Going Once, Going Twice Come for the shopping, stay for the theatre

American Theatre – March 2013: The prevailing hunch about auctions and tag sales is that they are aimed at generating revenue. Generally, they are. But when Philadelphia's Gas & Electric Arts tacked on a tag sale to Cabinet of Wonders: An Impossible History, a Kira Obolensky commission produced in 2009, the company was more focused on extending the audience's experience of the world of the play beyond the play itself—and on appealing to and connecting with new theatregoers.

Embrace New Skills, and Open New Doors

NYTimes.com: I’M a classically trained professional dancer, and I have three different jobs. My main one is performing with a group named Evidence, A Dance Company, which is based in Brooklyn. I’m also a co-choreographer and dancer in a three-person musical comedy group, Adira Amram and the Experience. On Saturdays, if not on the road with one of those groups, I teach dance at the Ailey School.

Tweeting Mahler, Graham and Stoppard?

MARKETING THE ARTS TO DEATH: I once did marketing for an old vaudeville theatre-turned performing arts center that had amazing acoustics. One day I was walking past the telemarketing room where I overheard a young salesperson saying, “The acoustics in this theatre are so good that it’s like listening to a really well-produced CD with a great set of headphones.” I thought of this yesterday when I read a story about tweeting during orchestral concerts in Pacific Standard Magazine (via Artsjournal.com). According to writer Tom Jacobs, a young Alabama journalist was recently asked to tweet from his seat at a symphony orchestra performance and afterward said, “The exercise helped transform me into more of an active listener, a true observer instead of merely an audience member.”

The Data Crunchers of Theatre

Stage Directions: Good stage managers don’t just collect information, they manage it An organized stage manager … Isn’t that redundant? Organizational skills are a prerequisite to becoming a good stage manager. But why are stage managers known for organization above all other managers? In a business sense, stage managers are the ultimate transactional leaders, the perfect project managers. They are not asked to transform a company, but they are expected to replicate a project flawlessly, even with substitute team members. Daily. And if you are in rehearsal, the source material for that flawless replication changes hourly. Who else but a stage manager would be expected to know the exact layout of a cluttered desk or a formal dining table as it progresses by the minute?

Production Manager - Department of Theater, Dance & Performance Studies, University of California, Berkeley

University Job: The Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies seeks a Production Manager to organize, supervise, and coordinate all TDPS productions. This position incorporates both administrative and academic responsibilities including budget development, planning and contracting for up to 15 productions annually in three performing spaces, staff supervision, and oversight of students as designers, cast and crew. May teach stage management. For further information on TDPS see: http://tdps.berkeley.edu.

Strike Averted as MPTF and Union Announce Cooling-Off Period

www.hollywoodreporter.com: The Motion Picture and Television Fund and the union representing 500 of its employees, SEIU-UHW, jointly announced Friday a 60-day cooling-off period during which time the two organizations will continue to negotiate toward a collective-bargaining agreement. The announcement was made by Bob Beitcher, MPTF CEO, and Dave Regan, President of SEIU-UHW.

The Backstage Digital All-Stars

www.backstage.com: And then there was “House of Cards.” Love it or hate it, Netflix’s $100 million venture into scripted original programming—David Fincher! Shakespearean undertones!—signified a Gutenberg moment. From this point on, high-end entertainment with genuine artistic ambitions would no longer only come first through a cable box or a cinema projector; it can and will come from anywhere. Or to put it another way, when Kevin Spacey choked that dog to death he changed the world.

'Fallaci' review: Journalist reflected

SFGate: An unusual hall-of-mirrors quality haunted Wednesday's world premiere of Lawrence Wright's "Fallaci" at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. It isn't just that this alternately fascinating and frustrating play is one journalist writing about another. Reflections refract off each other in the way Wright uses a fictional writer to write about the writer Wright is writing about. Got that?

Legendary Pictures Buys Lunch For Rhythm & Hues Artists

The Hollywood Reporter: R&H—which filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb. 13 and is scheduled to be auctioned on March 27—has typically provided lunch and dinner during overtime, which was apparently eliminated as a cost-cutting measure due to its bankruptcy, according to an employee.

‘Beaches’ Shores Up D.C. Theater Season

Variety: The 2013-14 theater season in Washington, D.C. is shaping up to include a number of titles that might interest legiters in Gotham and beyond, with the recently announced pre-Broadway tryout of Idina Menzel starrer “If/Then” joined by regional slates that include a musical adaptation of “Beaches.”

Herding Cats in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ on Broadway

NYTimes.com: Four days before previews, the cast and crew of the new Broadway version of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” were putting the finishing touches on the show’s blocking, lighting and costumes. But on this final day of February, there remained one gaping hole: the director still hadn’t cast the role of Holly Golightly’s cat.

Taking a Church from a Temporary Setup to a Permanent Install, Part 1

The SVC Blogcast: To hear the podcast press the play button or download here. Or read the transcription. In this edition of the SVC Podcast, SVC Contributing Editor Bennett Liles talks with Wade Russell of Elite Multimedia in Memphis, Tennessee about the temporary and then permanent sanctuary AV installation done by his firm at the First Church of the Nazarene in Marion, Ohio. Wade discusses the portable sound and video system that was put into the gymnasium where the congregation met for a year while the new church was being constructed.

Bruce Norris: squirm, you hypocrites!

Stage | The Guardian: 'The idea that theatre can change anything," says Bruce Norris, "is optimistic." This is a startling remark from the writer of 2010's scaborously funny Clybourne Park – a combustible mix of race, property prices and liberal pieties that won Norris an Olivier in Britain and a Pulitzer in the US. "The test would be if it didn't just change what we thought – but what we do. It doesn't. I still do what I did when I was nine. It would take a traumatic disruption to change what I do. I live parasitically off the labour of others and benefit from the power structure that protects me. I'm lazy, selfish and infantile and so are most people."

The Making of Measure for Measure

YouTube: Sit down with Measure for Measure director Robert Falls, the cast and design team behind Shakespeare's black comedy. Now playing through April 14 at Goodman Theatre.

4D printing: The new frontier

ZDNet: The fourth dimension in 4D printing refers to materials that are able to change and mutate over time when exposed to water, temperature changes and/or air to self assemble. 4D object formats will soon have API's (Application Programming Interfaces) that enable designers to define the characteristics of the materials they are made from, which are then printed using sophisticated chemical calibrations to enable specific attributes and functionality.

Site Specific Theater At New Haven's IKEA. No Instructions Needed

Courant.com: Live theater has played in some offbeat places. But this one’s a doozy. Theatre 4 launches its fourth annual Acting Out. Four regional playwrights take on the same challenge of writing a new 10-minute play that takes place somewhere in the showroom of IKEA New Haven. Audience members will be lead from play to play by tour guides.

J-O-B ATD

ATD Job Posting 3-7-13 by dboevers

'Smash' and Lowe’s Team Up to Rebuild High School Theaters

www.backstage.com: Thirty high schools around the country, including three New York-based schools, are currently final contenders for the “Smash” Make a Musical campaign. The NBC musical show has partnered with the home improvement store Lowe’s to help high schools make much needed repairs to their theater spaces. The campaign is administered through iTheatrics, a program that develops theater works for elementary, middle and high school students. The five-winning schools will each receive a $3,000 gift card to Lowe’s.

Why Bway's 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' has no tiaras

The Denver Post: The Holly Golightly who has shown up on Broadway isn't wearing oversized Wayfarer-style sunglasses, tiaras, big hats, a pink cocktail dress or anything by Hubert de Givenchy. Three-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood avoided the classic outfits that made Audrey Hepburn such a style icon when she designed the clothes for an adaptation of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that opens this week. "Why go see something that's the same as the movie that's already been done? What's the point? We've seen that Givenchy black dress a million times," said Atwood, who won Oscars for her work on "Chicago," "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Alice in Wonderland."

VFX Town Hall Urges Trade Association and Union

www.hollywoodreporter.com: VFX vet Scott Ross and others outlined a plan that involves the formation of a VFX union for VFX artists and of a trade association for visual effects facilities, all aimed at addressing the troubled VFX business model.

Stage Entertainment Names New CEO

Variety: Henk Kivits, the chief exec of Euro legit producing giant Stage Entertainment Group, will ankle his post this summer to be replaced by current Stage international exec producer Peter O’Keeffe.

Kivits has been CEO of Stage since 2007, and will exit at the end of his current contract after declining to extend it by two years. Kivits said in a statement he was ready to step back from the heavy demands of the gig.

Staying on Top of the Problem

Occupational Health & Safety: It bears mentioning that head and face PPE is one of the categories that employers are required to provide at no cost to employees. That's one of the givens for this vital category of protection, which is addressed in OSHA's general industry PPE standard, 1910.132. This standard explains that begins the process starts with a written assessment documenting the hazards in the workplace. Based on what they are and whether they can be adequately addressed through engineering and/or administrative controls, the employer might need to provide various types of PPE: head and face, hearing, vision, hand and arm, foot, respiratory, etc.

Broadway 13-14 Season Just Announced!

Broadway Across America: The 2013-2014 Broadway Season brings the very best of Broadway to Pittsburgh! Three 2012 Tony® Award-winning productions take our stages this season, along with critically acclaimed audience favorites and the triumphant return of Disney’s The Lion King. This season will untame your wildest imagination!

Arts-Focused Colleges Rack Up Most Student Debt

WSJ.com: Most people assume a degree in the arts is no guarantee of riches. Now there is evidence that such graduates also rack up the most student-loan debt. A Wall Street Journal analysis of new Department of Education data shows that median debt loads at schools specializing in art, music and design average $21,576, which works out to a loan payment of about $248 a month. That is a heavy burden, considering that salaries for graduates of such schools with five or fewer years' experience cluster around $40,000, according to PayScale.com.

Chinglish in Hong Kong, Part II: And They're Off

Berkeley Rep Blog: Here's more from Alex Moggridge (Daniel) and the cast of Chinglish during their sold-out stint at the Hong Kong Arts Festival! Alex shares some excellent insights about bringing this show to a Chinese audience, and what it means for everyone involved in the show.

Improving SEO with My Standing Desk

www.synqk.com: Most of Synqk has been skeptical about standing desks and their potential impact on our health or work ethic, but we decided to give it a try with the caveat that tracking our own progress was immensely important. Our case study of use with a standing desk should prove, despite our initial skepticism, that this is an absolute necessity when it comes to improving workplace productivity. We were able to increase productivity and results within the one month period that it was utilized. Perhaps the greatest impact was on the entire staff who now feels immensely better than before.

Christie Projection Mapping Display Transforms Canada’s Parliament Hill

Live Design Magazine [primary-term] press release archives: For the fourth consecutive summer Christie®3-chip DLP® projectors will be lighting up Ottawa’s famed Parliament Hill with a rich and engaging display that attracts more than 250,000 visitors annually . The gripping narrative of Canadian history via the National Capital Commission’s sound and light show, “Mosaika – Canada Through the Eyes of Its People” begins July 10 and ends September 7 this year.

Assistant/Associate Professor of Theatre (Scenic Designer), Wayland Baptist University

University Job: A full-time faculty position, the Assistant/Associate Professor of Theatre (Scenic Designer) is primarily responsible for the design, construction and technical direction of all theater productions as well as teaching undergraduate theater design and technical theatre courses.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

A Projector And A Fog Machine Create Startling Virtual Spaces

Co.Design: business + innovation + design: British artist Anthony McCall’s “solid light” sculptures have received an outsized amount of attention this spring, with three concurrent exhibitions in Switzerland, London, and France. An exhibition at Sean Kelly Gallery this month adds New York to the list. The name of McCall’s stateside show--Face to Face--cleverly functions both as a structural description of the work and a way to name what happens when you’re inside of it.

Cult Musical Carrie Will Get Immersive Los Angeles Production This Fall

Playbill.com: The revised version of the cult musical Carrie, which was seen Off-Broadway in 2012, will receive its Los Angeles debut in a new immersive production by the Transfer Theatre Group this fall. Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, who produced the Broadway productions of Clybourne Park, Nice Work If You Can Get It and the upcoming revival of Pippin, present the Los Angeles run along with the Transfer Theatre Group. Performances will begin Sept. 6 towards a Sept. 13 official opening night. Carrie, based on the 1974 Stephen King horror novel, is currently scheduled to run through Nov. 2 at a venue to be determined.

The Difference Between Long- and Short-Form Improv

www.backstage.com: Back before Upright Citizens Brigade racked up $1 million in debt on a shiny new Lower East Side theater and improv training became de rigueur for any actor’s résumé, “Whose Line Is it Anyway?” was what many Americans thought of when they thought of improv comedy. The show aired on ABC from 1998 to 2007 and featured comedians performing quick theater games assigned by the host, Drew Carey. Last week the CW confirmed that it is reviving “Whose Line” with several of the original performers in tow and Aisha Tyler slated to host.

Let Equity Aid You in Filing Your Taxes

www.backstage.com: With tax season under way, thousands of performers across the country are trying to decipher their tax return forms in time for the April 15 deadline. Unlike workers with a standard nine-to-five position and salary contract, performers often have a complex work history with multiple employers and sporadic periods of employment, making these IRS documents especially confusing. But members of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA do not have to go through the process alone.

PICT board lays out changes, hires temp director

TribLIVE: Two days after firing producing artistic director Andrew S. Paul, the Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre board is moving ahead with changes. The board has appointed actor and director Alan Stanford to serve as interim producing artistic director and Paul's directing slots are being filled with new directors. The decision to fire Paul came just as brochures proclaiming the season's theme — “Scandal!” — arrived in theatergoers' mailboxes.

SMPTE Creates New Technology Committee Dedicated to Cinema Sound

Below the Line: The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) announced the creation of TC-25CSS – a new technology committee dedicated to cinema sound. The committee will work to update SMPTE standards and recommended practices to address opportunities created by the technical advances since standards were last updated, as well as to improve the quality and consistency of cinema sound.

Michigan Bets The State Pension Fund On Hollywood Success, Ends Up Stuck With The Tab

Techdirt: We've written before about cities and states luring Hollywood studios with multimillion dollar subsidies in the hopes of giving their local economies a bit of a bump. In nearly every case, this has been a money loser for the locale involved. A 2010 Tax Foundation study found that most states were lucky to see $0.20 in revenue from every dollar handed out. And yet, this surefire money loser remains incredibly popular.

Don't Screw It Up

On The Media: Following up on his conversation with Chris Anderson, Bob speaks with Michael Weinberg, Vice President at Public Knowledge, who's working to explain the benefits of 3D printing to legislators before regulation takes hold.

Technical Manager - The New 42nd Street Studios

The Duke on 42nd Street - Technical Job Opening: The New 42nd Street, a large cultural non-profit in midtown Manhattan, seeks a full-time Technical Manager to oversee production use and technical services of the organization’s 84,000 square foot rehearsal and theater facility, including The Duke on 42nd Street, a 200-seat flexible, Off-Broadway black box theater; 14 rehearsal studios; and a 10-story façade light sculpture. Clients range from small non-profit theater and dance companies to large Broadway productions.

Will 3D Printing Change the World? Video

Geekosystem: 3D printing is most certainly going to have a profound effect on the way we do business going forward, but will it actually change that world? That’s the question asked by PBS Off Book‘s latest video. They look at what can be accomplished in the future when it comes to 3D printing, and even what’s already been done. It’s a brave new world in a lot of ways, and we’re only just getting a real glimpse of the horizon.

FYI: How Do You Ship A Dinosaur Halfway Around The World?

Popular Science: Tarbosaurus bataar is going home. And the journey, though long, won't be that bad--especially for a 70 million-year-old like him (or her). The 8-foot-tall, fully mounted Tyrannosaurus rex relative first found itself in the news last May, when it went to auction in New York. In an unusual move, the Mongolian government decided to sue, saying that the Tarbosaurus must have come from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, as that's the only place Tarbosaurs have ever been found. (Like several other countries, though not the U.S., Mongolia considers fossils to be a part of its national heritage, and it's illegal to sell Mongolian fossils privately.) Private fossils dealer Eric Prokopi pleaded guilty to smuggling the bones in December. On February 13, a ruling from a U.S. district judge found the fossil legally free to return to Mongolia, as no other claimants stepped up after Prokopi's plea. The story got us wondering: What's it like to ship such a large and precious specimen halfway across the globe?

Piano for Wild Party

Prop Agenda: Every musical needs a piano, right? Of course, if you have a piano on stage and people are dancing, you’re going to want the people to dance on the piano as well. Such is the prop master’s life. I had to build a dance-able piano for Elon University’s production of The Wild Party, which closed a few weeks ago.

Dressing drag divas

TribLIVE: Transforming actors from cupcake to casino client in less than 30 seconds is only one of the challenges for the cast and crew of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical.” There may be musicals with bigger casts or more costumes and wigs or more quick costume changes. But the national touring production that begins performances here Tuesday as a presentation of PNC Broadway Across America — Pittsburgh is in a class all its own.

PNC Broadway Across America season includes plenty of award-winners

TribLIVE: The 2013-14 PNC Broadway Across America — Pittsburgh season represents the best of Broadway, says Paul Organisak. It may not contain as many gotta-see-that titles as the 2012-13 season — hits like “War Horse,” “The Book of Mormon” and the 25th-anniversary production of “Les Miserables.” But the subscription season of seven musicals contains real winners, says Organisak, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's vice president for programming and the person charged with putting together the selections for the season.

Productions breathe new life into robotic-play genre

 TribLIVE: They blink and breathe and speak like their fellow castmates. But not all of the actors in “Sayonara” and “I, Robot” are humans; they are androids and robots. Having a robot character is nothing new. In 1920, Karel Capek's “R.U.R.,” which popularized the word “robot,” had seven robot characters. More recently, British playwright Alan Ayckbourn's plays “Comic Potential” and “Henceforward” feature robots in pivotal roles.

Review: While not exactly gold, 'Priscilla' glitters delightfully

TribLIVE: As the opening song proclaims, “It's Raining Men” this week at the Benedum. But the ab-fabulous men of the musical “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” are not your average guys. Their work clothes feature items that include a thigh-high dress made up of tangerine and magenta flip-flops, a headdress of ostrich feathers in eight shades of pink, a demure chiffon dress or an oversize cupcake with brightly colored polka dots.

Region sets scene for local playwrights

TribLIVE: If you want to make a Pittsburgh-based playwright happy, give him or her some space — on a local theater schedule. “I don't think there are a lot of opportunities for playwrights here,” says playwright and actress Tami Dixon, producing artistic director at Bricolage Production Company. Playwright Mark Southers agrees.

“How 3D printing changed my life”

Salon.com: John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods, was in one big exhibit room talking about conscious capitalism. Guy Kawasaki, legendary Silicon Valley marketing whiz, was in another huge space, talking about the future of Google Search with an esteemed Google Fellow. Half an hour before the sessions were due to start, long lines to get into both presentations stretched like lazy serpents throughout the cavernous Austin Convention Center.

Build Your Resume in a Fraction of the Time

Lifehack: Jobs are harder to come by and creating résumé after résumé can be tedious and time consuming. Instead, you can utilize the Free Resume Builder to help you compile the basic outline. You can utilize the program to create a PDF or .docx file and then edit and customize it however you like for the specific job application.

3D Printing

On The Media: Desktop 3D printing has the potential to change our understanding of the 'ownership' of objects. Rather than buying many of the things we get at stores, 3D printing will allow you to make them at home. Bob talks with Chris Anderson, CEO of 3D Robotics and author of Makers: The New Industrial Revolution, who says the potential of this burgeoning technology is enormous.

J-O-B Residency

NEXTSTAGE_13 by dboevers

DeWALT 4.0 Ah 20V MAX Metal Cutting Circular Saw DCS373M2 - Review

Tools In Action - Tools and Gear for the Working Man: Everyone is touting Brushless and 4.0Ah technology, you see it everywhere. Well DeWALT has nonchalantly entered the 4.0Ah battery market with the DCS373M2 metal cutting circular saw. Metal cutting circular saws allow you to cut through material like rebar and steel track in seconds and the best feature is that the steel stays cool. The 5-1/2″ circular saw did a great job of cutting through everything we threw at it. It didn’t bog down at all. It has a 1-11/16″ depth of cut at 90 degrees. It has a blade lock and an included allen wrench for easy blade changes.

Do Coat Hangers Sound As Good Monster Cables?

Consumerist: Can you tell the difference between music that passed through a pricey Monster stereo Cable, and a coat hanger? A reader forwarded us a post from the Audioholics Home Theater Forum and its author says no. He says his brother ran an experiment on him and four other audio aficionados listening to a new CD from a new group blindfolded. Seven different songs were played, each time heard with the speaker hooked up to Monster Cables, and the other time, hooked up to coat hanger wire. Nobody could determine which was the Monster Cable and which was the coat hanger. The kicker? None of the subjects even knew that coat hangers were going to be used. This is, of course, “nothing new,” a Google of “monster cables vs coat hangers” shows that some users have been saying this for a while. Still, this is an experiment begging to be recreated under controlled conditions (say, for instance, a double-blind test). Science fair project!

Guest Post: DGA Women Directors Foment a Rebellion

Women and Hollywood: This past Saturday, March 2, 2013, became an historic day as the DGA Women’s Steering Committee hosted the DGA Women of Action Summit in LA bringing together 150 female American directors for a day-long event designed to create solutions to the problem of the under-representation and under-employment of women directors in Hollywood. This event was a long time coming and to me, the day was reminiscent, in terms of unity, passion and commitment to the rallies for women's rights of the 1970's. The day included opening remarks by Academy Award-winner and advocate, Geena Davis, who connected the need for the global proliferation of more positive images of women and girls to the immediacy of getting more women behind the camera here in Hollywood. Currently, according to the latest stats from the DGA, women only helm 5% of feature films and 15% of episodic TV shows.

City Theatre work remembers first African-American classical vocalist Roland Hayes

TribLIVE: When Daniel Beaty first heard Roland Hayes' voice on a CD, Beaty was an undergraduate at Yale. “I was stunned that I had never heard of this remarkable man, who was the first (African-American classical vocalist),” says Beaty, who received his bachelor of arts in English and music from Yale in 1998. Born in Georgia in 1887, Hayes overcame poverty and prejudice to become a world-renowned singer with a musical repertoire of classic and traditional spiritual music. By the mid-1920s, he was the highest-paid tenor in the world, performing concerts in the great performance halls of Europe and on recordings.

'Madama Butterfly' a tale of love, betrayal, death and more

TribLIVE: Every time soprano Maria Luigia Borsi sings the title role of “Madama Butterfly,” it is a dream come true for her because she fell in love with the opera when she was 7. She even memorized the second act as a child. “I like this opera because it has every aspect of life in it — love, intimate dreams, marriage, motherhood, betrayal, abandonment, death, dignity and desolation,” she says. “For that reason, I have the possibility to use my voice in different ways in the same scene, sometimes a sweet color, sometimes like a baby, sometimes sharp as a knife.”

Pittsburgh Public Theater's 'Thurgood' raises important topics

TribLIVE: In theater, whether it's telling a joke or producing a play, timing is often the key to success. For producing artistic director Ted Pappas, the Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of “Thurgood” that began performances March 7 is a perfect convergence of unanticipated events and careful planning that should increase audience interest. Playwright George Stevens Jr.'s one-man play focuses on the life and beliefs of Thurgood Marshall, most widely known as the first African-American to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Carnegie Mellon students win awards in costume, sound design

TribLIVE: Two student designers from Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama will be honored for their work at the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's annual conference. Costume designer Albulena Borovci and sound designer Erik T. Lawson are among the nine who will receive 2013 USITT Young Designers & Technicians in the Performing Arts Awards in a ceremony at the USITT's Annual Conference & Stage Expo on March 21 in Milwaukee.

The Tradition of Defining a Tradition

HowlRound: Throughout the history of American theater, the desire for a separate Black theater tradition has raised challenges and contradictions. Over the past decade, as many Black Theater institutions have stumbled and failed, revived and evolved, the question has arisen far too often, “Do we still need ethnically specific theaters?” Manifesto after manifesto has been written; critics, scholars and artists have debated; headlines have declaimed the question. Now at the new millennium for a new generation, we still wrestle with issues of cultural identity, political correctness, ethnic and gender politics all in an effort to correct the history of bigotry, oppression and segregation that has led generation after generation to this quandary in the first place. The history of Black Theater institutions, however, provides a rich cultural legacy that should not be doubted.

How Do You Separate An Oreo? With a Sophisticated Robot

Geekosystem: Meet HERB, Carnegie Mellon’s sophisticated butler robot. He was built to help mankind by performing household tasks, so of course when Oreo put the call out for machines to separate cookie from creme, the roboticists at Carnegie Mellon University reprogrammed HERB for the job. They also — for reasons — programmed HERB to prefer the creme to the cookie, even though he’s a robot and can’t actually consume either. Watch HERB take some Oreos to task in the latest Oreo Separator video.

Fan Fiction and the Law

On The Media: The internet has supercharged the world of fan fiction - stories written by fans based on their favorite works. Bob talks to Rebecca Tushnet, head of the legal committee at the Organization for Transformative Works, about the collision of fan fiction and fair use.

J-O-B-S Documentation - EE - Mechanical Design - Technical Writer

March TAIT Gigs by dboevers

New Dewalt ToughSystem 2-Drawer Tool Box (DS250)

ToolGuyd: It’s no secret that I am extremely fond of Dewalt’s crazy-durable ToughSystem tool boxes. Here’s my review of the small ToughSystem case in case you need a reminder. But ever since the smaller Tstak tool boxes were released I had wondered why there wasn’t a ToughSystem tool box with drawers. Well, now there is.

10 Questions for a Broadway Pro: Treasures from a Box Office Treasurer.

The Producer's Perspective: I remember when I was just starting out in the biz and thought I knew everything about sales. And then I met a box office treasurer and realized I didn’t know nuthin’. Why sure, I had studied sales funnels and The 4 Ps of Marketing approval payday loans , I was like an Army Colonel who knew every tactic known to the modern warrior . . . but had never been to the front lines. And that’s where the real education is.

The Importance Of Resume Formatting [INFOGRAPHIC]

Come Recommended: Gone are the days where job seekers simply sent a completed employment application and resume to the human resources department of their dream employer. As we’ve entered the digital age and a less-than-desirable job climate, the hiring process has been updated to transform the time and energy spent sifting through the resumes of potential candidates. Enter applicant tracking systems, an important tool for many HR managers. Often known as an ATS, this software application electronically manages a variety of hiring needs. From sifting through hundreds of resumes to choosing employees based on necessary skill sets, applicant tracking systems can easily become any job seeker’s foe during the hiring process.

Lottery offers winners great seats for 'Mormon'

TribLIVE: Good things can come to those who wait. Especially when they are front-row seats for the eagerly anticipated musical “The Book of Mormon.” A limited number of $25 tickets will be available by lottery for each performance when the national tour plays March 26 through April 7 at the Benedum Center, Downtown, as a presentation of PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh. The seats, located in the first two rows, would otherwise sell for $150 each.

Stage preview: Public's 'Thurgood' aims to be intimate look at epic man

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: So much of what Thurgood Marshall accomplished is well-documented: As attorney for the NAACP in 1954, he won the Brown v. Board of Education case, in which the Supreme Court ended racial segregation in public schools. In 1967, he became our first African-American Supreme Court justice. "Thurgood" attempts to give us insights into the man, and to revisit the play today comes with an added obligation to explore the times.

'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' driven to glittery stage spectacle

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It's raining men in drag at the Benedum Center -- men in glittery gowns, men in satin Speedos, men in minidresses made of flip-flops -- "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" sashays in the footsteps of an avalanche of musicals adapted from films and sporting jukebox scores, but in the case of "Priscilla," what you saw on screen is the story you get on stage. The 1994 movie, which included "The Adventures of ..." in the title, was written by Stephan Elliott, who adapted his screenplay with co-writer Allan Scott and scored it with many of the same disco-era songs that populated the film.

Fox Chapel grad is getting green light for stage, film projects

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Michael Mitnick looks back on the chutzpah it took to cold-call the parents of Tony winner and Dormont native Stephen Flaherty and chuckles. Then a Fox Chapel Area High School junior, he introduced himself as a fan and asked if their son would come to see a musical he had co-written that was being produced at his school. The co-creator of "Ragtime" was busy with "Seussical" on Broadway at the time, but his parents attended and sent a videotape of the show to Mr. Flaherty.

Broadway Series books Tony winners 'Once,' 'The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess'

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The PNC Broadway Across America -- Pittsburgh is bringing a trio of last year's Tony Award winners to the Cultural District next season: "Once" (best musical); "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" (best revival) and "Peter and the Starcatcher" (best scenic, costume, sound and lighting in a play). The 2013-14 season opens Sept. 3 with the previously announced "Disney's The Lion King." The schedule features seven shows plus three season specials, including the return of "Wicked." Both "Lion King" and "Wicked" were among the shows celebrated in a Pittsburgh Cultural District event tonight that featured tour veterans Buyi Zama (Rafiki) singing "Circle of Life" and Anne Brummel (Elphaba) singing "The Wizard and I." Matt Kopec, who played the lead in "Elf," sang World's Greatest Dad," while playwright Rick Elice explained the creation of "Peter and the Starcatcher."

Acting Dog Gets Canned For Disobedience

Business Insider: A corgi has been sacked from the West End play The Audience for refusing to obey the command of Dame Helen Mirren, playing the Queen. It is the hit West End show that is delighting critics and the public alike. Via Jezebel

1 | A Projector And A Fog Machine Create Startling Virtual Spaces

Co.Design: business + innovation + design: British artist Anthony McCall’s “solid light” sculptures have received an outsized amount of attention this spring, with three concurrent exhibitions in Switzerland, London, and France. An exhibition at Sean Kelly Gallery this month adds New York to the list. The name of McCall’s stateside show--Face to Face--cleverly functions both as a structural description of the work and a way to name what happens when you’re inside of it.

J-O-B ATD

Scenic - Assitant Technical Director Posting by dboevers

Some Free New Aids To Research, Create And Document Theatrical Lighting Design

Rosco Spectrum: Theatrical lighting design can be the most rewarding and satisfying of professions. And both satisfaction and reward are multiplied when you use the newly available electronic tools to research, create and document your work. Two of these tools – or “apps” — have the added benefit of being FREE, and available from the Rosco web site.

San Francisco’s Bay Bridge becomes a glowing network of Ethernet-enabled LEDs

Ars Technica: On Tuesday evening at 9pm local time, a 1.8 mile western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will be transformed into a massive, two-year-long public art project called The Bay Lights. Each night for the next two years, from dusk until 2am, the northern side of the bridge section between San Francisco and neighboring Treasure Island will display a dazzling array of 25,000 LEDs. It's an assortment of seemingly animated patterns, strung vertically on the bridge’s twisted steel cables.

The Insanity Of Making A 'Wizard Of Oz' Film In Today's IP Climate

Techdirt: It's always tough to root for the underdog when neither of the involved parties deserves that title. So, rather than pick one, we'll just discuss the overweening ridiculousness of copyright law. It's a subject that never goes out of style, thanks to our legislators' willingness to continually extend copyright protection terms. As was covered much earlier in the year, Disney is producing its own "Wizard of Oz" movie, titled "Oz the Great and Powerful." While Frank L. Baum's books are definitely in the public domain, filmed depictions of Baum's characters are mainly the property of Warner Bros. WB attempted to head off this incursion into its domain by filing a trademark application on "The Great and Powerful Oz," but it was a week too late and is now (presumably) several billion dollars short (H'Wood mathematics, yo).

Stage preview: City Theatre gives voice to classical singer Roland Hayes

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Roland Hayes' fascinating life was a mostly hidden chapter of American history just waiting for a writer to mine for dramatic presentation. Born the son of slaves in 1887 Georgia, he defied poverty and prejudice to become the first African-American classical vocalist to tour the world. Daniel Beaty's biographical play "Breath & Imagination," a collaboration of Hartford Stage and City Theatre, stars concert and recording artist Jubilant Sykes in his acting debut and Kecia Lewis-Evans, a veteran of Broadway and touring musicals, playing Hayes' mother, Angel Mo'.

Dance review: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre shows its depth with repertory in 'Unspoken'

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Repertory nights, usually a triple bill of ballets, have never been as popular as full-length story ballets in Pittsburgh. But I have embraced them since high school, heading off to New York City to see a format where more dancers can be seen over the course of a run and where you get a real sense of the variety, strengths and flexibility of the company at large.

Off the Wall's Looking for the Pony

Theater Reviews + Features | Pittsburgh City Paper: In brief, there are three reasons to see Looking for the Pony: Theo Allyn, Karen Baum and Daina Michelle Griffith. They are all local actresses. They are all preternaturally skilled. They are all prolific, vibrant and emotive. Off the Wall Theater has not only gathered three terrific local performers on the same stage, but also given them roles worthy of their talents. Attend, if only for them.

How the Sequester Could Leave Actors Unemployed

www.backstage.com: The sequestration budget cuts that clicked in automatically after Congress failed to reach a deal before March 1 could lead to fewer roles for actors. Small and mid-sized theaters from New York to Los Angeles are bracing for the across-the-board cuts to federal funding mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Those cuts will include the National Endowment for the Arts, which helps theaters fund production costs through grants.

JURASSIC PARK: Making Of The Venom-Spitting Dinosaur (Video)

www.comicbookmovie.com: Mechanical FX Designer Rick Galinson had only been working at the Stan Winston Studio for about a year when he raised his hand and offered to work on the animatronic Dilophosaurus (aka The Spitter). In the video below Rick provides insightful commentary over some amazing never-before-seen footage of the making of The Spitter puppet.  Via I09

4 Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Job Search

Lifehack: Have you ever been told to get out of your own way? In our personal and professional lives, we often make things more difficult for ourselves; taking troublesome routes around obstacles, making obvious-to-others-but-not-ourselves missteps, and tripping over our own mistakes. A fantastic example of this self-sabotage can be seen in almost every job seeker’s approach to the job search. Here are four ways that real job seekers tripped over their their own job applications, with tips on how you can avoid these pitfalls and pave a smoother, more productive job search path for yourself.

Happy Birthday

On The Media: "Happy Birthday to You" is one of the most popular songs in the English language. It is also copyrighted. On the Media producer PJ Vogt investigates the long, surprising, and contentious history of the argument over just who owns the rights to the song.

Director of Production

Center Theatre Group | Los Angeles: Oversee and lead all production staff and production operations of Center Theatre Group, its three theatres (the Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre) and its Costume Shop and Prop Shop/Warehouse.

6 Things You Need to Know About Leading a Meeting

Inc.com: There's nothing worse than a bad meeting. You sit there grinding your teeth wondering why in the world you have to waste your time sitting through something that never should have happened in the first place. The fact that we've all been there, sometimes weekly or even daily, doesn't make it any less annoying. It doesn't even begin to take the edge off that nagging thought that you could be making so much better use of your time. via Lifehacker

The Magician Sued By Teller For Copyright Infringement Has Tried A Disappearing Act In Response

Techdirt: Nearly a year ago, we wrote about the disappointing news that Raymond Teller, better known as "Teller" from Penn & Teller (also as the silent guy in that act), was suing another magician for copyright infringement for copying one of his tricks. This was disappointing on multiple levels. As we had discussed years ago, magicians are an example of a market that has been hugely innovative over the years, mostly without copyright being used at all. In fact, it's not entirely clear that a magic trick can be covered by copyright -- even if Teller successfully "registered" this particular trick. Copyright registration is basically a rubber stamping procedure, rather than any serious review.

Does Spelling Count?

Doctor G: It happens every time. As I hand the test out to my middle school students, one of them will invariably look up, pencil at the ready, and ask, “Does spelling count?” Let’s ignore the fact that my students should know better than to even ask this question in the first place. I’ve answered it more times than I care to remember, usually in the fall of the new school year, and it goes something like this: Yes. Spelling counts. I have lots of witty quips loaded up in my quiver about why it counts, but my new favorite comes from homeschooling mom of four Jodi Jackson Stewart who tweeted me with her answer to this question: “Spelling counts here because spelling counts out there.”

Under An Alias

NOTCOT.ORG: Under an Alias from nerdworking, site-specific projection mapping in Weimar.

How to build a 5$ Arduino (clone)

Hardware Startup: If you are like me and build projects with Arduino, you must have felt the frustration with ripping your project apart, because you wanted to build something else with that Arduino. I have had the same issue many times, so I decided to find a way to solve this once and for all. Hence, how to build an Arduino clone for less than 5$. via lifehacker

The Current State of Ownership

On The Media: Brooke examines the current arguments over ownership and intellectual property with the help of a chair that collapses after just eight uses.

Internship Program at The Glimmerglass Festival, Cooperstown, NY

glimmerglass.org: A great place to start a career, The Glimmerglass Festival offers summer internships in production, administration and artistic administration. Our well-known internship program provides the opportunity for young professionals and students to experience first-hand the fast-paced world of repertory opera and music theater. Interns experience a unique combination of practical, work and educational programs, each designed to further your professional growth. Interns work directly with noted professionals under the guidance of supervisors and staff from many of the best theaters, opera companies and schools in the nation. Interns are engaged for a period of 7 - 18 weeks, with some positions beginning as early as April.

Cirque du Soleil star battles shoulder injuries, addiction - CNN.com

Cirque du Soleil star battles shoulder injuries, addiction - CNN.com: High-flying acrobats. Death-defying leaps. Bright lights and performance tents filled with adoring fans. It's the stuff of which dreams are made. After all, who doesn't want to run away with the circus?
But for Joe Putignano, it wasn't as simple as running away -- it took a lifetime of dedication and a battle against addiction to get where he is today: dangling from the 40-foot-high catwalk above the Cirque du Soleil big top.
The house lights are off, and one lone spotlight shines upon Joe's reflective mirror-ball suit.
via Fascination! Newsletter

Dita Von Teese Flaunts the First 3D-Printed Dress You Might Actually Own Someday

gizmodo.com: You're looking at the first fully articulated 3D-printed dress. Printed off at Shapeways, the piece was designed by Michael Schmidt and Francis Bitoni specifically for burlesque star Dita Von Teese. In the future, this is the kind of clothing you might be able to get from a department store.
Sprinkled with 13,0000 Swarovski crystals, the dress is made from from 17 different pieces and 3000 joints, so it moves like a regular old dress. Von Teese debuted the dress Monday night at a private runway event, and boy, does she make that futuristic frock look good.

1 | The DRM Chair Self-Destructs After 8 Sittings

Co.Design: business + innovation + design: Most of us think Digital Rights Management (or DRM) is at least a little foolish. After buying a digital movie or book, maybe we copy it over to a new device, and suddenly the contents just go dead. Practicality has given way to market pressure, and despite the fact that we’ve already purchased this perfectly good file that has no possibility to decay, it refuses to work ever again.

Producers Of '50 Shades' Porn Parody Argue That The Work Is In The Public Domain... But It's Not

Techdirt: Back when Universal Studios sued the makers of a "porn parody" of the insanely popular book 50 Shades of Grey, we were among those who pointed out that the book itself was really originally a fan fiction work based on the Twilight books/movie series, and that it seemed a bit hypocritical to not allow other derivative works. I don't know if it was because of us calling out this fact, but the producers, Smash Pictures, are using that exact point in their defense... but then are bizarrely arguing that this makes the work in the public domain.

The robots are the least insane thing about this production of MacBeth

io9.com: Do you have a child you'd like to get interested in Shakespeare? Are you worried that the Bard's prose might be too indecipherable, or the plays too violent, or simply not interesting enough for today's kids with their iPads and Twitters and Biebers and Pokémons? Well, today is your lucky day, because the Robot Shakespeare Company has produced The Tragedy of MacBeth, a kid-friendly version of the play with some very unique characteristics

Storytelling - Something Just Out of Sight: PigPen Theatre Company at TEDxColumbiaSIPA

YouTube: PigPen Theatre Company has captured the imagination of critics and audiences alike since they were introduced to the New York stage in 2010 as undergraduate students from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Since then, the group has gone on to become the first company in history to win the New York City International Fringe Festival's highest honor for a play two years running (2010 and 2011).

Spotlight: David Copelin, Dramaturg

2AMt » Blog Archive: Today we feature David Copelin, a renaissance man with international flair. David is a dramaturg, playwright, academic, story consultant, translator, and a citizen of both Canada and the United States. While working on his own plays, David also runs workshops to consult with other playwrights and screenwriters.

MakerBot's Desktop 3D Scanner Is a Real-Life Star Trek Replicator

gizmodo.com: Once a tool designed exclusively for trained technicians, 3D printers are now almost as easy to use as your desktop inkjet—except when it comes to designing and prepping the requisite 3D models. That step still requires an expertise with 3D modeling software, and is a barrier to 3D printing that MakerBot hopes to remove with its new Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner.

J.R. Clancy Adds Kevin Auses and Michael Braico to Project Management Staff

Stage Directions: J.R. Clancy has added two new faces to its project management staff. Kevin Auses has come on as a new dealer project manager, and worked as an associate at Auerbach Pollock Friedlander before joining J.R. Clancy. Michael Braico is also a new dealer project manager. Braico has worked as a technician for Production Resource Group, master carpenter for the Power Center at the Univeristy of Michigan and stage operations manager at Glimmerglass Opera.

7 Things Not to Say, and 7 Things to Start Saying

Lifehack: Are you aware just how much impact the words you use on a daily basis have on your mood and your life in general?

Have you noticed the type of language you use? Not just verbally, but within your inner thoughts as well?

Language is a very powerful tool when it comes to mood control—both for ourselves and for those around us. It really can make the difference between a happy day and a stressful day, and below, I’ll give you some examples at to why this is.

As with many things, the first step is awareness; most people are blissfully unaware of how they speak, both internally and externally, so make a start by paying extra attention to what you’re saying both mentally, and aloud. Consider whether you’re using positive language or negative language. Are you really aware of exactly what you’re saying and how you’re phrasing your words?

I’ve spent some time studying quantum linguistics, and there are a few common phrases that people use without realising just how negative they are. And when we think negatively, guess what? The negative thoughts spiral into negative actions, which then tun into real-life situations and problems. If we can nip those negative thoughts in the bud, we can save ourselves a whole lot of pain in the long run.

Oz the Great and Subsidized

Hit & Run : Reason.com: Oz the Great and Powerful is not the most expensive movie ever made, but with a reported production and marketing cost of $325 million, it is an unusually expensive film, even compared with other similarly effects-driven spectacles.