There are no bad ideas: May 2020

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Worth a Look

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

Midnight Rider Randall Miller Directing Again After Sarah Jones Death

Deadline: Due to ambiguity in probation documents, disgraced Midnight Rider director Randall Miller is back behind the camera and making movies – despite an involuntarily manslaughter guilty plea that many believed forbid such work for up to decade.
Posted by David at 5/28/2020 09:45:00 AM

Extra legroom and no interval: Germany plans for post-lockdown theatre

Theatre | The Guardian: Going to the theatre after the coronavirus lockdown could be not just a novel but a more pleasant experience, if the plans of Germany’s leading theatres are anything to go by. There will be generous legroom for spectators and a more casual attitude to toilet breaks.
Posted by David at 5/31/2020 10:01:00 AM

Dearth of women in classic Hollywood was result of studio system, study finds

Ars Technica: The so-called Golden Age of Hollywood produced some of the most memorable films ever made, from 1927's The Jazz Singer to Gone With the Wind (1939) and Citizen Kane (1941). But it wasn't so golden for women in the film industry, according to a recent paper published in PLOS One that analyzed a century's worth of data and concluded that the rise of the infamous studio system produced severe gender inequality. Female representation started rising again in the 1950s, after two pivotal lawsuits effectively broke the studios' stranglehold on the industry.
Posted by David at 5/31/2020 10:02:00 AM

Top Concert Promoter Peter Shapiro on the Future of Live Music

Rolling Stone: In the 25 years since he took over New York’s Nineties jam-band haven Wetlands, Peter Shapiro has become known for pulling off impossible stunts. The concert promoter once approached Robert Plant backstage with a brown bag containing $50,000 in cash to play a midnight show at his tiny Brooklyn Bowl. (Plant accepted.) In 2015, Shapiro helped smooth over decades of bad blood in the various Grateful Dead camps to bring the band back together for their Fare Thee Well concerts.
Posted by David at 5/25/2020 02:29:00 PM

Theater Imagines Its Post-COVID Future, Including a Socially Distanced ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ on Broadway

www.thedailybeast.com: “I have gone through Mrs. Doubtfire beginning to end, and I have re-choreographed it with social distancing in mind,” Latarro told The Daily Beast of her creative breakthrough, sparked in lockdown. “I have taken out any ‘clumps’ of performers. I have taken out any partnering—which I love to do—which makes me very sad, and anything involving people being very close to each other.
Posted by David at 5/29/2020 09:39:00 AM

Saturday, May 30, 2020

We're under "yellow" here in Pittsburgh right now. This coming week we are scheduled to go to "green." Interestingly "green" doesn't mean "normal" which, to me at least, seems like poor planning. So the day started off pretty optimistic. I even took Gib5on to the comic book store.

Tonight I got this:

There were protests downtown today. Based on Facebook it seemed like things started around lunchtime and continued through the afternoon. After a couple of hours something in the tone changed and things got a little out of control. A police car was burned and several businesses were broken into and looted.

The Mayor declared a curfew for tonight and tomorrow night. As the parent of young children during a pandemic lock-down - even under yellow - the curfew makes almost no difference in our house. We'll be staying in for the night the same way we would have been staying in for the night anyway.

The crowd this afternoon was pretty big. They shut down several main streets downtown and wound up closing or causing the closure of several of the bridges necessary to access downtown. Watching on TV the escalation in Pittsburgh isn't in the same class as what we see on TV from LA or Chicago or Minneapolis. Still, it was a whole lot of people. I imagine we'll see the same thing tomorrow.

My Facebook, and a little less my Twitter are blowing up with people posting photos from protests and articles about law enforcement and protest. Most of what I read are people expressing frustration at the peaceful demonstrations being derailed by some small segment of protesters bent on causing problems. There is a lot of speculation that there are "instigators" who are not protestors at all but rather people just there trying to provoke an escalation.

Here in Pittsburgh the car that was set aflame is being reported to be the work of a quartet of black clad young white people. The Police Chief is calling them Anarchists. Normally I would attribute that kind of accusation as being from someone with a right leaning bent that wanted to shift blame from radical right leaning agitators. There are certainly charges being levels on social media saying that the rabble rousers are in fact ultra right activists or even police. There is though a small amount of traffic in my feeds that suggests at least that both might be true. Some people significantly left of center are speaking out suggesting that the escalations are a good thing and that the more the violence spreads the more positive effect there will be. I haven't really seen that before. I think that perhaps we could do well enough with the peaceful protests. Apparently there isn't universal agreement on that point.

Around the time the curfew began we were hearing a lot of sirens outside. I imagine the PPD was having to pull officers from multiple zones to try to clear the Downtown and Lower Hill area. It has been quiet since. The 10:00 and 11:00 news reports didn't show much activity. That unfortunately is not what I am seeing on national news in other cities. Here's hoping the night passes uneventfully. Wherever you are: stay safe.

Friday, May 29, 2020

DP Weekly Wrap Up

STAGE & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/alley-theatre-cuts-budget-staff.html

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/industry-infighting-union-turf-battles.html

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/theater-imagines-its-post-covid-future.html

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/wga-leaders-seek-paid-parental-leave-in.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/dga-urges-members-not-to-sign-covid-19.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/ik-multimedia-announces-safe-spacer.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/behind-curtain-interview-with-peyton.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/actors-equity-and-dr-david-michaels.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/equity-league-health-insurance-premiums.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/american-theatre-actors-equity.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/actors-equity-president-insists.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/stage-actors-union-says-no-theaters-are.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/actors-equity-outlines-safety-plans-for.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/union-insists-actors-shouldnt-work-till.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/wga-leaders-seek-wide-variety-of-hikes.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/actors-equity-announces-four-core.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/take-fast-track-to-project-management.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/actors-equity-releases-guiding.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/union-leaders-back-to-work-plans-not.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/australia-sets-production-safety.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/wga-leaders-seek-paid-parental-leave-in.html

COSTUME PRODUCTION

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/dyeing-fabric-to-create-sensors.html

SCENE DESIGN

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/dressing-scenes-for-killing-eve-was.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/autocad-is-software-that-turns-dreams.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/travels-of-scenic-artist-and-scholar.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/tales-from-scenic-artist-and-scholar_24.html

TECHNICAL DIRECTION

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-to-load-trucks-and-trailers-safely.html

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/rigging-safety-and-responsibility.html

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/makers-gonna-make.html

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/iatse-grips-local-80-chief-thom-davis.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/todays-leatherman-sidekick.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/todays-leatherman-oht.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/todays-leatherman-juice-b2.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/osha-launches-covid-19-website-for.html

SOUND DESIGN

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/what-do-those-charts-graphs-mean.html

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/attaining-better-sound-for-smartphone.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/ashly-audio-drives-unique-multizone.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-strawberry-fields-forever-contains.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/meyer-sound-powers-tupelo-drive-in.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/eight-yamaha-stagepas-1k-systems-used.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/yamahas-remote-cheerer-brings-fan.html

LIGHTING DESIGN

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/raw-christina-kamma.html

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2020/05/livestream-shows-featuring-german.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-much-led-is-too-much-led.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/isabella-byrd-i-chasing-light.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/your-interview-gabriela-tapia-lara.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/your-interview-dasomm-choi.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/ald-launches-its-ald-awards-for.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/glp-lights-up-masked-singer.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/knight-of-illumination-awards-2020.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/pr-lighting-out-in-force-for-ghanas.html

VMD

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/creative-conversations-wee-cheng-low.html

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/announcing-star-wars-tales-from-galaxys.html

COSTUME DESIGN

http://greenpagesod.blogspot.com/2020/05/weekly-polls-which-iconic-broadway.html

STAY HOME – STOP THE SPREAD – SAVE LIVES

Thursday, May 28, 2020

A couple of things

Truth be told I have really tried to steer clear of current events of late. Sometime a while ago I decided that I would draw the focus nearer and talk more about work and whatever and less about politics. But the last couple of days - just wow. So a couple of things.

There is no first amendment right to tweet. Twitter is a private platform with rules. They are free to enforce those rules and to change their rules. If you are a free market Republican you want them to be a private company as opposed to a government maintained platform. Twitter has had a substantial problem with misinformation coming from both well known and virtually unknown authors, as well as hundreds, maybe thousands, maybe tens of thousands of bots. They are way, way, way overdue to do something. Their action the other day to add informational links under suspect tweets is just a baby step. The link didn't even refute the tweet, it just suggested a destination for additional information. If a user doesn't like it, they are welcome to go post someplace else.

Authorities should really do more to stop killing people. In the 21st century haven't we come far enough that we don't need nearly this much lethal force? I get that if someone is a continuing risk to public safety that the apprehension is a priority as it possibly saves additional lives. But failing those circumstances couldn't we stand to be a little more patient? We need a way to modify current tactics in such a way that arrests can be deescalated. It would seem worth taking more time if it would mean that less lives would be lost. I remember years ago hearing that some police departments had rules against high speed chases. That they weren't supposed to engage in a pursuit that would endanger the public. It must be well past time to apply that kind of logic more broadly. If four people can't make a peaceful arrest, maybe they should wait for eight. Maybe I am missing something.

And wear a damn mask. Wearing a mask isn't politically correct it is prudent behavior. Wearing a mask doesn't make you weak, it shows you are conscientious and are interested in solving the problem. The more people that wear masks the less people that get sick and the sooner we might be able to lift the more restrictive measures. We griped about seat belts and the speed limit. We gripe about no smoking zones. All of those things verifiably save lives and eventually became the new normal. Let's skip to the end on this one and just make masks the new normal now. My mask protects you as much as me, actually more than me. Hospital workers are putting themselves in harms way every day and every day people chafe at wearing masks is that much longer the doctors and nurses and EMTs and the rest have to be in danger. Find a mask you like and wear it. This should not be controversial.

Maybe don't stand at a podium and say someone's family surely wants to get to the bottom of something when a member of that family has set their privacy aside to ask you to please just stop. Have some empathy.

This has been quite a week.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Ellipses...

100,000 dead. This isn't over. We shouldn't treat it like it is over... The new Blogger interface is going to take some getting used to. Apparently the legacy interface is going away soon... I didn't put on shoes today. I did put on socks, the basement floor is cold, but no shoes today; not even slippers... I bought a new snowblower in late February and it never really snowed again. Yesterday I bought a non-contact thermometer and a pulse-oximeter working on the same logic. Fingers crossed... Sabian has now been walking for two days. Several posts ago I predicted she would do so within 10 days (or maybe I said two weeks). I need to go back and see how close I was... We tried doing Gib5on's schoolwork today all on the computer (we've been printing everything out to date). After a few minutes we printed it out and did it longhand. I don't know if it is his machine or the interface or the way the lessons are entered, but something isn't ready for prime time... Because of the holiday we shifted my fast day to Tuesday, which is fine but it means that the next fast day is tomorrow. This didn't used to be so difficult... The President apparently has something in mind for Twitter. Here's hoping it is a boycott... I would show you the calendar view but I don't want to give anything specific away. It is supposed to be a week off, my contract "ends" at the end of May. As of today I have six "regular year" meetings already as well as one summer meeting and three other meetings. Things are for some reason getting real busy... That last one was almost a post. Maybe Saturday... The responses to the various kinds of protests are pretty eye opening. They are also fairly depressing... I watched a special tonight on the death of Owen Hart. What killed him was a solution to a fairly common problem in aerial rigging. I don't think it is a solution I would have used... Three different people sent me the same Rube-Goldberg machine video. I guess it is my thing... I was going to say I got through the whole day without buying something, but then I remembered I didn't. Maybe tomorrow... We apparently have free HBOMAX. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be an app for it on the Roku. Hopefully that's just a timing thing. I'd hate to have the service and no real way to access it... In case you didn't click the link, there is nothing suspect about mail in voting... I may have just had a pretty good idea for the fall. Something that very nearly salvages physical production...

Ellipses...

I use an automated process to post to the @NFTRW_Feed Twitter account. I would gladly give up that process if Twitter would find a way to get rid of all bots... I looks like we're getting HBOMAX for free. I mean I won't believe it until I see it, but that's what I read today... Yesterday I had two of my summer instructors pulled from my roster. Guess we'll have to make some adjustments... Gib5on had his first experience with a lawn sprinkler today. It's no spray park, but it is certainly better than nothing... I'm trying to take the diet thing a little more seriously after letting it slide last week... The company that sold me my bike says I should get a helmet, lock, and toolkit ahead of its arrival. Please send any favorites my way... We're making some headway slowly but surely on some changes for the fall. I hope it comes together like we're planning... You can still buy an inflatable pool from Amazon. I bet if I buy one the day it arrives will be the day the city walks back their announcement of how they won't be opening the city pools... The plans to enlarge the bubble continue apace, which is probably a good thing as the daycare emailed today and finally admitted they can't commit to all the people that have been paying... One of my colleagues at work put up a "see you in June" away message. I am somewhat jealous... We played our first games of Ramen Fury today. I bought it at a local toy store the other day as a support of local business. It's a pretty good game... Apple iPads are really expensive. Even rebuilds are kinda pricey. It is hard to justify a new one, but the one I have is a dinosaur... I'm out of soup. This may require an in the store trip to Target. Is soup worth the potential exposure? Probably not... Soon I am going to need a list I think. Stuff to do that isn't immediate child care or work. Should be nice to make some headway around the house... I think I am becoming used to the idea that the basement of our house is a usable space - at least I am spending quite a bit of time there... With school tapering off my interest in the Instagram accounts is dropping. I guess it is just too much social media to keep after... Everyone ought to take some serious navel gazing time and figure out what they really do miss and what they really don't miss while we're all cooped up. Could lead to some real changes...

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Ellipses...

There are apparently like 8 people that read this page regularly - either that or the page receives a fairly consistent viewership of 8. If it is the former, thanks much for reading... It is very possible that I fell asleep on the couch tonight. There's just too much TV to choose from... I finished season one of Harley Quinn. Now I've started season one of Ghost in the Shell. Lots of weapons fire... We had a Memorial Day picnic today, all on our own. Uncle Sam's on Flagstaff Hill. It was pretty nice... I turned the air on today. Not sure if that is early or late for us. One of the units basically ran all day. I view it as personal growth that its doing so didn't drive me mad... There's something wrong with the national news coverage. All pandemic all the time isn't any better than all politics all the time. Stories about how the pandemic has been made political are particularly ironic... I think I am close to the home haircut decision tipping point. Especially if the weather stays hot... Nobody cared how much the dehumidifier in the basement ran before we finished the basement. Now we wonder why it is running all the time. Also, the new blower unit we bought sounds like a jet engine... I made the boy do some worksheets today even though it wasn't a school day. We learned about safety through word games. Anything to fill a half hour... For some reason paying a big chunk of money to a babysitter feels more wasteful than paying the same big chunk of money to a day camp. If am uncertain why this is... I thought there would be no work emails today. I was wrong... Hard to find good time for reading in our current set up. Maybe that will take over some of the traditional TV time... We played The Game of Life tonight as a family. There are significant changes to that game from the one I remember... The boy would much rather ride a bike that is clearly too small for him than the one that seems more properly sized. I guess it doesn't matter much... I blew my diet last Thursday and then skipped it today for the holiday. Guess tomorrow really ought to be a fast day. Although the 5-2 thing doesn't appear to be working as well this summer as last...

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Worth a Look

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

Nearly 50% of Theater Professionals are out of work. Here's why they should be your next Temp Hire.

www.linkedin.com/pulse: Although we are certainly not alone, Broadway has been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our value proposition is based on large groups of people, skewed towards ages 40-60, paying premium prices to closely gather in one room.
Posted by David at 5/24/2020 11:10:00 AM

Crayola launches different skin tones crayons to foster representation

www.usatoday.com: No more green, red or blue people. Crayola is launching a box of crayons with different skin tones for children to "accurately color themselves into the world."

"Colors of the World" crayons, the company said in a statement, includes 24 new crayons designed to mirror and represent over 40 different skin tones.
Posted by David at 5/22/2020 09:42:00 AM

Disney Springs Re-Opens, Applies Baseball Rule to Coronavirus

io9.gizmodo.com: One additional feature that is eyebrow-raising, then, is Disney’s addition of liability signs mixed among its reminders for returning guests to practice social distancing measures. As photographed by Walt Disney World Today, placards throughout Disney Springs also carry a warning that by choosing to show up at the re-opened space, basically, it’s on you if you contract the novel coronavirus.
Posted by David at 5/21/2020 11:33:00 AM

Meet Broadway’s Most In-Demand Livestream Director

Variety: A note to creators looking to make theater during the coronavirus lockdown: “Zoom is not the answer to everything.”
Posted by David at 5/20/2020 03:08:00 PM

'I am not a digital artist. I feel like a cobbler in a world of people who no longer wear shoes'

CBC Arts: I am not a digital artist.

I do not create online content.

No matter how many incentives, financial or otherwise, are presented to me during this unprecedented time, I am not, nor will I ever be, an artist who will distinguish themselves in an online world. I must admit I have been in some anguish about this since the world — in my case, in Canada — changed in mid-March.
Posted by David at 5/19/2020 01:06:00 PM

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Ellipses...

I just spent like a half hour deleting photos from a Google account to keep from buying more storage, which I will inevitably do down the line... Out today the number of masks seems to be dropping quickly. I hope people realize this isn't over, although like everyone I hope it is... Why do you think the Giant Eagle is always out of hot dogs? Seems pretty random... My boss has told me physical production is in all likelihood not happening. Tell me something I didn't know... We did our taxes. We under withheld this year. Oops... I bought a bike online but haven't got it yet. Today the company emailed me asking if I want to buy another one. That's some serious confidence... Sabian has taken a few steps. It isn't reliable yet, so I don't think we can call it walking - but soon... I finished The Last Dance. The episodes toward the end didn't seem as special as the ones that came earlier... Red states have apparently been fudging their infection numbers so as to get their businesses open sooner. It is sad that isn't really all that surprising... Next week should have been a whole week off of work, but a meeting has sprung up like a weed on Friday... I've got a few ideas for the fall. I wonder if the students have some ideas... When I was growing up the average lifespan for a car was four years. I bought my car six years ago, and it was five years old already then. My car is eleven years old. That's a pretty old car... The Asian Seafood Buffet has reopened. It must be for take out. Not sure how you do take out from a buffet... We played a three handed game of Dixit tonight. It is probably more fun with more people... It seems like next week we may enter into a Corona Bubble with another family with an eye toward summer day care. Wish us luck... Ruin a band name by changing one letter: "Men Without Hams"... I am really liking the Harley Quinn series on SyFy and am bummed I will soon run out... k

Friday, May 22, 2020

PDB TV

Early in this administration there were stories about how difficult it was to deliver a briefing. The tale was that exhaustive written briefings wouldn't be read. Advisors were told that they would be more effective if they delivered materials heavy on charts rather than text and that it couldn't hurt to mention the President frequently. Getting your information across turned out to be a previously unanticipated challenge.

At the same time we were also told, frequently that the folks that were able to get their message across were the hosts at Fox News. We heard that the time before the start of the day in the office and the time late in the day and into the night were often spent watching political shows on television. Early on mostly this was about Fox. Later on it was often also OAN or sometimes even smaller outlets. This interest would often even include calling in and contributing to various programs.

Put those two things together and it seems like more than one White House Chief of Staff might have missed an opportunity. It is their job to put the information together in a way that it will be best received. Why didn't they form an in house television news network?

Is it such a strange idea that in the twenty first century information could possibly be delivered in this mode? It isn't like they had to put together 24 hours of programming. My guess is that they would have needed 6, maybe 8 hours of content. There is the chance that some, maybe most of the content wouldn't register (just running as background noise), but in the environment they were working in that doesn't sound much worse than we'd been told they were already doing.

They could have gone right out and hired hosts away from the various network outlets. They could have built a couple of sets and staffed up a couple of shows. They'd need a two hour morning show, maybe 2-3 newscasts and maybe a magazine show. The guests on the shows would have been the people that would have been generating or delivering briefings and then a team of civilians that the producers would know would have a voice that would be heard. Shows would run live once a day and be stored on a DVR where they could be accessed anytime. The supervising producer would be available on the phone at any time to receive specific instructions about desired content from the audience of one.

Probably the thing should run commercial free. Maybe station breaks could be like they are on NPR, teasing upcoming content and promoting other shows on the network.

We heard over and over how what they were doing wasn't working. We're still hearing it now. Someone dropped the ball here. It was their job to figure out how to make it work not just mope indefinitely about how it wasn't working.