Everything’s coming up TED right now.

As I type, the big TED conference is going on out in California. Just a few weeks ago, I attended the TEDxBroadway conference in New York. The TED Radio Hour is one of the fastest growing shows on public radio. There are several excellent talks about the arts--I love Ben Cameron’s from a few years ago in particular.…

I know I haven't blogged lately, between the massive amounts of snow Kansas has received in the past week and personal things, I just haven't had much to talk about it seems. Then I read this editorial from the Wichita Eagle about Kansas and the arts and it was time to speak and to blog.

If you don't know, …

Hi All! I am a scenic painter for the Oregon Shakespeare festival, and I have been keeping a personal blog (cassandrasandy.weebly.com) on the goings on in our paint shop for over 2 years now, and I thought it might be interesting to share with you. …

In the past, I've written several times about period music and sound effects - the challenges I face as a sound designer in accuracy in music and sound effects when plays are set in specific times, and how…

In performing improv, there is a key tenet: try to say Yes to everything. The concept is that by agreeing instead of denying, the scene can flow better and new information and experiences can be discovered.

As a theater artist, I have found that the ability to say yes is incredibly essential - in and outside of improv. Saying yes to new projects, new experiences, challenging and scary roles all enabled me to grow faster as an artist and person.

Saying yes can be hard. Saying…

So the Oscars just wrapped up. I didn't win the contest at my Oscar party, mainly because I got a little too Les Mis happy -- I thought it would win more of the big awards. In the end I lost by two. Oh well!

When I wanted an Oscar, I wanted it because of my acting. I also wanted a Tony for my acting. Neither of…

So the Oscars just wrapped up. I didn't win the contest at my Oscar party, mainly because I got a little too Les Mis happy -- I thought it would win more of the big awards. In the end I lost by two. Oh well!

When I wanted an Oscar, I wanted it because of my acting. I also wanted a Tony for my acting. Neither of…

The Journal of Light Construction (www.jlconline.com) is a building trades web site that serves the segment of the building industry that doesn't involve huge I-Beams and multi-story concrete buildings. This is mostly single-story business and residential type work, which, as it…

Being from Texas I grew up watching football, so you’ll have to forgive my sports analogy. For those of you who don’t know what a blitz is, it’s a defensive play where all the defensive players suddenly go for the quarterback. The idea is to overwhelm the opponent (the quarterback) and tackle them. That by throwing all your energy at this one individual you will be able to close in on them and they won’t be able to escape.



The “blitz” comes from the German word blitzkrieg which…

This past weekend, I ventured out for three of my favorite things: music, theatre and church - all in one spot, at the same time. What? Yup. I went to a production of Cabaret at Montgomery's Cloverdale…

How to participate in an independent, collaborative theater project:

1) Show up.

2) Show up again.

3) Show up again, again.

4) Keep showing up. It's half the battle. Stick to your commitment to the project.

5) Ask questions. There really is no such thing as a dumb question. Only dumb people who pretend they understand when they don't and then go on to mess everything up through miscommunication.

6) Check in , follow up, and remind people of rehearsals, meetings,…

Today, I was watching this talk on TED.com and in it, Young-ha Kim uses the term "monodrama." Now I consider myself pretty geeky when it comes to theater and theater terms and this one caught me by surprise. I had never before heard the term "…

TheatreFace user Michael--a lighting designer working on a production of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie--posted this question about live flame and candles on stage earlier this week. His conundrum is a common one: how do we define what is "necessary" for telling the story of a production, and how do we achieve those "necessities" when they might be counter to accepted…

Fire Doors serve a special function in a building – they are there to both contain a fire and to help extinguish it. All too often we find Fire Doors that have been modified or their automatic functions circumvented. This can lead to the catastrophic loss of life and cause additional damage to a building, so we want to see that they are used properly.…

This morning I woke up to the sun shining through my window, my cat, Puck, sitting at the foot of my bed, giving me the most puckish smile you can imagine and my phone buzzing. I sleep with my phone near me. It serves as my alarm clock and is a lot easier to ignore when I don't want to get up. It cuckoos instead of BUZZESSSS if you get my drift.

I open up my phone and scroll down through the notifications I got in the night. Weather updates, a paycheck deposited in my banking account,…

This topic is fresh in my mind thanks to a lengthy discussion in the rehearsal process for my recent production of the Scottish Play - specifically the scene where young Malcom surprises the Scottish King's…

Acting is a funny business.

I can't think of another career path where, if you go to college, you'll have courses that teach you what to do when -- not if -- you don't find work in your field. Often referred to as "survival jobs" or "day jobs", most actors know they will have to have a "side hustle" or some other way to make money as they work towards being a full time actor.

Acting is also one of the careers where it is easiest to get sidetracked from what…

The Event Safety Alliance's effort to create a US version of the UK "Purple Guide" has resulted in the creation of a very good first public review draft for comment. More information at: http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/esa-releases-draft-version-of-us-event.html…