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Stage Directions

Bandit Lites Hires Melanie Miller to World Headquarters

Bandit Lites is pleased to share the hiring of Melanie Miller as its Accounts Payable Manager. Miller earned a degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She gained experience in investment and international accounting and has held positions as a controller and chief financial officer. Miller is also a member of the NACM – National Association of Credit Management, SHRM- Society for Human Resource Management, and NAPW- National Association of Professional Women. Read More »Bandit Lites Hires Melanie Miller to World Headquarters

UW Madison Offers New Technical Theater Courses for K-12 Teachers

The University of Wisconsin – Madison: Department of Theater and Drama is proud to announce two online summer courses specifically designed for the needs of K-12 theater, music, and dance teachers, and those who work on those shows: Audio for Performing Arts Teachers, and Lighting for Performing Arts Teachers. Read More »UW Madison Offers New Technical Theater Courses for K-12 Teachers

Lighting Designer Kevin Lawson Joins UC College-Conservatory of Music’s Faculty

New CCM faculty member, Lighting Designer, Kevin Lawson

UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Stanley E. Romanstein has announced the addition of Kevin Lawson to the college’s roster of distinguished performing and media arts faculty members. An award-winning theater and television professional, Lawson’s appointment as Assistant Professor of Lighting Design and Technology begins on Aug. 15, 2021.

Lawson’s early career was spent in theater, working as an assistant/associate and lighting designer in regional, off-Broadway and Broadway theaters. After a serendipitous career shift to broadcast television, he has spent most of the last 21 years as a lighting designer, lighting director, and/or programmer on more than 200 televised productions.Read More »Lighting Designer Kevin Lawson Joins UC College-Conservatory of Music’s Faculty

Broadway Stage Management Symposium’s Free SM Tech Friday Program | Vectorworks

SM Tech Fridays are Back!

The 2021 Broadway Stage Management Symposium was amazing, but they now turn their attention towards the future and summer. Theaters across the country are preparing to re-open, welcoming artists and audience back. We have a few more months to continue our exploration of technologies & services to help stage managers. We can still learn new and better ways to manage the production process. Soon, we will hopefully all be busy making theatre again!

This Friday, June 11th at 4:00 p.m. EDT, the BSMS dives into Vectorworks in this Free for everyone session. This session will be led by Frank Brault from Vectorworks along with the BSMS’s Matt Stern. You may have heard about this popular tool for designers, technical directors, and production managers. But stage managers?Read More »Broadway Stage Management Symposium’s Free SM Tech Friday Program | Vectorworks

Mountview Theatre’s Shakespeare in Love Gets Varied Looks from Adam King and CHAUVET Professional

“Time is very long for those who wait,” wrote Shakespeare. The bard penned these words more than four centuries (and a couple of pandemics) ago. But those deprived of the joy of live theatre during the coronavirus lockdown, know all too well the excruciating anguish of which he wrote.

Among this group are patrons of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Just before the pandemic, they were eagerly awaiting its production of Shakespeare in Love. They continued to wait for over a year. Happily, now at least a small number of them have been able to enjoy a live performance of the classic romantic comedy.Read More »Mountview Theatre’s Shakespeare in Love Gets Varied Looks from Adam King and CHAUVET Professional

Event Safety Alliance Offers Free ESAT Training

For the next 90 days, the Event Safety Alliance will offer the online Event Safety Access Training (ESAT) course free of charge, enabling live event professionals to complete the training for free. The ESAT course developed by the Event Safety Alliance provides comprehensive core safety skills training for live event professionals. The ESAT course has been underwritten for 90 days, ending on August 1, 2021.Read More »Event Safety Alliance Offers Free ESAT Training

Elation LED Upgrade for Russia’s Aistenok Puppet Theater

In a land of theater excellence, Aistenok Irkutsk Regional Puppet Theater occupies a prominent place among Russian puppet theaters. The marionette masters in the Siberian city of Irkutsk recently worked with Light Power Design (LPD) to upgrade its stage lighting and chose low noise, low heat Elation Professional LED luminaires along with Magmatic atmospheric effects.Read More »Elation LED Upgrade for Russia’s Aistenok Puppet Theater

Virtual Showlight 2021 Proves a Success in Reality

The first Virtual Showlight event, which was held on Tuesday May 25, 2021, proved to be a real success story. With the full Showlight postponed due to the pandemic, VSL 2021 turned trial into triumph when it threw open its virtual doors to an online audience in excess of 430 delegates. Students, educational establishments, venues and, of course, lighting designers from all genres of the industry – theatre, film and TV, architectural and events, and more – attended from almost 50 countries, and many have since returned to re-watch the Papers through Hubilo’s On Demand service.Read More »Virtual Showlight 2021 Proves a Success in Reality

USITT & No More 10 Out of 12s | Impact on the Disability Community

USITT and the group, No More 10 Out of 12s is having its next Free panel discussion on ending the practice of 10-out-of-12 rehearsals on Wednesday, June 9 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EDT. This discussion is focused on the impact of 10-out-of-12s on people who work with disabilities. This panel discussion is free, but you do need to pre-register.Read More »USITT & No More 10 Out of 12s | Impact on the Disability Community

Steppenwolf Stage Manager Malcolm Ewen’s Spirit Lives on via New Fund at Season of Concern Supporting Chicago Theater Artists

Malcom Ewen. Photo credit: Michael Brosilow

In life, Malcolm Ewen, the long-time production stage manager at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and a decades-long member of the board of Season of Concern, was a tireless advocate for Chicago’s theater community. In addition to his distinguished career at Steppenwolf his leadership presence was felt from The Goodman Theatre in Chicago to Weston Playhouse in Vermont. Read More »Steppenwolf Stage Manager Malcolm Ewen’s Spirit Lives on via New Fund at Season of Concern Supporting Chicago Theater Artists

Lift The Curtain & USITT | Breaking the Business of Unpaid Internships Webinar, June 10

Lift The Curtain-End Unpaid Internships an organization whose goal is to end unpaid internships in the theater industry is hosting another USITT Conversation. Lift The Curtain has assembled a group of panelists, with backgrounds in advocacy, business, and law to have a discussion on empowering emerging theater professional, understand financial and labor practices in our industry, and how we can advocate for a more equitable theater community. This FREE webinar will take place on Thursday, June 10, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. EDT. Be sure to pre-register to be reminded when it goes live and join them for a conversation about theater’s dependency on unpaid internships.Read More »Lift The Curtain & USITT | Breaking the Business of Unpaid Internships Webinar, June 10