Wheelchair aerial dance at center of ‘Wired’ at the MCA, a performance that centers disability

Chicago Tribune: Alice Sheppard does not shy away from a challenge. In devising her latest dance, “Wired,” she and her Bay Area disability arts company Kinetic Light had to first write the rule books for wheelchair aerial dance.

ProLight+Sound 2022: Day Two

LightSoundJournal.com: But let’s go in order and we can only start with the new EOS Apex series of light controllers, available in three formats that differ in the number of faders: Eos Apex 5, 10 and 20. Apex actually improves the user experience by giving all the comfort possible thanks to the huge multitouch displays with 4K resolution that offer a large working space for all the Eos tools, such as Magic Sheets, Direct Selects and Augment3d.

First Annual Rebecca Luker Courage Award to be Presented to Merit. E. Cudkowicz

www.broadwayworld.com: Target ALS today announced Merit E. Cudkowicz, Chief of the Neurology Department at Massachusetts General Hospital, as the winner of the first annual Target ALS Rebecca Luker Courage Award. To honor the life and legacy of Broadway legend Rebecca Luker, the award is given to those who have demonstrated a courageous spirit and made a positive impact on the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) community. The award, presented in partnership with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA), will be featured at the upcoming Target ALS Annual Meeting, the premier meeting in ALS research, taking place May 3-5, 2022.

My Fair Lady has its problems but I still idolise Eliza Doolittle

Theatre | The Guardian: I have seen My Fair Lady an alarming number of times but never on stage. The musical is coming to the Coliseum in London and, when this was announced, I learned that Amara Okereke, who is playing Eliza Doolittle, is reported to have watched the film version more than 200 times. Now, it’s not a competition, but I reckon I’m up there with those sorts of numbers.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Announces 40th Anniversary Celebrations

www.broadwayworld.com: The Off-Broadway revival of Alan Menken & Howard Ashman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS will paint the town green in honor of the musical's ruby red 40th anniversary. Beginning Thursday, April 28, and throughout the month of May, there will be various events, contests, special performances, and activations to celebrate the beloved, award-winning show's incredible legacy. The original Off-Broadway production at the Orpheum Theater began performances on May 6, 1982 and opened on May 20, 1982.

Rock Lititz plans to build a $10 million education center

Local Business | lancasteronline.com: The state is paying half of the construction costs as Rock Lititz is set to begin building a $10 million education center expected to host about 50 jobs as it works to address a shortage of workers in the live events industry.

Robert E. Wankel to Receive 2022 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award

www.broadwayworld.com: The Isabelle Stevenson Award is presented annually to a member of the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations. Mr. Wankel is being recognized for his outstanding dedication, commitment and leadership in supporting multiple organizations, including The Actors Fund; Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; and American Academy of the Dramatic Arts and many others.

ProLight+Sound 2022: Day Three

LightSoundJournal.com: We are talking about Desk Dough, a device produced by the company stops & mops, able to transform a projector into a lighting device with infinite gobos, different variants of prism, mix of sharp and blurred beams and much more. Enjoy the video to better understand what we’re talking about.

Beanie Feldstein opens up on 'Funny Girl' role: 'Incredibly meaningful for me as a Jewish woman'

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: “Funny Girl” is so deeply ingrained in Beanie Feldstein’s life that she doesn’t even remember the first time she watched the movie. “From my developmental psychology classes in college, I think I remember that your first memories are around 3 years old,” she told the New York Jewish Week. “Funny Girl” “precedes my memory. I’ve always loved it as far as I’m concerned.”

Who’s Afraid of Zachary Quinto?

AMERICAN THEATRE: It was a head-turning, and possibly head-scratching, casting announcement: that Calista Flockhart and Zachary Quinto would play George and Martha in the Geffen Playhouse’s new production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. But it wasn’t until I was chatting with Quinto recently that it dawned on me why this casting felt different: It wasn’t just the idea of Ally McBeal and Spock, icons in their own right, taking on another pair of American icons. It was that this is the first major Virginia Woolf I know of with Gen-Xers in both senior roles, and that makes a lot of people—including myself, a Replacements-loving dad squarely in that benighted demographic—feel as old as Sesame Street or the moon landing.

6 in the Six: Confessions from Theatre School -

www.intermissionmagazine.ca: The moment I found out I got into theatre school, my high school anxieties and fears quieted. Acceptance into the three-year conservatory-style program felt like a seal of approval for my career, permission to put trust in a future where I would work professionally. As I looked at the letter in my hand, at nineteen, I allowed myself to think: I am good.

Listen Technologies announces ISE 2022 highlights

blooloop: Listen Technologies, a provider of assistive listening, multi-language audio transmission and live streaming audio solutions, has announced it will be bringing some of its most popular products to the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) trade show next month.

ProLight+Sound 2022: Day One

LightSoundJournal.com: Here we are with a recap of the first day at ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt, where in spite of the absence of many big players, especially in the audio sector, we found a welcoming atmosphere, lots of news and a great desire to be there, to meet again and to get down to serious business.. Crowded stands, lots of new products and no masks are some of the emotions that we were able to experience first hand after 3 years.

Immersive Q&A: Future-Proofing Entertainment Design

Live Design Online: Immersive's projects range from superyachts to trade shows, the giant dome in Philadelphia's Comcast Center to musician Jason Mraz's world tour and everything in between. One of the first agencies to pioneer immersive storytelling, founder, chief creative officer, and CEO, John Munro, used his background in art and design to combine traditional forms of expression with cutting edge technology.

Cirque du Soleil may have moved on, but most Canadian culture-goers still want masks

The Globe and Mail: I love circus because I am captivated by watching skilled acrobats and aerial artists taking thrilling risks – not because I want to take risks myself. So I was disappointed when I discovered that Cirque du Soleil was not requiring audience members to wear masks at Kurios, their bigtop show currently playing in Toronto amid a sixth wave of COVID-19.

Freedom

Theatre Inspiration: The pandemic years have been very difficult for people in the performing arts, and for people across the nation in general. But one positive thing that came out of it was corporations realized that it wasn’t necessary to have employees come into the office every day, or even at all; that working independently from home was often just as effective as commuting into the office each day.

Versatile Claypaky Scenius Unicos Light Up Genesis Reunion World Tour

LightSoundJournal.com: The legendary band Genesis has reunited for “The Last Domino?” world tour, their first since 2007. Longtime Creative Director for the band, Patrick Woodroffe, worked with Roland Greil to design the set and lighting for the tour. Genesis core members Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks kicked off the COVID-delayed tour last September in Birmingham, England then played a US leg in November and December. The open-ended tour continues in March with dates booked in Germany, France, the Netherlands and England.

Review Roundup: POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE- Updating Live!

www.broadwayworld.com: Selina Fillinger's new Broadway comedy POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman, officially opens today at the Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street).

Review Roundup: MR. SATURDAY NIGHT Opens on Broadway Starring Billy Crystal - Updating Live!

www.broadwayworld.com: MR. SATURDAY NIGHT is the story of Buddy Young Jr., an outrageous and outspoken comedian who found fame, if not fortune, in the early days of television. Now, some 40 years after his TV career flamed out, Buddy seeks one more shot at the spotlight, and while he's at it, one last shot at fixing the family he fractured along the way.

Susie Dee on a lifetime spent staging the revolution: ‘Theatre can shift consciousness’

Theatre | The Guardian: Susie Dee’s first work at Melbourne’s La Mama theatre was as a student in the 1970s, acting in a piece called Mangoes and Grapes. Those were the only words in the script, and the play was staged in the car park.

Erica Maholmes - Lighting design after the pandemic

et cetera...: Like so many designers in this industry, Erica Lauren Maholmes says she came upon her career by accident. And like so many students, the momentum of her young career was dramatically impacted when the world shut down in 2020. Despite the unfortunate timing, however, she is an inspiration to students and other young designers trying to pick up where they left off.

Groundbreaking choreopoem ‘for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf’ makes a powerful return to Broadway

DC Metro Theater Arts: Last seen in NYC in 2019, in the Off-Broadway revival of poet/playwright Ntozake Shange’s groundbreaking genre-defying “choreopoem” at The Public Theater (where it was first presented in 1976, and was honored with a 1977 Obie Award for Distinguished Production), for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf has returned to the Booth Theatre four decades after its pioneering Broadway premiere there – the second play ever by a Black woman to reach the Broadway stage – for a limited engagement through mid-August.

Brace Yourselves: Inflation & Recession Are Coming To The Events Industry

Endless Events: The whole world is talking about it, including the Brew Crew: inflation and recession are on the horizon – yet again. In certain industries, it has fully arrived. But since the events industry is so interconnected with the rest of the economy, event profs are also starting to feel the effects of rising costs and labor shortages. We cannot help but wonder and worry: are events going to survive?

Five Pittsburgh Arts Groups Join Forces to Share a Director for Equity and Inclusion

onStage Pittsburgh: A cohort of five Pittsburgh arts groups has created the Talent & Equity Director position and today announced Fatima Bunafoor as the choice to “advance equity and inclusion practices and facilitate human resource collaboration.”

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry.' Documents reveal new details about 'Rust' shooting

Los Angeles Times: Documents released Monday by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office revealed new details about the day Alec Baldwin accidentally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a New Mexico set last October, as well as the events preceding and following the fatal shooting.

Studio Ghibli's Nausicaä Stage Adaptation Returns to Japan

gizmodo.com: It’s a great time to be a Studio Ghibli fan if you currently reside in Japan. If not, read on and prepare to feel serious envy. Crunchyroll reports that this summer’s July Grand Kabuki performance will feature Walt Disney Studios’ stage adaptation of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved 1984 film and 1982 manga.

WITHOUT WALLS 2022 — FESTIVAL DIARY

by Noah J Nelson | Apr, 2022 | No Proscenium: La Jolla Playhouse’s now annual celebration of site-responsive, interactive theatre and public performance returned to full strength this past week at San Diego’s ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station for four days and nights of work ranging from theatrical games for kids to meditations on identity staged inside functioning pop-up bars.

Rep Stage looks at 'Glass Menagerie' through a mixed-race lens

DC Metro Theater Arts: Rep Stage returns to live, in-person performance with a rethink of an American classic. The professional regional theater in residence at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland, is telling the story of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie with a cast that includes a Black Laura and a multi-racial Tom.

The First Cabaret Theater in the Slavic World: An Interview with Lafayette

The Theatre Times: Belgrade and Serbia have a three-century-long history of theatre. Along with the development of theatrical forms in Western Europe, the theater was growing in, then small, Kingdom of Serbia. However, one theatrical form never found its way to not only Belgrade but the whole of Eastern Europe and the Balkans – Cabaret. Exclusively for The Theater Times, we bring you the story of the first cabaret theater in the Serbia – Lafayette.

Mattress Factory group exhibit finds artists caught in middle of conflict

Visual Art | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: A shaggy, hot pink, cancer cell-shaped bed in the Mattress Factory begs visitors to stretch out across it. On the ceiling above, a Big Brother-like projection of a dreamy woman cast in painterly hues speaks directly to me. But I don’t understand.

'My Neighbour Totoro' Gets Stage Version by Royal Shakespeare Company

Variety: Executive producer and composer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) are readying a stage adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved 1988 Studio Ghibli film “My Neighbor Totoro.” It will open at London’s the Barbican this fall in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV.

Interview: TDF's Director of Accessibility Lisa Carling on the Importance of Autism-Friendly Performances, and More

www.broadwayworld.com: April is Autism Acceptance Month, and to honor that, BroadwayWorld is highlighting TDF's Accessibility Programs Department. According to the TDF website, TDF Accessibility Programs provides a membership service for theatregoers who are hard of hearing or deaf, have low vision or are blind, who cannot climb stairs or who require aisle seating or wheelchair locations.

LD Systems at Prolight + Sound 2022: Under the sign of MAILA

LightSoundJournal.com: For LD Systems, this year’s Prolight + Sound from April 26 to 29 will be all about one single product: MAILA! The “Modular All-Round Intelligent Line Array” will occupy the entire LD Systems booth (located at Hall 11.0 #A21) at the show, and marks the next milestone in the German pro audio manufacturer’s brand history.

Non-Equity ‘Waitress’ Musical Tour Files for Union Recognition

Observer: For the first time in twenty years, Actors’ Equity is unionizing a national tour. They have filed with the National Labor Relations Board after conducting a card campaign among actors and stage managers working the nonunion touring production of Waitress. They are currently awaiting a response from their employer, the touring production company NETworks.

EPIC Entertainment | Crayola IDEAworks immersive attraction

blooloop: EPIC Entertainment Group, a producer of themed entertainment, live events, and immersive environments, worked alongside Innov8ive Exhibitions and in collaboration with Crayola on a unique immersive and interactive experience, set to open in Charlotte, North Carolina, on 13 May.

Review Roundup: A STRANGE LOOP Opens On Broadway!

www.broadwayworld.com: The Broadway production of A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer-Prize winning musical, opens tonight at the Lyceum Theater. Read the reviews! A Strange Loop is directed by Stephen Brackett, choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly, and produced by Barbara Whitman, along with Page 73 Productions, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Playwrights Horizons.

Antigone: an ancient story still infuriatingly relevant

limelightmagazine.com.au: Antigone has always fascinated me as a character. She’s a girl trapped within the conventions of a conservative culture where women do not enjoy the same rights as men, and she says no to a king. She fearlessly speaks truth to power knowing full well the consequences of this action. She knows she will be killed, but she speaks out anyway. She’s the first character in western theatre to do this, and she’s a sixteen-year-old girl. She’s breathtaking.

Welcome home: Prolight + Sound to reunite the event industry and to kick off the trade fair season 2022 in Frankfurt

LightSoundJournal.com: Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt am Main from 26 to 29 April 2022 offers a host of insights into the future of event and media technology. For the sector, the show is a great reunion following the two-year break due to the pandemic. It is also the first event of this year at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre and thus represents two major steps into normality in the event business.

A Theatre Grows in Brooklyn, Seeded by Subscriptions

AMERICAN THEATRE: Super Secret Arts is trying something different. The newly opened theatre in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn is doing its part to shift the economic paradigm around theatremaking. For $25 a month, subscribers receive unlimited access to the theatre’s programming, which includes mainstage productions and a nightly assortment of events, from live music to improv and sketch comedy, from cabarets to open mics and other experimental works.

Director NJ Agwuna to Receive 2022 Barbara Whitman Award

www.broadwayworld.com: Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), today announced the recipient and four finalists for the 2022 Barbara Whitman Award. Established by theatrical producer Barbara Whitman in 2021, the award recognizes a female, trans, or non-binary early-career director who has demonstrated a unique vision in their work with an unrestricted $10,000 cash prize.

Review Roundup: FUNNY GIRL Returns to Broadway- All the Reviews!

www.broadwayworld.com: This bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she'd never be a star, but then something funny happened-she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway.

Director Lee Daniels to shoot horror film Demon House in Pittsburgh

Screen | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Pittsburgh has boasted an impressive number of film and television productions recently, even in the midst of the pandemic. And based on some news coming out of the Pittsburgh Film Office, that number will only grow with a new project from Netflix and acclaimed director Lee Daniels.

ASM Global Rolling Out Facial Recognition Ticketing With PopID

www.ticketnews.com: Facial recognition technology is up and running at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, and set to expand widely through venues operated by ASM Global, according to a recent news release. The technology, powered by PopID, will allow for both venue entry and payment at concession areas.

Decolonizing Flamenco Through Exploring Black Influences

Dance Magazine: What images come to mind on hearing the word “flamenco”? Feet hammering floor; intense gaze; arched spine; proud, almost arrogant posture; fiery performers? Perhaps all the above, but Black bodies probably don’t figure into the picture. Yet African-descended artists are reaching out and embracing flamenco as their own.

39th Elliot Norton Awards Nominations Announced - See the Full List!

www.broadwayworld.com: More than 60 nominations in over two dozen categories of outstanding actors, directors, designers, choreographers, musicians, and productions were announced today by the Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA) for the 39th Elliot Norton Awards. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, no live ceremony will be held; instead, the awardees, including those for visiting productions and performers , will be revealed in a virtual ceremony on Monday, May 23 at 8:00 pm.

2022 Drama League Awards Nominations Announced- Full List!

www.broadwayworld.com: The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Artistic Director; Bevin Ross, Executive Director) today announced the 2022 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Play, Outstanding Direction of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award.

TicketNetwork Celebrates Green Initiative Milestones on Earth Day

www.ticketnews.com: After less than three years of operation, TicketNetwork says a rooftop solar array at the company’s Connecticut headquarters has already generated enough electricity to equal the planting of over 50,000 trees and saving over 4,600 barrels of oil. The solar array is the centerpiece of the ticket resale marketplace’s Green Initiative, which also features an animal sanctuary, walking trails, and farming operation that involves local youth programs.

It’s no joke – since lockdown, live audiences have forgotten how to behave

Dani Johns | The Guardian: Do you consider yourself a well-adjusted, functioning adult who enjoys a night of live entertainment? Or are you the type of person who turns up to a comedy gig four Malbecs deep, and decides to sit in the front row to have an in-depth chat with your mate about how bad your boss’s BO is?

Judy Garland’s ‘Wizard of Oz’ Dress Found, On Display Before Auction

IndieWire: Few costumes in movie history are as iconic as the blue and white checkered dress that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz.” MGM’s classic film was one of the first movies to be filmed in Technicolor, and the initial reveal of Garland’s Dorothy stepping out into the colorful Land of Oz is instantly recognizable both for its narrative significance and the technological breakthrough that it signified.

AOTO LED performance matches virtual studio's needs

www.avinteractive.com: Vossler Studios, a production agency based in the greater Seattle area, USA, recently unveiled a brand new virtual studio, which it describes as “the intersection of emerging technology and human storytelling”.