Worth a Look

Here are a few posts from last week's Greenpage that might be worth your time...

In Houston, a Theater Finds Itself Offstage After Harvey

WSJ: Dean Gladden breathed a sigh of relief two years ago when a $46.5 million renovation of the Alley Theatre, the first major improvement in the Tony Award-winning theater’s five-decade history, was finally completed.

Standing in the theater’s flood-damaged, putrid-smelling basement almost two weeks after Hurricane Harvey dumped trillions of gallons of rain on the nation’s fourth largest city, Mr. Gladden was almost breathless.

Posted by David at 9/18/2017 11:12:00 AM

Report Reveals ‘Class-Shaped Hole’ in UK Acting Industry

Backstage: Tracy Brabin has been Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire since 2016 after a by-election triggered by the murder of Jo Cox. She considers herself part of “the exciting influx of Labour MPs in the last year, most of whom have done other jobs”. Tracy’s other job was as an actor, coming to the Labour Party after a 20 year career; breaking through in the 1989 comedy-drama “A Bit of a Do”, becoming a regular in “Coronation Street”, “Emmerdale” and “Eastenders” and later writing for “Tracey Beaker”, “Heartbeat” and “Shameless”. Last month the results of her and fellow MP Gloria de Piero’s inquiry into access and diversity in the acting industry were published, evidencing what many have known for some time: “There is a class-shaped hole in the industry”.

Posted by David at 9/21/2017 12:53:00 PM

Netflix Ends Unauthorized 'Stranger Things' Bar With A Super Classy Letter

Logan Square - Chicago - DNAinfo: We've got bad news for anyone who assumed the wildly popular "Stranger Things" pop-up bar would get an extended run.

Netflix won't let the Logan Square venue at 2367 N. Milwaukee Ave. stay open past the six-week mark.

Posted by David at 9/20/2017 12:18:00 PM

Adam Beach on Hollywood's Erasure of Native Actors

Colorlines: Adam Beach (“Suicide Squad”), one of the country’s most recognizable Native thespians, understands just how often Indigenous narratives are Whitewashed. He denounces this ongoing erasure—which is connected to a centuries-long legacy of genocide and forced assimilation whose remnants still threaten Native communities

Posted by David at 9/19/2017 12:55:00 PM

Amber Tamblyn: I’m Done With Not Being Believed

The New York Times: When I was 21, I went into the office of a producer of the television show I was starring in to discuss a big problem. By this point I had been acting for more than a decade, and the show was very successful and beloved. Still, I was nervous about facing the firing squad of Emmys that sat behind him and saying what I had to say.

Posted by David at 9/18/2017 11:18:00 AM

Worth a Look

Here are a few posts from last week's Greenpage that might be worth your time...

At North Shore Music Theatre, An Absence of Race, Ethnicity and Understanding Prevails

Arts Integrity Initiative: It’s a bit hard to follow the thinking of Bill Hanney, the owner and producer at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts. Initially, it was hard because Hanney was silent, not responding to complaints – initiated by Lauren Villegas of Project Am I Right? – over the lack of Latinx casting in the company’s production Evita, which has no Latinx performers in principal roles and seemingly few in the entire cast.

Posted by David at 9/15/2017 01:01:00 PM

Philadelphia stagehands union to strike against Walnut Street Theatre

Philadelphia Business Journal: The Philadelphia Stagehands Union Local 8 will go on strike against the Walnut Street Theatre, which stagehand officials allege discriminated against two of its now-terminated members.

The 750-member Local 8 at 5 p.m. on Wednesday will go on strike after the theater company allegedly terminated two stagehand members over the Labor Day weekend, according to a release issued Wednesday by the union.

Posted by David at 9/15/2017 12:56:00 PM

Women on Broadcast TV: Little Progress for Diversity (Study)

Variety: The progress of women in the television industry continues to be incremental when it hasn’t stalled out, according to the annual Boxed In study conducted by San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film.

Posted by David at 9/13/2017 10:39:00 AM

Lawyers Overcome First Challenge In Showing 'We Shall Overcome' Is In The Public Domain

Techdirt: A year and a half ago, we wrote about how the same team of lawyers who successfully got "Happy Birthday" recognized as being in the public domain (despite decades of Warner Chappell claiming otherwise, and making boatloads of money) had set their sites on a similar fight over the copyright status of the song "We Shall Overcome." There were a lot of details in the original lawsuit that we wrote about -- all suggesting very strongly that the song "We Shall Overcome" was way older than the copyright holder claimed, and it was almost certainly in the public domain.

Posted by David at 9/12/2017 01:41:00 PM

How does Burning Man affect Pyramid Lake Paiute community?

RecordCourier.com: Over the years, Burning Man has grown from a small group of friends on Baker Beach in San Francisco in 1986 to one of the largest art festivals to date in the world.

The event moved in the 1990s to Black Rock City, Nevada — located about 3 hours northeast of Reno — and these days it attacts nearly 70,000 people annually from across the world to participate in the week-long festival to witness various forms of artistic self-expression.

Posted by David at 9/11/2017 12:20:00 PM

Worth a Look

Here are a few posts from last week's Greenpage that might be worth your time...

Houston Opera, Symphony, Ballet, Theaters Devastated

www.musicalamerica.com: For the second time in less than two decades, the 17-block Houston theater district, the second largest in the country, has been severely damaged by flooding. Hurricane Harvey defied an elaborate system of flood gates designed to protect the underground facilities, and the Houston Grand Opera, Symphony, Ballet, and other, smaller organizations have been flooded.

Posted by David at 9/05/2017 12:07:00 PM

Keeping ‘Insecure’ lit: HBO cinematographer Ava Berkofsky on properly lighting black faces

\mic.com: The actors on HBO’s Insecure are hotter than you. They’re hotter than your friends, they’re hotter than me and they’re even hotter than the ex the show won’t let you forget about. Co-created by writer and star Issa Rae (along with Larry Wilmore), the series gives viewers a window into black life as a late 20-/early 30-something in Los Angeles — the hookups and personal hang-ups, the office politics and friendship dynamics. But whether you’re #TeamIssa or #TeamLawrence, you have to admit the people who portray the show’s female and male leads — Rae and actor Jay Ellis — pop on screen, as do everyone else. This isn’t an accident.

Posted by David at 9/08/2017 12:48:00 PM

CMU Drama Students Take A Stand Against Hate

Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama: “Taking A Stand Against Hate,” an inclusivity forum in response to the events that occurred in Charlottesville in August, took place Sept. 1, in the lobby of the Purnell Center for the Arts.

Posted by David at 9/06/2017 11:07:00 AM

The Top 10 BFA Theatre Design & Tech Programs in the Country for 2017-18

OnStage Blog: The end of August is usually a time where college seems to be on everyone's mind. Whether it's incoming freshmen getting ready to move into their residence halls or high school seniors preparing their applications, college is a constant discussion.

For theatre students, where you attend can certainly have an impact on your career with the type of training you receive. It's also important to note that while each school listed here is excellent, a college degree doesn't guarantee success nor is one required to become successful in this industry.

Posted by David at 9/04/2017 04:27:00 PM

Immersive entertainment has a naming problem

The Verge: Last week, news broke that Disney was surveying customers about a new name for its Florida-based Hollywood Studios. The change would come alongside a fundamental reimagining of the park itself, moving away from the ride-centric home to attractions like Star Tours and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and towards a more interactive, immersive land in line with the upcoming Star Wars: Galaxy Edge. “Enter this newly named Disney Theme Park and completely immerse yourself in the realm of some of your favorite stories,” the survey read, promising guests the chance to “step into imagined worlds made real, and take the lead in an adventure that surrounds you at every turn.”

Posted by David at 9/04/2017 04:16:00 PM

Worth a Look

Here are a few posts from last week's Greenpage that might be worth your time...

Equity Members Set to Vote on Dues Raise

Backstage: Actors’ Equity Association, the country’s union for professional actors and stage managers, is hoping to increase its annual membership dues for the first time since 2002. But before the fees are raised, the members whom it would affect must approve the motion.

This proposal is part of a union campaign known as “Equity 2020,” which as the union stated in an email to membership, “was launched...to create a more aggressive, inclusive and responsive union over the next three years.”

Posted by David at 8/31/2017 01:50:00 PM

IATSE Donates Funds to Assist Members Affected by Hurricane Harvey

Stage Directions: Due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, the IATSE will donate $10,000 to the Walsh/DiTolla/Spivak Foundation to provide financial assistance to affected IATSE members and their families. Local unions and members of the IATSE are asked to contribute what they can to the Foundation, enabling affected members and their families more flexibility to cope with the challenges created by Harvey.

Posted by David at 8/29/2017 02:57:00 PM

“Gone With the Wind” dropped from Memphis theater over racial concerns

Salon.com: According to a report published on Deadline, the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee has pulled the classic 1939 film “Gone With the Wind” from its schedule after determining that it was “insensitive to a large segment of its local population.”

Statements from the management of the Orpheum note that there had been a broad and often negative local response to the August 11 screening of the Academy-Award winning tale of the Civil War Era South starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.

Posted by David at 8/28/2017 02:41:00 PM

'Born in China' filmmakers wore these silly panda suits to get up close

www.usatoday.com/story/life: DisneyNature filmmakers are known for doing whatever it takes to get stunning footage of wildlife up close — even wearing goofy-looking panda suits required to shoot real pandas for Born in China.

Yes, director Lu Chuan's ground crew really wore panda outfits, complete with panda poop smell, to shoot the hit nature film, released around Earth Day and set for a Blu-ray release Aug. 29.

Posted by David at 8/29/2017 02:53:00 PM

Oak Brook theater defends same-sex couple, interracial casting in Shakespeare play

www.dailyherald.com: First Folio Theatre executive director David Rice did something this week he hasn't had to do in 35 years as a theater professional: He defended his company's casting and his director's vision.

In an email statement to First Folio supporters and the press, Rice addressed complaints from some theatergoers objecting to the Oak Brook theater's casting of William Shakespeare's "As You Like It." The production features a same-sex couple and three interracial couples.

Posted by David at 8/28/2017 02:39:00 PM

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

This usually goes on the other page, but I wasn't paying attention and forgot to post it.  So now it's here.

Here are the top five comment generating posts from last week's Greenpage:

Three Reasons Why Your Theatre Degree Isn’t Useless

OnStage Blog: People with theatre degrees and those pursuing them have heard countless comments suggesting they haven’t made the right choice.

“You know you’re not going to make a lot of money, right?”

“Why don’t you get a more practical degree?”

“So you want to wait tables for the rest of your life?”

Some of these comments have come from theatre folks themselves, such as:

“Yeah, I’m going to be an actor, which means I’m going to live in a cardboard box forever.”

These perceptions towards theatre degrees are disappointing for a variety of reasons. Obviously, these sorts of comments are far from uplifting.

Posted by David at 8/29/2017 02:56:00 PM

Billy Porter: Why I am committed to disturbing the peace

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: So it looks like I caused a kerfuffle this past Sunday at my concert at the amphitheater at Hartwood Acres. It appears that some folks were offended by the colorful language I used in my “political rant,” dissenting from President Donald Trump and his cronies. Here’s what I’ll say:

First and foremost, I apologize for dropping F-bombs in the presence of children.

Posted by David at 8/31/2017 01:49:00 PM

Race, Money and Broadway: How ‘Great Comet’ Burned Out

The New York Times: The young, flamboyant and unusually diverse collective of actors and musicians who brought “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” to Broadway enjoyed the giddy highs of theater’s most glamorous perch — a run at the grand Imperial Theater, a season-topping 12 Tony nominations, a spotlight shared with the pop star Josh Groban.

For most of the performers, it was their first time on a Broadway stage. Costumed as punkified peasants and aristocrats in a bold musical adaptation of Tolstoy, they danced down the aisles, handing out pierogies and creating an unusually immersive musical experience.

Posted by David at 8/30/2017 01:23:00 PM

Backstage at 'Aladdin': The magic of design, costume makes everything sparkle

Chicago Tribune: Wishes have been granted by a genie and a magic carpet has flown for months at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, where the national touring production of Disney’s “Aladdin” has brought the animated film’s Agrabah to life on the proscenium since April. Show after show, the journey of a street rat-with-dreams, from penniless urchin to prince, all comes together like magic.

Posted by David at 8/31/2017 01:48:00 PM

17 Important Questions to Ask Before Accepting a Job Offer

business.tutsplus.com: To some applicants, the lure of receiving a monthly salary after months of job hunting is so irresistible they sign the first offer they get.

Maybe they already know the offered compensation package, maybe knowing their basic salary is going to be bigger than what they received previously was enough.

But money isn’t the only item you’re agreeing to when you accept a job offer.

Posted by David at 8/31/2017 01:50:00 PM