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Stage Directions

2023 Tony Awards Nominees

Nominations in 26 competitive categories for the American Theatre Wing’s 76th Annual Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards® have been announced. Of particular note from our ‘behind the scenes’ perspective is that one of the 2023 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre will be presented to Production Supervisor and Production Stage Manager Lisa Dawn Cave. The Tony Awards presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing will air live on Sunday, June 11, 2023, from the historic United Palace in Washington Heights, in New York City from 8:00-11:00 PM, ET/5:00-8:00 PM, PT on the CBS Television Network, and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+.

Actors’ Equity Association Membership Ratifies New Unified Touring Agreement with The Broadway League

Actors’ Equity Association, the national union representing more than 51,000 professional stage managers and actors working in live theatre, and The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, officially have a new contract governing touring productions, following ratification by vote of Equity membership. The new Touring Agreement will be in effect through September 7, 2026.Read More »Actors’ Equity Association Membership Ratifies New Unified Touring Agreement with The Broadway League

Lisa Dawn Cave to Receive The 2023 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre

The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced that they will present the 2023 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre to Production Supervisor and Production Stage Manager, Lisa Dawn Cave. The Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre were established in 1990 and are awarded annually to institutions, individuals and/or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theatre, but are not eligible in any of the established Tony Award categories.Read More »Lisa Dawn Cave to Receive The 2023 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre

ADJ’s Focus Profile Illuminates Lavish Production of Dennis DeYoung’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’

The Wisconsin premiere of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ by former Styx front man Dennis DeYoung. The musical was staged by Skylight Music Theatre at the Cabot Theater in Milwaukee, WI. Photo: Mark Frohna

Lighting Designer Jamie Roderick heavily utilized eight of ADJ’s flagship Focus Profile automated luminaires for last summer’s Wisconsin premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame by former Styx front man Dennis DeYoung. The musical was staged by Skylight Music Theatre at the Cabot Theater in Milwaukee, WI and featured an impressive production that employed gobo projections from the Focus Profiles extensively to recreate the atmospheric interior of the famous cathedral.

Based on Victor Hugo’s Gothic novel of the same name, Dennis DeYoung wrote his musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the ‘90s and it debuted in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Polk theater in 1996. It was well received by audiences, generated positive reviews, and was set to transfer to Broadway, however illness meant that Dennis was unable to take the project further at the time. The show was first revived in Chicago, when in 2007 it was awarded the Joseph Jefferson Award for best musical. However, Michael Unger, the Artistic Director of Skylight Music Theatre, has wanted to stage the show ever since a chance meeting with DeYoung outside Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre led to Michael being invited to his childhood rock hero’s home studio to be one of the first people to ever hear the entire score of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.Read More »ADJ’s Focus Profile Illuminates Lavish Production of Dennis DeYoung’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’

2023 Vectorworks Design Scholarship Now Accepting Submissions

Global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc. invites students to see where their designs can take them by entering the seventh Vectorworks Design Scholarship. The global competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students in major disciplines related to entertainment design, architecture, landscape architecture and design, and interior design. Students can submit a new design or past project from any of their classes for the chance to win up to $10,000 USD.Read More »2023 Vectorworks Design Scholarship Now Accepting Submissions

2023 ASTC-USITT Renovation Challenge

Rendering from The Ohio State University’s Sullivant Outdoor team, showing the reimagined space.

In person presentations by four teams of students highlighted the 2023 ASTC – USITT Venue Renovation Challenge. The student presentations took place at the USITT convention in St. Louis. Each of the four teams chose a building on their campus as the subject for renovation. Two projects were existing theatres in need of modernization and two were spaces to be converted to theatrical performance use. The teams created a concept and developed documentation that detailed their renovation plans. The project culminated in the live presentation during the USITT conference. A group of five ASTC members acted as judges and offered comments to the teams throughout the process and determined the final awards.Read More »2023 ASTC-USITT Renovation Challenge

T11 Profiles Join T1s and T2s at the Opera National de Paris

The Paris Opera has ordered nearly 300 x Robe T11 Profile and T11 PCs. Palais Garnier photo courtesy Robe France

As part an inventory renewal of static profile luminaires, the Paris Opera has ordered nearly 300 Robe T11 Profile and T11 PCs, which will join the 200 T1 and T2 Profiles already in place at the primary opera and ballet company of France. All the fixtures are supplied via Alterlite, and like the T1 and T2 moving heads, the T11s will be distributed between the Opera’s two landmark venues in the French capital, Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille.Read More »T11 Profiles Join T1s and T2s at the Opera National de Paris

Elynmarie Kazle Honored with the USITT Joel E. Rubin Founders Award at USITT23

At the USITT 23 Conference in St. Louis, USITT honored Elynmarie Kazle with The Joel E. Rubin Founder’s Award, which is presented to a USITT member in recognition of outstanding and continued service to the Institute. This award was named in honor of Dr. Joel E. Rubin, co-founder and the second president of the Institute. Given to USITT members in recognition of extraordinary and continued service to the Institute, the award is presented as an important highlight of the Annual Conference & Stage Expo.Read More »Elynmarie Kazle Honored with the USITT Joel E. Rubin Founders Award at USITT23

Purdue Offering Online ‘Prequalified Structures for the Stage’ Course

The course focuses on the engineering behind theater set construction

For theater lovers, there is a kind of magic to watching a play come to life on stage. Good stage productions transport audience members into the story, making them momentarily forget their lives outside of the theater. But making productions come to life takes a lot of work – set elements, for example, require months of careful planning and construction. Safe and effective set construction is often the literal foundation behind a production’s ultimate success, as well as the safety and well-being of its actors. The secret behind safe set construction? Smart engineering.Read More »Purdue Offering Online ‘Prequalified Structures for the Stage’ Course