The Limits of Efficiency

O'Reilly Radar: "During the 2001-2002 tech downturn, two alpha geeks I respected recommended Getting Things Done, a book by David Allen that promised a path to stress-free productivity. As a longtime freelancer who was very stressed-out by the need, suddenly, to do a lot more work to earn way less compensation than I enjoyed during the boom, the book was quite useful."

Makeup Master Will Be Remembered

Letters | SCI FI Weekly: "With this in mind, I think it's important to acknowledge the passing on July 27 of William J. Tuttle, the special-effects makeup artist who brought the Morlocks to life in H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (1960), turned Peter Boyle into Frankenstein's monster in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974), and who, in 1965, won an honorary Oscar for his work on 7 Faces of Dr. Lau. He was 95."

I Can Has Dynasaar

Toronto mayor to unveil new Will Alsop building

globeandmail.com: "Toronto will continue to try to wrest back its title as media-production centre of Canada today when Mayor David Miller announces details of the next phase in the development of North America's largest studio and media-facilities cluster outside Los Angeles. With seven sound stages already under construction, the project will eventually bring 550,000 square feet of production offices and sound stages, and a 45,000-square-foot megastage, to the proposed Filmport district in the Port Lands."

New e-Book: AutoCAD 2008 MULTILEADER Command

Daily Autocad: "Our new e-Book is from Erhan Toker. This 10 page PDF document is compiled from articles of Erhan Toker which are about “MULTILEADER command” in AutoCAD 2008. This very detailed e-book helps you to learn the new ability of AutoCAD 2008."

Agents Work Overtime to Book Clients

Backstage.com: "That's the sound of a big clock above the heads of agents who anxiously attempt to book their clients work in the greenlighted movies that are going into production before a potential writers strike.

On the flip side, studio execs have pressure to fill slots for movies from a dwindling supply of name actors."

A Two-Character Play Starring Both Members of the Audience

New York Times: "Producers must have fantasized about it. Couldn’t we just eliminate the actors?

Think of the advantages: no contract disputes, no tantrums, more room backstage. But the stubborn fact remains that while you can replace musicians with computers and fire directors with impunity, the live theater needs living actors. Doesn’t it?"

Signature Theater’s Hunt for New Home Continues

New York Times: "Having already lost a place it had been promised at ground zero, the Signature Theater Company now finds its downtown plans scuttled again: It will not relocate, as planned, to Fiterman Hall on West Broadway."

Tony Blair given the musical treatment twice over

Reuters: "Just two months after stepping down as British prime minister, Tony Blair is packing them in the aisles at the Edinburgh Fringe with a brace of satirical musicals about his time in office."

It’s a Female Dog, or Worse. Or Endearing. And Illegal?

New York Times: "The New York City Council, which drew national headlines when it passed a symbolic citywide ban earlier this year on the use of the so-called n-word, has turned its linguistic (and legislative) lance toward a different slur: bitch."

Connecticut theaters unite on cuts

Variety.com: "Five major Connecticut theater organizations have united for the first time to create a statewide system to offer reduced-priced tickets.

Hartford Stage, Westport Country Playhouse, Long Wharf and Yale Repertory in New Haven, Goodspeed Musical's Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam and Norma Terris theater in Chester have created the website CTheatreNow.com ('See Theater Now'), which offers 25 and 50 percent discounts on tickets the day of performance only."

How To Audit Your Time

lifehack.org: "Where does the time go? In whatever working circumstance you are in, time management can become an issue. The key to even coming close to managing your time the way you really want is defining exactly where your time ends up."

Production encapsulates mood of 'Meaulnes'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "For many French people, Alain-Fournier's 'Le Grand Meaulnes' is a much-loved classic French novel that evokes a romantic, idyllic era and a way of life that was destroyed by the outbreak of World War I."

Bringing Broadway shows to the 'Burgh

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Four new Broadway musicals being developed by Elephant Eye Theatrical, in which Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust are partners, could be coming to a theater near you."

Stephen Schwartz kicks off new season of cabaret series

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "The Cabaret Pittsburgh Riverview Series at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, Downtown, kicks off its 2007-08 season with Stephen Schwartz, Carnegie Mellon University alumnus and composer of the hit musical 'Wicked,' along with his Los Angeles colleague, cabaret artist and entrepreneur Lee Lessack."

Cultural Trust battles worst fiscal year in two decades

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust really knows how to put the non in nonprofit.

The lead actor in Downtown Pittsburgh's cultural scene is among the best-managed arts groups in the country, yet being in the red is written into its very DNA. In fact, when it comes to programming theater, dance, music and other arts events, the Trust goes into every year with the anticipation of losing money -- it does so as part of its charitable mission of making Downtown vibrant and bringing high-level art to the city, despite the costs."

Philly Pops to Celebrate "Best of the Tony Awards" with York, Vroman and LaBrecque

Playbill News: "The 2007-08 season of the Philly Pops will offer Broadway Showstoppers concerts Sept. 30 and Oct. 3, 5, 6 and 7.

The theme of this year's concerts, which feature the Philly Pops orchestra under the direction of Peter Nero, is the 'Best of the Tony Awards.' The concerts, which will boast tunes from Tony-winning shows, will feature the vocal talents of Lisa Vroman (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables), Rachel York (Camelot, The Scarlet Pimpernel) and Doug LaBrecque (The Phantom of the Opera, Show Boat)."

Pot of gold rare find at Edinburgh Fringe

Reuters: "The Edinburgh Fringe is a bit like Hollywood -- thousands go chasing glory there, few find it.

Organizers of the event billed as the world's largest arts festival warn the thousands of comedians, actors and musicians who show up each year that this is not the place to make money -- but eternal optimists keep on coming."

PA Needed

Craigslist: "An individual is needed to assist the producer of a documentary short film."

Tip: Bet On Yourself — Not What Others Think

Toolmonger: "As any Toolmonger knows, opinions are like, um, cheap screwdrivers: every “old tool guy” has a drawer full. And while the advice of “old tool guys” can save your ass, sometimes it’s just based on the tool-guy equivalent of old wives’ tales. So it shouldn’t have surprised me that I received an earful from the peanut gallery when I told them about my recent 8′ x 3′ bookcase project — and how I made the 8′ cuts with a Skilsaw instead of a table saw. Based on all the guffawing and laughter, you’d think I told them I was trying to hammer nails with a pencil."

Cooking Up Some Profits

US News and World Report: "Backstage at Lincoln Center, stagehand Adam Lewis was multitasking. Fiddling with a soundboard, he was also trying to snag autographs from his new favorite food celebrities, waiting to be honored at the 20th anniversary James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony. 'This is going right up there next to Beyoncé and Metallica,' said Lewis, clutching his official program, covered with signatures from chefs like Bobby Flay of the Food Network's Boy Meets Grill. 'These people are on the money.'"

Jay Topper

washingtonpost.com: "I met an entrepreneur, Jere Harris, who was a second- or third- generation stagehand. He had devised a program that automated the movement of stage scenery on Broadway. He had spun this into a company called Scenic Technologies, which was about $35 million in revenue. He said, 'I'm going to grow this company into a billion dollars and would you like to be my first CIO"

Box office rebound didn't come cheap

Marketplace: "Audiences have returned to movie theaters in huge numbers this year. We may even see record-breaking attendance, but studios had to shell out big bucks to produce the blockbusters that are reeling people in. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports."

How to Create the Perfect Resume

The Students Blog: "How cool would it be that right after you graduate, your picture-perfect job would materialize out of nowhere without any effort on your part? If you’re even slightly in touch with reality, you know that this is never gonna happen. You’ve got to put in the time, prepare your resume and at least put forth some effort searching for a job. But what are some things that you can do besides pink resume paper that will get your resume noticed and thereby increase your chances of getting a job?"

How to Give Instructions

lifehack.org: "There’s a common story in America about a hapless tourist asking a Maine farmer for directions. After thinking a moment, the farmer rattles off a lengthy lists of directions along the lines of “…take the old side road up a ways past the Anderson’s farm and turn left when you see Smithy’s cow. After a while you’ll come to a broke-down truck, turn right and cut across the Kingses’ back lot to…”. Inevitably, though, the farmer winds up concluding “but you can’t get there from here!”"

Kristen Directs a Promo

After Protests, City Agrees to Rewrite Proposed Rules on Photography Permits

New York Times: "Responding to an outcry that included a passionate Internet campaign and a satiric rap video, city officials yesterday backed off proposed new rules that could have forced tourists taking snapshots in Times Square and filmmakers capturing that only-in-New-York street scene to obtain permits and $1 million in liability insurance."

A Cultural Olympiad? Great idea - now give us the money

Guardian Unlimited Arts: "I have lost count of the meetings I have attended to discuss the Cultural Olympiad, the showcase of British arts and culture planned to run alongside the 2012 Olympic Games. Meetings with the organising committee - LOCOG - with the head of the culture programme, the excellent Bill Morris; with fellow institutions planning joint Olympic projects; with rival institutions guessing if they were about to steal a march and a package of funding from under our noses; meetings with the London Cultural Consortium and many others. The hot air generated would fill the Millennium Dome."

Penny Arcade Returns with Legendary Performance Art Piece

BroadwayWorld.com: "In 1990 Penny Arcade created the now legendary Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore!, her sex and censorship show, in response to the Senator Helms/National Endowment For The Arts censorship crisis. Now it returns in an exclusive Spiegeltent season for the first time in over a decade on Tuesday, September 11 at 10 p.m."

More parties join Google copyright lawsuit

Yahoo! News: "English soccer's Premier League Ltd and music publisher Bourne & Co said on Monday that eight more parties have joined their lawsuit charging Google Inc and its YouTube online service with deliberately encouraging copyright infringement."

British farce 'Loot' carries stash of absurdity

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The characters of Mountain Playhouse's next farce have personalities that make the connection between a mother's funeral, a bank robbery and an eighth wedding make total sense. 'Loot,' written by Joe Orton, will run at the Jennerstown theater from Tuesday through Aug. 19."

Spectacle for the Heart and Soul

New York Times: "FOR the first time in many summers the Bread and Puppet Theater will travel nine hours from northern Vermont for a New York City gig, at Lincoln Center on Wednesday evening. Then the troupe will turn around and ride back to its farm just below the Canadian border, where it will put on the same show. You can easily spot the group en route: 1963 school bus, painted sky blue, with a mountain landscape, an angel and a beaming sun on the side."

Actors' Equity and Non-Profit Theatres Strike New Deal

Playbill News: "Actors' Equity Association and the Association of Non-Profit Theatre Companies (ANTC) have signed a three-year contract securing increases in salary and health benefits for members of the Actors' union."

A Catered Affair to Play the Kerr; Design Team Announced

Playbill News: "The new Harvey Fierstein-John Bucchino musical has found a home. The musical will begin previews at the Walter Kerr Theatre March 25 with an official opening April 17, according to a press announcement. The Kerr most recently housed the award-winning musical Grey Gardens."

How Disney almost dropped the ball on a 'Musical' megahit

chicagotribune.com: "When the smash 2006 TV movie 'High School Musical' suddenly bust out of its box on the Disney Channel into the open, lucrative hearts of seemingly every tween girl in America, you'd have thought Disney Theatrical Productions would have been champing at the bit to turn the megahit into a Broadway show.

Wrong."

Elephant Eye poised to be a major player

chicagotribune.com: "It has yet to take a show to Broadway, but Chicago-based Elephant Eye Theatrical seems destined to be a force in theatrical production during the next decade."

Growth at the Fringe

Star Tribune: "As the idiosyncratic Fringe Festival matures -- this is its 14th year -- new director Robin Gillette seeks to retain the faithful and create converts."

Santa Fe Opera's 'Tea' is a tepid brew

The Dallas Morning News | Performing Arts: "After decades as the major American outpost of edgier European operas, Santa Fe Opera has gone multicultural. Two years ago, the summer festival presented hot-property Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar. This summer's multiculti entry is Tea: A Mirror of Soul by Chinese-American composer Tan Dun."

Cirque-theater hybrid spreading out

JS Online: "A healthy art form evolves, sometimes in directions that are unexpected and even controversial. Who'da thunk that theater's evolutionary environment would be Las Vegas?
The exotic, mind-expanding blend of music, dance, high tech and circus that defines Cirque du Soleil has become the gold standard of high end entertainment in Las Vegas."

Playwright takes virtual route

MySA.com: Stage: "So he did what every red-blooded individual with Internet access would do: He filmed some of them, and posted his work on a MySpace page he dubbed SA Virtual Theatre (www.myspace.com/savirtual theatre)."

New Overtime Theater aims to please

MySA.com: Stage: "Before John Poole opened the Overtime Theater a few months ago, he spent a lot of time talking to people about theater.
He talked to some about why they go, to others about why they don't, and to everybody he ran across about what else they do with their leisure time."

2 days of movie making mayhem

Post Gazette: "In the 41st hour after Mike Hough picked up the details of the film he had to complete in 48 hours, he was finally able to sit down at his computer to start converting tapes to computer files."

Will virtual plays kill real theatre?

Guardian Unlimited: "It's happened. Not only am I the sort of sad person who hangs around real theatres long after it's healthy to do so, now I'm also hanging around virtual theatres. Go to the internet world of Second Life and you're likely to find me lurking in the foyer of an unnamed theatre where this weekend the Sawston Players will be performing Joined at the Heart, a musical about Victor and Elizabeth Frankenstein."

Spectacle for the Heart and Soul

New York Times: "FOR the first time in many summers the Bread and Puppet Theater will travel nine hours from northern Vermont for a New York City gig, at Lincoln Center on Wednesday evening. Then the troupe will turn around and ride back to its farm just below the Canadian border, where it will put on the same show. You can easily spot the group en route: 1963 school bus, painted sky blue, with a mountain landscape, an angel and a beaming sun on the side."

Actors' Equity enters three-year deal

Variety.com: "Thesp union Actors' Equity and the Assn. of Non-Profit Theater Companies have struck a new three-year deal that ups both salaries and health insurance payments for actors."

British farce 'Loot' carries stash of absurdity

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Silly situations and misfigured plans make for good laughs, but the irrational yet accepted tendencies of everyday human behavior can seem even more absurd than the calamities it creates."

Tales of opera company

Post Gazette: "Undercroft Opera, founded a year ago by Mary Beth Sederburg of Squirrel Hill, is not your typical opera company. For one, none of the singers gets paid. Instead, the volunteer company offers stage opportunities, getting Pittsburghers the invaluable experience of performing leading roles."

County stagehand, union of 1, gets a raise

Marin Independent Journal: "Marin County officials have completed their negotiations with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators Local 16 - otherwise known as Anthony Talbert."

How to be a designer in 2 seconds

LifeClever ;-) Tips for Design and Life: "Want to be a designer right now? Just look in the mirror, and say, “I’m a designer.”

Okay, I know that sounds like a lame self-help motivational trick, but here me out"

More Thoughts from Bob…

ARTSBLOG: "The Chronicle of Higher Education carried a story about a Carnegie Mellon professor complaining that a film, Smart People with Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker, was being filmed on the Carnegie Mellon campus. He questions whether colleges and nonprofits are getting too commercial. Too late and wrong question. Too late because films have used college campuses and cultural and nonprofit facilities since the beginning of filmmaking. Then the question should be: are they getting commercial enough to stay in the competition?"

Equity Signs 3-Year Deal With ANTC Groups

Backstage: "Actors' Equity Association signed a new three-year contract with New York's Alliance of Non-Profit Theatre Companies (ANTC) that increase actors' salaries by a total of 10 percent over the life of the agreement, the union announced Friday."

Toolmonger’s Top 5: The Week In Tools

Toolmonger: "It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger. If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select"

3D Modeling 8: Using SWEEP command

Daily Autocad: "SWEEP command, which is one of the new features that came with AutoCAD 2007, can be considered as an advanced version of EXTRUDE command. Both EXTRUDE and SWEEP commands are used for creating a 3D solid by dragging a profile along a path."

It's super V-chip to the rescue of kids

Yahoo! News: "The Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation Thursday asking the Federal Communications Commission to oversee the development of a super V-chip that could screen content on everything from cell phones to the Internet."

AFTRA, SAG Act like Foes

Backstage.com: "Tensions are running high between leaders at SAG and AFTRA.

The latter fired off a letter to the guild Tuesday, demanding comment on reports that SAG will institute bloc voting by its negotiating reps. Yet by Thursday, it remained unclear how the latest dispute between the lately warring labor groups might be resolved."

Is Your Business Card Really You?

lifehack.org: "Business cards shouldn’t only be a representation of your business, but also an indicator of the type of person you are.

Obviously a distinction between your business and personal side should be made, but what does your business card really say about you?"

Advice for Students: 10 Steps Toward Better Research

lifehack.org: "A little while back, I wrote about ways for students to add a little extra “kick” to their research papers. Those strategies were meant for students who had already mastered the basics of performing research, not students just getting started doing research and writing papers. As with writing, though, research skills are rarely taught very clearly — professors assume students know or can figure out how to do good research, or at best turn their students over to a librarian for a tour of the library’s facilities and resources. Is it any wonder that so many university students rely on Wikipedia as the first and last stop in their research itinerary?"

CLO announces new shows, subscriptions

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The CLO Cabaret will offer 'Plaid Tidings' and 'The Big Bang,' plus new purchase options, as it unveils two new subscription packages.

The three-show subscription packages include tickets to 'Always ... Patsy Cline,' which runs through Oct. 28, plus tickets to 'Plaid Tidings' (Nov. 8-Jan.13) and 'The Big Bang,' (Jan. 31-April 27)."

Manhattan: Theater to Close

New York Times: "The Actors’ Playhouse, a 62-year-old Off Broadway theater that has been home to such productions as “Funhouse,” “Torch Song Trilogy” and “Naked Boys Singing!” and actors including Robert De Niro and Lily Tomlin, is closing. The theater’s rent, which had doubled in the last six years, was getting too expensive, said Peter Breger, who has operated the playhouse since 1995. “Basically, we just couldn’t make it,” Mr. Breger said yesterday."

Stage Review: 'Chantecler' offers family, adult fun to crow about

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "When have you been to a play and a chicken dance broke out? Not to worry. Although I can imagine the prospect might repel more than entice, in the present case, it works just fine.

The play is 'Chantecler' by Edmond Rostand (1868-1918), perhaps the most famous playwright nobody knows much about -- famous for 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'The Fantasticks.' Rostand was celebrated for bringing back rhymed verse, and 'Chantecler' (1910) is an animal allegory of the committed life."

"Sidewalk Sale" to Offer Bric-a-Brac from Four Off-Broadway Troupes Aug. 4

Playbill News: "A handful of New York City non-profit troupes will sell scripts, set and costume pieces and other chunks of Off-Broadway history at an Aug. 4 'sidewalk sale' — actually, in a lobby — on West 42nd Street."

Catholic Production Company Forming

Craigslist: "In response to the desperate need for 'Hollywood' quality Catholic movies and TV programs we, Oasis Productions, are looking for people who have a desire to rise above mediocrity and set a new standard for Catholic television."

Rebirth at the Holy Land Experience

Marketplace: "One of Orlando's lesser-known theme parks is in line for a much-needed promotional boost. The Holy Land Experience may find new life thanks to new owner Christian TV network Trinity Broadcasting."

Peil, Amendolia, Odeh and Pianist Walsh to Play Moisés Kaufman's '33 Variations' in DC

Yahoo! News: "The new drama written and directed by Moisés Kaufman is a co-production between Tectonic Theater Project and Arena Stage. It 'examines Beethoven's life and creative process as he obsessively composes 33 variations known as the 'Diabelli Variations,' late in his life,' according to Arena. 'Struggling to uncover the source of his fixation is Katherine, a modern-day musicologist [played by Broadway's Mary Beth Peil]. Kaufman's D.C. directorial debut weaves performances of Beethoven's compositions, played live by acclaimed pianist Diane Walsh, and original projection design by Jeffrey Sugg into the action of the play.'"

Elephant Eyes Three New Musicals

Backstage: "Elephant Eye Theatrical, an initiative dedicated to creating new book musicals for Broadway, has met its fund-raising goal of $8 million, added 10 new strategic members, and has three new musicals in advanced stages of development, the company announced earlier this week. Elephant Eye's mission is to find projects, fund their development, and serve as lead producer when they are fully staged. The initiative brings together 15 non-profit cultural institutions and commercial presenters."

Valley Players hope audience has appetite for 'Little Shop'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "In the language of flowers, forget-me-nots speak of true love, yellow roses translate to friendship, and daisies mean innocence. But when a blood-sucking, flesh-eating plant called Audrey II says 'Feed me,' its message is loud and clear."

Murder is in the air at Flatwoods Productions

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Director Ernie Watson says that, by the numbers, it's been a disappointing summer season at the theater."

South Park Theatre retells Little Red's story

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "There's no big, bad wolf in South Park Theatre's 'Little Red Riding Good,' a clever, original play inspired by the folk story with almost the same name, organizers say."

Dark 'Cabaret' sheds light on life in '30s Berlin

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "What good is sitting alone in your room, Come hear the music play. Life is a cabaret, old chum, Come to the cabaret.

The catchy and familiar lyrics lure its audience into the show right from the start."

Hartwood set stage for Quantum premiere

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "As soon as she saw the stables at Hartwood Acres, director Di Trevis knew she had found the perfect place to stage the world premiere of 'Le Grand Meaulnes' for Quantum Theatre."

'Monty' ends CLO's season on a high note

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "There's an old theater saying: 'If you've got a good finish, they'll forgive you for anything.'"

Rafta, Rafta - Boeing-Boeing - Love’s Labour’s Lost

New York Times: "Here are three ideas for sitcoms that even the greenest television producer would shrug off as too stale to fly. So how do they also happen to be the plots for three of the freshest shows in London this summer?"

Stage Preview: 'Cabaret' is an 'in-your-face kind of show'

Post Gazette: "Apple Hill Playhouse's artistic director Brad Dell called 'Cabaret,' which opens tonight and which he also directs, 'one of the 10 best musicals ever.'"

Stage Review: 'Full Monty' is full of racy fun

Post Gazette: "In my imagination, the CLO phones were buzzing yesterday, mostly with congratulations for Tuesday's ecstatically received opening of 'The Full Monty,' but some with complaints about nudity. But just what is it about the title that's so hard to understand?

Audience advisory 1: Beware of naked buttocks."

Stage Preview: Quantum ventures to Hartwood Stables for 'Le Grand Meaulnes'

Post Gazette: "The Stables at Hartwood Acres display beautifully on a summer day. The horses graze peacefully in the field. The rugged cobblestone of the courtyard and stone stable walls do little to divulge their age.
You could be back in 1927 when the stables were erected or even in the little Tudor village that John and Mary Flinn Lawrence commissioned architect Alfred Hopkins to use as the basis for his design."

Can you convert my old music into new MP3s or CDs?

Craigslist: "I'm looking for someone willing and able to convert audio cassette tapes to newer media formats, either MP3s on a CD or simply as CD format."

Three Sistahs

washingtonpost.com: "Wrong Chekhov, but right vibe: It's 'Three Sistahs,' the quiet storm of a musical that's back at MetroStage, where it first appeared five years ago. The moody, sometimes diffuse show, closer to a trio cabaret than a traditional musical, transplants Anton Chekhov's Russian 1901 'Three Sisters' to America circa 1969. Between Vietnam, civil rights and a smoldering family dynamic that borrows freely from Chekhov's drama, these women have plenty to sing about."

Why we must close the net

The Sun Online: "“I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span.
“There’s too much technology available.
“I’m sure, as far as music goes, it would be much more interesting than it is today.”"

Music suit creates discord

Seattle Times Newspaper: "A Seattle restaurant is among more than two dozen venues swept up in a music-licensing crackdown for allegedly failing to pay royalties to play copyrighted music in public."

Edinburgh 2007: The 25 best shows

Guardian Unlimited Arts: "From Frank Skinner and Sam Morton to Macbeth on stilts and an actor transforming himself into a computer, this year's cultural outpouring promises wit, wisdom and Andy Warhol. We pick the highlights"

Crisis in the West End

Guardian Unlimited Arts: "Theatreland is in dire straits. Second-rate musicals rule, new drama is dying, and the venues are falling apart. The time has come for a revolution, writes Michael Billington"

Free Night of Theater

Theatre Communications Group: "Free Night of Theater, TCG's exciting national audience development program, continues its national expansion by selectively introducing the program in over a dozen new cities in 2007."

Elvis Lives!: Allison Orr choreographs a new comeback special for the King

The Austin Chronicle: "Allison Orr was not always in touch with her inner Elvis.
That may sound strange considering that this Austin choreographer is about to open the third incarnation of The King and I, her modern-dance tribute to His Royal Presleyness"

Drama and deconstruction

The Japan Times Online: "What goes around comes around, they say, and in the early 1980s, Japan's contemporary drama scene was transformed by a slew of small companies that were the artistic heirs of the previous generation's radical student politics. That brave new world of the so-called shogekijo (small-scale theater movement) was led by a still sparkling cast of playwrights/actors/directors such as Hideki Noda, Shoji Kokami and Hidenori Inoue."

Elephant Eye Theatrical Completes Capitalization

Stage-directions: "Elephant Eye Theatrical (EET), the Broadway development and production company formed by Stuart Oken, Michael Leavitt and Five Cent Productions, has announced that it has received its total capitalization goal of $8 million, which includes private investment funding of $4.5 million."

ETCP Test Deadline

October 1st Application Deadline for ETCP Exams at LDI

Riggers and electricians, do you know your stuff? Prove it and get the recognition you deserve by becoming ETCP Certified! ETCP Certification gives employers independent confirmation of the abilities and skills you have worked so hard to master. Join the best in the industry who have made safety their priority in the workplace.

All three ETCP examinations will be given at the LDI 2007 show in Orlando, FL.
Entertainment Electrical Exam: November 16, 2007 (2:00 pm) Arena Rigging Exam: November 17, 2007 (9:00 am) Theatre Rigging Exam: November 17, 2007 (2:00 pm) Interested applicants must submit their application, along with supporting materials and fee, postmarked by October 1, 2007. Space is limited, so submit your application today!

Candidate information, including eligibility requirements and applications, is available on the ETCP website (http://etcp.esta.org), or if you would like the information mailed to you, please contact Meredith Moseley-Bennett, ETCP Certification Coordinator, at 212-244-1505 or certification@esta.org.

The ETCP Council members are key leaders drawn from entertainment business, labor, facilities, associations, and academia representing the diversity of the entertainment industry. Membership includes AMPTP, CITT, ESTA, IAAM, IATSE, InfoComm, The League, Live Nation, PRG, TEA, and USITT. ETCP is an ESTA initiative created to promote industry safety.

Selling College Students on Pittsburgh

Pop City: "“Pittsburgh has always figured prominently in the [admissions] literature,” says Anne Witchner, assistant dean of student affairs at Carnegie Mellon University."

University's Movie Deal Draws Debate

Philanthropy.com: "News that Carnegie Mellon University agreed to allow its campus to appear in the film Smart People is drawing debate about whether colleges and other nonprofit organizations are getting too commercial."

Mamma Mia! to Become Longest-Running Show at London's Prince of Wales Theatre

Playbill News: "On Aug. 18 the London production of Mamma Mia!, which currently features Linzi Hateley as Donna Sheridan, will become the longest-running tenant of the Prince of Wales Theatre. That title was previously held by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love.

The international hit musical, which features the songs of ABBA, will also celebrate another milestone this month. On Aug. 23 Mamma Mia! will play its 3,500th performance."

Company Set Up by SAG's Allen Under Fire

Backstage.com: "Actors and football players don't typically have much in common. But screen actors' and athletes' paths briefly crossed in October when Doug Allen, former Buffalo Bills linebacker and assistant executive director of the National Football League Players Association, was hired as the Screen Actors Guild's new national executive director and chief negotiator."

15 Steps to Cultivate Lifelong Learning

lifehack.org: "Assuming the public school system hasn’t crushed your soul, learning is a great activity. It expands your viewpoint. It gives you new knowledge you can use to improve your life. Even if you discount the worldly benefits, the act of learning can be a source of enjoyment.

But in a busy world, it can often be hard to fit in time to learn anything that isn’t essential. The only things learned are those that need to be. Everything beyond that is considered frivolous. Even those who do appreciate the practice of lifelong learning, can find it difficult to make the effort."

How To Detect BS

lifehack.org: "I’m not really sure if ‘BS’ is considered bad language on the web, but I like to keep things a little clean over here. BS stands for bullshit, and it’s a good idea to work on detecting when you’re around it."

'Little Prince' entertains kids, has adult message

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "'The Little Prince,' the last production of the season at Johnny Appleseed Children's Theater at Apple Hill Playhouse, isn't necessarily for all kids -- especially young ones and those lacking strong parental support."

The Theme Is Ancient, but the Subject Is Modern

New York Times: "The Israeli director Ami Dayan had planned to stage “Kiss of the Spider Woman” for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts last year. Then the radical Hamas party swept the Palestinian Authority elections, and Israel and the United States refused to negotiate with the new leadership. “I called the theater and I said, ‘Look, we’ve got to do a different play,’ ” Mr. Dayan recalled."

FTC complaint flags NFL, MLB, studios for overstating copyright claims

ars technica: "Any fan of the NFL can almost recite the warning by memory: 'This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience. Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited.' The legitimacy of that broad claim may be determined by the Federal Trade Commission after the Computer & Communications Industry Association filed a lengthy complaint with the FTC this morning. The CCIA is a trade group with members such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, RedHat, and others that promotes 'open markets, open systems, and full, fair, and open competition.' Those companies believe that the overly broad copyright claims 'cast a pall' over the tech industry."

Stage Reviews: Stratford Fest's 'Comedy' hilarious, 'Mockingbird' a little weak

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "The Stratford Festival devotes itself mainly to classics. This year, the 14 shows it stages in its four theaters demonstrate roughly equal fealty to Canada's two overpowering Anglo cultural relatives.

From England come four Shakespeares and a contemporary David Edgar play about political refugees. From America come two classic musicals (Gershwin and Rodgers & Hammerstein), a couple of mid-century genre plays and one theatrical classic, Edward Albee's 'Delicate Balance.'"

Chautauqua dance salute delights its noted director

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "His association with Chautauqua began with a guest appearance, when the Frenchman immediately saw the potential for a summer festival company and school. After he took over North Carolina Dance Theater in 1996, he folded members of the company into the Chautauqua season."

Butz to Star in "New" Twain Comedy, Is He Dead? , Opening on Broadway Nov. 29

Playbill News: "The rumors of Mark Twain's death are true, but a century-old play he wrote, Is He Dead?, will be alive and well at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre starting Nov. 8 toward a Nov. 29 opening."

Architecture's dying art

The Washington Times: "The shift from pen, pencil and paper to keyboard, mouse and screen began in the early 1990s when computer-aided drafting, known as CAD, became an affordable, efficient tool for churning out construction drawings. Today, CAD is a fixture of architecture firms and schools, where students learn to design on the screen rather than at the drafting board or in sketchbooks."