Worth a Look

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

LGBTQ Characters Reach Record-High TV Representation

Variety: LGBTQ characters have hit record-high representation numbers for the 2018-19 television season, GLAAD’s annual “Where We are on TV” report for 2018 finds.

LGBTQ series regulars on broadcast have hit 8.8% (75 characters), with 50% of those characters being LGBTQ people of color.

Posted by David at 10/25/2018 12:10:00 PM

This Prop Master’s Work Is Hidden in Plain Sight

YouTube: Ross MacDonald makes his paper by making paper. For the last 25 years, he’s created tens of thousands of paper props for movies and television shows like “Baby’s Day Out,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “Parks and Recreation.” From handwritten letters to driver’s licenses, each piece is custom made and thoughtfully imbued with backstory.

Posted by David at 10/23/2018 11:19:00 AM

Show Girls

Evolve: Showgirls is a photo series aimed at bringing attention to female technicians in the live events industry, highlighting that they are not just girls on show site, but are qualified and capable technicians. We interviewed 5 women, of varying experience, for their perspectives on working in a male dominated field and how we get more women interested in a career in AV. The consensus? We need to make more women aware that this industry exists.

Posted by David at 10/22/2018 02:15:00 PM

Hamlet Is the Latest Chicago Shakespeare Theater Role that Didn’t Go to a Local

Chicago magazine | Arts & Culture October 2018: Last week, Chicago Shakespeare Theater announced that Raúl Esparza will play the title role in its three-month run of Hamlet next spring, to be directed by the theater’s founder and artistic director, Barbara Gaines. Esparza’s casting is notable for a few reasons. First, he’s a terrific actor — on Broadway, with four Tony nominations to his name, and on television, where he’s built a following on Law & Order: SVU. Second, he’ll be among the older performers of the modern era to act as Shakespeare’s prince. Those who land the role usually fall within the age range of mid-twenties to late thirties; Esparza turns 48 this month.

Posted by David at 10/22/2018 11:17:00 AM

Green Hippo Motion Maps Stonehenge

TPi: It took a year of negotiations, but 2018 saw Stonehenge host its first-ever live DJ set. And lighting creative Motion Mapping, complete with a pair of Green Hippo Hippotizer Karst Media Servers supplied by A.C. Entertainment Technologies, was tasked with delivering a digital video projection show equal to the brooding majesty of one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World.

Posted by David at 10/22/2018 01:54:00 PM

Worth a Look

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

Directors Guild Reports Gains in Diversity in TV Directing Jobs

Variety: Women and directors of color posted record levels of employment in episodic television directing jobs during the past TV season, the Directors Guild of America reports. The percentage of episodes directed by women rose to 25% of all episodes, and the percentage of episodes helmed by directors of color increased to 24% of all episodes.

Posted by David at 10/16/2018 12:45:00 PM

IATSE Contract Ratification Popular Vote Shows New Contract Is Not So Popular

Deadline: Ratification of IATSE’s new film and TV contract was approved last week in a landslide under the union’s electoral college-style voting system, but it was a real squeaker in terms of the popular vote – the closest in the union’s history. And while the popular vote carries no weight under the union’s rules, the closeness of the vote might offer some consolation to opponents of the pact, while serving notice to management’s AMPTP that the unpopularity of the pact could foreshadow tougher sledding ahead when the parties return to the bargaining table in three years.

Posted by David at 10/18/2018 11:49:00 AM

Equity urges action after disappointing Willy Wonka casting decision

MEAA: Equity is dismayed at a decision by the producers of the upcoming musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to cast an overseas performer in the lead role of Willy Wonka.

Equity President Chloe Dallimore says the casting of an American performer in the role of Willy Wonka highlights the need for an industry-wide foreign artists’ agreement to cover musicals.

Posted by David at 10/17/2018 11:38:00 AM

Stairway To Heaven Is Not Blurred Lines

Techdirt: Yes, the new 9th Circuit surprising reversal of the jury verdict looks like "Blurred Lines" all over again -- only in reverse. Whereas in "Blurred Lines," the jury reached the "wrong" conclusion, and the Ninth Circuit refused to fix the jury's mistake, here it looks like the jury reached the "right" conclusion," and the Ninth Circuit is screwing up the jury's work. Techdirt all but said so, in an article 9th Cir Never Misses a Chance to Mess Up Copyright Law: Reopens Led Zeppelin 'Stairway to Heaven' Case.

Posted by David at 10/16/2018 10:54:00 AM

Can't Wish Away The Mistakes In The Original 'Stairway To Heaven' Verdict

Techdirt: Last time, I explained why I thought the Ninth Circuit's recent vacating and remanding of the jury verdict in Led Zeppelin's favor was, long-term, a good thing for copyright law (even if I kind of liked the verdict and am genuinely sorry for Led Zeppelin). The reason is that the reversal gave one panel of the Ninth Circuit an opportunity to try to fix the Ninth Circuit's unhelpful legal framework for determining copyright infringement.

Posted by David at 10/17/2018 11:41:00 AM

Parkland kids' Rube Goldberg machine illustrates the aftermath of school shootings

Boing Boing: Alex Little writes, "The Parkland kids created a rube goldberg machine that shows the predictable domino effect of responses from politicians and media after every school shooting."

Posted by David at 10/16/2018 10:57:00 AM

Worth a Look

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

Inside the one-ton, history-making King Kong Broadway musical

SYFY WIRE: Eighty-five years after first leaving an indelible footprint the streets of Manhattan, King Kong is returning to Broadway — and this time, the producers promising New Yorkers a spectacle unlike any other are confident that they have the tools they need to keep the great ape under control.

It helps that now, King Kong is a puppet. Not that it makes the show any less impressive.

Posted by David at 10/11/2018 12:36:00 PM

Your role in the responsible and sustainable hardwood supply chain

Woodworking Network: With several species and grades available, hardwoods – whether American or exotic – are cost-effective and high-quality materials suitable for a range of applications and industries, from furniture and cabinetry manufacturing to interior design and construction. An added benefit is that hardwoods are often considered an environmentally friendly and renewable resource – one that, thanks to sustainable forest management, can be harvested with minimal environmental impact and regenerated to ensure there’s always an abundant and continued supply.

Posted by David at 10/10/2018 12:03:00 PM

How Chicago Is Changing Theater, One Storefront at a Time

The New York Times: I was taking a tour of the Den, a warren of performance spaces carved out of a row of former furniture and clothing stores, when one of my guides opened a door to what I felt sure was a broom closet.

Wrong! It was another performance space. Inside, crews from WildClaw Theater were preparing the tiny black box for that evening’s offering, a play called “Second Skin” that local reviews had called eerie and creepy.

Those were compliments; WildClaw’s aim is to “bring the world of horror to the stage.”

Posted by David at 10/10/2018 12:10:00 PM

Theatre Safety And What We Can Learn From The Construction Industry

blog.propared.com: The theatre industry as a whole doesn't take safety as seriously as other industries. Construction sites, for example, have very strict rules covering every facet of their work - and with good reason given the nature of the work. As theatre practitioners, there's a lot we can learn and a lot we can collectively do better.

Posted by David at 10/09/2018 01:32:00 PM

Legendary lyricist Sondheim dismisses protests calling for color-conscious casting as 'ridiculous'

St. Louis Public Radio: “That kind of protest, I just find sort of silly,” he said. “If you carry that to its extreme than you’d have to say that an actress couldn’t be played by anyone but an actress and that a mother couldn’t be played by somebody who hadn’t been a mother. I mean, it’s ridiculous.”

Posted by David at 10/08/2018 11:45:00 AM

Worth a Look

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

Days of Awe: Leigh Silverman and Broadway’s First All-Female Design Team, a photo essay

The Interval: On a weekday afternoon, Studio 54—the theatre turned nightclub turned theatre—empty except for the creative team and crew of The Lifespan of a Fact and some front of house staff, has a sense of being at eternal twilight. It is not Broadway’s biggest house, but might be the one with the most outsized aura. It was refurbished with mirrored walls and leopard print carpet meant to evoke its past, which seems very far away. It is also where photographer Tess Mayer spent two afternoons documenting Broadway’s first all-female design team at work during their third and fourth days of tech for the new play The Lifespan of a Fact.

Posted by David at 10/03/2018 12:16:00 PM

Kent State cancels ‘West Side Story’ over casting complaints

The Kansas City Star: Kent State University has canceled its plans to stage the musical “West Side Story” after some Hispanic students objected to the casting of non-Hispanic students in lead roles.

The tragic Romeo and Juliet story involves two rival gangs in New York City — the white Jets and the Sharks, who are Puerto Rican.

Posted by David at 10/05/2018 01:52:00 PM

Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga Sang Live for ‘A Star Is Born’

Variety: On Warner Bros.’ remake of “A Star Is Born,” actor-director Bradley Cooper and co-star Lady Gaga refused to settle for the traditional practice of pre-recording their songs and later lip-synching on set. Instead, they embraced the more risky approach of performing the movie’s songs live.

Posted by David at 10/04/2018 11:27:00 AM

Drury Lane Does Not Have A Casting Problem

rescripted.org: Drury Lane does not have a casting problem.

Drury Lane has an institutionalized racism problem. As does Marriott. As does Paramount. As does just about every non-PoC centered theatrical institution in this city. To place the problem at the feet of casting is to blame the symptom rather than the cause.

Posted by David at 10/01/2018 12:17:00 PM

Following Kevin Spacey Controversy, The Old Vic Announces The Guardians Network To Improve Workplace Culture

www.broadwayworld.com: Today, The Old Vic announces the Guardians Network - a collaboration between organisations committed to eliminating abuses of power in the workplace. The Guardians Programme, launched earlier this year, is designed to help any organisation go further in its commitment to creating a safe and secure working environment for all.

Posted by David at 10/03/2018 12:18:00 PM