that most pandemic capacity restrictions will ease in two weeks. Mayor Bill de Blasio says he wants the city to fully reopen on July 1. But Broadway, a beacon for tourists and an engine for the economy, is not quite ready to turn on the stage lights.

Young Vic to livestream all future productions, says artistic director

Theatre | The Guardian: The Young Vic plans to livestream all of its future productions, its artistic director has said, insisting theatre can never go back to being something that can only be experienced by physically being there. Kwame Kwei-Armah told the Guardian the pandemic had changed theatre forever, with the livestreaming of plays becoming “hard baked” into how the industry operates

Musicians Union AFM Local 802 Celebrates News Of Broadway Fall Comeback

www.broadwayworld.com: The musicians union, AFM Local 802, is celebrating the news that Broadway is aiming for a fall comeback. AFM Local 802 President Adam Krauthamer commented, "The musicians of NYC are thrilled to bring live music back to Broadway and are excited that the Broadway League will resume ticket sales this month for Fall 2021 performances.

What Makes People Feel Safe Visiting Museums and Performing Arts Entities? (DATA UPDATE)

Colleen Dilenschneider: The United States is making progress in vaccine distribution! At the time of writing, it’s been reported that about 43% of Americans have received at least one shot and nearly one in three are fully vaccinated. This is long-awaited positive progress for museums and performing arts organizations, which have observed significant drops in attendance since the pandemic began. Though 2021 likely won’t see attendance fully recover to 2019 levels, visitation is projected to continue improving as vaccinations keep rolling out. This is great news! But feeling safe right now isn’t only about the vaccine, according to cultural organization-goers in the United States.

August Wilson African American Cultural Center to reopen with new group exhibition

Visual Art | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Like many local cultural institutions, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center has experienced its own series of starts and stops over the course of the pandemic. Now the Downtown hub dedicated to highlighting the Black experience through art, music, literature, and more will finally open its doors again.

Chinese Company Projects Video Game QR Code Above Shanghai Using Drones

gamerant.com: Over a thousand drones took to the night sky in Shanghai, China last weekend for an elaborate light show. While drone shows have become an increasingly common practice in the region, this performance, in particular, came with an unusual ending - a massive, scannable QR code.

Wicked opens in Dallas as first Broadway tour in U.S. after pandemic

CultureMap Dallas: Broadway has announced it is officially reopening in September 2021, but Dallas audiences will get their musical fix even sooner. When Wicked opens at the Music Hall at Fair Park on August 3, 2021, it will not only signal the return of Dallas Summer Musicals but also be the first touring Broadway show in the country to open.

Sacramento theater’s diversity festival canceled amid outcry

The Sacramento Bee: In the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the greater racial reckoning that ricocheted across the country last year, Sacramento Theatre Company announced a play festival last fall that would tackle issues surrounding diversity and inclusion. But the virtual stage readings of the ten plays selected by the theater company was ultimately canceled in March, after actors backed out en masse and raised concerns that the plays and the casting decisions made failed to live up to the festival’s mission.

A transformative year

Feature | Chicago Reader: From the closings of venues to the cancellations of performances, COVID-19 and its variants have wreaked havoc on the lives of entertainers over the past year—and Frances D'alessio (who has been entertaining audiences for three decades) is no exception.

New residency for BIPOC artists creates leadership pipeline

Los Angeles Times: The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation is expected to announce Tuesday a new residency program that will pair Minneapolis-based director Shá Cage with Los Angeles’ Cornerstone Theater Company, and Bay Area director Elizabeth Carter with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Cirque du Soleil’s June return will reunite Vegas performers with their passion

Las Vegas Weekly: Sarah Turner is a British-born gymnast and acrobat who has been training since she was 5 years old. There are thousands of versions of her living and working in Las Vegas, but there’s only one Sarah Turner. When she’s performing in Mystère as one of the show’s high-flying “Spermatine” characters, catapulting across the stage from the teeterboard or somersaulting furiously along a series of trampolines, she’s unrecognizable as Sarah Turner, but in another way, that’s the truest version of herself.

Why gendered leadership traits are a myth

www.fastcompany.com: When I started my career in the corporate world, I absorbed, by osmosis, the way that I thought leadership was. I worked in a male-dominated environment, in that most of the senior leadership was male, and the women that had risen to the top tended to have more stereotypical “masculine” traits.

Theatre "Production Jam" Risks Creating a Lost Generation of Young Artists, European Directors Warn

The Theatre Times: Leading theatre directors in Europe are warning that the pandemic shutdowns are not only threatening the long-term viability of theatres—they are also seriously risking the development of the new generation of theatre artists.

Adrienne Warren Speaks at the Broadway United For Racial Justice March

www.broadwayworld.com: This weekend, Broadway artists and fans gathered outside Bryant Park for Broadway United for Racial Justice, a march demanding racial equity in the theatre industry. Among the speakers at the event were Adrienne Warren, who gave a speech on the steps of the New York Public Library.

'The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge' reveals details and unbuilt concepts

attractionsmagazine.com: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a massive land with rides, shops, dining, and a strong backstory, but what changed from the original plans? While flying TIE Fighters and lightsabers that cut through metal aren’t possible in the real world, some incredible projects are possible. With the recent distribution of “The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” book by Amy Ratcliffe, we can see what was originally planned, what was modified for the park, and what didn’t make it beyond pen and paper.

How Billy Porter's journey led to 'Pose' and 'What If,' his directorial debut in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The coming weeks will see the culmination of a journey Billy Porter began in 1994. Back then, the 51-year-old Pittsburgh native was living in New York City and playing Teen Angel in the Broadway revival of “Grease” “with 14 inches of orange rubber hair on my head stomping around like a Little Richard automaton on crack,” he said in a phone interview Thursday.

Momentum builds behind Broadway’s reopening

Broadway News: As the industry awaits an official reopening announcement, theatrical offices have been working to ready Broadway productions. The pace has picked up at marketing agencies, casting offices and at the offices of producers who are aiming for a fall opening. However, while the workload is increasing, many plans hinge on yet unannounced reopening dates and a unified return strategy.

Disney reveals 'real' lightsaber for May the 4th, Galactic Starcruiser delayed

attractionsmagazine.com: To celebrate May the 4th, AKA “Star Wars Day,” Disney Parks has shared a look at the “real” lightsaber shown to the media last month, as well as announced a delay for one of its newest experiences in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.

These Four Stage Directors Know Just What Needs to Change

The New York Times: By most measures, they’re doing great. Four prizewinning directors with notable Off Broadway résumés, working with such breakout writers as Aleshea Harris, Will Arbery and Ming Peiffer. No top Broadway credits yet, but Tyne Rafaeli, 38, associate directed “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The King and I” there. And just as the pandemic struck, three had big breaks, with productions that dove into the maelstrom of race and racism

HOLOPLOT X1 Transforming Sound Experiences

LightSoundJournal.com: HOLOPLOT, a Berlin-based hardware and software manufacturer of innovative 3D professional audio technology, has today announced the launch of its X1 product line, including the X1 Modul 96 full-range and the X1 Modul 80-S loudspeaker + sub. These speakers allow for full sound control with ultra high precision over large distances the X1 optimises the listening experience for every audience member while eliminating spillover and external noise pollution.

Unchartered Territory: Dancers in Isolation, the Eryc Taylor Dance Company

The Theatre Times: In five years, in ten years, in twenty, we will remember what it felt like to live through the pandemic shutdown? Of course, we will remember the main facts: the sounds of unceasing ambulances blaring, the clapping from balconies at 7 PM for essential workers, the silence of the streets, the many deaths. Will we remember the emotional journey of being alone, or being in small family pods? Multiple and various opinions are already being touted by self-appointed prognosticators who know for certain what we will think and know in the future.

Alison Bechdel on The Secret to Superhuman Strength and writing graphic memoirs.

slate.com/culture: On this week’s episode of Working, June Thomas spoke with cartoonist Alison Bechdel about her newest graphic memoir, The Secret to Superhuman Strength. They discussed how she pushes herself to her creative limits, the research rabbit holes she goes down for her books, and why she chose to work with two different drawing styles for her new book. This partial transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Back in the Girdle Again: Getting Fitted After a Year Untouched

The New York Times: Here I am, back at the confessional at last. Forgive me, father, for I have sinned. It has been 13 months since my last visit to you. The father-confessor, to whom I am looking for absolution, is Eric Winterling, one of the great Broadway costume makers, and my confession is that (whisper it!) the pandemic had been unkind to my arms. To be specific, my upper arm in the rear, with a strange new pocket of femininity developing just to the interior of my elbow, on both sides.

Creating New Futures Is Reimagining the Relationship Between Artists and Presenters

Dance Magazine: At the start of the pandemic, many artists felt as though a rug—one that was awfully thin to begin with—was pulled from underneath them. Performances were rescheduled, and then, in many cases, canceled altogether. Freelancers and independent artists, who often invest significant personal funds in their own work, were hit particularly hard.

Over 1000 Astera Fixtures provide Many WOW Moments for Herbalife Awards Event

LightSoundJournal.com: Global nutrition company Herbalife honoured its topperforming sales force and distributors ina spectacular Awards event staged at the Los Angeles Convention Centre in March, a slick andelegant streamed showthat wasexecutive& technicallyproduced by Raj Kapoor Productions& Steffan Jonesfor CG CreativeStudios.

Anna D. Shapiro to Step Down From Steppenwolf Helm

AMERICAN THEATRE: “It has been my honor to serve as artistic director these six years—and to elevate a variety of powerful voices through bold storytelling from our stages,” said Shapiro in a statement, which also took pains to note that this move does not change her status as a member of the 49-member Steppenwolf ensemble.

Returning to Live Audiences: How 4 Companies Have Gotten Back Onstage

Pointe: Performing in front of live audiences again has been every ballet organization's goal since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than a year ago. With vaccinations on the rise and light appearing at the end of the tunnel, companies are slowly starting to come back to in-person shows.

Actors' Equity Association Applauds New York State's Adjusted COVID Restrictions

www.broadwayworld.com: Actors' Equity Association has released a statement in response to the announcement that New York State would be ending restrictions on capacities in businesses, including theatre, for vaccinated attendees beginning May 19. "We are having regular and ongoing conversations with the Broadway League about what protocols for a safe reopening would look like, and have a clear understanding of their timetable," said Mary McColl, executive director of Actors' Equity Association.

‘2001’ VFX Guru Douglas Trumbull on Why CGI Hasn’t Outpaced the Visual Effects of Kubrick’s Film

IndieWire: Douglas Trumbull has been in the “2001: A Space Odyssey” business for over 50 years. The special effects guru was a young animation artist when he worked on the spaceflight short film “To the Moon and Beyond” for the 1964 World’s Fair, which caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick while in the early stages of planning his operatic space epic. Trumbull wound up learning the ropes of visual effects on the project and played a critical role in everything from the miniatures to HAL 9000’s robotic view and the climactic Stargate sequence, which remains as mesmerizing today as it was over half a century ago.

Robe MegaPointes Help Comic Relief

LightSoundJournal.com: Thirty-eight Robe MegaPointe moving lights were an integral part of the lighting rig used by LD Chris Kempton for the UK’s 2021 Comic Relief biennial Red Nose Day telethon event which harnessed the power and inspiration of humour to raise funds for good causes.

Steppenwolf Announces Artistic Leadership Transition This Summer

www.broadwayworld.com: Today Steppenwolf Theatre Company shared that Anna D. Shapiro, who has served as Artistic Director since 2015, will step down from this role when her contract expires in August 2021. Over the last several months, Shapiro has been working with her fellow Steppenwolf ensemble members-a group of 49 visionary actors, directors and playwrights who call Steppenwolf home-on a succession plan for when her contract expires at the end of the summer.

On Mentorship

SoundGirls.org: We talk a lot about the importance of mentorship in this industry, and in general. While I may have studied theatre sound design in college, I feel like so much of the learning I have done has been through mentors who have given me a chance to watch them work. Now that I have gotten a few years of career experience under my belt, it has been super rewarding for me to take up that mantle and start mentoring myself. So, for this blog, I want to talk about my own experience progressing from mentee to mentor.