It's Musical Chairs at the Top of U.S. Resident Theatres

Playbill.com: This week's announcement that Paige Evans was named new artistic director of Signature Theatre Company in New York is only the tip of the iceberg. The New Year has rung in with a flurry of arrivals and departures at the top level of theatre companies around the U.S.

Yale Educator-Artist Keeps Inspiring Future Generations of Theater Designers

WNPR News: At age 83, Ming Cho Lee knows the difference between a world that works and one that doesn’t, certainly when it comes to the stage. For the past six decades, the National Medal of Arts recipient and Tony Award winner has conjured up some of the most memorable scenic worlds of the American theater.
An example of a Chinese watercolor painting, where details matter.
Credit Renato Ganoza / Creative Commons

Lee's legendary designs often intermix abstraction and realism, transforming the poetry of words, music, and movement into metaphoric and functional works of scenic art.

Why It's Important to Have Black and Brown Bodies Onstage Outside of Stereotypical Black and Brown Roles

HowlRound: When I was in college, I was one of the lucky people who was cast every semester in a show. This is a huge feat because I went to a top ten school with an MFA program and I was just an undergrad. Of course, the lead roles always went to the grad students, but as an undergrad, I played more than Sword Holder number three.

What I think about the workshop and “lab” debate.

The Producer's Perspective: There’s been a brouhaha brewing on Broadway lately over the decrease in the use of the Actors’ Equity “workshop” contract, and the increase in use of the newbie “lab” contract for the development of new musicals.

The high-profile case that has thrust this topic into the spotlight is none other than Hamilton whose actors are asking for a piece of the profits since many have been around the show since the beginning of its blessed life.

2016 introduces a new, re-focused PLASA

ZioGiorgio.com: Following a year of changes, PLASA is looking forward to a fresh new approach for 2016. With the de-merger from PLASA North America enabling the Association to re-focus its resources and push forward with plans to re-engage with its members, PLASA is now set to introduce a series of initiatives based on the constructive feedback gained from the industry.

Plenty of shows coming to whet the appetite of theater fans

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: As we dive into 2016, here is a sampling of the bold and diverse programming offered by the local theater scene. Think of a hot ticket as a way to ward off the cold now that it is finally, frigidly here.

Hollywood Filmmakers Rally behind Kodak’s revival of Super 8 at CES 2016

Fareastgizmos: On the heels of celebrating 50 years of manufacturing Super 8 film, Kodak is launching an initiative aimed at putting Super 8 cameras into the hands of a new generation of filmmakers as well as meeting the needs of top directors, indie filmmakers and others who appreciate the art and craft of filmmaking.

The Actress Who Died on Stage While Portraying Her Theatrical Death

www.todayifoundout.com: Several artists have died on stage while conducting live performances; however, one case is highly unique and probably the most ironic at the same time. The incident involved actress Edith Webster.

Ex Machina: new VFX breakdowns

fxguide: When Alex Garland’s Ex Machina was released earlier last year, fxguide spoke to visual effects supervisor Andrew Whitehurst from Double Negative about the making of Ava - the A.I. robot played in the film by Alicia Vikander. The live action performance was augmented to add in, via VFX, robotic elements to various body parts of the actress.

Film Allman LLC Appeals OSHA Review Commission Ruling To Federal Court

Deadline: Lawyers for Film Allman LLC have appealed the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission decision against the company to the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta in an effort to overturn a judge’s decision that it must pay about $75K in fines in the on-set death of one crew member and injuries to several others during the first day of filming Midnight Rider. Attorneys for Film Allman filed on December 28, and they plan to argue before the court sometime this year to fight the willful safety violation and the fine.

Black+Decker launches Smartech connected battery

www.gizmag.com: Black+Decker, the maker of home and gardening tools, is launching a new range of products featuring Smartech battery technology, which adds automation and connectivity to tools by enabling the battery with Bluetooth so users can interact with it through an app.

The Mystic, the Monk and the Play Brought to You by Powerball

The New York Times: The production is being financed by one of the newest and more unexpected patrons of American theater: Roy Cockrum of Knoxville, a onetime Episcopal monk who bought a Powerball ticket at his local supermarket in 2014 and won $259 million.

Society of British Theatre Designers: The Eye - interview 1to25scale.com

1to25Scale:

Standing Up for Playwrights and Against ‘Colorblind’ Casting

AMERICAN THEATRE: Last November, we witnessed two troubling examples of university productions disrespecting a playwright’s intent in regard to casting. Clarion University in Pennsylvania had to cancel their production of Lloyd Suh’s Jesus in India after neglecting to inform the playwright that they had cast white students in roles written for South Asian actors. This news came on the heels of Katori Hall’s eloquent objection to a production at Kent State of The Mountaintop that featured a white actor playing Martin Luther King Jr. Diep Tran’s article on AmericanTheatre.org (“On the Rights of Playwrights and White Tears”) provides further context to events that have ignited both productive debate and reprehensible personal attacks.

Top 5 Blog Posts of 2015: Advice For Artists From Artists

NEA: Pursuing a career in the arts isn’t always an easy road. So when someone offers up a piece of free advice, we’re all ears. Below are words of wisdom for emerging artists, given by fellow artists we’ve interviewed in the past. As you read up, feel free to leave your own words of wisdom in the comments.

Hamilton Digital Lottery Crashes; Live Lottery Returns Today

Luner on Theatre: “Breaking the Internet” is so 2015. However, Broadway’s Hamilton might have brought back the term that surfaced in 2015 and set a new standard at the same time. Luner on Theatre brought you the news that Hamilton’s lottery would go digital effective immediately. However now we’re bringing you the news that that’s all changed. Today, Luner on Theatre brings you the news that Hamilton’s lottery will return to a live drawing today following yesterday’s launch of the digital lottery which crashed just minutes after going live!

Purchase of Thomas Tull's Legendary Entertainment could have ripple effects on Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Like the glowing green Bat signal on the side of Fifth Avenue Place that greeted the cast and crew of “The Dark Knight Rises,” Thomas Tull’s influence has touched entertainment, sports, education and real estate in Pittsburgh.

That’s why news of a company led by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin being close to a deal to buy a majority stake in Mr. Tull’s Legendary Entertainment could have an impact on Pittsburgh, although it’s too early to know what.

Mcor ARKe Brings Full Color 3D Printing to the Desktop

Make:: Today at CES, Mcor announced their brand new entry into the desktop 3D printing market, the ARKe. The ARKe brings full color 3D printing to the home, office, or classroom, along with a new type of additive manufacturing that we have not seen in the desktop market thus far.

ABOUT TORUK: Set Design & Props

www.cirquefascination.com: Pandora is a fictional moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri system, the closest star system to our sun. It is home to the Na’vi, a highly spiritual people with a deep connection to nature. The moon’s environments range from tropical rainforest and equatorial desert to boreal forest, mountains, ocean shorelines, wetlands, and archipelago. Nature galore! As there are no constructions on Pandora, Set Designer Carl Fillion made it a point to avoid straight lines and to use only curvy, organic lines in his designs.

New Broadway Musical Allegiance, Starring Lea Salonga and George Takei, Posts Closing Notice

Playbill.com: Allegiance, the new American musical co-starring Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and George Takei — based on events in Takei's family during World War II — will close Feb. 14 after 37 previews and 113 regular performances.

‘Dog Day Afternoon’ Coming To Broadway With Warner Bros

Deadline: Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, the film studio’s live stage play division, has commissioned Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside And Crazy, The Motherf**ker With The Hat) to adapt Sidney Lumet’s 1975 film starring Al Pacino and John Cazale as friends and famously inept bank robbers seeking money to finance a sex-change operation.

Hampshire College’s Notes On Race And Casting

HowlRound: From 2012 to 2015, I taught acting, directing, and theatre for social change at Hampshire College. Hampshire students are passionately committed to social change and the college has been a hub for activism and visionary thinking since its inception. The Theatre Program aims to teach traditional disciplines (design, playwriting, etc.) alongside theatre for young audiences, the theatrical jazz aesthetic, site-specific design, documentary drama, and courses about interdisciplinary artists whose work redefines identity and the way we see.

A Sad Farewell- Travel Down ALLEGIANCE's Road to Broadway!

www.broadwayworld.com: As BroadwayWorld reported yesterday, Allegiance will play its final performance on Broadway on Sunday, February 14, 2016. Performances began at the Longacre Theatre on October 6, 2015 and the production officially opened on November 8, 2015. At the time of its closing it will have played 37 previews and 113 regular performances.

Milwaukee STEELHEAD Diamond, Goodbye Abrasive Cut-Off Wheels

coptool.com: Once upon a time concrete was cut by abrasive wheels, they disintegrated very quickly, were dangerous and wasted a lot of time. Then concrete diamond wheels changed the way we cut concrete and it became much easier. You’d look at someone like they were crazy if they cut concrete with an abrasive blade instead of a diamond blade.

400 Years After His Death, Shakespeare's First Folio Goes Out On Tour

NPR: One of the world's most precious volumes starts a tour on Monday, in Norman, Okla. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is sending out William Shakespeare's First Folio to all 50 states to mark the 400th anniversary of the bard's death. Published seven years after he died, the First Folio is the first printed collection of all of Shakespeare's plays.

2015 Essays in Review: The Most-Shared Articles

HowlRound: This week, the HowlRound editors are sharing the most-read and most-commented on pieces from our sections, as well as the articles that have stuck with us the most. Here, Lynette writes about five of the most-shared essay posts.

Susan Galbraith's Top 10, a celebration of Women's Voices Theater Festival

DC Theatre Scene: I continue to celebrate the voices and the productions that were heard in Washington this Fall as part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival. Frankly, I’m also still mulling over the questions and the challenges that surfaced then and continue to send ripples through the community.

Diversity is now the defining conversation of the entertainment industry

The Verge: Hollywood has long been making half-hearted gestures toward diversity through quotas and special achievement awards, but this year was when audiences started voting with their dollars and their clicks. And the message was clear: the future of entertainment won’t be VR blockbusters or 4K Laser Projected 3D IMAX with rumbling seats. It will be an on-screen America that reflects the real America, and a community of directors, writers, and producers with a huge array of backgrounds and points of view. We brought Emily Yoshida and Kwame Opam together to talk about the changing face of entertainment in 2015.

Cirque du Soleil, Actors’ Equity Make Deal for Broadway Productions

Variety: Actors’ Equity Association, the union of stage actors and stage managers, has made a deal with Cirque du Soleil Theatrical for the company’s upcoming Broadway debut, “Paramour,” in advance of the two organizations working together on Cirque’s future Broadway output.

What To Unlearn To Be More Creative

Butts In the Seats: I often talk about how artists and arts organizations can exhibit their value to the business community by providing training in various areas like conflict resolution and creativity. As I was reading this article, I recognized that it provided a good basis for conducting a training session. The content can be useful to either to overtly say, these things you learned as a kid run counter to what we are trying to achieve or just to help a trainer understand some of the socialization and training people have received which makes it difficult to embrace the creative process.

WICKED Tour Breaks All-Time North American Touring Record in St. Louis

www.broadwayworld.com: The national tour of WICKED continues to break records! The show played its highest grossing week in North American Touring history with a final gross of $3,285,606 for the nine performance week ending January 3, 2016 at St. Louis' Fabulous Fox Theatre.

The Top 10 Most Memorable Broadway Moments of 2015

The Producer's Perspective: My company’s mission statement is “to do @#%$ that other people don’t.”

Except, of course, when it comes to end of the year Top 10 lists. :-)

Everyone out there with or without a website seems to sum up the year with a Top 10, and we’re no exception. Why do we all love them so much? We’re all a sucker for nostalgia and a Top 10 is a Cliff Notes version of a “yearbook” for the previous twelve months.

PANTHER HOLLOW to Play Arcade Comedy Theater, 1/15

www.broadwayworld.com: From 1992 to 1996, David Lee White was a local actor and director in the Pittsburgh theatre scene and was part of the University of Pittsburgh's MFA program. On Friday, January 15th at 8:00 PM, White will proudly return to Pittsburgh to perform his one-person show Panther Hollow at the Arcade Comedy Theater at 811 Liberty Avenue.

Shakespeare's Cymbeline renamed for first Globe season under Emma Rice

BBC News: Shakespeare's Cymbeline is being "renamed and reclaimed" as part of Emma Rice's inaugural season at Shakespeare's Globe.

The play will be re-titled Imogen at the London open air theatre this autumn to highlight the role of Cymbeline's daughter.

Rice, who is taking over as Globe's first female artistic director, said she had initially baulked at the idea.

Pennsylvania film, TV projects get greenlight

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It didn’t take a win in Cleveland and a loss in Buffalo, just a stroke of the pen to put Pittsburgh back on the TV and film playing field.

Letters for multiple TV and film projects have gone out to studios and production companies to give the go-ahead for tax credits for the 2015-16 year. That clears the way for a second season of “Outsiders,” if the WGN original series premiering Jan. 26 is renewed, along with other high-profile productions still to be announced.

To Dai For, Part One | The Dai Show At Dai Show Theatre In China

Dai Show Theatre content from Live Design: Scenic designer Alicia Tkacz, architect and production designer at the London, UK-based Stufish Entertainment Architects, brought the exterior design into the interior of the Wanda Group’s Dai Show Theatre in Xishuangbanna, China, when she created the sets for The Dai Show, as directed by Franco Dragone. Tkacz reports that, for the first stage of the project, approximately one year, the Stufish team was meeting regularly with the client Wanda, Dragone, and theatre consultants from Auerbach Pollock Friedlander in Beijing, initially for architecture-focused meetings. Be sure to read about the Dai Show Theatre in Chinese Dragone.

The Long Reach Long Riders 2016 Charity Ride

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: The Long Reach Long Riders announce the dates and route for their next charity motorcycle ride. This year's ride, dubbed The Radioactive Ride, is all about New Mexico (plus a little Arizona, Utah, and Texas), the land of Billy the Kid, Georgia O'Keeffe, and J. Robert Oppenheimer. From sweeping desert vistas to painted mesas and majestic mountains, from the whimsical aliens of Roswell to the caverns of Carlsbad there is definitely something for everyone.

Voltage vs Amp Hours: What's the Relationship?

Pro Tool Reviews: Maybe you just want to know more or see if your notions about voltage vs. amp hours are right. Maybe you’re brand new to cordless tools and don’t know where to start. Glad you could make it to the party!

Voltage vs. amp hours is one of the most basic questions asked of cordless tools. It can be confusing. With corded tools, we often describe the amount of power based on the number of amps that it draws. This is great when there’s a virtually infinite power supply. Most people boil cordless tool numbers down to the idea that voltage is equivalent to power and amp hours are equivalent to run time.

Anthony Rapp gives a rundown of the first BroadwayCon during his Pittsburgh visit

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: If your superheroes create theater magic eight shows a week, then BroadwayCon was conjured just for you.

“If/Then” and original “Rent” star Anthony Rapp, a frequent guest artist at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre, is co-creator of the event for theater fans that has its world premiere at New York’s Midtown Hilton Hotel Jan. 22-24. The idea sprung from Melissa Anelli, co-executive director of Mischief Management, which creates gatherings associated with other fandoms — LeakyCon, for Harry Potter fans, and GeekyCon, for those “who love wearing their fandom on their sleeve.”

Sheldon Epps Talks Diversity and LA Theater

Footlights: Sheldon Epps has been the Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse since 1997. He came to that position with a great many credits, including being the Assistant AD at the Old Globe, the founder of several theatre companies, and a noted director on and off Broadway. His television credits read like a who’s who of Hollywood.

'Bolshoi Babylon': A Look Inside Russia's Greatest Ballet

The Creators Project: Known predominantly as the land of communism, fur coats, and vodka, Russia is also home to one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world, the Bolshoi Ballet. Housed since 1856 in a magnificent Classic-style building only about 500 feet from the Kremlin government headquarters in the Red Square, the Bolshoi (which literally translates to “big”) was founded in 1776 and remains to this day a bastion of Russian pride and creativity.

And Of Course: Authors Guild Asks Supreme Court To Overturn Fair Use Ruling On Google Books

Techdirt: Back in October, the 2nd Circuit appeals court issued a really wonderful fair use win on the long-running (and somewhat ridiculous) lawsuit that the Authors Guild had filed against Google Books. The decision -- written by Judge Pierre Leval, who has long been a key player on issues of fair use -- was decisive and clear. It capped a ridiculously long process, in which the Authors Guild lost at every stage, wasting the money of its members. The ruling was quite clear that Google Books was transformative and did not compete with the original works. It also highlighted how it benefited the public.

How Arts and Culture Add to City Economies

CityLab: I’ve long argued that the arts can help cities attract talent, spur innovation, and grow their economies. But there’s no shortage of naysayers out there who will counter that the only connection between the arts and urban economies is the fact that wealthier places can afford more art and artists.

‪The Year in Theatre and Farewell to a Friend

‪The New Yorker: As is my usual habit with year-end lists, I wait until the actual end of the year to write to you, dear friends and readers, because it takes that long, usually, for me to reflect on, and to synthesize, all the actors, directors, production designers, playwrights, scripts, and so on, that make up the past theatre season. Sadly, the fall season offered such a catch-as-catch-can pu-pu platter of sometimes great but mostly sort of O.K., or just plain bad, theatre-related morsels that aesthetic sustenance took a back seat to just making do—when that was even possible.

Silent Shakespeare | Synetic Theatre Company

Live Design: Director/performer Paata Tsikurishvili and choreographer Irina Tsikurishvili came to Washington, DC, from the Republic of Georgia in the 1990s. They founded a theatre that opened its doors in 2003 with Hamlet…the rest is silence, and silent it was, or at least wordless. The Synetic Theatre Company has continued to do the Bard sans dialogue but with evocative soundscapes.

Spread the Spirit of the Season with a Thank-you

sightlines.usitt.org: Without looking up from his work, Dorn uttered a question that had never been asked of me, but one that to this day has guided me. “Mark, how well do you handle failure?”

USITT 2015 Board of Directors Election Results

sightlines.usitt.org: One of the duties of Secretary of the Institute is leading the Nominations committee in developing a slate of candidates for the Board of Directors. One of the tasks related with this duty is affirming the election results.

Why eSET? Who is it for?

sightlines.usitt.org: What is eSET? It is an acronym for Essential Skills for the Entertainment Technician. The concept and lexicon began with the ESTA Foundation, and is being further developed by USITT. In essence, it is a proficiency examination, written and practical, determining the knowledge and skill set of an entry level entertainment technician.

Member Spotlight: Sarah Pickett

sightlines.usitt.org: Sarah Pickett, sound designer and composer, assistant professor of sound design and music composition at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and Director of Diversity Outreach for USITT’s Sound Commission.

From Inside the Fog: Embracing the Unknown

HowlRound: In a culture that bangs the drum of “reality” so hard it drowns out dreams, where schools train more than educate, and where craft is confused for art, an artist must do the unthinkable. You must let the unknown come and envelope you.

D.A. Opposes ‘Midnight Rider’ Director’s Effort to Be Released Early

Variety: A prosecutor in the “Midnight Rider” case opposes director Randall Miller’s effort to modify his sentence and obtain an early release from jail, saying that such a move “further evidences” Miller’s “failure to accept responsibility in the death of Sarah Jones.”

The vanishing face of the older woman

The Globe and Mail: The new James Bond movie Skyfall is hugely entertaining, but it also contains a shocking sight. No, not Daniel Craig digging a bullet out of his own shoulder, or Bérénice Marlohe’s fingernails, which look like 10 shiny stilts attached to the ends of her hands. It is the image of an old woman on screen.

Old Navy Apologizes, Pulls Toddler Shirt That Suggests Kids Shouldn’t Aspire To A Career In The Arts

Consumerist: Part of the wonder of being a little kid is the idea that you can grow up to be whatever you want to be — whether that’s President of the United States, a teacher, a veterinarian, an astrophysicist or a concert pianist. So when Old Navy sold a line of toddler T-shirts that featured the phrase, “Young Aspiring Artist,” with the “Artist” part crossed out and replaced with other careers like “Astronaut” and “President,” many online expressed anger at what they saw as the company valuing other careers over those in the arts.

Christopher Henley's Arbitrary Topless List of Wonderfully Indelible Memories, 2015

DC Theatre Scene: Shortly after my twins (now three and a half) were born, I approached DCTS about writing for the site. Since I had been so closely associated with WSC Avant Bard and a few other local companies, I never wanted any reader to perceive a conflict of interest, so I requested that I focus on features. The occasional review I might write would fall into one of two categories.

How Happy Days’ Costume Designer Inspired My Life

CostumeSpirit: My earliest memory of learning how to sew was at the age of nine. It isn’t a very cherished memory. The moment was kinda surreal and I felt like I was cursed or I was on that TV show Candid Camera. It was Christmas morning. I remember it well because I wanted new clothes and roller skates, but received a piece of furniture instead!

Hollywood Plans To Put More Women In Film and TV For Gender Parity

Variety: Two days of private discussions by influential Hollywood insiders have generated proposals to increase the presence of women on both sides of the camera, but the details surrounding initiatives like a mentor program, anti-bias training sessions and a gender parity stamp-of-approval system remain to be hammered out, according to an organizer of the project.

People to meet 2016: Ten people who are making their mark in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: For those who frequent Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre performances, Yoshiaki Nakano is a familiar face.

Now in his sixth year with the company, Mr. Nakano, a native of Japan, has leaped through the ranks to principal dancer and regularly is cast in top roles for PBT’s productions. This year, he’ll make PBT history as the first principal dancer to premiere an original work at a mainstage performance.

Broadway Shockers 2015: Earpieces and Teleprompters on Broadway

TheaterMania.com: We at TheaterMania are major proponents of the technological advances revolutionizing the stage. State-of-the-art projections, 3D printing, drones: We're all for it. One electronic innovation we're less enthusiastic about, however, is the earpiece — specifically when it is used to feed an actor his or her lines during a live performance.

Where are the black ballerinas?

The Washington Post: When was the last time you saw three black ballerinas on a magazine cover? I can save you some time. You’ve never seen that — unless you’ve already spotted Pointe magazine’s June/July 2014 cover. For its annual career issue, Pointe enlists Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Ashley Murphy, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet’s Ebony Williams and the American Ballet Theater’s Misty Copeland to discuss an ongoing problem in ballet communities: lack of diversity.

What Does An Associate Director Do? Even More Theatre Jobs You Didn't Know Existed

Playbill.com:

From stage managers and makeup artists, to costume designers and sound engineers, it takes a village to raise a show. Still, there are some job titles in the Who's Who that you may not know. Get to know the unseen artists who make sure the show goes on.

As part of a continuation of our look at theatre jobs you didn't know existed, we spoke to some more theatre professionals to find out exactly what they do and we unearth the truth behind these mystery careers.

Behind the Scenes with Beyoncé's Stage Manager Terry Cooley

The Honesty Hour: As the hardest-working performer in show business, Beyoncé would be incomplete without a team that is equally sedulous.

Amid traveling the world on The Mrs. Carter Show, her largest concert production to date, the singer has just released a new behind-the-scenes video starring her stage manager Terry Cooley, giving you an inside look at his demanding daily duties.

Shakespeare's 74 death scenes in a single play more gory than Game of Thrones

www.telegraph.co.uk: There may have been five "droppers" – a theatrical term for fainting audience members – overcome by the fake bloodshed at Titus Andronicus at The Globe last year, but one new play is promising considerably more than the nine brutal on-stage deaths in Shakespeare's first tragedy.

The man behind the “Hamilton” sound: Hidden Beatles references, the “hip-hop horse” sample and why if “it’s all computerized, there’s no heart to it”

Salon.com: Alex Lacamoire has probably seen “Hamilton” more times than anyone. The music director, who also orchestrated the score and co-arranged the songs with composer/lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda, serves as the show’s conductor. So seven times a week (his associate does one performance) he has the “best seat in the house.”

Female TV Biz Assistant Resigns After Making A Discrimination Complaint

Deadline: “Well, you’ve certainly proven that a woman can do your job.”

Was my boss being sarcastic or did I just time-warp back to 1950, I wondered as I sat in my self-requested performance review. This job was an assistant position; even in the ’50s, women had proven themselves in admin roles.

Pittsburgh loses TV series ‘American Gods’ over state budget impasse

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The upcoming Starz series “American Gods,” based on Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel of the same name and produced by Bryan Fuller (“Pushing Daisies,” “Hannibal”), has opted not to film in Pittsburgh due to the budget impasse which is delaying approval of the project’s film tax credit.

Starz announced the series pickup in June and the program was expected to begin production in Western Pennsylvania in early 2016.

Playwright Katori Hall Expresses Rage Over "Revisionist Casting" of Mountaintop With White Dr. Martin Luther King

Playbill.com:

Playwright Katori Hall broke her silence over last month's Kent State University production of her play, The Mountaintop, that double-cast the lead role of Dr. Martin Luther King with both a black and a white actor.

Director Michael Oatman, who is black, had double-cast the role of King with a black actor and a white actor for a six-performance run at the university’s Department of Pan-African Studies African Community Theater, Sept. 25-Oct. 4. The white actor was Robert Branch.

Hamilton

CBS News: Imagine the pitch: a Broadway musical about the life and times of founding father Alexander Hamilton and his contemporaries. They are played by a young, multiracial cast; dancing, singing and rapping to hip hop and popular music. This unlikely combination is called "Hamilton" and it is being hailed as a theatrical "game-changer."

Keep Calm and Manage On : The Importance of Being an Even Tempered Stage Manager

OnStage: It’s no secret in the theatre world that stage managing is difficult. Between creating schedules, tracking each and every change and development in rehearsal, making sure the show runs smoothly each night, and of course, managing actors and tech staff, it gets hectic. You are ultimately charged with creating order out of varying amounts of chaos. And one thing that must be kept in order is your own attitude.

Q&A With Stagehands Union Business Manager Mike Barnes

Philadelphia - Travel & Tourism - Pennsylvania: We recently sat down with Michael Barnes, Business Manager of IATSE Local 8 (also known as the Stagehands), whose union helps to fulfill most event labor needs on the show floor.

New Guthrie Theater leader Joe Haj has been listening to voices of Minnesota

Star Tribune: Joe Haj is getting familiar with Minnesota’s winding roads.

In an endeavor that is rare for a new arts leader, Haj is exercising his knack for using theater to bring communities together and to reinscribe the Guthrie Theater’s importance as Minnesota’s flagship playhouse.

Since he became the Guthrie’s artistic director in July, Haj has logged hundreds of miles crisscrossing the state — from Duluth to Rochester, Mankato to Winona.

“I have this tremendous responsibility to take good care of the Guthrie,” he said at a recent event in Northfield. “My task is not to [mess] it up.”

Boston’s theaters need city, state support

The Boston Globe: In recent weeks much has been written about Boston’s changing theater landscape. Like many other sectors, the arts and entertainment industry is constantly evolving. Boston has more theaters, more seats, and more diverse performance offerings than ever before. At Citi Performing Arts Center, we’re not only working to fill the Wang and Shubert Theatres, we’re also working to attract new audiences and spark creativity through innovative programs like ArtWeek and our summer jobs program, City Spotlights. But without community support and investment, our vibrant creative economy and historic theaters are at serious risk.

So You Want To Be A Tour Manager? Meet Pantera’s First TM, Guy Sykes

The Void AU: In this week’s edition of The Void’s dream jobs segment, meet the legendary tour manager Guy Sykes, who started out tour managing Pantera (and was their ONLY tour manager) and now travels the world with some of the globe’s biggest musical acts including Godsmack, Die Antwoord and Volbeat. He makes a living watching hundreds of thousands of fans lose their minds from side of stage on the daily. What’s most important to nailing the gig? “Patience. Imagine you are going on a 6 week holiday with 30 friends and going to a different city everyday and you are responsible for everyone.”

N.B.A. Cheerleaders’ New Rallying Cry: Better Pay

NYTimes.com: As the N.B.A. starts a new season this week, the salary cap for players will climb to a record $70 million per team at the same time that a federal court considers charges that cheerleaders have been cheated out of fair pay.

This fall, legal claims of wage theft in professional cheerleading have spread from the N.F.L. to the N.B.A., and basketball teams’ treatment of female performers is under intense scrutiny.

Paul Allen Gives to Arts with One Hand but Takes Away with the Other

Features - The Stranger: One night in early June of 2014, a wave of bad news broke over a meeting of people assembled at Vito's Restaurant and Lounge. Vito's is a renovated old lounge, the kind of place where Frank Sinatra would have hung out, minus the smoke. Red leather booths. Gold-flecked mirrors. Lighting the color of beer.

Immersive Theater’s Next Stop: A Sexy ’70s Fantasy Island

The New York Times: In a Bushwick warehouse last month, members of Third Rail Projects, the Brooklyn company behind “Then She Fell,” the long-running immersive hit inspired by “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” were gathering to rehearse their newest dance-theater piece, “The Grand Paradise.” On one end of the room is a tiki hut. On the other end, an empty tank that, come showtime, will be filled with water and performers.

Vegas nightclub scene the toughest ticket in town, and the price keeps going up

Las Vegas Review-Journal: New Year's party venues — and price points — have dramatically changed since Hollywood restaurateur VictorDrai arrived 20 years ago.

"When I opened, there were maybe three or four clubs in town," Drai said.

Two years later, his modest after-hours club in the basement of the then-Barbary Coast helped ignite the city's epic nightclub explosion.

Backstage on Broadway With the Holiday Spirit

The New York Times: Like the Rockettes and strip clubs, Broadway theater is a New York entertainment that doesn’t stop for the holidays. So how do the cast and crew of a Broadway show, having to stick to a typical eight-(or more)-shows-a-week schedule, make their theater a home worthy of the season?

It doesn’t help that most Broadway dressing rooms are barely bigger than walk-in closets. But leave it to theater folks, known for being creative on a dime, to turn even the ugliest green room into a makeshift winter wonderland.

5 Video Editing Apps for On-the-Go Film Creators

blog.uniquesound.com; Not all the video you create needs to be saved for studio-level editing. For example, you could’ve filmed a panel you just attended at an industry conference, or even a quick vlog where you doled out some video production tips while you were on set for a project. You don’t need to wait to get back to your computer to edit these types of videos and post them online. In fact, it’d probably be a waste of company time to do so.

The Stage’s Best Moments This Year

The New York Times: As a certain popular musical about a certain early Treasury Secretary maintains, we all want to be in the room where it happens. That’s never more so than at the theater, where on stages lavish or bare, every performance is one of a kind. Here, writers and editors for The New York Times recall stage moments worth singing about.

Arden Theatre Company's Metamorphoses | Stage Set With Pool Of Water

Live Design: Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia opened its 2015 fall season with a revival of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, in an ambitious production directed by Doug Hara. Based on the classical myths of Ovid, the play juxtaposes gods and mortals in a series of artfully woven, timeless tales.

DeWalt DWE7480 10" Compact Job Site Table Saw

PTR: My first experience with a table saw was my Grandfather’s 1954 Sears Power King. For a long while I trembled every time I heard it start up. With no guard, a shaky wood base, and a missing throat plate, it was always waiting for its next victim and had, on more than one occasion, lulled me into complacency only to kick a board into my chest for my reward.

Oh the days…

The Many Languages Of Digital Audio Networking

Pro Sound Web: While analog is still a popular and cost-effective method of signal distribution in pro audio, the benefits of going digital far outweigh the costs of switching from analog. No more electromagnetic interference (EMI) and high-frequency attenuation problems, and no more lugging around heavy multi-core analog snakes.

Stars consolidated entertainment takeover on Las Vegas Strip in 2015

Las Vegas Review-Journal: And to think that about this time last year, we were scoffing at the prospects of a "Duck Dynasty" musical having any snowball's chance of making it in Sin City.

We're not scoffing anymore.

Don't get us wrong, the show bombed all right. Horribly. It closed after six weeks at the Rio last May, costing its Broadway producers about $250,000 per week.

But no excessive celebration in the end zone. No one came up with a better idea for a Las Vegas production show, and hardly anyone tried. Instead, 2015 consolidated the Strip's collective shift from standing shows to recurring concert headliners tagged with the already-overused term "residency."

An underrated piece of tech you can't live without

CNET: This is an ode to the humble circuit breaker, your home's electricity gatekeeper, a jumble of wires housed in a utilitarian metal panel that powers everything from your fridge to your phone charger. Given our daily reliance on and love of technology, you'd think that the circuit breaker -- aka the central nervous system for all of the gadgets and gizmos in your house -- would be held in high regard.

Tested in 2015: Danica Johnson's Favorite Things

Tested: At the end of the year, we want to share with you our favorite things we found and used in 2015. Please welcome Danica Johnson, our set designer, as she shares some essential crafting tools she's used this year for production design and projects.

All the ghostly sounds that are lost when you compress to mp3

www.deathandtaxesmag.com: Right now, you’re probably listening to music on your computer. The source of that music — whether you’re listening to an mp3 file or streaming — is a compressed version of a file that was much more detailed, but way larger. It’s worth interrupting your music for a moment and asking: What sounds are you missing?

Tutu makers are in dangerously short supply, says London's Royal Opera House

Telegraph: Top-rank theatrical costume makers who are trained to construct intricate ballet tutus are in perilously short supply, according to London’s Royal Opera House.

The shortage of skilled makers is now causing problems at opera and ballet companies in the UK and the issue is only set to get worse as many older tailors and seamstresses near retirement.

With their expert hands and eyes for detail, stitchers are a vital cog in any opera or ballet performance.

Why does (good) audio often go unnoticed?

AV Magazine | Pro AV news, analysis and comment from Europe’s leading Audio Visual title: Many times it’s only after a bad experience that audio is given the thought it deserves and when things are going well the sound technician may often go overlooked and taken for granted. Why is it that the better the sound is in a production the more sound goes unnoticed?

The Rock Lititz Campus is Expanding

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: Known simply as Pod # 2, the second phase of the Rock Lititz campus development is a multi-tenant facility designed to attract businesses that serve the live entertainment industry. The 250,000 sq. ft. building will be located on 10.08 acres of the 96-acre campus. Construction of Pod # 2 at Rock Lititz is underway and aiming for a December 2016 completion.

How Broadway Professionals Dodge the Crowds of Tourists in Times Square

WSJ: To find out how Broadway professionals get through the burgeoning crowds, we’ve asked them for their observations and tips on navigating an area that, according to the Alliance, attracts as many as 450,000 pedestrians a day.

5 Minutes Early Is On Time; On Time Is Late; Late Is Unacceptable

Forbes: I have a magic pill to sell you. It will help you make more money, be happier, look thinner, and have better relationships. It’s a revolutionary new pharmaceutical product called Late-No-More. Just one dose every day will allow you to show up on time, greatly enhancing your life and the lives of those around you.

Dolby Cinema: Twin laser projectors + object-based 3D audio = awesome

Ars Technica: A representative from Dolby Labs explained the Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision features that together make up Dolby Cinema. Like IMAX-with-laser, Dolby Vision uses lasers as light sources instead of the usual high-intensity discharge bulb. This allows the projection to be much brighter, and the contrast level to be much higher, than with normal DLP.

Why We Need Afro-Latin@ Theatre

HowlRound: When my play The Stories of Us was chosen for the Teatro Vivo's annual Austin Latino Play Festival 2015, I was shocked to say the least. My play was Black—Blacker than Black. It called out African Americans, Latin@s, and Afro-Latin@s for the broken bonds between us, racism, and many things that we fail to say in normal conversations. I confided in a colleague about my nervousness about work being in that space and he told me, "It's needed there." Although I am not Afro-Latin@, I identify with Afro-Latin@ experiences. Being a Black American and speaking Spanish in Texas, I am often met with the question "You know Spanish?" or "How did you learn Spanish?" These questions reflect the lack of exposure to Afro-Latinidad and the hidden erasure of these stories. Why is my language ability even a question?

Happy Show Day!

Selling Out: It’s finally here! December 26 is Show Day, the perfect day to get out with your family and friends and see a show. You can learn more about Show Day here, and check out Cyndi Lauper sharing why this day is so important

Review: 'Rudolph' glows bright enough for kids, but stage show could use more glitter

TribLIVE: It's not easy being the Grinch during the holiday season.

While everyone else is wrapped in a warm seasonal glow, it's left to the Grinches among us to point out that the tree is leaning to one side, you're way over budget on presents and the roast beast is overcooked.

Varsity Theatre – Evanston, IL

After the Final Curtain: The Varsity Theater in Evanston, IL opened on Christmas Eve in 1926. It was designed by Chicago architect John E. O. Pridmore, who is also known for the nearby Vic Theatre. Clyde Elliot, an Evanston native who had worked in Hollywood before returning to his hometown to open the theater, commissioned it. Upon opening the 2,500 seat Varsity was one of the largest neighborhood theatres in the Chicago area, and the largest in Evanston beating the nearby Coronet, Hoyburn, New Campus, and Valencia Theatres.

Career Advice From 15 Broadway Stars in 2015

Backstage: Backstage rubbed elbows with some of Broadway’s best in 2015, asking for the kind of advice early-career actors can use in their everyday lives. Whether it’s reflecting on what they wish they’d known or offering thoughts on how to endure audition after audition, below are a random assortment of pointers from 15 of your favorite stage veterans to take you into the new year!

Song From Broadway Musical 'Hamilton' Celebrates Founding Mothers

NPR: The smash hit Broadway musical "Hamilton" mixes hip-hop with American history and features a multiracial cast. A lot's been written about the founding fathers in the show - Hamilton, Washington, Jefferson and Aaron Burr among them. But for reporter Jeff Lunden, "The One That Got Away," a song about the founding mothers, is the emotional heart of the show.

What Breaking Into Hollywood Was Really Like for Me as a Chinese American

The Mary Sue: I feel privileged to give some of my insights into the world of entertainment—specifically acting in film and television, since I’m a full-time actress. However, I have many friends that are musicians, and I’ve watched their rehearsals and traveled with them to their concerts. I have a friend who is a professional ice skater, who skated for Disney on Ice. I’ve gone to her shows many times, and I’ve even gone back stage at Cirque Du Soleil in my travels. Over time, I’ve come to the conclusion that entertainment is so special and so important for connecting the world that it doesn’t matter what the stage is.

Theater 2015: ‘Hamilton’ was the best, but here are 9 other standouts

The Washington Post: Even in a year with a streamlined theatergoing schedule — owing to a book-writing leave — a reviewer could find enough work of real merit to fill out a best-of list. So here, in my slightly truncated theater adventures of the past 12 months, is what still emerged as particularly worthy of mention