Nemetschek NA Releases Vectorworks 2010

PLSN: "Nemetschek North America announced the 2010 release of their Vectorworks line of design software, including: Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Machine Design, Fundamentals, and Renderworks.
Building upon the integration of the Parasolid 3D modeling core in 2009, version 2010 is geared to making changes easier with the addition of bi-directional associativity features and a 3D modeling environment. These capabilities are included to help make sure that changes are reflected throughout the entire design."

Lighting Design Group- Lighting Project Manager

Backstage Employment Network: "The Lighting Design Group, an Internationally recognized Broadcast and Entertainment Design firm in NYC seeks an experienced full-time Lighting Project Manager."

Le Rêve - Automation Technician

Backstage Employment Network: "Wynn Las Vegas is seeking an Automation Technician for its show 'Le Rêve' located in Las Vegas, NV."

Le Rêve - Rigger

Backstage Employment Network: "Wynn Las Vegas is seeking a Rigger for its major production show “Le Rêve” located in Las Vegas, NV."

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

Phantom celebrates 9,000 performances on Broadway

The Stage: "The Phantom of the Opera, already the longest-running show in Broadway history, will today hit another milestone when it becomes the first Broadway show to reach the 9,000 performance mark."

Posted by David at 9/20/2009 03:27:00 PM

Top 10 Underhyped Webapps, 2009 Edition

Lifehacker: "As with rock music, video games, and other awesome pursuits, great web applications often don't get enough credit for what they do well. We're revisiting and updating our favorite underhyped webapps to give a new crop of contenders their due."

Posted by David at 9/19/2009 09:57:00 PM

With ‘American Idiot’ the Musical, Green Day Reaches a New Stage

NYTimes.com: "MOMENTS before the opening curtain of “American Idiot,” the musical theater debut of the punk band Green Day, a T-shirted house manager took the stage at Berkeley Repertory Theater for the tradition of reminding audience members to turn off their cellphones and unwrap their candies.
This being a musical by Green Day, though, it wasn’t your typical curtain speech.
“Are you ready to rock tonight?” shouted the house manager, John Gay. And sure enough, the crowd roared back, “Yeah!”"

Posted by David at 9/18/2009 02:06:00 PM

Communicating with Co-Workers and Clients Through Social Media

WebWorkerDaily: "Lately, I’ve gotten a lot of my clients contacting me through Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites. I got a direct message from one of my clients, saying that she has a new project she wants to start on. I received a LinkedIn message from a prospective client interested in working with me. It isn’t just clients, either. I sent a direct message to a designer I’m working with in order to get a quote for a project myself.
But are there any problems that can arise from conducting business conversations through social media?"

Posted by David at 9/20/2009 03:27:00 PM

Stage Rights plans to soar with 'Peter Pan'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Elly Noble of Greensburg has acted in many local theater productions, including several at Pittsburgh Playhouse, but her leading role in Stage Right's 'Peter Pan' is unique for one reason:
'It's my first time flying,' she says.
The young actress, a senior in Point Park University's musical-theater program, is excited about playing the boy that won't grow up — especially because she gets to be airborne in a few scenes."

Posted by David at 9/18/2009 02:08:00 PM

Phantom celebrates 9,000 performances on Broadway

The Stage: "The Phantom of the Opera, already the longest-running show in Broadway history, will today hit another milestone when it becomes the first Broadway show to reach the 9,000 performance mark."

Communicating with Co-Workers and Clients Through Social Media

WebWorkerDaily: "Lately, I’ve gotten a lot of my clients contacting me through Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites. I got a direct message from one of my clients, saying that she has a new project she wants to start on. I received a LinkedIn message from a prospective client interested in working with me. It isn’t just clients, either. I sent a direct message to a designer I’m working with in order to get a quote for a project myself.
But are there any problems that can arise from conducting business conversations through social media?"

Horton Foote’s ‘Orphans’ Home Cycle’ Arrives at Hartford Stage

NYTimes.com: "When Mr. Foote died in March, he was in the middle of big career developments. “Dividing the Estate,” his new play about a battling family, had just won a Tony Award nomination for best play and was returning to Hartford Stage, with its Broadway cast largely intact."

Melissa Gilbert Revisiting ‘Little House’ at Paper Mill Playhouse

NYTimes.com: "BEFORE Melissa Gilbert could tackle the role of Caroline Ingalls, who was Ma to her Laura on the TV show “Little House on the Prairie,” she “had to get the music of Karen Grassle’s voice out of my head from all those years,” she said. Ms. Grassle was the actress who played Ma on the series, which originally ran from 1974 to 1983."

Twyla Tharp Fashions a New Dance Show From Sinatra

NYTimes.com: "DURING the last decade Twyla Tharp — no matter her successes and failures — has remained a choreographer for whom dancers will bend over backward. Two and a half years ago she received a call from three accomplished dancers she met in the course of her 2002 Broadway hit, 'Movin' Out.' They showed up at her home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for tea."

Michael McKean Returns to Broadway, by Way of Chicago

NYTimes.com: "WHEN Michael McKean first sat down to read Tracy Letts’s 'Superior Donuts,' he had the script in one hand and a menu the size of a novella in the other. “I took the play, and I went to the Westway Diner,” he said of the Midtown Manhattan restaurant popular with theater types. “I’m sitting there with tears streaming down my face, pounding the table and just behaving like a madman. Of course no one looked at me. It’s the Westway Diner.”"

Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz - Friends Play Enemies in ‘Othello’

NYTimes.com: "JOHN ORTIZ and Philip Seymour Hoffman have been close friends for 15 years, both off stage and on. They played best buddies in the 2007 production of “Jack Goes Boating” at the Public Theater, and Mr. Hoffman directed Mr. Ortiz to rave reviews in “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” in 2005. They were co-artistic directors of a downtown theater company, LAByrinth Theater, for more than a decade; during that time they celebrated the births of each other’s children and commiserated over the highs and lows of their beloved New York sports teams."

Fake, With Guinan as Arthur Conan Doyle, Opens in Chicago Sept. 20

Playbill News: "Steppenwolf Theatre Company's world premiere of writer-director Eric Simonson's Fake, featuring 'Sherlock Holmes' writer Arthur Conan Doyle as a character, opens Sept. 20 after previews from Sept. 10."

Gilbert, Blanchard, Lindsay, Massey, Loprest Explore a Musical Prairie at Paper Mill, Opening Sept. 20

Playbill News: "The East Coast premiere of the new musical Little House on the Prairie, starring Melissa Gilbert as Ma, officially opens Sept. 20 at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, prior to a national tour."

film crew needed

Craigslist: "shooting a movie called Beyond Me in pittsburgh pa"

John Wells elected WGA West president

Hollywood Reporter: "Signaling that it is ready to strike out in a new direction, the WGA West has elected John Wells president. Wells, who earned 52.8% of the vote, ran against the Writers United slate, headed by presidential candidate Elias Davis, which was committed to following the path set by outgoing president Patric Verrone."

Mountain Playhouse's 'Menagerie' lacks Williams' classic tension

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "How well you enjoy the Mountain Playhouse production of 'The Glass Menagerie' might depend on whether you've come to see the play or its star, Sandy Duncan.
Duncan and her son, Jeffrey Correia, are playing Amanda and Tom Wingfield, the mother-and-son duo in Tennessee Williams' classic drama that runs through Sept. 27 at the Jennerstown theater."

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"

Top 10 Underhyped Webapps, 2009 Edition

Lifehacker: "As with rock music, video games, and other awesome pursuits, great web applications often don't get enough credit for what they do well. We're revisiting and updating our favorite underhyped webapps to give a new crop of contenders their due."

Docu-plays hit the road

Variety: "Guerilla playwrights, willing to sleep in their cars for fear of losing an interview, or decamp for the Middle East or West Africa at the drop of a hat, are planting their flags all over the nonprofit theater map.
Documentary plays, fresh from still-boiling conflict zones, are appearing all over the country, from Lynn Nottage’s 'Ruined,' the Pulitzer -winning 'Mother Courage' update about Congolese victims of rape and sexual mutilation, to Danai Gurira’s Liberia-set 'Eclipsed' and Jessica Blank and Eric Jensen’s Iraqi exile drama 'Aftermath.'"

Broadway's commercial attempts at Shakespeare

Variety: "Something smells sweet in the state of Denmark.
The Jude Law 'Hamlet,' set to open Oct. 6 on Broadway, grossed an encouraging $236,145 in its first two previews. It’s safe to say that since this London transfer opened to upbeat reviews at the Donmar Warehouse, those two New York perfs did not include many ambulance chasers in search of a movie star’s onstage car crash."

Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre plans Pinter paean for 2010 seasons

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "A Shakespearean tragedy, the world premiere of a musical by a local playwright and a celebration of Harold Pinter's plays are among the plans for the 2010 Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre season.
Subscription sales began Thursday for the season of six productions and four directed readings that will be performed between April and December 2010 in the Stephen Foster Memorial in Oakland."

Stage Rights plans to soar with 'Peter Pan'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Elly Noble of Greensburg has acted in many local theater productions, including several at Pittsburgh Playhouse, but her leading role in Stage Right's 'Peter Pan' is unique for one reason:
'It's my first time flying,' she says.
The young actress, a senior in Point Park University's musical-theater program, is excited about playing the boy that won't grow up — especially because she gets to be airborne in a few scenes."

Seeking Sound Recordist

Craigslist: "Production company is seeking a sound recordist and boom operator for a High Def film to be shot on location in and around the Pittsburgh area from early October to early November."

Makeup/Wardrobe NEEDED for Short Film

Craigslist: "Hi there! I'm looking for someone to be a part of the production design team and take care of makeup and wardrobe."

Cruz, Weller and Wilson Among Winners of the Helen Merrill Award

Playbill News: "The eight winners of the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award — established by Merrill, the late theatrical agent who devoted her life to nurturing the careers of playwrights — were announced Sept. 20."

With ‘American Idiot’ the Musical, Green Day Reaches a New Stage

NYTimes.com: "MOMENTS before the opening curtain of “American Idiot,” the musical theater debut of the punk band Green Day, a T-shirted house manager took the stage at Berkeley Repertory Theater for the tradition of reminding audience members to turn off their cellphones and unwrap their candies.
This being a musical by Green Day, though, it wasn’t your typical curtain speech.
“Are you ready to rock tonight?” shouted the house manager, John Gay. And sure enough, the crowd roared back, “Yeah!”"

A toast to the opening of American Idiot

Berkeley Rep Blog: "This week has seen one thrill after another with the festive opening, at long last, of Green Day's American Idiot. The world premiere of this extraordinary rock-and-roll event was greeted with standing ovations and an incredible level of audience enthusiasm.
To share the excitement, here are a couple video peeks into the world of American Idiot."

House Passes The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act

The Gavel: "This afternoon, the House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221) by a vote of 253-171. The bill ensures that higher education is more affordable at no additional expense to taxpayers – in fact, it saves money. More students will go to college, they will graduate with less debt, and the federal loan initiatives that they and their families depend upon will be strengthened for decades to come."

How to Finish a Writing Project

Men With Pens: "Do you have a big writing project on the go? Perhaps it’s an ebook, a non-fiction book, a novel, a free report for your website, or a series of pillar posts for your blog. Whatever that project is, it’s probably not something you can knock out in an afternoon."

Sexism Watch: Steinberg Playwright Awards

Women & Hollywood: "It’s not enough to have clear statistics about how women are discriminated in theatre, but now a new award — The Steinberg Playwright Awards — given to “emerging” playwrights has decided that there is no woman good enough to qualify as emerging."

Quickly Incorporate Curves Into Your Project

Toolmonger: "If you want to incorporate curves into your project, there are a few ways to do it. You can cut wood into thin strips of veneer and build up a curve layer by layer, you can steam the wood, or you can cut closely-spaced kerfs. Using KerfKore panels is another way to skip these time-consuming methods and get down to building."

Dear Dramaturgs...

Dramaturgy in H[ollywoo]D: "Even though you have been trained to be lean, mean researching machines, frankly...research is the last thing anyone will hire you to do. Everyone assumes that the writers and designers have done their own homework, so why would they hire someone ELSE to do research? That's just another person on payroll. And, whatever research jobs you will get will probably be part-time and underpaid. Why? Because there is no union for researchers. You will live your lives pseudo-employed, without health care and definitely without benefits.
So, here are some other options you should look into"

Steinberg Trust Honors 3 After Tussle Over Playwright Award

NYTimes.com: "After awarding Tony Kushner a record-breaking $200,000 for distinguished playwriting last fall, the Steinberg Trust suddenly realized there was a problem with its plan to present its other newly created award to two emerging playwrights this year. “What we immediately discovered was that we all described ‘emerging’ differently,” said Oskar Eustis, artistic director of the Public Theater in New York and a member of the selection committee. Some of his colleagues thought the prize, created by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, was geared toward writers just a year out of school, while others considered “emerging” to refer to a playwright in midcareer."

At long last, work will start on Shubert Center

TwinCities.com: "Construction on the Minnesota Shubert Center will begin this autumn, a decade after the historic theater was hoisted up on rollers and moved onto Hennepin Avenue and following a series of delays and revisions.
Shubert executive director Colin Hamilton said a ceremonial groundbreaking is set for Nov. 19 with a 12:30 p.m. event in what is now a vacant space between the Hennepin Center for the Arts and the Shubert Theater, located on Hennepin between Fifth and Sixth streets in downtown Minneapolis."

'Yeast Nation,' the Musical From 'Urinetown' Writers, Ferments in Chicago

Yahoo! News: "The Chicago premiere of Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life), the musical from the Tony Award-winning authors of Urinetown, begins brewing in Chicago on Sept. 17.
American Theater Company (ATC)'s production of the quirky show, with music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann and book and lyrics by Greg Kotis, is directed by artistic director PJ Paparelli."

First Steinberg Playwright Awards Announced

Backstage: "At a New York press conference today, Tony Kushner announced the selection of Bruce Norris, Tarell Alvin McCraney and David Adjmi as the first winners of the Steinberg Playwright Awards. The awards recognize playwrights 'at various stages of their early careers whose professional works show great promise' and will be presented at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre on Oct. 26."

PICT deftly cuts to essence of Dostoevsky's 'Crime'

Post Gazette: "For those of us who have read Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment' in our youth when suffering seemed somehow noble and the book's great length unimportant, we now wonder how the classic could be turned into a play, and an 80-minute one at that.
What you do is boil it down into a bouillon cube, hoping to create 'Essence of Dostoevsky,' not exactly a fragrance you'd wear on a daily basis, maybe something you'd dab on to ward off swine flu."

Strong characters help Playhouse Rep's 'That Championship Season' revive memories of bygone era

Post Gazette: "They don't write them like they used to: three acts in real time, exposition, complication and explosion, fueled by alcohol and simmering passion. Gaps aside, 'That Championship Season' is a pretty well-made version of that seldom-seen archetype, the well-made play."

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to offer free outdoor performances before G-20 summit

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Beginning Thursday, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust will offer a series of lunchtime and afternoon rush hour performances to showcase Pittsburgh's diverse cultural community to early arrivals for the G-20 Summit as well as the public at large.
Each day through Wednesday Agnes R. Katz Plaza at Penn Avenue and Seventh Street will feature free outdoor performances open to anyone."

August Wilson Center for African American Culture opens Thursday

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson was a living legend in 2002 when a group of local visionaries incorporated a nonprofit organization called the African American Cultural Center. After his death in 2005, it was only natural to rename it in his honor.
Now, seven years after its inception, the August Wilson Center for African American Culture is a physical reality."

Steinberg Trust in a Tussle Over Eligibility for Playwright Award

NYTimes.com: "After awarding Tony Kushner a record-breaking $200,000 for distinguished playwriting last fall, the Steinberg Trust suddenly realized there was a problem with its plan to present its other newly created award to two emerging playwrights this year. “What we immediately discovered was that we all described ‘emerging’ differently,” said Oskar Eustis, artistic director of the Public Theater in New York and a member of the selection committee. Some of his colleagues thought the prize, created by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, was geared towards writers just a year out of school, while others considered “emerging” to refer to a playwright in mid-career."

100kgarages: a new initiative to connect designers with local makers

Core77: "As designers, we are all familiar with how difficult it is to push small projects through the vast industrial manufacturing complex. You have the idea, the drawings and the money, but factories have no time or patience for your small run. Or it's difficult to find someone open to having a conversation about the methods available to produce your rather experimental piece."

Myna Is an Awesome Multi-Track Audio Editor for Anyone

Lifehacker: "Myna, a free online audio tool from the makers of reader favorite image editor Phoenix, lets pretty much anyone jump into recording, arranging, and mixing audio tracks for quickie soundtracks, or just for the fun of it."

Performing Arts Center opens at Seton Hill University

Post Gazettte: "Seton Hill University is going downhill … in a most positive way.
The venerable Catholic institution, on a bluff overlooking the rest of Greensburg, has expanded its campus, its academic offerings and its reputation -- while further rejuvenating the cultural climate of its city."

August Wilson Center opens its doors

Post Gazette: "Live music, star voices and heartfelt thanks, accompanied by the aroma of southern foods, will waft through the airy spaces of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture tonight as the new facility holds its grand opening celebration."

New team announced for Theatre Building Chicago’s ‘Musical Theatre Writers Workshop’

Chicago Theater Blog: "Theatre Building Chicago is pleased to announce that Jon Steinhagen and Patrick Holland will join Artistic Director Allan Chambers to “team teach” TBC’s Musical Theatre Writers Workshop. The workshop’s curriculum will continue to focus on the development of the artist in specific fundamentals related to creation of new musicals. The Fall semester focuses on lyrics, music and book and the Winter/Spring semester Practicum takes workshop members through the planning, writing and rehearsal process of a new musical."

The Eye of the Storm

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Blog: "Technical rehearsals started today for Fake. We joke and call it the fake tech rehearsal, but it’s very real, and hopefully all our expectations will be met. This is the first time the crew and cast get to see all the production elements together.
The initial hours of tech give me an indication of how the next three or four days will go. So far, so good. We’re about two hours in and moving along."

Women On Stage This Year

Women & Hollywood: "The NY Times did a look at the upcoming theatre season across the country (but honestly, most are in NY.) Here are plays (and musicals) written by women, about women and directed by women."

Autodesk SketchBook Mobile for the iPhone and iPod touch

Between the Lines: "This is so very cool for users of the Apple iPhone and Apple iPod touch and only $2.99 which has to be a record low price for an Autodesk application excluding free products. I am a longtime Crackberry users and never really been tempted to jump to the iPhone because I would spend my time playing with all the cool things instead of working. This single application makes me really consider getting an iPhone, or at least an iPod touch."

Regina Spektor is the latest rock musician to cross over into theater

Los Angeles Times: "Following in the recent footsteps of Green Day and Duncan Sheik, singer Regina Spektor is making the transition from rock star to stage artist in the new musical production 'Beauty,' which is expected to open in 2011.
The Russian-born Spektor, whose latest alt-rock album 'Far' was released earlier this year, currently is writing the music for the show, collaborating with playwright Tina Landau, whose one-act play 'Beauty' provides the inspiration for the production."

'Godot is here': how Samuel Beckett and Vaclav Havel changed history

The Guardian: "In 1982, Samuel Beckett dedicated a new play, Catastrophe, to Václav Havel, then a political prisoner in Czechoslovakia, serving a four and a half year sentence for 'subversive activities'. He had been asked to write the play by the International Association for the Defence of Artists, who were organising a night of solidarity for the Czech playwright at the Avignon festival that summer. Although Beckett had never met Havel, he was concerned by the persecution of artists in eastern Europe and was horrified to hear that Havel had been forbidden to write in prison."

Artistic Director Joy Zinoman to Retire From Studio Theatre

washingtonpost.com: "After 35 years at the helm of a theater and acting school she built from scratch in a once blighted, now thriving city neighborhood, Joy Zinoman is doing what many thought she never would: Leave as artistic director of Studio Theatre."

August Wilson Center to Open in Pittsburgh

Yahoo! News: "The August Wilson Center for African American Culture will officially open the doors of its new facility in Pittsburgh with a music-filled gala on Sept. 17.
The occasion is marked by what's billed as a Grand Opening and World Premiere Tribute Ceremony & Celebration that will run 5 PM to midnight (with various admission levels and times) at the organization's new home at 980 Liberty Avenue."

Steinbeck's "Pastures of Heaven" Will Get World Premiere Adaptation at Cal Shakes

Yahoo! News: "California Shakespeare Theater's 2010 season will feature the world premiere adaptation, John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven, by Octavio Solis. Artistic director Jonathan Moscone announced upcoming programming for the Bay Area company on Sept. 16.
This will mark Moscone's 10th year as leader. The slate includes a provocative comedy of George Bernard Shaw, and 'brand-new productions featuring two of Shakespeare's most intriguing couples [the Macbeths and Beatrice and Benedick].'"

Green Day's 'American Idiot' Musical, Shaped by Tony Winner Mayer, Opens in CA

Yahoo! News: "American Idiot, the new musical borrowing characters and songs from Green Day's hit punk-rock concept album of the same name, opens Sept. 16 after previews from Sept. 4 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California.
Tony Award-winning Spring Awakening director Michael Mayer harbored a longtime passion to see the 2004 album realized as a fleshed-out musical."

Three Questions About August Wilson's 'Fences': Warner Miller

Explore Boston Theatre: "Warner Miller makes his Huntington Theatre Company debut with August Wilson’s Fences. Recently appeared in The Old Globe’s premiere of Since Africa. His credits include August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Syracuse Stage), The Piano Lesson (Geva Theatre and Indiana Repertory Theatre), False Creeds (Alliance Theatre), A Raisin in the Sun (Hartford Stage), The Ballad of Emmett Till (Eugene O’Neill Center), and A Soldier’s Play (Black Spectrum Theatre). Film credits include Melvin Lucas in American Gangster (dir. Ridley Scott), Nicky Lolo in HBO Films’ Wyclef Jean in America,and Beadle in HBO Films’ Everyday People. Television credits include Law & Order, CSI: NY, and Guiding Light. He earned his B.P.S. in music business at Five Towns College."

Carnegie takes another dip into Harris' image trove

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Legendary photographer Charles 'Teenie' Harris (1908-98) captured the black communities of Pittsburgh for more than 60 years, with an essence of family, hope, dignity and celebration at the core of his craft.
His archive portrays the strength and vitality of a thriving black community, from the most acclaimed to the most ordinary subjects."

'Menagerie' is family affair for television actress Duncan

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "A Tennessee Williams classic is next on the books for the Mountain Playhouse staff in Jennerstown.
'The Glass Menagerie' is a play about family dynamics, according to one of the show's lead performers, television actress Sandy Duncan. And the play is a family affair. Duncan's son, Jeffrey Correia, plays her son in the play as well. It's the first time the two have shared a professional stage. Correia was a member of the Mountain Playhouse's resident acting company this season and in 2003."

Review: Streamlined 'Crime' ratchets up the tension

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Corporations are downsizing. Politicians' speeches on complex topics are reduced to sound bites and breaking world news can sometimes arrive as a 140-character tweet.
In a world where small is the next big thing, it's not surprising to find the 500-plus pages of Dostoyevsky's 'Crime and Punishment' has been distilled into an 80-minute drama performed by three actors."

Review: Actors' skills fuel disquieting 'Season'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The men of 'That Championship Season' are neither a happy nor a likable bunch.
Twenty years after winning the state high-school basketball championship, they are mired in mid-life angst and self-pity, fueled by anger and bigotry and stifled by small-town life."

August Wilson Center for African American Culture opens Thursday

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson was a living legend in 2002 when a group of local visionaries incorporated a nonprofit organization called the African American Cultural Center. After his death in 2005, it was only natural to rename it in his honor."

Assistant Makeup/Wardrobe Needed

Craigslist: "Need someone to assist with makeup and wardrobe for a short film. Person will be working with production designer and makeup artist to help keep actors properly clothed and shine-free."

MAKE UP/ SPECIAL FX NEEDED

Craigslist: "Make Up/ Special Effects artist needed for upcoming recreations for a medical mystery television show."

Jenny Allen’s ‘I Got Sick Then I Got Better’ - Another Stage of Cancer

NYTimes.com: "One expects a certain degree of self-sufficiency from anybody who writes and performs a one-woman play. But the image Jenny Allen brought to mind as she trudged along East Fourth Street the other day on her way to rehearsal at New York Theater Workshop was something more like a solo polyphonic busker — the kind with pedal-operated drums strapped to the back and a harmonica harness around the neck."

‘Avenue Q’ Downsizing, to New World Stages, Off Broadway

NYTimes.com: "In June it was announced that “Avenue Q,” an adult takeoff of children’s shows like “Sesame Street,” would close at the Golden Theater. But at what was to be its final performance, Kevin McCollum, the lead producer, said that “Avenue Q,” which in 2004 won the Tony Award for best musical, would move to New World Stages in Clinton, where it would resume performances on Oct. 9."

The Still Sorry Stats on Women Working Behind the Scenes on TV

Women & Hollywood: "Martha Lauzen and her team at the Center for Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State U. have updated the statistics on women creatives working behind the scenes during the 2008- 2009 TV season."

Ubidesk: A Rapidly Evolving Project Management Tool

WebWorkerDaily: "Project management seems to be the 21st century’s “better mousetrap.” There seems to be an endless supply of new project management services; the latest addition to the ranks of this huge category is Ubidesk.
It has an interface that I find more attractive than some of the other products I’ve looked at. Its navigation is better than Peago’s, with menus that seem logical to me, and slide-out sidebars that can be made to appear and disappear as desired. Ubidesk is Flash-based, however, so it won’t be useful in corporate and mobile environments where that technology isn’t available."

Does the NEA still matter?

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Blog: "Rocco Landesman, the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, has little patience for the disdain with which some politicians still seem to view the organization."

Synonyms: “Local” and “Small-town”

<100k Project: "I went to Thesaurus.com for some help in coming up with a new name for this project, and I typed in “small town,” which brought up the following list"

Code of Ethics for Theatre Workers

Chicago Stage Review: "A part of the great tradition of the theatre is the code of ethics which belong to every worker in the theatre. This code is not a superstition, nor a dogma, nor a ritual which is enforced by tribunals; it is an attitude toward your vocation, your fellow workers, your audiences and yourself. It is a kind of self-discipline which does not rob you of your invaluable individualism."

An experiment in procrastination

Orange Crate Art: "Students have three papers to write. Students in one class make their own deadlines. Students in a second class are given one deadline for all three papers: the last day of class. Students in a third class are given three deadlines for the three papers: the fourth, eighth, and twelfth weeks of classes. Which class gets the best grades?"

Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter to open in Spring 2010, webcast confirms

Theme Park Insider: "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida will open in 'Spring 2010,' Harry Potter co-star Tom Felton announced today in a live press webcast."

Mad Men Props

Props: "I love Mad Men. If you watch the show, you know it is just jam-packed with period details and an almost obsessive attention to detail. The show takes place in and around New York City in the early 1960s. For some people, this would be a prop master’s dream; for others, a nightmare."

Microsoft Project 2010 Promises Significant Improvement

WebWorkerDaily: "Microsoft Project is frustrating. Although it’s still a very good planning and project management tool, it’s tricky for non-PM professionals to get the hang of, and it hasn’t seen any significant updates in a very long time — while its (mainly online) competitors have been improving apace. Hopefully, that frustration should be eased next year, when Project 2010 is launched. Project 2010, officially announced today at the Microsoft Project Conference in Phoenix, looks like it will include significant improvements to the user experience, coupled with better integration with other Microsoft products."

Working in the Theatre - Design - September, 1993

American Theatre Wing: "The design panel - scenic designer John Arnone (The Who's Tommy), costume designer Elizabeth Fried (Brother Truckers), special effects designer Wendall K. Harrington (The Who's Tommy), lighting designer Mimi Jordan Sherin (New York Shakespeare Festival) - moderated by costume designer Patricia Zipprodt (My Favorite Year), Professor Tish Dace, and author/designer/producer Jean Dalrymple discuss their creative childhoods; how the role of designers has evolved from directors, stage managers, and technicians; working with varying production budgets; and the colors and projections used in The Who's Tommy."

Spider-Man’s Aunt Plays Barrymores’ Matriarch in Arch Revival

Bloomberg.com: "No longer sweet Aunt May of the Spider-Man movies, Rosemary Harris morphs into the acerbic matriarch in the latest revival of George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber’s 1927 theater-world send-up, “The Royal Family.”"

Stars take 'Rain' check

NY Post: "Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig are two cops who don't have to worry about where their next doughnut is coming from.
The stars of the new police drama 'A Steady Rain,' now in previews, are earning nearly $100,000 each a week, according to investment papers obtained by The Post."

In Chicago, Apple Tree Falls After 26 Years

Yahoo! News: "The Apple Tree Theatre in suburban Chicago has closed its doors after 26 years, according to its website, which states, 'Apple Tree Theatre and the Eileen Boevers Performing Arts Workshop have ceased operations.'
Its founder, Eileen Boevers, died earlier this year. She had retired in 2008. The website statement continues, 'The Board of Directors wishes to thank all the artists, teachers, students, staff, patrons and community that supported operations for the Theatre's 26 years and the Workshop's nearly 40 years.'"

'Shakespeare in Love' to Be Reborn as Theater

Backstage: "In a case of life imitating art imitating life, a British theater company has announced plans to rebuild an Elizabethan playhouse using the set from hit film 'Shakespeare in Love.'"

Elephant Eye sets sights on 'Beauty'

Variety: "Elephant Eye Theatrical is gearing up for its next Broadway offering, with new tuner 'Beauty' aiming to hit Gotham during the 2011-12 season.

In her first legit outing, singer-songwriter Regina Spektor (whose second album 'Far' dropped earlier this year) composes the music while Michael Korie ('Grey Gardens') provides the lyrics."

Neuwirth, Callaway & Others to Honor IATSE Local One President Claffey At Actors' Chapel Benefit 9/14

BroadwayWorld: "'Each year, in honor of Father Moore's legacy, St. Malachy's hosts this dinner named for him to acknowledge leaders in our field who embody his commitment to community service, dedication to the arts, and love of people and community,' said Rev. Richard Baker, Pastor of St. Malachy's. 'James J. Claffey, Jr., President of IATSE Local One, the stagehands union on Broadway and in television, is such a man.'"

The New York Production Alliance Delivers an Up to the New York Minute Production Update

BroadcastNewsroom: "During HD EXPO - Createasphere in New York on September 17th, the New York Production Alliance (NYPA) will open the doors to its quarterly meeting, inviting all interested attendees to listen to, and interact with, a panel of influential leaders from guilds and unions, the industry, and organizations. The panel will take a focused look at where New York stands in relation to production and tax incentives, how to keep the industry working, and how to ensure that the industry grows."

Automation

Backstage Employment Network: "For his new show in MACAU, Franco Dragone is now looking for Automation technician and operator.
Franco Dragone Entertainment Group, led by Franco Dragone, Artistic Director for such shows as Celine Dion’s “A New Day” and ”Le Reve” now on stage in Las Vegas, are producing new projects worldwide.
For his new water show in MACAU, Franco Dragone Entertainement Group is now looking for Automation Technician and Automation Operator."

Bill Gates to Speak at Sept. 22 Dedication of Carnegie Mellon's Gates and Hillman...

Reuters: "Bill Gates, co-chair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and chairman of Microsoft Corp., will present the keynote address at dedication ceremonies for the Gates Center for Computer Science and the Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies on Sept. 22 at Carnegie Mellon University."

Vancouver International Fringe Festival takes centre stage

vancouversun: "As the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee .... sorry, 25th annual Vancouver International Fringe Festival kicks off, it’s timed to remind people who aren’t Fringe-savvy that the fest is not merely the domain of solo shows by angry clowns or sexually frustrated mimes. Those in the know are busy studying the Fringe guide to weed out the dross."

Museums Take Fundraising to the Altar

ARTINFO.com: "Amid the many pressures couples face in planning an unforgettable wedding, here’s one that simply can’t fall by the wayside: Making sure the flowers complement that original Diego Rivera fresco.
Such is the kind of dilemma confronting the affianced who plan to promise forever in the courtyard of the Detroit Institute of Arts, which held its first wedding ceremony this summer."

Michigan Using Tax Incentives to Lure Film Studios

NYTimes.com: "In the midst of a recession that has been particularly brutal in Michigan, a number of construction projects are on the verge of getting under way in a most unlikely business: the film industry."

Finalists Announced for Shrek the Musical Princess Competition

Stage Directions: "Shrek the Musical has announced the finalists for its “Not Your Ordinary Princess” competition. On Thursday, September 10, two winners will be announced to play “Young Fiona” and “Teen Fiona.” The lucky winners will be flown to New York to rehearse with Sutton Foster and members of the show’s creative team, have a costume fitting, and appear in a real performance of Shrek the Musical on Broadway on Saturday, September 19 at 8 p.m."

USITT Ideal Theatre Student Design Competition 2010

Live Design: "For the fourth year, university architectural and theatre students are invited to take part in the United States Institute for Theatre and Technology’s (USITT) Ideal Theatre Student Design Competition. This competition has established itself as the only international design competition that brings together the client and the designer to explore the possibilities of what a theatre can be."

Who’s Doing What In Theatre Design

Live Design: "Set designer Beowulf Boritt’s current projects include Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas at the Geffen Playhouse in LA, September 8 to October 18, collaborating with lighting designer Jeff Croiter, costume designer Bob Blackman, and sound designer Jon Gottlieb; Boritt is also designing The Race for Love in Beijing, with Paul Miller designing the lighting, Fabio Toblini the costumes, and Mike Hink the sound."

Goodspeed’s Space Constraints Bring Out The Inventiveness In Designers

Live Design: "Professional designers know what it is to come up with effects that work in confined spaces. But usually, when the wings are tight, you can fly pieces, or when there’s no fly space, you can make innovative use of doors, traps or turntables. One space where design is at a premium, but space is practically non-extant, is the Victorian-era opera house on the banks of the Connecticut River, home of Goodspeed Musicals."

NFTRW Top Five

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

Cirque de Soleil rethinks the franchise

Variety: "Anyone who thinks they know the kind of people who attend a Cirque du Soleil show -- old enough to be affluent, arty enough to embrace risk, highly influenced by critics and artistic tastemakers -- should spend time in line at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. 'Criss Angel: Believe' is a different kind of Cirque show for a different kind of crowd."

Posted by David at 9/12/2009 02:59:00 PM <--- Comments here!

Yes, They Did: 'Obama on My Mind', the Musical, Will Get American Premiere

Yahoo! News: "Seattle audiences will see the U.S. premiere of the musical Obama on My Mind - a comic look behind the scenes of an Obama campaign office in small-town America - Oct. 15-Nov. 15.
A resident cast of Equity and non-Equity players will perform the show at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center in Seattle. Opening is Oct. 23."

Posted by David at 9/12/2009 02:53:00 PM <--- Comments here!

Action Heroes James Bond and Wolverine (Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman) on Broadway

NYTimes.com: "Rarely do fans have the thrill of seeing two of their favorite testosterone-charged action heroes square off. But Daniel Craig (Mr. Bond) and Hugh Jackman (Mr., well, just Wolverine) are offering a variation on that theme on Broadway this month in “A Steady Rain,” a dark portrait of two Chicago cops whose close friendship corrodes from suspicion, betrayal and lethal rivalry."

Posted by David at 9/13/2009 03:42:00 PM <--- Comments here!

Off the wall — literally

Berkeley Rep Blog: "Before and after performances of American Idiot at the Roda Theatre, you'll find a crowd of people in the lobby writing on the wall. Not to worry, they're all scribbling on the graffiti wall specifically designed to showcase their thoughts, emotions, and messages. Reading the wall, we found that audiences members had come from as far as New York, Denver, Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Texas, and Washington, D.C., to see the first previews."

Posted by David at 9/10/2009 02:14:00 PM <--- Comments here!

Festival of Lights returning just in time to welcome the world

Post Gazette: "The Festival of Lights returns to Pittsburgh Thursday through Sept. 27, encompassing the days of the G-20 summit.
Illuminated projections will shine on the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the Courtyard Marriott and Westin Convention Center hotels. Lights go on at Penn Avenue and 10th Street at 8:45 p.m. next Thursday and will continue from around 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. most nights."

Posted by David at 9/12/2009 02:54:00 PM <--- Comments here!

Conservatory Hour

Monday, Sept. 14

“Intents and Insights” for

THE GRAPES OF WRATH

Hear from the director, the cast and the artistic team what they are planning.

4:30 in the Checco Studio A

Chicago Dramatists raises its profile

Variety: "After plugging away for years as a playhouse that supported writers without gaining a whole lot of recognition, Chicago Dramatists stands to benefit significantly from its history with 'A Steady Rain.'
The Rialto pickup is part of an ongoing wave of heightened attention to Chi theaters, with a number of world premieres from smaller theaters generating keen interest in Gotham, both in the commercial and non-profit worlds."

RADical Days event lets you see where money goes

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Since 1995, shoppers in Allegheny County have paid an additional one percent on top of the six percent Pennsylvania sales tax. Half of that one percent goes to county and municipal governments. The other half percent supports libraries, parks and cultural and sports activities."

Race, the Subject We Can’t Stop Talking About

NYTimes.com: "PRESIDENT OBAMA, like his predecessor President Bill Clinton, has suggested that this country engage in a dialogue about race."

But what has our 230-year national experience been but a dialogue about race?

Our earliest drama on the subject, “Metamora,” by John Stone (1829), concerns the relations between the Massachusetts settlers and Prince Philip of the Wampanoags. So does the novel “Hope Leslie” by Catherine Sedgwick (1827).

Action Heroes James Bond and Wolverine (Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman) on Broadway

NYTimes.com: "Rarely do fans have the thrill of seeing two of their favorite testosterone-charged action heroes square off. But Daniel Craig (Mr. Bond) and Hugh Jackman (Mr., well, just Wolverine) are offering a variation on that theme on Broadway this month in “A Steady Rain,” a dark portrait of two Chicago cops whose close friendship corrodes from suspicion, betrayal and lethal rivalry."

Where Is the East Side of Chicago? On New York Stages

NYTimes.com: "THE New York theater often seems to speak exclusively in a British accent, so prevalent are London imports on Broadway stages. But this season the distinct flavor of the biggest city in America’s Midwest will make itself known, with Chicago-bred playwrights and directors involved in several major productions. Even a pair of big-time international movie stars — one British and one Australian — will be wrapping their vocal chords around the flat vowels and colorful argot of a pair of Chicago cops, as Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman supply the fall season its biggest jolt of star power in “A Steady Rain,” a taut two-hander by the new-to-New York playwright Keith Huff that is making the leap from a small Chicago stage to the Main Stem."

The Fine Mismating of a Him and Her

NYTimes.com: "“A heap of ordure,” wrote one journalist in Strindberg’s native Sweden of “Miss Julie,” which was understandably slow to find theatrical producers. Another reviewer described it as “a filthy bundle of rags which one hardly wishes to touch even with tongs.” Exciting, huh? When critics spewed like that, you knew that something serious was going on."