Dear Evan Hansen Turns to TikTok to Find Stars for U.K. Tour

Playbill: The upcoming U.K. tour of the Olivier- and Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen is collaborating with TikTok to find the next generation of talent for the upcoming production. As previously reported, Nottingham Playhouse Artistic Director Adam Penford will direct the new staging, which will play the Nottingham venue September 9–28 prior to embarking on a U.K. tour.

Dolly Parton Wants to Find Actors to Play 'Dolly' in Upcoming Broadway Musical 'Through Different Means'

www.broadwayworld.com: According to an interview with People Magazine, Dolly Parton says she wants to find actors to play herself in the musical based on her life through "different means."

Knowledge meets Entertainment: Keynotes and Live Acts at Prolight + Sound 2024

LightSoundJournal.com: A lively mix of glitz, glamour, training and networking: this year, Prolight + Sound is focusing even more strongly on its unique combination of entertainment and business. The lecture programme has never been more international and diverse. From sound to light, themes are taken up that turn the stages of this world into magical places. With the Live Box, visitors can also look forward to a new attraction that puts one of the core elements of the Prolight + Sound DNA back in the spotlight: music.

The Winners: 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards announced

limelight-arts.com.au: The winners of the 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards have been announced in a now-traditional Monday evening ceremony hosted at the Seymour Centre. Hosted by Marney McQueen, 30 awards were presented, shared between 15 productions which played on Sydney stages during 2023.

Prime movers: the German circus exploring Amazon through acrobatics

Stage | The Guardian: On the eastern outskirts of Berlin, a big top has been erected by theatre company Rimini Protokoll for a circus with a twist. These acrobatics come wrapped in metaphor and high concept: the show is about shopping giant Amazon and the processes of the virtual marketplace.

Wizarding World at Epic Universe: Clues from 'Fantastic Beasts'

attractionsmagazine.com: As construction continues for Universal Epic Universe, details from the “Fantastic Beasts” movies provide clues for what guests may find in the park’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter area.

Maestro Makeup: Watch Bradley Cooper Transform Into Leonard Bernstein

www.thewrap.com: Kazu Hiro is fast on his way to becoming one of the most celebrated craftsmen in Hollywood. The prosthetic makeup designer, two-time Oscar winner (for “Darkest Hour” and “Bombshell”), and recent New Yorker magazine subject is in the awards race again.

Following lawsuit, rep admits “AI” George Carlin was human-written

Ars Technica: The estate of George Carlin has filed a federal lawsuit against the comedy podcast Dudesy for an hour-long comedy special sold as an AI-generated impression of the late comedian. But a representative for one of the podcast hosts behind the special now admits that it was actually written by a human.

‘Gutenberg!’ recoups Broadway investment; cast album announced

www.broadwaynews.com: “Gutenberg! The Musical!” has recouped its $6.75 million capitalization, producers announced on Jan. 29. The production concluded its 20-week limited engagement at the James Earl Jones Theatre on Jan. 28. The musical comedy began previews on Sept. 15, 2023, and officially opened on Oct. 12.

George Carlin’s estate sues over fake AI comedy special ‘I’m Glad I’m Dead’

National | Globalnews.ca: The estate of comic legend George Carlin is suing a media company responsible for an AI-generated comedy special that recreated the voice and style of the late stand-up comedian.

Google’s Lumiere brings AI video closer to real than unreal

The Verge: Google’s new video generation AI model Lumiere uses a new diffusion model called Space-Time-U-Net, or STUNet, that figures out where things are in a video (space) and how they simultaneously move and change (time). Ars Technica reports this method lets Lumiere create the video in one process instead of putting smaller still frames together.

Space shuttle Endeavour to be raised by cranes Monday night

Los Angeles Times: Barring weather delays, the space shuttle Endeavour will undergo its final, historic lift starting Monday night, a maneuver no other retired orbiter has undergone.

Alec Baldwin Rust shooting: Why he was indicted by a grand jury on involuntary manslaughter charges.

slate.com/culture: On Jan. 19, a New Mexico grand jury decided to indict actor Alec Baldwin on involuntary manslaughter charges related to the 2021 accidental fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust in Santa Fe. This decision comes exactly a year after the Rust lead actor, who also served as a producer on the project, was charged by the Santa Fe County’s district attorney’s office in a case that was ultimately dismissed last April.

A Look At 3D Printed Professional LED Signage

Hackaday: Customer perception is everything when you’re running a business, particularly in retail. High-quality signage can go a long way into creating a good impression in this respect. [king process] decided to show us how professional-grade LED signage is made in a Korean shop that specializes in the work.

Taylor Swift and George Carlin nonconsensual deepfakes prompt possible legal actions against AI use

Salon.com: Taylor Swift and the estate of the late George Carlin are both at the center of respective battles in which artificial intelligence was used to recreate their likenesses.

TheTheatreTimes.com: Towards Transnational Digital Infrastructure

The Theatre Times: All theatre is local. All theatre is global. Both statements are true: theatre has always been and continues to be a vehicle for national identity formation, self-representation, and self-understanding, but increasingly it is also becoming a place for international dialogue, where disparate cultures, values, and national interests can find, if not mutual understanding, at least mutual coexistence. Yet making and writing about theatre in a global context is not that easy. That is why we founded TheTheatreTimes.com

Native Arts and Cultures Foundation gets a new leader

Oregon ArtsWatch: The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, a national group based in Portland, has hired a new president and chief executive officer following a nine-month search. Shyla Spicer (Yakama) will take on the dual post, replacing founding President/CEO T. Lulani Arquette (Kanaka ‘Ōiwi [Native Hawaiian]), who is leaving after 15 years.

Caffeine overdrive: The dark side of America's "no sleep" hustle culture

Salon.com: With nearly 20% of office spaces currently sitting empty across the United States, and as multiple major property and asset management companies have collectively defaulted on billions in commercial-property loans, it may be tempting to think that the cult of workaholism is diminishing as its old cubicle-packed temples seem to continue to crumble, but one visit to a Panera or Starbucks on a random Tuesday afternoon quickly dispels that notion.

How to Use Cocreator to Make AI Art in Microsoft Paint

Lifehacker: It's increasingly hard to get away from generative artificial intelligence at the moment, with the tech finding its way into many of the apps and devices we use regularly. Even Microsoft Paint is getting an AI upgrade.

Halyna Hutchins’ Family Attorney Criticizes SAG-AFTRA’s Defense of Alec Baldwin

The Hollywood Reporter: An attorney for the family of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins said this week that SAG-AFTRA‘s defense of Alec Baldwin amid new potential charges flies “in the face of common sense and the law.”

Theatre Awards Roundup: WaterWorks, Lift Every Voice, and More

AMERICAN THEATRE: Harlem Stage has commissioned five artists to create new work as part of the 2024 WaterWorks Emerging Artists program. Designed to support promising multidisciplinary artists of color as they develop new aspects of their artistic practice, the cohort includes Marie Lloyd Paspe, Barkha Patel, Christopher Rivas, Marie Thomas, and Immanuel Wilkins.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

Misbehaving audiences want to go viral. Here’s how theater could take the mic back

Datebook: In each incident, the actual performances — the art for which audiences bought tickets — remained in the background or didn’t even make it into the viral video’s camera frame. That’s not what was interesting. What’s interesting is us. The theater is merely a site for the execution of proper decorum, and the only possible narrative is the decorum’s violation.

Posted by David at 1/25/2024 01:25:00 PM

‘Harry Potter and the Goblet™’ of Fire in Concert is an Immersive Journey Through Film and Music

onStage Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra takes the stage this weekend to perform the score to the fourth installment of the Harry Potter film series: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™. The film is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which the symphony performed in concert last year. Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors, Slytherins, and Ravenclaws packed Heinz Hall Friday evening for the first of two performances of the beloved film.

Posted by David at 1/22/2024 10:13:00 AM

“Mean Girls” Costume Designer Tom Broecker on Dressing the Plastics as Gen Z

The Credits: The movie based on the musical based on the 2004 movie Mean Girls is here, with Angourie Rice taking Lindsey Lohan’s place as Cady, the homeschooled teenager plunged into the catty horror of American public high school social politics. Written by Tina Fey and directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., in this musical Gen Z update, everyone has smartphones now, but the movie stays true to the original’s most beloved beats.

Posted by David at 1/23/2024 10:13:00 AM

Immersive journey brings Europe's heaviest waterfall to life

www.avinteractive.com: Located in northern Switzerland, the Rheinfall is the most powerful waterfall in Europe by average flow rate and attracts thousands of visitors each year. The Rhyality Immersive Art Hall, located directly above the falls inside a redeveloped industrial complex, seeks to share this experience by offering an immersive journey that showcases the sights and sounds of the falls.

Posted by David at 1/25/2024 01:24:00 PM

Explore Maze-Like Passageways Exploding with Elaborate Mosaics at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

Colossal: When mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar moved to Philadelphia’s South Street in the 1960s, he saw an opportunity to not only revitalize a neglected area but transform it into a haven for creatives. He established his studio there and was joined by a community of artists and activists who saw potential and wanted it to thrive, even preventing a major highway construction project that would have obliterated the neighborhood.

Posted by David at 1/23/2024 10:09:00 AM

 

Joshua Ramus: Harnessed His Powers of Design at the Perelman Performing Arts Center To Provide a Unique Translucent Facade

Engineering News-Record: Music + chess + rowing + sculpture + philosophy + math = the power of phenomena over form. Music’s discipline of practice and performance. Chess’ strategies. Rowing’s relentless determination. Sculpture’s thought before action. Philosophy’s rigor of crafting reasoned arguments. Math’s balancing of equations.

Maestro Costume Designer On Collaborating With Bradley Cooper & Recreating Leonard Bernstein's Wardrobe

screenrant.com: Directed by Bradley Cooper (American Sniper, A Star is Born), Netflix's Maestro follows Leonard Bernstein and chronicles his relationship with Felicia Montealegre. Cooper also stars in the film as Leonard Bernstein himself, opposite Carey Mulligan. Maestro first premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2023 and was released on Netflix on December 20. The film has received 139 nominations and won 18 awards across several categories.

Directors Guild Retroactively Secures Writers Guild’s Streaming Success Bonus

The Hollywood Reporter: Nearly seven months after it ratified its latest labor contract with Hollywood studios and streamers, the Directors Guild of America has improved upon some of that deal’s terms — and gained a cornerstone achievement of the 2023 writers strike.

Hollywood Unions Show Support As AFM Enters Negotiations With AMPTP

Deadline: The AFM entered into negotiations with the AMPTP for its new collective bargaining agreement on Monday, fighting for many of the same things the WGA and SAG-AFTRA did during last year’s dual strikes, including AI protections, increased wages, and improved streaming residuals.

Finding The Sweet Spot: Making The Best Of Mixing Console Placement Issues

ProSoundWeb: I’m sure that most sound engineers are familiar with the following scenario: you turn up to a venue and the mixing console isn’t where you expect it to be – it might be off to one side, underneath a balcony, in the very back of the room, up high in the stalls or stuck in a corner somewhere.

William N. Lowe To Receive 2024 USITT Rising Star Award Sponsored by Live Design/LDI

Live Design Online: Live Design and LDI are pleased to announce that sound designer William N. Lowe will be the recipient of the 2024 USITT Rising Star Award. Established by LiveDesign/LDI in 2005, this annual award recognizes a young professional working in the disciplines of scenic, lighting, sound, or projection/video design. Lowe will be honored during the 2024 USITT Conference & Stage Expo, in Seattle, WA, March 20-23, 2024

Roland Greil Lights The Asian Cup in Doha

Live Design Online: Roland Greil and his team did the full lighting design, creation of the previz environments/ files, programming, and ultimate delivery of the lighting for the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Asian Cup on January 12, 2024 in Doha, Qatar. Live Design chats with the designer about his involvement and the challenges of such a project.

'My Fair Lady' comes to Pittsburgh's Benedum Center

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Wouldn’t it be loverly if a Golden Age Broadway musical was playing right near the street where you live? By George, we’ve got it! The national tour of “My Fair Lady” is setting up shop at Downtown’s Benedum Center from Jan. 30 through Feb. 4.

See-through sound: Stunning Ferguson Hill speakers ride the Jetstream

newatlas.com: When it comes to loudspeaker design, looks are much less important than how they sound. There are exceptions that please both eye and ear of course, such as the remarkable Nautilus floorstander or the A9 wireless disc. The rather pricey Jetstream system from Brit brand Ferguson Hill is a gorgeous example of the 'exceptions' design camp.

Best Milwaukee Drill Reviews for 2024

Pro Tool Reviews: When you put your hands on and test over 50 drills a year, you get a feel for who makes the best cordless drill. After testing all those tools we understand how each of the Milwaukee cordless drills fits into their lineup. The best Milwaukee drill for you may be the most powerful, the best value, or the most compact. It just depends on what you plan to do with the tool and what kind of work you want to accomplish.

‘Napoleon’ Costume Designers on the Authenticity of Ridley Scott's Film

www.backstage.com: This emperor definitely had clothes. Napoleon Bonaparte was known as much for his bicorn hat and long coat—and short stature—as his military prowess. To make sure all the characters in Ridley Scott’s biopic about the legendary French leader looked authentic, he brought in two pros: Janty Yates and David Crossman.

My Career: Scenographer Katie Davenport

IMAGE.ie: An Irish scenographer – that is a set and costume designer – Katie Davenport has designed for numerous Irish theatre, dance, and opera companies, including the Irish National Opera (INO), the Northern Ireland Opera, THISISPOPBABY and Rough Magic. Tipped for a high-profile global design career, here she tells us more about her day-to-day and why drawing is central to everything she does.

Lily Gladstone’s path from Seattle theater to an Oscar nomination

The Seattle Times: Overnight success takes years, sometimes decades. When Lily Gladstone lit up the stage accepting her Golden Globe Award for her role in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” — the first Indigenous woman to win Best Actress — she became a bona fide celebrity. “This is for every little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream,” she said.

Inside the Royal College of Music’s new simulation lab

www.avinteractive.com: A Meyer Sound Constellation system has been installed in a new Performance Laboratory at London’s Royal College of Music (RCM). The facility combines acoustic simulation technology with the visual graphics engines that drive the latest video games to create two fully immersive performance simulation facilities to aid the training of students.

AI takes centre stage at well-attended CES 2024 show

www.avinteractive.com: The event – which took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center and covered innovations ranging from consumer TVs and audio products, through wearables and XR, to industrial automation, enterprise robotics and advancements in automotive – welcomed 4,300 exhibitors and 135,000 delegates.

Cygnet Theatre breaks ground on $43.5 million theater project at Liberty Station

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Construction officially began Tuesday morning on the $43.5 million Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center at Liberty Station, which — when completed in spring 2025 — will become the permanent home of Cygnet Theatre and the community’s only free-standing live performance venue.

Pam MacKinnon and Orlando Pabotoy Named Winners of Joe A. Callaway Awards

Playbill: Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, has named Pam MacKinnon and Orlando Pabotoy recipients of the 2022-2023 Joe A. Callaway Awards, which will be presented in a virtual ceremony in the spring.

Waves announces a new version of the eMotion LV1 Live Mixer

LightSoundJournal.com: Waves Audio announces a new version of the eMotion LV1 Live Mixer. Updates include compatibility with the new MixMirror app, offering full iOS tablet remote control for the Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer and Waves SuperRack.

Page 73 Names 2024 Writers Group and Playwriting Fellow

Playbill: Page 73 has named jose sebastian alberdi its 2024 Playwriting Fellow. The organization also announced its 2024 Writers Group, which includes alberdi, Calley N. Anderson, Jake Brasch, Garrett David Kim, Forest Malley, Genevieve Simon, May Treuhaft-Ali, and Elinor T Vanderburg.

Misbehaving audiences want to go viral. Here’s how theater could take the mic back

Datebook: In each incident, the actual performances — the art for which audiences bought tickets — remained in the background or didn’t even make it into the viral video’s camera frame. That’s not what was interesting. What’s interesting is us. The theater is merely a site for the execution of proper decorum, and the only possible narrative is the decorum’s violation.

Immersive journey brings Europe's heaviest waterfall to life

www.avinteractive.com: Located in northern Switzerland, the Rheinfall is the most powerful waterfall in Europe by average flow rate and attracts thousands of visitors each year. The Rhyality Immersive Art Hall, located directly above the falls inside a redeveloped industrial complex, seeks to share this experience by offering an immersive journey that showcases the sights and sounds of the falls.

Inside Pixel Artworks' extraordinary Lighthouse workspace

www.avinteractive.com: Pixel Artworks Lighthouse is an extraordinary workplace in Farringdon, London that’s designed to inspire and amplify creativity. The new cutting-edge office space boasts a sleek, modern design that’s engaging and spectacular.

Amie: a new calendar app and to-do list with plans to rethink time management

The Verge: There’s another company vying to be the place you go to manage your time. It’s called Amie, and it’s one of the best-looking calendar apps I’ve used. It’s available today for iOS, Mac, and the web after four years in development and many months in beta testing. I’ve been using it off and on for a long time, and I like it a lot.

RKO Madison Theatre – Queens, NY

After the Final Curtain: It’s not uncommon to see buildings in New York City with a mismatched facade, especially in neighborhoods where space is at a premium. But if you’re like me, and you’re interested in the history of the city, you might wonder what that building used to be. And in the case of this particular building, it has quite a history. The building at the corner of Myrtle and Wykoff Avenue used to be the RKO Madison Theatre, which opened on November 24, 1927.

Editing 101: What is Continuity Editing?

nofilmschool.com: We're getting so used to watching film and television that we rarely notice the very basic techniques used day in and out. Some of the very foundations of cinema and television have become so ingrained into our sense as viewers that they go unrecognized. The epitome of that reality is continuity editing.

The Wiz Will Tour After Coming to Broadway

Playbill: The Broadway-bound national tour of The Wiz will go back on the road after coming to Broadway. A second leg for the tour has been revealed to begin performances in February 2025. The only city to be announced so far is Dallas, Texas, where the production will play September 9–21, 2025, but additional cities will be announced.

BNW Rigging & Eilon Engineering’s Ron StageMaster Load Cells Ensure Safe Lift Of Sonic Sphere At The Shed

Live Design Online: BNW, a leading production rigging company based in New York City, founded and run by Tony Bonilla, successfully executed the challenging lift of the Sonic Sphere at The Shed utilizing Eilon Engineering’s cutting-edge Ron StageMaster wireless load cells to ensure precision and safety.

Ralph Larmann's Alchemy: Art & Technology Capture Live Magic

Live Design Online: Ralph Larmann did not set out to be a photographer, initially he was drawn to music and studied drums at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. In addition to his music, he became a journalist and photographer, capturing images of unfolding events, and gradually photography took over as his full-time focus.