6 Keys To Greener Exhibit Design

ExhibiTricks: OMSI (The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) in Portland, Oregon has long been concerned about "green design" and the choices and approaches that museums can take to create truly sustainable exhibit environments.

It’s The Relationship, Stupid

2am: Again and again and again at the Theater Bay Area conference a few weeks ago I heard playwrights being given the cold, hard truth about why their work is not getting produced (and why it is).
Here’s the facts: The open submissions process is a lie. Work does not rise up from a pile of anonymous scripts and slap artistic directors upside the head saying “DIRECT ME!”
Playwrights get shows produced at theaters because of the relationships they have with those theaters (or with taste makers that those theaters respect and trust).

3D Projections On Buildings

dvorak: NuFormer Digital Media develops state of the art 3D projections. These 3D projections will be custom-made to fit any specific building regardless of size. Every customer its bespoke performance!

The Chicago Theatre Recipe

Theater For The Future: A few nights ago Dan Granata and the Chicago Artists Resource threw a little Chicago Theatre history lesson over at the DCA storefront space (“Do it myself: Five Decades of Theatre that Works“) featuring three veterans of the storefront movement: Steve Scott of the Goodman, Jackie Taylor of Black Ensemble Theatre, and Sharon Phillips, Managing Director of the legendary Body Politic.

Dramatistsues Doyle in Playboy wrangle

Herald.ie: A DRAMATIST who claims he co-wrote a modern version of Playboy Of The Western World with novelist Roddy Doyle has alleged breach of copyright over the staging of the play in the Abbey Theatre.
Bisi Adigun, of Moorefield Cottages, Roebuck Road, Dublin, alleges he initiated, with Mr Doyle, a version in which the Playboy Christy Mahon was a Nigerian asylum seeker.
Mr Adigun, a dramatist and theatre director/producer, is suing the Abbey, theatre director Jimmy Fay, and Mr Doyle over the Playboy as staged in the Abbey between December 2008 and January 2009.

Critic's Notebook: 'American Idiot' and the fate of the contemporary musical

Los Angeles Times: Does “American Idiot,” the artfully laid out Green Day jukebox musical now at the St. James Theatre on Broadway, represent the dawning of a new age or the end of a line? To put it another way, should we be celebrating the breakthrough spawned by “Rent” and “Spring Awakening” or looking into reform school options for this decadent grandchild of “Hair”?

Billy Porter Says He'll Be in NYC's New 'Angels in America'

Yahoo! News: Actor-singer Billy Porter told a recent crowd at Joe's Pub that he has been cast in the first New York City revival of Tony Kushner's epic Angels in America, Black Voices newswire reported.

'Peter Pan' set to fly from San Francisco

Variety: Is it theater? Or is it the movies?
The Brit import of J.M. Barrie's play "Peter Pan" (not to be confused with Leigh and Charlap's venerable musical version) just opened in San Francisco, and they're doing it outdoors on the Embarcadero in a big white tent. Not any old circus-like tent but one whose upper walls are alive (if that's quite the word) with a 360-degree-projected CGI movie. Down below is the stadium seating and, in the middle of it all, the stage with a couple dozen live actors.

Backstage at Cirque Ka on Nat Geo Tonight

- John's Blog Main Page - : I've written (and raved) a lot about Cirque's amazing show Ka (I have an extensive article detailing the technology on the show here), and Steve Sywak of McLaren Engineering tipped me off to the fact that National Geographic will be featuring Ka on World's Toughest Fixes tonight

'A Little Night Music'

Carnegie Mellon University: The ink was barely dry on Hunter Ryan Herdlicka's diploma from Carnegie Mellon University when he auditioned for Stephen Sondheim. Less than two weeks after graduation, the School of Drama alum landed the role of Henrik Egerman in Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's "A Little Night Music."

Henry Mancini Theater Awards: winners and nominees

Post Gazette: Beaver County Christian School was the top winner in the Henry Mancini Musical Theatre Awards for outstanding accomplishments in high school musicals.
In a program May 12 in Metheny Fieldhouse at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Beaver County Christian, also in Beaver Falls, won nine awards. Freedom Area and Quigley Catholic high schools each won seven.
Ginny Mancini, widow of the Aliquippa-born composer, was on hand for the program.

Student performers entertain at 16th annual Henry Mancini Musical Theatre Awards

Post Gazette: "How proud Henry would have been," said Ginny Mancini, widow of the Aliquippa-born composer. "What a kick he would have had."
She was presenting the final award - for best overall production - at the 16th annual Henry Mancini Musical Theatre Awards held May 12 at Geneva College.
Like most of the award categories that evening, three winners were named - Freedom Area High School's "Beauty and the Beast," Quigley Catholic High School's "Children of Eden" and Beaver County Christian High School's "Oliver!"

Wilson's protege ready to take on PICT's Othello

Post Gazette: Playing August Wilson and Shakespeare, back to back, seems like perfect symmetry to Javon Johnson.
Through most of April, Mr. Johnson played the role of Sterling in Mr. Wilson's "Two Trains Running" at GeVa Theater in Rochester, N.Y. Starting tonight, he can be seen in the lead role in Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre's "Othello."

Art can be hazardous to your health

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: I wasn't around for the first great transformation in the arts -- the invention of oil painting.
But I certainly was around, centuries later, to enjoy the second -- the exodus of cigarettes from the gallery world. (Thank you, thank you, Mr. Surgeon General.) I don't know whether anyone has commented on its impact before.
Of course, even in a smoke-free environment, art can be hazardous to your health -- if you happen to be an artist. For years I watched my peers, especially the printmakers, go to their too-soon deaths after extended exposure to the toxic stuff their art demanded.

Upcoming Public show 'Circle Mirror Transformation' wins 3 OBIEs

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: On Tuesday evening, "Circle Mirror Transformation," a play already scheduled for the 2010-11 Pittsburgh Public Theater season, won three OBIE awards at a ceremony in Manhattan.
The recognition came as no surprise to Ted Pappas, producing artistic director at Pittsburgh Public Theater.

City Theatre's 'Vengeful Redhead' is a tour de force

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Had she done nothing but show up and deliver the lines, actress Michele Pawk would be the front runner for the performance daredevil of the year award.
As the star and sole performer of City Theatre's production of "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead" she appears alone onstage for more than two hours with only a single 15-minute intermission to catch her breath.

Black Arts Festival full of multiple voices

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: When the August Wilson Center throws a festival, it thinks big. Instead of focusing on a single medium of expression, it will showcase a variety of artistic disciplines, including music, dance, spoken word, film and visual arts.
"First Voice: A Pittsburgh International Black Arts Festival" runs Thursday through May 29 at the August Wilson Center, Downtown.

Actors bring life experiences to 'Bench in the Sun'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: You don't have to be a senior citizen to enjoy "A Bench in the Sun," according to Dennis Kerr of Greensburg, one of three veteran actors in the cast of the comedy at Apple Hill Playhouse.
"Anyone who is growing older, has aging parents or family members or knows older adults will connect with this play," says Kerr, who portrays Burt, one of the residents of Valley View Gardens retirement home in the comedy by Ron Clark.

Actor gives new insight into 'Othello'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: For the past two years, Javon Johnson has been itching to play Othello.
"It felt like it was time for me to take a stab at it," Johnson says. "I wanted to get started."
Johnson, an actor, playwright and graduate of the master of fine arts acting program at the University of Pittsburgh who now lives in Los Angeles, nearly played the role here in 2006 when the Unseam'd Shakespeare Company produced "Othello Noir," an adaptation that viewed Shakespeare's tragedy through the lens of film noir.

Pull Up a "Chairry": The Pee-wee Herman Show Is Heading to Broadway

Playbill.com: The Pee-wee Herman Show, which played a limited engagement at Club Nokia @ L.A. LIVE this past winter, is heading to The Great White Way. Creator-writer-actor Paul Reubens will again play the bow-tied man-child — the role that made him famous.

Rosemarie DeWitt Explores Family Friction

NYTimes.com: As the title character in the film “Rachel Getting Married,” Rosemarie DeWitt played a bride who was constantly being upstaged by her emotionally damaged sister, a recovering addict. And on the Showtime series “United States of Tara,” Ms. DeWitt, again playing a sister, is even more marginalized by mental illness — by a factor of five, the number of attention-hogging alternate personalities of her younger sibling, Tara.

A Statistic that Every Arts Advocate Should Know

Createquity.: When asked what career they would choose if finances were not a concern, a plurality of Harvard seniors chose the arts, with 16 percent indicating it as their “dream” field. Similarly large numbers of students chose public service (12.5) and education (12), while finance and consulting trailed with five percent each.

Sketch to Screen

Scenography: The Oklahoma City Museum of Art presents the exclusive exhibition Sketch to Screen: The Art of Hollywood Costume Design on view now through August 15, 2010. This original exhibition, organized by the Museum, explores the vital artistic contribution of costume design throughout the history of the American motion picture industry.

Waitress Disses Customers On Facebook, Gets Fired

The Consumerist: Brixx Pizza in North Carolina takes social media pretty seriously, because it fired a waitress after she complained on her Facebook page about a stingy couple who occupied a table for three hours and only left a $5 tip.

Top 10 Tools Grads Need to Get a Job

CollegeSurfing Insider: A recent National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) report found that 5.3 percent more new graduates will be hired this year than in 2009. But what NACE doesn’t mention is that new grads aren’t just competing with each other for work; they’re competing with record numbers of unemployed, experienced workers!
So how can you, the new college grad, land the job that everyone else wants? Career Coach Ford Myers, author of “Get the Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring” (John Wiley & Sons, 2009), lists the top 10 tools that all grads should have in their “Job Seekers’ Tool Kit.”

Audiovisual technology: A short history of the videowall

Blooloop: The videowall emerged in the early 1980s. Whether it originated in Europe, the USA or Japan is a matter of debate, but two factors affected what was achieved. First was the fact that early videowalls were all based on standard CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors, typically 28 inch diagonal, with the resulting large gap between image sections. Second was the difficulty of achieving the “image split”, that is the means by which a single input video signal could be split into, say, 16 separate image signals to produce one large image on a 4 × 4 array of monitors.

Theatre Women Create Awards in Honor of Lillian Hellman

Women & Hollywood: This year a bunch of very high profile theatre writers and others decided that they were tired of women’s work being constantly unacknowledged, so they created The Lilly Awards which will honor 17 women theater artists, as well as Mary Rodgers who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Awards, whose work has been produced in the past year in New York City.

At the Broadway League Conference: Day 1/Kids 'R Theatergoers Too

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: One of the hippest long-term audience development initiatives the Broadway League came up with over the last few years was the establishment of a Kids Advisory Board. The Board is made up of thirty kids, ages 11 - 16, from all over the country. What do they have in common? They love the Broadway!

Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser, Founder of...Sennheiser, Dies

Gizmodo: One of the fathers of modern acoustics and founder of speaker/microphone manufacturer Sennheiser, Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser died on Monday. He was 98 years old.

SDCF Masters of the Stage - Robert Wilson - December, 1987

American Theatre Wing: In December of 1987, famous avant-garde director Robert Wilson sat down for a One-on-One conversation with Tony Award-winning lighting designer Jennifer Tipton. They discuss Wilson's three major influences: the dance work of George Balanchine and Merce Cunningham, the first piece of theatre he created with a deaf, mute child, and the poet Christopher Knowles, who once repeated the words "tape recorder" for ten minutes at the end of a performance piece. He talks about creating a different kinds of space, repetition, and rigidity of form and process. Other topics include working with trained vs. untrained actors, working with a dramaturg, and the role of interpretation. This ninety-minute interview provides a unique insight into the mind of this experimental, groundbreaking director that you won't find anywhere else.

The 10 Most Creative People on Twitter

Fast Company: When we launched our 100 Most Creative People in Business list last year, we surprised that only about 20 of those individuals were on Twitter: from actor/director Tyler Perry to DJ Gregg Gillis. In the year since, another 10 have joined for a 50% increase, including TV mogul Tyra Banks, Google Maps manager Stephen Chau, fashion designer Stella McCartney, and others. You can find the entire group of Most Creative People on our twitter list.

At the Broadway League Conference: Day 2/What's the "deal" with the road?

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: Day 2 of the Broadway League Spring Road Conference was filled with some great events, from a panel on how to engage the African American audience, to a discussion on the evolution of the current Broadway production of Fences, led by Mr. Denzel Washington himself (they served extra water at that panel, to prevent half the crowd from fainting at the sight).

Mortier Flew First Class, Made $400,000 at City Opera

Bloomberg.com: The New York City Opera, which just reported a $19.9 million deficit in 2008-09, paid Gerard Mortier $400,000 for his stint as part-time general-manager in-waiting.

Fabled Colon Gets $100 Million Revamp for Argentina Jubilee

Bloomberg.com: Luciano Pavarotti once described the acoustics of the Colon Theater in Buenos Aires as so perfect that they challenge singers because “if one does something wrong, it is noted immediately.”

‘The Good Wife’ Emerges as TV Refuge for Stage Actors

NYTimes.com: When NBC announced last week that it planned to cancel the original “Law & Order,” many people lamented the effect on New York theater actors, for whom a spot on the show has long been a résumé staple. But another New York-based production, “The Good Wife,” is already filling the void for moonlighting stage performers seeking TV credits.

Welcome to NYC's Hidden Golden Age of Theater

Village Voice: Some colleagues were chatting lately, yet again, about a Golden Age of American theater. This time, they meant the years just after World War II. People seem to enjoy believing in a magical time, usually just before they came along, when everything was splendid. Such talk makes me uneasy, because I have the terrible habit of accumulating theatrical facts. I know the aureous wonders of the late 1940s, but I also know its turkeys. No Golden Age arrives unalloyed.

Casting on the Go

Backstage: In today's fast-paced, global production environment, casting directors and executives are mobile and need instant access to information. This was at the core of the Casting Society of America's Casting Technology Expo, held May 15 at Siren Studios in Los Angeles. There, an estimated 150 casting directors, assistants, and associates examined entertainment technology trends, as well as myriad online casting and audition tools, databases, and communication and management software that were exhibited throughout the event.

MPTF Still Seeking Closure

Backstage: It appears that not even George Clooney could save the Motion Picture & Television Fund's long-term care unit. The facility has housed and cared for elderly members and parents of members of the film and television industry for more than 60 years—and its current residents are about to be relocated. The fund announced last week that it plans to move the remaining 25 residents from its Woodland Hills, Calif., campus to a "newer and more contemporary skilled-nursing facility," where they will join 29 other residents already in place, by July 2010.

CSA Talks Tech at Expo

Backstage: In today's fast-paced, global production environment, casting directors and executives are mobile and need instant access to information. This was at the core of the Casting Society of America's Casting Technology Expo, held May 15 at Siren Studios in Los Angeles. There, an estimated 150 casting directors, assistants, and associates examined entertainment technology trends, as well as myriad online casting and audition tools, databases, and communication and management software that were exhibited throughout the event.

'Come Fly Away' Leads Astaire Noms

Backstage: "Come Fly Away" leads the nominees for this year's Fred and Adele Astaire Awards. The combination of Twyla Tharp's inventiveness and Frank Sinatra's croon prompted seven nominations, more than any other production.

Pawk play seven roles in 'The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: For actress Michele Pawk, performing in "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead" at City Theatre is an experience unlike any other.
Pawk grew up in Butler, attended Allegheny College in Meadville and the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati and earned her Equity card in 1986 as a member of the ensemble at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.

Beaver County Christian wins 9 Mancini Awards for 'Oliver'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The Beaver County Christian School production of "Oliver" received nine awards at the 16th annual Mancini Theatre Awards ceremony earlier this week .
Freedom Area High School's production of "Beauty and the Beast" and Quigley Catholic High School's production of "Children of Eden" each took home seven awards.

Summer theater: From 'Annie Get Your Gun' to 'Zylo's Moon'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Summer theater runs the gamut from A -- "Annie Get Your Gun" at Armstrong Community Theatre -- to Z -- "The Dark Side of Zylo's Moon" at Playhouse Jr. in Oakland.

The case of hit that turned flop

Variety: It's not too difficult to find reasons why "Enron" sputtered on Broadway, costing a big chunk of its $3.6 million capitalization.
But how do you account for its success in London?

Rehearsing Scenes and Lifting Weights for ‘Chad Deity’

NYTimes.com: After five minutes of groin stretches and jumping rope, the actor Desmin Borges was ready to start morning rehearsal with a bit of choreography known as the sit-fall. A standard theater dance this was not: The sit-fall is a professional-wrestling technique whereby Mr. Borges would pretend to go down — hard — after a fake hit from an opponent. Mastering the move is crucial to avoid injury, especially for a wiry actor like Mr. Borges who lacks the beefy muscles that help wrestlers absorb body blows.

How and Where to Get a Really, Really Large Backdrop...Quickly!

Rosebrand: Here at Oliphant we paint very large backdrops in a very short time. That is our claim to fame and we take pride in always doing a good job. The actual painting area in our New York City studio is about 20’x 45’ which is pretty small compared to the size and number of drops we produce, but we always figure out how to get the job done.

How should SCR choose a new leader?

The Orange County Register: It's been almost 50 years since a couple of young guys with a station wagon and a dream set out to build a theater company in the wilds of Orange County.
Since its founding in 1964, South Coast Repertory has become one of Southern California's most recognizable cultural brand names. More important, the not-for-profit Costa Mesa theater company has emerged as a steady source of significant new work, devising ways of nurturing playwrights and their scripts that are the envy of theaters everywhere.

Disappointing Season for Broadway Women

NYTimes.com: IF anyone should be thrilled with this year’s Tony Award nominations, it’s Sheryl Kaller, who was singled out for her direction of “Next Fall.” But for all the pleasure she took in the recognition, Ms. Kaller said, she was taken aback by a certain artistic dissonance in the overall list of nominees.

Chemistry doesn't come from sexuality: Newsweek article on Sean Hayes sparks a controversy

The Theater Loop: On April 26, Newsweek published an online article (it also appeared in print last week) suggesting that was an impossible assignment. Because Hayes, in real life, is gay. “Heterosexual actors play gay all the time,” went the provocative subhead, seemingly penned by an editor who had never heard of Rock Hudson. “Why doesn't it ever work in reverse?”

Drama Desk Withdraws Nominations of 'Ragtime''s Orchestration and Costume Design

Yahoo! News: The leadership of the Drama Desk Awards has informed its membership that two 2010 nominations for the Broadway revival of Ragtime have been withdrawn.
The following statement was sent to Drama Desk voters on May 14: "The Drama Desk makes its own decisions. But when the Tony Awards withdrew its nomination for the Ragtime revival's costumes because they were not sufficiently different from the original production and when the lead producer and nominated costume designer Santo Loquasto did not disagree with the decision, we revisited the issue. The Drama Desk concurs that the excellent costuming was not sufficiently new to make it eligible. Therefore, the nomination will be removed from the ballot in the Outstanding Costume Design category.

Loquasto's 2010 Tony Nomination Withdrawn; 'Ragtime' Work Duplicates Earlier Design

Yahoo! News: There will be a little less competition in the Tony Award category of Best Costume Design of a Musical this year. Tony Awards leadership has withdrawn the nomination of Ragtime costume designer Santo Loquasto, who was previously nominated for the same show in the same category in 1998.

Espresso - Backstage: These Are Their Stories: 'Law & Order' and NYC Actors

Backstage: NBC today canceled “Law & Order,” the show about the police who investigate the crime, the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders, and—as comedian John Mulaney puts it—the guys who while being questioned by homicide detectives will not stop unloading crates. The series aired for 20 seasons, the same number as “Gunsmoke,” making it the longest running prime-time TV drama to not feature a character named Festus.

Headshot Panel Gets Heated

Backstage: As part of its new monthly series Back Stage at the SAG Foundation, Back Stage presented the panel "Picture This: Your Headshot From Every Angle" May 12 to a packed crowd at the SAG Foundation in Los Angeles. Speakers included casting directors Marci Liroff, Geralyn Flood, and Stuart Stone and photographers Kevyn Major Howard, Alan Weissman, Sara Corwin, and Jeff E Photo. The event was moderated by Back Stage research and casting editor Jessica Gardner.

S'wonderful summer in local theater

Post gazette: There's a lot to look forward to this summer in the theater community, so get out your datebooks and start planning ...

Playwrights Theatre takes August Wilson's 'Jitney' for gritty trip

Post Gazette: In the rich panorama of August Wilson's 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle, "Jitney" may be the most Pittsburgh play of all.
It was the first he wrote when, age 33, he left Pittsburgh for St. Paul, where he said he could hear Hill District voices with greater clarity. It was the first to be staged, premiering in Pittsburgh in 1982. But Wilson's first play to hit Broadway, "Ma Rainey" in 1984, was set in Chicago, because, he later explained, "I was from Pittsburgh and I didn't think it was important enough."

The newest moves: Summer dance

Post Gazette: Pittsburgh's summer dance is already in full swing with the Kelly-Strayhorn's newMoves Festival and most of the local professionals will be making appearances along the way. Of particular interest are the hip-hop masters of Rennie Harris Puremovement, who will be hitting the August Wilson Center next week. Mr. Harris has become the global spokesman for this dynamic American style of dance and is a primary influence in moving hip-hop into the realm of a structured concert dance form. But there's still plenty of street-wise excitement to their ultra-cool moves.

Outrace by Kram/Weisshaar for Trafalgar Square

Dezeen: The installation titled OUTRACE consists of an immense mechanical octopus assembled from six industrial robotic arms on loan from Audi’s production line. Custom software developed by the designers will allow members of the public to temporarily take over the installation and render text input as light traces drawn by the synchronized mechanical tentacles.

Runner- Broadway.com

The Producer's Perspective Classifieds: Motivated, self starters for full-time, entry level positions as Runners

In The Wings - Scenic Designer - May, 2010

American Theatre Wing: Scenic designer Riccardo Hernandez creates sets built from the text of a production, creating an honest space for actors and ideas to work within. Hernandez knew he wanted a career designing opera sets by age 10, went on to study at Yale with Ming Cho Lee, and later broadened his work to theatre. At Yale Repertory Theatre, he displays the simple yet aggressive set of Battle of Black and Dogs that reflects a cold inhuman world. Also shown is the seemingly collapsing set for the Atlantic Theater Company's Gabriel during the most important part of the production process - the technical rehearsal.

Administrative Intern- Manhattan Theatre Club

The Producer's Perspective Classifieds: Interns for the fall to work either for a full-time stipend or part-time volunteer between the hours of 10 AM and 6 PM Monday through Friday

Assistant Project Manager - Barbizon Electric Co.

The Producer's Perspective Classifieds: Assistant Project Manager who can work within the construction community and coordinate the installation of theatrical lighting and rigging equipment for permanent installations.

L.A. Opera's "Ring": Two singers criticize director

latimes.com: In a rare public airing of artistic differences, the two leading singers in the Los Angeles Opera's costly and ambitious staging of Wagner's "Ring" cycle have harshly criticized the director, saying the production is artistically flawed and physically dangerous for performers. Via BackstageJobs.com

Ladies as gentlemen: the cross-dressing women of Edwardian musical theatre

The Guardian: The runaway hit of the 1913 season at the Royal Opera House was the British premiere of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. It begins with a girl dressed as a boy, Octavian, scrambling out of bed after what has clearly been a night of passion with an older woman. Almost 100 years ago did respectable audiences blink at the sight of this cross-dressing hanky panky? Not at all: husbands and wives and (chaperoned) courting couples alike enjoyed the charged erotic spectacle.

SAG Slams Anti-Gay Newsweek Piece

Backstage: The Screen Actors Guild has spoken out about a controversial Newsweek article that has drawn fire from advocacy groups and the entertainment industry. In an April piece entitled "Straight Jacket," writer Ramin Setoodeh criticized the performance of actor Sean Hayes in the current Broadway revival of "Promises, Promises," asserting that the openly gay Hayes can not play a convincing heterosexual because of his sexuality.

Soho Rep Aims to FEED its Audience

Backstage: After the show on May 27th, a Princeton Professor of the History of Science, a former New Yorker staff writer, and the President of Williamsburg's City Reliquary Museum will gather on an off-Broadway stage to discuss 17th-century German 'Cabinets of Curiosities,' or wunderkammer.
Not your normal post-show discussion.

A history of gay bashing

Variety: Newsweek's critic Ramin Setoodeh thinks that Sean Hayes, because he's gay, can't cut it playing a straight man in "Promises, Promises" on Broadway. GLAAD issued a statement demanding an apology. Gays are threatening a boycott of the newsweekly unless that apology is forthcoming. Aaron Sorkin defended the scribe on the Huffington Post. And now there's a storm of controversy in Shubert Alley that some believe could influence the outcome of the Tonys.

Gene Kelly Award nominees announced

Post Gazette: The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater have their 2010 nominees, picked from among 30 Allegheny County school productions. The nominations, announced today by Pittsburgh CLO and the University of Pittsburgh, will be part of the annual awards show May 29 at the Benedum Center.

'Beauty Shop' full of humor, color and music

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Shelly Garrett's promotional materials call him "the godfather of black theater."
Since 1986 and long before Tyler Perry and his Madea plays emerged into national awareness, Garrett's company has toured the United States with a succession of stage plays and musicals that he defines as urban shows.
"Before I started in 1986, the only thing that was out on the circuit was Broadway (shows) -- 'Bubbling Brown Sugar' or 'Sophisticated Ladies,' " Garrett says. "There were other shows but they weren't touring."

Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater nominations

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Three high school musicals received 10 or more nominations for the Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater.
Pine-Richland's production of "Children of Eden" topped the list with 13 nominations.
Baldwin-Whitehall's production of "Cats" and the Pittsburgh Schenley production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" each received 10 nominations.

Butler native Michele Pawk keeps the wigs handy for new City Theatre production "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead."

Post Gazette: From sexy rich bitch ("Crazy for You") to glamorous owner of a Greek taverna ("Mamma Mia"), from witchy jail matron ("Chicago") to glamorous Mayze LaBird ("Seussical"), from tyrannical beauty contest boss ("Hairspray") to Carol Burnett's unglamorous mother ("Hollywood Arms") ...

Kelly nominees announced

Post Gazette: Nominees for the Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater have been announced by Pittsburgh CLO and the University of Pittsburgh, with the annual show scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 29 at the Benedum Center.

Off the Wall takes on 'The Club'

Post Gazette: Eve Merriam's musical comedy "The Club" is in progress as a closer to Off The Wall's third season on Main Street in Washington, Pa.

Summer Internship - Multimedia

Craigslist: Small multimedia company with regional client list is seeking student interns looking for experience in graphic design, web design and video editing/production.

Broadway Contributed Nearly $10 Billion to NYC Economy During 2008-09 Season

Playbill.com: The report, which measures the "full economic impact of spending by Broadway production companies, theatre operators and those visitors drawn to NYC by Broadway," states that during the 2008-09 season, Broadway as an industry contributed $9.8 billion to the economy of New York City.

Chalk, Hill, Johansson, Ngaujah, Redmayne, Urie and More Win Theatre World Awards

Playbill.com: The winners of the 66th Annual Theatre World Awards — honoring performers making their New York stage debuts on or Off-Broadway — were announced May 13.

Theater Talkback: Premium Seats, at a Price

NYTimes.com: For theater critics, acquiring tickets to the hot new show, or the cold new turkey, is as easy as falling off that proverbial log. You make a phone call (or send an e-mail message) in response to an invitation, you show up at the theater and find the publicist standing helpfully outside the doors with your tickets in hand, and you head on in. If you are not attending a designated press performance, you may have to endure the indignity of standing in line at the box office for a minute or two.

Addams Family

Technical Direction Tidbits: With the opening of Addams Family on Broadway, my article discussing how we built the ground row including doing the lighting for all of the city lights. PRG also has an article in the issue that you should check out.

HVLP Spray Tip

Popular Woodworking: I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't decided to finish using a high volume, low pressure (HVLP) system. (From a business perspective, I believe a quality HVLP setup is as important as a quality table saw.) However, today I found out that I've been killing my spray gun and I didn't even know it.

Ruhl’s ‘Passion’ Brings Jesus to Reagan-Era U.S.

Bloomberg.com: Late in “Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play,” Jesus peers down from the cross and asks his director, “So how do you want me to play this scene?”
With walk-ons by Adolf Hitler and Ronald Reagan, and free wine and bagels at each of the two intermissions, the 3 1/2-hour show offers an unorthodox yet weirdly nourishing take on the rite of communion.

Bristol Old Vic launches £19m plan to transform home

The Stage: Bristol Old Vic artistic director Tom Morris has unveiled detailed plans for a £19.3 million redevelopment of the company’s historic home, which will see the Theatre Royal and surrounding buildings transformed into a flexible complex with up to ten performance spaces.

From 'Shadow' to Broadway invitations, director David Cromer is at his tipping point

The Theater Loop: If the New Yorker’s Malcolm Gladwell was looking for a human example of his tipping-point theory, he could do worse than ponder David Cromer.
The Chicago director did honest, steady, truthful work around Chicago for many years. I wrote fondly about many of his shows, including, 10 years ago, his direction of the play “Orson’s Shadow.” I extolled what I’ve long felt was Cromer’s truly remarkably ability to take some hackneyed play, some gummed-up theater, some blocked-up actor and extract the most wrenching kind of human truth from all of the above.

Most high schoolers cheat -- but don't always see it as cheating, study finds

Science Daily: Most high-school students participating in a new study on academic honesty say they have cheated on tests and homework -- and, in some alarming cases, say they don't consider certain types of cheating out of line.

Pittsburgh Showcase 2010

A Business Marvel

Carnegie Mellon University: With the release of “Iron Man 2”, audiences have a second chance to cheer their favorite executive/superhero, Tony Stark. Ken West (TPR’80) is the real-life executive who played a big role in bringing the hero back to the silver screen.

Martin Named Interim Dean of CFA

Carnegie Mellon University: In an email to the College of Fine Arts (CFA) community, Executive Vice President and Provost Mark Kamlet announced that Dan J. Martin (right), associate dean of CFA and an associate professor in the School of Drama, will become interim dean of CFA, beginning July 1. In February, Dean Hilary Robinson announced she would be stepping down at the end of this school year to pursue several other scholarly endeavors and to spend more time with her family in England.

The Pittsburgh Technology Council’s 2010 Design, Art and Technology (DATA) Award Winners Announced!

Pittsburgh Art + Technology: The Pittsburgh Technology Council’s 2010 Design, Art and Technology Awards, hosted last Thursday by internationally acclaimed artist Burton Morris, drew a fabulous 250 guests – and featured 40 Regional artists, and over 60 works of art and technology. Converging designers, artists, technologists, roboticists and much more, the event brought together creatives and innovators on the leading edge of the new media sector.

newMoves offers leap to the next level

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Life rarely rewards timidity. Last season, the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater took a bold chance by starting a contemporary dance festival called newMoves, which proved to be a hit. Now, it faces the challenge of mounting a worthy sequel.

Pawk play seven roles in 'The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: For actress Michele Pawk, performing in "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead" at City Theatre is an experience unlike any other.
Pawk grew up in Butler, attended Allegheny College in Meadville and the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati and earned her Equity card in 1986 as a member of the ensemble at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.

Stage Right student productions tackle adult issues

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: For student performers at Stage Right School for the Performing Arts who dream of a career in musical theater, the road to Broadway runs through Greensburg.
Two groups of Stage Right students will get a chance to shine on the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center stage this weekend in student versions of two hit Broadway musicals, "Rent" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

Dance Alloy Theater delivers three exceptional numbers

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Dance Alloy Theater was in top form for its final main-stage production of the season, seen Saturday afternoon at the New Hazlett Theater, North Side.

Former North Side resident wins award

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Tom Rocco, a former North Side resident turned New York City performer, won the 2010 MAC Award for Best New York Debut by a Male.
Rocco received the award May 4 when the board of directors of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs presented the awards at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in Times Square.

Gene Kelly Award nominees announced

Post Gazette: The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater have their 2010 nominees, picked from among 30 Allegheny County school productions. The nominations, announced today by Pittsburgh CLO and the University of Pittsburgh, will be part of the annual awards show May 29 at the Benedum Center.

Dance Recitals 2010

Post Gazette: It seems that there are plenty of stars on the horizon in this year's galaxy of dance recitals, including "Stars of Tomorrow" at Sandra Lynn's School of Dance" and "A Salute to the Stars" at Academy of Dance By Lori. Carnegie Performing Arts Center will also "Catch A Rising Star" with Carnegie Mellon University student and choreographer Dara Krute, who will create a solo to "Swan Myth" by Japanese composer Himekami.

Dance festival lures diverse mix of contemporary styles

Post Gazette: Pittsburgh may not be one of the first cities that springs to people's minds when they think about dance. But the newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival aims to help change that when it draws an eclectic mix of work by 15 local and national choreographers to the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty tomorrow through Sunday.

'God of Carnage' to end Public's 2010-11 season

Post Gazette: "God of Carnage," the Tony-winning play of 2009, will close Pittsburgh Public Theater's 2010-11 season, with Ted Pappas directing.
It is the second PPT production in a year of a Yamina Reza work; her "Art" opens May 27; "God of Carnage" will run May 26-June 26 next year.

New musicals cover variety of subjects

Post Gazette: What do a macabre family living in Central Park, 1960s philandering males, a dancing protest against military dictatorship and power pop politics have in common? They're all subjects of current Broadway musicals, of course -- because what subject matter cannot end up in a musical?

International Children's Fest to present several premieres

Post Gazette: Attention theater lovers of all ages. The 24th annual Pittsburgh International Children's Festival and the 2010-11 Family Series will feature acrobats, puppets, stage performances and hands-on activities to delight everyone from the littlest theater critic to adults who are young at heart.

Doris Eaton Travis, Last of the Ziegfeld Girls, Dies at 106

NYTimes.com: For a quarter century, Florenz Ziegfeld auditioned hundreds of thousands of young women vying to become chorus girls, the Ziegfeld Girls, those lace and chiffon visions of glamour who were as much a part of the Jazz Age as Stutz Bearcats, the Charleston and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

What does a Broadway Producer do? Over 100 Producers respond.

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: So, rather than come up with a long-winded answer of my own, I decided to come up with a Wiki answer to my reader's question. I went to my Broadway League brothers and sisters and asked all the Broadway Producers I know to answer my reader's question in one, short sentence.
And now, right here, I'm going to list all of them. Put them all together, and that's what we do!

UT ACTLab shutdown amid record courses and enrollment.

Joey’s Geeky Life: As reported in the Daily Texan, classes for the ACTLab program in New Media at the University of Texas at Austin, for which I helped both build as a student and as a teacher, have been canceled effective Fall 2010. This unfortunate event has come due to the retirement of its founder, Professor Allucquére Sandy Stone. Professor Stone is retiring from active teaching, however she will become a Professor Emerita, thus retaining the ability to teach courses at the University of Texas at Austin.