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Theater News

In Memoriam: Alan Hall, Stage Manager and Production Supervisor

 

Stage Directions in PLSN has learned of the death of Production Stage Manager and Production Supervisor Alan Hall, who died Monday, February 7, 2022, in Spruce Head Island, ME. Born in England in 1936, Hall was 85. Here’s a great and informative video interview with Hall from the American Theatre Wing’s Guide to Working in the Theatre series, where Hall speaks in-depth on the role of the Production Stage Manager. Hall describes a PSM as “a benevolent dictator”:

Read More »In Memoriam: Alan Hall, Stage Manager and Production Supervisor

USITT News | 2022 Student Ambassadors Announced

The Student Ambassador Program is co-sponsored by the Fellows and the International Activities Committee. The program pairs three student members with three international guests at the annual conferences. They then have the opportunity for individual conversations about working in theatre abroad. This year’s winners will be able to meet the international guests in person again.Read More »USITT News | 2022 Student Ambassadors Announced

Astera is a Winner at ArtMasters Championship

The final of the 2021 Russian National Open Championship of Creative Competencies—ArtMasters—was staged at the iconic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow to honor the best creative and technical talents working behind the scenes on shows and events—lighting designers, set designers, content creators, virtual worlds programmers, costume designers, make-up artists, and many more.Read More »Astera is a Winner at ArtMasters Championship

VLS Resumes Rotational Internship Program

After two long years, VLS announces the return of its Rotational Internship Program. Positions are available during the Summer and Fall of 2022 at the company’s facilities in Cleveland, OH, Cincinnati (Erlanger, KY), and Pittsburgh, PA.

Apply for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative University Scholarships by Feb. 28, 2022

The American Theatre Wing is now accepting applications for its 6th year of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative University Scholarships – established for high school seniors from populations historically underrepresented in the theater industry. Students can apply to study any aspect of theater from stage management to arts administration, design to performance, etc. The deadline for all submissions is Monday, February 28, 2022.Read More »Apply for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative University Scholarships by Feb. 28, 2022

Actors’ Equity Association Announces New Public Health Consultants

Actors’ Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional stage managers and actors in live theatre, has announced that a team of doctors led by Dr. Mark Cunningham-Hill—and includes Dr. Laura S. Welch and Dr. Steven J. Anderson—are the new public health consultants for the union, effective immediately. This team also advises the American Guild of Music Artists and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society on COVID-19 safety.Read More »Actors’ Equity Association Announces New Public Health Consultants

UK’s ‘Theatres at Risk Register’ Expands by 10, Total of 41 Venues in Danger of Being Lost

The Regent Theatre, Great Yarmouth, one of the theatres at risk in the UK. Photographer Ian Grundy

Theatres Trust, the charity that campaigns to protect the UK’s theatres, has published its annual Theatres at Risk Register. 10 theatres have been added to the 2022 Register, far more than in any recent years, as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is being felt across the theatre sector. The Theatres at Risk Register has expanded this year to highlight the plight of 41 theatres across the country that are in danger of being lost.Read More »UK’s ‘Theatres at Risk Register’ Expands by 10, Total of 41 Venues in Danger of Being Lost

Justin Townsend to Lead NYU’s Department of Design for Stage & Film

NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Dean Allyson Green announced that Justin Townsend will be leading the Department of Design for Stage and Film as Chair starting in August 2022 and will join the faculty immediately. Townsend is a Tony Award-winning educator and international designer who has designed more than 250 shows throughout his 25-year career. Townsend will continue the legacy of renowned costume designer Susan Hilferty, who has guided the program for more than 20 years to the outstanding reputation that it holds today. Hilferty will remain on the faculty.Read More »Justin Townsend to Lead NYU’s Department of Design for Stage & Film

The Shubert Organization Acquires the GalaPro App

The Shubert Organization announces that it has acquired the GalaPro App, the software that allows for real-time translations and captioning in theaters. After incubating GalaPro in 2016, The Shubert Organization implemented an organization wide rollout of the software in all of its theaters. Shubert’s first investment in GalaPro was in 2018, before acquiring the GalaPro App in November 2021.Read More »The Shubert Organization Acquires the GalaPro App

Heavenue Launches Cloud-Enabled Platform to Deliver Immersive Live Shows

 

Heavenue, an entertainment-focused platform delivering high-fidelity, immersive live shows from the cloud, has opened in New York. Founded by Alex Coulombe, CEO, the early development platform has already been used by the Actors Theatre of Louisville in Kentucky in its R&D Lab, exploring old and new media, a virtualized rendition of Dickens’s classic, A Christmas Carol in a hybrid live stage and virtual theater performance. Here’s a video trailer of the production that aired in December 2021:

Read More »Heavenue Launches Cloud-Enabled Platform to Deliver Immersive Live Shows

Paper Mill Playhouse Receives Landmark Gift to Upgrade Stage Technology

Immediately following last night’s opening performance of Clue, Producing Artistic Director Mark S. Hoebee and Managing Director Michael Stotts made a surprise announcement from the stage that Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ has received a significant contribution to upgrade stage technology by bringing its lighting and automation from analog to the digital age.Read More »Paper Mill Playhouse Receives Landmark Gift to Upgrade Stage Technology