Boston Ballet concludes its BB@yourhome digital season with Process & Progress, featuring four premieres, including two with lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker—Zoom In by Ken Ossola and La Voix Humaine by Nanine Linning—plus two on film: What Happens If... by Lex Ishimoto and Moving pARTs by John Lam. Check out the digital program here, and buy tickets here, to watch on Tuesday, May 17 through May 23, 2021.
A peek at the digital season:
Training & Webcasts:
• May 18 @ 10am Eastern: Chicago Flyhouse Free Training: Automation Basics: In today’s industry, rigging and stage technicians should have a basic understanding of automation – to recognize the parts and understand their function. This class is for those who need an introduction to the basic parts of an automated system. We will focus is on generic components; we will mention equipment from a number of vendors, but not focus on any specific system. • Understand the difference between mechanized and automated. • Basic components needed for an automation system • Purpose and function of Motor - Gearbox - Brakes - Limit Switch - Encoder • Overview of package systems available. Instructor: Ed Leahy. Register Here.
• May 18 @ 2pm Eastern: An Introduction To wysiwyg For ZerOS Users: Understand how to interface ZerOS and CAST Software wysiwyg. This special webinar jointly presented by experts from CAST and Zero88 will demonstrate to users of ZerOS the benefits of previsualization software and wysiwyg users the fantastic ZerOS control platform. Whether you are new or an experienced user of wysiwyg or ZerOS this webinar will show you: The benefits of previsualization; How to create and add fixtures in to wysiwyg; Networking basics for lighting; Patching in wysiwyg and ZerOS; Connecting wysiwyg to ZerOS. Register Here.
• May 18 @ 7pm Eastern: TheatreArtLife: Designing Dreams - One on One with Brian Larsh: Who is behind Disneyland's spectaculars? What was the process for designing them? How have those experiences translated to television? Join TheatreArtLife in this One on One with Brian Larsh to learn more about the man behind the dreams. More info and registration.
Looking Ahead, Register In Advance:
• May 19 @ 10am Eastern: Green Hippo: Automating Your Content And Media Playback: This webinar will go through the new advanced triggering features added to Hippotizer’s MultiController, allowing programmers to automate their content and media playback to react to numerous triggers in the new Hippotizer v4.6 software. Register Here.
• May 19 @ 10am Eastern: TheatreArtsLife: The Value of Automation - One on One with Gareth Conner: How does automation play a key part in today's live entertainment business? Why is it important to have some knowledge about automation? Join TheatreArtLife in this One on One with Gareth Conner to learn more about this fascinating topic. Register Here.
• May 19 @ 11am Eastern: Maxon 3D and Motion Design Show: Valuable tips, techniques and real-world production workflows using Cinema 4D, Redshift and the Red Giant suite of products. Speakers include: Brandon Parvini, LA-based motion designer and director; Chris Bjerre, a San Francisco based multidisciplinary artist; Frederic Colin, a self-taught French artist; Martin Vanners, a Dutch CG artist, with a love for storytelling stills. Register Here.
• May 19 @ 11am Central: Martin Professional Product Launch: A brand new Martin product that is bright, bold, and remarkably versatile. It opens a myriad of possibilities; be one of the first to experience it. Presented by Wouter Verlinden. Register Here.
• May 19 @ 10am Pacific: Streaming Services For Houses Of Worship: With COVID impacting in-person attendance over the past year, live streaming of worship services have become more important than ever. Join host Robert Scovill as he welcomes Matt Wheeler (Epic Resource Group), Wes Ashworth (staff FOH mixer/production manager for The Village Church), and Mason Williams (director of media at First Baptist Church of Arlington) to explore different streaming strategies and tactics to keep their congregations connected using Avid VENUE | S6L technologies. Register Here.
• May 19 @ 4pm Eastern: ACT Lighting MA3 Tech Talk: The team will be talking MA3 and fixture profiles. Get your DMX charts ready! Register Here.
• May 19 @ 4pm Eastern: No More 10 Out Of 12's: The Academy: Join Sadie DeSantis, Michael Lincoln, Elynmarie Kazle, and Terri Ciofalo as they talk about the 10 of 12 when used in an academic environment and its impact. Register Here.
• May 20 @ 11am Eastern: Mental Health Action Day Webcast With Live Design and Behind The Scenes: Join Lori Rubinstein, executive director of Behind The Scenes, and Taryn Longo, founder of The Mastery Studio and a somatic trauma therapist, for a free webcast in association with National Mental Health Action Day. Register Here.
• May 20 @ 7pm Eastern: Wingspace Virtual Salon #26: A Conversation with USA829: Join Wingspace for a conversation with United Scenic Artists Local #829 National Business Agent Carl Mulert and Business Rep for Live Performance Cathy Kwon. We’ll talk about the state of the industry, re-opening plans, the new Off-Broadway agreement, and questions from the zoom audience. Moderated by Broadway associate designer Meredith Ries. On Zoom. Register Here.
• May 25: Virtual Showlight 2021: As the live version in France has been postponed, Showlight presents a virtual day of papers by international keynote speakers, interspersed by a series of video shorts from the likes of Peggy Eisenhauer and Bill Klages. There will also be a discussion panel based on the subject of diversity in the lighting industry, chaired by award-winning lighting designer, Paule Constable. More Here.
• May 24-31: 4Wall 2nd Annual Virtual Vendor Showcase: This year 4Wall presents two full days of live product demos, new product releases, and never-before-seen videos made by 40+ vendors! The full schedule of events will be released in the coming weeks. Register Here.
• May 25 @ 10am Eastern: TheatreArtsLife: Masterclass: Fundamentals of Theatrical Automation: From how the automation works as an integral part of the art, to the inner-workings of the machinery, to the actual process of programming, Gareth Conner will talk about it all in this TheatreArtLife Masterclass. Join us to learn all you need to know to get started in the automation world. $20. Register Here.
• May 26 @ 2pm Eastern: Bill Sapsis Remote Training: EasternHemp Houses (and all the joys of working in one): Guest Eddie Raymond. There are still active hemp houses out there and we thought it would be fun to have a look at them, even if you’ve never been in a hemp house. You might just walk into one while out on a tour one day and it would be cool if you knew what you were looking at. Registration opens Friday, May 21 at 10am Eastern. Register Here.
• May 27 @ 2:30pm Eastern: Chicago Flyhouse Free Training: Truss Use and Inspection: Truss plays a vital role in nearly every segment of the entertainment industry, but is widely misused and misunderstood. This class is designed to give users a basic understanding of how truss works and how to work with it in a safe manner. Topics include: • A brief history of truss-making • Truss terminology • Understanding manufacturer load tables • Truss inspections – frequent and annual • Truss loading – cantilevers, rules of thumb. While truss is used in the creation of outdoor structures, this class is not about those structures. We may touch on some situations relating to stage roofs or other structures, but the focus of this class will be more on the truss itself. Instructor: Ed Leahy. Register Here.
New Webcasts & Podcasts:
• Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers: Episode 215: A New Pathway: The Studio School Of Design: The Lumen Brothers welcome back their old friends Mark Stanley and Clifton Taylor to discuss their new paradigm in stage design education, The Studio School of Design. Join Mark, Clifton, Steve, Brackley, and David as they pontificate about: Why a new type of design training is necessary; Seeking a more diverse student body; Lifetime learning; Reinventing the idea of The Polakof Studio; A new pathway for affordable learning; International training; Learning in the theater; An education program without the bureaucracy; Admittance requirements; and the "Early Bird Light Talk Special"! Listen Here.
• GLP: 10 Out Of 10: Eric Cathcart: This week's guest on GLP's 10 Out Of 10 is lighting designer and director, Eric Cathcart, who has worked with artists such as LCD Soundsystem, The Black Keys, Silversun Pickups and more. Watch below:
• Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers (and Sistah, that's me!): Episode 212: “The New Renaissance," an interview with my dear friend Bob Bonniol is now online. With Steve and David, we pontificate about: Back in the tourist business; From "Leko Lane" to XR; The evolution of technology over the last decade; Blending video and lighting; Integrating XR into live performance; Robert Edmund Jones flashback; Discovering a new form of theatre; Nickleback; Bob's Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame; How music influenced Bob's artistic life; Marrying your Electrician; How MODE works, and how it pivoted; How to train young designers to come up with creative solutions; "Constraints are Gifts"; Working with difficult personalities; Bob's most powerful influencers; Becoming a good listener, problem solver, and life coach; Emotionally surviving the pandemic; and The Key to the Future for students. Listen Here.
• USITT: TECHnically Speaking: 2021 YDMT Series: Costume Designer Erin Barnett: Recipient of the 2021 Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design & Technology Award, Erin is currently a third-year MFA Costume Design student at Indiana University. She has worked as a costume designer and technician with Triad Stage, Jenny Wiley Theatre, GLOW Lyric Theatre, and Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre. On this episode, we chatted about her award win, favorite costume pieces she's created, and her passion for the industry and craft. Listen Here.
Archives:
• ETC's New Product Presentation, Keynote by Justin Townsend:
• AVO and ROBE: The creative team at Robe has been using Avolites Titan to create their shows and videos for years; Avo spoke to Robe about the brand new Timeline feature. Watch Below:
Conferences & Special Events:
• USITT21 Virtual Conference: The 2021 USITT Virtually Anywhere Conference was presented live March 8-12, 2021. The conference can now be accessed from virtually anywhere on demand. Available thru September 8, 2021. On Demand
Webcasts & Podcasts On Demand:
• Light Talk: Episode 208: The Devil's Triad: The Lumen Brothers talk about everything from Dimmer Doubling to Dr. Strangelove. Join Steve, Stan, and David as they pontificate about: Letters to Light Talk Central; The Beaver Junction Iditarod; "POE Anon"; Stan and Steve fight over Tungsten; What happened to ETC's Dimmer-Doubling?; Hitching your wagon to proprietary technology; Getting into the Worship Lighting industry; The Crippled Dragon 660; Deciding on scripts for educational theatre classes and productions; "Not dead, and under 30"; and Why can't DMX use just one wire? Listen Here.
• Geezers Of Gear Podcast: The Covid Crew Anniversary... yup 1 year to the day since our first! In March of 2020, we put together this small group of visionary leaders from the industry - and at the time - had NO idea what it was for. We just knew that we needed to talk through this, and hopefully, provide some guidance or insight to folks who were pretty shocked, anxious and stressed. We made some bold predictions (mostly WAY wrong) but we also said some things that really ring true, still today. It's been a hell of a year... and the gang reflects, listens back to some of our predictions, and continues to positively point north through the darkness. Brought to you by GearSource. Listen Here.
• Live Design's Plot Lines With Jeff Croiter: Tony-Award winning lighting designer Jeff Croiter shares and discusses the plots for his award-winning work for Peter and The Starcatcher. Hosted by KOI Award-winning LD/projection designer Roma Flowers. Q&A via live Zoom. Register Here to watch on demand.
• Casting Light Podcast: Host Jason Marin chats with DP Bill Berner on the serious business of lighting comedy. Berner talks about how he creates lighting for television, how the TV business works, and the protocols he works under on set during the pandemic. His nearly 40 years of experience on camera, first as a lighting designer and then as a director of photography, gives him insight into and informed opinions about nearly every aspect of the job. Listen Here.
• Artistic Finance Podcast: Taxes With Cory Pattak: This new episode features lighting designers Cory Pattak and Ethan Steimel discuss how to organize and itemize receipts for tax time. They go line by line through the actual list of itemized categories on their taxes. Once they make it through the 25 items, you can see it isn't as complicated as it seems. Listen Here.
• in 1: the podcast episode #104 Quarantine Happy Hour #8-UK Edition: Hopping over the Atlantic to chat with some amazing designers based in the UK. Before that, however, Howell Binkley’s long-time associates Ryan O’Gara and Amanda Zieve join us to talk about the newly created fellowship in Howell’s name and the upcoming March 1 deadline to apply. Then it’s on to the roundtable with lighting designer Tim Deiling, scenic & costume designer David Farley, lighting designer Lucy Carter, scenic designer Chiara Stephenson, and scenic designer Andrew Edwards. Hosted by Cory Pattak. Listen Here.
• ETC Study Hall: Steve Terry chats with Dave Cunningham on the details of developing the ETC Source Four:
• USITT: No More 10 Out of 12's- Why It's Time for Change: A discussion about the move for changing the traditional rehearsal known as the 10 of 12. Sound designer Lindsay Jones, scenic designer Regina Garcia, actor Rachel Spencer Hewitt, and stage manager Lisa Dawn Cave participate in this discussion. Watch Here.
• Tony Award-winning lighting designer Ken Billington, guest on the Artistic Finance podcast, discusses how he has managed his personal finances during more than sixty years of designing on Broadway and running a design studio. With over 100 Broadway shows to his credit, not to mention a slew of other shows from Las Vegas to SeaWorld and beyond. He has been nominated for nine Tony Awards for Best Lighting Design, and won for the musical Chicago. Thanks to Ethan Steimel for this interview with one of my favorite LDs. Listen Here.
• Featured podcast: Changing The Landscape: In 2020, a group of theatre designers, directors, actors, managers, and technicians, produced an open letter titled ‘We See You White American Theatre," and laid it square in the public eye. The letter detailed the many transgressions accumulated toward theatre-makers identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, by the predominantly white American theatre in the United States, and has reverberated through management structures, teaching institutions and theatre producing organizations at all levels prompting a new, thorough, unavoidable level of public conversation and accountability. Joining host Alan Edwards to discuss these topics: Award-winning scenic & costume designer and activist Clint Ramos; assistant dean and assistant professor adjunct in Theater Management for Yale School of Drama and general manager of Yale Repertory Theatre Kelvin Dinkins, Jr; and managing director of the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts at Northwestern University Al Heartley. Listen Here.