Technology Breaking Barriers And Adding A New Dimension To Theatrical Performance

TheatreArtLife: Theatre is a large part of national culture, and the celebrated works of each culture’s playwrights oftentimes lend invaluable insight into political and socio-economic context of the time. Take Victor Hugo’s works, for example, showing in rich detail the daily lives of the common public during the French Revolution with Les Miserables, and with a rather harsh social commentary in Ruy Blas, using the piece to point out all the aspects of aristocracy Hugo himself finds ridiculous. From the decor to the context to the language used, each theatrical piece is a unique view into the world of the playwright, past or present. The pace, rhythm and melody of a language adds an invaluable dimension to a piece of theatre, take away this linguistic layer and the nuance of a piece changes completely.

RYOBI Devour 18V Cordless Sweeper

Tool Box Buzz: Earlier this winter the Ryobi Devour Cordless Sweeper showed up at my doorstep. Usually with a tool that requires some assembly I’ll snap a couple pictures during that process just to make it clearer for future purchasers of the tool. This tool though, I wasn’t waiting. A tool that promises to make cleaning easier by devouring anything in its path, there’s no way I was waiting around to take some pictures.

How To Make Your Creative Team Thrive

TheatreArtLife: Uncovering the vast and untouchable realm of creativity is perhaps our final frontier. As the mother of all invention, creativity is rarely underestimated and its significance evident. The ability to create, to innovate, to find hidden patterns, to connect the unconnected or to perceive the world around us in new ways is what makes us human. Creativity is what sets us apart…

Celebrating August Wilson: 'King Hedley II,' a block party are part of the birthday festivities

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Hill District that August Wilson chronicled to global acclaim will be the site of multiple celebrations of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright during this, his birthday week. Wilson, who died in 2005, would have been 73 on April 27.

‘Carousel’ Dances Are a New Feather in the Enigmatic Justin Peck’s Cap

The New York Times: When Justin Peck emerged as a professional choreographer in 2012, he seemed immediately a master of his trade. His dances for the new revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel,” at the Imperial Theater on Broadway, are yet another feather in his cap. Though just 30 years old, he’s already acquired such renown that, in Matthew Lopez’s new play “The Inheritance” (now at the Young Vic in London), “the latest Justin Peck” is spoken of as a must-see New York artistic event.

My Lunch Also Rises: NBC's Nauseating Vision of High School Theater

www.clydefitchreport.com: My first attempt at Rise lasted three minutes and 13 seconds. Familiar with the show’s straightwashing controversy, I watched with some skepticism. Still, I wasn’t ready for the train wreck that is Rise, an absurdly out-of-touch drama that treats its ostensible subject, high school theater, with a jaw-dropping lack of respect.

Hair & Makeup Pros Turn Al Pacino Into ‘Paterno’ for HBO Biopic

Variety: In HBO’s “Paterno,” director Barry Levinson tells the story of the Penn State pedophile scandal — in which assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with a pattern of child molestation that stretched over 15 years — and its effect on Joe Paterno, the winningest head football coach in NCAA history.

Making Dreams Into Reality at Chicago Scenic Studios

irishamericannews.com: The evolution of Chicago Scenic Studios over the last 40 years finds them in another new home. Serving the creative needs of our city, our country and even our world, this cutting edge design solutions and fabrication company has moved from it’s previous location at Goose Island to a sprawling 165,000 square foot warehouse on Cermak and Halsted.

August Wilson Society's Pittsburgh conference keeps the playwright's words front and center

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The August Wilson Society gathers in Pittsburgh April 26 with the theme “Go Back and Pick Up the Ball.” Fittingly, it is a line chosen from Wilson’s “Two Trains Running,” when the character Holloway says, “If you drop the ball, you got to go back and pick it up.”

White Actor Is Voicing A Black Character In ‘Spy Kids’

New Pittsburgh Courier: The computer-animated series Spy Kids: Mission Critical is hits Netflix on Friday. The ten episodes will follow attendees at Spy Kids Academy, which is a top secret school for kid agents. The kids have to save the world against an evil force known as S.W.A.M.P. (Sinister Wrongdoers Against Mankind’s Preservation) and their leader, Golden Brain. The series including one Black male character, known as PSI, but the actor who is voicing the character, Travis Turner, is white .

Making Of The Voletarium Flying Theatre

Live Design: The Voletarium is the largest flying theatre of its kind in Europe. Launched in 2017, by Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, it is the largest investment in a single attraction in the park’s history. Europa-Park contracted Austrian company Kraftwerk Living Technologies to provide technical design, planning, and installation of the AV equipment.

'Black People in the Future' billboard in East Liberty is still not back up

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: At the beginning of a community conversation Wednesday about the removal of the “There Are Black People in the Future” billboard in East Liberty, moderator Janera Solomon cautioned that those coming to the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater looking for clear answers likely would be disappointed.

On the question of what will become of the billboard, that certainly was the case.

Another Harry Potter Landmark: At $68 Million, the Most Expensive Broadway Nonmusical Play Ever

The New York Times: The Harry Potter economy is filled with jaw-dropping numbers, including 500 million books sold and $7.7 billion in worldwide film grosses.

Here’s another one: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” a two-part drama now in previews and opening April 22, cost about $68.5 million to bring to Broadway, including not only $35.5 million to capitalize the show — more than for any other nonmusical play in history — but also another $33 million to clear out and redo the theater.

Vancouver film community addresses mental health and addiction

www.vancourier.com: Enid-Raye Adams’ dad was an addict for most of his adult life. And, like many people who love an addict, at a certain point Adams reached her own rock bottom with her dad’s addiction. She cut him out of her life.

The Case Against Using a HEPA Filter

Pro Tool Reviews: Everyone knows that using a HEPA filter is the way to go all the time, right? After gathering information from several manufacturers, we’re going to make the case against using a HEPA filter. At least most of the time. Think we’re crazy? That’s okay. That’s okay, but by the time we get to the end of the article, I’m hoping you’ll see things our way.

Makita Laser Level Review: SK103P Cross-Line

Pro Tool Reviews: Quality craftsmanship sometimes suffers that same fate as Rodney Dangerfield: it don’t get no respect. Rarely will a layperson walk into a room and think, “wow, those cabinets are really level!” or, “look at how square that window is!” or even, “that conduit sure does look plumb!” If those newly-hung cabinets look wonky, or if the window sits off-kilter, or if that conduit appears as if it got thrown together by random time and chance, you might wonder who the bum was that did the installation. I guess it’s just our nature to take quality for granted.

La Jolla Playhouse names Debby Buchholz as new managing director

The San Diego Union-Tribune: In her nearly 16 years as La Jolla Playhouse general manager, Debby Buchholz has been part of some significant history — from the launch of the smash-hit musical “Jersey Boys” in 2004 to the current Broadway success of the Playhouse-bred “Come From Away.”

Actors' Equity votes to change the name of the Gypsy Robe

Broadway News: The Gypsy Robe is changing its name.

After hearing concerns about the insensitivity of the name, the Actors’ Equity Association has voted to rename the robe that is awarded to the chorus member with the highest number of Broadway credits on opening night of a show. The name change will be put in place next season and the more than 60-year-old tradition of the robe will continue.

Two theater groups offering two different versions of 'Natural Shocks' to battle gun violence

Insider - Story: Know Theatre and Cincinnati Shakespeare Co. each will present staged readings this weekend to support efforts to end gun violence.

The two theaters have coordinated their readings of "Natural Shocks," a new work by playwright Lauren Gunderson, so that each is at a different time, each benefits a different organization combating gun violence and each represents a distinct take on the 65-minute play.

"Natural Shocks," based on "Hamlet," is about a chatty, quirky woman with a dark secret.

Brain Waves Synchronize at Live Music Performances

Neuroscience News: When individuals attend a live concert and listen to music as a group, their brains waves synchronize – a bond that indicates each individual is having a better time as part of a collective. The new findings, reported last month at a Cognitive Neuroscience Society meeting, are a reminder that humans are social creatures, said neuroscientist Jessica Grahn, a Western Psychology professor in the Brain and Mind Institute who co-led the study.

It's No Myth, Carnegie Mellon's Spring Carnival Is Legendary

www.cmu.edu/news: Booths, buggies and live entertainment — Carnegie Mellon University's 104th installment of Spring Carnival promises to be a magical weekend. This year's theme, Myths and Legends, has been among the top 10 most suggested themes in past years and was last year's runner-up, said Spring Carnival chairs Hannah Koschmeder, a junior in business administration and statistics and data science, and Stephen Clark, a junior in computer science. Some of the booths will feature children's favorites like "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "Harry Potter," while others will feature iconic topics such as "Santa's Workshop" and "Titanic."

The monkey selfie lawsuit lives

The Verge: Just when you thought you wouldn’t hear about the monkey selfie ever again, the legal saga lives once more. Although the parties — the photographer, a self-publishing book company, and PETA, on behalf of the selfie-taking monkey — reached a settlement in September of last year, the Ninth Circuit is now refusing to dismiss the case. This means the court will be coming out with an official appellate decision about the monkey selfie.

Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”: Rediscovering Weimar Operetta with Dr. Kevin Clarke

HowlRound Theatre Commons: When we think of operetta, words like “edgy” and “sexy” rarely come to mind. Dr. Kevin Clarke is hoping to change that through his work with the Operetta Research Centre, which focuses on studying and reevaluating works from the first half of the twentieth century. These had long been denigrated as “silver operetta,” as opposed to the supposed Golden Age of the late nineteenth century, when composers like Johann Strauss and Gilbert & Sullivan created some of the most famous examples of the genre.

“The White Chip” at City Theatre

The Pittsburgh Tatler: What does it take to overcome an addiction to alcohol? Many people find success through the twelve-step model, which requires, among other things, that addicts surrender to a higher power. But what do people do who, for one reason or another, find it impossible to believe in a higher power?

The White Chip portrays one man’s struggle with alcoholism

Theater Reviews + Features | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Once upon a time, the playwright/director Sean Daniels got a good review in The New York Times. But even that couldn’t persuade him to stop destroying his life with alcohol.

In his autobiographical play, The White Chip, staged by City Theatre at Lester Hamburg Studio, Daniels (portrayed by Kyle Cameron) tells his story in a virtual monologue, with two other actors — called #1 and #2 in the program — serving as parents, friends, lovers, colleagues, and rehab counselors, among others.

Stage review: City Theatre's boozy 'The White Chip' maintains a balance between comedy and dread

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Sean had it all — success as a theater director, loyal friends, a caring wife and a dog.

He also was constantly drunk and happy about it — until he wasn’t.

“The White Chip,” Sean Daniels’ autobiographical play at City Theatre, chronicles the character of Sean as a blissful alcoholic, quick with a quip and headed for disaster that everyone could see coming except him.

A Bright Room Called Day at Carnegie Mellon University has a timely message

Theater Reviews + Features | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Nearly a decade before his 1993 Broadway explosion with Angels in America, Tony Kushner debuted A Bright Room Called Day and even here his enormous imagination and intellect are apparent. The show’s never been seen in Pittsburgh, a situation rectified by a remarkable Carnegie Mellon University production directed by Jed Allen Harris.

More Than Just Horse Play - A review of "Equus"

'Burgh Vivant: Few plays explore the relationship between psychiatrist and patient better than Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play “Equus.” For that very reason, it has been a go-to piece for theaters from the collegiate level all the way up to the Broadway.

Reinventing Shakespeare In Chinese And Sinophone Theatres

The Theatre Times: Along with a number of Japanese and Western canonical poets and writers, Shakespeare and his works have played a significant role in the development of Chinese and Sinophone theatres in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Hundreds of works have emerged in Mandarin and a wide range of Chinese dialects, performing styles, and genres. The encounters between ‘Shakespeare’ and genres and values represented by the icon of ‘China’ have enriched Chinese-language theatrical traditions as well as global Shakespearean performance history. In the following article, I shall focus on the challenges and changes to Chinese-language theatres.

The Triangle at the Heart of 'My Fair Lady'

Theatre Development Fund – TDF: Pompous phonetics professor Henry Higgins and his Cockney flower girl protégé Eliza Doolittle may have a will-they-or-won't-they relationship in My Fair Lady, but his pal Colonel Pickering is really his soul mate. Their bromance in on enchanting display in Bartlett Sher's Lincoln Center Theater revival of Lerner and Loewe's classic musical, based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion.

Can ‘Phantom’ Sequel ‘Love Never Dies’ Live Again on Broadway?

Variety: Like the Phantom of the Opera — and “The Phantom of the Opera” — “Love Never Dies” isn’t dead yet.

The musical, mega-composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to his record-breaking smash “Phantom of the Opera,” is showing signs of life on the road in the U.S., where the title is turning heads at the box office after a dispiritingly brief premiere engagement on the West End eight years ago.

Thou Art Translated! How Shakespeare Went Viral

The Theatre Times: In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, when Peter Quince sees Bottom turned into an ass-headed figure, he cries in horror: “Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee. Thou art translated!”

Other characters in the play use the verb in similar ways to refer to a broad range of altered states. Helena hopes to be “translated” into Hermia, her childhood friend and rival, while a love potion transforms characters that come in contact with it.

Hollywood Lawyers Play Critical Role in Sexual Harassment Scandals

Variety: No earthquake could have shaken Hollywood as intensely as the story that ran last October in the New York Times detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein (whose pop-art statue, above, was placed on Hollywood Blvd. by street artists), with multiple women coming forward. The revelations set off a domino effect that took down a string of prominent men — including Louis C.K., Charlie Rose and Kevin Spacey — and that continues to this day.

Performance Rights 101: Royalties, PROs, Writers, Publishers & More

theproaudiofiles.com: If you’ve done a little research on music royalties, you may have come across the concept of “performance rights”. A songwriter has the right to be paid when their music is performed publicly. But where do these royalties come from? How does a single play on radio or television end up in a songwriter’s pocket? And what qualifies as a “performance”, exactly? This article will examine different aspects of performance rights and how royalties are distributed.

Committee Passes Music Modernization Act, Would Close ‘Pre-1972 Loophole'

Pollstar: A new bipartisan bill introduced April 10 in the House of representatives would create a new collection entity and close the “Pre-1972 Loophole” so digital services pay legacy artists fair market compensation. The bill was introduced April 10 as the Music Modernization Act by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) , one week before the Recording Academy’s annual “Grammys on the Hill Awards and Advocacy Day.” The next day, the House Judiciary Committee paved the way for the bill to become law.

What Proposed EU 2020 Lighting Regulations Really Mean

Live Events: The UK’s Association of Lighting Designers (ALD), as part of its Save Stage Lighting Campaign that is warning of the devastating effects the proposed EU 2020 Lighting regulations would have on production lighting, has today released a clear, concise guide to those regulations.

Masterfully Crafted Sound Within A Quiet Place

Below the Line: We live in a society where sound is omnipresent. A Quiet Place takes us back to the root of solitude but simultaneously experiments with the versatility of sound sonically and atmospherically within the dynamic spectrum.

Review: Cirque du Soleil's Luzia

DC Theatre Scene: In the darkness, a disembodied voice tells us we are embarking on a journey and instructs us to ready ourselves for take off and to put our cell phones to airplane mode. Then so many thousands of miles up, it is announced we are to be jettisoned out of the aircraft. A goofy lovable Everyman, the Dutch clown Eric Fool Koller, suddenly sky dives, madly backstroking, Superman planing, and pulling on his parachute strings, all to no avail. Finally, he pulls out a parasol that mysteriously breaks his fall, and he floats down to an imaginary landscape – a bright field of marigolds, as far as the eye can see. Through our Fool, we discover a waking dream of Mexico, a world as magical as any in Alice in Wonderland.

The Simple Equation Every Manager Needs To Build (Or Repair) Trust

www.fastcompany.com: Anne Raimondi was stumped. Two people she managed weren’t getting along, and it was really impacting progress. In her private conversations with each of them, they had the same goals and wanted the same things. But in the room together, they’d disagree on everything. They’d quibble over the smallest things, avoid spending time together, and jump to assuming the worst about each other, even though they were ultimately on the same team.

Building Accessibility with New Tools

AMT Lab @ CMU: This previous article established the many different kinds of learning disabilities that impact how patrons interact with art organizations. An arts organization needs to consider dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, auditory processing disorder, visual processing disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism when creating accessible experiences. The first step is to find people from these different communities to serve as consultants in developing the technology. The next step is to build methodically by researching the disability and then building and iterating the experience. An organization doesn’t need to have a solution for every community at once, so make a plan for every exhibition or art event. Once arts organizations start to use technologies to accommodate learning disabilities, the arts will become more welcoming and accessible to a variety of audiences.

Spotlight – Harrison Ellenshaw

Cinefex Blog: With some people, it’s hard to describe their career in brief. That’s certainly true of Harrison Ellenshaw. By turns, he’s worked as a director, visual effects supervisor, associate producer, matte artist, second unit director, title designer, supervisor of film restoration and preservation … the list goes on. As for his screen credit highlights, where to begin? If we just listed Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Tron, Ghost and Dick Tracy, we’d be skipping over The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Black Hole, Honey I Blew Up the Kid and many more.

Fire and the Fuhrer – a review of ‘A Bright Room Called Day”

'Burgh Vivant: Its fear and misery in the Third Reich when a group of friends witness the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Adolf Hitler in Tony Kushner’s “A Bright Room Called Day.”

When contentious factions of a political party split, evil rises (we’re not talking about Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and the ascension of Donald Trump, but we could be). In the 1930s, as social democrats and communists in Germany refuse to work together, Adolf Hitler climbs to the top of the dog pile. For actress Agnes Eggling (Sarah Pidgeon) and her contemporaries the escalation of his power seems swift over a two year period.

Sexuality in India’s Proscenium Theatre

HowlRound Theatre Commons: Theatre has yet to be culturally inculcated as an everyday art form in India—and especially in the capital, Delhi—the way painting, music, or dance is. It is often an elite affair. What is presented onstage is chosen for the particular audience and limited to their tehzeeb (morality). Classics get repeated as safe grounds for performance, and plays with real issues of provincial and queer nature get filtered out. Even so, interestingly, the metropolis lights up with shows and theatre festivals in the evenings.

Installations and artworks headlining Coachella 2018

www.dezeen.com: While music acts like Beyoncé entertain throngs at this year's Coachella festival, visitors are also treated to large-scale sculptures and installations across the California desert site.

Media Advisory: Carnegie Mellon Celebrates Spring Carnival

www.cmu.edu/news: Carnegie Mellon University's annual Spring Carnival and Reunion Weekend is set for April 19-21. This year's carnival will feature over 125 events, including amusement rides, buggy races and theater performances. Many events are free and open to the public, and a full schedule is available online. Follow the weekend on social media with #CMUcarnival.

Florida Rep’s Artistic Director Fired After Allegations of Bullying

AMERICAN THEATRE: For most theatre staffers, a promotion is a time for celebration. For Jason Parrish, who was told last Tuesday that he was getting promoted from associate director of Florida Repertory Theatre to interim artistic director, the news came with some complicated feelings.

“It is the strangest feeling to all of a sudden have that title and to be congratulated under the circumstances,” he remarked wryly. The circumstances: He was given the title after longtime producing artistic director of Florida Rep, Robert Cacioppo, was fired on Thursday, April 5.

Tim Lucas Talks Behind-the-Scenes With THE LION KING Puppets

www.broadwayworld.com: Based on the classic 1994 Disney animated film, "The Lion King" has been a hit around the world since its Broadway debut in 1997; it is now the third longest-running Broadway show in New York City. Played in over 100 cities in 19 countries, "The Lion King" ventures into its first international tour, which opened in Manila, Philippines, last month, with the tour's next stops to Singapore (June 2018), South Korea (November 2018), Taiwan, South Africa, and more countries to be announced.

No More Hotel Auditions, Says Union Representing Actors

The Two-Way : NPR: SAG-AFTRA is calling for an end to auditions in private hotel rooms or residences, after a spate of sexual harassment allegations against powerful Hollywood figures. "We are committed to addressing the scenario that has allowed predators to exploit performers behind closed doors under the guise of a professional meeting," the union's president, Gabrielle Carteris, said in a statement.

Gender Parity in Canadian Theatre

HowlRound Theatre Commons: Rebecca Burton is the Membership and Professional Contracts Manager and one of the founders of the Equity in Theatre (EIT) initiative at the Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC). I was the founding co-chair of the International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP) 50/50 Applause Award and I am based in the United States. Together, Rebecca and I have been collaborating towards gender parity for women playwrights across our borders since 2012.

Here's How Steven Spielberg and ILM Recreated That Movie for Ready Player One

io9.gizmodo.com: Whether you loved or hated Ready Player One, odds are you were still amazed by the second challenge—yes, that scene—even if it’s just wondering how the hell director Steven Spielberg pulled off something so impossible. Now we know.