Jennifer Tipton is an artist using light

latimes.com: "Lighting designer Jennifer Tipton met Sardono W. Kusumo, an Indonesian dancer and choreographer, in 2008 at a workshop she was giving in Java. Tipton, one of this country's preeminent designers, had participants reverse their usual roles: Lighting designers made dance pieces; choreographers lighted them.

Mr. Molière, Meet Stanley Kowalski

NYTimes.com: "The gilded and red velvet Salle Richelieu is the most hallowed stage of the Comédie Française, the three-centuries-old acting troupe. It has survived war, fire, political turmoil, financial difficulties but only now is it encountering its very first American play.

Questions swirl around Shattered Globe

The Theater Loop: "After more than two decades, things appeared to have shattered at Shattered Globe Theatre. According to ensemble member Linda Reiter, the board of the venerable off-Loop company has decided to cease operations, return grant monies and dissolve the entity.

Royal Opera House backs down in legal row with blogger

The Stage: "The Royal Opera House has been forced to apologise to a theatre blogger after its head of legal and business affairs threatened to sue her for breach of copyright and ban her from attending Covent Garden.

SAG OKs Negotiating New Industrials Contract

Backstage: "The board voted unanimously via cross-country videoconference to approve a motion to begin the 2011 Industrial and Educational Contract negotiation process. As part of that motion, SAG national executive director and chief negotiator David White has approval to expand SAG and AFTRA's TV-theatrical joint bargaining agreement to include negotiations for a successor to the current industrials contract.

It's reigning men in Las Vegas

Variety: "f you want to succeed in Las Vegas, it helps to be one of the boys.
The top-selling entries in each of the three major entertainment genres that Sin City offers -- headliners, Broadway shows and Cirque du Soleil -- are all driven by the guys they showcase.

Pee-wee friends online followers to box office

Variety: "Today's secret marketing word is … 'nontraditional!'
With Broadway producers on the lookout for concrete ways to translate new-media initiatives into ticket sales, those behind 'The Pee-wee Herman Show' have found some intriguing options.

Chi's broadway bandwagon

Variety: "When Broadway in Chicago was created in 2000, some local Chicago politicians with chips on their Second City shoulders weren't shy about criticizing the appropriation of a Gotham brand. 'Why Broadway in Chicago?' asked one cantankerous alderman at the time. 'Why not Chicago in Chicago?'

August Wilson Center opens new 'In My Father's House' exhibition

Post Gazette: "'In My Father's House,' the first exhibition commissioned by the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Downtown, will have a grand public opening from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today in the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation Changing Exhibit Gallery.

Jersey Boys Celebrates Milestone Broadway Performance

Playbill.com: "The Tony, Olivier and Grammy Award-winning musical Jersey Boys plays its 2,000th Broadway performance Sept. 11 at 2 PM at the August Wilson Theatre.

Raúl Esparza and Brooke Shields Take a Leap of Faith in Los Angeles, Starting Sept. 11

Playbill.com: "The world premiere of the new musical Leap of Faith — co-starring four-time Tony nominee Raúl Esparza and Golden Globe Award nominee Brooke Shields — begins performances Sept. 11 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre.

Jerry Lee Lewis and ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ Self

NYTimes.com: "FRESH off a matinee performance of “Million Dollar Quartet,” Levi Kreis ran a nervous hand through his pompadour as he stood in the living room of a hotel suite high above Times Square on Wednesday. Mr. Kreis, the actor and musician who plays Jerry Lee Lewis in that Broadway musical, seemed unsure of how to comport himself when the suite’s primary occupant arrived. First he propped himself between two chairs, like a sprinter waiting for a starting pistol. Then, half-reverently and half-jokingly, he got down on one knee, which was the position he was found in when the real-life Mr. Lewis entered the room.

10 reasons why the Spider-Man musical will blow your damn mind to smithereens

I09: "Internet reaction to Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has oscillated between abject horror and Doc Brown's face when the model DeLorean catches on fire in 1955. But I'm going to be contrarian and say that this musical will be transcendent.

September 11th, 2010

- John's Blog Main Page -: "On Wednesday September 8 this year, I got to visit the Tribute in Light while the crew was setting up, and got some pictures

Dünden Bugüne Batman

Tasarım: "1943 yılından beri pelerinli kıyafetiyle kahramanlık yapmayı kendine görev edinmiş olan Batman, modadaki değişime ayak uydurmakta da başarılı oldu.

Tix for Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark Go on Sale to General Public Sept. 12

Playbill.com: "Tickets for the long-awaited Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, which will begin previews at Broadway's newly renamed Foxwoods Theatre Nov. 14 at 3 PM with an official opening scheduled for Dec. 21, will go on sale to the general public Sept. 12.

Michael Cohl Gambles on ‘Spider-Man’

NYTimes.com: "Nearly a hundred feet above the stage of Broadway’s Foxwoods Theater, Michael Cohl wrapped his right hand around one of the cables that will soon fly actors over the audience at the musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” For a moment Mr. Cohl, the accidental producer of the most expensive show in Broadway history, was on top of the theater world, and appropriately so: he is the money man who after years of delays has sent “Spider-Man” airborne. Thanks to him, theatergoers will get to see for themselves if it soars, or falls to earth.

The man behind Spider-Man.

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: "The article would have been interesting even if Mr. Cohl wasn't producing Spider-Man. It tells the tale of his rise to super-entrepreneur after dropping out of high school and facing an empty wallet many, many times in his illustrious career. And now, he's behind the biggest Broadway musical ever. Ever. (He admits in the article that the budget is now up to $60 million.)

‘Spider-Man’ Musical Villains Debut, First Song Performed

mtv: "Earlier today we brought you some news from this morning's pseudo-debut for 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark,' the upcoming Spider-Man musical directed by Julie Taymor.

'The Umbrella Man' is staged screenplay of a novel

Post Gazette: "Just about all of Pittsburgh's professional theater companies stage a premiere now and then, but none, not even City Theatre, makes new plays such a large part of its mission as Playhouse Rep.

FDA Fuming Over E-Cigarettes

The Consumerist: "It's been a busy week of letter-writing for the FDA. First, they sent out miffed missives to Canada Dry and Lipton over their questionable claims about their green tea drinks. Now the regulators are going after five manufacturers of electronic cigarettes for what the FDA alleges are illegal marketing tactics.

Globalised theatre and the rise of the monster musicals

guardian.co.uk: "There really is no business like showbusiness – at least when it comes to London's track record for blockbuster theatre. Everything about it is appealing – at least if you're an international producer. For while the ring of West End cash registers has been celebrated year on record-breaking year by the industry's annual box office reports, it is the export market in British drama that has recently caught the eye of the financial press.

Fall Arts preview: Caffeinated stage season

Post Gazette: "Starting today, have a 'Triple Espresso' at the CLO Cabaret Theater to kick off the fall theater season, then wander over to McKees Rocks and help the Pittsburgh New Works Festival celebrate its 10th anniversary. And rain or shine, Playhouse Rep will present 'The Umbrella Man,' opening Friday.

On stage or screen, 'Umbrella Man' has it covered

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "'The Umbrella Man' made such an impression on Ronald Allan Lindblom that he decided to produce it not once, but twice.
Lindblom serves as both the artistic director for the Pittsburgh Playhouse and the dean of Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts.
Last November, Robert A. Miller, a Hollywood-based director, producer and screenwriter who often directs plays for Point Park's professional theater company, The Rep, asked Lindblom to read a screenplay Miller thought might also work as a stage play.

'Triple Espresso' magically brews taste of vaudeville

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The result of a creative collaboration among three successful solo performers, 'Triple Espresso' used songs, a little vaudeville and slapstick, audience interaction, magic tricks and a lot of comedy to create a rags-to-rags story about three guys, a coffee house, a complete lack of common sense and a shot at fame and fortune that ends as a nationally televised embarrassment.

Critic’s Notebook - ‘Freedom Club’ and ‘Cankerblossom’ in Philadelphia

NYTimes.com: "Freedom — such a lovely word. Currently adorning the best-seller lists, thanks to the latest literary blockbuster from Jonathan Franzen. And sure to be gravely or raucously intoned in political speeches from coast to coast as the election season heats up.

Fake unfinished concrete wallpaper

Boing Boing: "ConcreteWall is a Norwegian company that sells wallpaper silkscreened to look like unfinished concrete in a variety of textures.

Inside the NEA: Getting to Know Michael Killoren

Art Works: "In October, Michael Killoren will join the NEA as our new director of Local Arts Agencies and Challenge America Fast Track. (Read our press release here.) Michael joins us from Seattle where he’s been serving in Mayor Mike McGinn’s cabinet as the city’s director of arts and cultural affairs. To borrow a phrase from the late great Ed McMahon—heeeeeere’s Michael!

The Goods: September 2010's Hottest Gadgets

Popular Science: "Bosch Axial Glide Miter Saw Since it replaces the usual guide rails with retractable hinged arms, this miter saw is more compact and stable than competitors. Its two arms are fitted with 12 ball bearings, so the blade moves smoothly and stays true over time.

SAG, Business Reps Reach Deal

Backstage: "Unionized SAG employees voted Wednesday night to accept a contract with the guild offering 2% annual wage increases over the next three years. The employees, SAG business representatives, turned down the same offer a week ago. Had they rejected the deal again, the employees would have initiated a strike against the guild.

Superb choreography stars in Broadway shows

Post Gazette: "'Come and meet those dancing feet,' warbled the cast of '42nd Street.' But dance fans have been doing that for decades, experiencing the high-bounding energy that drove Broadway musicals in production numbers, ballets and featured solos.

Offbeat troupe goes out of orbit to perform 'Hamlet' in Klingon

Post Gazette: "Don't you love that remarkable moment when roSenQatlh and ghIlDenSten exit the stage and Khamlet is left alone to deliver the immortal words: 'baQa', Qovpatlh, toy'wl'a' qal je jIH'?
No? Well, it always kills on Kronos. That's the home planet of the Klingons, the hostile race that antagonizes the Federation heroes of 'Star Trek.' We learned back in '91 in 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country' that the Klingons love Shakespeare. Or as he's known to his ridged-foreheaded devotees in the space-alien community: Wil'yam Shex'pir.

Cherry Jones as Shaw’s Mrs. Warren

NYTimes.com: "CHERRY JONES has made a specialty lately of playing iron-willed women. She was the terrifying, unyielding Sister Aloysius in the stage version of “Doubt,” for which she won a Tony. More recently, for two seasons on the television series “24,” she was Allison Taylor, the first female president of the United States, who stood up to the Russians and the crazed dictator of Sangala and had her own daughter arrested.

A Brief History of IATSE

props: "Happy Labor Day, everyone! I hope you are having a relaxing weekend, though more likely, you are taking this long weekend to work on this fall’s shows (like I am). Regardless of how you feel about unions in general, or IATSE in particular, there is no doubt that the history of IATSE has shaped the history of working in theatre and in props in America.

What will happen to Broadway if Spider-Man is a hit?

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: "When the work started back up at the Hilton Theater recently, it felt like that moment in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when, after years of silence, smoke started coming out of the chimneys. 'The Oompa-Loompas are back to work! They're making chocolate again!'

New Features in Google SketchUp 8

Popular Woodworking: "Every week, one million people around the world use Google SketchUp. Last week, I was one of 250 SketchUp users invited to Boulder, Colorado for 3D Base Camp. While there, the release of a new version of SketchUp was announced. For woodworkers using the free version of SketchUp 7, the changes are minimal, but there are some nice enhancements. For users of the Pro version, the addition of solid modeling is big news. If you do detailed modeling, this addition will cut the time you spend in front of your computer considerably.

Controversy still dogging the Helpmanns

smh.com: "Since the Helpmann Awards began a decade ago they have gained in stature, despite the backroom stoushes and embarrassing oversights that have threatened to bring them unstuck.
The annual performing arts awards, encompassing theatre, musical theatre, dance, opera, classical and contemporary music, comedy and cabaret, were once better known for their anomalies than for the talents they sought to acknowledge.

Research Upends Traditional Thinking on Study Habits

NYTimes.com: "Every September, millions of parents try a kind of psychological witchcraft, to transform their summer-glazed campers into fall students, their video-bugs into bookworms. Advice is cheap and all too familiar: Clear a quiet work space. Stick to a homework schedule. Set goals. Set boundaries. Do not bribe (except in emergencies).

TD1 - Show Breakout

In class you mentioned the number 50 for the number of units we should have. Was that a rough estimate or a “there are only around this number” comment? Also on a related topic, is it better to list all the different types of molding as different elements or to note that they are different and there fore make each one that is indeed different a specific unit?

The 50 number was a hypothetical estimate, like “bigger than a breadbox.” If you wind up with one element for each of the set pieces elevated on drawings 3-9 you will be short.

The “different types of molding” thing is about the picture gallery, yes? So they aren’t molding at all they are frames. Are all the frames individual elements for this assignment? That’s a judgment call. There are two picture gallery units, between those two units there are five non-consecutive pieces, and those pieces are each made from multiple components. How many elements it is depends on how useful it is or isn’t for you to have them as individual elements. Usually I base that on a couple things:

1. Will I treat the pieces substantively differently with regard to schedule or fabrication?
2. Is it likely we’ll cut one bit without the other for budget?

It only makes sense to create multiple elements from single set pieces when it does you some good organizationally.

Traditional jobs support careers in the arts

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Being a full-time actor, musician, comedian, filmmaker or playwright in Western Pennsylvania often doesn't pay the bills. To support their creative pursuits, many artists need to hold down 'real' jobs. Here's a look at how some of these two-career performers make ends meet.

New Works festival continues development mission

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "As the Pittsburgh New Works Festival celebrates its 20th season, little has changed except its location.
And that's just fine with those involved in this year's festival, which begins performances of the staged one-act plays Thursday in the Father Ryan Arts Center in McKees Rocks.

Dominatrix Gives S and M Coaching to ‘Trust’ Cast

NYTimes.com: "The critics, the financial backers, the friends and the family of cast and crew came to see Paul Weitz’s comedy “Trust,” but one more interested observer needed to weigh in, and she wasn’t there to judge which lines got the biggest laughs.

Five Best Mobile To-Do List Managers

LifeHacker: "Managing to-dos from your desktop has its perks, but being able to carry that to-do list in your pocket is even better. Here's a look at Lifehacker readers' five favorite mobile to-do list managers.
Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite mobile to-do list manager. Now we're back to highlight the five most popular contenders.

3D or not 3D? Shakespeare's face 'recreated' by scientists... but have they got the right man?

Mail Online: "Scientists have used state-of-the-art 3D computer technology to create what they say is the first true likeness of William Shakespeare.
The image shows every wrinkle on the playwright's face and the figure's haunted stare is radically different from existing images which purport to be of the Bard.

Cast Software Set to Debut BlackTrax at PLASA

iSquint.net: "CAST Software of Toronto, Canada will be debuting their newest technology, BlackTrax (patent pending), at PLASA, September 12-15 at Earls Court in London, Stand 1-G15. BlackTrax is a revolutionary motion tracking system for people and objects that operates in real time. BlackTrax is designed to work with CAST’s game-changing BlackBox system of multi-directional high-speed control coordination.

All the Globe's a stage

The Independent: "They aren't so much smashing through the glass ceiling as sweeping aside layers of dusty parchment; but it is progress. As the first play penned by a woman opens at Shakespeare's Globe today – breaking a 411-year tradition – top theatre directors report a surge in prominent female playwrights, with a wave of talented women coming to the fore in Britain's male-dominated theatres.

How to create a High Perfoming Team by understanding Group Dynamics

Behind the Scenes at Taylor Studios, Inc ©: "Last week a few of us went to a presentation by Pat Murray on Group Dynamics. Since we all work in groups it is good to know the psychology of groups. We are a social animal. Our behaviors, character, identity, status and place in the world all come from imprinting from our groups. These groups could include our family, military, corporate, religious and other social organizations. Groups are a mental configuration. There is no individual action there is only group action. Connection to a group is a requirement for human survival. Many people don’t get over being dumped from a group. Long term military people die on average 18 months after leaving the military.

Is mainstream theatre politically engaged enough?

The Observer: "Director Max Stafford-Clark and actor/playwright Stephanie Street debate South African writer Athol Fugard's claim that today's theatre does not engage properly with political issues

Arena takes spotlight on national stage

Variety: "With its $135 million building renovation virtually completed, D.C.'s Arena Stage is preparing to unveil its refurbished campus with a head of steam unimagined at the start of the facelift's campaign almost a decade ago.

'Addams' in the slow Lane

Variety: "Anyone who doubted how valuable topliner Nathan Lane is to 'The Addams Family' got a wakeup call during week 14 (Aug. 23-29): Ticket sales for the Broadway tuner plummeted 32% -- more than $350,000 -- with the thesp out on vacation.

Point Park dance season celebrates Pittsburgh ties

Post Gazette: "The talents of legendary choreographers, Pittsburgh natives and Point Park University students, faculty and alumni will take center stage during Point Park University's Conservatory Dance Company's 2010-11 season.
Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago will stage a one-night performance Sept. 25. The renowned original jazz dance company includes four Point Park alumni on its roster.

'Phantom of the Opera' doesn't diminish with time

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "When it debuted in London almost 25 years ago 'The Phantom of the Opera' ushered in the age of the mega-musical.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Filled his musical to the saturation point with lavish and abundant scenery, flashy special effects — most notably its soaring, crashing crystal chandelier and its throbbing, emotionally overwrought score.
It captured the imaginations and affections of the casual theatergoing public.

‘Andrew Jackson’ and ‘Merchant’ Head to Broadway

NYTimes.com: "The hit Broadway revivals of “Hair” and “South Pacific” may have closed this summer, but they are continuing to pay important dividends for their producers, the Public Theater and Lincoln Center Theater.

Know When to Stop Talking

FreelanceSwitch: "I’m pretty sure I successfully managed to talk my way out of a new project. Yay. But at least I learned when to stop talking.

AutoCAD for Mac and iOS Announced

The CAD Geek Blog: "BIG NEWS – after an 18-year absence, AutoCAD is returning to the Mac! Of course, much to Autodesk’s dismay, this hasn’t exactly been a secret to nearly anyone following who follows the CAD industry. Now for the part I hadn’t expected (but makes perfect sense); AutoCAD is also coming to the iOS (aka. iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad).

Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre founder balances artistic risk, business sense

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Andrew S. Paul dreams big.
'I'd like to devote a festival to Chekhov. I want to do Alan Bennett's 'The Madness of George III.' But you need 35 actors. I'd like to do Stoppard's 'Coast of Utopia' trilogy. That also uses 35 actors,' Paul, the producing artistic director and cofounder of Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theater, says.
'I keep them in my head because, eventually, I will be able to do them. There's no reason to stop dreaming. If we didn't have aspirations, we would be really bored.'
Paul has neither the inclination nor the time to be bored.

Donmar Warehouse’s Broadway Transfers

NYTimes.com: "THE most counter-intuitive producing move on Broadway this summer was closing the hit play “Red” on June 27, just two weeks after it won six Tony Awards, including best play honors. Sure, its two actors, Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne, had to leave for other commitments. But with few plays on Broadway this summer — not a single nonmusical is running right now — the producers of “Red” stood to make a mint at the box office if they had recast with two big-name stars.

A day in the life of a theatre

thestar.com: "Looking forward to an enchanted evening at the theatre? Easy, right? Just buy a ticket.
Then, leave the rest to scores of people behind the scenes and at the front of house whose jobs are to make something so maddeningly complex seem so seamlessly carefree.

How the Washington Shakespeare Company came to offer Shakespeare in Klingon

Washington Post: "Don't you love that remarkable moment when roSenQatlh and ghIlDenSten exit the stage and Khamlet is left alone to deliver the immortal words: 'baQa', Qovpatlh, toy'wl'a' qal je jIH'?
No? Well, it always kills on Kronos.

Plays booking a novel source

Variety: "With a journo's typically unreliable 20-20 foresight, it's a good bet that the novel-to-stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 'War Horse' looks to be one of the major events of the 2010-11 Broadway season. Then again, whether this Brit transfer turns into another hit (like 'Nicholas Nickleby') or a flop (like 'Coram Boy') won't be answered until April 14, when Nick Stafford's legit take on the book about a boy and his long-lost horse opens at LCT's Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Gemini's 'Beauty' mixes comedy, interaction to teach life lessons

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "In Gemini Theater's version of the classic fairy tale 'Sleeping Beauty,' viewers can count on additional quirky and modern twists, extra-funny characters and plenty of laughs, the show's directors say.

Technology in the Arts #72

Technology in the Arts: "In this episode of Technology in the Arts, Brad interviews Brett Jarvis, Technical Supervisor for THE RIDE, a multi-media, multi-discipline production that moves guests through midtown Manhattan on custom-built vehicles, while an ever-changing show featuring actors, performers, and everyday citizens unfolds on the streets before them. THE RIDE rolls out on September 16, 2010.

The ABC’s Of Getting “A”s and “B”s

College Candy: "In elementary school all that was required of us to get decent grades was coloring inside the lines. Middle school and high school introduced to the word “studying” and, soon after, a genuine dislike for the word. But college is where the work is no joke. The classes are hard. The workload is heavy. And the social scene is exploding. So how does a college girl stay on top of it all?

Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Voyeurs Have Roles, Too

NYTimes.com: "Sitting on a bus on a cool, misty evening here, an enthusiastic teenager chatted up nearly every one of the 15 riders, telling them about her recent move to Edinburgh from Nigeria, and about the things she planned to do in her Scottish environs. She and her “Auntie Martha” were on their way to a new life in an Edinburgh flat. A short time later, the bus riders would discover that this immigrant was not going to shop on the Royal Mile, visit Edinburgh Castle, see the Palace of Holyroodhouse or do anything else on her list. Instead, she was to be quickly assimilated into a world of sex slavery.

An Open Letter to Students on the Danger of Seeing School as a Trial to Survive

Study Hacks: "“The demands of imminent independence can worsen mental-health problems or create new ones for people who have managed up to that point to perform all the expected roles,” explains Henig. “[They] get lost when schooling ends and expected roles disappear.”
In other words, when you go through life thinking “if I can make it through this, things will be better later,” you eventually forget what “better” means.

Review: Theatrical Design and Production by Gillette

props: "The Sixth Edition of Theatrical Design and Production, by Michael Gillette was published in 2008. Gillette, a retired professor at the University of Arizona, first published this seminal textbook in 1987. Though pricey (it is a textbook, after all), it has not become the go-to text for stagecraft without earning it.

Use Two Identical Camcorders to Create Simple DIY 3D movies

Lifehacker: "Whether you're borrowing a buddy's or you've got two on hand, this clever guide will help you turn the output from matching video sources into 3D video.

Mendes to direct Spacey in 'Richard III'

Variety: "Sam Mendes will direct Kevin Spacey in Shakespeare's 'Richard III' in the title role at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, with an opening date in February 2012. Show will kick off the third and final season of Mendes' international series The Bridge Project, which has been pushed back from 2011 to allow the company to beef up the touring portion of the production.

Pittsburgh Ballet's new dancers to fill many shoes

Post Gazette: "The face of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is still changing as the company prepares for its annual outdoor opening at Hartwood Acres Thursday. After slowly building the company to 30 members over the course of several years, artistic director Terrence Orr has cut the number of full-fledged company members to 28, which includes three apprentices.

Trevor Nunn to Be Visiting Professor at Oxford

Playbill.com: "Tony Award-winning director Trevor Nunn, currently represented on Broadway with the revival of A Little Night Music, will be the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theater at St. Catherine's College in Oxford, according to the New York Times.

Replacement Casts Sometimes Improve Broadway

NYTimes.com: "Strange but true: The best new show in town this summer isn’t a new show at all, technically. The Broadway revival of “A Little Night Music” sings with new subtlety and emotional force now that the celebrated veterans Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch have taken over the key roles of Desirée Armfeldt and her caustic mum.

Sonic Alert Doesn't Want You To Sleep Through Class, Sends Free Alarm Clock

The Consumerist: "Justin writes that he is a college student and a heavy sleeper. Ordinarily, these are not a good combination, but he has a special weapon in the war on slumber: the Sonic Bomb alarm clock from Sonic Alert. The product is designed for the hard-of-hearing as well as sound sleepers. He explained his issues with the clock that led him to sleep in, and suggested some ways to improve the product. Instead of brushing off his concerns, Sonic Alert expressed concern that he was sleeping through class. They sent him--for free--a different clock with one of the features that would help Justin actually get up in the morning.

Rube Goldberg: The Man Behind the Machines

Gizmodo: "From the maddening board game Mouse Trap to that awesome OK GO video (to the hundreds of brilliant contraptions scattered across YouTube), Rube Goldberg machines continue to enjoy a widespread popularity. But who was Rube Goldberg in the first place?

How Do You Measure a Hit?

NYTimes.com: "For the sake of argument, let’s say that “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” the massive Julie Taymor musical opening in the fall, defies its doubters by earning glowing reviews, blockbuster word of mouth and a rise to the top tier of the box office charts. Not on the level of “Wicked,” exactly, but more like “Billy Elliot.” In other words, it’s consistently grossing somewhere in the ballpark of $1.1 million a week. Does that make it a hit?

New Kelly-Strayhorn Theater performance season cuts wide swath

Post Gazette: "Now heading into her third season at the Kelly-Strayhorn, Ms. Solomon's approach has had surprising appeal. Audiences are growing, even for more experimental productions such as Austria's Cie. Willi Dorner and the newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival. Audiences for those performances last year tended to be savvy and experienced. But the question-and-answer sessions afterward revealed some new patrons who wanted to learn more.

'Phantom of the Opera' on farewell tour

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "After 18 years on the road, the national touring company of 'The Phantom of the Opera' is nearing its journey's end.
Its Pittsburgh performances that run Wednesday through Sept. 19 are the next-to-the-last stop before the tour disbands.

A Fringe Festival That’s Too Tame? Too Bad

NYTimes.com: "A s someone who has covered almost every Fringe Festival since it began in 1997, the real problem now is that for the average theatergoer it remains too hard to find a good or interesting show. The reasons for this have as much to do with a lack of vision on the part of the producers as the talent level of the artists.

Overuse of Digital Devices May Lead to Brain Fatigue

NYTimes.com: "At the University of California, San Francisco, scientists have found that when rats have a new experience, like exploring an unfamiliar area, their brains show new patterns of activity. But only when the rats take a break from their exploration do they process those patterns in a way that seems to create a persistent memory of the experience.

Allen Says New York Too Expensive to Shoot Films

Backstage: "Woody Allen says he began shooting movies in European cities because he couldn't afford to do it any more in New York.

Autodesk Dorm Design Contest

The CAD Geek Blog: "Getting ready to go off to college (or know someone who is)? Autodesk is taking its free Autodesk Homestyler product that’s simple enough to use, even students from [insert name of college that (in your certainly unbiased opinion) have the dumbest students] can figure it out to the dorms. Just yesterday the Autodesk Dorm Design Contest was announced. The essence of the contest is this, design your dream dorm room using the free cloud-based Autodesk Homestyler product and win up-to a $500 back-to-school shopping spree at Target.

Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home

Post Gazette: "When University of Minnesota freshmen move in at the end of this month, parental separation will be a little sneakier: mothers and fathers will be invited to a reception elsewhere so students can meet their roommates and negotiate dorm room space -- without adult meddling.

Lecture Previews

The Tartan Online

How To Avoid Writing an Awful Cover Letter

Gawker: "If you're wasting time reading this right now, you probably need a better job. That means you need a good cover letter. Allow us to give you some tips for success—with counterexamples from an all-too-real hilariously bad cover letter.

Project Photofly is Alive in the Autodesk Lab!

Lynn Allen's Blog: "So do you regularly check out the Autodesk Labs for great free software? Here you'll find all types of great programs to help make your design life easier (or at least more fun!). Just recently the Autodesk Lab posted Project Photofly - a great means of creating 3D models from photographs using the web. It's simply a process of stitching the photos together - absolutely amazing!

Meet Compulsion puppeteer Emily DeCola

Berkeley Rep Blog: "From our offices we can look down into the rehearsal hall, where actors Mandy Patinkin, Hannah Cabell, and Matte Osian, along with director Oskar Eustis and puppeteers Emily DeCola, Daniel Fay, and Eric Wright are working their way through Rinne Groff's Compulsion, our season opener.

Broadway's Jimmys honor high school performers; Two Pittsburgh students among 44 chosen nationwide

Post Gazette: The two Kelly winners who represented Pittsburgh on the Marquis stage were Alex Field from Central Catholic in Oakland and Andrea Weinzierl from Avonworth in the North Hills. Field was one of the seven finalists chosen from the 44 by the judges to do their solo piece -- in most cases, not the number from their winning show back home. By general consent he was the best dancer in a competition that focused on acting and singing.

Tony campaign recasts stars

Post Gazette: The preponderance of Hollywood stars at this year's Tony Awards ceremony gave the New York theater community an invigorating jolt of celebrity cachet. But not everyone was happy about the presence of so many L.A. carpetbaggers during Broadway's biggest night.

Racy, raw 'Killer Joe' offers murder and mayhem

Post Gazette: There are some families -- a lot, if you're honest -- you wouldn't want to be part of or even know, but you wouldn't mind visiting, from a safe distance, with your timely escape assured. Such are the losers in Tracy Letts' very dark comedy, "Killer Joe," a guilty pleasure from barebones productions -- which is redundant, that being the company's signature taste.

The Perils of Being Too Funny

NYTimes.com: Somebody recently told me that one of my plays, “The Understudy,” was “too funny.”
Comedy is historically undervalued, and one does wonder when we’re going to get over that. But “too funny”? Now we have to deal with “too funny”?

‘Bridget Jones’ Musical Gets Underway

Deadline.com: Lily Allen is writing some of the songs for the new Bridget Jones stage musical, which has staged its first workshop reading. I’m told this was a rough assembly of Helen Fielding’s script and some songs with the Billy Elliot creative team

Universal Creative's very, very, very good year

Theme Park Insider: It's the last day of June and - wow! What a month for theme park premieres. I can't remember a string of such impressive debuts as I has the good fortune to attend this month, starting with Disney's World of Color, followed by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando and wrapping up yesterday with the King Kong 360/3-D here in Los Angeles.

Okay, kids, play on my lawn

Roger Ebert's Journal: I was a fool for mentioning video games in the first place. I would never express an opinion on a movie I hadn't seen. Yet I declared as an axiom that video games can never be Art. I still believe this, but I should never have said so. Some opinions are best kept to yourself.

Disney's World of Color Show Control

- John's Blog Main Page - : I've been following this show's progress for a couple years, and I'm still hoping to get out to California to see it this summer, but in the meantime, Disney has posted this interesting video, featuring Senior Technical Director Chuck Davis

Vectorworks & Lightwright 5 Webinar Video Now Available

iSquint.net: Back on May 18th, I wrote about a Vectorworks Spotlight and Lightwright webinar about how to exchange data between the two applications. The webinar happened back on May 25, yes, over a month away! Since I was at the Broadway Lighting Master Classes in New York, I was not able to get online to watch the webinar so I missed out just like you if you missed it.

SDCF Masters of the Stage - Susan Stroman - January, 1994

American Theatre Wing: In January of 1994, Susan Stroman sat down for an hour-long discussion of her career as a choreographer. She talks about working on Crazy For You, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Show Boat, noting how bad experiences are necessary to make the good ones what they are. Other topics include working with a cast of 73 actors, working with director Hal Prince, movie musicals and the lack of copyright protection for choreography. For wonderful advice and great stories from a five-time Tony-winning director and choreographer, listen now!

Peter Pan, at San Francisco's Threesixty Theater

WSJ.com: As the opening of what the producers hope will be a 20-month-long U.S. run—beginning with a stay of several months here—a visually dazzling, London-born production of J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan" opened in May in a round white tent, erected in the big public plaza across The Embarcadero from San Francisco's welcoming Ferry Building of 1898.
The production requires its own custom-built tent (shipped from London and requiring two weeks to set up) because its great novelty is a circular, convex video screen. Thirty-three feet high and 460 feet around, it covers the inside of the tent between 12 rows of in-the-round seating (capacity 1,350) and a peaked cupola that houses five tons of lighting and other technical equipment—including the people and gear manipulating the wires that enable Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Wendy and her two brothers to fly through the air over our heads.

Trevor Nunn: I feel betrayed by the new Les Mis

Telegraph: The tirelessness of Trevor Nunn is a matter of fact. At 70, he is directing as much as ever. Productions of his, both large and small, have in recent years sprouted on Broadway and at the Marlowe Society in Cambridge, at the Old Vic and the Belgrade in Coventry, where he had his first ever professional job, on Chichester’s vast stage and now once more at the tiny Menier Chocolate Factory.

Capital Fringe Festival Returns to DC

Backstage: So what does it take to run a fringe festival in Washington, DC? How about 40 staff members, over 150 volunteers, almost 2,000 performers and 134 quirky shows.

Shakespeare's Globe Survives Second 'Henry VIII' Play

Backstage: William Shakespeare's Globe theater has finally put a 400-year-old taboo to rest by staging the play which burned the original house down during the Bard's lifetime.

Stratford in the spotlight

Variety In his third season as artistic director of Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Des McAnuff seems to have hit his stride.
The seven shows that have opened to date represent most of the season's major work. On the whole, they have been positively received, with no flops and several clear winners. And the recent announcement of next season's lineup, including a new musical from the creators of Tony winner "The Drowsy Chaperone," has boosted anticipation for what's next.