Happy Halloween! It's Monday, which means another blog from the performance side of theater by this guy (who really doesn't know what he's talking about, but talks a lot anyway (And sometimes draws pictures (Can you have a parenthesis in a parenthesis? (Well, too late, I have three now)))).

I'm terrible at memorizing lines. It takes me half an age, it's a chore and struggle, and I have to work very hard to…

Hi everyone, and welcome to the second day of LDI 2011! I'm live-blogging the New Tech Breakfast again - this time it's the audio and staging edition!

One word of warning: My camera battery is perilously low, and I couldn't charge it last night (long story), so the pictures may stop halfway through this post.…

Hi everyone! Jacob here! I'll be live-blogging the new tech breakfast this morning! C'mon along for a whirlwind tour of everything that's going to be new in LDI 2011!

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Every other Spring semester I teach a grad-level class in computer-aided drafting for theatre. When I started at Purdue in 2004, I was told this was “an AutoCAD class.” Unfortunately, there were no existing syllabi from the previous incarnations of the course, so I had little to go on other than this vague statement about course content. It was only my second semester teaching at Purdue, so determined to do great things I gamely taught a course “on AutoCAD,” a course that taught students how…

This week, I am very pleased to be able to announce that another voice is going to be joining the TheatreFace blogging team: my fellow playwright Marisela Treviño Orta. Her first post should appear next week; we're going to alternate weeks for the foreseeable future. (Lest any of you worry, this change is happening at my request; I need more time to focus on a long list of other projects I've been working on.) I cannot wait to see what…

In the past week, I've made several offers and had several discussions about doing work Pro Bono, or for reduced cost. The offers were to people I've had dealings with who are in non-profit organizations (mostly church based) who often need audio gear and services. Since both of those things aren't much of a stretch for me I can accommodate the needs pretty easily. I'm also glad to be able to offer services/help where I can since I'm not always able to contribute to these groups in other…

Another week, another Monday. This week, we're addressing a very serious and important topic in theater.

Without further ado:

5. They'll always be glad to take you to a movie, because it's work-related--and a tax write off!

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Nah, I'm not going to tell you how motion control works in one post. Instead, I'm going to talk about a great opportunity my students had last weekend to talk with someone who did talk to them about how motion control works.

Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of hosting Gareth Conners, founder of [Creative Conners, Inc.], at Purdue University for a day-long workshop about scenery automation. Over the course of about 8 hours, Gareth talked to us about how his career path led…

Just when you thought it was over (I hope I'm not boring you with the details), there is more to know about chains.

Metric EN and DIN Sizing

EN and DIN chain present the same size measurement for the diameter of the link, but vary slightly in pitch and width. It is important to investigate all dimensions to ensure suitability or compatibility.

EN standards are specified by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and reflect a…

That title is one of my favorite sayings, even when it isn't true of my current state of being. (Right now, it's ooh so true.) But anyway... I digress.

I am indeed a day late posting this blog, and once again, I intended to write a smug blog about being in the country for real... but instead I came down with a cold and a much better blog topic.

That topic? The costume sale.

This past weekend, ASF turned its rehearsal hall spaces into…

For a long time I struggled with being physically rooted, connected and spontaneous in my acting. That feeling you get when you just have no frackin' clue what to do with your hands and feet. You could be giving a passionate speech about the cosmo and how your love has propelled you to such greater heights than you could have ever imagined, using beautiful gestures and then, below your waist your doing an Irish jig. I'm sure we've all had one of these moments when working something, be it a…

Are you one of those people who likes to talk about the show right after you see it? If not in the lobby, or even in the aisle on the walk out to the lobby, then at a bar or restaurant nearby or on the ride home? I'm one of those people.

I'm not talking about "That play was poorly-written" or "She was terrific in that role" or "Could you believe that moment in Act II?" I'm talking about deeper, more substantive discussions: what the play made you think, feel, wonder, re-evaluate,…

This week, Disney's Imagineers came to CalArts for a presentation about the work they do. For those who aren't familiar, the Imagineers are "responsible for the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management, and research and development of The Walt Disney Company and its affiliates." With artists spanning 150 disciplines, it's the Imagineers' job to create the resorts, attractions, etc. of Disney. It is the creative application and actualization…

It's time for another photo contest! This time we're looking for your photos from productions of Sondheim's classic Into the Woods. And once again, Music Theatre International is helping us out on the prize front!

All you have to do to enter is upload a photo from a production of Into the…

Now, take those same units, which for the duration of the production roll around on the 10’ x 2’ base, and tip them so…

Last week we delved into the Definition of Terms used to described the various qualities of a chain. Here's some more (just when you thought it was over):

Shock Load:…

Do you ever sit in the back of the theater during the production of one of your plays, or of a play you worked on as a director or designer, and ask yourself "Who are all these people?" I do.

What I think we should be doing instead is this: sitting in our writing chairs, as we're drafting our plays, thinking "Who do I want in the theater when this play goes up?" We should be writing, I believe, for an audience.

We all want to think that every story we tell is a universal human…

Most of the time, I don't like to do a "write up" of a production I'm a part of - in part because I tend to be either congratulatory or hyper critical. This blog about ASF's production of Dracula will be a little of the former...…

The last week or so in my project planning class has been focused on that terrible moment when you realize that, much as you’d like to, you simply will not be able to achieve all of the dreams and visions of the artistic team on a production. Whether it be because there’s not enough time, or there’s not enough money, or your staff doesn’t possess the necessary skills—whatever the reason—you’re forced as a technical director (or costume shop manager, or prop master, or production manager, or…