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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

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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

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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

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

This Year’s Gender & Period Count: The Best Numbers Yet

AMERICAN THEATRE: When we tallied this season’s Top 10 and Top 20 Most-Produced lists, we were heartened by the percentages: 8 of the 11 most-produced plays in the coming season are written by women, while 11 of the 20 most-produced playwrights are women. These are by far the best numbers in terms of gender parity we’ve ever seen on these lists, which each year offer a telling snapshot of the U.S. theatre field’s priorities and tastes. There are also a historic number of people of color on the playwrights’ list, making this a year in which we feel like we can genuinely report good news of positive trends toward better and fairer representation of the nation’s demographics on our stages.

Posted by David at 9/25/2018 12:13:00 PM

Class Might Be Invisible, But Theatres Shouldn't Ignore It

Exeunt Magazine: There’s been quite a few articles recently about the dearth of working class artists in theatre (mainly written by middle class writers, for publications with a large middle class readership). And while plenty of interesting points have been raised, the overarching theme seems to be how difficult it is to carve out a career if you don’t have the brass. This is, if you’ll excuse the pun, bang on the money (I have to work full time alongside my playwriting). That said, I think that by focusing solely on cash, we’re actually losing sight of the other barriers working class artists face.

Posted by David at 9/25/2018 12:08:00 PM

Why Are Two Casts Performing One Show Simultaneously?

Theatre Development Fund – TDF: Craig Lucas' new play I Was Most Alive with You at Playwrights Horizons is about a family coping with a series of calamities that recall the biblical story of Job. But ask Sabrina Dennison to describe the show and she declares it's "complicated." She says this in American Sign Language (ASL) because that is her first language, but she doesn't use the traditional sign of wiggling her index fingers while crossing her arms. Instead, she wiggles all ten digits -- that's how complicated it's been.

Posted by David at 9/24/2018 11:48:00 AM

Wildfire smoke costs famed Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The Seattle Times: The famed Oregon Shakespeare Festival that attracts tourists from around the world said Tuesday that it lost $2 million this summer because wildfire smoke forced it to cancel more than two dozen outdoor performances. The organization will have an indoor venue next season for smoky days as an alternate to its award-winning outdoor theater and will shift its outdoor season back a week to avoid the worst of the wildfire season, said Julie Cortez, the festival’s spokeswoman.

Posted by David at 9/27/2018 12:08:00 PM

#MeToo Survivors Still Suffer in the Aftermath (Column)

Variety: How much has the past year of #MeToo revelations actually changed the entertainment industry?

In the year since the Harvey Weinstein allegations first broke, the most prominent narrative has been that Hollywood is undergoing a domino effect of downfalls, with one powerful man after another toppling into oblivion as their abusive pasts come back to haunt them. To a certain extent, that’s been true.

Posted by David at 9/26/2018 11:56:00 AM

We Might Have a Podcast Thing Happening

Worth a Look

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

#MeToo anniversary: 8 insiders share their stories, one year later

www.usatoday.com: Sexual misconduct survivors shed light on abuses in Hollywood in October 2017 and the world took notice — the stories of a few were quickly echoed and amplified by millions who catapulted the #MeToo viral hashtag into a cultural movement.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary, USA TODAY wants to continue the conversation by sharing the voices of people who have experienced sexual harassment and assault in the entertainment industry.

Posted by David at 9/20/2018 11:40:00 AM

Senate passes copyright bill to end 140-year protection for old songs

Ars Technica: For the last decade, the Congressional debate over copyright law has been in a stalemate. Content companies have pushed for stronger protections, but their efforts have been stopped by a coalition of technology companies and digital rights groups.

Posted by David at 9/20/2018 11:37:00 AM

7 Women of Theatre History You Should Know: Part Five

The Interval: I find it so heartening to learn about the accomplishments of women in theatre history, so with the fifth installment of “7 Women of Theatre History You Should Know,” I’m pleased to showcase seven more women who shaped the theatre landscape as we know it today. Some overcame gender or race discrimination but persevered at a time when the field was not welcoming. Some founded theatre companies, or created iconic design elements, or wrote pieces from a perspective not often shown on the Broadway stage. As I have previously noted, reading about one woman leads to another woman, and another, and another.

Posted by David at 9/19/2018 04:27:00 PM

Art on a Damaged Planet: the Theatre in the Age of Climate Change Convening

 HowlRound Theatre Commons: From June 8 to 10 2018, HowlRound, in partnership with Chantal Bilodeau (The Arctic Cycle), Elizabeth Doud (Climakaze Miami/Fundarte), and Roberta Levitow (Theatre Without Borders), hosted Theatre in the Age of Climate Change, one of four convenings selected as part of the HowlRound Challenge. This effort brought together a collection of artists, activists, scientists, and educators working at the intersection of climate change and performing arts for three days of reflection, strategizing, and sharing. Much of the convening is archived on HowlRound TV.

Posted by David at 9/17/2018 11:47:00 AM

Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts

Entertainment Central Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh has produced many amazing firsts including the Salk polio vaccine, the Ferris wheel, and first movie theater. The city has continued to generate new firsts including those of the arts and entertainment variety since 2004 with the first Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts. Since then the Festival has also occurred in 2008 and 2013, attracting over a million visitors to each one.

Posted by David at 9/20/2018 11:37:00 AM

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I’m Still a Terrorist in Hollywood’s Eyes, Years After 9/11

www.vulture.com: This week, we observe the 17th anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11, as well as the beginning of a new fall TV season. As unconnected as those are for most Americans, they are totally intertwined for me, and many other MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) actors. I moved to Hollywood a few months after 9/11. One of my first TV roles was on a TV pilot called Homeland Security, where I actually played one of the 9/11 hijackers in flight school. I had a handful of lines, including, “Is okay, I don’t need to land.” At the time, I was happy to be working, and I didn’t mind playing such a one-dimensional character because I hoped and expected I would eventually play more complex non-terrorist roles. But in the last 17 years, nearly every MENA role I’ve played or auditioned for was in some way informed by 9/11.

Posted by David at 9/14/2018 12:24:00 PM 

When Damage Is Done

AMERICAN THEATRE: Since October 2017, when the #MeToo movement broke as a national story and the subsequent Time’s Up movement against sexual harassment and predation has only grown in moral force, one thing was clear: Theatre would not be spared. Since last fall a number of theatre artists have been accused of sexual harassment, and in some cases lost jobs over it, including playwright Israel Horovitz and Lee Trull, former director of new play development manager of Dallas Theater Center. Others were accused but still retained their jobs while their companies conducted investigations, such as Michael Halberstam, artistic director of Writers’ Theatre in Glencoe, Ill., and currently Thomas Schumacher, the head of Disney Theatrical Group.

Posted by David at 9/10/2018 02:02:00 PM

 

Foreign Actors On Mexico's Theater Stage Stir Resentment Behind The Scenes

NPR: At the Metropolitan Theatrical Awards in Mexico City, actresses in sequined floor length gowns and actors in tuxedos ranging from the debonair to the eccentric, walk the red carpet striking poses for photographers on a recent Tuesday evening at the historic Teatro de la Ciudad.
It is an unusual place for tensions over immigration and cultural identity.

Posted by David at 9/10/2018 02:07:00 PM

 

'Designing Women' Creator on Les Moonves: Not All Harassment Is Sexual

Hollywood Reporter: This is not the article you might be expecting about Les Moonves. It’s not going to be wise or inspiring. It’s going to be petty and punishing. In spite of my proper Southern mother’s admonition to always be gracious, I am all out of grace when it comes to Mr. Moonves. In fact, like a lot of women in Hollywood, I am happy to dance on his professional grave. And not just any dance — this will be the Macarena, the rumba, the cha-cha and the Moonwalk. You get the idea.

Posted by David at 9/12/2018 12:00:00 PM

 

‘Oklahoma!,’ Still Okay?

AMERICAN THEATRE: “Country’s a-changin’, got to change with it!”
So Oklahoma!’s Curly tells her true love Laurey moments after she accepts her adorably flustered proposal. Wait, did I just write “her” for Curly? If you’re in Ashland, Ore., yes, ma’am—that’s the correct pronoun. Bill Rauch’s current staging of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic has found a new way to make the heart beat faster and the eye tear up: Curly and Laurey’s romance now blazes brightly in a nation torn between LGBTQ rights and bigoted backlash. Their pure love is echoed in the comical affair between roper Will Parker and his randy sweetheart, Ado Andy (originally Annie), now “just a boy who cain’t say no.”

Posted by David at 9/10/2018 02:05:00 PM

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British Independent Film Awards Launches ‘Unconscious Bias’ Training

Variety: With awards nominee lists under increasing scrutiny, the British Independent Film Awards is launching a first-of-its-kind “unconscious bias” training program. All BIFA voting members, including juries, committees and the board, will complete the training ahead of this year’s awards.

Posted by David at 9/05/2018 12:00:00 PM

How Heathers: High School Edition is helping difficult discourse on teen issues in Johnson County, Kansas (and how it can help you, too).

Breaking Character: The importance of having discussions about mental health, violence, and bullying in our community and communities around the United States became clear when three students in Johnson County, Kansas took their own lives in January of 2018. In the previous year, eight Johnson County teens did the same. This is a subject that is very difficult to discuss between local students and adults alike.

Posted by David at 9/07/2018 12:55:00 PM

ASTC at 35

theatreconsultants.org: This year, ASTC celebrates 35 years since its founding in 1983. What was created as a small group of twelve men following a meeting in New York has grown into an organization with over 70 members. Here, we reflect on where we began and who we are today in conversation with a few members who’ve been active for more than a quarter century.

Posted by David at 9/06/2018 12:28:00 PM

Speakin' yinzer n'at: 'One Dollar' actors say they find no language barrier in our unusual dialect

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Picture, if you can, Pittsburgh Dad as Henry Higgins.

No “rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain” nonsense here. With “One Dollar” shooting in Western Pennsylvania since spring, it has been more like, “hangin’ aroun’ Dahntahn.”

The yinzer patois is a wonderful, terrible thing.

Posted by David at 9/04/2018 01:20:00 PM

Plays for Labor Day. In praise of theater about unions, workers and workplaces.

New York Theater: It was while attending the current revival of Lillian Hellman’s 1936 play “Days to Come,” which is set during a strike at a brush factory in Ohio, that I suddenly wondered: Where are the American plays about unions, or workers, or even just workplaces?

Posted by David at 9/04/2018 01:12:00 PM

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Jeff Awards Scrap Gender-Binary Acting Categories, Proceed to Nominate Two-Thirds Men

Chicago magazine | Arts & Culture August 2018: The Joseph Jefferson Awards, honoring the best theater in Chicago as deemed by a volunteer committee, made the inclusive move this year to eliminate the gender binary in its performance categories. No longer will the nominations be divided into actors and actresses; instead, each category for principal and supporting role will consist of one pool — representing all genders, with at least 10 nominees and two winners.

Posted by David at 8/30/2018 11:27:00 AM

How an auction for a wireless frequency is affecting high school and amateur theaters

www.marketplace.org: About four years ago, the Federal Communications Commission decided that a specific slice of the radio spectrum would be reallocated for use in internet broadband services. The aim was to make mobile broadband services faster. The FCC then auctioned off this spectrum to a number of broadband companies that include T-Mobile, Comcast and Dish TV.

Posted by David at 8/28/2018 10:48:00 AM

Crews With Disabilities Want More Inclusion

Variety: Hollywood, aiming for more diversity, hopes inclusion riders will help broaden the composition of behind-the-camera crews. But so far, people with disabilities — who comprise nearly 20% of the population — have been left out of the conversation.

Posted by David at 8/30/2018 11:29:00 AM

Equity + Norwegian Cruise Line Partnership: Changing Times?

Backstage: Earlier this year, a dazzling new cruise ship made its rounds of the United States’ coastal cities, wowing eager onlookers and curious travelers. The ship’s maiden voyage also represented a notable victory in recruiting for the nation’s union of stage actors. While Norwegian Cruise Line debuted its much-anticipated Norwegian Bliss cruise ship in New York City, Actors’ Equity trumpeted its contract agreement for workers on the docked vessel. The three-day contract is the first full Equity cast agreement of its kind between the union and a cruise line.

Posted by David at 8/30/2018 11:28:00 AM

On Harassment Policies for Critics in the Age of #MeToo

HowlRound Theatre Commons: Following the outing of serial abusers Al Chase and Israel Horowitz, the New England theatre community has started taking a closer look at its inclusion and harassment policies. These recent events have led to a greater concern for implementation of best practices on an individual, company, and community-wide level, such as our local theatre service organization StageSource’s Line Drawn Summit in June. New England is buzzing with the potential for positive change.

Posted by David at 8/27/2018 10:48:00 AM

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New study finds no significant improvement in film inclusion over past decade

ThinkProgress: The numbers are in. The numbers are abysmal. The most appalling findings are detailed helpfully in all-caps, like a presidential missive about how YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES: “NO PROGRESS FOR FEMALES ON SCREEN IN FILM IN OVER A DECADE.”

Posted by David at 8/01/2018 01:29:00 PM

Study: Allowing smartphones in class lowers grades–even for students who don’t use them

Big Think: Students who use smartphones during lectures are less able to retain course material over the long term, new research suggests.

The study, published in the journal Educational Psychology, also showed that students performed worse on exams even when they didn’t use smartphones or laptops during class but attended lectures in which they were allowed.

Posted by David at 7/30/2018 10:11:00 AM

Hollywood Should Let Women Fail Upwards Too

The Mary Sue: In a recent study done by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, they uncovered a frightening reality: there has only been minimal change in representation both in front of and behind the camera. Both are important, but representation onscreen is more visible and often gets more attention, so let’s talk for a moment about representation behind the camera, where things are sorely, sorely lacking.

Posted by David at 8/02/2018 12:35:00 PM

Evangeline Lilly Refused to Do Nudity on Lost After Shooting One Scene Left Her 'Crying My Eyes Out'

themuse.jezebel.com: In the first five minutes of a recent episode of The Lost Boys podcast, Evangeline Lilly says she would describe starring on the TV show Lost as her destiny. “I would say it was my destiny because it certainly wasn’t my agenda,” she told host Jacob Stolworthy (who is also a writer for the Independent). She wasn’t trying to be an actress at the time, she explains—but in a way, when she got the role of Kate Austin, she felt like she had to.

Posted by David at 8/01/2018 01:27:00 PM

Sign-language interpreter gets national attention

AXS: Live music is something everyone should be able to experience, and one sign-language interpreter is getting attention for making sure...

Posted by David at 7/30/2018 10:07:00 AM