'Deliberative Theater' to tackle Marcellus Shale

PostGazette: "Two words guaranteed to spark debate in Western Pennsylvania: Marcellus Shale.
Tonight there will be, in the words of one of the event's organizers, a 'robust discussion' on the subject, but this foray into public discourse won't abide shouting or grandstanding.
'Managing Marcellus: A Deliberative Theater Event' promises measured, civilized response from many sides of what has become such a hot-button topic. And that in itself is remarkable."

Thomas Middleditch: Ready for anything after riffing Bard

Variety: "When Thomas Middleditch was asked to be a part of the Improvised Shakespeare Company -- a Chicago-based improv troupe that performs spontaneous plays in stilted, Elizabethan-sounding English -- his first thought was 'That sounds impossible. Sure.'"

Web Spy: iDoneThis

College Candy: "I’m a huge fan of to-do lists. If I don’t write it down, there’s a good chance I’ll forget to do it. Some days, however, time gets away from me and I don’t end up getting as much done as I’d planned — and then I’m stuck with a bunch of leftover tasks that have to get added to the next day’s list. This is one of my pet peeves, because there is nothing more satisfying than looking at my to-do list and seeing all that I’ve crossed off it."

Idea/Expression Dichotomy Is Dead; Judge Allows Photographer's Lawsuit Against Rihanna To Move Forward

Techdirt: "Well, this is unfortunate. Back in February, we wrote about what seems like a positively ridiculous lawsuit from photographer David LaChapelle, against the singer Rihanna for her video S&M. LaChapelle claims that scenes in the video infringe on certain photographs he's taken."

Simplify Your Productivity Tools To Get More Done

lifehack: "Anytime a new productivity app hits the App Store or the web it’s a race to see if it’s the next best thing; the last app you will ever need to become more productive, a better human being, or, hell, even cuter. Anytime a new “productivity guru” tells us how to get more work done we may as well spend a week or month to give it a try."

Jorma Elo brings new work to Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

AspenTimes.com: "Jorma Elo confesses that he doesn't especially enjoy sitting in a theater, watching a dance performance. In particular, what he doesn't like watching are the dances he has created: “I feel like, that's not what I want to do — sit down and look at what I've done,” Elo, an athletically built, 49-year-old native of Finland, said last week."

Can you understand theatre when you don't speak the language?

guardian.co.uk: "How much can you get out of a play if it's performed in a language you don't understand? This question was very much on my mind at the Avignon festival in the south of France. It was my first time at this large-scale, artistically ambitious arts shindig, which bears similarities to the Edinburgh International festival. Both started in the 1940s to cheer up a post-war populace; both have a large fringe festival alongside the main programme (though in Avignon this is known, delightfully, as the 'Off'); both entirely commandeer their host town."

George Lucas Loses U.K. 'Star Wars' Copyright Case

The Hollywood Reporter: "A prop designer who made the original Stormtrooper helmets for Star Wars has won his battle with director George Lucas over his right to sell replicas, according to the BBC ."

Cobalt Scenic Painting Summer – Day One 7.25

(td)squared: "So here I am laying in my bed, in a giant farm house along with 8 other scenic artists for 3 weeks of learning, painting, and overall just having a great time.
I am currently at Cobalt Scenic Studios. It is everything I could ask for and more.
I will do my best to make a post for each day I’m here but forgive me if some days have shorter posts – sometimes I procrastinate ( gasp)."

Would Fashion Copyright Have Made Kate Middleton's Knockoff Wedding Dress Illegal?

Techdirt: "Right after the big royal wedding a few months back, Susan Scafidi, the law professor who is one of the leading supporters of putting in place a totally unnecessary and economically damaging 'fashion copyright,' used the wedding to support her arguments for fashion copyright. She suggested how unfortunate it would be that Kate Middleton's wedding dress would now be knocked off and used by other brides. It seems the 'Kate Middleton's dress' example is popular among supporters of fashion copyright. In the NY Times, Steven Kolb, director of the Council for Fashion Designers of America (the main organization pushing for this bill), described Kate Middleton's wedding dress as the perfect example of what fashion copyright could protect:
Mr. Kolb said that Kate Middleton’s wedding dress would probably be a good example
Interesting. Except... as Johanna Blakley points out, it turns out that Kate Middleton's dress... was a knockoff itself!"

CBS Goes Behind the Scenes of Zarkana

Fascination! Newsletter: "Cirque du Soleil’s new acrobatic spectacle, Zarkana, officially opened at Radio City Music Hall June 29, following previews that began June 9. Here, CBS News goes behind-the-scenes at Radio City and also offers footage from the Cirque rehearsals to show Zarkana’s journey to New York City."

Flash musical breaks out in Market Square

Post Gazette: "The Market Square lunch crowd was the audience today as a group of high school students staged an impromptu 'flash musical' to draw attention to Darfur."

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Turning Splines into Plines

Lynn Allen's Blog: "Cadalyst Magazine released my latest Tips and Tricks Tuesday video on turning Splines into Polylines. This was a welcome addition to AutoCAD 2010 - but I find that many of you out there in AutoCADland don't seem to know about it."

AFTRA in Talks With 'AMC,' 'OLTL' Web Producer

Backstage: "The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is in discussions with Prospect Park over the entertainment firm's plans to turn 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live' into Web series."

Burning Man sells out; first time in 25 years

The Denver Post: "It's a big bummer for 'Burners' who don't have their tickets.
Burning Man organizers say the eight-day counter-culture festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert has sold out for the first time in its 25-year history."

‘Red Cloud Rising’ Is Theater on Lower Manhattan Streets

NYTimes.com: "For 250 years Bydder Financial has been one of the most powerful forces in the global economy. It has underwritten the expansion of American multinational corporations, shaping the destiny of smaller countries to suit the priorities of the United States and of Bydder itself. From its august headquarters on Broad Street, barely a block from the New York Stock Exchange, Bydder stands astride international commerce like a colossus (or perhaps Croesus)."

News: 'Class Dismissed'

insidehighered: "It's no secret that this country has an education problem. Whether pre-K or post-grad, the consensus is clear: we need more and better education. Too few students make it through high school, and fewer still make it through college; in any case they are not learning enough, or they are not learning the right things in the right way. The child left behind in school will never go to college, and the child who doesn't go to college becomes the adult who will never attain a reasonably well-paying job. Education, then, is the key to prosperity -- for individual workers and for the nation that comprises them."

St. Vincent closes season with funny 'Steps'

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "'Taking Steps,' the final show in St. Vincent Theatre's summer season, is a combination of comedy and farce.
'Generally speaking, comedies tend to have a little more meat to them than farces do,' says director Colleen Reilly. 'They have characters with a little more depth, and some of the humor arises from the nature of these characters themselves.'"

Pittsburgh CLO's 'Sound of Music' proves sweet, sassy and surprising

PostGazette: "It's easy to assume we already know what we're getting with 'The Sound of Music' -- familiar and family-friendly entertainment that's as sweet as apple strudel.
But the CLO's production has altered the recipe a bit, resulting in a confection that's surprisingly crisp and has bite while preserving the show's wholesomeness."

Canada's Shaw hits 50

Variety: "Like many who reach the mid-century mark, Canada's Shaw Festival, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this season, is going through a bit of a midlife crisis."