In one way, Humana is just like every other conference in the world: there's simply no way to take advantage of every opportunity. Last night I was up till 2am chatting with colleagues, so this morning, after an inadequate amount of sleep, I really had to hustle to make it to breakfast in time. Me, three bites of eggs, a glass or orange juice, and an actor from the cast of HOW WE GOT ON, who was also running late: it was a typical meal.



The food was still barely in my stomach when…

I have friends who travel a great deal for one reason or another who swear to me they feel more comfortable and familiar in an airport or in a hotel than at home. I typically scoff at this suggestion: I find travel dehumanizing and alienating. My flight down to Louisville for the Humana Festival this year, however, was anything but. I wasn't in the airport in DC for five minutes before I spotted a fellow playwright, and before I disembarked I realized I was sharing the flight with two…

Sometimes it takes a bit more radical approach to get your students attention. Nothing wrong with making learning a bit more fun, is there? Writing a set of emergency plans for various scenarios that might transpire in your theatre can be a bit tedious, but if you enlist the help of your students under the guise of fun, you might get a good idea how to get the plans started.…

In a couple of days, I'm getting on a plane in DC *very* early in the morning in order to make a 12:30 curtain in Louisville. Yes, I'm returning to the Humana Festival of New American Plays, and frankly, I can't wait.

As you might recall, I went there last year to blog about the festival for TheatreFace. (Blog entries for my three days there are here,…

Not too long ago, I had a long conversation with a former student about audio text books. His frustration was that audio books either were too simple or incredibly complicated and written like the proverbial stereo instructions of fable, and almost none were about theatre audio. Many general technical theatre publications include a section on audio, but the chapters are often are a seeming mere footnote compared to the sections on lighting and scenery, and in some cases were very…

Fumbling in the Dark:

A Discussion of Appropriate Work and Backstage Lighting

Darkness backstage is a necessary evil for technicians working to support performances. Stages, catwalks, and grids often have insufficient lighting for load-ins, builds,…

Dearest stage moms (and dads):

First, let me say that this letter does not apply to the majority of you. There are so many parents of young actors (or really, just young people in general) who are gracious, giving, kind and open people who care about the arts and understand the benefits that creative performance art brings to children. They not only have a level head about everything regarding performance, but are generous with their time, eager to chip in and volunteer, and…

You've probably seen some of the blog posts by one of my students, Ian Boze. He's working on the mechanical design(s) for some of the ghost effects in our upcoming production of Blithe Spirit. Ian has been working hard on this project since late last semester, and I'm very proud of the work he's done. But, as often happens (usually sometime close to tech), the sometimes-diametrically-opposed priorities of teaching and producing a show collided last week. We're about two weeks from…

Secret Agent number 86, Maxwell Smart (played by Don Adams in the TV series, and Steve Carrell in the movie), was famous for saying “Missed it by that much!” Sometimes, we’re not so lucky, and we end-up getting…

I’ve been debating as to whether or not to write this blog post. As many of you know last Friday a theatrical bombshell hit: This American Life issued a retraction (read, hear) regarding their January episode that featured Mike Daisey performing an excerpt from his monologue…

Dominic Maxwell writes, “If you come at Pinter from the classroom, you may be ready for his weirdness, but not always his humour. His dark, claustrophobic battles of wills can also be incredibly funny. Because […] he’s showing us the way men jostle and fight for space in every exchange, in every detail, and he’s showing us life. We’re pecking-order animals” (Maxwell, The Times, December 26, 2008). I want to apply this statement to The…

Recording sound effects. As a sound designer, like most of my fellow designers, I've run into situations where sound effects collections, cd's, libraries etc. fail to provide the effect I need at hand. (I talked about this at length in an earlier blog: …

Hey, everyone! : ) I've decided to publish a book of my plays, and I have started a Facebook fan page where I'll post updates about the book's progress, where to buy it, etc. If you've read and liked any of my plays on here, or if you might be interested in a reading a book of funny plays about Greek mythology, please click the link and "like" my page. Thanks! : )…

In Arizona, I performed comedy improv in a professional setting for five years. Four of those years, I also taught beginning and intermediate improv classes to teens and adults. I have performed over 400 shows. While I am nowhere near mastery of improv, I have reached a point where I feel confident and comfortable in my abilities as an improvisational performer.

When I moved to LA, I soon began to miss performing improv. However, every troupe that I looked into auditioning…

As the week wraps up and I finish the preparation for crunch time when school starts back on Monday I have come across an interesting topic, “as-built drawings.” We spend weeks and weeks planning, sketching, and drafting a set or the mechanism for a show and inevitably as soon as the drawings hit the shop floor something changes. Carpenters find easier/faster ways to do something, materials or resources change, or what usually happens, the director or client changes their mind.

I am…

I stumbled on this video the other day of Neil deGrasse Tyson, a prominent--and vocal--astrophysicist, talking about the role the space race (and NASA) played in encouraging children of the sixties and seventies to dream about the future. Why am I sharing it here, on a blog about theatre technology? Because I think what he's talking about has a direct impact on what we do. At least, it has a direct impact on what I do.

I was one of…

Another part of your PPE inventory that is often overlooked is proper footwear when working around the shop or onstage. There seems to be a universal lack of concern as I see this at all levels of venues from elementary schools and churches all the way up to University and professional facilities. Stage and shop floors are rife with hazards that range from small sharp objects like fasteners (tacks, screws, nails,…

Not long ago, I had the great good fortune to produce a "playwrights slam" as part of a large arts and culture festival. (The slam format, if you aren't familiar with it, requires playwrights to read their own work -- or each other's work -- aloud.) There were eight of us on the bill: a diverse group I assembled mostly out of an interest in hearing new voices. The results were just lovely; both those of us who performed and our audiences seemed to have a terrific time.

What I think I…

Floor or boundary mics (like the Crown PCC pictured here to the left) are a necessary tool in my microphone inventory. A times, boundary and area mic'ing is (in my opinion) an often necessary evil to support a production.

Often they are used to fill in the holes or pick up chorus members in…

I like hats. Namely, wearing hats. Namely, wearing many different hats in the theater world.



(and also literally, because hats are fun.)

Balla with mah awesome hat. I know you be jealous.…