Attack Theatre strategizes season from new home

Post Gazette: "Dancers are always searching for new moves, but Attack Theatre has taken that search to a whole new level for next season.
The 'newness' begins with its home. When the company's lease expired at its studio on Penn Avenue in Garfield, founders Michele de la Reza and Peter Kope started looking for a fresh base of operations."

Review: Blue Mango has promising debut with 'Moonshine and SkyToffee'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "A new theater company, Blue Mango, had a promising debut last Friday at the New Hazlett Theater, North Side.
Committed to non-traditional and color-blind casting, the company performed 'Moonshine and SkyToffee,' a stage adaptation of two short stories by Indian writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer."

Apple Hill Playhouse classic 'The Rainmaker' still has lessons to teach

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "It won't take long for audiences of 'The Rainmaker' to realize that the romantic comedy is set in another place -- and another time.
The story by Richard Nash focuses on a Western family whose father and two brothers are trying to save their daughter and sister, respectively, from the sad and lonely life of a spinster.
The funny thing about the situation is that the woman in question, Lizzy, is only 27 years old."

Theater project 'Yinzerspielen'merges two schools of acting

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "On Wednesday, a two-year, cross-cultural collaboration between German and American theater students comes to fruition with the opening of 'Yinzerspielen' in Oakland.
'Yinzerspielen' combines the Pittsburghese term for 'you guys' with the German word 'spielen,' which means 'to play,' including in the sense of 'to play on the stage' as an actor."

Collaboraction in Chicago Lures Wary Theatergoers With Money-Back Guarantee

NYTimes.com: "Are customers always right — even if they want their money back after seeing a play? That’s the question that’s stirring chatter in Chicago, where a production recently offered to refund the full cost of a ticket to any unsatisfied patron."

‘Angels in America’ to Be Revived at Signature Next Year

NYTimes.com: "As part of its 2010-11 season dedicated to the work of Tony Kushner, Signature Theater Company will mount the first New York revival of his Pulitzer- and Tony-winning “Angels in America” since it closed on Broadway in 1994, Signature’s artistic director, James Houghton, said on Tuesday."

Field Research

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Blog: "One of the things I love about my job is that it continually provides me with opportunities to learn about worlds I never would have seen otherwise. Yesterday morning was a perfect example: I accompanied a group of artists from Fake (director/playwright Eric Simonson, actor Al Wilder, and dramaturg Rebecca Rugg) to the Field Museum, where John McCarter, the museum president, took us on a two hour behind-the-scenes tour as research for the play. Al plays two different museum directors in Fake, so he had a number of questions for Mr. McCarter about his day-to-day responsibilities and the joys and stresses of the job."

The Rule of One: A Simple Technique to Create a Relaxed Student Life

Study Hacks: "Last week, I received an e-mail from a student who I’ve advised in the past. His new semester was about to start and he was worried about his schedule.
“I think I’m overcommitting myself,” he told me. “I considered dropping some activities, but it’s hard because I want to do them all.”"

Cool scene from dance show: Shadowland

Boing Boing: "Amazing dance scene from Pilobolus's SHADOWLAND: the 'Transformation' excerpt."

Spalding Gray: Tell Stories, Listen — Make Art

100k Project: "If we are in need of testimony as to the importance of participation in the arts, Gray’s words provide it. What he refers to as being “media-ized” is actually the process that turns art into a commodity and the public into passive consumers who buy their creativity instead of doing it themselves."

“Addams Family” announces creative team

Chicago Theater Blog: "The creative team for the Broadway production of The Addams Family, to be directed and designed by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, will include two-time Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (lighting), Acme Sound Partners (sound), Obie Award-winner Basil Twist (puppetry), Mary-Mitchell Campbell (music direction), Larry Hochman (orchestrations), Greg Meeh (special effects), and Rick Sordelet (fight direction)."

Saltimbanco Falters?

Fascination! Newsletter: "We’ve often wondered how well an arena show does during its brief stops and now the Columbus Dispatch, a news source in the Columbus, Ohio area where Saltimbanco stopped recently, sheds a little light on that subject - unfortunately it’s not a bright one."

Bad boys take center stage in LaBute short plays

Reuters: "Here's an interesting pairing of short plays by Neil LaBute: 'The New Testament' is a world-premiere showbiz satire, directed by Bjorn Johnson. The hard-hitting marital drama 'Helter Skelter,' directed by LaBute, debuted last year in London."

'Spider-Man' musical swings back

Variety: "Marvel Comics characters never stay dead -- and neither will tuner 'Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark.'
Word among legiters has it that production on the troubled musical will start up again Wednesday with a call to resume work on the show, which has been halted since early August due to what producers call a cash-flow problem.
The industry had recently been hearing that 'Spider-Man' could possibly pick up sometime this week or next, although no official confirmation has been issued by producers or the show's reps."

Battleground New York

Backstage: "With ballots for the Screen Actors Guild elections due to be returned and counted in three weeks, the competing factions are in full campaign mode. And the frontline in the battle for the union's national board of directors appears to have been drawn in an unlikely spot: New York."

Rising Star Nominations Open October 1

USITT Sightlines: "Nominations for USITT’s 2010 Rising Star Award, sponsored and created by LDI/Live Design, can be made through the USITT website starting October 1."

Preserving Our Past

USITT Sightlines: "For the celebration in Kansas City, Missouri of USITT@50, one particular session should not be missed. Preserving Our Past: Documenting, Digitizing and Restoring Our Theatre Heritage celebrates the efforts to preserve the collection of Masonic sketches produced by the Great Western Stage Equipment Company of Kansas City (1925-1960s). This local scenic factory, like the legion of studios located across the country, equipped vaudeville and legit theatres as well as Masonic Temples providing richly detailed painted and illusionary backdrops until 1929."

Philips and Lighting Science Group Settle All Litigation

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "Lighting Science Group Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics have settled all of their commercial and intellectual property disputes by way of a comprehensive agreement that revives their former commercial alliance."

State budget impasse chases Shyamalan film to Canada

printthis.clickability.com:It wasn't the Devil that made M. Night Shyamalan do it. It was the Harrisburg budget impasse.

With uncertainty about whether Pennsylvania's film tax credit will be authorized in the state budget - now in Day 56 of limbo - the supernatural thriller (which Shyamalan wrote and is producing) has relocated production to Toronto.

Union that works DeVos Performance Hall volunteers for wage freeze when working for four local arts groups

MLive.com: "Stagehands working in DeVos Performance Hall offered to take wage freezes for the next two years when working with the four locally based arts organizations that are the primary users of DeVos Performance Hall."

Backstage: Peoria has a chance to make a difference - Peoria, IL

pjstar.com: "It's a once-in-a-decade, planets-in-alignment opportunity, if Peoria's cultural leaders want it: A chance to make a thoughtful case about why the health of small arts communities in places like Peoria should matter to a national arts leader concerned with the nation as a whole."

A.R.T. Props Looking for Clutter

Stage Directions: "In preparation for their production with British theatre company Punchdrunk (making its U.S. premiere), the American Repertory Theatre is putting out a Greater Boston-wide appeal for thousands of items to be part of their upcoming production of Sleep No More."

Writers’ Theatre Welcomes Stuart Carden as Associate Artistic Director

Stage Directions: "“I’m so excited to be in collaboration with Stuart,” said Michael Halberstam, executive director the Writers’. “He has a rich background in literary development, a keen and ambitious scope of work as a director and a passion for the administrative challenges that come with supporting artistic direction. In a very short time I believe we will see Stuart’s strength of perspective and influence find its way onto the stages of Writers’ Theatre.”"

Joyce Theatre Stagehands Ask Local One IATSE to Represent Them

Stage Directions: "Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) has requested voluntary recognition from the Joyce Theatre Foundation as the collective bargaining representative of the stagehands employed at the Joyce Theatre. A vast majority of the stagehands employed by the Joyce recently signed authorization cards selecting Local One to bargain collectively on its behalf."

Center Theatre Group Reveals More of Non-Text-Based Initiative

Stage Directions: "When Center Theatre Group announced they were receiving $1 million to develop works that were non-text-based, the relief at the good news of yet another large grant going to new play development (following the Arena Stage’s announcement of their $1 million grant the week before) was quickly followed by consternation surrounding that “non-text-based” quote. Would CTG turn into simply a presenting house? Where is the space for the writer? Or designers? I started my conversation with Diane Rodriguez, director of new play development at CTG asking her about the 'non-text-based' language, and why they went in this direction."

Critics aren't obligated to support theater we don't like.

Storefront Rebellion: "I'm reading with some fascination the comment debate on Chris Jones's review of Route 66's High Fidelity, which opened Monday night. I was there, but I'm not reviewing the show for TOC, so I'll leave my own opinions of the show aside until John Beer's review hits on Monday. But the bedrock of the comment by 'allison' that kicked off the conversation, and some of the comments that follow, deal in what I consider to be fallacies about a critic's job description; they also address some of what I talked about in my post here earlier this week. Not that he needs it from me, but I feel compelled to defend Chris a bit."

ESTA Announces that Revised RDM Standard is Available for Review

PLSN: "BSR E1.20 - 200x, a revision of the existing ANSI E1.20 - 2006, Entertainment Technology — Remote Device Management over USITT DMX512, is available for public review on the ESTA Web site through Oct. 19, 2009."

Just the MPTF Facts, Ma'am

The Wrap: "Last week, we received word that the Teamsters have joined SAG in standing up against the closure of the Motion Picture and Television Fund Long Term Care facility. Our momentum in ramping up the heat is moving faster than the spinning dial on my bathroom scale."

Sentences No One Wants To Hear In Production

Live Design: "There are many sentences in our industry that no one wants to hear. “Someone’s been hurt,” for example, sends a chill down my spine. “The client is unhappy,” though much less serious, also summons a bad feeling in the stomach. One sentence, “We’ll figure it out on site,” is often tossed around and seems innocuous. However, every time I hear it, my trepidation grows, and I consider raising my fees."

MOMA Exhibit On Drawing For Performance

Live Design: "The exhibit, which opened March 11 and runs to September 7, highlights set and costume studies, as well as more abstract suggestions of light and mood, spanning a century of visual experimentation on the stage"

LDI2009 Registration Is Live

LDI2009 Registration Is Live: "Registration is now live for LDI2009, and a wide variety of professional training and events"

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

Here are the top five comment generating posts from the past week...

Used to Be a Major Motion Picture - ‘Catch Me if You Can’ Onstage

NYTimes.com: "AS opening night approached early this month for the new musical “Catch Me if You Can,” about a con man on the run from the F.B.I., the director Jack O’Brien and his creative team were making changes to the production here almost hourly. Dialogue was added; dialogue was dropped. The pacing of some scenes was stepped up. Actors’ hand gestures and body language were tweaked. And one entire section — “mostly nuts-and-bolts exposition” — was excised entirely."

Posted by David at 8/30/2009 03:38:00 PM

Mona Lisa comes to life in high-tech art exhibit

Reuters: "For centuries, Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' and her enigmatic smile have inspired as much speculation as admiration. Now she's ready to answer questions -- in Mandarin."

Posted by David at 8/29/2009 04:46:00 PM

Ten Great Ways to Crush Creativity

Stepcase Lifehack: "Leaders have more power than they realize. They can patiently create a climate of creativity or they can crush it in a series of subtle comments and gestures. Their actions send powerful signals. Their responses to suggestions and ideas are deciphered by staff as encouragement or rejection. If you want to crush creativity in your organization and eliminate all the unnecessary bother of innovation then here are ten steps that are guaranteed to succeed."

Posted by David at 8/29/2009 04:45:00 PM

Sail Away: Disney's Little Mermaid Ends Broadway Run Aug. 30

Playbill News: "Disney's lavish Broadway musical, The Little Mermaid, plays its final performance at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Aug. 30 at 3 PM. When it closes, the musical will have played a total of 50 previews and 685 performances."

Posted by David at 8/30/2009 03:40:00 PM

Checklists for Parents of College Students

NYTimes.com: "Among the emails responding to my post about sending your son to college were two lists.
The first is from Houston Dougharty, vice-president for Student Affairs at Grinnell College, who has spent much of his 24-year career advising parents on how to prepare their children (and themselves) for this new chapter.
There are five things you must talk about before your kids leave (or shortly thereafter, if you read this and feel the need to play catch up…) he writes"

Posted by David at 8/29/2009 04:31:00 PM

How to e-mail a professor

Orange Crate Art: "I've read enough e-mails to know that many college students could benefit from some guidelines for writing an e-mail to a professor. Here they are"

Posted by David at 8/29/2009 04:30:00 PM

Swine flu hits CMU, PSU

Post Gazette: "Eight new cases of swine flu were confirmed at Carnegie Mellon University yesterday, bringing the total to 26 students with H1N1 influenza, and the number is expected to climb.
Penn State University also confirmed several cases, while other local universities reported no problems to date."

Posted by David at 8/27/2009 12:38:00 PM

Conservatory Hour

Monday, August 31, 2009

Conservatory Hour:

“Intents and Insights” for THE GRAPES OF WRATH

The director and production team will present their vision of this upcoming production.

In the Checco Studio A 4:30-5:30

Sail Away: Disney's Little Mermaid Ends Broadway Run Aug. 30

Playbill News: "Disney's lavish Broadway musical, The Little Mermaid, plays its final performance at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Aug. 30 at 3 PM. When it closes, the musical will have played a total of 50 previews and 685 performances."

Married, With Dialogue - Docudrama Team Continues Work With Refugee-Themed ‘Aftermath’

NYTimes.com: "THE 2002 play “The Exonerated,” based on interviews with people who were released from death row, won praise for depicting lives derailed by wrongful convictions."

Used to Be a Major Motion Picture - ‘Catch Me if You Can’ Onstage

NYTimes.com: "AS opening night approached early this month for the new musical “Catch Me if You Can,” about a con man on the run from the F.B.I., the director Jack O’Brien and his creative team were making changes to the production here almost hourly. Dialogue was added; dialogue was dropped. The pacing of some scenes was stepped up. Actors’ hand gestures and body language were tweaked. And one entire section — “mostly nuts-and-bolts exposition” — was excised entirely."

State Arts Funding Update

Createquity.: "PENNSYLVANIA
Perhaps the most dramatic story this year has been that of Pennsylvania, where in some versions of the state budget under consideration the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts's $14 million budget would be eliminated. The ripple effect is already taking a toll on Philadelphia, which has announced that it may have to close its own cultural affairs office (just re-opened last year) if other state funding doesn't come through, and where the possible elimination of Pennsylvania's tax credit has forced M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie to Canada. The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance has done a great job organizing the resistance, and you can follow the action on Twitter with the hashtags #savePAarts and #PAbudget."

Seattle's professional actors feeling squeezed off local stages

Seattle Times Newspaper: "Many Seattle theater fans have been regaled, moved and amused by Hana Lass in the past year.
The gifted young actress played an ardent Juliet in Wooden O's 'Romeo and Juliet.' She also covered several roles in 'Crime and Punishment' at Intiman Theatre. She was a blue-nosed gamin and a witch in two Seattle Children's Theatre shows. And her sprightly Ariel graced Seattle Shakespeare Company's 'The Tempest.'
So what parts will Lass tackle in the coming season?
As of today: none."

Once the victim of a cool reception, plucky nonprofit is suddenly a hot ticket

TwinCities.com: "Theater Space Project is a nonprofit that has spent nearly a decade providing low-cost performance space to theaters and dance companies. In 2008, the group couldn't give its space away, and its very livelihood was threatened. These days, though, the venue, which recently expanded to 120 seats, is enjoying an unprecedented period of activity."

Mona Lisa comes to life in high-tech art exhibit

Reuters: "For centuries, Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' and her enigmatic smile have inspired as much speculation as admiration. Now she's ready to answer questions -- in Mandarin."

Ten Great Ways to Crush Creativity

Stepcase Lifehack: "Leaders have more power than they realize. They can patiently create a climate of creativity or they can crush it in a series of subtle comments and gestures. Their actions send powerful signals. Their responses to suggestions and ideas are deciphered by staff as encouragement or rejection. If you want to crush creativity in your organization and eliminate all the unnecessary bother of innovation then here are ten steps that are guaranteed to succeed."

The Questions You Shouldn't Answer, And The Answers You Can't Let Go Of - World-building

io9: "The night before we were scheduled to shoot that scene, John Wirth and I went down to the set to see how it looked. It's late and I know the crew wants to get on their work. But here's the conversation we have:
ME: There's something…not right.
JOHN: I agree. It's just…what is it?
ME: It's not…I dunno…right.
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Could you be a little more specific? We'll fix it. But, you know, maybe a direction to go in? Font size? Pen color? Anything?
ME: It's just…I can't think of any other way to say it…but it doesn't look like a Terminator wrote it.
JOHN: Exactly.
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Huh."

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"

Lightwright 5

John McKernon Software: "Over four years in the making, Lightwright™ 5 is the next generation of Lightwright. It is in the final stages of testing and should be released by mid August."

A&E Goes To Court To Defend Fair Use Of 12 Second Clip Of Music

Techdirt: "A&E claims that it's fair use, since the music was being used in part as a news report would use it. The article compares it to both the recent case where John Lennon's Imagine was allowed in the movie Expelled without a license... but also to the infamous Bridgeport ruling that basically said fair use doesn't apply to music at all. Some will say that A&E's case is also weaker because it had approached the children of the songwriters (who now control the copyright) about a license, and then never got one, but that, alone, doesn't change the fair use calculation."

Producer’s Perspective fails to consider the other perspective

Backstage at BackstageJobs.com: "The Joyce Theatre in NYC recently had its stagehands ask to have IATSE Local One represent them. The stagehands, and Local One, are hoping that the Joyce Theatre management will work through the first step of the process in a fair manner. Specifically: if an independent third party, chosen by the theatre, determines that a majority of the stagehands have signed representation cards (as Local One claims), then the Joyce should voluntarily recognize the union as the bargaining agent for the stagehands. This would then pave the way to begin contract talks."

ThomasNet – An Awesome Repository Of Technical Information

Make Use Of: "Normally when I am looking for technical information, it is computer related. In the last few weeks I have had to do a lot of manly tasks including polishing a garage floor and getting into some laser cutting.
I know crazy right? Real physical hands on work! Well in my quest for knowledge I found a awesome technical information website called ThomasNet."

Theater - At Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Feverish, Irrational Love

NYTimes.com: "“Reason and love keep little company together nowadays,” says Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” marveling at the suddenly smitten Titania’s professions of besotted attraction. The unreasoning nature of love — and the troubles that attend it — are on vivid display at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival here, where productions of plays and musicals spanning several centuries turn on fated attractions that rarely end happily."

Times Square: Broadway unbound

Variety: "This summer, Broadway has been radically different.
The street itself, that is.
Since Memorial Day, five blocks of Broadway, stretching from West 42nd Street to West 47th Street, have been closed to traffic in an effort to ease congestion and to turn a significant chunk of Times Square into a pedestrian promenade. And with those newly established semi-piazzas right in the heart of the theater district, reviews from legiters have been coming in all summer."

Pair of fests test the fiscal waters

Variety: "Canada's two heavyweight summer theater festivals -- Stratford and Shaw -- can be viewed as a solid indicator of how much disposable income is out there in North America. So with both orgs predicting break-even budgets for 2009, the current season echoes the cautious optimism being felt throughout the economy."

Indie Theatre: Strenghts/Weaknesses

Parabasis: "Some Thoughts on the Indie Theatre Scene From a Practitioner
NB: I am really only writing about New York here, I’d love to hear what other people’s experiences of the indie/grassroots/whatever scenes in their town’s.
NB2: This is very rough. Commentary is welcome.
NB3: Please forgive the wonky formatting."

Checklists for Parents of College Students

NYTimes.com: "Among the emails responding to my post about sending your son to college were two lists.
The first is from Houston Dougharty, vice-president for Student Affairs at Grinnell College, who has spent much of his 24-year career advising parents on how to prepare their children (and themselves) for this new chapter.
There are five things you must talk about before your kids leave (or shortly thereafter, if you read this and feel the need to play catch up…) he writes"

How to e-mail a professor

Orange Crate Art: "I've read enough e-mails to know that many college students could benefit from some guidelines for writing an e-mail to a professor. Here they are"

Theater companies near start of new seasons

Post Gazette: "Three theater companies of widely divergent approaches are ready to raise their curtains on the new season"

PBT takes steps to prep for Holocaust project

Post Gazette: "'How can you grapple with the number 6 million?' Edie Naveh asked members of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre at the company studios on Monday.
Naveh, director of the Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh, was helping PBT to begin preparation for 'Light/The Holocaust & Humanity Project,' a work by Austin Ballet's Stephen Mills that will have its local premiere Nov. 12-15."

Need Film Crew to Finish Web Series Pilot

Craigslist: "In need of crew. Details below summary of short film."

Chicago Jeff Nominees Include Ruined, A Minister's Wife, Bowery Boys, Sella, Ernster, Petersen, Ekulona

Playbill News: "Nominees for the Equity Jeff Awards, celebrating excellence in Chicago area theatre, were announced Aug. 27. Goodman Theatre and Drury Lane Oakbrook earned the most nominations.
The awards will be handed out Oct. 19 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL."

Arbitrator Favors Jeremy Piven in ‘Speed-the-Plow’ Dispute

NYTimes.com: "The most famous fish story on Broadway reached its conclusion on Thursday after an arbitrator found that Jeremy Piven did not violate his contract when he withdrew from the revival of “Speed-the-Plow,” citing a case of mercury poisoning."

New York Fringe - ‘666,’ ‘Adventures of Alvin Sputnik,’ ’49 Project,’ ‘K of D,’ ‘His Greatness’

NYTimes.com: "In its first week the New York International Fringe Festival can seem vast and impenetrable, one of the few times of year when you enter the theater with almost no idea of what to expect. By week 2, however, reviews and word of mouth spread, and for alert audiences the menu of more than 200 shows shrinks to a few hits everyone’s talking about."

Is now the best time for this?

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: "According to this New York Times article, Local 1 made a move on The Joyce Theater this week, in an attempt to organize and unionize the stagehands at the 472 seat theater in Chelsea."

How To Make A Calendar Template In Excel

Make Use Of: "As an avid Excel user, I often find myself trying to do things with Excel that most folks would never consider. There are several reasons for this, but the most important is that Microsoft Excel has certain features that make certain unique formatting tasks extremely simple and easy to automate.
Earlier, I introduced MUO readers to my love affair with Excel when I wrote about how you can use it to create an effective household budget. I was also pleased to read some love from other MUO authors, such as Karl’s article about how to split a monster sized Excel spreadsheet, or Eyal’s Excel printing tips.
Today I’m going to share a few additional cool features in Excel that you can use specifically to make a calendar template in Excel."

UK play on witch-burning seen as modern parable

Reuters: "Superstition, torture, and its effect on the perpetrator are at the heart of historical drama 'The Last Witch,' which although set nearly 300 years ago still resonates today.
Rona Munro's play at the Royal Lyceum Theater, commissioned for the Edinburgh International Festival, is based on sparse fact and local legend about the fate of Janet Horne, convicted and burned for witchcraft around 1727, on the eve of the Scottish intellectual Enlightenment."

'Rogue trader' scandal inspires French play

Yahoo! News: "A French Riviera theatre is putting on a play based on the rogue trading scandal at Societe Generale bank to mark one year since the onset of the global financial crisis.
'Le Roman d'un trader' (Story of a Trader), a comedy loosely based on the multi-billion euro losses blamed on SocGen trader Jerome Kerviel in 2008, will run at the Nice theatre for three weeks from September 23."

Weekend Feedback: PICT deserves praise for 'History' lesson

Post Gazette: "I was perplexed by the logic of Bob Hoover's August 16 op-ed article 'Literature is Good for You,' taking the Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre to task for publishing a seven-page list of literary references in its program for 'The History Boys.' On the one hand, Mr. Hoover laments 'the deplorable state of American education,' while on the other he criticizes PICT for its efforts to improve it. He finds the references a 'self-congratulatory piece that panders ... to the educated class' and the explanations themselves 'limit, rather than free, our interpretation of the play.'"

Blue Mango Theatre serves culturally diverse 'Moonshine & SkyToffee'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "When Sandhya Krishnan got laid off from her job at Deloitte & Touche, moping was not an option. 'I decided, rather than be sad, why not start a theater company?' Krishnan says.
She founded and became executive director of Blue Mango Theatre, which makes its debut Friday at the New Hazlett Theater in the North Side with 'Moonshine and SkyToffee.'"

Swine flu hits CMU, PSU

Post Gazette: "Eight new cases of swine flu were confirmed at Carnegie Mellon University yesterday, bringing the total to 26 students with H1N1 influenza, and the number is expected to climb.
Penn State University also confirmed several cases, while other local universities reported no problems to date."

Uploads, Not Open Calls

Backstage: "It's a familiar routine for actors everywhere: Get dressed, check your makeup, fight traffic or subway crowds for an hour or more, then sit in a casting office, poring over sides for the hundredth time as you wait for your name to be called. A few minutes later, you're saying 'Thank you' and heading off to your next chance to hurry up and wait. It's just what you have to do to get a job, right? Well, maybe not anymore."

WGA Reports Dismal 2008

Backstage: "The Writers Guild of America West has posted its 2009 annual report, released to members earlier this summer, on its website, and the numbers paint a bleak picture of the fiscal year that ended March 31."

SAG Members Ratify Basic Cable Live Action Contract

Backstage: "The Screen Actors Guild has announced that members have approved a two-year successor contract to its Basic Cable Live Action agreement by a vote of 93.71% percent to 6.29% percent."

Back to School: Talk to Your Professor!

Stepcase Lifehack: "For university students around the US it’s time to go back to school
, or go for the first time for freshmen. European and other students might have a while before the next school year starts up, but this advice is for them, too.
Talk to your professors!
In one of my earliest posts here at Lifehack, I explained how to talk to a professor – today, I want to talk about why you should talk with your professors."

Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration

Geeks Are Sexy: "This 5-minute clip, (made as an educational video for use as an introduction to classroom lecture), shows the history 100 years of visual effects as seen in some of the most notable movies of the past century."

Robots kiss, but don't go to second base (yet)

Crave - CNET: "With robots now doing everything from strutting the fashion catwalk to greeting hotel guests, it was only a matter of time before our humanoid friends started engaging in public displays of affection. Exhibit A: Thomas and Janet, two performance bots who made out publicly in front of hundreds during a December 2008 robotic production of 'Phantom of the Opera' in Taiwan (racy robot lip-lock video is only making the rounds now)."

Production: Beauty and the Beast (WIT #215)

ATW: "The Beauty and the Beast production team – press representative Chris Boneau, producer Michael David, associate producer Donald Frantz, production supervisor Jeremiah Harris, producer Robert W. McTyre, marketing consultant Margery Singer – discuss creating a stage musical from an animated film, costume designs, production budget and ticket prices, marketing and publicity including a literacy program, and Disney’s plans on Broadway."

In Goreyland at the Fringe Festival, With Hints of the Sinister and Ludicrous

NYTimes.com: "Programs for New York International Fringe Festival performances currently contain questionnaires issued by Theatermania.com. The seventh request: “Three words to describe yourself.” On Tuesday I saw two Fringe shows at the Robert Moss Theater. After the Riedel Dance Theater’s “Ukrainian Eggs: Terrible Tales of Tragedy and AlleGorey” my adjectives were: disappointed, underwhelmed and unenthusiastic. After Etch Dance Company’s “Testify” they were: impatient, testy and anti-Fringe."

How Four Actors Spent Their ‘God of Carnage’ Vacation

NYTimes.com: "After months of bickering and brawling, of hurling things at and on one another, of demolishing their marriages and the institution itself, the cast of “God of Carnage” needed a break."

Some Lyrics Restored to English in Broadway Revival of ‘West Side Story’

NYTimes.com: "It should be one of the most pained, poignant moments in any production of “West Side Story”: a grief-stricken Anita tells her friend Maria to end her love affair with Tony because he has just killed Bernardo, Anita’s boyfriend and Maria’s brother."

Torch Theatre to Present "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" Live Onstage

Playbill News: "Minneapolis' Torch Theater will try to 'turn the world on with [a] smile' in September when it presents ten benefit performances of the Emmy-winning TV series 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show.'"

'Addams' adds to family

Variety: "Tony-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz (“Aida,” “The Coast of Utopia”), maverick puppeteer Basil Twist and music director Mary-Mitchell Campbell (“Company”) have joined the creative team of “The Addams Family,” the upcoming Broadway musical based on Charles Addams’ iconic cartoon clan."

Arts and cultural groups make their cases for RAD funds

Post Gazette: "For a number of Pittsburgh's cultural institutions facing a recession and the ongoing state budget crisis, the Allegheny Regional Asset District may be the only place left to turn for critical funding."

Painters, Artist, Stage Designers

Craigslist: "A newly formed group of Entreprenuerial Women are having a Holiday Fashion Show in November. We are looking for people to assist us in creating BACKDROPS for our segments of the show."

Habitual multitaskers do it badly, study shows

Crave - CNET: "If you can't read through this article in one sitting, you may be in serious trouble. The good news is you wouldn't discover what your problem is. Are you still reading?
It has been my presumption that multitaskers are generally more productive than people who prefer to do one thing at a time. Typical examples of those with what I call 'occupational short attention span' tend to be workers in high-tech environments, including me and most of my CNET co-workers."

Mattress Factory's myG20 is the real deal on the action, join the Street Team

Pop City: "The hip guide to what's going down around town is here with myG20, a crowd-curated guide to the hot financial summit this September.
'It's really important to give people a voice to share what they feel is special about Pittsburgh,' explains Jeffrey Inscho of the Mattress Factory, the North Side museum that loves digital outreach. 'We hope it will serve as a real-time guide to where people can go, performances that pop up and document the event as well.'"

'Bye Bye Birdie' revival on Broadway drops scene for 'gang rape' concern

Daily News: "Should the classic bubblegum musical 'Bye Bye Birdie' be more P.C.?
Apparently so. According to Gina Gershon, who stars as Rose in the upcoming revival, the production has said bye bye to a frisky dance sequence that has been in the show since its debut in 1960."

Pete Townshend working on new musical and Who album

guardian.co.uk: "Pete Townshend has announced plans for a new musical, songs from which will appear on a new album by the Who. Forget mods, rockers and pinball wizards – the production, Floss, concerns the angst of the ageing Baby Boomer generation."

Talks Between MPTF, Patients at Stalemate

Backstage: "The Motion Picture & Television Fund on Tuesday resumed notifying individual patients and families affected by its decision to close a hospital and long-term care facility at its retirement campus in Woodland Hills."

Producers scuttle 'Busker Alley'

Variety: "Take 'Busker Alley' off the Broadway map: Producers have scuttled the gestating production, which had been announced in 2007.
Show, with songs by Richard and Robert Sherman ('Mary Poppins,' 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'), has fallen off track due to a combination of developments, including the 2007 death of book writer AJ Carothers and the worsening health of one of the Sherman brothers."

Pittsburgh Opera offers $10 tickets for 2008-09 shows

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Lowest-price tickets to performances by the Pittsburgh Opera have been reduced to $10 for the coming season, a 37.5 percent reduction in prices from the 2008-09 year.
General director Christopher Hahn says the organization is 'working very hard to continue to produce opera of the highest standard in the current economic climate.'"

Mime piece, 3 other works will be presented at Duquesne University theater

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Mime and actor Mark C. Thompson and a company of actors will perform 'The Hungers of Arlecchino' this weekend at Duquesne University's Peter Mills Theater.
Thompson wrote the commedia dell'arte-inspired mime piece to be performed with music that Wolfgang Mozart wrote for pantomime performance."

A Song Like That: Collaborators Reconsider Spanish Lyrics in West Side Story

Playbill News: "Producers of the Tony Award-nominated revival of West Side Story announced Aug. 25 that slight lyric changes were implemented into the production at Broadway's Palace Theatre on Aug. 20.
Two songs that had been performed in Spanish since the show's opening — 'A Boy Like That' ('Un Hombre Asi'), sung by Tony winner Karen Olivo, and 'I Feel Pretty' ('Siento Hermosa'), led by Tony nominee Josefina Scaglione — are now delivered mostly in English. The Spanish sung by the Sharks in the 'Tonight' (Quintet) remains."

On the London Stage - Playing It for Real - 'Hello, Dolly!' With a Little Less Flamboyance

NYTimes.com: "Is it possible for a Broadway musical war horse to reinvent itself in the absence of its legendary original lead? Most buoyantly, even against the odds movingly, in the case of the new London revival of “Hello, Dolly!,” the 1964 Jerry Herman musical that for a generation or two of playgoers will be forever associated with the saucer-eyed brio of Carol Channing, who originated the role of the Yonkers matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi. Ms. Channing was replaced many times on Broadway, not least by Ethel Merman, but in theater lore is held up to this day as irreplaceable."

Passing Strange hits the big screen

Berkeley Rep Blog: "From the stage of Berkeley Rep to the big screen, Passing Strange continues its epic journey.
After having its world premiere on Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, Passing Strange, an intoxicating musical theater experience created by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, headed to The Public Theater and then to New York, where it won Stew a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical."

The Legacy of Thirtysomething

Women & Hollywood: "It’s been over 20 years since Thirtysomething went on the air and 18 years since it departed and now finally the first season will be released on DVD today. What I find so interesting about the show is how far reaching into TV and films — but mostly TV — that the participants of the show have had on our lives."

The Unsinkable Student Organization System

Study Hacks: "As the back to school season transitions from looming to present, it’s time I turned our attention back to the technical details of becoming an outstanding student. In this post, I want to tackle a topic that’s relevant on the very first day of your new semester: staying organized."

Robots to Star in Opera

Bots 4 Tots: "“Death and the Powers” is the first Robotic Opera ever produced, and is currently in development as a collaborative project by the MIT Media Lab and the American Repertory Theater. It is scheduled to open Fall of next year (2010), premiering internationally at locations including the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Massachusetts as well as the Chicago Opera Theater. Read on! You really want to hear the rest of this, it’s good!
What do Yo-Yo Ma, Prince and Guitar Hero have in common? Tod Machover, that’s what!"

Yamaha LS 9 digital console

Ramblings of a Techie: "I have been using the ls9 for a few days and it seems to do it’s job capably. The model I have been using is the ls9-16, which it designation implies is the 16 channel version. There is also a 32 channel version of this console. The unit that I am using has a small footprint, it will sit comfortably on a standard 19″ rack. Since I have always used analog consoles this was a bit daunting to start of with. You soon realise that it has the same features as an analog desk plus a lot more. All the feature you expect are found in the menu structure or on the front panel. In fact it does not take long to get a simple mix happening."

Theatre means business at the Edinburgh festival

guardian.co.uk: "Too big, too cocky, too blatantly commercial. Over the years, those are the views I've often heard expressed by the theatre world about their comedy cousins on the fringe. For as long as I've been coming to Edinburgh, people have complained that the standups are ruining the fringe and are only there with an eye to getting discovered and snapping up a lucrative TV deal."

Pete Townshend plans new musical "Floss"

Yahoo! News: "The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, behind rock operas 'Tommy' and 'Quadrophenia', is writing a new musical 'Floss', about getting old.
'As a 19-year-old, with 'My Generation', I wrote the most explicitly ageist song in rock,' Townshend wrote on his band's website (http://www.thewho.com). The 1965 hit song includes the line 'I hope I die before I get old'.
'At 64, I now want to take on aging and mortality, using the powerfully angry context of rock'n'roll.'"

Non-Technical Difficulties: Unions Block Online Stream of Live Theater Performance

Technology in the Arts: "In 2006 Stephanie Riso, Operations Director of the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theater (PICT), recognized the limitations that performance space imposed on ticket sales for her popular Cabaret Pittsburgh project. She considered ways to expand the audience of the musical revue without finding a new location or having to take the show on the road, and landed on the possibilites afforded by internet streaming."

Dramaturgy at Work

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Blog: "It’s my first time working with the ensemble at Steppenwolf, and I’m here as production dramaturg in rehearsals for Eric Simonson’s play Fake."

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"