Mickey Mouse Sets 'Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let's Play!' World Tour

variety.com: Mickey Mouse is taking his show on the road. “Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let’s Play!,” which features Mickey and friends, is set for its first world tour, kicking off in the U.K. in March 2025. Following six cirque-level performances at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the show will tour the Middle East and Asia, with more dates still to be announced.

Maximus Effort: "Gladiator II" Production Designer Arthur Max on Creating Colossal Constructions

The Credits: Oscar-nominated production designer Arthur Max has worked on 16 of Ridley Scott’s films. These include some of American cinema’s most indelible cinematic spectacles, such as the original Gladiator (for which Max scored his first Oscar nod), Black Hawk Down, and The Martian. Despite the impressive body of work between them, Max thinks that the Roman epic actioner, Gladiator II, is their most ambitious yet.

TV Writers Found 139,000 of Their Scripts Trained AI. Hell Broke Loose

theankler.com: Whenever AI came up during last year’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it was a contentious issue, but one that seemed to exist as an abstraction, fodder for pithy picket signs. But last year’s theoretical fear became a real, deeply personal one with last week’s discovery by The Atlantic of more than 139,000 TV and film scripts in a data set being used to train AI.

Will The AI Boom Hurt Creativity? Not If Humans Lead The Way

www.forbes.com: As we experience the ups and downs in the use of AI in business, an important underlying question is the extent to which AI hurts or help creativity. I wrote in 2022 on how we need to be careful not to over use AI in a way that makes us human borgs. Now the question is more relevant than ever, as the availability and use of generative AI has exploded since the launch of ChatGPT last year.

How Sesame Street Led to Broadway for & Juliet Musical Director Dominic Fallacaro

Playbill: Producer, composer, and musician Dominic Fallacaro is both musical director and co-orchestrator for the hit Broadway musical & Juliet, which recently celebrated its second anniversary at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Review Roundup: TAMMY FAYE Opens On Broadway

Broadwayworld.com: The story of famed evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker comes to life in a new Broadway musical starring Katie Brayben, Christian Borle, and Michael Cerveris! The show opens tonight and the critics stopped by the newly renovated Palace Theatre to hear the gospel of Tammy! Read the reviews as they roll in!

TASCAM Brings Recording Versatility For Musicologist Melvin L. Butler

ProSoundWeb: Melvin L. Butler, PhD, associate professor of Musicology at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL with a schedule that encompasses a range of musical endeavors, employs a TASCAM Portacapture 8 portable field recorder to capture rehearsals, performances, location sound, and individual practice sessions.

Jonathan Anderson: Luca Guadagnino’s Costume Designer

Loud And Clear Reviews: Jonathan Anderson, much like Guadagnino, is a singular talent in the fashion industry. His creative vision has turned the fashion world on its head and he has made Loewe, a brand that was once dormant, the show to be at each fashion week. Collecting the most exciting names emerging across all creative channels as brand ambassadors and loyal Loewe devotees, the collaboration between Anderson and Guadagnino feels not just natural, but kismet.

Q&A With LDI Keynote Craig Winslow

Live Design Online: How can a playful approach drive innovation in immersive technology? Visual artist and designer Craig Winslow explores the importance of infusing creative curiosity and joy into Winslow Studio's immersive projection projects, which combine art and technology. Through personal stories, challenges, and triumphs, he reveals how a playful mindset can lead to breakthroughs, surprise, and inspiration, even in the most tech-heavy environments.

Best Tool and Outdoor Gear Gifts for Christmas 2024

Pro Tool Reviews: It’s clear that we at Pro Tool Reviews love our tools. In addition to seeing some truly amazing new tools this year, we also witnessed the release of equally impressive outdoor gear. That makes for lots of great gifts and ideas for this holiday season. We gathered up some of our favorite tools, products, and gear this year to present you with a “cheat sheet” of the best tool gifts for Christmas 2024. I’ve organized everything by price to keep it simple and make it easy to pick a gift for that special tradesman or outdoorsman in your life.

Sound Designer Jon Weston Took Broadway Theatergoers To Oz With d&b audiotechnik

ProSoundWeb: Sound designer Jon Weston implemented the d&b Soundscape platform with En-Space software provided by Production Resource Group (PRG) in a move of the successful touring production earlier this year of “The Wiz” to Broadway in a residency at The Marriott Marquis, a notoriously difficult, dry room.

What Stage Management Teaches Us About Guiding Teams

StageLync: As stage managers, we work behind the scenes, ensuring that everything runs smoothly while the spotlight shines elsewhere. What many people don’t realize is that the skills we use—managing moving parts, anticipating challenges, and balancing creative and technical demands—are directly transferable to leadership.

‘Les Misérables’ Returns Home

The New York Times: Globally, it’s the most famous French musical. One hundred and thirty million people have seen Jean Valjean face off against Javert, in 22 languages; its downtrodden characters have taken to the barricades in London’s West End nearly continuously since 1985. Everyone knows “Les Misérables.” Everyone — except the French.

CMU launches Pathway Program to expand education accesibility

The Tartan: Carnegie Mellon has launched the Carnegie Mellon Pathway Program, a new initiative designed to make its renowned education more accessible to students from low and middle-income families. Announced on Nov. 20, the program guarantees tuition-free education for undergraduate students from families earning $75,000 or less annually and eliminates loans from financial aid packages for those with household incomes below $100,000.

Novation Launchkey MK4 Review: A Great Cheap MIDI Keyboard

WIRED: The world of budget MIDI keyboards is competitive to say the least. There are countless companies cranking out keyboards under $300, ranging in size from 25 keys to 88 keys. There are mini controllers for tossing into a bag. Controllers with tightly integrated software for simplifying sound design. Keyboards with MPC-style drum pads. Honestly, it’s kinda hard to go wrong picking any of them—they’ll all get the job done.

IAAPA Expo 2024 sets new attendance record

InPark Magazine: IAAPA Expo 2024 successfully wrapped up last week at the Orange County Convention Center, concluding a week that brought together 41,429 attendees and 37,066 verified attendees from across the globe. This year’s event set a new attendance record. Reflecting the growth and innovation in the industry, IAAPA Expo 2024 featured more than 1,100 exhibitors and approximately 27,000 buyers from more than 20,000 buying companies.

Why cinemas should open their doors as ‘warm spaces’ this winter

theconversation.com: In England, rising concerns around escalating costs of living during last winter prompted the development of local initiatives aimed at creating “warm spaces”. The idea was to provide a warm environment, often with the addition of a hot drink, internet access and support services, to assist those affected by increased financial pressures.

Artist Rights Symposium Returns to American University: Schedule

www.billboard.com: The Artist Rights Symposium returns for a fourth year on Wednesday (Nov. 20) at a new location — American University’s Kogood School of Business. This year the day-long event will feature panels like “The Trouble with Tickets,” “Overview of Current Issues in Artificial Intelligence Litigation,” and “Name, Image and Likeness Rights in the Age of AI.”

Origins of a classic form of Japanese theater in ‘Okuni: The Woman Who Created Kabuki’ at NYC’s Theatre Row

DC Theater Arts: Performed in Japanese with brief thematic narrations and projected translations in English, Amaterasu Za’s world premiere of Okuni: The Woman Who Created Kabuki at NYC’s Theatre Row traces the real-life story of the boundary-breaking dancer who defied societal norms and traditional gender roles and, during the early Edo period in 1603, devised one of her culture’s most iconic forms of theater for an all-female troupe, playing both male and female parts.

Robert Lepage Brings His Dancing Hamlet to Chicago

Playbill: "Words, words, words,” Hamlet replies when asked what he’s reading. But Shakespeare’s brooding soliloquist finds himself stripped of words and solely relying on movement in The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, a new dance-theatre adaptation by director Robert Lepage and choreographer Guillaume Côté, who stars in the title role. Following its acclaimed world premiere in Toronto last spring and an engagement at Le Festivalul Internațional Shakespeare in Craiova, Romania, the production makes its U.S. premiere at Chicago’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance, with three performances, November 23–24.

Best Oscillating Multi-Tool Reviews 2024

Pro Tool Reviews: Choosing the best oscillating multi-tool used to boil down to just a couple of brands. Not anymore. Advancements in battery, motor, and vibration control technologies offer more options than ever. The oscillating multi-tools of today feature advanced vibration control and accessory interfaces, plus they benefit from carbide tooth blades and innovative problem-solving accessories.

The Story Behind Cavalia, One of The Largest Shows on Earth

StageLync: Cavalia is an equestrian circus troupe which was conceived by the visionary Normand Latourelle, who had been part of Cirque du Soleil as well. With his strong dream of creating a show where men and horses interact in harmony, Latourelle was able to bring Cavalia to the stage. Fully respecting the animal’s nobility and overcoming a number of financial obstacles along the way.

The Right RIP: Analyzing Software Offerings

www.signshop.com: Today, everywhere you go, dozens (if not hundreds) of messages are vying for your audience’s attention. And it’s not just other signage. Every person you’re trying to reach is carrying a distraction factory in their pocket—assuming it’s not already out in their hands and keeping them from seeing the stunning signs you’ve worked so hard on.

How Paul Tazewell Built The Costumes In 'Wicked'

Essence: Wicked directed by Jon M. Chu is the prequel story to the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the film set to be released Friday explores the real-world concept of finding acceptance in society when feeling like an outcast. Are people born wicked? Or is It wickedness thrust upon them?

The Lights Are On And The Fun’s Just Begun: An Interview With Erica D. Hayes

Live Design Online: Artistic Finance host Ethan Steimel and Live Design/LDI creative director Ellen Lampert-Gréaux sit down with Erica D. Hayes, a pro lighting designer whose career seems to glow a little brighter with every project she takes on. This chat was packed with laughs, career insights, and the occasional gripe about overdue invoices (we've all been there, right?). If you’re ready for a lighthearted take on life as a lighting designer and programmer in the entertainment industry, settle in—this one's for you.

Shiz University: How 'Wicked's Epic Oz School Was Built

variety.com: Production designer Nathan Crowley has been waiting his entire career for a film in which he could build an entire fantasy world. He found that with “Wicked.” When director Jon M. Chu called on him to work on “Wicked” for the film adaption of the Broadway musical, Crowley’s dream came true. “Jon wanted it to be fantastical. He wanted it to be joyous.

Factory Theatre welcomes new audiences with shows that explore human connection

Intermission Magazine: “Theatre as a space for connection” has become a well-worn cliché, particularly in a post-pandemic world. At the same time, whether it’s the shift to remote work, the isolation of endless doom-scrolling, or the election results south of the border (ugh), spaces of community are probably more critical than they’ve ever been. With all that in mind, Factory Theatre is hoping their current season will give audiences new ways and reasons to come together.

Elton John’s $25m Broadway musical announces closure just five days after opening

The Independent: Elton John’s multimillion-dollar musical Tammy Faye has announced it is to close, just five days after opening night. The Broadway show, based on the life of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, opened on November 14.

Pixotope debuts tool for real-time background segmentation, replacing chromakey

NewscastStudio: Pixotope has introduced Pixotope Reveal, an AI-powered background segmentation software designed to simplify and enhance the integration of real-time graphics in live broadcasts. The tool eliminates the need for traditional green screens, manual rotoscoping and match-moving techniques.

Tony Awards committee determines eligibilities of 11 productions for 2025 Tonys following first meeting

www.broadwaynews.com: The Tony Awards Administration Committee has revealed its first round of eligibility rulings for the 2024-2025 Broadway season. The committee made determinations for 11 productions that have opened so far this season, including “Home,” “Oh, Mary!,” “Job,” “Once Upon a Mattress,” “The Roommate,” “The Hills of California,” “McNeal,” “Yellow Face,” “Our Town,” “Left on Tenth” and “Romeo + Juliet.”

AI and Digital Twins Your Blueprint for the Future

Between the Lines: Digital twins are instrumented virtual replicas of physical assets and are becoming essential tools for simulating and optimizing designs before construction and during operation. AI may enhance these twins by making them smarter, more adaptive, and more insightful.

Anna Terrazas’ Historic Costumes Make Netflix’s ‘Pedro Páramo’ Real

www.forbes.com: Pedro Páramo, a 2024 film directed by Rodrigo Prieto, is not a simple story. But it is fascinating, and a tale with many twists and turns. First made into a film in 1967, the novel, written by Juan Rulfo, has been read and beloved for close to 70 years. Both a revenge story and a hero’s journey, though not exactly a western, the narrative begins like many a Sergio Leone flick, in a dry expanse of savage desert.

Carnegie Mellon: free tuition for families earning less than $75k

90.5 WESA: Students whose families earn less than $75,000 will be able to attend Carnegie Mellon University tuition-free beginning next year. Both new and returning undergraduate students are eligible for the new CMU Pathway Program, which university leaders announced Wednesday ahead of the Jan. 2 application deadline for undergraduate admissions.

EBONY Power 100 Awardee Paul Tazewell: His Unlimited Design Style for 'Wicked' and His Flight Towards an Oscar

www.ebony.com: Where do you start when reimagining the look of Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch, for the iconic book-turned-Broadway show-turned-musical movie Wicked? For legendary costume designer and EBONY Power 100 "Artists In Residence" awardee, Paul Tazewell, it was a glance outside his window.

Top 10 Things to Look for When Purchasing a Lavalier Mic

Technologies for Worship Magazine: The foremost consideration when choosing a lavalier microphone for your church is sound quality. Look for a mic that delivers clear, natural sound reproduction with minimal distortion or background noise. Models with high-quality condenser capsules are ideal for capturing the nuances of speech and music, ensuring a professional audio experience during services and events.

'Wicked': Inside the Making of the Costumes, Hair, Makeup, and Set

www.harpersbazaar.com: There’s no rest for the Wicked team. For the nearly two years that the Broadway musical adaptation was in production, costume designer Paul Tazewell, hair and makeup artist Frances Hannon, and production designer Nathan Crowley lived and breathed the wonderful world of Oz. Together, they rendered the American fairy tale into something that will not only meet the expectations of the most passionate theater kid but also reintroduce the timeless story to a world that needs to hear it perhaps now more than ever before.

‘I learned to sword fight in heels’: how Susie McKenna is rewriting the rules of panto

Stage | The Guardian: Few people have their spindle-pricked finger on the panto pulse like the writer-director Susie McKenna, whose festive formula has set the tone of theatre’s Christmas canon for decades. Within panto land, her name frequently attracts the prefix “legend”, and no wonder; a former principal boy (the panto’s young male protagonist role, traditionally given to a woman) who steered two decades of festive outings at the Hackney Empire in east London, in the process rerooting theatre’s once-commercial juggernauts in the local community.

Collaboration and community at Living Studios in Corvallis

Oregon ArtsWatch: Progressive art studios – spaces for neurodivergent and disabled artists to create work – are gaining more of a foothold in the artworld. Just last fall, SF MoMA announced that it had acquired over 100 works by artists associated with the Bay Area-based studio Creative Growth, as well as two planned exhibitions of the artists’ work.

Three years after fatal shooting on set, Alec Baldwin’s film ‘Rust’ has world premiere with dedication to cinematographer killed

PBS News: Alec Baldwin’s Western “Rust” had its world premiere Wednesday at a film festival in Poland with a dedication to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was fatally shot in an accident on the set three years ago. Organizers called for a minute of silence before showing the film, which opened to a full house at the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage in the city of Torun.

South Korea Says K-Pop Stars Aren't Classed As Workers

Business Insider: South Korea's government on Wednesday dismissed a workplace harassment case involving K-pop star Hanni, saying the singer was not legally classified as a worker. Hanni, a member of NewJeans, recently testified in South Korea's National Assembly as part of a larger hearing on workplace harassment in the industry.

Suzi Bass Awards highlight the work of Atlanta artists both onstage and off

ARTS ATL: The real suspense going into Monday night’s Suzi Bass Awards wasn’t if Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 was going to take home any hardware; it was more a matter of exactly how many prizes. As expected, the Horizon Theatre production — with 15 nominations — triumphed with a total of eight awards, including Best Musical.

Beam Clamps and Rigging Pulley Systems for Circus

Trix Circus: Beam clamps are designed to be used in applications where a load is placed on a structural beam (such as an I beam, universal beam, H beam, RSJ). They attach to the lower flange of a structural beam and allow for secure fixing without the need for welding and drilling. The most widely available beam clamps are called girder clamps and they can be very useful for circus rigging if you are intending to hang apparatus as a direct vertical load.

Discount Ticket Booth TKTS Is Coming to Philadelphia

Playbill: The TKTS Philadelphia booth will open November 21 at the Independence Visitor Center on Market Street and will offer 30-50% off tickets for live performances within 72 hours to 20 participating performing arts companies in Greater Philadelphia. Like the New York TKTS booths, all tickets will be sold in person for Philadelphia’s dance, music, and other live performing arts.

Mushroom Couture: "Wicked" Costume Designer Paul Tazewell on Drawing Inspiration From the Natural World

The Credits: Few films this year showcase intricate detail and epic scale like director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked does. The breathtaking costuming created by acclaimed costume designer Paul Tazewell is a vital element of the filmmaker’s captivating vision.

Pittsburgh's Mellon Square gets a light-based holiday art installation

90.5 WESA: Built in 1955 and restored in 2014, Mellon Square has been an important part of Downtown Pittsburgh for generations. This week, the iconic urban park gets the newest chapter in its story, a light-based, holiday-season art installation called “Aurora.” The piece consists of 700 translucent, diamond-shaped plastic panels hung on a huge aluminum frame in the shape of a double-crested wave that spans the small park and its fountain. After dark, colored lights play on the panels as they rotate in the breeze.

The Little Prince opera crash lands in Pittsburgh for the first time

Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Resonance Works presents, for the first time in Pittsburgh, the operatic adaptation of The Little Prince. The show — which stages on Fri., Nov. 22 and Sun., Nov. 24 at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall — features local singers of all ages, ranging from a pre-teen former reality competition show contestant to older, more seasoned performers.

Simple or Versatile? – Choosing a Mixer for Varying Skill Levels

Technologies for Worship Magazine: When designing an audio mixing console, manufacturers are often faced with difficult decisions. Sometimes the interface needs to be easy to navigate for entry-level users, while other times it’s important to include as many settings as possible for advanced tinkering. Making the controls too complicated might be intimidating for those just getting started with mixing, but a simplified interface with reduced features will turn off more advanced users. This issue is especially salient as digital mixers become more compact and affordable for a wider customer base.

The Franchise Costumes Are a Love Letter to Film Crews [Interview]

www.indiewire.com: We all know how a superhero costume should look in a movie courtesy of Edna Mode: Bold, dramatic, heroic! But “The Franchise” shows us just how much it takes to get a costume looking right because the on-set suits that both Tecto (Billy Magnussen as Adam) and Eye (Richard E. Grant as Peter) wear — when they’re not sniping at each other in puffy coats, of course — look foamy, fake, and just a little bit wrong.

Lectrosonics For Pittsburgh-Based Production Sound Mixer Chris Bell

ProSoundWeb: Production sound mixer Chris Bell, who mixes TV movies, commercials, documentaries, corporate video, and sports events in and around Pittsburgh, is a long-time Lectrosonics wireless user who recently added a DSR digital receiver to join his SRc and SRb slot-mount receivers and a stable of transmitters that includes the DBSMD, SMV, SMQV, and SMWB.

Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Invites Pittsburgh to Experience Cultural Memories

onStage Pittsburgh: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan’s 13 Tongues will provide a new beginning to Pittsburgh Dance Council’s 2024-25 season, presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, on Saturday at the Byham Theater, after the originally scheduled opener, Dada Masilo of South Africa, canceled its North American tour due to travel complications.

IATSE Applauds NLRB Decision Declaring Captive Audience Meetings Unlawful, Urges Further Action

IATSE: The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) applauds the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent ruling that mandatory captive audience meetings—employer-led, meetings designed to dissuade workers from unionizing—are unlawful nationally. The NLRB’s decision represents a significant step in protecting workers’ rights to make independent choices about union representation, free from intimidation or coercion by management.