Guild of Music Supervisors Aims to Correct Deficiencies in Diversity

Variety: As an intense spotlight shines over Hollywood and the greater entertainment industry related to issues of parity when it comes to hiring practices, the Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS), whose board is made up of six women and five men, has proven to be the rare outlier.

Help Was On The Way For Shuttered Venues. Then The Website Crashed

90.5 WESA: The Small Business Administration yesterday launched with great fanfare a long awaited portal that would allow arts venues closed down by pandemic to apply for grant money to cover rent, utilities, insurance and other accumulated expenses. The site went live at noon, but was wracked with so many technical issues that the SBA decided to shut the portal down indefinitely.

The Broadway Vaccination Site Will Be Up and Running on Monday- Find Out More!

www.broadwayworld.com: As BroadwayWorld previously reported, a vaccine pop-up site targeted at getting Broadway theater workers back on stage is set to launch next week at a new site on 47th and 7th (the former location of NFL Experience). Not only will the location help to get the industry back onstage, but it will employ 80-100 Broadway workers who have been laid off to handle administrative support tasks while clinical nurses give out the shots.

Jacqueline Hen

Extras | Women in Lighting: Walking into an art installation, have you ever felt being teleported to a whole new world? A world where visual & physical boundaries seem to blur out & slowly you become more present in the moment. That’s the power of art & artists are true magicians in designing those surreal experiences. Although Light Art, became a dedicated art form around 20th Century after the Light-Space movement, it has gradually gained momentum by exceptional works of some brilliant light artists.

SBA's Grant Program for Shuttered Venues Operators Delays Application Process

Playbill: The Small Business Administration was poised to cut the virtual ribbon on its Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program April 8. However, after a malfunction with the online portal, venues impacted by the pandemic will have to wait for the government agency to resolve technical difficulties before they can officially vie for their piece of the $16.25 billion plan.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

A vaccinated critic on getting back to live theater

The Washington Post: Slowly, painstakingly, theatergoing is making its way back to three live dimensions — and we're all learning the rules of engagement. On Friday night, the process began for me outside the Kraine Theater on East Fourth Street, where I was about to attend a solo performance by Mike Daisey. And one unhappy couple who thought they were attending, too — couldn't.

Posted by David at 4/08/2021 01:01:00 PM

Hear 'New' Nirvana Song Written, Performed by Artificial Intelligence

Rolling Stone: Ever since Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994, Nirvana fans have hypothesized about the music he would have made had he lived. But other than “You Know You’re Right,” the scabrous, throat-shredding meditation on confusion that Nirvana recorded a few months before his suicide, and a few comments he told confidants about potentially collaborating with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe or going completely solo, he mainly left behind question marks.

Posted by David at 4/09/2021 10:24:00 AM

Covid Closed Theaters. But It Also Made Them Accessible.

The New York Times: I have never lived in either London or New York, and thus have next to no experience with the hotbeds of English-speaking theater. Though I frequently travel to those cities, and social media posts of friends with their Broadway Playbills tantalize me, I live with an illness that makes it difficult to remain upright. That makes theater a tough experience: The first time I saw “Hamilton,” after I left the Richard Rodgers Theater I was too sick to remember most of what had happened.

Posted by David at 4/07/2021 11:44:00 AM

Are We Getting Shakespeare’s Rhythms All Wrong?

JSTOR Daily: Have you ever gone to a performance of one of William Shakespeare’s plays and found yourself confused about what an actor is going on about? Take heart. Mort Paterson is a Shakespearean actor and he writes that even he has the same problem sometimes.

Posted by David at 4/06/2021 11:15:00 AM

L.A. Stage Alliance Slammed For Misidentifying Asian Actress At Awards

Deadline: More than 25 Los Angeles area theater companies, including the Geffen Playhouse, the Pasadena Playhouse and the Deaf West Theatre, have revoked their memberships in the L.A. Stage Alliance after the nonprofit organization misidentified and mispronounced the name of Asian actress Jully Lee at an awards show earlier this week.

Posted by David at 4/08/2021 12:57:00 PM

 

Hear 'New' Nirvana Song Written, Performed by Artificial Intelligence

Rolling Stone: Ever since Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994, Nirvana fans have hypothesized about the music he would have made had he lived. But other than “You Know You’re Right,” the scabrous, throat-shredding meditation on confusion that Nirvana recorded a few months before his suicide, and a few comments he told confidants about potentially collaborating with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe or going completely solo, he mainly left behind question marks.

Best Laser Distance Measurer for 2021 | Every Feature Explained

www.protoolreviews.com: Having used dozens of laser distance measures from various brands, it’s clear some key features make a difference. The very first laser distance measure I actually owned was a Bosch GLM15, and I still use it. Since I got that tool, laser distance measures have become more commonplace. They also come with new technologies and features. Not everyone needs all those bells and whistles, though. I’ll help you figure out the best laser distance measurer for you.

Williamstown Festival Will Take the Shows Outside

The New York Times: The Williamstown Theater Festival, which was forced by the pandemic to convert its 2020 season into a series of audio plays, will present live performances again this summer, though not in its indoor venues.

Makita 40V and 80V XGT Tools and Technology

Pro Tool Reviews: Makita deployed over 50 new cordless power tools in their 40V Max and 80V Max XGT System. The company tells us that Makita XGT technology specifically covers the top-end 15% of tools. Those are the tools that fall just outside the practical capabilities of 18V systems.

HBO Max Targets Gen Z with ‘Un-Fashion’ Installation

www.eventmarketer.com: To promote its new show Genera+ion, the streaming service worked with fashion school students to create looks for the central characters For a series whose premiere episode prominently features a rainbow-striped crop top, using a fashion installation as a marketing vehicle seems more than fitting.

5 Best Hand Tools for Your Workshop

This Old House: I wear a Diambondback belt system, which I purchased about two years ago. One of the many things I like about it is the fact that it has a place for just about every tool I want to carry with me. And while there are a few things that stay in them it no matter what type of work I’m doing, I do swap some tools out depending on the task. The list below includes two that I always have on hand, plus a few others that show up as needed.

SBA suspends start of Shuttered Venue Grant program due to technical difficulties

Broadway News: The portal to apply for the grant program, which could give eligible Broadway productions and theater owners up to $10 million, was set to open at noon Thursday, but quickly experienced technical issues, which prevented users from uploading documents or moving through the application process. At 4:15 p.m., the Small Business Administration shut down the portal.

An Overview of Common Insulation Materials

Fine Homebuilding: Choosing the most appropriate type of insulation should be part of an overall strategy of materials selection. The underlying purpose of green building is not to develop marketing brochures that will help sell “green” houses in suburban subdivisions, but to make decisions that genuinely benefit people and the planet. This makes a strong case for finding ways to use insulation and other materials with low carbon emissions.

Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Program, Championed as ‘Save Our Stages’ Act, Opens Application Process

Playbill: The Small Business Administration is finally poised to distribute $16.25 billion through its Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, which begins to accept applications April 8. The program was passed into law back in December—and received an allowance boost with President Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan last month.

Pittsburgh Public Theater's New Play Contest winner When We Fall will premiere in June

Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Pittsburgh Public Theater named Emma Gibson the winner of its first New Play Contest for her play When We Fall. Gibson received a $500 honorarium and a Public PlayTime premiere of her play June 17-20 as the finale of the virtual Classics N’at Benefit Series.

New York State budget includes tax credits for Broadway, grants for businesses

Broadway News: The budget, which was passed by the State Legislature Wednesday, contains a $100 million tax credit for theatrical productions in New York City, $40 million in grants to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations to aid in recovery from the pandemic and $800 million in grant funding to small businesses, including arts-related businesses and commercial arts organizations.

Twyla Tharp On Choreographing Through Lockdown: 'Dance Can Give Community'

NPR: Neither the pandemic nor age can keep legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp from her work. During the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, Tharp, now 79, choreographed several dances through through Zoom. One was with four dancers — each of whom was in a different time zone.

The Longest Shift Portraits: Capturing Local 705 Costumer, Lindsey Clough and Makeup Artist Jasmine Dashtizad

IATSE Cares: Last March, California was the first US state to enforce a mandatory stay-at-home order in hopes to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Now that California pandemic restrictions have been lifted, LA-based photographer, Sam Comen dedicates his time visiting dozens of essential workers in the Los Angeles area; capturing their portraits, sharing their stories on losing work and COVID-19’s impact on turning their jobs high-risk.

Springboard starts a guaranteed income pilot program for artists; a good week for author events

MinnPost: For 18 months starting now, April 2021, 25 artists in St. Paul’s Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods will each receive $500/month in unrestricted support. The artists are part of a new pilot program from Springboard for the Arts. Announced yesterday (Monday, April 5), the program was inspired by the City of St. Paul’s People’s Prosperity Pilot and the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income network.

A vaccinated critic on getting back to live theater

The Washington Post: Slowly, painstakingly, theatergoing is making its way back to three live dimensions — and we're all learning the rules of engagement. On Friday night, the process began for me outside the Kraine Theater on East Fourth Street, where I was about to attend a solo performance by Mike Daisey. And one unhappy couple who thought they were attending, too — couldn't.

Musicians United For Social Equality Announces BIPOC Scholarships

Deadline: The non-profit organization Musicians United for Social Equity, or MUSE, announced today a set of scholarships supporting BIPOC musicians pursuing a career in theater, an initiative that marks the official launch of the organization.

Rika Lin's 'ingenuity of necessity' bridges centuries of tradition

Dance | Chicago Reader: Black hair. A jilted woman. A sacrifice. Snow. "She's a geisha who falls in love with a samurai. They have their one secret night together, but she realizes the future of the clan depends on his marrying this other woman, so she says, 'Go.' It's their wedding night. She's alone and undoing her hair. It's black hair—a symbol of youth, the strength of a woman, resilience, beauty," says choreographer Rika Lin on Kurokami ("Black Hair"), an excerpt from the now-lost 18th-century kabuki play Oakinai hirugakojima.

Behind the Costume Design of “Godzilla vs. Kong”

Variety: “Godzilla vs. Kong” naturally focuses on the mighty battle between the monsters, but costume designer Ann Foley also had a story to tell with her work. Foley brought unique touches to dressing the human actors: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Kyle Chandler and Demián Bichir.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Broadway’s Jagged Little Journey Toward Nonbinary Inclusion

The Brooklyn Rail: Take a second and try to make a list of all the nonbinary characters in musical theater. It won’t take long to realize there isn’t much of a list. While there have been a few nonbinary performers on Broadway and several roles have been played by actors whose gender does not match their characters’, there’s only been one character I know of explicitly written as nonbinary: Pythio in Head Over Heels.

Broadcast Pix Introduces ChurchPix, the Complete Streaming Solution for Churches

Creative COW: ChurchPix is a turnkey solution with dedicated content that is simple to install and easy to use. Broadcast Pix announces the launch of ChurchPix™, a complete live production and streaming solution for the House of Worship market. Designed for easy setup and use by volunteer operators, ChurchPix provides an affordable turnkey solution for churches looking to stream its worship services online.

No, LA Stage Alliance Didn’t Fold Over a Single Anti-Asian Blunder

AMERICAN THEATRE: Asian American invisibility in the theatre can take many forms. It can mean having your story exoticized by someone else (Miss Saigon). It can manifest as actors who don’t share your skin performing a yellowface caricature of you onstage (The Mikado). Or it can come in the form of an awards ceremony fiasco like the one in Los Angeles last week, which, if you only believed the national headlines you read, single-handedly caused the disbanding of a 46-year-old theatrical institution. The truth is far more complicated.

L.A. Stage Alliance Slammed For Misidentifying Asian Actress At Awards

Deadline: More than 25 Los Angeles area theater companies, including the Geffen Playhouse, the Pasadena Playhouse and the Deaf West Theatre, have revoked their memberships in the L.A. Stage Alliance after the nonprofit organization misidentified and mispronounced the name of Asian actress Jully Lee at an awards show earlier this week.

State Kremlin Palace receives royal sound upgrade with DiGiCo Quantum7 and Quantum338

LightSoundJournal.com: Celebrating its 60th anniversary next year, the State Kremlin Palace is Russia’s principal stage and one of the best and most prestigious theatrical and concert venues in the world. Situated inside the Moscow Kremlin and overlooking the banks of the Moskva river, the building is the geographic and historic centre of Moscow for both social and political gatherings, as well as home to the renowned Kremlin Ballet Theatre.

AES Audio Product Education Institute Webinar To Address Multiphysics Simulation In Audio Product Design

ProSoundWeb: To promote methodologies, practices and technologies involved in developing and bringing audio products to market, the AES Audio Product Education Institute (APEI) will launch its Modeling and Measurement series of events with the webinar “Multiphysics Simulation in Audio Product Design” on Wednesday, April 14, beginning at noon (12 pm) U.S. Eastern time.

LA Stage Alliance Disbands After Awards Ceremony Blunder

The New York Times: Jully Lee, an actor and director, had a bad feeling about this year’s Ovation Awards, the annual competition honoring stage work in greater Los Angeles. She was a voter who had never been told when the ceremony would be, and she learned she was a nominee only when she was given 48 hours to submit a pretaped acceptance speech for use in the event that she won. She watched anyway.

Costume Designers Are the True Red Carpet Rebels of the Oscars

Vogue: A costume designer’s job is to use clothes to tell a story. Though aesthetics play a pivotal role in choosing outfits for a film, their choices also have to support the project’s time period, location, and overall theme and mood. It’s no wonder, then, that many costume designers approach their own personal style with a more thoughtful lens, too. Thinking creatively about fashion comes with the territory.

A Curved Deck With a Hidden Framing Secret

JLC Online: In pre-COVID times, one of my largest and most challenging projects was a 2,500-square-foot deck and matching dock system, part of an extensive outdoor living project for a home on Lake Tapps, in Washington. For the deck’s multiple levels across the home’s lakeside elevation, one of the organizing design elements is a pair of stacked, semi-circular balcony-style projections extending from the home’s central turret.

Inside the Broadway Community Project: Before a Show Hits the Stage, Script Coordinators Get It on the Page

Playbill: Today, meet Armelle González Harper, who shaped her stage management expertise and love of the creative process into the relatively new role of script coordinator. In this position, González Harper documents and distributes all script changes throughout the show’s development, from early stages through rehearsals.

Swapcard: All-in-One Virtual Event Tool

TPi: Launched back in 2014, Swapcard’s initial goal was to create a digital alternative to trading business cards at events and, in short, provide a more efficient way of exchanging personal information and connecting with attendees. Through years of trial and error, the French start-up has continued to hone the Swapcard platform with increased functionality including the ability to showcase content, book meetings and host virtual roundtables. With in-person live events no longer possible in 2020, Swapcard found itself as the ‘go-to’ solution for live events in the COVID-19 era.

Covid Closed Theaters. But It Also Made Them Accessible.

The New York Times: I have never lived in either London or New York, and thus have next to no experience with the hotbeds of English-speaking theater. Though I frequently travel to those cities, and social media posts of friends with their Broadway Playbills tantalize me, I live with an illness that makes it difficult to remain upright. That makes theater a tough experience: The first time I saw “Hamilton,” after I left the Richard Rodgers Theater I was too sick to remember most of what had happened.

In Profile: Unreal Engine

TPi: Prior to COVID-19 and the hiatus on live touring, Unreal Engine was already a name that TPi were very familiar with, although usually only in the context of the real-time rendering options the system offered for content creators on live tours. However, since March last year, Epic Games’ technology has been mentioned in our pages for a number of other functions. From its use within the world of XR studios to fully virtual performances within Fortnite, Unreal Engine is making serious inroads into the live events sector. So, as we enter the second quarter of 2021, TPi thought it was only right to speak to some of those within the organisation that are actively involved in shaping what the future of live events may look like.§

NFTs Give Artists the Chance to Reverse Their Extinction

www.businessinsider.com: The NFT craze continues, and it could change the art world. The acronym, which stands for "non-fungible token," is a digital file that's tradable by blockchain. It shot to fame and prominence in March when a visual artist called Beeple sold "Everydays: the First 5000 Days," a digital collage of images, for $69.3 million at auction. It was the third-highest price ever paid at any auction for a work by a living artist, according to The Washington Post. Not even a Titian or a Raphael has sold for that much.

In Profile: Motor Stage Automation

TPi: Despite the uncertain time for the live industry, Danish entrepreneur, Christian Vigso saw the global pandemic as an opportunity to diversify his offering for the events market. With the help of business partner and automation specialist, Blake McNally, the duo presented Motor Stage Automation. From its Denmark HQ, Motor Stage Automation offers creation, concept development, mechanical engineering, electrical technical developments and specifically customised, made-to-order solutions, together with electrical technical developments.

Robe is The Lucky One for EestiLaul 2021

LightSoundJournal.com: Lighting and set designer for the finale show and the two semi-finals that preceded it in Tallinn’s Saku Suurhall arena was Rene Jõhve, who was approached to work on the project by Estonian national broadcaster, ERR. This was his tenth year of lighting the finale and semi-final events which were aired live, and –for obvious reasons –this year were staged without an audience!

PSA: Testing Times Ahead

TPi: No matter how things progress in the coming weeks following further COVID-19 relaxations across the home nations, our sector still has to await the results of the Events Research Programme (ERP), a series of events in various settings which, “according to the programme’s terms of reference, explore when and how events with larger crowd sizes, less social distancing, or in settings where transmission is more likely, will be able to return safely.”

Mayoral Candidate Andrew Yang Unveils 'Arts Revival' Proposal for NYC

www.broadwayworld.com: A new proposal from NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang released today puts forth a plan of action to bring about an "arts revival" in the city. As part of his plan, Yang proposes a joint effort from the public and private sectors to purchase "hundreds of thousands" of reduced price tickets to Broadway and Off Broadway shows in order to "bring people back into theatre seats" and stimulate the city's economy.

Best Cordless Router Reviews 2021

Pro Tool Reviews: I have a confession—I love routing. I find it therapeutic. There’s something about running a bit down an edge and adding an element of creativity that’s enjoyable. Recent upgrades in battery and motor technology are letting us cut the cord on trim routers and making the experience that much better. We decided to bring in the best cordless router models and test them head-to-head in a review that also happens to be great for my mental health.

Christie Laser Projectors Elevate Real-Life Scenery Performance to New Heights with Mesmerizing Visuals

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: Christie 1DLP and 3DLP laser projectors are delivering mesmerizing visuals that accentuate the storytelling process for a large-scale, real-life scenery performance in Jiangxi province that celebrates traditional Huizhou culture.

5 Accessibility and Inclusion Insights from Producing an Exhibition During COVID

ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog: Redefine/ABLE: Challenging Inaccessibility a collaborative, multi-site project, began as an exploration of how an exhibition could achieve maximum inclusivity for multiple audiences. University of Maryland design students collaborated with members from the disability community to create an exhibition that via its messages and delivery would challenge ideas of accessibility, disability, and inclusion.

ETC debuts two new theatrical fixtures

LightSoundJournal.com: ETC launched two new theatrical fixtures as part of a two-day-long international online event. The Source Four LED Series 3 and Desire Fresnel are the perfect pairing for any theatre looking to successfully launch themselves into the modern day with incredible brightness, impressive color mixing, and wireless DMX/RDM features.