After attending the AVnu Alliance’s AVB networking technology conference prior to the InfoComm show, I canvassed the exhibit floor looking for other significant technology trends. In the area of loudspeakers for playback and sound reinforcement, I found three companies that have pursued the advancement of linear-phase sound sources. These are speakers that utilize acoustic drivers that reproduce sound in a manner that is…

I’m starting a new play. For me that process is akin to a creative Big Bang. Meaning, that there’s the initial creative spark that sets it all into motion, but the plot points aren’t fully formed. Neither are the characters or the images and metaphors that will become threads throughout the play. All these elements are nebulous ideas swirling around trying to coalesce into more solid bodies.

And I let them swirl.

During this stage of a new play I’m usually carrying around some…

Comm. Headsets. They're a pain in my ear. (Yes, I left an "r" off intentionally.) Through really, they really are just a problem child.

This blog comes in light of a work bench stacked sky high with packs and headsets, and with a system in one of my spaces that needs some major love.…

Over the last 4 weeks, I've had the privilege and opportunity to meet and work with some amazing playwrights and theater companies. Bekah Brunstetter. Jenny Schwartz. Adam Szymkowicz. Chris Pena. Branden Jacob-Jenkins. Tectonic Theatre Project. Pig Iron. Rude Mechs. art.party. Dog and Pony Theater. WET. American Theatre Co. Trusty Sidekicks. Just to name a few!

I've been completely blown away by these companies and artists and the kind of theater they are making. These are…

There's an old saying about art and artists: "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." A colleague and I were talking the other day about our respective theatre programs, and he added a great tag to the end of that phrase: "Those who can't teach, coach."

I couldn't shake this from my head all weekend, and I realized that's because those five words reflect one of my biggest challenges as a theatre educator: there's a world of difference between "teaching" and "coaching."…

I've come to the realization that I've now worked on 3 shows where I didn't mesh with the director for some reason. All have been women & all have been a complete pain in my butt through the process.

WoW saw the director nitpick me apart on one minute detail in 1 scene of the entire show. She beat me over the head over & over again over this one thing that she jut didn't like & wasn't willing to compromise on. In the end I gave her what she wanted but was so paranoid that…

I just came back from Infocomm in Las Vegas. This show is always an interesting event as it is where all of the electronic technology for the entertainment industry is presented. It is heavy on sound and video, and light on rigging and staging (that seem s to be LDI and USITT’s realm), and there is a fair amount of lighting and control presented, too.…

Hawaii Five-O. Wax crocodile. Growing up thinking in script terms. Oh. My. Boom!

In my first post here, I mentioned that I had always trained to write for television. How does that apply to my theatre life? Three ways. Exercise, speed and endurance. This week, I’m going to talk about exercise.

This also encompasses discipline, the act of sitting down to write…

Once upon a time, I spent a lot of time on Myspace filling out stupid "get to know you" surveys - where you answered questions mundane questions like "where did you go to high school" and "what did you have for breakfast" to stupid trivia like 'how many tattoos do you have." I have no idea if those silly (but fun) surveys are still popping up on people's posts since my Myspace hasn't been logged onto for moths... BUT…

The Tonys are all about celebrating Broadway's best -- at least in theory. By the time the award show is over, the flops are at best a vague memory; at worse a cruel running joke.

But for any of us who have mounted an original production to see it be stillborn as a critical and commercial failure (put me in that group), here's a tale about a musical called "High Fidelity."

The Friday night before the Tonys my wife and I went to see a remarkable, fun production of this musical…

In my last blog post I considered how economic realities favoring smaller cast sizes were affecting playwrights and their playwriting. But playwrights aren’t the only ones affected by this trend. After all, smaller casts mean fewer roles for actors.



Case in point, at last month’s Theatre Bay Area annual conference a theatre educator I know voiced the challenge of finding plays with enough women roles for her female students.…

I've posted about being inspired by young folks before. I've also written about working with young people and teaching workshops... but this post is from a little bit different perspective, and that is essentially an audience member, and this time the inspiration is on a different level.

The past few weeks, ASF hosted an "All Star" youth camp…

You know what's an uncomfortable subject? Race.



I'm not sure I have any answers, or even anything really coherent and clear to add to the dialogue on racial assumptions, expectations, segregation and limitations found in theater and film. Instead, here are some fun anecdotes of first hand encounters with racially charged moments.



1. When applying to grad school, I had a mentor tell me, in what I'm sure he felt was encouraging words, "I think you have a good shot,…

Congrats to all the nominees and winners at this year's 2012 Tony Awards!

I'm writing that prematurely, and after the fact. I haven't watched the Tonys yet -- I live out on the West Coast where it's time-delayed, and I was also actually out watching theatre this evening, so while everyone's won -- I still haven't seen the show. I *have* seen clips of it though, thanks to YouTube, which I'll gladly share here. Got any more? Let me know, and I'll embed them here.

What was your…

“If everything is a matter of luck, risk management is a meaningless exercise. Invoking ‘luck’ obscures truth, because it separates an event from its cause.” - Peter Bernstein

Having an “Accident Free” day (or event) is not driven by the position of the stars, the presence of a Rabbit’s Foot, or hanging a Horse Shoe over your stage door. It is, however, the result of careful hazard evaluation (risk…

So. The wax crocodile.

No, I have no idea. I was young and packing for Hollywood--well, I was 3. Clean underwear, that makes sense. Lipton tea bags and a spoon, also makes sense, even if my taste in tea has matured since then. But the wax crocodile? I suppose it could have been a Wonderfalls type of situation, but I don’t remember the crocodile talking to me.

Still, it got me thinking. Maybe it was talking to me, after a fashion.

As I look around my desk now, I see…

So. The wax crocodile.

No, I have no idea. I was young and packing for Hollywood--well, I was 3. Clean underwear, that makes sense. Lipton tea bags and a spoon, also makes sense, even if my taste in tea has matured since then. But the wax crocodile? I suppose it could have been a Wonderfalls type of situation, but I don’t remember the crocodile talking to me.

Still, it got me thinking. Maybe it was talking to me, after a fashion.

As I look around my desk now, I see…

In the way things like to come togeather in life - i.e. the perfect storm - this post is a reflection of my recent experience at work, as well as the content of several recent blogs - fellow bloggers Rich Dionne's post about producing and living in the text of the Bard in Will's Words, coupled…