A new opera by Philip Glass is always something to applaud, and his new Circus Days And Nights, co-produced by Cirkus Cirkör and Malmö Opera, is a collaboration that presents a unique fusion of circus and opera. Libretto by David Henry Hwang and circus director Tilde Björfors, the opera is based on a collection of poems by American poet Robert Lax. Sets and costumes by Magdalena Åberg, lighting by Ellen Ruge/Robert Hvenström, and sound by Avgoustos Psillas. Streaming online, buy tickets here, and enjoy what has been called "magical and profound" by the LA Times. Perfect for the weekend of June 11-12-13, along with the 4Wall Sunday Roundtable that features judges and past winners of the Pat MacKay Diversity in Design Scholarships (details below).
Circus Days And Nights trailer:
Wekend Webcasts:
• June11 @ 12pm Eastern: Theatre Artist Conversation: Michael Mayer - What Will Broadway Look Like? Award-winning director Michael Mayer has worked in a broad spectrum of media from theatre and opera to television and film. His theatre credits include Spring Awakening (Tony Award/Best Musical and Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Director). Zoom conversation with David Diamond. Register Here.
• June13 @ 6pm Eastern: 4Wall Sunday Roundtable Episode 48: Pat MacKay Diversity Scholarships: Join judges and former recipients of the Pat MacKay Diversity In Design Scholarships. Founded in 2019, and funded by LDI and Live Design, the goal of these unique Diversity In Design scholarships is to support underrepresented and unique voices in the field of entertainment design. The scholarships are named for Pat MacKay, formerly publisher of Theatre Crafts and Lighting Dimensions magazines and founder of the LDI Trade Show and Conference. Guests: Sydney Dye - Projection Designer (Past Recipient); Nina Field - Lighting & Sound Designer (Past Recipient/Judge); Roma Flowers - Lighting & Projection Designer (Judge); Ellen Lampert-Greaux - Live Design/LDI Creative Director; Yuko Taniguchi - Lighting Designer (Past Recipient). Watch Here.
Looking Ahead, Register In Advance:
• June 14 @ 5:30pm Eastern: New York City Vectorworks Entertainment Online User Group Meeting: What We Want from Future Versions of Spotlight and Vision? Open discussion and conversation about user's needs and wants for future versions. What would simplify or speed up your workflow? Open to screen sharing with the group to illustrate ideas? We can do that. Have an idea for a tool or a PIO, let's hear it! Zoom Link.
• June 17 @ 2:30pm Eastern: Chicago Flyhouse Free Training: Design Factor and Hardware Selection: This session will highlight the role that Design Factor and Hardware Selection play in all entertainment industry work. • Understand the relationship of Breaking Strength, Design Factor and Working Load Limit • Why is hardware origin important? • Review the proper use of a variety of different hardware • Hardware Q&A Instructor: Ed Leahy. Register Here.
Webcasts & Podcasts:
• USITT: TECHnically Speaking: A Conversation On Virtual Production with Brendon Bradley: A look at on something the industry has become quite familiar with over the past year — virtual production. We were joined by actor, writer, director, producer, and virtual production aficionado Brendan Bradley who spoke with us about his work on A One Act Festival in your Browser (WebXR) — a show produced, rehearsed, and performed entirely in web-based virtual reality, demonstrating several different modes and styles of fully-immersive, virtual performance with a customized toolkit, and user interface. Listen Here.
• GLP 10 Out Of 10: Jennifer Tipton: This week's guest on GLP's 10 Out Of 10 is award winning lighting designer Jennifer Tipton. With an amazing career across the genres of dance, opera and theatre, Jennifer is also the head of lighting design at Yale School of Drama. Watch below:
• Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers: Episode 217: The Spirituality of Projection - Interview with Wendall Harrington: In this episode of Light Talk, The Lumen Brothers interview The Godmother of Projection Design, Wendall Harrington.Join Wendall, Zak, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Being the first projection designer on Broadway; "Stop Making Sense"; Trailblazing gender rights in the theatre; "They're Playing Our Song"; Video vs. Slide Projectors; Loving and missing Pani's; "The Who's Tommy"... behind the scenes; 2000 slides in 54 slide projectors; Balancing family and professional lives; Getting robbed of your femininity; Inspired mentors; Wise words from Sondheim; "The Wendall School"; Heading the Video Projection concentration at Yale; Visual story-telling; Theatre is afraid of the internet; Elevating the actor in a flat medium; and Do you really need projections in your show? Listen Here.
• USITT: TECHnically Speaking: 2021 YDMT Series: Martin Montaner, a technical supervisor and production manager who took home the 2021 KM Fabrics Technical Production Award. Listen Here.
• Artistic Finance: Learn the advantages of purchasing a home in NYC as theatrical designers, with set & garden designer Donyale Werle and lighting designer Beth Turomsha who talk about their experiences buying homes in New York City, what has happened since, and what they expect to do with their homes moving forward, and discuss factors that affect home purchases, including climate change, quality of life, and inequity. 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