On Wednesday I had my last class session with my graduate-level structures students, and we spent the time talking about wire rope systems, including bridles and parabolic cable supports. Inevitably, we talked about the efficiency of different terminations and applying design factors to the listed ultimate breaking strength of wire rope and rigging components. What I found fascinating during this conversation was how riled up my students got as we were talking.

What got them…

Trees are great. When on falls in the woods and no one is around – does it make a sound? Who cares! However, if a counterweight falls off of an arbor in your theatre – then it’s time to care. Care A Lot! You don’t want to be on the receiving end of that!…

I happen to have an actor friend—someone whose work I admire and whose company I enjoy personally—who identifies himself as a libertarian. He doesn’t actually care to talk politics all that often, but I’ve enticed him to chat with me one or two times, and I’ve found the conversations refreshing. We don’t agree on much of anything, because my own political ideas and beliefs are rather progressive, but the dialogue we’ve shared has been invigorating, demanding, and rewarding. I value…

In my current work life, we are in a major warehouse relocation project. Our old warehouse facility became infested with very aggressive black mold. (As if there's a non-aggressive variety?!) This is bad for us as workers, not to mention bad for our stored sets, props, costumes, and gear. The answer? Clean or junk 25+ years worth of costume, prop, facility, electronics, and general storage and move it to a new facility. Most of it's pretty straight forward - wood or fabric props and scenery…

What do you get when you throw two dozen European and American actors, a half dozen tech and directorial types and a one man band into a big box and shake vigorously? We're all in the process of finding out as Houston's Classical Theatre Company and the Prague Shakespeare Festival (as in…

Everyone, please welcome Michael Yichao, our new blogger here on TheatreFace.com. Michael is a grad student at CalArts, and will be blogging about acting, directing, performing, and life on stage in general here on TheatreFace.com, every Monday. I wanted to introduce him for his inaugural post -- but his…

I don’t know what to say, but TheatreFace.com members have uploaded some amazing photos recently. There was some amazing stuff to check out in the photo gallery this past week—I’ll link to some of the galleries in our nominees below, but I wanted to say good work all of you!



This week’s prize is a new “stack” of aging makeup from Ben Nye. It’s an aging F/X creme stack from Ben Nye. You can learn more at www.BenNye.com. For more pics with…

I tell my students all the time that I don’t expect them to memorize mathematical formulae, tabulated materials properties, building codes, geometric proofs, or the price of tea in China, because these are all things that they can easily look up with appropriate reference materials; what I want is for them to understand that these formulae, properties, codes, proofs and prices exist, and when they will have an impact on a particular production situation. There’s no value in them racking…

“. . . All the things I'm missin' . . .” or so goes the Blues Brother’s version of Ned Washington’s 1958 theme song to a popular TV series. In a theatre they might go something like this: “As I travel far and wide, the one thing I keep seein’, is that big metal door; It’s…

Not long ago, I chanced upon a Tweet from a woman—I’ll protect her reputation by keeping her anonymous—extensively deriding a piece of work as a “well-made play.” I realize that historically speaking, the term “well-made play” has been used pejoratively during certain periods… but the more I think about that, the more foolish and short-sighted that seems to me.

Before I go any further, let me set forth the definition of the term on which my argument relies: a well-made play is one…

Archite ctural Lighting magazine (www.archlighting.com) recently posted an article about the conflicts posed by standards organizations like…

Here at TheatreFace.com, we have traditions, traditions that tell us what to do, and what we should be looking at. (Tradition! Tradition!) And seeing how it’s a new week, that means it’s time for a new Photo of the Week poll! (Photo of the Week! Photo of the Week!) Wow, that doesn’t scan at all, does it? Well, regardless, it’s time to acknowledge the work our members do, and vote to give one of them a prize! This week, we’ll be giving away some new plays to one of the talented people below!…

I’m in the midst of an interesting exercise to complete a feasibility study for an imaginary 24’x32’ revolve that must revolve along a horizontal axis, much like a paddlewheel. (Cool, right?) Moving something like this is going to be all about the torque required to overcome inertia, which is directly proportional to the mass of the platform. This means, of course, that I’ll want to keep the platform—and consequently, the structural members comprising it—as light as…

I travel about quite a bit visiting many different types of theatres and arenas. In my climbing about if find one particular hazard time…

Not long ago, on Twitter, I posed the following question: what was the last technological innovation that led to a revolution in theater?

One historically-minded friend answered “When Thespis stepped out of the chorus,” which struck me as part wisecrack, part wise. After all, isn’t acting one of the two essential technologies of theater? (The other, of course, is writing; without either performers or a script—even an improvised or movement-based script—there is no…

One of my regular responsibilities is maintaining the support systems for my theatre complex - primarily the communications (headset systems) in the theatres, as well as the patron assisted listening systems for each theatre, and the paging and audio and video monitor video feeds to the lobby, green room, dressing room, office, and shop areas.

Regular, not because I'm all over it, but because my systems require lots of TLC to remain functional, never mind when they decide to not work,…

Tonight, my students rehearsed for a second public reading of my script The Only Thing I Know For Sure is I'm Not God. I hadn't looked at the script since it's first reading last July. I read it silently this morning and heard it aloud for the third time in my life this evening. I am amazed that I have so many cliche's. Not in the language, but in the images. I'm a touch mystified that I don't see those things sooner. A woman in a hospital bed who is pale, but her beauty…