Somebody grab a Fly swatter

TheStar.com: "From bzzzzzz to zzzzzz.
That, alas, is the story of The Fly, the opera by David Cronenberg and Howard Shore that had its North American premiere yesterday afternoon at the Los Angeles Opera."

Beerfest kickoff marred by post-event accident, 20 hurt

INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos: "The Oktoberfest beer party in Ortigas Friday night ended with a bang but downed 20 crewmen soon after following an accidental electrocution as workers dismantled the stages and barricades that had enclosed the concert area."

IATSE makes peace with ONEXONE charity over Maple Leaf Gardens gala; action against Loblaw to continue.

CNW Group: "IATSE Local 58 and the ONEXONE children's charity have resolved a potential dispute over staging the charity's annual gala at Maple Leaf Gardens on Monday, September 8. The union had previously announced it would leaflet the event if the producers of the gala went ahead with non-union stagecraft technicians."

The Future? Who Needs It?

LiveDesign: "After my week of conversation about interactive media on the stage, I’m forced to confront the possibility that today’s audiences might not care about interactivity any more than participative culture—that the creators will always be outnumbered by the consumers. If we are responsible, then, our job is to tell the stories that speak to them the clearest in the most concise possible way. That kind of communication is almost always easiest to achieve through prepared, non-interactive means. Or perhaps I just have to wait longer…"

The Downey Toxic Hell Hole

Indybay: "Stuart Lichter also realized that cheap property in the Los Angeles area could be used in the movie industry for sets that could make a financial killing for him. He built the Downey Studios and leased out the facilities to other movie production companies such as Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures. Unfortunately for the movie industry, workers and the community, the site in fact had not been properly cleaned up and the workers began getting rashes, headaches and had severe health reactions. Studio workers also began to discover extensive mold and fungus as they crawled in the dirt at the massive hangar to put up giant sets in major studio films like 'The Island' “GI Joe”, “Transformer” and 'Santa Claus 1, 2 & 3.'"

Hollywood wants tax breaks to film movie in Cleveland

cleveland.com: "Ohio risks losing a $100 million movie project to another state -- possibly Michigan -- unless state officials quickly grant the Hollywood producers tax breaks."

Judge: Copyright Owners Must Consider 'Fair Use'

News and Analysis by PC Magazine: "A case involving the YouTube 'dancing baby' video will continue after a California judge ruled that content owners must consider 'fair use' before sending Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices."

Theatre Facts

Theatre Communications Group: "Each year, TCG conducts a thorough fiscal survey in which many of our member theatres participate. The data gathered in the Fiscal Survey becomes the basis for Theatre Facts, TCG’s annual in-depth industry report. Available to all member theatres, as well as the general public, Theatre Facts is the only document analyzing the national not-for-profit theatre field and is a vital advocacy and policy tool for trustees, foundation and corporate executives, policy makers and the national press."

Cleveland Play House Awarded New Generations National Grant

Stage-directions: "Managing Director Kevin Moore has announced that the Cleveland Play House has been selected to participate in the New Generations Program, a national grant initiative cooperatively designed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Theatre Communications Group (TCG)."

Share Those Big Ideas!

Sightlines: "The 12th Biennial Tech Expo will be a featured part of the 2009 Cincinnati Conference & Stage Expo, and good ideas are sought. Developed a unique device, process, tool or technique? Found a creative use for a new (or old) material that others might find useful? Ideas from all facets of the entertainment industry are welcome: scenery, scenic art, costumes, properties, lighting, sound, stage management, etc."

University Lectures

Monday, September 8

***CANCELED***

Chris Borysenko

Director, MCS Interdisciplinary Laboratories and Lecturer, MCS Dean’s Office and Department of Biological Sciences

How to Teach an Interdisciplinary Course to First-Year Students



Thursday, September 11

4:30pm – Adamson Wing Auditorium, 136A Baker Hall

Giler Humanities Lecture

Sarah Igo, Associate Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania

The Averaged American: Citizens and Statistics in the 20th Century

Igo is the author of The Averaged American: Surveys, Citizens, and the Making of a Mass Public (Harvard University Press, 2006), which explores the relationship between survey data, opinion polls, sex surveys, consumer research, and modern understandings of self and nation. Her research interests are in modern American cultural and intellectual history, the history of the human sciences, the sociology of knowledge, and the history of the public sphere. She is currently at work on a cultural history of privacy, examined through legal statutes, technological innovations, professional codes, and re-imaginings of domestic life.

Co-sponsored by the Humanities Scholars, Science & Humanities Scholars, the Global and International Relations Program and the Department of Statistics



Monday, September 15

4:30pm – Adamson Wing Auditorium, 136A Baker Hall

Mark Palatucci, Doctoral Student, Robotics, Carnegie Mellon

100 Robots for 100 Kids: A grassroots project to inspire Pittsburgh’s children

Mark's research interests revolve around machine learning and pattern recognition. He works as part of the Brain Image Analysis Research Group, a team that develops machine learning techniques to analyze fMRI data. Specifically, he is working on machine learning problems that involve high dimensionality and very sparse training set data. He is also interested in transfer/lifelong learning, deep belief nets, and automatic feature synthesis.



Wednesday, September 17

4:30pm – Posner Center

CONSTITUTION DAY

Enjoy a light reception as we discuss one of the fundamental constitutional rights we get to exercise this November -- the right to vote. The Bill of Rights, an original copy on permanent loan to the University, will be on display.



Thursday, September 18

4:30pm – Adamson Wing Auditorium, 136A Baker Hall

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Professor, Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania

What the Rhetoric of the 2008 Campaign Reveals and Conceals

The lecture will analyze the convention acceptance addresses and advertising aired between the conventions and the date of the Carnegie Mellon lecture.

Sponsored by Carnegie Mellon’s Department of English, College of Humanities & Social Sciences, Heinz School of Public Policy, and The Humanities Center, and also the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Communication



Saturday, September 20

8:00am – 5:00pm, Duquesne University campus

RACHEL CARSON Legacy Conference (co-sponsored by CMU)

Green Chemistry: Solutions for a Healthy Economy

Registration information*: http://www.rachelcarsonhomestead.org

*Interested students should contact Cathy Ribarchak (x8-8677; cr2) in the Office of the Vice Provost for Education for free registration.



Wednesday, September 24

4:30pm – Gregg Hall, Porter Hall 100

Steven Greenhouse, Labor and Workplace Reporter, New York Times

The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker

New York Times labor reporter, Steven Greenhouse, will discuss his new book which details how life has grown tougher for America’s workers, young and old, middle-class and low-wage, white collar and blue collar, male and female, and what this painful trend will mean in this fall’s elections. He also examines how much of the American workforce is working more but earning less. Wages have stagnated, health and pension benefits have grown stingier, and job security has shriveled.



Thursday, September 25

4:30pm – Adamson Wing Auditorium, 136A Baker Hall (ROOM SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Harriet Fulbright, President, J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center

Toward a More Peaceful World

Harriet Mayor Fulbright is President of the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center, a non-profit organization which serves to advance the work of Ms. Fulbright’s late husband, Senator J. William Fulbright, and to continue her own lifework. The purpose of the Fulbright Center is to promote world peace and nonviolent means of resolving conflicts through international collaborations and education programs. The Fulbright Center partners with higher education institutions and interested individuals — students, teachers, scholars, and leaders — throughout the world in a range of services from assisting in building enriched study abroad programs to actively engaging higher education institutions in international peace making. Her lecture will focus on the growth and strength of the Fulbright Program and international education as a whole. It will emphasize its importance and give specific examples of those whose lives were transformed by study abroad. She will also discuss some international programs that have created greater international understanding, laying the groundwork for a more peaceful world.

Conservatory Hour

Conservatory Hour kicks off this Monday Sept. 8th
from 5-6pm in the Checco (Studio A)

This week’s focus will be a presentation on
Intent and Insight from the production team of The Other Shore.

Attendance is required for all freshman.
All others are strongly encouraged to come take part and show your support.

Saying Goodbye To Beijing

LiveDesign: "After five months on-site in Beijing—other than one quick detour to light Signapore’s National Day Celebration on August 9— Australian LD Paul Collison is finally ready to head home to Sydney."

Bennett’s NIN Design

LiveBlog: "I saw Nine Inch Nails at the Izod Center in New Jersey Wednesday evening. Roy Bennett has created another striking design for this Lights In The Sky Tour¸ one that rollingstone.com has already called “a 21st-century marriage of old-school showmanship and bleeding-edge technology…” The design is not something you see every day, in a good way. Completely immersing the band in LED screens is just one of the many design elements that blew the audience away. How often have you seen a band play from just a few feet behind a screen with another two screens just a few feet in the background?"

Local One Includes Lehman College Performing Arts Center Under Jurisdiction

(BroadwayWorld.com): "Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Stagehands has been certified by the National Labor Relations Board as the bargaining agent for the stagehands of the Lehman College Center for the Performing Arts in The Bronx, effectively bringing the Lehman College Center for the Performing Arts under the jurisdiction of the 122-year-old union."

Carnegie Mellon’s ETC developing new genre of calorie burning video games

Pop City: "That’s the idea behind a Carnegie Mellon University graduate research project that combines the best of two highly popular games to get kids burning energy, not just tapping and waving. “Winds of Orbis” is an interactive video game that combines a “Dance Revolution” floorpad and a Wii remote to help children get in shape."

Labor Day List: 8 Sobering Stats

IEN.com: "Once again, Labor Day is upon us, marking for most of us the end of summer rather than the achievements of American workers. First celebrated by the Central Labor Union in New York City with a demonstration and picnic in 1882, it became an official holiday in honor of workers by act of Congress in 1894."

Giving Opportunities Holiday Cards

ESTA Foundation: "Prepare for the holidays and support your colleagues with Behind the Scenes holiday greeting cards. Choose from six designs created especially for Behind the Scenes by some of the industry's top designers. Cards can be personalized with your company’s logo and custom message."

Thinkwell Launches Thinkwell Project Management

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "According to a Thinkwell statement, the new company is built upon Thinkwell Design & Production's reputation for deftly managing the creative, financial and logistical concerns of large-scale projects, and is designed to provide a unique set of specialty services from owner representation, estimating and contract negotiation to master planning, scheduling, budget tracking, value engineering and project closeout."

PLASA Puts Sustainability Center Stage

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "Launched at the end of last year and currently going through a series of pilot trials, BS 8901 specifies the requirements for a sustainable event management system. It encompasses all events, from large-scale tours and unique events such as the 2012 Olympics, to music festivals and amateur sporting events. It will take no prisoners, applying throughout the industry supply chain to venues, organizing companies and industry suppliers and contractors."

New York City to Test LED Streetlights

PLSN: "There are some 300,000 streetlights in New York’s five boroughs, most using 150-watt high-pressure sodium lamps to illuminate the city that doesn’t sleep. But the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) has been waking up to the fact that LED alternatives can produce just as much light with less energy."

Hometown Heroes Regional Winners Announced

PLSN: "The regional lighting and staging companies have been nominated. The votes have poured in. And the winners of PLSN’s annual Hometown Heroes are…(drumroll, please)…Northwest: Hollywood Lighting Services. Southwest: Precise Corporate Staging. Midwest: Blue Planet Lighting. Southeast: Eye Dialogue Lighting & Sound. Northeast: Earl Girls Inc. Canada: Metalworks Production Group."

CSSI Anniversary

CSSI-anniversary Blast - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: CSSI-anniversary Blast

PIFOF

$10 TICKETS FOR STUDENTS &
EVERYONE 25 and UNDER!


See the world in a new way:
Performances that shake your certainty and challenge your senses.
Artists who boldly cross boundaries, mixing film / theatre / dance / music / ancient / modern / real / surreal to create something completely new.
All in three whirlwind weeks, October 10�25.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

BALLET MARIBOR Radio and Juliet
OCT 10�11 U.S. PREMIERE
Ballet Maribor marries Shakespeare’s classic with the music of Radiohead in a new take on timeless. Artistic director and choreographer Edward Clug has rocked international dance festivals with his unexpected juxtapositions of music and movement; in Radio and Juliet, he adds the twist of running the story in reverse. Driven by Radiohead’s relentless beat, this stark, utterly compelling version of the tragic romance defies you to tear your eyes away, every tightly choreographed move signaling a violent end to love.
Ballet Maribor

RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA
Samdhi: Diasporic Connections
OCT 10�11 WORLD PREMIERE
A star in New York's jazz scene, this Indian-American alto sax player and composer explores the relationship between modern jazz and India’s centuries-old, divinely inspired traditions. To understand how at once cerebral and sizzling his music is, note that his last recording drew raves from both the jazz journal DownBeat and Science Magazine. Hear the world premiere of his newest work that blends southern India’s Carnatic classical music with technology, mixing western and Indian instruments in a dizzing ride ‘cross cultures.
Rudresh

PETER REDER Guided Tour
OCT 13�15 U.S. PREMIERE
Abandon your preconceptions for this outing with the British performance artist, who has recreated histories of famous historic buildings for audience “tour groups” in Edinburgh, Moscow, and Bucharest. Painstakingly researched, then refracted, his narrative is a brew of counter histories, philosophical musings, personal revelations, and downright lies—a provocative undermining of the expected. Venture belowstairs and behind the scenes of the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History in this mindbending experience.
Peter Reder

TEATRO DE LOS SENTIDOS/
THEATER OF THE SENSES
El Eco de la Sombra/The Echo of the Shadow
OCT 15�19, 21�25 U.S. PREMIERE
You enter alone; following a darkened path, you encounter performance tableaux that challenge and exalt the senses. Intensely personal, inexpressibly moving--a completely different experience for each and every member of the audience. This Barcelona-based company “investigates the poetics of the senses” in works that make the audience the main character of their own creative experience. Only 50 people will experience this performance each day/evening; order early to guarantee your place.
Teatro

KASSYS Liga
OCT 16�18 U.S. PREMIERE
Adventurous and off-kilter, this Dutch company plumbs the depths of the human psyche with unsettling and often uproarious results. In Liga, we see a story told in real-time flashback, and find ourselves drawn into a deception. The juxtaposition of film and live performance, the suggestion of interior monologues behind the onstage dialogue, and the awareness that, as audience, we are complicit in a deception, combine to make this company’s work as mind-blowing as it is hilarious.
Kassys

JO STR�MGREN KOMPANI The Department
OCT 23�24 U.S. PREMIERE
Enter the innermost and secret office of an imaginary government, where agents analyze and scrutinize society through peepholes, doors have long ago been sealed off for extreme secrecy, and mysterious orders arrive from above. The Norwegian dance-theater company brings a brilliant mix of theater, stylized movement, and invented language that carries the audience from hilarity to moments of shocked recognition--of their own entrapment in work, routine, relationships…life.
Str�mgren

13 Most Beautiful�
Songs for Andy Warhol�s Screen Tests
Composed by Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips
OCT 24�25 WORLD PREMIERE
Discover a selection of Warhol's legendary “Screen Tests”—beautiful and revealing black and white film portraits--set to a new score composed by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, whose dream pop band Luna was known for its churning and languid rhythms, entrancingly melodic guitar hooks, and clever, wistful lyrics. Step back—and forward—in time, and in art, in this multimedia performance featuring large scale video projection above the musicians performing on stage.
A project jointly commissioned by The Andy Warhol Museum and The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts.
(Image: Andy Warhol; Screen Test: Jane Holzer (1964) (detail); 16mm film, black and white, silent, 4 minutes at 16 frames per second. ©2008 The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All Rights reserved.)


Warhol



GRAVITY OF LIGHT
OCT 10�30 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
The sun pulls the planets around itself; the porchlight pulls the moth into its glow…New York-based artists (and identical twins) Doug and Mike Starn explore the fact and metaphor of the gravity of light—a power so vast and universal it is almost unnoticed. At the center of the exhibit is the Starns’ 13-foot homemade carbon arc lamp, an impressive structure serving as both a central work of sculpture and a scientific experimental device that illuminates with its blindingly bright ight the installations around it.
Gravity of LIght

DISCOVER / EXPLORE / ORDER NOW
PIFOF.ORG / 412-456-6666
Tickets also at the Box Office at Theater Square

Tickets only $10 for students and everyone 25 years old and under (with valid ID). Available by phone and in person at the Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue in the Cultural District.

a project of PCTin association withAEM

PIFOF is presented as a signature event of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary celebration.

The 2008 Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts is supported by an Anonymous donor, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust�s Carol R. Brown Performance Fund, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, The Grable Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Joan Humphrey, Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Ellis School, and The Rubinoff Company, Computer Enterprises, Inc. and Mastech.

Visit this link if you have trouble viewing this email.

Summer's Last Blast

Join Quantum Theatre high above the city lights as we blast away summer with cocktails and casual cuisine provided by some of Pittsburgh's most popular restaurants including Ali Baba, CoCo's, Harris Grill, Lucca and more.

Dance away the last nights of summer to the musical samplings of DJ Nate Da Phat Barber, and take part in our silent auction where you can buy romantic nights out, outdoor adventure packages, museum tours, or fine art of your own.

Attire? Anything goes. Vintage sundresses, retro T's or dashingly daring cocktail dresses.
Come ready to astonish, to woo, to wow.
Come ready to have a blast.

Summer's Last Blast
At the Mt. Washington home of Peter Karlovich and Steve Herforth
207 Bailey Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15211
Monday, September 15, 2008
7pm - 11pm

$75 in advance
$85 at the door
For more information call 412.697.2929
To buy tickets visit ProArtsTickets.org


Host Committee

Bill Beary
Torey & Richard Beuke
Karla Boos & Joel Le Gall
Jessica & Jeff Brown
Rene Conrad
Lynn & Ron Davenport
Kate & Dave DeSimone
Jewell Fears
Jim France
Karen France
Linnea Glick
Charlie Humphrey
Michele & Brian Kerr
Karey Kluesner
Mimi & Enis Koral
Eric Kukura
Kate Lovelace
Pam & Ken McCrory
Susan & Sean McLaughlin
Mary Murrin
Betsy Ochester & Mike Sauter
Heather Pesanti
Renee & Lucas Piatt
Jeffrey L. Pollock, Esq.
Pasquale Navarro, Jr.
& Daryl Hutson
Scott Nelson & Brian Siewiorek
Sara Radelet
Hilary Robinson
Elizabeth & Joe Seamans
Joshua Siebert
Loretta Stanish & Rick Russell
Josh Storey
Danny Trusas
Abby Wilson

J-o-b - TD

Technical Director – Pittsburgh Public Theater (LORT B) is seeking a technical director for union scene shop. Candidate must possess a thorough knowledge of construction, automation, rigging, AutoCAD, and a valid driver’s license. Duties include drafting, budget management, scheduling, supervision of build and load-in crews, and maintenance of shop equipment and inventory. Must be able to analyze designs for costs and deliver finished scenery on time. The theater is an intimate 650-seat thrust, so quality workmanship is essential. Experienced applicants send letter and resume to: Payroll & Benefits Coordinator, Pittsburgh Public Theater, 621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222; FAX (412) 316-1624.

Celebrate the life of Professor Randy Pausch

Carnegie Mellon University will celebrate the life of Professor Randy Pausch, who died July 25 at age 47, with a special memorial event at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, September 22 in Rangos Hall.

Most of the Carnegie Mellon community is aware of the high level of public interest in Randy following his famous lecture and publication of the bestselling book, "The Last Lecture." To ensure that his friends and close associates can attend the celebration in person, attendance in Rangos will be by invitation only.

To allow others to be part of this service, the university has arranged for the entire event to be streamed live on ABCNews.com.

The university is encouraging its schools and colleges to organize their own gatherings of students, faculty and staff to watch the webcast. Links to the webcast on ABCNews.com will be available at http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture

Like the video of Randy's Sept. 18, 2007 lecture, video of the memorial service will be posted soon afterward on the Carnegie Mellon channels of YouTube and iTunesU, as well as http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LastLecture

"Remembering Randy: A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Randy Pausch" will include recollections and tributes from a number of Pausch's friends and colleagues.

Questions about the memorial celebration can be directed to randy-memorial@andrew.cmu.edu.

Stage Review: Grief gives way to healing song in 'Without You'

PostGazette: "I wasn't exactly bawling at City Theatre's world premiere of Anthony Rapp's musical memoir, 'Without You,' but I was certainly choking up, brushing back a tear, then doing it again a few minutes later. Some cried more, some less, and some not at all, perhaps, emotional variety being the heart of live theater."

Stage Review: New Works Festival off to a dramatic start

PostGazette: "Often I've described the New Works Festival of one-act plays as a grab bag: If you don't like one, wait a few minutes and you get something different -- three plays a week for four weeks."

‘Rent,’ Like ‘La Bohème,’ Appears Ready to Endure

NYTimes.com: "The opening of Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” at the New York Theater Workshop in February 1996 coincided almost to the day with the 100th anniversary of the premiere in Italy of “La Bohème,” the enduring Puccini opera that inspired Larson’s musical. The coincidence, though unplanned, was very meaningful to Mr. Larson, as he told me in an interview late in the evening of Jan. 24 that year, after a dress rehearsal of “Rent” in the workshop’s 150-seat theater."

Affecting 'Without You' shows promise

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Rapp created the role of Mark Cohen for Jonathan Larson's wildly successful, Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical. He followed the project from its beginnings as a workshop production at the New York Theatre Ensemble through its staging as a triumphant off-Broadway musical and speedy transfer to Broadway blockbuster and then to film."

Concrete-Jet Printer Gets Caterpillar Funding: Print-Out Houses on the Way

Gizmodo: "Check out this lengthy vid: it shows how one day you may just call-in giant robots to print out a new home based on a CAD model. Research into the concrete-jet printer is being carried out by USC, and their technology can already build up complex concrete structures using technology that's half-CNC machine and half inkjet-like."

The Week in Tools: Toolmonger Top 5

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"

Jones's Rousing `Fela!' Brings Singer, Gadfly to Life

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "Words come uncomfortably close to failing when called on to describe the musical ``Fela!'' about the life and music of the Nigerian artist and freedom fighter Fela Anikulapo Kuti, as conceived by Bill T. Jones and several collaborators, and directed and choreographed by him."

Sony Follows the Met Opera to the Movies

MusicalAmerica - Performing Arts News: "With such phrases as “for the first time ever,” Sony Pictures’ Hot Ticket division has announced plans to “cinecast” the final performance of “Rent,” which closes on Sunday after a 12-year run on Broadway. The event will be cinecast in “select movie theaters….utilizing the latest in High-Definition video and digital audio technology.”
Sound familiar?"

In Need of More Tech, '9 to 5' Previews Will Now Begin Later

Yahoo! News: "Michael Ritchie, CTG artistic director, said in a statement, 'I hate disappointing these early preview audiences, but thankfully we have the ability to add performances later in the run to help re-locate our audiences. And once they see the show, they will understand why we are taking the extra time to meet this musical's large technical demands. 9 to 5: The Musical is one of the biggest shows ever produced at the Ahmanson, and big shows, with this quality of cast and creative team deserve the utmost support in their development. To do any less would be a disservice to all.'"

Patti LuPone plays Mama Rose in "Gypsy"

PRI.ORG: "Patti LuPone has made a Broadway career out of playing powerful women. Maria Callas, Eva Perón, and now, a Tony-winning performance as Mama Rose in the classic musical 'Gypsy.'Patti LuPone has made a Broadway career out of playing powerful women. Maria Callas, Eva Perón, and now, a Tony-winning performance as Mama Rose in the classic musical 'Gypsy.'"

OnStage: Flights of fancy alight in Neverland

StarTribune: "A few years ago, Brosius had a delicious idea: Why not introduce two theater artists whom he admired on the international festival circuit to each other and then, perhaps, get them together on a project?"

Playwright premieres new 'Shakespeare' play

The Boston Globe: "'How Shakespeare Won the West,' set in 1849 in the middle of the California Gold Rush, follows a group of New York actors who hear of a small town out west where people are so starved for theater that they throw bags of gold at actors' feet."

He's riding high with Cirque du Soleil

The Boston Globe: "Dorchester native David Shiner went back to basics to create Cirque du Soleil's latest show, 'KOOZA,' which opens today under the Grand Chapiteau at the Bayside Expo Center. But of course, when you're dealing with the stylized and often otherworldly look of Cirque du Soleil, 'basic' is a relative term."

New job: Master Carpenter/Scenic Painter

The New Conservatory Theatre Center, a not-for-profit organization, seeks a Master Carpenter/Scenic Painter. The Master Carpenter/Scenic Painter will be responsible for the construction, load-in and strike of all sets for our Pride Season, Conservatory, YouthAware Programs and special events. The Master Carpenter/Scenic Painter must have extensive knowledge and experience in carpentry and scenic painting - preferably in production for the performing arts and general stagecraft. Basic knowledge of audio and lighting strongly desired. Computer experience to include: Windows, Word, Excel, and Outlook. AutoCAD and/or VectorWorks experience preferred.

Must have strong project planning, problem solving, and management skills; Ability to monitor budgets and to work with diverse ethnic and LGBT communities; Ability to lift 50 lbs; Must have a CA drivers license.

NCTC's mission is to champion innovative, high quality, theatre experiences for youth, adults, and artists to effect personal and societal growth, enlightenment and change.

This is a full-time position with benefits.

Resume with cover letter explaining why you'd like to work for NCTC and references to: Jackie Jordan, Managing Director, NCTC 25 Van Ness SF, CA 94102 or email to: jackie@nctcsf.org. No phone calls please.

Dates: Dec 31, 1969-Dec 31, 1969
Pay: $28K to $30K w/benefits

In the Wings: Elaine Stritch!

PostGazette: "As the Pittsburgh Irish & Classical press release puts it, 'Everybody rise -- Elaine Stritch is coming to Pittsburgh!' A legendary acerbic and forceful musical theater performer, Stritch does have that spine-stiffening effect: I'm already going into reverence training."

Stage Preview: Marathon and Mingle for New Works

PostGazette: "All grown up at 18 years old, tonight the Pittsburgh New Works Festival starts its annual marathon of 12 new one-act plays, staging three each weekend over the next four weeks."

Stage Preview: Rebirth of a 'Salesman'

PostGazette: "'It's a daunting play,' says Bob Miller of his father's masterpiece, 'Death of a Salesman.' 'It's not unlike 'King Lear.' You can't take it lightly or fake it.'"

'Once Upon a Mattress' puts twist on fairy tales

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "A 'twisted' version of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about an annoying pea bugging a princess in her bed will unfold onstage this month at McKeesport Little Theater."

Want to cast polyester? Talk to Vincent de Rijk

Core77: "Vincent de Rijk is perhaps one of the most well know architectural model makers in Europe. He graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven, with an industrial design degree. His proximity to the architectural scene in Rotterdam, at around the time when now-famous firms were emerging has resulted in a multitude of rich collaborations that continue to this day."

Great White offers $1M to settle fatal fire suits

The Associated Press: "Members of the 1980s rock band whose pyrotechnics sparked a nightclub fire that killed 100 people have agreed to pay $1 million to survivors and victims' relatives, according to court papers filed Tuesday."

Within the Context of the Imagination

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Blog: "Here we go–the launch of our 2008-2009 season. The start of a new season is always a thrilling moment for the theater. It’s such a lot of fun to finally start talking to our audience about the plays and artists that we’ve been thinking about and planning with for a year. (We’re in the midst of our planning process for 2009-2010 right now). And then comes the moment when our directors and actors show up for the first day of rehearsal and the dream gains body and voice. And then comes the moment when YOU show up and theater begins."

Giant robot spider ominously eyes Liverpool

Boing Boing Gadgets: "A 30-foot tall, 37-ton robotic spider is arachnously clinging to the side of a Liverpudian office building. A 30-foot tall, 37-ton robotic spider is arachnously clinging to the side of a Liverpudian office building."

Musical tunes up for sale?

Variety: "Word in Gotham has R&H looking into the possibility of selling its library, which includes tuner hits by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II as well as material by other creatives including Irving Berlin and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Catalog is estimated to be worth $150 million-$200 million."

Cultural Olympiad plans unveiled

BBC NEWS: "A William Shakespeare festival and 12 new public works of art will form part of a 'Cultural Olympiad' planned for the run-up to the 2012 London games."

Premiere of Rapp's Rock Memoir 'Without You' Opens in Pittsburgh

Yahoo! News: "Performances continue to Sept. 21. Directed by Steven Maler and featuring a four-piece band, Without You plays City Theatre's 272-seat Mainstage. The opening week coincides with the Sept. 7 final Broadway performance of Rent, which figures prominently in Without You."

THEATRE: THE HOLY GRAIL OF MERCHANDISING?

globeandmail.com: "According to a recent article in Playbill, the Broadway production sells 1,400 to 2,000 T-shirts a week featuring such show catchphrases as 'Fetchez la Vache' and the venerable 'I'm not dead yet.' The show's clothing line extends to Holy Grail boxer shorts and the tough-to-keep-in-stock Killer Rabbit slippers."

'Les Miz' at Wolf Trap: Vive la Différence

washingtonpost.com: "Can you picture the international musical spectacle 'Les Miserables' without the show's famous revolving stage? Can you imagine a rebellious 19th-century France without the computer-driven barricades impressively heaving themselves up before your very eyes?"

Up for a ruthless challenge

The Courier-Journal: "Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play opens the 2008-09 season at Actors Theatre of Louisville this week. Louisville native William Mapother plays Ricky Roma, whose ability to manipulate clients has made him the office's most successful salesman. The part was played by Joe Mantegna on Broadway and Al Pacino in the movie."

Stage Preview: Play tackles subject of urban violence

PostGazette: "In the sweltering heat of a summer's evening, director Deborah Starling-Pollard ran her actors through their paces in the play, 'Two for One, An Urban Drama.'"

Rob Ashford Brought in to Assist with Broadway-Bound Shrek

Playbill News: "Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Rob Ashford will lend a hand in the shaping of the new Broadway-bound musical Shrek, Playbill.com has learned."

Bogart to Succeed Spencer in Broadway's Jersey Boys

Playbill News: "Matt Bogart, the Broadway actor recently seen as Lancelot in the national tour of Camelot, will join the Tony-winning musical Jersey Boys Sept. 30 at the August Wilson Theatre."

Trafford's KidWorks program revisits 'Fable Factory'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "'The Fabulous Fable Factory,' a musical production based on the familiar works of Aesop, was the first children's show done by the community theater group in its first season in October 1995, according to Carol Connelly, artistic director. The play was performed in the basement social room of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Trafford."

Michael Berresse (DSC #217)

ATW: "Michael Berresse, director of the musical [title of show], talks about the show’s journey from speed-writing exercise to Broadway hit and whether the self-referential story ever included the character of a director named Michael."

Sci-fi movie The Fly gets opera treatment

Reuters: "David Cronenberg's sci-fi terror movie 'The Fly' has taken on a new life in the Canadian director's first foray into the world of opera."

$30M production studio poised to give Pittsburgh film industry a big boost

Pop City: "It may be premature to dub it Rustbelt Hollywood, but Pittsburgh’s largest film production studio is now underway."

Q & A with Scott Georgeson

ecoTheater: "Recently, I thought it might be nice to have a sort of guest speaker here on ecoTheater who really knows what they’re talking about. I’ve asked a few people over the last several months if they’d be interested in answering ten specific questions about green theater, and the one person who has really come through and given us all a window into his informed perspective is Scott Georgeson, a theater architect with HGA Architects & Engineers in Milwaukee."

Wall Street Journal: A must read for fashion, art?

Reuters: "The Wall Street Journal showcased its latest attempt to broaden its appeal beyond the business reader on Wednesday -- introducing a new, glossy weekend magazine devoted to high fashion, preppy sports and luxury travel."

`Rent' Gave Broadway Hipster Heroes, Monster Hit: Jeremy Gerard

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "Broadway shows are signs of their times, and revivals either confirm our original assessments or make us wonder ``What was I thinking?''"

This Fall, A Scarcity of New Broadway Plays

Backstage: "Where have all the new plays gone?
On Broadway this fall, it will be lonely pair — 'To Be or Not to Be' and 'Dividing the Estate' — that will qualify as new works in a season studded with starry revivals such as 'Equus' and 'All My Sons.'"

Talent Agencies Deal with Booming Youth Business

Backstage: "In May, a mini-earthquake rocked the small but fragile world of children's talent agencies. Mitchell Gossett, one of the best-known kids reps and the man behind the career of Miley Cyrus, left his longtime home at Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty (CESD) for powerhouse UTA."

PRINCE: PUT ART BACK ON B'WAY

New York Post: "HAL Prince was watching the Screen Actors Guild awards on TV last January when he turned to his wife and started babbling.
'Get dressed,' she said. 'We're going to the hospital.'"

Why Caryl Churchill is the Top Girl

Times Online: "Is Caryl Churchill the greatest female playwright of our time? Of any time? Back in the 1980s, when she used to give press interviews, she would have slapped your wrists for asking such a sexist, reductive question. And did, whenever it was put to her."

Trying to Get to Lincoln Center? These Days, Practice Won’t Help

NYTimes.com: "This summer, Lincoln Center, the largest performing arts complex in the country, has been a maze of construction sites, plywood fencing and confusing detours. And it’s not going away soon"

'August' Originals Dunagan, Reed, Murphy, Perry, Morton, Mayberry and More Are London-Bound

Yahoo! News: The London run, which begins performances on Nov. 21 (prior to an official opening Nov. 26) for a run to Jan. 21, 2009, will also feature Broadway originals Ian Barford as Little Charles, Kimberly Guerrero as Johnna Longwell, Mariann Mayberry as Karen Weston, Amy Morton as Barbara Fordham, Sally Murphy as Ivy Weston, Jeff Perry as Bill Fordham and Troy West as Sheriff Deon Gilbeau. New to the London company are Michael McGuire as Beverly Weston (succeeding the late Dennis Letts), Paul Vincent O'Connor as Charlie Aiken (succeeding Francis Guinan), and Molly Ranson as Jean Fordham (succeeding Madeleine Martin). One role, that of Steve Heidebrecht (originally played on Broadway by Brian Kerwin), is still to be announced.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

Last week's five most commented articles were:

Carnegie Mellon Ranked Among the Elite by U.S. News & World Report

8 1/2 x 11 Newsletter: "Carnegie Mellon continued to have a strong showing in U.S. News & World Report magazine's annual Best Colleges guide. In the 2009 edition, the university ranks 22nd in the Best National University category. The Tepper School of Business undergraduate business ranking improved one spot to sixth best in the country, and the College of Engineering undergraduate programs remained ninth best in the nation."

Bootlegged online theater clips cherished

SFGate.com:

"Theater buffs who'd rather click it than ticket, however, can sneak peeks on computers, catching glimpses (and sometimes more) of acclaimed performances and sellout shows."

Spare thought for those who labor for entertainment

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "You don't see the hours of rehearsal, the years of classes, the bandaged blisters in the tap shoes, the steps tried and discarded.
You're not supposed to think about how many years the actress spent steaming espressos at Starbucks to put herself through drama school -- or whether she's still working there to support her acting career.
Wondering where the costumer found that fantastic brocade for the Duke of Milan's coat or what store sells the drawer pulls the set designer used on the kitchen cabinetry tears a hole right through the heart of the show's carefully constructed fantasy.
When the rain starts in an outdoor arena and the company soldiers on as if oblivious, you may marvel at their concentration and determination as they hold onto their characters and keep the show moving forward.
You almost certainly give not a thought to the technicians who are getting soaked while holding umbrellas over the sound and lighting equipment to shield it from moisture -- or that when the show comes down, their attention turns not to seeking shelter but to covering the seats so they aren't damp for the next performance.
It's OK to do that tomorrow, though."

Stage preview: Politics of 'Wicked' survives changes from book to stage

PostGazette: "It's a rare academic who turns his expertise into commercial success. But the man whose fertile and daunting imagination has spawned 'eight or nine' (he isn't quite sure) worldwide productions of a megahit musical is somewhat bemused by the whole thing."

Pros and Cons of Broadway Previews

NYTimes.com:

"I SAW “A Tale of Two Cities” on Tuesday night. You know, the big new production at the Al Hirschfeld Theater. The one that doesn’t open until Sept. 18. The one with James Barbour as Sydney Carton, Dickens’s dissolute, loveless, sexy young lawyer who does a far, far better thing than he has done before, right in the middle of the French Revolution."

Prince and Thomas to Star in Philly World Premiere of McNally's Unusual Acts

Playbill News: "Broadway will meet Broad Street this fall when Philadelphia Theatre Company welcomes Faith Prince and Richard Thomas for the world premiere of Terrence McNally's Unusual Acts of Devotion, Oct. 22-Nov. 23."

Leslie Uggams and Yaya DaCosta - Two Women as One Character, Exploring Connections

NYTimes.com: "Leslie Uggams and Yaya DaCosta are sharing a shaded park bench and talking to each other — something the two actresses never once do during the more than two hours that they share the stage in the Signature Theater Company’s production of “The First Breeze of Summer.”"

Screenshot Tour: StudyRails Manages Assignments and Study Time

Lifehacker: "Get productive when class is back in session with StudyRails, a webapp that tracks your time and notifies you of upcoming course assignments via email or text message. When you receive new class assignments, enter them into StudyRails and designate slots of time to study for the assignments. The webapp will notify you prior to the assignment via email or SMS. Additionally, StudyRails can send mentors (and even parents) your classes and upcoming assignments for added motivation. Finally, when you're in the middle of studying, StudyRails will block distracting web sites and applications so that you can focus on the required tasks at hand."

Wagner offspring win epic family battle for opera

Reuters: "Two great-granddaughters of composer Richard Wagner will take control of Germany's Wagner opera festival after winning an epic family power struggle."

`Billy Elliot,' Harry Potter's `Equus' Lead New Broadway Season

Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts: "Fourteen new productions are scheduled through mid- December, about the same as a year ago, with an emphasis on new musicals including ``Billy Elliot'' and revivals of plays, such as ``Equus.''"

RSC launches £1m theatre appeal

BBC NEWS: "The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has launched an appeal to raise £1m in public donations to help rebuild its main theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon."

Mark Ravenhill on advertising

The Guardian: "You know you've enjoyed a film when you stay to read every name on the closing credits. And I loved Shane Meadows' Somers Town. So I sat smiling through the credits. I wish I hadn't. A final credit states simply: 'Copyright Eurostar'. I had read in advance that the film - which culminates in a blissful cross-channel train journey - was entirely funded by Eurostar. But this credit felt like a slap in the face. It was like going on a perfect date, only to discover that the other guy was there because his tax bill was coming up, and he needed a few receipts to give to his accountant. I felt used, I felt cheap, I felt like a business expense."

Convention helped put Denver on the art world's radar

The Denver Post: "Amid the flurry of politicking, partying and celebrity gawking that took place during the Democratic National Convention, many of the accompanying cultural offerings were easily overlooked."

"It was always going to be a crazy idea."

washingtonpost.com: "It was always going to be a crazy idea, good economy or bad economy. We certainly didn't know it was going to be a slippery slope. But it almost makes it more exciting and dangerous that it's more difficult now."

Review, Tenure, & Promotion

The following faculty members are up for either promotion or reappointment this year, and the review committee would like your input:

David Boevers
Catherine Moore
Tina Shackleford

If you wish to contribute to this important process, please put your comments into a letter and submit no later than Monday, September 8th, 2008 to:

Jen Chapman
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
223 Purnell Center for the Arts
412-268-1581
jenc@andrew.cmu.edu

All responses will be held in confidence.

A French Marionette Tradition

NPR: "A French summertime tradition — especially for young children — is a visit to a marionette theatre to watch the antics of a character named Guignol. Guignol always manages to outwit the thief with the help of children in the audience."

'Memphis' captures rock's roots at the La Jolla Playhouse

Los Angeles Times: "Now La Jolla has the not-quite-sequel: Jersey Boys, the partnership -- Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, a writer-composer team of 46-year-olds who, on the face of it, are one of the oddest theatrical couplings since Neil Simon thought up Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar.
Their show, 'Memphis,' tells how black rhythm and blues music began to reach white listeners on Southern airwaves during the early 1950s. First produced five years ago in Boston and the Bay Area, it's having a retooled staging in La Jolla."

The incredible lightness of being in charge

smh.com.au: "THE Sydney Theatre Company has lightened up. Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton's long-awaited first season is strong on comedy and playfulness."

Pittsburgh’s bragging rights documented

Pittsburgh Courier: "The nonfiction book “Pittsburgh Born, Pittsburgh Bred” is full of biographical information on celebrated personalities from a variety of eras connected to the Steel City. Created in honor of Pittsburgh’s 250th birthday, the book was published by the Senator John Heinz History Center and co-authored by C. Prentiss Orr, Abby Mendelson and Tripp Clarke."

Conn. film biz draws local ire

www.showbusinessweekly.com: "De Niro can’t seem to tear himself away. Al Pacino has recently been spotted there as well, along with Drew Barrymore, Harrison Ford and a host of other big-screen stars. But it’s not a chic new Beverly Hills club the A-list crowd is flocking to — it’s Connecticut."

Spare thought for those who labor for entertainment

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "You don't see the hours of rehearsal, the years of classes, the bandaged blisters in the tap shoes, the steps tried and discarded.
You're not supposed to think about how many years the actress spent steaming espressos at Starbucks to put herself through drama school -- or whether she's still working there to support her acting career.
Wondering where the costumer found that fantastic brocade for the Duke of Milan's coat or what store sells the drawer pulls the set designer used on the kitchen cabinetry tears a hole right through the heart of the show's carefully constructed fantasy.
When the rain starts in an outdoor arena and the company soldiers on as if oblivious, you may marvel at their concentration and determination as they hold onto their characters and keep the show moving forward.
You almost certainly give not a thought to the technicians who are getting soaked while holding umbrellas over the sound and lighting equipment to shield it from moisture -- or that when the show comes down, their attention turns not to seeking shelter but to covering the seats so they aren't damp for the next performance.
It's OK to do that tomorrow, though."

Stage preview: Politics of 'Wicked' survives changes from book to stage

PostGazette: "It's a rare academic who turns his expertise into commercial success. But the man whose fertile and daunting imagination has spawned 'eight or nine' (he isn't quite sure) worldwide productions of a megahit musical is somewhat bemused by the whole thing."

'Wicked' returns to the Benedum

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

"For Stephen Schwartz, one of the most gratifying things about involvement in 'Wicked' is the feedback he gets from those who have seen the musical."

Gloom (and Rain) Set the Tone for New Plays at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

NYTimes.com: "Whether they were examining social ills of the near-present, investigating governmental lapses of the past or envisioning a nightmare future, the British writers presenting new work this year at the Traverse Theater, the locus of much of the most ambitious playwriting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, were in a distinctly gloomy frame of mind."

1st Irish 2008 Theater Festival Features Voices From a New Ireland

NYTimes.com: "George C. Heslin, artistic director of Origin Theater Company, recalls with a laugh that when he was putting together New York’s first Irish theater festival, called 1st Irish 2008, “the process was shockingly organic.”"

At the Stratford Festival, Christopher Plummer Returns as Caesar, and Brian Dennehy Makes an Ambitious Debut

NYTimes.com: "The high-flown oratory belongs to Bernard Shaw’s Julius Caesar, in a rare moment of rapture, and here it is delivered by a man possessing his own wondrous attributes, the great actor Christopher Plummer. Mr. Plummer, returning to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival for the first time in six years, plays the mythic conqueror stripped of his legendary dressing in Shaw’s “Caesar and Cleopatra,” the climactic event in the company’s impressive current season."

Best and worst of theatre

TheStar.com: "It was the best of the times, it ... oh, you know the drill. Our two major theatre festivals (Stratford and Shaw) dominate the summer theatre scene and they aim so high, that when they fall, it can sure be a belly-flopper."

Bootlegged online theater clips cherished

SFGate.com:

"Theater buffs who'd rather click it than ticket, however, can sneak peeks on computers, catching glimpses (and sometimes more) of acclaimed performances and sellout shows."

After all these years, Broadway comes calling

SFGate.com: "In 36 years on Bay Area stages, Charles Dean has played drunks and dreamers, rock stars and lonely old men. He's broken a toe onstage, acted with a case of conjunctivitis and fallen offstage into a man's lap when he lost control of a motorized wheelchair."

Jeff Award nominations keep large and midsize theaters separate

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Hedy Weiss: "COSTUME DESIGN (LARGE):
Nikki Delhomme, 'La Cage aux Folles' (Theatre at the Center)
Ana Kuzmanic, 'The Comedy of Errors' (Chicago Shakespeare Theater)
Nancy Missimi, 'The Producers' (Marriott Theatre)
Nancy Missimi, 'Les Miserables' (Marriott Theatre)
Tatjana Radisic, 'Meet Me in St. Louis' (Drury Lane Oakbrook)"

Jasmine Guy thriving in another "Different World"

AccessAtlanta: "Jasmine Guy has had a hit TV series, cut an album, performed on Broadway and, more recently, paused to work on her personal life and raise a child. Now the 46-year-old actress who played spoiled college kid Whitley Gilbert on TV’s “A Different World” is back in her hometown of Atlanta to direct her first play."

Carnegie Mellon Ranked Among the Elite by U.S. News & World Report

8 1/2 x 11 Newsletter: "Carnegie Mellon continued to have a strong showing in U.S. News & World Report magazine's annual Best Colleges guide. In the 2009 edition, the university ranks 22nd in the Best National University category. The Tepper School of Business undergraduate business ranking improved one spot to sixth best in the country, and the College of Engineering undergraduate programs remained ninth best in the nation."

Rooms’ Natascia Diaz and Doug Kreeger

DC Theatre Scene: "Minutes after accepting their standing ovations, their Scottish accents still on the tips of their tongues, the stars of the new bound-for-NYC musical Rooms: A Rock Musical sat down with Joel to talk about the show, the characters they play, and take us behind the scene of this new Paul Scott Goodman musical, directed by Scott Schwartz and musical direction by Jenny Cartney."