Worth a Look

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

AAPAC Releases Report Analyzing Ethnic Representation on NYC Stages

www.broadwayworld.com: The Asian American Performers Action Coalition has taken on the task of breaking down ethnic representation in the New York theatre community, analyzing how ethnic groups are making gains and losses on the city's many stages between 2016 and 2017.

Posted by David at 3/05/2019 10:50:00 AM

A Directing Roundtable with Arpita Mukherjee, Christa Scott Reed, and Colette Robert

The Interval: Out of the 21 plays currently on Broadway or are upcoming this season, only three (a dismal 14%) are directed by women. However, Off-Broadway, there is a vibrant group of emerging new directors, many of whom are women staging exciting new work. I recently sat down for a roundtable discussion with Colette Robert (director of Behind the Sheet by Charly Evon Simpson at Ensemble Studio Theatre), Arpita Mukherjee (director of Eh Dah? Questions For My Father by Aya Aziz at Next Door at NYTW) and Christa Scott Reed (director of A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt at the Acorn Theatre). The women spoke about their desires to bring diverse stories to the stage; the challenge of balancing directing with their myriad other jobs, including acting, writing, and artistic directing; the importance of building community in the rehearsal room; and more.

Posted by David at 3/06/2019 02:35:00 PM

#CancelMichaelJackson? — It’s Not That Easy

New Pittsburgh Courier: After a riveting documentary that revisited some of the alleged crimes by R&B superstar R. Kelly – even before his high-profile arrest on child pornography and other sex-related acts – a major social media movement got underway to #MuteRKelly and #CancelRKelly.

Now, a possibly equally explosive documentary about the late Michael Jackson has led some to wonder if it’s time to “#Mute” or “#Cancel” the late King of Pop.

Posted by David at 3/04/2019 11:01:00 AM

Creating Opportunities For "Inclusive Dance" With Stopgap Dance Company

The Theatre Times: Stopgap’s debut Japan tour with its international hit, The Enormous Room, illustrates how dance can be open to all. Dave Toole, its male lead, has no legs, and Hannah Sampson, the female lead, has Down syndrome.

The company’s acclaimed productions, such as this—which drew rapturous applause in Yokohama ahead of upcoming shows in Tokyo and Kitakyushu—are made possible because of their innovative concept of “inclusive dance.”

Posted by David at 3/08/2019 10:59:00 AM

Hawaiʻi’s Theatre Landscape

HowlRound Theatre Commons: There is a movement happening in the arts scene in Hawaiʻi: artists are indigenizing theatre spaces and breaking the idyllic paradise stereotype others hold of the area. Ancient deities are emerging as murals on city walls; kapa (ornate traditional bark cloths) decorate gallery and hotel ceilings; myths and legends are being retold as sci-fi, Disney’s Moana was translated in Hawaiian language, and contemporary Pacific stories of the Samoan diaspora and Micronesian migration, reflecting Hawaiʻi’s social landscape, are finally being made into theatrical dramas. But even with this cultural movement, Hawaiʻi’s theatre landscape continues to be underrepresented and marginalized.

Posted by David at 3/07/2019 12:49:00 PM

Photo Friday

on Saturday...

Ellipses...

I had to get sick to do it, but I dropped below 200# again briefly this week.  Its nice to know it isn't impossible...  The basement now has internal French drains.  Now the rest of the renovation can continue...  Nearly a year later I finally had a reason to go into the new Tepper building.  The Eberly Center has a nice, big, new space there...  The boy, by getting sick, seems to have turned his birthday into a week long birthday festival...  This is the furthest I've stretched the definition of "Monday" for posting. I could really do better...  We had a choice of committees for this project at work.  I chose: New Pedogogies.  Here's hoping it is interesting...  Google Photos pretty regularly sends me automatically generated projects: photos, photo books, and videos.  They are on average pretty cool.  I don't know how to feel about that...  I rented way, way too much storage unit.  I am trying not to give myself too much grief for that decision...  Posts on this page used to be about politics fairly regularly.  Now much less so.  That's probably to everyone's benefit.  But it does cut down on the number of posts...  I need eight more sentences and I am really laboring...  Burgatory sends an email like every Monday offering a special for Monday or Tuesday.  We nearly never go there Monday or Tuesday.  Probably that's why there's a special Monday or Tuesday...  There really is only one answer to the question: "is this anybody's coat?"  It isn't a useful answer...  The keyboard on this computer causes me to make many typos.  Probably it is me and not the keyboard...  Usually I don't miss football, but the last couple of weeks I've craved that TV...  This is one of the days in the schedule where I am most likely to have a backlog of work.  Naturally it is the day that we regularly schedule a full company meeting...

Worth a Look

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

Industry Editor Exclusive: The Real Results of Equity's Lab Agreement Strike

www.broadwayworld.com: A couple of weeks ago, Actors' Equity Association ended its strike against the Broadway League related to development of new work. Most of the press regarding the strike and its termination is related to the Lab agreement--after the strike, and a #NotALabRat social media movement, Equity members will receive some profit participation for what we used to know as Labs. But there is a lot of the story that this spin misses.

Posted by David at 2/27/2019 12:54:00 PM

Oscars: audio description brings film to life for blind people, it deserves an award too

theconversation.com: Awards season is in full swing but as Oscars weekend approaches there is one group of cinema professionals who will not be preparing to take their place on the read carpet: audio describers.

For blind cinema goers, audio description is a crucial part of any film. It is just as important as acting, cinematography and score. Yet many sighted movie fans have no idea that audio description even exists – and it is not a skill that is awarded at the BAFTAs, Oscars or any other of the countless film institute ceremonies around the world.

Posted by David at 2/25/2019 11:42:00 AM

Are community choruses exploitative?

Exeunt Magazine: The concept of community theatre is evolving. A new wave of productions are casting local people in commercial shows, alongside a principal cast of professional actors. In the past few years, top London theatres including Almeida Theatre, Bush Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, Young Vic Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East and National Theatre have all made use of this casting method. But it isn’t exclusively a London thing; the Actors’ Touring Company production of The Suppliant Women cast a new group of women in each city of its UK tour. More recently, Royal and Derngate’s Our Lady of Kibeho and Eclipse’s Princess & The Hustler join the list of productions that feature a community cast.

Posted by David at 2/26/2019 04:49:00 PM

Harm Reduction in the Storefront Theatre Community

HowlRound Theatre Commons: A collaborator of mine, the poet, playwright, and activist Kristiana Rae Colón, once asked me: “What would a people-centered theatrical process look like?” As a director, it was definitely one of those record-scratching moments. I had thought my process was great, that the rehearsal room was a joyous one. And while it did have its moments, I realized it didn’t truly center people; I was focused on telling the story. By operating from the assumption that everyone in the room was there to tell the story at all costs, the rooms I created required a sacrifice for the good of the play both, from myself and those working with me. After all, the show must go on, right? I have harmed people, or, more specifically, I have allowed those under my leadership to be harmed by the steadfast practicing of this adage that every theatremaker is taught as Truth.

Posted by David at 2/28/2019 11:37:00 AM

ASCAP, BMI Issue Joint Statement on Reforming Consent Decree

Variety: With the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) evaluating the future of the BMI and ASCAP consent decrees, there has been much discussion and concern throughout the industry about the potential long-term impact. This is not surprising, since modifying or sunsetting the decrees would have far-reaching implications for the entire music business. Given that BMI and ASCAP are at the core of this issue, we feel it is important to share our perspective on how potential changes to our decrees could benefit all involved – if done right.

Posted by David at 3/01/2019 12:06:00 PM

Photo Friday

News From the Real World 2-24-2019

Ellipses...

I miss chat.  I used to chat all the time.  I guess folks are to the point where they think of SMS as chat.  I'm just not there yet...  Having a museum membership is a good thing when your kid's school texts you at 11AM to say they are closing at 12:30PM.  It is less of a good thing when it is Tuesday and the museum is closed on Tuesday...  People are coming to the realization that the report we are all waiting for could wind up sealed like the report from the Warren Commission.  That will disappoint a lot of people...  We're talking to a contractor about renovations.  We just found out the contractor doesn't include paint.  I'm not sure how you hold yourself out as a renovation contractor and not have paint in your scope of service...  I'm sure if I looked it wouldn't be out of the ordinary, but the swing in the temperature these days sure feels atypical...  I really like the movie Strange Days.  Watching it now it really has some very hard to watch sexual violence.  Maybe I need to reevaluate my assessment...  We saw Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse the other day.  I'm really glad we got to see it in the theater.  The animation style reads really well on a big screen...  The first year class got the Critical Path assignment this week.  I guess we'll see what they're made of now...  Would it be too much to ask that 50% of news shows be something other than the circus?  There certainly are other things happening.  Maybe we ought to hear about them...  I read an article yesterday about Facebook content moderators.  That looks like a tough gig...  Daycare is really, really, really expensive.  Elizabeth Warren can't get on that fast enough...   USITT is coming up in a few weeks.  I really need to do better at setting up lunches and dinners.  Last year was kinda lame...  If you run an internet business and you require an email address for someone to see your site, you should know it is really annoying when you email solicitations to that address multiple times each day, every day.  That's a good way to get someone to never buy anything from you ever...

Worth a Look

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

Actors at all levels face pressure to change their appearance, not just stars like Doctor Who's Jodie Whittaker

theconversation.com: Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker has become the latest actor to reveal how she has faced pressure to change her appearance. In a podcast, Whittaker disclosed that early in her career she was told to have a line on her forehead filled and was encouraged to wax her upper lip.

This is not a one-off occurrence, many other actors have spoken of how they have also experienced pressure to make changes to their bodies.

Posted by David at 2/19/2019 12:51:00 PM

EXIT Theatre Cancels Show After US Immigration Blocks Canadian Performer

KQED Arts: EXIT Theatre founder Christina Augello spent a year's work and nearly $3,000 to bring Paul David Power's play Crippled to San Francisco. But just weeks before the show was set to debut at her Tenderloin performance space, she received a letter from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—an agency that works parallel to ICE under the Department of Homeland Security—stating that Power has been denied permission to perform in the United States on the basis that Crippled is not "culturally unique."

Posted by David at 2/18/2019 11:09:00 AM

Nudity in the theater? The actors of 'Linda Vista' have it covered

Los Angeles Times: In the darkly comic play “Linda Vista” at the Mark Taper Forum, three lead actors get naked. Not semi-naked, but totally naked. And not to take a bath or get dressed, but in service of some searingly awkward — and, thus, deeply human — sex scenes.

The nudity has struck some theatergoers as so extreme and the sex so prolonged that the actors can hear members of the audience gasp when it begins.

Posted by David at 2/18/2019 11:05:00 AM

Painting While Pregnant

Guild of Scenic Artists: As an industrial hygienist, I am frequently asked by women what precautions they can take at work to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy. It should come as no surprise that many of these women are artists. Perhaps no other profession is so widely all-encompassing in terms of production materials and the variety of “products” a worker can be asked to produce. And for these women, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I don’t have a magic, comprehensive list of products or chemicals for you to use, that will allow you rock-solid confidence in their non-toxicity. The good news is that you do have the power to protect yourself and your baby, using a lot of common sense, a little bit of systematic planning, and knowledge, which will empower you to make deliberate decisions about the work environment and materials you accept.

Posted by David at 2/22/2019 10:53:00 AM

The “Carlton dance” couldn’t be copyrighted for a Fortnite lawsuit

The Verge: The US Copyright Office refused to register The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Alfonso Ribeiro’s “Carlton dance” routine, likely weakening lawsuits against two game studios that copied the dance. In new legal filings, Take-Two Interactive produced letters and emails from the Copyright Office, showing serious concern over whether the dance qualified for copyright protection and, if it could, whether Ribeiro even owned the rights.

Posted by David at 2/18/2019 11:11:00 AM

Photo Friday

Ellipses...

Here it is Wednesday and I haven't done my post for Monday.  The video buys me a little slack I guess, but really...  Kerning is the horizontal space between letters.  Leading is the vertical space between lines.  Why I know that I do not remember...  The collective frustration vented on social media when we have snow can't be helping anyone.  Winding each other up really does help to wind each other up...  I am having as much trouble keeping up with pictures for the Friday Photos as I am with all the other posts...  There are quite a few problems with the scanning and 3D printing element of the plot of Oceans 8...  Today I talked for 80 minutes about stationary shop tools.  The ScenoFab syllabus really needs a top to bottom overhaul...  This week was the start of PT for this thing we've been trying unsuccessfully to solve for nearly a year.  Pretty sure it made things worse...  At 10:43 every night the NAS turns on and starts blinking.  It constantly freaks me out.  The logs say it isn't someone logging on from outside.  Not sure if I should believe that...  We're rejiggering the schedule for the end of the semester in a way that undoes one of the most significant things I did while I was in leadership.  I'm trying not to be too irritated...  Mrs. TANBI and I are gathering bids for a project in our basement.  I wouldn't have thought it, but it appears that the price for any job is about $8k.  Hasn't mattered what the scope of work is, the cost seems to be the same...  Nobody wants the TRS-80 Color Computers I have in my basement.  Something tells me my parents should have pitched them decades ago...  The NBA All Star Game has even less defense than I remember it having.  I don't remember it having much to begin with.  Well maybe a little in the fourth quarter...  The worst part about a lot of the news these days is how much the leadership has known for a very long time and has simply chosen to overlook.  They have an oversight responsibility not an overlook responsibility...  When I saw The Lego Movie I fell asleep.  The boy had just been born and I was tired all the time.  When I saw The Lego Movie 2 I fell asleep.  I would say it has something to do with Lego movies, but I made it through The Lego Batman Movie...