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Stage Directions

Yale’s Drama School Goes Tuition-Free and is renamed David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University

A scene from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, directed by Carl Cofield, Yale Repertory Theatre. Photo by Joan Marcus, 2019.

June 30, 2021—Present and future students at Yale University’s drama school will no longer pay tuition, thanks to a landmark $150 million gift from entertainment executive and philanthropist David Geffen, the university announced today. The donation—the largest on record in the history of American theater—makes the school the only institution of its kind to eliminate tuition for all degree and certificate students, removing financial barriers to access. In recognition of the gift, Yale School of Drama is now the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.Read More »Yale’s Drama School Goes Tuition-Free and is renamed David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University

Eileen Garcia Appointed Properties Director at the Santa Fe Opera

Eileen Garcia on Hat Spirit Day

 

The Santa Fe Opera has appointed Eileen Garcia as its new Properties Director. Garcia had returned earlier this year as the Interim Properties Director to take the place of longtime SFO Properties Director Randy Lutz, who died on January 12, 2021. Stage Directions sends its sincere congratulations to Garcia and look forward to hearing all about her next act!Read More »Eileen Garcia Appointed Properties Director at the Santa Fe Opera

NEA News | Releases New Report on Artists’ Use of Technology as a Creative Medium

The National Endowment for the Arts announces the release of the report Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium, the result of a two-year field scan, an initiative of the Arts Endowment in collaboration with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Ford Foundation. The field scan and report explore the multi-faceted practices of artists who engage with digital technologies in both the creative and functional aspects of their work. The report also looks at the training and exhibition infrastructure that tech-centered artists have developed to pursue their creative practices and diagnoses a critical need for funding to advance the field. Here’s a video of the work of 3-Legged Dog on Designer, Writer, and Director Kevin Cunningham’ work on Losing Something and its work with technology:

Read More »NEA News | Releases New Report on Artists’ Use of Technology as a Creative Medium

S*P*A*Minar Replay | How to Build Safe Stage Combat Weapons with Thomas Fiocchi

 

In this month’s Society of Properties Artisan Managers’ S*P*A*Minar, S*P*A*M welcomed Thomas Fiocchi of Ohio University who provided an introduction on how to build safe stage combat weapons in your prop shop. Fiocchi is the resident Props Technologist at Ohio University as well as creator at Fiocchi Swords. This S*P*A*Minar took place on Sunday, June 20, 2021. In case you missed it the first time, or would like to go back and re-watch it, here is a video replay of this S*P*A*Minar:

Read More »S*P*A*Minar Replay | How to Build Safe Stage Combat Weapons with Thomas Fiocchi

Backstage Video | Arts Centre Melbourne’s State Theatre Upgrades its Flying System

 

Hidden behind the State Theatre’s famous hand-painted curtain at the Arts Centre Melbourne, is the flying system – a crucial component of any theater. Made up of a system of battens, wire rope lines, pulleys and computer-controlled electric hoists, the flying system enables the stage crew to lift or “fly” components of a production on and off stage. Here’s an inventive backstage video of this new flying system:

Read More »Backstage Video | Arts Centre Melbourne’s State Theatre Upgrades its Flying System

Lisa Burger, National Theatre Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive to Step Down in Summer 2022

 

Lisa Burger. Photo by James Bellorini Photography

The National Theatre has announced today that Lisa Burger, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive, will step down in Summer 2022. Burger’s career at the National Theatre has spanned 20 years. She joined the NT as Finance Director in 2001, before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2010. Burger took on the role of Executive Director in 2015 and became Joint Chief Executive alongside Director Rufus Norris in 2019.Read More »Lisa Burger, National Theatre Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive to Step Down in Summer 2022

Black Theatre United Hosts Industry-Wide Commercial Theatre Summit

As Black Theatre United (BTU) marks its first year since the organization’s creation, the Founding Members announce they held a three-month Commercial Theatre Summit from March to June 2021 to establish industry-wide standards around Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility & Belonging (EDIAB) with a focus on Black individuals in theatre as we move into the future.Read More »Black Theatre United Hosts Industry-Wide Commercial Theatre Summit

Staging Concepts Sets the Stage for the Opening of “The Shell” in San Diego

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park is the San Diego Symphony’s brand new venue

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park (a.k.a. “The Shell”), the San Diego Symphony’s brand new, cutting-edge venue will be the first permanent, year-round waterfront concert and events venue in the nation operated by a symphony orchestra. As concertgoers eagerly return to live events, the facility anticipates swaths of people flocking to attend the array of events scheduled to take place along San Diego Bay in Embarcadero Marina Park South.Read More »Staging Concepts Sets the Stage for the Opening of “The Shell” in San Diego

PROLIGHTS Tick All the Right Boxes for the Stamford Shakespeare Company

Founded in 1968, the amateur Stamford Shakespeare Company has been putting on performances of Shakespeare’s classics for audiences of all ages for over 50 years. Since 1977 the Stamford Shakespeare Company has called the beautiful Tolethorpe Hall home, with their concrete-stepped amphitheater, allowing them to recreate the Shakespearian magic in a similar environment to the original performance spaces.Read More »PROLIGHTS Tick All the Right Boxes for the Stamford Shakespeare Company

Robert Juliat SpotMe for Czech Republic’s Brno City Theatre

Pretty Woman – hard-edge beams and strong backlight are the order of the day for this upbeat production. Photo Credit: ©Tino Kratochvil

The largest performance space of Brno City Theatre (Městské divadlo Brno), The Music Theatre, is a 680-seat venue that hosts a program of current musicals and large-scale drama. It was built in 2004 as the best technically equipped theatre in Europe. To maintain these modern standards, technical manager, David Kachlíř, recently added a Robert Juliat SpotMe tracking device to the venue’s lighting inventory, thereby increasing its existing complement of Robert Juliat products of three RJ Ginger followspots, Dalis 864 colored footlights and a number of RJ 600 and 700 series profiles. The RJ SpotMe device was supplied by Prague-based Prolight s.r.o., Robert Juliat’s exclusive distributor for the Czech Republic, as part of an improvement initiative to future-proof the theatre.

SpotMe is Robert Juliat’s award-winning server that produces real-time tracking information with no emitters or cameras on stage or performers. It uses feedback from sensors mounted on a tripod and followspot to coordinate moving lights with the movement initiated by a followspot and its operator – a perfect combination of high technology and human control in lighting design and operation.Read More »Robert Juliat SpotMe for Czech Republic’s Brno City Theatre

Opera America Webinar Replay | Taking Care: Mental Health Care for Creators and Artists

Opera America has created a special webinar series, Taking Care, that’s dedicated to the mental health of opera professionals. The first of these webinars aired on June 24 with practitioner: Beth Clayton, MA, CMHC and moderator: Jessica Jahn, costume designer. A large proportion of opera artists are currently under- or unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have worked to create their own opportunities, taking on the burden of being both a company and a collaborator by themselves. Still others are without work, trying to balance pursuing a career with other obligations to their families and communities. How can artists retain their sense of identity when unable to practice their profession? What are the best ways to cope with the additional burdens during this period? Will having a creative outlet beyond existing professional skills revive a sense of purpose?

In case you missed it, or would like to rewatch it, here is a video of that webinar:

Read More »Opera America Webinar Replay | Taking Care: Mental Health Care for Creators and Artists