How to Make Time to Work on Creative Projects

offspring.lifehacker.com: In 2017, I was making my living speaking and writing about productivity when my editor asked if I’d like to write a book that—like The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The One Minute Manager—teaches a business lessons through stories. There was just one issue. When was I going to find the time between work and caring for my four young children?

AutoCAD Tutorial: Search & Group Layers – Hot to Find and Organize Your Layers Quickly - 2 Minute Tuesday

CAD Intentions: Today I wanted to share the third instalment in the series and I’m really excited about this one, in the Article I explain and walk through how to quickly find any specific layer you might be looking for in your drawing using the Layer search option along with a few tricks to help make it easier for you. This trick can save you a ton of time, especially if you’re someone who has a tendency to have large drawings with a lot of layers, or you frequently get drawings from clients and are not familiar with their layer naming conventions.

The Revolution is Here and Now

HowlRound Theatre Commons: We’re at a critical point in the history of Roma movements in Europe. Day after day, we receive news of pogroms, killings, shootings, beatings, family separations, school segregations, rapes, and homophobic violence against our people all across the continent. The response from some Roma artists and writers is anger.

Hitting The Road: Touring Etiquette For The Uninitiated

ProSoundWeb: Going on a large-scale tour for the first time is a daunting experience. Thrown together in close quarters with a bunch of people you’ve never met before, the days are long, you’re away from home, and you’re never in one place for long before it’s time to load out and move on. On top of that there’s a whole touring etiquette that you may never have encountered before – ways of behavior that are instinctual to long-time roadies but which offer many potential pitfalls for the uninitiated.

Writers Guild Blasts Talent Agencies Over Packaging Fees

Variety: A Writers Guild of America negotiator has blasted Hollywood agencies over how they have characterized what would happen if packaging fees are eliminated. David Shore, co-chair of the guild’s negotiating committee, said in a message Thursday to WGA members that he strongly disagreed with the agents’ contention that eliminating packaging fees won’t result in more money going to writers, and that it will just go back to the studio.

Arts Sector Contributed $763.6 Billion to U.S. Economy—More Than Agriculture or Transportation

Artsy: The arts and cultural sector contributed over $763.6 billion to the American economy in 2015—more than the agriculture, transportation, or warehousing sectors, according to new U.S. government data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

"Mary, Queen Of Scots" Is Newly Relevant In The Age Of #MeToo

The Theatre Times: The dramatic life of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots is a hot topic in popular culture. Josie Rourke’s 2018 film Mary Queen of Scots has reached wide audiences, while the Sydney Theatre Company play Mary Stuart is playing to packed houses. What fuels this interest in a queen who died over 400 years ago? As the differing treatments of her life in the film and play demonstrate, Mary Stuart is a figure open to opposing interpretations of what it means to be a powerful woman. They explore deeply held cultural anxieties over what might happen if a woman holds the role of head of state, which resonate today.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Faces New Litigation After Regional Shut Downs

www.broadwayworld.com: BroadwayWorld previously reported cancellations of a number of productions of the Christopher Sergel stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, licensed by Dramatic Publishing, in the UK, Dayton OH, and Buffalo, amongst others across the US. According to the New York Times, president of Dramatic Publishing Company Christopher Sergel III, who also happens to be the grandson of the original adaptation's author, says he will be suing for damages.

Should We Be Having Auditions Specifically for Dancers of Color?

Dance Magazine: Since they were first offered in 2016, the International Association of Blacks in Dance's ballet auditions for dancers of color have sparked much debate within the dance community. Some believe these auditions create valuable opportunities for dancers of color while others disagree, even going so far as calling them slightly racist.

7 of the Best Sketchbooks That Beginners and Professionals Love

mymodernmet.com: A sketchbook is the ultimate artist’s companion. Like a close friend, you’ll spend a lot of time with it and tell it your inner thoughts (through drawing, painting, and writing). Many artists will regularly fill their pads with a bevy of drawings. Some are so polished that their books feel like mobile art galleries. But, gorgeous spreads aren’t the point of keeping a sketchbook. These books are private places to record your doodles, ideations, and observations without the pressure of sharing them with the world.

From Cultural Appropriation to Self-Representation

HowlRound Theatre Commons: In artistic and literary discourses, Romani people are so often negatively represented. Our stories are frequently appropriated by non-Roma people, and many times the characters presented are stereotypical, falling into the archetype of villains who, by the end of the story, are severely punished. To counteract this narrative, over the last few years my collective Giuvlipen and I have been generating a repertoire of plays that focus on our Roma identity, each one displaying a different worldview of Romani people living in Romania.

High School Musicals: What Are the Top Shows for Schools?

www.broadwayworld.com: From Broadway superstars to Broadway super fans; Tony winners to Tony viewers- most lovers of the arts can trace their passion back to humble origins- their high school theatre programs. According to the 2018 EDTA High School Play survey, over 26,000 US high schools have a theatre program, which means that hundreds of thousands of teenagers are bit by the theatre bug every year.

Event Safety Alliance Summit 2018

Performing Arts Readiness: This year’s event, “Designing for Safety: Planning, Creativity, and the Art of Problem Solving,” explored intentional design and safety/operational plans, training, event structures, and careers. This year’s summit was a comprehensive and inclusive survey of all aspects of event emergency preparedness, comprised of over 20 presentations by the very best folks in the industry.

SDS Plus vs SDS Max - Understanding Concrete Drilling & Chipping Tools

homefixated.com: Remember back when there was just “USB”? Now there’s USB-A, USB-B, USB-C, USB-2, Mini-USB, Micro-USB (not to be confused with Mini-USB), and of course, USB-3. Simple, right?! Thankfully, the world of concrete drilling, chipping and demolition is a bit simpler. Simpler, but still with enough variations to confuse most people that don’t deal with concrete everyday. In this article, we’ll dive into the differences of SDS Plus vs SDS Max, two of the more common standards of concrete drilling and chipping tools. In the process, we’ll also get into the tools that drive these bits, and when you might want to reach for SDS Plus vs SDS Max, and vice-versa.

Review Roundup: Did the Critics More Than Survive at BE MORE CHILL?

www.broadwayworld.com: What if popularity came in a pill? Would you take it, no questions asked? In Be More Chill, achieving that elusive "perfect life" is now possible thanks to some mysterious new technology-but it comes at a cost that's not as easy to swallow. What could possibly go wrong? Blending the contemporary with retro sci-fi, this thrillingly exciting, comically subversive, and deeply felt new musical takes on the competing voices in all of our heads. And ultimately proves, there's never been a better time in history to be yourself-especially if you're a loser...geek...or whatever.

A game of confidence - a review of “The Roommate”

'Burgh Vivant: Sharon (Tamara Tunie) invites Robyn (Laurie Klatscher) to move into her rambling, renovated farm house in Iowa City, Iowa. The two total strangers have to navigate life together on faith – armed with very little information about each other’s lives in Jen Silverman’s “The Roommate.”

Should you listen to music while doing intellectual work? It depends on the music, the task, and your personality

Big Think: Given how many of us listen to music while studying or doing other cerebral work, you'd think psychology would have a set of clear answers as to whether the practice is likely to help or hinder performance. In fact, the research literature is rather a mess (not that that has deterred some enterprising individuals from making bold claims).

The Complete Guide to Choosing a MIDI Controller

Pro Audio Files: MIDI controllers have been around since the protocol was developed by Dave Smith and Ikutaru Kakehashi in the early 80’s (source). The connections were made via DIN-style connectors with IN, OUT and THRU connections being typical. The THRU output allows messages received via MIDI IN to be sent through unchanged so that multiple devices can be daisy-chained.

“Mumburger” at off the WALL productions and “The Double Threat Trio” at Pittsburgh CLO

The Pittsburgh Tatler: The tagline in the publicity for Sarah Kosar’s new play Mumburger reads “a surreal play about grief, parenting, and alternative meat.” You’d be forgiven for hoping – as I’ll confess I was – that the play’s title is a feint and that it has some bait-and-switch up its sleeve that doesn’t involve cannibalism. The title, however, doesn’t lie: ground “mom” meat is indeed on the menu.

Learn the Basics of Charcoal Drawing and Its Most Popular Technique

mymodernmet.com: You’ve got a lot of choices for tools when it comes to drawing. Pencils are the most popular, simply because they are so ubiquitous. But the more you get into drawing, the more you’ll want to experiment with media to figure out what you like using the best. Charcoal, for instance, is a popular tool for artists—especially those that like to sketch and do it fast.

Wings of Hope – a review of “In the Time of Butterflies”

'Burgh Vivant: The four Mirabal sisters wrestle with life in the midst of the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in a fictionalized account of true events in Caridad Svich’s adaptation of Julia Alvarez’s book, “In the Time of the Butterflies.”

Dining on a Broadway Stage - Foodwork Offers Unique Views of “Network” Starring Bryan Cranston

Theme Park University: There is something surreal about eating steak while sitting three feet away from Bryan Cranston giving a gut-wrenching monologue on a Broadway stage. Yet, that’s the experience I had recently as a part of Foodwork, a unique dining experience on the stage of the Belasco Theater during Network starring Bryan Cranston.

Artists Temporarily Drop ‘Fortnite’ Lawsuits For Copyright Snag

Variety: With a recent US Supreme Court ruling that plaintiffs suing for copyright infringement must have their work registered with the US Copyright Office, several artists have put their lawsuits against Epic Games “Fortnite” dances on hold, according to a report from Law360 via law firm Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hect.

The 5 Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared For In 2019

collegecandy.com: It’s that time of the year again. Whether you’re ready to graduate and start your career or are preparing for a new summer job, interviews are right around the corner. The interview process can be nerve-wracking, but the more prepared you are, the more confident you will be.

Richard Burbage: Shakespeare's leading man and the reason Hamlet was fat

theconversation.com: It’s 400 years since the death of Richard Burbage, the first person to play the roles of Hamlet, Lear, Othello and Macbeth in the original version of the Globe in London. As far as Shakespeare was concerned, Burbage was both a blessing and a curse. He was a good actor, and he seems to have been a particular draw for female audience members – an anecdote by the contemporary diarist John Manningham tells of a citizen’s wife who was so smitten after seeing Burbage play Richard III that she sent a note backstage to make an assignation, only for it to be intercepted by Shakespeare, who went off to the rendezvous himself with the remark that “William the Conqueror was before Richard the Third”.

Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2019 Concludes with Record Numbers

LightSoundJournal.com: As the curtain fell on Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2019 (PLSG), show organisers announced a new record of 1,353 exhibitors who flocked to the annual event from 25 countries and regions, along with 81,154 professional visitors (7% up)from the entire professional lighting, audio, event management, stage design, system integration and AV technology industry chain. Combined with an overall exhibition area of over 130,000 sqm, this marks the largest ever edition of PLSG to date.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

Sleeping in on the weekend can’t make up for lost sleep

Science News: If the weekend is your time to catch up on sleep, you may want to rethink your strategy.

In young adults, using the weekend to make up for lost sleep during the workweek can lead to increased late-night munchies, weight gain and a lowered responsiveness to insulin, researchers report February 28 in Current Biology.

Posted by David at 3/05/2019 10:51:00 AM

CMU Lunar Gala shows off glowing fashion

The Pitt News: After completing their initial walk, models for Carnegie Mellon University’s annual Lunar Gala fashion event waited as the stage became dark, revealing the glow-in-the-dark paint on their garments that highlighted new embellishes on their clothing.

Posted by David at 3/08/2019 11:12:00 AM

It's Been Years Since Works Entered The Public Domain, But The Wait Is Over

90.5 WESA: Thousands of films, novels and songs entered the public domain at the start of the new year. It’s the first time in decades that titles like Charlie Chaplin’s silent movie “The Pilgrim” and Virginia Woolf’s “Jacob’s Room,” were made available for anyone to reproduce or use for their own creative purposes.

Posted by David at 3/07/2019 12:53:00 PM

Production Notes: Coconut Effect

Nevada Film Office: The “coconut effect” is a term used to describe sound effects, special effects or design elements that are unrealistic but need to be included because its absence would be noticeable to viewers.

The coconut effect is named after the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which two coconut halves were used to generate the sound effect of horse hooves clopping by banging the two halves together. The production lacked the budget to afford real horses so knights pretended to ride invisible horses while coconuts were used to complement the visual action.

Posted by David at 3/05/2019 10:54:00 AM

Tech Table: We Need A New Design

TheatreArtLife: Amidst all the automated lighting fixtures, automated scenery, and every conceivable high-tech toy now available to a modern theatrical production, the lowly tech table has lagged behind in terms of thought, consideration, and design.

As a theatrical lighting designer, I work at a tech table all day, 15 hours a day, six days a week, for at least one to two weeks. Without a doubt, my aching back, shoulders, and neck need help.

Posted by David at 3/04/2019 10:58:00 AM

David Korins Set Design for 2019 Oscars

www.livedesignonline.com: “I was in tech for Beetlejuice, on my dinner break when I got a phone call from Glenn Weiss, who I know from the Tony Awards,” recalls creative director and designer David Korins, who designed the 91st Academy Awards, broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, February 24, 2019. “I swallowed the piece of sushi I was eating, and said ‘yes.’ There are only five or six jobs that are such great opportunities, and you really want to do them,” notes the designer.

Professional Wireless Tackles Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: Orlando, Florida-based Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) recently handled all wireless microphone and IEM systems management for pre-game, half-time entertainment and post-game -- along with the wireless microphone utilized by the referee -- during Super Bowl LIII held in the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the 22nd year that ATK Audiotek has tapped PWS to provide wireless support for the Super Bowl.

ESTA's Control Protocols Satisfaction Survey -- Help Define Control Systems Interoperability

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) Technical Standards Program (TSP) announces a Control Protocols Satisfaction Survey project to gather public input from end users about their usage of control protocols in the entertainment industry.

CMU Lunar Gala shows off glowing fashion

The Pitt News: After completing their initial walk, models for Carnegie Mellon University’s annual Lunar Gala fashion event waited as the stage became dark, revealing the glow-in-the-dark paint on their garments that highlighted new embellishes on their clothing.

From a 'Tempest' to Iowa: Tamara Tunie and Laurie Klatscher star in City Theatre's 'The Roommate'

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: When Reginald L. Douglas read the script for “The Roommate,” he saw in a flash the opportunity to work with stage and screen star Tamara Tunie that he had been seeking.

Power Tool Manufacturers and Who Really Owns Them

PTR: Every wonder who owns Craftsman tools? How about Milwaukee, Mac Tools, or Skilsaw? It may surprise you to know that only a handful of companies own your favorite power tool manufacturers. That’s right, most tool brands fall under a parent company which also controls additional brands. We break it down for you…with charts!

LED FAQs (Part 1): What is LED binning?

et cetera...: What is LED binning and why is it so important? Before we get to that, a basic understanding of how an LED is made will illuminate why binning is a critical part of the manufacturing process.

An LED is a “Light Emitting Diode.”

Femme Directors Gain Their Voice in Mexico and Beyond

Variety: Mexico’s famed “Tres Amigos” have made a name for themselves in Hollywood and beyond, directing their way to a bevy of Oscars. Less well known: the emerging wave of female auteurs from Mexico.

Creating Opportunities For "Inclusive Dance" With Stopgap Dance Company

The Theatre Times: Stopgap’s debut Japan tour with its international hit, The Enormous Room, illustrates how dance can be open to all. Dave Toole, its male lead, has no legs, and Hannah Sampson, the female lead, has Down syndrome.

The company’s acclaimed productions, such as this—which drew rapturous applause in Yokohama ahead of upcoming shows in Tokyo and Kitakyushu—are made possible because of their innovative concept of “inclusive dance.”

An exclusive sneak peek at 'Hamilton: The Exhibition' coming to Chicago

Chicago Tribune: Inside a nondescript building not far from the Atlanta airport, David Korins, the set designer of “Hamilton,” the creative director of “Hamilton: The Exhibition” and a man just finished with designing the look of the Academy Awards, has a mantra for everything that he is doing for Chicago.

“History is not inevitable.”

The Rock Boat XIX: Day Five of Five - Somewhere in a Song

It is Alive in the Lab: The Rock Boat is a floating music festival. Bands play concerts as the ship travels to its destinations. This year, our cruise went to Key West and Nassau, The Bahamas. Believe it or not, the destinations do not matter. The trip is all about what happens aboard.

For the past four Fridays, I blogged about days one, two, three, and four. Since today is Friday, I'll end this series by blogging about the last day.

Weta Digital’s Remarkable Face Pipeline : Alita Battle Angel

Weta Digital’s Remarkable Face Pipeline : Alita Battle Angel | was adapted from Yukito Kishiro’s manga series Gunnm and was directed by Robert Rodriguez. James Cameron had been slated to make the film himself, but after many years of the project not commencing principle production, Cameron handed the Alita reins, along with 600 pages of notes and access to team of artists and technicians, to Rodriguez, according to the LA Times. Rodriguez shot the film in 57 days combining performance capture with live-action filming on set.

Film sparks calls to close Michael Jackson show on Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas Review-Journal: The explosive, unsettling HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland” has forged a re-examination of Michael Jackson’s legacy and initiated calls for the Cirque du Soliel production “Michael Jackson...We hope you’re enjoying our content. Subscribe today to continue reading this story, and all of our stories, for just 99 cents.

2019 August Wilson Monologue top spots go to Pittsburgh CAPA students

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Eleven high school students from five different schools shared the stage at the Bill Nunn Black Box Theatre on March 4 in the finals of Pittsburgh’s 11th annual August Wilson Monologue Competition. One of the 11, nearing the end of a lively, imaginative performance from “Fences” of Troy Maxson’s comic tale about the devil in the form of a loan shark, forgot a line and froze. The other competitors and the audience shouted encouragement.

Audio Engineer Jeanne Wu | Forging a Sound Career Path

www.livedesignonline.com: It’s possible that the words “self-starter” are printed in Jeanne Wu’s DNA. The Masque Sound Installations Coordinator and freelance engineer has worked as a sound designer and FOH engineer for music and theatre; she’s worked in production audio; she’s been an A1 and RF tech for special events, theatrical and corporate productions, concerts, and fashion shows. And, she recently started freelancing as an A2 for Major League Baseball. It’s a pretty broad audio resume for someone who started out as a music teacher.

Maxin10sity Fuses Acrobatics With Projection Mapping

www.livedesignonline.com: Since 2015, when Karlsruhe, Germany celebrated its 300th anniversary with an incredibly successful projection spectacle from Hungary-based Maxin10sity on the facade of Karlsruhe Centre for Art and Media (ZKM), the projection mapping specialist has returned every year with a new and even more stunning show. At the end of 2018, Maxin10sity delivered I’MMORTAL (Immortal / I am mortal), where projection mapping meets the acrobatic arts in a journey across time and space.

It's Been Years Since Works Entered The Public Domain, But The Wait Is Over

90.5 WESA: Thousands of films, novels and songs entered the public domain at the start of the new year. It’s the first time in decades that titles like Charlie Chaplin’s silent movie “The Pilgrim” and Virginia Woolf’s “Jacob’s Room,” were made available for anyone to reproduce or use for their own creative purposes.

12 Times The Critics Were Absolutely Savage (But Not Necessarily Wrong)

Theatre Nerds: As dutiful Theatre Nerds, not even the most cynical among us should root for a Broadway show to fail. I mean, what’s the point? First of all, there’s already enough negativity in this world… And, second of all, the closing of a show puts good people out of work — not to mention all the money that it washes down the drain. Yes, sure — buying a ticket entitles you to an opinion (how loud you decide to scream that opinion is totally up to you). But, frankly, when a show doesn’t work it’s just plain sad.

Using Theatre To Promote Positive Mental Health

The Theatre Times: The link between creative expression and positive mental health has been known for quite some time now, yet there are few projects who put this into actual practice. A project run by Smashing Times–a socially engaged arts organization based in Dublin, Ireland–called Acting for the Future, has been working off this link for almost a decade and a half now and has recently expanded the work to a European level, under the name Theatre for Positive Mental Health.

Hawaiʻi’s Theatre Landscape

HowlRound Theatre Commons: There is a movement happening in the arts scene in Hawaiʻi: artists are indigenizing theatre spaces and breaking the idyllic paradise stereotype others hold of the area. Ancient deities are emerging as murals on city walls; kapa (ornate traditional bark cloths) decorate gallery and hotel ceilings; myths and legends are being retold as sci-fi, Disney’s Moana was translated in Hawaiian language, and contemporary Pacific stories of the Samoan diaspora and Micronesian migration, reflecting Hawaiʻi’s social landscape, are finally being made into theatrical dramas. But even with this cultural movement, Hawaiʻi’s theatre landscape continues to be underrepresented and marginalized.

A tip of the giant hat as 'Beach Blanket Babylon' roasts longtime stage manager for his retirement

Datebook: The last performance of the week had ended, but “Beach Blanket Babylon’s” Club Fugazi in North Beach was starting to get crowded again.

Dozens of former cast, crew and band members filled the theater’s seats on Sunday, March 3, mingling in the back near the bar for what was a reunion of sorts. John Camajani, the campy cabaret show’s stage manager of 40 years, was retiring and his current and former co-workers had shown up in great “BBB” tradition to roast him.

In "Kwongkan," Indian And Australian Performers Convey An Urgent Climate Change Message

The Theatre Times: “Kwongkan” means sand in the language of the Nyoongar people, the first inhabitants of south-west Western Australia. Both Nyoongar and Indian traditional ceremonies, which are recreated in this collaboration between Australia and India, take place on the bare earth. Dancing feet connect with the sacred earth beneath.

But sand also has wider cultural significance. It appears in phrases like “putting your head in the sand”, to imply someone is ignoring the obvious or not thinking. There’s also the “sands of time” and images of sand running through an hourglass, both reminding us that time may be running out.

In Mumburger at off the WALL, the bereaved get hamburgers

Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Cremation is for the forgettable. If you really want to leave a mark after you're gone, have your flesh ground into patties and served as hamburgers to the bereaved.

That's more or less the idea of Mumburger, Sarah Kosar's surreal, genuine, lovely play getting its American premiere at off the WALL's Carnegie Theater this month. A mom dies in a car accident and leaves behind a will stipulating that her body be burger-fied and delivered to her widower, Hugh, and daughter, Tiffany, for consumption.

How I fought procrastination

www.fastcompany.com: My to-do list was hiding all sorts of secrets.

It seemed pretty straightforward: Buy groceries for dinner, achieve inbox zero, figure out that work assignment.

But each one of these tasks came paired with an emotion: anxiety, boredom, fear, excitement.

2019 Oscars Lighting Design | 91st Academy Awards

www.livedesignonline.com: Lighting designers Bob Dickinson and Travis Hagenbuch—both 2018 KOI-USA Award winners—lit the 91st Academy Awards, illuminating sets by David Korins for a glamorous evening. The Oscars were broadcast live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 24, attracting 29.6 million viewers. Live Design chats with the LDs on challenging aspects of this live-for-broadcast celebration of Hollywood.

Bulleit Bourbon Is Bringing 3D-Printed Cocktails National

Thrillist: When you think of 3D printing, you’re probably more inclined to think geeks and gizmos than chic cocktail bars. But, thanks to Bulleit Bourbon, artists and mixologists across the country are joining forces with 3D-printing innovators as part of their newest iteration of Frontier Works -- The Bulleit 3D Printed Frontier. Bulleit’s Frontier Works program highlights “the modern frontier” -- meaning people who are pushing the boundaries in their current craft

How to Be a Good Meeting Facilitator | Remodeling | Business, Leadership

www.remodeling.hw.net: One of the things I do is facilitate peer group meetings for Remodelers Advantage. These meetings are gatherings of around 10 non-competing remodeling contractors from the U.S. and Canada.

This is my 20th year facilitating Remodelers Advantage Roundtable Meetings. Over those years, I've learned a bit about how to run a meeting so that most attendees think it was well run.

A ‘Tradition’ Omission: I Had Never Seen ‘Fiddler’ Until Now

The New York Times: At the relatively late age of 43 — though basically a toddler compared to much of a recent audience for the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene production — I finally saw “Fiddler on the Roof.”

We all have our cultural blind spots. I’ve never seen an episode of “The Simpsons,” either, though I very much have always meant to. Some things just slip by. My failure to see “Fiddler” is only important in that it would be extremely on-brand for me to have seen “Fiddler” 35,000 times — to have “Fiddler” be the only show I’d ever seen.

streaming worship services

Church Production Magazine: In the landscape of current church technology, streaming video has risen to become one of our most powerful tools. Every year, greater efficiencies in encoding, compression, and transport of video streams enable worship content to be viewed with increasing quality across a full spectrum of devices. However, the popularity of streaming hasn’t increased simply because it is a technical marvel, but because it does something very important for both the church and worshippers.

A Directing Roundtable with Arpita Mukherjee, Christa Scott Reed, and Colette Robert

The Interval: Out of the 21 plays currently on Broadway or are upcoming this season, only three (a dismal 14%) are directed by women. However, Off-Broadway, there is a vibrant group of emerging new directors, many of whom are women staging exciting new work. I recently sat down for a roundtable discussion with Colette Robert (director of Behind the Sheet by Charly Evon Simpson at Ensemble Studio Theatre), Arpita Mukherjee (director of Eh Dah? Questions For My Father by Aya Aziz at Next Door at NYTW) and Christa Scott Reed (director of A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt at the Acorn Theatre). The women spoke about their desires to bring diverse stories to the stage; the challenge of balancing directing with their myriad other jobs, including acting, writing, and artistic directing; the importance of building community in the rehearsal room; and more.

Carrying On Our Cultural Responsibility Through Theatre

HowlRound Theatre Commons: My ancestors are grounded in the districts of Puna, Kona, Hilo, and Hāmākua on the island of Hawaiʻi. I come from generations of people who are rooted in this land with stories that are longing to be told and need to be heard. I have often questioned myself in search of my place and responsibility to my family, my ancestors, and to future generations. I believe we all come to a point in our lives where we need to discover what our purpose is in this life. For me, it came by way of hana keaka Hawaiʻi, or Hawaiian theatre.

The Recipe Behind the Scrumptious Set for 'The Cake'

Theatre Development Fund – TDF: Scenic designer John Lee Beatty says he learns something new from every show he works on at Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). For his 71st production with the venerable company, The Cake, he got schooled on the nuts and bolts of baking. "That is the fun thing about being a designer," says the 70-year-old master. "Who knew I'd ever learn so much about cakes?"

All The Sound We Can Not Hear

Transom: There’s a very cool sound in an episode of Here Be Monsters. The episode is called “The Bats that Stay,” and in the story Jeff Emtman, the producer, is on a hike with a couple of friends in Colorado. They’re climbing up to a cave nicknamed the Glory Hole in order to see the Mexican free-tailed bats that live there.

Camille A. Brown & Dancers rewrite the Black narrative with ink

Dance | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: There are no tutus, leotards, or ballet buns in the Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CABD) production of ink. Instead, dancers wear untucked, button-down shirts, cargo shorts, tank tops, and yoga pants, all meant to designate their roles as everyday people on the street. By staying grounded in reality, the new dance theater show at the August Wilson Cultural Center (March 9-10) explores how small interactions and relationships contribute to Black empowerment.

experience t-rex in virtual reality at the american museum of natural history

www.designboom.com: everyone knows the mega-predator, tyrannosaurus rex, but do you know how they lived? or that t. rex hatchlings were fluffy, and more like turkeys than the killing machines they grew up to be? or that they had the rare ability to pulverize and digest bones?

Taking A Bite Out of off the WALL's "Mumburger"

Pittsburgh in the Round: Mumburger is billed as “A surreal new play about grief, parenting and alternative meat.” It certainly fits into the genre of surrealist art, but I’m going to focus on the themes of the play because if processing the play at face value, the themes may be masked by the offbeat characters and bizarre plot Kosar has created.

What the Butler Saw: Joe Orton's savage satire on rape is as relevant now as it was in 1969

theconversation.com: Condemned when it opened in 1969 as “vulgar”, “sordid” and “sick” for its provocative blend of the comic and the macabre, Joe Orton’s irreverent black comedy What the Butler Saw now seems less controversial in all ways except one: its humorous treatment of rape and sexual assault. Following feminist analyses of sexual violence since the 1970s, Orton’s final play has been increasingly condemned as outdated and offensive, even misogynistic.

When Your Dream Job in Dance is Offstage

Dance Magazine: It's fall 2009, and I'm standing in Andy Blankenbuehler's midtown office where he, Lin-Manuel Miranda and others are working on their next show, Bring It On: The Musical. Already it's clear that Miranda/Blankenbuehler collaborations are just daring enough to be groundbreaking. Blankenbuehler hands me a note scribbled on a page from the script.

In that moment, I realize I've found my place in the dance world—as a writer, telling the stories of the artistic greats.

The Emerging Zeitgeist: Indian Theatre of the Moment

The Theatre Times: The nominations for this year’s Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) were formally announced on February 11, after a few days of speculation on the proverbial grapevine. The ten productions in contention for as many as a dozen awards will vie for jury attention at the META festival to be held in March at various locations in the capital, including de rigueur venues like the Kamani and Shri Ram Centre auditoriums. Now in its 14th year, the annual event is both a noteworthy showcase of the best Indian theatre ostensibly has to offer and a contentious barometer for excellence that is never quite easy to assess.

Production Notes: Coconut Effect

Nevada Film Office: The “coconut effect” is a term used to describe sound effects, special effects or design elements that are unrealistic but need to be included because its absence would be noticeable to viewers.

The coconut effect is named after the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which two coconut halves were used to generate the sound effect of horse hooves clopping by banging the two halves together. The production lacked the budget to afford real horses so knights pretended to ride invisible horses while coconuts were used to complement the visual action.

Game of Thrones first look: Inside the brutal battle to make season 8

EW.com: The episode is expected to be the longest consecutive battle sequence ever committed to film, and brings the largest number of GoT major characters together since the show’s debut episode in 2011 (“You can’t have this many actors on set, there are too many egos!” jokes Harington).

“What we have asked the production team and crew to do this year truly has never been done in television or in a movie,” says co-executive producer Bryan Cogman.

Musicologist Celebrates Indigenous Stories Through Sights and Sounds

www.cmu.edu/news: Carnegie Mellon University Assistant Professor of Musicology Alexa Woloshyn is at the beginning of a three-year project looking to understand the history and future of indigenous peoples in the Pittsburgh region.

Her interdisciplinary project, "Decolonized Futures," integrates Indigenous futurist storytelling with decolonization and analyzes settler colonialist narratives. Through various media it also creates interdisciplinary narratives to envision potential decolonized futures. The project is centered in Pittsburgh, which has historically included the Haudenosaunee, Shawnee, Lenape, and Mingo nations.

Hanakeaka

HowlRound Theatre Commons: Language is a critical piece to indexing identity. A person is often known to be from a particular sector of people by his/her language. Hawaiian—ʻŌlelo Kanaka or ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi—is no different. The onset of proselytism in Hawaiʻi aimed to dismante our traditional ways, including our linguistic independance by stripping away our dialectal differences through the establishment of a single orthograhical system.

Sleeping in on the weekend can’t make up for lost sleep

Science News: If the weekend is your time to catch up on sleep, you may want to rethink your strategy.

In young adults, using the weekend to make up for lost sleep during the workweek can lead to increased late-night munchies, weight gain and a lowered responsiveness to insulin, researchers report February 28 in Current Biology.

Scott Rudin Tries To Turn Mess Of Shutting Down Community Theater Shows... Into Publicity Stunt For His Own Show

Techdirt: On Friday, we wrote about the cartoonishly evil decision by producer Scott Rudin, who is producing a big Broadway reboot of To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Aaron Sorkin, to shut down local community theater versions of the earlier play version of the story, written by Christopher Sergel. Apparently, the contract with the Harper Lee estate for a stage adaptation of her book involved some odd clause that said if there was a showing on Broadway of Mockingbird, there couldn't be any stagings near a city.

AAPAC Releases Report Analyzing Ethnic Representation on NYC Stages

www.broadwayworld.com: The Asian American Performers Action Coalition has taken on the task of breaking down ethnic representation in the New York theatre community, analyzing how ethnic groups are making gains and losses on the city's many stages between 2016 and 2017.

Making Cables to a Specific Length

YouTube: What is the best way to get that wire rope cable to be just the right length? Take a look at this simple approach to get it right every time, whether you are making one quick line or matching sets of cables.

CSUF News Center - Lessons From 'The Late Show'

news.fullerton.edu: Tany Michnevich Bracco ’95 (B.A. theatre arts) was working in CSUF’s costume shop when Abel Zeballos, now professor emeritus of theatre and dance, shared that communications students needed help with set building, costumes and special effects for student films.

“We went on to make and produce several shorts that led to working on projects with other schools. Those jobs led to music videos, commercials and films,” explains the executive in charge of production and supervising producer of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

“That one opportunity took me in the direction I wanted.”

Producer relents on ‘Mockingbird’ rights, letting some shows go on

The Seattle Times: Broadway producer Scott Rudin, facing a barrage of criticism over his efforts to shut down productions of “To Kill a Mockingbird” around the United States, on Friday offered an olive branch to the affected theaters, letting them put on a version of the play.

We Need More Nuanced Depictions of Black Women on Stage

Theatre Development Fund – TDF: As a theatre critic, I see wide variety of shows about a multitude of subjects. But as a black woman, I am constantly confronted by the fact that the art form I adore often does not honor the experiences of people who look like me. Of the dozens of shows I've seen over the past six months, I can think of only a handful that had black female characters, and they were all subservient roles.

This Israeli Company Rehearses in An Eco Village—And Brings Its Vision of Sustainability to the U.S.

Dance Magazine: Imagine dancing in a large studio, with windows on two sides, mountains in the distance and flowers right up close. You take a shower outdoors with "grey water" that's been collected from the roof and recycled into the plants. You use compost toilets to avoid using water in the desert and you might even stay overnight in a "mud room."

Shakespeare troupe’s workshop for homeless brings hopes, fears to center stage

Datebook: At first they sat with arms crossed, wondering what this bunch of highfalutin actors had in mind.

They want us to listen to Shakespeare, eh? Us homeless people?

The free sandwiches on a table were the most powerful draw in the room at the beginning. But then the actors from the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival started to lay out what they had in mind. And the nine homeless people who came to this workshop on a Tuesday afternoon, the first of its kind in the Bay Area — and possibly the nation — suddenly started to sit up higher in their seats.

CYC Buyer's Guide

et cetera...: We here at ETC get a lot of questions about which cyc light to choose. (They’re all so great and honestly, it’s like asking to pick our favorite child!) We’ve found that it’s not a simple question to answer because there are a number of factors that play into the decision. It’s about your hanging infrastructure, your color needs, what you are trying to light, and of course, budget.

Evolving From Rosco Gels To Multi-Color LEDs – It’s Automatic With DMG Lumière MIX™

Rosco Spectrum: Eduardo Ramirez-Gonzalez is a Colombian Cinematographer based in the USA who has shot a myriad of feature films, short films, commercials and music videos. Throughout the course of his professional journey, Eduardo has used Rosco Color Filters in his projects: “I love Rosco gels. I grew up as a Director of Photography working and learning from Rosco. I studied Cinematography at Prague Film School in the Czech Republic, and in Europe we worked a lot with Rosco gels. It has always been my top choice for colour.”

#CancelMichaelJackson? — It’s Not That Easy

New Pittsburgh Courier: After a riveting documentary that revisited some of the alleged crimes by R&B superstar R. Kelly – even before his high-profile arrest on child pornography and other sex-related acts – a major social media movement got underway to #MuteRKelly and #CancelRKelly.

Now, a possibly equally explosive documentary about the late Michael Jackson has led some to wonder if it’s time to “#Mute” or “#Cancel” the late King of Pop.

Highlights of the 2019 International Builders' Show

Home Fixated: Roving reporter Michael Springer here with coverage of the 2019 International Builders’ Show (IBS), held in snowy Las Vegas, Nevada. The weather was unusual, but it was still warmer than where many of us were visiting from so no biggie. The 2019 IBS marks the 75th anniversary of this trade show, and this year the show featured more than 1,500 exhibitors sprawled out over 600,000 square feet. Now combined with the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS), every hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center was filled, and the attendee count broke the 100,000 people mark. I wandered as much of the acreage as I could (including the outdoor exhibits), and I encountered cool tools and gear, building materials and fasteners, and everything else that goes into a house.

The Big Fake Wedding Offers Everything But the “I Dos”

Beyond the Cookie Table - March 2019: The traditional bridal show can feel overwhelming; often held in large venues where prospective brides and grooms pass through row upon row of vendors. It can get stressful, especially if you’re planning a huge event, to take in all the possible things you’ll need to add to your wedding checklist.

Review: FUDDY MEERS, The Theatre Factory

'Burgh Vivant: Monday mornings are bad enough. When the harsh, unsympathetic blast of the digital alarm clock pierces your ears at 5am, imagine having your life and identity explained to you by a stranger who introduces himself as your husband, just as he’s done every morning prior, because a traumatic incident has left you with a case of amnesia that erases your memory each time you fall asleep. You may sensibly opt for the snooze button, though any such thoughts of reprieve are dashed when a manic man in a mask appears, tells you that you’re in great danger, and steals you away in his vehicle to destinations yet unknown.

Romp and Circumstance in Theatre Factory's "Fuddy Meers"

Pittsburgh in the Round: Imagine living the first day of the rest of your life every damn day.

Imagine meeting your plucky yet exhausted husband and your unwieldy, pot-loving son anew every damn day, only to have all the interactions and ephemeral memories demolished in your sleep.

Then imagine all of this plus interstate abduction, secret identities, a geriatric stroke-survivor swinging a knife, and a perverted therapy puppet.

Tech Table: We Need A New Design

TheatreArtLife: Amidst all the automated lighting fixtures, automated scenery, and every conceivable high-tech toy now available to a modern theatrical production, the lowly tech table has lagged behind in terms of thought, consideration, and design.

As a theatrical lighting designer, I work at a tech table all day, 15 hours a day, six days a week, for at least one to two weeks. Without a doubt, my aching back, shoulders, and neck need help.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

5 Effective Ways To Handle Anxiety While In School

collegecandy.com: Anxiety has become very common among students nowadays. All the pressure that school comes and the demands of life have taken a toll plus with added things that students these days have to deal with like the forces of social media, the new educational expectations by the country it all has become too much. Anxiety is the top presenting mental illness on students, especially college students. It can be challenging to handle all, here are 5 useful tips on how to manage anxiety while in school. Remember it does get better.

Posted by David at 3/01/2019 11:59:00 AM

Architecture Student Has Designs for Fashion

www.cmu.edu/news: Zain Islam-Hashmi has created his niche as an architect of fashion, who creates clothing and wardrobe ensembles with materials like resin, cement and plexiglass.

Islam-Hashmi, head designer for Carnegie Mellon University's annual Lunar Gala fashion show, graduates this spring with a bachelor's degree in architecture and minors in intelligent environments and digital fabrication. He has taken advantage of opportunities at CMU and around the world and has shaped them into something unique.

Posted by David at 3/01/2019 12:09:00 PM

Why Banksy is finally going to court to stop merchandising

www.fastcompany.com: Copyright is for losers–or so Banksy once claimed. But the days of the mysterious artist’s dislike for intellectual property now appear to be long gone, as he has recently won a case of unauthorized merchandising in Italy.

The unauthorized copying of Banksy works is widespread–a stroll through London’s popular markets in Camden and Brick Lane and a quick search online proves that. His work has been printed and reproduced on everything from mugs to mouse mats.

Posted by David at 3/01/2019 11:58:00 AM

Billy Porter speaks on social media hate his Oscars gown received

www.usatoday.com: Billy Porter, speaking to Vogue before he walked the Oscars red carpet, knew what he was in for among some social media users:

"People are going to be really uncomfortable with my black (expletive) ass in a ball gown, but it's not anybody's business but mine."

The remark from the Tony-winning stage performer, actor and singer was both prescient and disproven. There was mega-praise for his velvet custom tuxedo look by Christian Siriano and outrage over the notion that an African American man in a dress was a threat to black masculinity.

Posted by David at 2/27/2019 12:51:00 PM

Why We're Bad at Estimating Time (and What to Do About It)

zapier.com/blog: Over the last three years, I've painted five rooms in my house. The first room I painted was my bedroom, and I was convinced that I'd have the task finished in a weekend.

A month later, I applied the finishing touches.

So naturally, when it was time to paint the second room, I estimated that the task would take a month, right?

Wrong.

Posted by David at 2/26/2019 04:58:00 PM

Creating The Old Mill, Carnegie Mellon's Student Built Dark Ride

Coaster101: While attending SITE OSU last month, we connected with students in themed entertainment from all over the country and learned about the incredible projects they’re working on. Maybe the most ambitious project we heard about was The Old Mill. Led by Roly Garcia, the students of Carnegie Mellon University are building a working dark ride (yes, you read that right) inspired by the beloved former attraction at nearby Kennywood park.

Sound on Stage: Five Innovative Sound System Installs

www.livedesignonline.com: Summer may be months away, but there’s plenty of fun to be had inside, as new sound systems elevate entertainment venues from London to Los Angeles. Check out a few of our current favorites.

What To Do Before You Mix

Church Production Magazine: Getting to the point where you're truly happy with an audio mix can be quite a process. Over the years, a strategy has helped this well-known sound engineer delete unknown variables prior to mixing, and provide a great platform to build a truly consistent mix.

New Study Examines How Tiny Gas Pockets Affect 3D Printing

www.cmu.edu/news: Additive manufacturing's promise to revolutionize industry is constrained by a widespread problem: tiny gas pockets in the final product, which can lead to cracks and other failures.

New research published in Science, led by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Argonne National Laboratory, has identified how and when these gas pockets form, as well as a methodology to predict their formation — a pivotal discovery that could dramatically improve the 3D printing process.

Architecture Student Has Designs for Fashion

www.cmu.edu/news: Zain Islam-Hashmi has created his niche as an architect of fashion, who creates clothing and wardrobe ensembles with materials like resin, cement and plexiglass.

Islam-Hashmi, head designer for Carnegie Mellon University's annual Lunar Gala fashion show, graduates this spring with a bachelor's degree in architecture and minors in intelligent environments and digital fabrication. He has taken advantage of opportunities at CMU and around the world and has shaped them into something unique.

ASCAP, BMI Issue Joint Statement on Reforming Consent Decree

Variety: With the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) evaluating the future of the BMI and ASCAP consent decrees, there has been much discussion and concern throughout the industry about the potential long-term impact. This is not surprising, since modifying or sunsetting the decrees would have far-reaching implications for the entire music business. Given that BMI and ASCAP are at the core of this issue, we feel it is important to share our perspective on how potential changes to our decrees could benefit all involved – if done right.

Why Companies Are Opting to Share Programs

Dance Magazine: In what seems to be a growing trend, regional companies are coming together to share stages and expand their audiences. These team-ups often go beyond split bills, with companies swapping choreographers and performing at least one joint work. While the logistics of co-presentations can be complicated—with more dancers to schedule, budgets to balance and creative visions to blend—the benefits can range from bigger box-office returns to lasting relationships for the artists.

The Mascot Hall of Fame -- From Big Idea to Opening Day in 6 Months

ExhibiTricks: The Museum Exhibit Design Blog: Jacqueline Johnson leads client projects at Chicago Scenic Studios and has more than a decade of experience in the museum field — including positions at Chicago’s Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the Blanton Museum of Art. Jacqueline was kind enough to offer this guest post about the recently opened Mascot Hall of Fame.

Grant Spotlight: At the Intersection of Theater and Trauma with Everett: Company, Stage and School

NEA: According to Aaron Jungels, co-artistic director of Everett: Company, Stage and School, a 1996 study showed that more than two-thirds of the population has experienced an adverse childhood experience, with 20 percent having experienced three or more of these traumatic events. For many young people, those incidents result in post-traumatic stress. Everett, which has served the Providence, Rhode Island community for more than 30 years by providing free access to performing arts training, received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in the latest round of funding to support the creation and production of Good Grief, a multidisciplinary theater piece created to help participating artists and audiences heal from PTSD.

Behind the scenes of “Alegría”

www.cirquefascination.com: In August, Cirque du Soleil will set up its marquee in Gatineau to present the second coming of “Alegría”, twenty-five years after its first performance. Two months into the Montreal premiere, the show’s craftsmen juggled between the renewed elements of the first replay of the company’s history, that of an emblematic work played 6,600 times in front of 14 million spectators. Incursion behind the scenes of a classic being (re) created.’

5 Effective Ways To Handle Anxiety While In School

collegecandy.com: Anxiety has become very common among students nowadays. All the pressure that school comes and the demands of life have taken a toll plus with added things that students these days have to deal with like the forces of social media, the new educational expectations by the country it all has become too much. Anxiety is the top presenting mental illness on students, especially college students. It can be challenging to handle all, here are 5 useful tips on how to manage anxiety while in school. Remember it does get better.

Why Banksy is finally going to court to stop merchandising

www.fastcompany.com: Copyright is for losers–or so Banksy once claimed. But the days of the mysterious artist’s dislike for intellectual property now appear to be long gone, as he has recently won a case of unauthorized merchandising in Italy.

The unauthorized copying of Banksy works is widespread–a stroll through London’s popular markets in Camden and Brick Lane and a quick search online proves that. His work has been printed and reproduced on everything from mugs to mouse mats.