A Line of 3D Printed Clothing Based on Defects

Design Milk: Rather than create a carbon copy of Greek inspired sculpture, Hard Copy started off as defective digital images, using 3D software, that can’t be replicated. As a result, these pieces exist solely in the virtual space and cannot be reproduced in reality.

Remembering Columbine, Off-Broadway

The Clyde Fitch Report: The Erlkings is a new play by Nathanial Sam Shapiro that takes a gimlet-eyed — maybe jaundiced — view of the 1999 Columbine massacre perpetrated by Erik Harris and Dylan Klebold. Named for a German poem that was found in Harris’ journal, and based not just on the murderers’ personal journals but public documents and records, The Erlkings weaves together moments from the lives of these young men as they meticulously plan one of the bloodiest mass killings in American history.

5 (+ 1) Useful Design Apps That We Love

Design Milk: With every passing year, our tech devices become more and more a part of us and when companies create apps that make our lives just a little easier (and more fun), it makes it all worth while. While good ol’ pen and paper is still extremely satisfying when you want to capture your ideas, so is taking it to the next level. Ideas seem to transcend when thrown into the digital realm and we like what we see when it comes to new design apps and what they can do with them.

Musical Instrument Characteristics As They Relate To Mic Placement

Pro Sound Web: Instruments and other sound sources are characterized by their frequency output, by their directional output, and by their dynamic range.

Workplace Hearing Conservation Programs

Sensidyne: Do you have high noise levels in your workplace and have you implemented a Hearing Conservation Action Plan to protect your workers? Most probably the answer to this is likely to be yes if you have already done some noise measurements and have built up a history of the noise exposures of your workforce.

You’ll never believe which steamy book is about to smack Vegas’ rump

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Just in time for Valentine’s Day — and to ride the publicity of the Feb. 13 release of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie — a cabaret-musical spoof of the campy best-seller will smack down at Bally’s.

“50 Shades! The Parody” opens Feb. 3 in the Windows Showroom at Bally’s, the former buffet that is now leased to a third-party operator, Ken Walker. It plans an indefinite run with a local cast.

Unusual Space for Engagement

The James Irvine Foundation: News & Insights: Many arts nonprofits are paying close attention to place as a vehicle to attract and engage new participants. Some are bringing arts to unusual spaces to make it happen. This activity is the impetus behind research released today through AEA Consulting.

‘Nutcracker’ returns with ‘wow’ ending

Las Vegas Review-Journal: The third time’s the charm. Especially when they figure out the ending.

Nevada Ballet Theatre’s “The Nutcracker” returns to The Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall Dec. 13 for an eight-performance run, and the company — under the artistic direction of James Canfield — is putting the finishing touches on a production that will feature several on- and off-stage changes.

Including the ending, which choreographer Canfield hadn’t quite determined — a little more than a week before this year’s Dec. 13 debut.

When More Is Less

Architectural Record: Arts facilities are compelling building types; they give architects an opportunity to experiment with creative solutions—see Dominique Perrault's Albi Grand Theater —and their designs often have a powerful impact on the urban realm. As arts institutions evolve, we tend to focus keenly on how the adaptation or expansion of such significant buildings will affect the public and the city.

Dec. ’14 SBI: The Big Payoff

Signshop: Owned and operated by the White Earth Ojibwe tribe, the Shooting Star Casino, Hotel, and Event Center (SSC) in Mahnomen, Minnesota is a Midwestern home to Las Vegas-style gaming, entertainment, shopping, and dining. But after fourteen years using the same branding, of the same branding, the tribe wanted a new look here.

The war comes home in updated ‘Nutcracker’ musical

The Washington Post: “The Nutcracker” now at Bethesda’s Round House Theatre is not the ballet, yet it’s not quite a musical, and the jolly family Christmas party that opens the show is quickly shadowed by the news that the son — a Marine — has been killed overseas.

Have It Your Way: Detailing Recent Digital Console Workflows

Pro Sound Web: After working with analog consoles for decades, I was initially reluctant to switch to digital – they were confusing with their channel layers and menus and such.

I wanted the simplicity and familiarity of knobs that I could easily grab and turn without needing to read a manual. But over the years, manufacturers have worked diligently to make their products much easier and more intuitive to use, and I’m now a big fan.

Moving Out of the Home Office — 6 Signs That it’s Time to Take the Leap

Remodeling: Believe it or not, your home office could be stunting your business. Sure, working at your own flexible hours in your pajamas might be a convenient and cost-effective measure, but it also could be limiting your potential. In the latest PowerTips TV clip, Remodeler's Advantage reveals the six signs it may be time to move out of your home office and into a commercial location.

Scott, Bale defend ‘Exodus’ casting

New Pittsburgh Courier: The biblical film “Exodus: Gods and Kings” has come under fire for White actors being cast in the main roles as Egyptians.

But director Ridley Scott has a message for those trying to boycott the movie: “I say, ‘Get a life.'”

Scott said he had to assemble the “best possible cast … on a budget of this scale.” The film cost an estimated $140 million.

Actor Christian Bale supported his director, saying working with him was “a true partnership.”

Bale said he was surprised when Scott wanted to cast him as Moses.

5 Reasons why I loved Peter Pan Live on NBC

The Producer's Perspective: Imagine for a second that you start producing Broadway shows. And your first Broadway show is Wicked. The next Broadway show is bound to come up short, no matter how well it does, right?

That’s the position NBC was in after last year’s surprising The Sound of Music pulled in over 18 million viewers. It was a Wicked-like performance, and they set themselves up for a disappointment.

The ratings are now in for Pan and it pulled in only 9.2 million viewers (!), which is one of the best Thursday nights the network has ever had. But still, the rumors are that the big brass at NBC was upset.

Not me.

Enhanced Opera Replaces Physical Sets With Digital Projections

The Creators Project: The Cunning LIttle Vixen is an opera composed by Leoš Janáček in the early 20th century, a magical love story between two foxes which took its inspiration from a Czech newspaper comic strip. It was performed earlier this year by conductor Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra, and directed by artistic director Yuval Sharon, who introduced a digital twist into the set and character design courtesy of Walter Robot studios—a.k.a., Bill Barminski and Christopher Louie.

Spanish theatre group turns porn seller to bypass tax hike on ticket sales

World news | The Guardian: In its struggle to stay afloat in the face of a crippling tax on culture, a Madrid theatre company has decided to reorient itself towards a more tax-friendly industry: pornography.

CTC conjures a 'Peter Pan' for the 21st century

Star Tribune: Despite its huge popularity over the 100 years it has been around, “Peter Pan” has always raised concerns in some quarters. The musical adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play and 1911 novel, which gets a live production Thursday on NBC starring Christopher Walken as Captain Hook, is one that takes us to an imaginative world that includes mermaids and talking animals.

Excitement Building for Prague Quadrennial

Stage Directions: The Prague Quadrennial is preparing to for its 11-day, 500-event celebration of scenography. The 2015 theme is SharedSpace: Music Weather Politics, and the show will take over multiple locations in Prague from June 18-25, 2015.

Out of Town but Not Out of 'Times'

AMERICAN THEATRE magazine: The trajectory of a new play or musical from its first developmental stages to production can take many paths in the American theatre. Plays have private readings in living rooms, readings and workshops offered by institutional theatres, trips to developmental centers like Sundance or the O’Neill or the Playwright’s Center, and out-of-town productions in resident theatres or world premieres in New York.

Wynn Las Vegas Amps Up Le Rêve Finale

Stage Directions: The Dream, the aquatic and aerial show at Wynn Las Vegas just received a $3 million upgrade for its 10th anniversary next year. A new penultimate scene uses 172 high-powered fountains, 120 individual LED lighting fixtures and 16 fire-shooting devices designed by WET, a water feature design firm based in Los Angeles, Calif.

Impulse Alignment Of Loudspeakers And Microphones

Pro Sound Web: When the earliest recordings were done there was little if any attention given to the acoustic phase or electrical polarity of the mechanical devices used to record and reproduce sound.

Phase and polarity have little significance as long as only one microphone picks up the sound and one loudspeaker plays. When recording left the experimental stage it became possible to mix together more than one microphone. This allowed for better control and balance among the instruments.

A Tricked-Out Cut Table

Tools of the Trade: Brian Way got rid of his rented shop space when he stopped building cabinets and began to specialize in installation. Now when he has to build something, he builds in the garage. But what do you do when the garage must also be used to store vehicles—where do you store the cut table?

The Green Police Light Up With OLEDs

Builder Magazine: Organic LEDs, or OLEDs, have reached the market! Carl Seville and Michael Anschel stop by Acuity to share their excitement about the arrival of OLEDs and explain how they work.

Reassembling the ‘Little Dancer’ by Degas as a Musical

NYTimes.com: Like the Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s sonnets and Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” Degas’s “Little Dancer” has become both symbol and myth: She’s a source of fascination, inspiration and speculation. But, just as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan were based on real children, we know who inspired this 1881 sculpture: Marie van Goethem, a young dancer who joined the Paris Opera Ballet in 1880.

The Agent Jack Tantleff Worked to Bring Back ‘Side Show'

NYTimes.com: Jack Tantleff thought he knew what the director Bill Condon would say. But when he asked Mr. Condon, “Why ‘Side Show’ and why now?” at a talkback after a recent performance of that Broadway musical, Mr. Tantleff didn’t realize the spotlight would turn on him.

“Because it took you this long to get it together,” Mr. Condon replied to Mr. Tantleff, who heads the Paradigm Talent Agency’s theatrical literary department.

The Most Important Thing in Theatre You’re Not Talking About

Bitter Gertrude: There’s a massive disconnect between theatre intelligentsia– bloggers like me– and what’s actually happening on the ground.

Theatre writers have been doing an excellent job drawing attention to issues of inclusion and diversity, issues of copyright and contract law and copyright/contract violation, issues of audience demographics, issues of access to arts education, issues of season selection, issues of censorship, especially in schools. Those are crucial, vital, important issues about which we need to continue to write. I have no plans to stop writing about any of those, nor do I expect (or want) anyone else to stop.

But we’re all avoiding the elephant in the room, probably because it’s simple, and boring, and all too painfully obvious.

THEATRES ARE CLOSING.

SAG-AFTRA Accuses Hollywood of Cheating Actors on Travel

Variety: SAG-AFTRA has warned its members that Hollywood studios may be short-changing actors on the travel provisions of its master contracts.

In a message to members Wednesday, the union said that the travel provisions of the contracts did not change during this year’s negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and with TV networks.

Lose and Find Yourself Inside This Glowing Light Labyrinth

The Creators Project: AMAZE is a glowing geometric maze that comes alive at night through colorful and disorienting light projections. The newest project from Spanish artist and architect, Marcos Zotes, the labyrinth made its debut in October at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche in Toronto.

Review: Revival of 'Side Show' lush and moody

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Daisy and Violet Hilton were attractive and talented, naughty and nice, a sister act made for vaudeville. They had it all and one thing more — they were literally attached at the hip.

“Side Show,” the musical about the conjoined twins’ life and times, has been reimagined by Oscar-winning director Bill Condon, making his Broadway debut in a hauntingly beautiful revival at the St. James Theatre. With the perfect pairing of Emily Padgett (Daisy) and Erin Davie (Violet) leading a talented ensemble, the moody production focuses an unflinching gaze on people often dehumanized by society.

It challenges perceptions from the very first number, when you are invited to “Come Look at the Freaks.”

The Demographics of the Broadway Audience 2013-2014

The Producer's Perspective: Extra, extra, read all about it! Broadway theatergoers are rich!

Ok, that’s just one of the obvious takeaways from this year’s demographic study of Broadway theatergoers and their buying habits, as performed by the Broadway League.

Measuring Success in Performing Arts Facilities

The Clyde Fitch Report: We’ve had several interesting projects lately concerning City-owned performing arts facilities (not in New York) operated by private nonprofits. Typically we’re hired by the city in question to have a look at what’s going on, which usually means there’s some tension around how the facility is being operated and how much the City is investing annually to sustain operations.

Theatre Factory radio staging adds dimension to classic 'It's a Wonderful Life'

TribLIVE: It wouldn't be the Christmas season without catching at least a few of the many televised showings of Frank Capra's 1946 holiday movie classic, “It's a Wonderful Life.”

The Theatre Factory gives fans of the film a new perspective on the inspirational production by taking audiences back to the golden days of radio in “It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.”

Cirque du Soleil’s Next Act: Rebalancing the Business

www.cirquefascination.com: The owner and managers of Cirque du Soleil, after seeing their growth prospects wane in recent years, think they have the key to renewed success: less Cirque.

For three decades, the circus giant’s business triumphs mirrored its high-flying aerial stunts, and it became a case study for business school journal articles on carving out unique markets.

But following a bleak outlook report from a consultant, a spate of poorly received shows and a decline in profits, executives at Cirque say they are now restructuring and refocusing their business—shifting some of the attention away from clowns and acrobats, towards other business ventures.

Stage Review: City Theatre's clever new work reveals Judy Holliday as one 'Smart Blonde'

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Dumb blonde: a blond-haired woman perceived as attractive but unintelligent. Smart blonde: Judy Holliday. Genius blonde: still Judy Holliday.

The world-premiere bio-play “Smart Blonde” entertains and informs with an ingenious conceit. It asks that use your noggin, even if you don’t boast a 172 IQ a la the actress Judy Holliday. The life of the Oscar- and Tony-winning star of “Born Yesterday” and “Bells Are Ringing” is told through flashbacks, with star turns by Andrea Burns as Judy during every phase of her career and two versatile actors — Jonathan Brody and Adam Heller — portraying everyone else.

Theater Group Puts Supreme Court Case Front And Center

www.newsweek.com: Most actors would rather play dead people. This reduces the chance of being seen—and perhaps in this case, judged—by the person you are playing. A cast in a production of Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love was once surprised when the playwright’s father started kibitzing from the audience, taking issue with what a character based on him was saying. “It didn’t happen like that…”

Lessons From Burning Man on How to Unlock Creativity and Think Big

www.entrepreneur.com: If you aren’t already an entrepreneur, you may become one by the time you leave Burning Man -- in some shape or form.

You won’t make money in the desert; the exchange of money isn’t allowed at the annual, weeklong arts festival held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. But you will have created something for someone. You will have seen a need and met it. You will have innovated a solution to a problem or decided to spontaneously create a new service or product for yourself and your fellow Burners (that’s what attendees are called).

Steppenwolf Honors Original Ensemble Member Laurie Metcalf

Stage Directions: Steppenwolf Theatre Company proudly announces award-winning star of stage and screen Laurie Metcalf as the guest of honor at the 2014/15 annual Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts fundraising luncheon on Monday, March 9, 2015 at 12 noon (location TBD). Widely celebrated for her role as Jackie Harris on the long running hit sitcom, Roseanne, as well as recent featured roles in Desperate Housewives and The Big Bang Theory, Ms. Metcalf’s remarkable career has spanned theater, film and television. Winner of three Emmy Awards and two Obie Awards, Ms. Metcalf was one of Steppenwolf’s original ensemble members alongside fellow college classmates Jeff Perry, Terry Kinney, Joan Allen, John Malkovich and others. Her career-making turn as Darlene in Steppenwolf’s 1984 revival of Lanford Wilson’s Balm in Gilead catapulted Metcalf into the national spotlight. She has received Tony nominations for her work in David Mamet's November and Sharr White’s The Other Place. Recently she starred in the Domesticated with Jeff Goldblum at Lincoln Center Theater. Ms. Metcalf’s dynamic career continues at full speed with major roles in three current TV series: the HBO series Getting On, CBS’s The McCarthys and The Big Bang Theory.

The Will Smith crew filmed at Braddock Carnegie Library this week

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Post-Gazette readers and staff continue tracking a film crew working in Pittsburgh on the Will Smith movie with the title, “Concussion,” that started shooting in Pittsburgh in October and will film here through mid-January.

Will Smith plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, the first pathologist to detect a long-developing brain injury called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a former football player.

White cast of ‘Exodus’ reflects cinema tradition

New Pittsburgh Courier: Put “ancient Egyptian people” into a Google image search, and none of the resulting photos resemble Christian Bale or Joel Edgerton, stars of Ridley Scott’s biblical epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”

The director inflamed calls for a boycott of the film with his comments last week that he couldn’t have made such a big-budget movie if “my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such.”

“I’m just not going to get it financed,” he told the trade paper Variety. “So the question doesn’t even come up.”

The Make-Up and Production Design of Planet of the Apes

Tested: It’s not easy to make a world full of apes. In recent years, it hasn’t been cheap either. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes series reboot cost close to a hundred million, and this year's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes cost a reported $170 million. So it’s remarkable to realize that the original Planet of the Apes, released in 1968, cost only $5.8 million, which even in those days wasn’t that expensive. With the franchise successfully reinventing itself in modern day, the original still holds up well after all this time, a genre classic that meant so much to fans growing up, and a film that helped create a generation of make-up talent. “Planet of the Apes is one of the most important make-up movies ever,” says Rick Baker, the make-up FX master of An American Werewolf in London and Men in Black fame. “It inspired a whole generation of kids to become make-up artists.”

10 Classic (and Contemporary) Holiday Plays and Musicals

Backstage: As the turkey digests and cold weather moves in, actors, directors, and designers across the country are launching a slew of holiday-themed plays and musicals. Seeing these family-friendly, feel-good shows is a beloved tradition for many communities, and holiday productions find a welcome home on many an actor’s résumé. Here are some festive titles you’re sure to recognize, along with a few fresh winter picks!

How Museums Are Dealing With New Media Art: Part 1

AMT Lab @ CMU: New media art constitutes a growing share of contemporary artists’ production, and responding to this trend, a number of U.S. museums have begun to offer commissions. However, selection and exhibition of these works in museums demands radically different thinking.

My research analyzes how museums can cope with the varied challenges presented by such works, and their role in adapting to different needs.

Point Park lifts curtain on new Pittsburgh Playhouse Project

Point Park University: Get ready for a new stage at Point Park University.

President Paul Hennigan presided over a gathering of invited guests and the media on Thursday, Dec. 4, to unveil the designs of Point Park's new Pittsburgh Playhouse, which will be located on Forbes Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh.

“We believe the new Pittsburgh Playhouse will be a game-changer for Downtown Pittsburgh,” Hennigan said. “Not only will the new facility be a dynamic learning environment for students in our Conservatory of Performing Arts, it will allow their creative process to be an integral part of the Downtown experience.”

Bound By Law

WUNC | 91.5fm | the state of things | Audio Archive: Duke law professors figured the only way to make intellectual property law accessible to the general public was to write a comic book. The result is “Bound by Law,” sixty-six pages of adventures from a day in the life of Akiko, a documentary filmmaker who fights for fair use of intellectual material that is in the public domain.

Point Park U. raises curtain on new Pittsburgh Playhouse: 'It showcases what we do'

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: As a child, Kevin Acklin, chief of staff for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, would sometimes sneak in the side door of the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland to catch a glimpse of performances.

He recounted the first show he saw at the theater, “A Christmas Carol,” for a packed audience in the Lawrence Hall ballroom of Point Park University on Thursday morning. The group gathered as part of Point Park’s unveiling of designs and academic vision for the new Pittsburgh Playhouse in Downtown on Forbes Avenue between Smithfield and Wood streets.

Ugg-A-Wha? Updating Stereotypes in 'Peter Pan'

NYTimes.com: Is there anything that says “Native American” more than Sondra Lee?

If you answered “yes, almost everything,” well, bingo. But that didn’t stop Jerome Robbins from casting the platinum blond Ms. Lee as Tiger Lily in his 1954 musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan,” which went on to be a hit on Broadway and in later telecasts on NBC.

Janty Yates on Creating Costumes for ‘Exodus: Gods and Men’

Variety: Those who have seen Janty Yates’ work with Ridley Scott in period epics like “Gladiator” and “Kingdom of Heaven” know they can expect a feast for the eyes that’s grounded in research, but also offers what she calls “a little twist.” Translation? A bit of extra sheen in a metal breastplate, or, in the case of Scott’s biblical saga, “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” dressing Joel Edgerton’s Ramses entirely in gold, or making T-shaped garments for the plebes that look, in Yates’ parlance, “quite hot.”

An Opera Offered on the Installment Plan

NYTimes.com: For opera critics pondering the future of the form, the composer Lisa Bielawa’s latest work, “Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch’s Accuser,” offers a new twist. The work is a serial opera – serial in the television sense, not in the 12-tone sense – and although it will be filmed before live audiences, it is meant to be seen on television or online, in short installments that will be released over two years. The production will also include online extras, including video clips that look at the process of composing and staging the piece.

Plans outlined for getting Pittsburgh's August Wilson Center back on track

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Three Pittsburgh-area foundations that purchased the August Wilson Center for African-American Culture last month have created a temporary panel to “act as administrator and steward” of the Downtown facility over the next three to six months.

Their goals are to maintain the center’s mission, make it sustainable and win back the public’s trust.

FYI: PPE Acronyms You Should Know

Occupational Health & Safety: With the prevalence of texting and communicating via social media, acronyms are everywhere. It’s as if online communication is spoken in an entirely different language. IMHO, getting to know what these acronyms mean is important to navigating the online world and being in touch culturally across generations.

Dremel Micro 8050 Review

Pro Tool Reviews: Without a doubt, one of the most popular and successful line of consumer level tools has been the Dremel. There just seems to be no end to the accessories that expand what you are capable of doing with the high speed Dremel Rotary Tool. In fact, it’s so versatile that you’ll find some kind of Dremel tool in many pro shops as well. I’m taking the opportunity to look at one of the newest members of the Dremel family, the Dremel Micro 8050. This is a cordless Lithium-Ion model from the subsidiary of the Bosch corporation that promises the ability to do precision work. Let’s take a look at what the Dremel Micro 8050 offers.

Milwaukee M18 Fuel Circular Saw 2731-21 Review

PTR: The new Milwaukee M18 Fuel Circular Saw features a single 18V battery system that runs a 7-1/4″ blade. This entry into the full size cordless circular saw arena made waves because of the fact that it only uses that one M18 RedLithium battery. Questions were certainly raised as to whether it would be able to perform with the LXT 18V X2 dual battery system from Makita or the 36V platform from Hilti. On paper, it specs out well with a no load speed of 5,000 RPM. While the kit includes 4.0 XC Redlithium batteries, the introduction of the 5.0 amp hour RedLithium batteries can only help.

How Loud Does It Need To Be?

Pro Sound Web: I go to a lot of concerts. Most of the time, I arrive at sound check to spend some time talking to the techs and engineers about new gear or problems that need fixing. This is also a source of new product development.

"Tear Off" Wallpaper by ZNAK

Design Milk: Applying wallpaper to walls has never been so fun. With this perforated “tear off” wallpaper from ZNAK, you can customize the appearance of your space by tearing off the pieces as you please. The wallpaper is created out of non-woven material and the shapes are inspired by the the transformation process of snakes.

Marquee Nightclub’s Immersive Experience Created with Elation Gear

PLSN: Marquee Nightclub is consistently one of the highest grossing nightclubs in Las Vegas and one of the hottest and most luxurious nightclubs around. Located in the heart of the Strip, Marquee underwent a major LED lighting system upgrade recently with LD Steve Lieberman, owner of SJ Lighting, using over 1,100 new Elation Pixel Bar 40 LED strip lights to create a memorable 360-degree immersive experience.

Nook Schoenfeld's 2014 LDI Post-Show Report

PLSN: I have attended perhaps five LDI conventions over the years. Usually I see a lot of rehashed products mixed in with a few new ideas. 2014 seemed to bring a big reversal in this trend; I viewed so many new products that I felt like a kid in Disneyland. With more than 300 exhibitors and 8,000 people in attendance, it was certainly a packed house. There was never a dull moment as I ventured from booth to booth.

Our industry has advanced so far and, to be honest, I could find a use for practically everything I saw on the floor. As I walked the aisles, I carried a notebook just to log down all the interesting gear I saw represented this year. The following companies showed me some great products.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago discovers the power and versatility of affordable full-color, paper-based 3D printing

Mcor Technologies: When you think of paper and ink at art school, you might think drawing or printmaking.

For Mike Dorries, however, paper and ink mean 3D printing.

Dorries is manager of the Advanced Output Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Until recently, plastic has been the predominant 3D printing material used at SAIC. But plastic 3D printing is expensive, with models costing SAIC students up to $12 per cubic inch. Plastic models have another drawback: they’re generally restricted to a single color (usually white) or basic colors in blocks. That doesn’t cut it, especially in art school, where visual appeal and creative freedom are paramount.

Dorries, always on the lookout for more capabilities at lower cost, recently found a way to get multicolor output as bold, detailed and nuanced as a document printer, for a surprisingly low operating cost.

PLASA Announces 2014 Election Results

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: PLASA's month-long elections to determine positions on its European and North American Regional Boards, together with its central Governing Body, concluded at midnight on Wednesday, November 19. Companies and individuals from PLASA's worldwide membership voted in the elections, which were conducted via a secure online poll.

Crossing Over: Marketing to Non-Traditional Audiences

The Clyde Fitch Report: My job is to advise companies on how to grow their base of business. The biggest challenge (and most fun part) is not in finding ways to keep an existing base happy and engaged, as vital as that is. It’s in creating ways to attract new audiences — especially the often-forgotten or elusive non-traditional audiences. In the case of professional sports or the arts, this is the non-sports fan or the person who may know little about an art form. Art and sport are just two examples of experience-based products or services, but the goal is the same: find and convert. I like to think of it as “crossing over” — not from this life to the next, not why the chicken went to the other side. As I work with good companies trying to expose their product to new audiences, to expand their supply of go-ers and do-ers, I believe it’s all about attraversiamo.

Egg Films Epilogue – 5 Key Implications Of NS Union Certification Based On "Industry" Dependence In Egg Films Inc. v. Nova Scotia

Employment and HR - Canada: Recently, the NS Court of Appeal confirmed that a union can be certified as the bargaining agent of employees based merely on their dependence on the employer's "industry"– even when those "employees" may have worked for the employer for a single day.

Do You Have Enough Inputs For The Holidays?

Pro Sound Web: As the holiday season system approaches, I’m sure many of you are planning for big Christmas services or productions.

Facing an extremely involved production at my church a few years ago, one night I woke up in a cold sweat realizing I had forgotten two mics and didn’t have the inputs for them.

S&H Commission to Launch Mentoring Project at 2015 Conference

sightlines.usitt.org: After testing the waters with a pilot program in Fort Worth, Texas last March, the Safety & Health Commission will officially launch its Safety Mentoring Project at the Cincinnati 2014 Conference & Stage Expo.

As has happened in the rest of the world, the world of live entertainment has changed dramatically (pardon the pun) over the last several decades. Venues have changed, casts and crews have changed, and audiences have changed.

A Glimpse Back, A World Changed, An Institute Growing A Glimpse Back, A World Changed, An Institute Growing

sightlines.usitt.org: The year was 2009; USITT arrived in Cincinnati for the 49th Annual Conference & Stage Expo. In that year, the iPhone 3GS with 128M of memory had just gotten its first competition from the HTC Dream with 256M. There were some apps, but few people used them. And the iPad was still a rumor. We were still feeling bubbles burst and the Dow Jones Industrial was holding around 7200. Facebook had just overtaken MySpace in popularity.

Bahrain Theatre Earns Top Architecture Award

sightlines.usitt.org: The National Theatre of Bahrain is the top winner of USITT's 2015 Architecture Awards for exceptional performance spaces, while new performing arts buildings at theatre schools in London, United Kingdom, and Portland, Oregon, also will be recognized.

Working Toward Inclusion

sightlines.usitt.org: The beginning of December is a good time to reflect on the year and check off the things that have been accomplished as well as make a last push on the things that might be left on the to-do list. Elsewhere in this issue of Sightlines, our Executive Director, David Grindle actually takes us all back to 2009 when last we were in Cincinnati. It's astounding to realize all that's been accomplished in a little less than six years and all involved should be proud of USITT's achievements, but what's even more exciting is that there's no sign that we're slowing down.

Clear and Calm Measures

Occupational Health & Safety: The news reports during the second week of October were so bizarre, you had to check the channel to make sure it was the news you were watching, and not the SyFy channel or a poorly written horror movie. The reports and images were graphic, from well-known and highly respected medical entities: bloody, soiled Ebola waste items openly piled or bagged waste refused by disposal vendors, inappropriate or no PPE/protective apparel on hand and ready, inadequate training or protocol for treating high-hazard patients, unfamiliarity with the PPE on hand, fatigue, lack of communication, lack of managerial support, and perceived indifference in some cases. Staff exposed, other patients exposed, needless public exposure, public mass air transportation exposures, and a lack of isolation protocols in place (or followed).

E-Scape to Brazil

sightlines.usitt.org: Just as the heat of the summer was getting oppressive, OISTAT (the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians) offered a bit of respite. With the aid of Brazilian theatre artists, artisans, and students, OISTAT hosted E•Scapes: the Education, Performance Design, & Research Conference in São Paulo, Brazil, August 10 to 15.

Creating A New Reality For Live Theatre At Honda Dealer Meeting

Architainment content from Live Design: Projection mapping has been all the rage for several years now. It has exploded onto buildings and show sets everywhere. Performers have bounced off the walls of skyscrapers and danced across projected scenery transformed into various virtual worlds to the delight of audiences around the globe. At Martin Brinkerhoff Associates (MBA), we have been pleased to be among those creative groups at the center of this revolution.

Greenwood Named Distinguished Achiever in Costume Design

sightlines.usitt.org: Jane Greenwood, Broadway's master of period costumes, will receive USITT's 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award in Costume Design.

Since moving to New York City from Britain in 1962, Ms. Greenwood has created costumes for over 125 Broadway shows. She recently won a 2014 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre and has taught costume design at Yale School of Drama for 38 years.

LDI2014 Video Highlights

LDI content from Live Design: With over 10,000 people on the best-looking show floor in LDI history, and an accent on Electronic Dance Music with EDM@LDI, LDI2014 had an incredible vibe. Take a look in these video highlights recorded and edited by art director Jaeson Lokatys.

How Smartphones Rule Cinema Ticketing in China

Celluloid Junkie: The boom in China’s box office is mainly attributed to the growth in the number of modern multiplexes catering to a growing middle class. Yet an equally important role has been played by convenience of mobile ticketing, which enables flexibility, impulse buying and seat selection that is valued by the 80, 90 and 00 generations (i.e. born in those decades), who are the main drivers of China’s cinema growth.

Joseph Silovsky Revisits Sacco and Vanzetti

NYTimes.com: Stanley, one of the stars of Joseph Silovsky’s “Send for the Million Men,” stood behind a lectern during a recent rehearsal. Stanley has wide blue eyes and excellent posture. Collegial and professional, he’d long since memorized his lines and his blocking, which he executes with his eight fingers, mismatched joints and tangle of wires.

Stanley, Mr. Silovsky’s signature creation, is a robot.

7 Things You Need to Know About Event Production

LinkedIn: You’d be wrong in thinking event production meant planning weddings and birthdays, or building physical stages in a venue and thinking about the sound equipment to go with them, because it’s not.

Event production is about more than just event planning.

Hello Kitty is coming, and it’s going to be ‘Supercute’

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Dear America. All your females belong to Hello Kitty.

Well, that’s not news. Everybody knows that. But this is news:

“Hello Kitty’s Supercute Friendship Festival” is launching in 2015, and it’s coming to the Orleans hotel Aug. 14-16.

Tickets range wildly from $19 to $189 for children and adults to take part in a completely fabricated world of non-human adorability.

A Contractor Takes His Tools to Hollywood

Tools of the Trade: Joseph Christman is a design build contractor in the Los Angeles area who specializes in finish carpentry and millwork installation. The video below was shot near a project he did in Hollywood. But it could have been anywhere, what matters is it was a congested area and he had to park blocks from the job and haul tools by hand. That might not have been possible at some other stage of the job but it worked that day because Christman was installing hardware and his tools and supplies are efficiently stowed in modular boxes.

Holiday happenings: Our critics pick the best events of the season

The Washington Post: Parties, light shows, concerts, menorah- and tree-lightings, a water-skiing Santa. In the Washington area, there's no shortage of activities celebrating the holiday season, all competing for your precious time.

But trying to do it all would be like trying to stuff a Schwinn into a stocking. So, how do you pick and choose?

The Actor’s Propmaster

Stage Directions – December 2014: Faye Armon-Troncoso is the only propmaster ever to win an Obie—but her reputation is even more sterling than that. Armon- Troncoso is known industry-wide as the best of the best when it comes to hunting down, building and/or teaching the use of unusual and challenging stage props and SFX. Armon-Troncos’s credits are stunning: she’s helped create the magical environments for visually arresting Broadway shows including The River (currently running at Circle in the Square) War Horse, Golden Boy, Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike, Clybourne Park and Golden Boy. Plus, Armon-Troncoso has worked with actors ranging from Al Pacino (The Merchant of Venice) to James Franco (Of Mice and Men) to Ethan Hawke (Macbeth); she’s meticulous about making certain that every company member she collaborates with feels comfortable and knowledgeable when it comes to handling virtually any item in any show.

'Dance of the Vampires' Is Alive in Paris

NYTimes.com: For those who savor a good Broadway catastrophe, “Dance of the Vampires” is near the top of the shortlist of infamy. But for the Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski, that flop 2002 musical, based on his 1967 film “The Fearless Vampire Killers,” deserves — no, demands — another chance.

Communicating with CAD

Stage Directions – December 2014: CAD is helping sets become ever more complicated – and is also complicating the discussion about how to build them

While it goes without saying that CAD has completely changed the design world, charting all those disruptions is a different thing entirely. Scene shops are unique animals. The Vectorworks files for a million dollar touring show are going to look a lot different than the elevation drawings printed out from Vectorworks for the summer stock performance of A Streetcar Named Desire. And the methods for communicating the necessary information to both are not the same.

Equity Tries to Influence Show Tours

NYTimes.com: Some of the sets looked flimsy, the acting was uneven, and the signature red wig needed bounce. But none of that mattered to Lilly Hickman, 6, as she watched “Annie,” presented here by Broadway in Chicago, a booker of national musical tours.

Return to Neverland

Stage Directions – December 2014: Flying By Foy revisits its origins in a new, live telecast of Peter Pan

Peter Foy redefined stage flying with his introduction of the Inter-Related Pendulum and the dynamic aerial sequences he developed for Mary Martin’s Peter Pan on Broadway in 1954. NBC’s live broadcast of the show attracted 65 million viewers, the largest single television audience in history when it aired in 1955.

Sting to Join the Cast of His Broadway Musical

NYTimes.com: Can Sting save his sinking ship on Broadway?

In one of the boldest gambles in many a theater season, Sting will begin acting in the Broadway musical “The Last Ship” — for which he wrote the music and lyrics — starting Dec. 9 and perform eight shows a week through Jan. 10, in hopes that his devoted fans will help turn around the show’s perilously low ticket sales.

Editor's Note

Stage Directions – December 2014: Sometimes the only way to bring about positive change is to make people feel really, really negative

As you are most likely aware of by now, back in June the Tony Awards decided to cut the Tony Award for Sound Design, only seven years after finally deciding that a sound designer was a full member of the creative team. A hue and cry went up to reinstate the award, with mixed success.

Pop Quiz: Test Your Knowledge Of Bass & Subwoofers

Pro Sound Web: Welcome to our quiz featuring 10 questions about bass and subwoofers.

Is your knowledge of low-frequency facts and figures up to par?

Time to find out!

Where There’s Smoke

Stage Directions – December 2014: In order to create fire for an Iron Age King Lear, we needed something stronger than silk

"You’re obsessing again, we have the hand torches approved and ordered—just let it go.”

So said Dan Sullivan, director for The Public Theater’s production of King Lear for their 2014 Shakespeare in the Park summer season. But despite his request, this Disney princess decided not to Let It Go.

Windy City Sound

Stage Directions – December 2014: I identify myself as a composer/sound designer. But more specifically, I’m a Chicago composer/sound designer. And as I’m sure that every city has its story of how sound developed in their theatres, starting my career here in the mid ‘90s gave me the unique perspective of the evolution of what I consider the birth of artistic sound design in Chicago.

Transferable SKILLS

Stage Directions – December 2014: The art and craft of stage management involves a particular set of skills for success. Yet those qualities are not unique to theatre; in fact they are applicable to many careers beyond stage management. Although these abilities may seem second nature to good stage managers, it’s gratifying to find that they are valued in many other professions. Recently I talked with three former AEA stage managers—who have taken their expertise successfully into other areas—about the portability of stage management, connections and surprises, and how they’d do returning to the field.

Virtual Presence Is Required

Stage Directions – December 2014: Should a designer or technician have a website? Yes, for the simple reason that with little or no effort a potential employer or artistic collaborator can not only look at what productions you have worked on but see pictures of that work and get much more information than on a resume. For designers, it also works as an online portfolio, and for technicians, it can show the size and scale of the projects they have worked on and can give more details about the production than a resume.

Think Your Office Sucks? Here Are the 15 Saddest Desks We Could Find

WIRED: When we asked our readers to show us their depressing workspaces last month, we weren’t sure if we could top the submissions to our “Saddest Cubicle Contest” from 2007. We think it’s safe to say we did. Our call for #SadDesk submissions on Twitter yielded some truly pathetic situations, bleak enough to inspire nostalgia for the good ol’ cubicle days. If you think your workspace is depressing, this gallery will almost certainly make you feel better.

You can smell the world at London Heathrow Airport's new attraction

mashable.com: What does a country smell like? London Heathrow has a new exhibit that tries to answer that question: It's a globe that shares the smells of the world.

The "scent globe" is in the departure lounge at Heathrow's new Terminal 2, which opened five months ago, and has already seen about 3.5 million passengers.

Mother Of Invention: Try The Trusty Gig Bag!

Pro Sound Web: It’s a Monday afternoon and I get a phone call from a local production company to work a press event the following day at a local race track (local being an hour and half away).

I accept the gig and the next day hop on my bike (the motor-driven type) and go to the track, and specifically, the large circus-type tent where the event is being staged.

What Is Your Safety Management Style?

Safety Leadership content from EHS Today: Does your organization designate a particular style of management they desire and promote for safety? Strategically thinking organizations often do. Sometimes the "official" style of management for the overall organization is applied to safety, and sometimes safety has its own style.

2014 PTR Holiday Tool Gift Guide - Up to $100

Pro Tool Reviews: Without a doubt, the Pro Tool Reviews Holiday Tool Gift Guide is one of our favorite projects of the year! This is our opportunity to put ourselves in your shoes to make a Christmas shopping list that you can hand your spouse or family with a smile and just say “surprise me!”. From stocking stuffers, to pro level kits, you’ll find something for every tool guy or gal in your family. As you look through our Holiday Tool GiftGuide, we’ll tell you who each tool is for, why you should get it, where you can get it, and the price you should expect to pay.

The Advantage of Centrally Managed Digital Signage Systems

Corporate Tech Decisions: Digital signage (DS) is an effective, real time communication tool that is particularly beneficial in scenarios where large numbers of people are spread out across a large area.

DS fits the bill for getting the appropriate message(s) to the masses when it’s most relevant.

Unseen Arthur Miller drama set for world premiere

BBC News: An unseen Arthur Miller drama about corruption in New York's docks in the 1950s will have its world premiere next year.

The Hook, which Miller originally wrote as a film, never made it to the big screen due to political tensions in the US.

Miller went on to use the same setting in his classic 1955 play A View From the Bridge.

Cuba to stage 'Rent' - first Broadway musical in more than 50 years

Reuters: Cuba will stage its first Broadway musical in more than 50 years when "Rent" starts a three-month run on Dec. 24, producers said on Monday.

The Nederlander entertainment group finally succeeded after trying for several years to produce a Broadway musical in Cuba, a spokesman for Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment said.

U.S.-produced musicals were disallowed in Cuba after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.

Stop Innovating

Innovation Excellence: I’m serious. Stop innovating right this second. Most of what passes for innovation these days is like teaching a pig to sing – it doesn’t work, and it annoys the pig. A few days ago, I shared a glass of wine with a friend who works at a large company. He said they were all excited about their upcoming innovation workshop. He said the one last year had worked so well, everyone wanted to do it again. But, he said, the problem is that nothing from last year got implemented. Why not just take the winners from last year and try to actually do them, he suggested. He couldn’t get any support for that. But everyone wanted to do the brainstorming exercises again.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

Belmont school reverses decision to cancel 'Nutcracker' trip

7News Boston WHDH-TV: The Butler Elementary School PTA in Belmont reversed the decision to cancel a field trip to see "The Nutcracker" after some parents claimed it had questionable content.

The trip to see the famous ballet has been a tradition at the school for years, but apparently some felt the trip was improper because there is a Christmas tree on the stage.

Posted by David at 11/29/2014 04:46:00 PM  

How Trashing Others Holds You Back

99U: It’s rare that I’d say any of these things aloud—well, okay, maybe to a friend, but never to the creator themselves. So what’s a little private trash talk? Pretty harmless, right?

Wrong. When other people don’t meet my most critical standards—when something about their personality or their work triggers my negative judgment—it sets off a chain effect

Posted by David at 11/27/2014 01:18:00 PM

Can You Hear the Difference in High Quality Music? Test Yourself

gizmodo.com: Here's a simple test that lets you toggle between an extremely high-quality file music file and a low-quality music file. Can you tell the difference?

We've been hearing for years that MP3 encoding ruins music with its lossy compression. But can you really tell the difference?

Posted by David at 11/28/2014 04:48:00 PM

5 Tips for Voice Acting in Video Games

Backstage: Video games have morphed from quarter-eating arcade challenges with simple graphics and sound to sprawling, multivolume epics. The video game retail market was worth $790.7 million in the month of October alone—that’s more than twice what “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the recent box office champion, grossed domestically in all of 2014. As the art and storytelling attributes of video games have improved, the need for quality actors has increased.

Posted by David at 11/28/2014 04:50:00 PM

“We had to replace the lyrics ‘ugg-a-wugg’”: Meet the “Native American consultant” who worked on NBC’s “Peter Pan”

Salon.com: Earlier this week, NBC announced several changes to the music for its upcoming live televised production of the musical “Peter Pan,” scheduled to air live on Dec. 4. Allison Williams will play the title role, with Christopher Walken as his nemesis Captain Hook. To refresh the 1954 musical adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Edwardian novel, the production team brought on original lyricist Adolph Green’s daughter, Tony Award-nominee composer Amanda Green, to bulk up the score with songs selected from the original composers’ back catalogs, and to refresh some existing material. One of the changes answers the question many fans of the musical have had since the NBC production was announced: “what are they going to do about ‘Ugg-a-Wugg’?”

Posted by David at 11/28/2014 04:46:00 PM

'Streetcar' follows track of well-worn period atmosphere

TribLIVE: In some ways, “A Streetcar Named Desire” is like a finely bound old book. The binding may be a bit worn and some of the story feels a bit old-fashioned. But the currents of desire and power that run beneath the action are eternal.

It's been nearly 70 years since playwright Tennessee Williams' play won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize. So, some of the attitudes and viewpoints that propel the drama forward — how men interact with or view women, an acceptance of violence in marriage — bring a distracting “ick” factor to some scenes.