I am all for it.

Okay, I had to start with a joke. Because seriously, if there was ever a subject that deserves to be taken down a notch or two, this is it.

This is the first of the blog posts I'm writing "on demand," incidentally, in response to the request I made for blog readers to suggest subjects. (That request remains open, if you'd care to suggest something.) I haven't seen…

I'm more than a little ashamed to be writing this blog, because quite frankly, what I'm about to write is pretty much admitting to being somewhere between a mediocre to a pretty shabby house keeper in my storage areas. The shame is compounded in light of my esteemed fellow bloggers' recent posts about maintenance, safety, and adherence to code, not to mention my own feelings on the subject.

I would like to be able to say that testing some emergency lights, doing a routine…

On Wednesday, August 31 TheatreFace will be chatting with factory reps from J.R. Clancy and TheatreFace.com blogger (and Teqniqal Systems theatre safety consultant) Erich Friend. We'll be discussing what exactly a rigging inspection means, and why they're important.

Video Chat time:

2 p.m. Eastern

1 p.m. Central

12 noon Mountain

11 a.m. Pacific

More info at:…

EDIT: After 36 hours of technical difficulties, I've FINALLY got the video working! Yeesh, apologies!

Hi TheatreFace! This week we have a video blog. I got to chat with my good friend and fight choreographer, Chuck Lines, about the common dangers and pitfalls of choreographing fight moments in stage productions.

Check out the video below!

…

More video chat this week! We stay at height, but move away from lights. This week we check in with the people who keep everything safe up there -- the riggers. On Wednesday, August 31 at 2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific we'll be chatting with reps from J.R. Clancy and TheatreFace.com blogger (and…

Two weeks ago Stephen Ellison asked, “You mention a 4 phase design approach, what are the phases?” in response to my post, “Houston, We Have a Problem: When Planning Fails.” I began using the “four-phases of design” approach to addressing technical design problems in theatre a few years ago, and have found it to be both scalable to projects of varying scope and adaptable to…

Precautionary measures must be considered when you bring animals onto the stage, be it on a film set, TV studio, or live theatre production. There is an element of wonder that they can bring to the scene, however, animals are unpredictable and can be real scene stealers. There are many circumstances where a dog or cat can bring a warm feeling to a vignette, or a cowboy on a horse can set the scene for realism,…

When I was studying poetry as an undergraduate, I took a seminar in non-fiction prose that was taught by one of the country's greatest living essayists, Joseph Epstein. (Seriously, if you don't know his work, you should -- and I do NOT make that sort of recommendation lightly.) Intimidated by the mere thought of writing an *entire* book -- not that I wanted to at 20 years old, mind you -- I asked him how he managed to pull it off.

His answer was simple: 250 words a day, day after day,…

I had intended this blog to be a smug, self satisfied post entitled something like "Gone to the Country" or "Getting back to the Farm." Had all gone according to plan, I would be typing this from a house miles from the city - a country house surrounded by pasture complete with dogs and horses, 4 or 5 miles from the nearest store, and 15 or 20 from anything else. Each summer, I have the joy of house sitting for a week or more for a friend, who lives full time in this little slice of rural…

Directors. We've all encountered them--good ones, bad ones, strange ones, and crazy ones. (Note those four categories are definitely not mutually exclusive.) We all know when we're working with a brilliant director, and we all definitely know when we're working with a poor one.

While I have directed…

Video Chat returns to TheatreFace.com this Wednesday, August 24 at 2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific as we go live with Lighting Designer Christian Epps.

Christian got into lighting design during his time at Northside School of the Arts in Atlanta,…

I had intended this week to write in some detail about the four-phase approach to technical design I alluded to in last week’s post; however, I find I cannot avoid talking about the events that occurred last Saturday at the Indiana State Fair. (Sorry, Stephen Ellison—check in next week for more on the four phases!)

Over the last week much has been written…

On Saturday night, August 13, 2011, and estimated crowd of 12,000 assembled to watch the band Sugarland play at the Indiana State Fair. The sky was covered with dark clouds, there was lightning shooting out of them, and a huge gust of wind, typical of Midwest summer storms, came across the venue, caught the tarp covered canopy some 50-60 feet in the air, and folded the portable structure over like it was…

You use a spreadsheet to track all your play submissions, right?

Wait: you don't? Seriously? How *do* you keep track of them, then? Please don't tell me you just... send your work off and hope to hear back one day. Nobody would do that, right?

Okay: I'm guessing some of you actually *do* do that, and frankly, if that floats your boat, fine. Me, I couldn't possibly stand it. I'm a man of organization. I like information, and I like it nice and tidy. (Which is, of course, why it…

Unlike most of my contemporary sound designer colleagues, I didn't set out to be a sound designer. I ended up becoming one in a roundabout fashion.

When I began pursuing sound in earnest I discovered that although I was a capable designer, design simply wasn't my passion. What I was good at was live mix, maintaining a system, and running a crew. I wanted to be a mix engineer and an audio supervisor. While many of my friends were chomping at the bit to one day no longer have to operate…

This week's interview is with young playwright Reginald Edmund, who is also a part of the Unit Collective.

We chat about being theater artists of color and new playwrights finding their voice and carving out space for new work.

The Unit Collective: unitcollective.org

Reggie's site:…

Update: A sixth victim died a week later (2011-08-19).

http://www.wthr.com/story/15295034/friends-of-state-fair-victim-hold-vigil

Update: A seventh…

Oh, boy, what have I gotten into? I've been hired as a "Fright Night" performer at the Winchester Mystery House. My family lived in a super-sized Victorian when I was in high school and college, so it should be fun.

One of the things I drill into my students is the importance of planning ahead. Every technology class I teach includes some variation on a four-phase design method that provides a framework and systematic approach to technical design, intended to ensure that as many possible outcomes, challenges, obstacles, and failures are accounted for early in the design and the design process. Ideally, this leads to a construction and installation process that is relatively stress-free, owing to the…