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• Charna Halpern Shares HerEducational Philosophy• Theatrical Holiday Gifts for You and Yours• New Gear Roundup from LDIDECEMBER 2008The $30M Renovation at Mark Taper Forum

Table Of ContentsDecember 2008Features16 A Tale of Two Sound DesignersTwo heads are better than one when you take a famous literaryclassic and turn it into a Broadway musical. By Bryan Reesman18 A Very Kerry ChristmasSan Diego’s Lamb’s Players Theater’s Kerry Meads gives thegift that keeps on giving to the community — an originalChristmas show with music every year. By Kevin M. Mitchell20 Setting Roots for a Malleable FormLegendary improv guru Charna Halpern talks to SD about hertraining methods and how she continues to lead the way onthe improv scene. By Bret Love24 Tending to a High School MusicalHigh School Musical 2: On Stage makes its debut at Green ValleyHigh. By Geri JeterSpecial Section: Renovations &Installations28 Twisted VictorianIllusionist Criss Angel and Cirque du Soleil joined forces for theshow Criss Angel Believe in Las Vegas, and made a set that goesback to basics with a twist. By Jacob Coakley32 A Mid-Century Landmark Faces aNew CenturyDesigners faced the challenge of keeping all the hallmarks ofthe iconic Mark Taper Forum in L.A. while enhancing the spaceduring the $30-million renovation. By David Koteles35 Flooring, Seating and StagingDirectoryA listing of flooring, seating and staging manufacturers fromthe 2008 Theatre Resources Directory.32

16Departments9 LettersRoger Sametz offers some follow-up on fundraising inthese increasingly dire times. By Breanne George10 In the GreenroomThe New Leaders Conference starts conversations onsolutions, Americans for the Arts announces merger,The Public Theater names its first Master Writer Chairand more.14 Light on the SubjectSD scoped out the show floor of LDI to bring you backall the best new tools. By Jacob Coakley44 Answer BoxA costumer gets creative without breaking the bank forA Murder of Crows. By Kelly D. RobertsonColumns7 Editor’s NoteI’m of two minds about this one. By Jacob Coakley38 Show BizHERE Arts Center seeks to prove you can createadventurous work even while owning your own space.By Tim Cusack39 TD TalkIf you’re thinking of moving into academic life, here issome advice to be sure. By Dave McGinnis40 Off the ShelfBooks, CDs and DVDs for the hard-to-please — or you.By Stephen Peithman41 The Play’s the ThingPlays that encourage actors and the art form to stretch.By Stephen Peithman24ON OUR COVER: Mary Kay Wulf, Angela Goethals and Rusty Schwimmer in JohnGuare’s The House of Blue Leaves at the Mark Taper Forum.PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Craig Schwartz

Dan HernandezEditor’s NoteCreativity by NumbersJacob Coakley“I am an energy being connectedto the energy all around methrough the consciousness ofmy right hemisphere... And inthis moment we are perfect, weare whole and we are beautiful.My left hemisphere, our lefthemisphere, is a very differentplace.” — Dr. Jill Bolte TaylorArecent study led by John Kounios at Drexel Universityattempted to map out what differences, if any, existedbetween the brainwaves of people who solved problemswith a flash of insight and the brainwaves of those who solvedproblems in a methodical fashion.Turns out that there is a difference, at least according to thestudy, which was published in the journal Neuropsychologia in July2007. According to their abstract, the researchers found that “spectralanalyses yielded group differences in resting-state EEG supportinghypotheses concerning insight-related attentional diffusionand right-lateralized hemispheric asymmetry.” In English: The brainwavepatterns of people who reported that they solved problemsintuitively, or creatively, were significantly different than peoplewho solved them methodically, and these different brain patternswere present even when the brain wasn’t solving problems.Perhaps due to my own creativity, I thought about this studywhen I was recently arguing over proposed changes to my ownwriting. Naturally, I felt that my first draft was perfect, and whenchanges were requested, I balked. The conclusions I reachedseemed patently self-evident to me. Still, I looked at my piece, andrealized I had to struggle a bit to link my conclusions to the supportingevidence. Building a logical, step-by-step case for my argumentand showing each link along the way took considerably more workthan simply a flash of insight. In no way did the work invalidate theinsight; in the end, my conclusion was stronger for it, but it was adifferent process. My brain went somewhere, and I had to make thelaborious effort to get my thought process to catch up.In this case, I think I made a good argument — but how manytimes have I been content NOT to argue? How many times have I selfimportantlyrefused to consider artistic criticism on the grounds that thecriticizers were just “wrong”? Worse, how many times had I made a selfdefeatingor self-limiting choice in a misguided flash of “insight”? I thinkwe can all agree that we might not see ourselves through the clearestpossible lenses. What happens when we let negative decisions aboutourselves, our abilities or our possibilities go unchallenged in ourselves?It’s easy in this industry to privilege the creative way of thinking,the flash of insight, and neglect the necessity of methodical thinking.I don’t think that’s any more appropriate than purely methodical, rotethinking. We’ve got two sides to our brains — we better use ‘em both.Jacob CoakleyEditorStage Directionsjcoakley@stage-directions.com

Publisher Terry Lowetlowe@stage-directions.comEditor Jacob Coakleyjcoakley@stage-directions.comAudio Editor Jason Pritchardjpritchard@stage-directions.comLighting & Staging Editor Richard Cadenarcadena@plsn.comNew York Editor Bryan Reesmanbryan@stage-directions.comManaging Editor Breanne Georgebg@stage-directions.comContributing Writers Tim Cusack, Geri Jeter,David Koteles, Clayton Lord,Bret Love, Dave McGinnis,Kevin M. Mitchell, Lisa Mulcahy,Bryan Reesman, Kelly D. RobertsonConsulting Editor Stephen PeithmanARTArt Director Garret PetrovGraphic Designers Crystal Franklin, David AlanProductionProduction Manager Linda Evanslevans@stage-directions.comWEBWeb Designer Josh HarrisADVERTISINGAdvertising Director Greg Gallardogregg@stage-directions.comNational Sales Manager James Leasingjleasing@stage-directions.comAudio Advertising Manager Dan Hernandezdh@stage-directions.comAdvertising Manager Maria Kritikosmk@stage-directions.comOPERATIONSGeneral Manager William Vanyowvanyo@stage-directions.comCIRCULATIONSubscription order www.stage-directions.com/subscribeBUSINESS OFFICEStark ServicesP.O. Box 16147North Hollywood, CA 916156000 South Eastern Ave.Suite 14-JLas Vegas, NV 89119TEL 702.932.5585FAX 702.932.5584Stage Directions (ISSN: 1047-1901) Volume 21, Number 12 Published monthly by Timeless CommunicationsCorp., 6000 South Eastern Ave., Suite 14J, Las Vegas, NV 89119. It is distributed freeto qualified individuals in the lighting and staging industries in the United States and Canada.Periodical Postage paid at Las Vegas, NV, office and additional offices. Postmaster please sendaddress changes to: Stage Directions, P.O. Box 16147 North Hollywood, CA 91615. Editorial submissionsare encouraged, but must include a self-addressed stamped envelope to be returned.Stage Directions is a Registered Trademark. All Rights Reserved. Duplication, transmission byany method of this publication is strictly prohibited without permission of Stage Directions.20AYEARSSINGCELEBRATINGCELEBRATSDOTHER TIMELESS COMMUNICATIONS PUBLICATIONSAdvisory BoardJoshua AlemanyRoscoJulie AngeloAmerican Association ofCommunity TheatreRobert BarberBMI SupplyKen BillingtonLighting DesignerRoger clamanRose BrandPatrick Finelli, PhDUniversity ofSouth FloridaGene FlahartyMehron Inc.Cathy HutchisonAcoustic DimensionsKeith KankovskyApollo DesignBecky KaufmanPeriod CorsetsKeith KevanKKO NetworkTodd KoepplChicago Spotlight Inc.Kimberly MesserLillenas Drama ResourcesJohn MeyerMeyer SoundJohn MuszynskiTheater DirectorMaine South High SchoolScott C. ParkerJohnny Carson School ofTheatre and FilmRon RansonTheatre ArtsVideo LibraryDavid RosenbergI. Weiss & Sons Inc.Karen RugerioDr. Phillips High SchoolAnn SachsSachs Morgan StudioBill SapsisSapsis RiggingSteve ShelleyLighting DesignerRichard SilvestroFranklin Pierce CollegeOF SERVICE TO THEATRE

LettersFundraising in aDown MarketBy Breanne GeorgeIn last month’s article, “Fundraising 411,” RogerSametz, president and founder of Sametz Blackstonein Boston, a firm that provides communicationcounsel to nonprofit arts organizations, among others,provided some fundraising advice. As that washappening, the financial situation became increasinglydire. We went back to Sametz and asked how therecent meltdown would affect fundraising, and whattheatres need to do to cope.“A down market is where all the work that oneeither did or did not do building relationships paysoff,” he says. “In other words, if you’ve done all yourhomework by keeping connections and focusing onbuilding relationships, you are probably in a betterplace now than colleagues who haven’t.”Building relationships with potential donors is key,Sametz explains, because those who have fostered anemotional connection with your theatre will likely continuetheir support even in a difficult economy.“Whereas in an up market environment you cancount on the people who had you as number 10 ontheir list of organizations to give to,” he says, “in thismarket you probably have to be number 1, 2 or 3 onthe list.”Sametz describes a theatre’s donor field as concentricrings, with those in the center being the peopleclosest to the theatre and most likely to give support. Inany fundraising scenario, especially in a down market, itmakes sense to focus on those closest to the center andgo outward to the next level and so on. “It is hard to getto that layer of people who don't know or care aboutyou, but it is even harder in this economy,” he says.Donors rarely support an organization unless theyfeel an emotional connection. Therefore, it is necessaryto bring potential supporters to the theatre via socialevents where they can learn about the theatre’s missionand meet directors and actors, for example. Andyou don’t need a costly, large-scale gala for the eventto be effective.“There are a lot of events that are low cost but hightouch, such as small dinners before or after a production,”Sametz says. “What people like are intangibleways of connecting, access to actors and directors,feeling part of the inner circle and being thought of asthe fuel that makes the journey possible.”When planning your theatre’s financial goals inthe current economic climate, be realistic, not pessimistic,Sametz says. “For smaller organizations, theydon't need million-dollar gifts — they need X numberof $10,000 gifts,” he says. “The increment betweensuccess and failure is not a big number. So, [financialgoals] are likely achievable.”

In the Greenroomtheatre buzzNew Leaders Conference Starts Conversation on SolutionsBy Clayton LordOn Oct. 5 and 6 in the San Francisco Bay Area, more than100 of the brightest up-and-coming minds in the performingarts gathered for the New Leaders for a New Centuryconference, presented by Theatre Bay Area in conjunctionwith Theatre Communications Group and BerkeleyRepertory Theatre.The brainchild of Theatre Bay Area Development DirectorRebecca Novick and Berkeley Rep Associate General ManagerRachel Fink, the New Leaders conference convened to addressthe oft-mentioned “leadership crisis” in the arts.Following an opening day of discussion, facilitated by DanielAlexander Jones and Ashley Boyd, among the diverse group ofattendees — participants came from all over, including the BayArea, Chicago, Las Vegas, the East Coast, Los Angeles and othertheatre communities nationwide, spanning all disciplines —many common struggles emerged, including perceptions ofgenerational differences, worries about the difficulties in work/family balance, narrow artistic missions, racial homogeneityand others.Day two of the New Leaders Conference was incorporated in theTheatre Bay Area’s Annual Conference, the largest regional theatreconference in the country. Sessions on the second day centered onhelping the attendees affect the change they sought in the largertheatrical community. In the morning, the New Leaders took partin a session with top arts headhunters including representativesfrom Arts Consulting Group, AlbertHall Associates and others. Thiswas followed in the afternoon by a session on leadership modelsin other fields with representatives from Walt Disney Studios, SonyEntertainment and UC Hastings College of the Law.Interspersed, participants heard keynotes from LynneLancaster on intergenerational relations and from researcherAlan Brown on his research trying to pinpoint and measure theintrinsic value of the arts. Attendees made plans to maintainconnections forged during the conference and are also planningto reconvene at some point in the next two years to judgeprogress. That’s exactly what co-organizer Fink had in mind.“This was the beginning of an ongoing conversation,” Finksaid. “One we’ll keep having until we reach our goals.”BY CLAYTON LORDClayton LordGroups at the first day of the New Leaders for a New Century conferenceAmericans for the Arts Merges withBusiness Committee for the ArtsThe Business Committee for the Arts (BCA) has announced thatit will merge operations with Americans for the Arts, creating thelargest advocacy group for the arts in the private sector. The partnershipwill further enable the organization to generate increasedprivate-sector support for the arts and arts education by engagingand educating business leaders nationwide on the economicimpact and value of the arts in business and community settings.“The vision of Business Committee for the Arts naturallyaligns with the long-term goals of Americans for the Arts,” statedRobert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.“The private sector’s relationship with the arts has shifted dramaticallyin recent years. Despite recent modest gains in overallgiving, the market-share of private funding for the arts is nearlyone-third less than it was in the early 1990s. By combining ourinterests and strengths, we will be able to effectively address thechallenges ahead.”With the approval of each organization’s board, Americansfor the Arts and BCA have entered into a merger agreement,as the transaction requires approval of the New York AttorneyGeneral and the New York Supreme Court. Both groups areworking with the state authorities and expect the transaction toclose in the next six to nine months.Mellon Foundation Awards MoreThan $2.5 Million to New Works LabThe Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded over $2.5million in grants to four play development organizations as ameans to support the creation and production of new workover the next three to five years. The recipients, receivinggrants range from $500,000 to $1,000,000, are the Lark PlayDevelopment Center, New Dramatists, Playwrights’ Centerin Minneapolis and Sundance Institute Theatre Program inBeverly Hills, Calif.While these grants support activities ranging from creatingmovie-like trailers for new plays to establishing consortia thatbring plays to multiple productions, the overarching focus isdeeper support for individual playwrights and innovative strategiesto launch vital new plays to production.The Lark Play Development Center’s grant of $500,000over five years will support its Launching Plays Into TheRepertoire Initiative, which will create a movement aroundvital new plays. Lark will form a consortia of theatre organizationsthat will result in at least 12 productions of three newplays in the U.S. and internationally. Partner organizationswill participate in the full production arc of the play includingtraveling to see each production and engaging in conversationsand community engagement activities.10 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

theatre buzzMiddle East America Gives Distinguished Playwright AwardThree theatre organizations fromacross the nation, Golden ThreadProductions in San Francisco, theLark Play Development Center inNew York and Silk Road TheatreProject in Chicago, who formedMiddle East America (MEA): ANational New Plays Initiative,have awarded the 2008 Middle EastAmerica Distinguished PlaywrightAward to Adriana Sevan.Additionally, MEA has honoredboth Leila Buck and Sinan Unel withthe 2008 Middle East America SpecialJury Prize.The first of its kind, this prize providesa $10,000 commission for Sevanto write a new play, intensive developmentalsupport from the Lark, possibleproductions at Golden Thread and SilkRoad and travel funds to be present atall stages of the process.According to Lark ProducingDirector John Clinton Eisner, “Ournation’s energy and innovation hasoften sprung from immigrant’s storiesand global perspectives, and thiscommission represents a new path forcultural institutions learning to collaborateon building new repertoirethat more accurately mirrors and celebratesAmerica’s ever-evolving culturallandscape.”industry newsFive Draft Standards in ReviewThree Fog & Smoke Working Group draft standardshave been posted on the ESTA Web site, www.esta.org, forpublic review through Dec. 15. The three draft documentsare: BSR E1.5 - 20xx, Entertainment Technology - TheatricalFog Made With Aqueous Solutions Of Di- And TrihydricAlcohols; BSR E1.23 - 200x, Entertainment Technology- Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects; andBSR E1.29 - 200x, Product Safety Standard for TheatricalFog Generators that Create Aerosols of Water, AqueousSolutions of Glycol or Glycerin or Aerosols of HighlyRefined Alkane Mineral Oil.The last draft standard, BSR E1.29, is a new standardintended to help guide product safety testing laboratories(e.g. UL, ETL) in evaluating fog-making equipmentfor design or construction defects that might createunacceptable hazards. It is based on ANSI/UL 998 - 2006,Humidifiers, but has modifications to deal with safetyissues peculiar to fog generators.12 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

The Public Theater NamesFirst Master Writer ChairNew York’s Public Theater has announced that ithas received a substantial three-year grant from theAndrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch the first PublicTheater Master Writer Chair position. Suzan-Lori Parkshas been awarded the chair that will include a VisitingArts Professor appointment at NYU’s Tisch School of theArts, Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of DramaticWriting, effective Nov. 1. The new residency is a componentof the Public Writers Initiative.Inspired by the university model, the full-salaried positionaffords writers the flexibility and freedom to pursuetheir artistic goals and endeavors. Master Writers willreceive full artistic and administrative support, the chanceto develop their work with the full resources of The PublicTheatre and participate in the artistic life of the theatre.“Suzan-Lori Parks is one of our greatest artists, andthis chair will allow her the freedom to follow her uniquevision wherever it might lead her. We at the Public arehonored to have her as part of our family,” said PublicTheater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. “I hope the MellonFoundation’s astonishing support will inspire theatresand philanthropists across the country to establish chairsto keep our best playwrights in the theatre where theybelong.”Shakespeare Theatre CompanyAppoints Managing DirectorShakespeare Theatre CompanyArtistic Director Michael Kahnhas announced that the Boardof Trustees has appointed ChrisJennings to the position of managingdirector. Jennings hasserved as general manager for thecompany since 2004.During his tenure, Jennings hasoverseen the finance, productionand marketing operations for STCand helped manage the company’sbudget expansion from $12 to$19 million. As managing director,Chris JenningsJennings will be responsible for the overall business andexternal affairs of STC, including building partnerships withthe many Washington-based performing arts companieswho perform at the Harman Center for the Arts venues.Jennings currently serves on the Board of theDC Downtown BID and the Pennsylvania QuarterNeighborhood Association and is a member ofthe League of Resident Theatres and the TheatreCommunications Group.changing roleswww.stage-directions.com • December 2008 13

Light on the Subject|By Jacob CoakleyThree-DaywTourSD ventured to LDI and brought back more than just a swag T-shirt.LDI came back to Vegas this year, and Stage Directionswas present at the tradeshow, chatting up friends, seeingwhat was new and drooling over the latest toys.Here’s what we found and what you can expect to see atload-in — or at least in your fantasy lighting plot.LightingChauvet highlighted its COLORdash units at the company’sbooth. The COLORdash PAR and COLORdash Batten are compatiblewith Chauvet’s larger and more powerful Colorado seriesof fixtures and include a great deal of the features of those fixtures(like DMX programming), but at a much lower price point.The PAR is a three, four or nine-channel DMX-512 LED washfixture called Backstage Blue, a blue clip light replacement. It’s a1”-by-6” fixture featuring three blue LEDs and multiple mountingoptions so that burnt out blue gels become a thing of the past.PRG wins the biggest light of the year award with their newBad Boy spot luminaire. It’s not for theatre — it’s designed as a“large venue” fixture, which means rock concerts and corporateshows where big, thick beams are needed, especially in frontof high-brightness screens. It produces 48,000 lumens witha Philips MSR Gold FastFit lamp that can be set at any levelbetween 700W and 1400W. Its literature says it doubles standardoptical efficiencies, but we’ll see. In the meantime, when toomuch is never enough and you need to punch through the opticalclutter, there’s a new fixture to consider.Elation ELED FresnelRichard CadenaTheatricalHardware.com’sLeg-a-Matic IISelecon Rama6-inch FresnelThe 2008 LDI show floorPRG’s Bad BoyThe MartinMac IIIwith adjustable barn doors, 15° and 30° lenses. The COLORdashBatten has 24 high-power, 1-watt LEDs that provide an output of1,750 lux with a beam angle of 35° by 30°.Elation introduced its new ELED Fresnel at the show, a whiteFresnel light powered by LEDs. It uses a 50W, 6,000k white LEDmodule as its light source with an output equivalent to a 500Whalogen lamp. The LEDs are rated at 100,000 hours under normaloperating conditions. It features a built-in strobe and 0-100% electronicdimming. It also comes equipped with a 10° to 50° manualzoom for zeroing in on individual performers. Additionally, theunit includes adjustable barn doors for a variety of flat, square andcircular beam shaping options. Internal DMX control gives operatorscomplete command over dimming and strobing.Lee Filters introduced eight new colors in its 700 series:Perfect Lavender, Cold Lavender, QFD Blue, AS Golden Amber,Egg Yolk Yellow, Bram Brown, Damp Squib and Dirty Ice.Martin was back after skipping last year in Orlando and hada lot to show, including its new Mac III profile, the first productin the third generation of their Mac moving head line with up to75% more output than other 1200W fixtures, wide zoom range,new gobos, animation effects, fast effects and movements,and low noise cooling. Martin also released their Jem K1 Hazer,designed for substantially optimized fluid consumption.Osram Sylvania displayed its new BTH halogen lamp, a 575Wunit designed for 6” and 8” Fresnels. They also had a nice littleRobert Juliat introduced new models Victor M and FLO,both designed around a hot restrike MSR 1800W DE dischargelamp from Philips. VICTOR M is the the Victor model equippedwith a DMX controlled motorized shutter for smooth dimmingand precise shutter control, with a zoom range of 7º to 14.5º FLOis a short-range model designed for schools or smaller theatreswith a 13º to 28º zoom range.Selecon made an impression with its new Rama six-inchFresnel. Not only does it use Osram Sylvania’s new 575W BTHhalogen lamp, but they’ve also released a new eight-waybarndoor with industrial grade plastic joints that are strongenough for production, but won’t expand and contract likemetal so they’ll keep their mobility.Ushio America introduced the SPH 575, a new filamenthalogen lamp designed for PAR fixtures and ellipsoidalspotlights. The new filament design provides 16,500 lumensat 575W, no increase in the wattage. The newly engineeredfilament geometry works with current reflector technology toproduce up to a 20% increase in fixture lumens over the GLClamp. The universal G9.5 base will fit any socket that acceptsthe GLC, FLK or FEL lamps.ZZYZX, Inc. showed ESP Vision 3.0, the next gen of itspre-viz software. Vision 3.0 runs natively on a Mac withoutthe need for Parallels or Bootcamp. Additional enhancementsinclude allowing users to choose between Imperial and14 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

Metric display settings, Cut/Copy/Paste, Undo/Redo functionality,improved navigation, true full-screen and improvementover Vision 2.3’s performance enhancements. It also hasthe ability to show your stage from four different viewpointsand is integrated with Vectorworks 2009.SFXThe big news from Apollo is that the company is no longerusing chemical etching on any of their gobos. Every gobo —metal, black and white glass and colored glass — is now etchedwith laser. This eliminates more than 4,000 gallons of toxicchemicals that Apollo used annually and instantly makes them amore environmentally friendly company. The lasers also enablea greater consistency in color and pattern on gobos than chemicaletching did.City Theatrical showed off its recently patented Show-DMX, which is now in full release, and the VSFX3, a visualeffects projector able to be used with Source 4 lenses that has aperfectly smooth, silently rotating 18-inch disk. The big updatethough was for Lightwright 5. It now has data exchange withVectorworks 2009, giving you the ability to have multiple showPRG also released a new console, the V676. It’s designedaround ease of use and ergonomics to increase programmingspeed. It features eight touch-screen monitors, including fivemonitors built into the low-profile face panel. In addition,three external monitors on moveable arms attached to theconsole can be positioned in any direction.StagingGala Systems’ new I-Lock Spiralift is a new twist on thecompany’s Spiralift project that has added a horizontal bandto add even more strength and stability to their columns.A perforated vertical band is laid over a toothed horizontalband in a rotary motion. The column smoothly rises as thetwo interlock together.Le Garriets introduced their Macau string curtain, an inherentlyflame retardant fabric with integrated metallic Lurex threads.Theatrical Hardware debuted its Leg-A-Matic II. It’s a cornerbracket for platform construction that will hold the platformcorners together and creates a permanent pocket capable ofholding a 1 ½” steel pipe or 2” square tubes. It is available nowthrough TheatricalHardware.com or BMI Supply.Robert Juliat’s FLO short-throw spotlightChauvet Colordash BattenPRG V676 ConsoleProduction Intercom’s IP901 unitfiles open at once, not to mention complete worksheet historywith unlimited and automated undo and a new file format thatdoesn’t corrupt over e-mail.Le Maitre aimed to reduce shipping costs and reducefuel consumption by shipping fog concentrate instead ofgallon jugs of fluid. It’s a brilliantly simple idea that savesmoney and the environment.Rosco introduced DichroFilm, a gel coated in thedichroic process that combines the flexibility, cut-to-fitand lightweight qualities of gel with the saturated colorsof a dichroic filter. It is designed for use in permanentinstallations.ControllersETC showed off its new Paradigm lighting system. Itwon’t be used to light the stage, but they’re taking aim atthe architectural side of the theatre, giving more automatedand responsive controls for the house, lobby, rehearsalrooms and other areas.Leviton touted its new Piccolo control console at theshow. Designed for theatre and smaller venues, it’s a single-,two-scene or submaster board with 48-192 channelsof control for traditional lighting devices, but it also features32 attribute channels supporting 512 DMX addressesso if you have the specials, you can still control them.Wenger had a few of its new Forte Acoustic panels at theirbooth. Their new panel is designed for small-to-medium sizeperformance spaces including auditoriums, recital halls andtheatre venues. The Forte Acoustical Shell consists of side towers,rear towers and a ceiling structure to create an effectiveenclosure that reflects and diffuses sound. The Forte AcousticalShell provides fast, simple and safe setup or reconfiguration thatdoesn’t require tools. Just two people can easily arrange towersin different formats for different size ensembles or events.Towers have built-in transport features including non-marringcasters with locks for stability and safety. The towers nest togetherfor storage when not in use, saving valuable floor space.ComsHME Intercoms introduced a little adapter that will allow youto use your wired cell phone headset as your intercom headset.Hopefully, they’ll come out with a Bluetooth adapter next.Production Intercom announced its IP901 Connect unit atthe show. The IP901 offers full duplex IP audio communicationover the Internet. It includes a self-balancing DSP and echocancellation, both of which can be automatically configured viaa button on the front panel. Units can also be used in a point-topointconfiguration to offer communication between two intercomsystems anywhere in the world. It also works with Internetcapable devices such as laptops, desktops and PDAs.www.stage-directions.com • December 2008 15

Sound Design|By Bryan ReesmanNatalieA Tale of Two SoundDesignersTwo heads worked asone on this Tale.Catherine Brunell and Kevin Greene mock the royalty.Taking a famous literary work and putting it onstage asa Broadway musical is bound to draw criticism from diehardfans and purists. A Tale Of Two Cities is certainly noexception. Mixed critical reception and the economic downturnclosed the show Nov. 9, but the producers plan on mounting thetale — an epic that tackles its tale of love, loss and sacrifice set inLondon and Paris against the backdrop of the French Revolution— in a touring production. The show is unusual for the two-levelsets that are rolled on and around stage and repositioned fordifferent indoor and outdoor scenes, which makes for strikingscenery and helps to maintain the pace of the show. A Tale OfTwo Cities is also unusual in that the sound was designed by twoindustry veterans, Carl Casella and Domonic Sack. Casella spokewith SD about tackling this massive production.Stage Directions: You have worked on large musicals before.Are there always new challenges that come up?Carl Casella: One of the things that made this show a littleunique is that the music almost never stops. There are 17 playersin the pit, and no matter how softly they play there are 17instruments playing. I used Aviom’s Pro16 system with 10 A-16RRackmount mixers to create an audio rack where each section’smonitors were mixed using a Yamaha DM2000 consoleas the main matrix to the Aviom A16I. The audio was then fedout to Genelec speakers. Percussionists each had their ownheadphones with a personal mixer since they typically like theirmonitoring levels higher than the other groups. When we talkedto the director originally, he really wanted the show to have atremendous amount of dynamics, so we were trying to keep thedialogue not sounding like you are talking into a handheld mic,which I think some of the bigger musicals are having an issuewith. They want to go so big that you can only go so small. Ifyou take a show to very loud dynamic extremes and then go toalmost no miking, people don’t understand what’s being said.Your ears don’t adjust that rapidly. So it was a little tricky tryingto keep the illusion of very little miking on the dialogue, especiallywith the orchestra still playing underscore. We sat downand actually discussed the issues on the show at length beforewe brought it into the theatre.Other than that, the only other big issue on this show thatwas different from almost any other one that I’ve ever done isthat Tony Walton’s set design has almost no masking. The prosceniumis 38 feet high, so your cluster is at 40 feet, which makesit almost useless for the orchestra because it’s just too high andtoo far away. Even for the last show in that theatre, Curtains, theproscenium was masked down 14 feet, so the speaker clusterwas 14 feet lower, which made it a possibility to use on theToro and Kevin Earley lead the cast of A Tale of Two Cities in “Until Tomorrow”orchestra. When we first set the system up, we actually put thecluster where we thought the masking was going and it was justhanging in front of the set. I said to the assistant designer oneday, “When are they putting masking in?” And she said, “Oh,Tony decided no masking.” It was like, “What? Excuse me!” OK,time to fall back and regroup.So, in a way, you had to be creative with set design as well.We had to because it’s very disconcerting if you’re watchinga live actor and you’re facing forward and the sound is comingfrom the left, right or above you, your brain works much harderto put that back together in time. It’s an unconscious thing, butit fatigues you faster. I don’t know about you, but I dislike goingto a show where I’m seeing action in one place and hearing itfrom another.You used a new Midas console on this show, correct? What isit like and what advantages does it offer?Yes, we have the very first on-Broadway Midas XL8 digitalconsole. The maximum input on the console is 128, and we’reusing 104. As far as how it differs from other consoles — if you’refamiliar with CDs, which are at a 44.1 sample rate and consideredhigh fidelity sampling, the console is at 96K. It’s more thandouble CD quality, so the transparency of the console is tremendous.It very much sounds like an analog desk, which has alwaysbeen the drawback of the newer digital consoles. They give youtremendous flexibility, but sound processed, and this board isthe closest that I’ve heard to not sounding processed at all.On a traditional digital console, either a Digidesign or aYamaha, when you sweep through equalization you actuallyhear it sweeping and hear steps. It’s annoying. It’s distractingfrom listening to where you want to put the EQ. Somehow Midashas managed to design an EQ on a digital board that doesn’t dothat. There is no step sound when you sweep through the EQ. Itsounds like you’re on a traditional analog desk.Another nice feature they did is something called “populationgroups.” The board is not small, but not huge either. It has128 inputs, but you don’t have 128 faders in front of you, so theboard is designed with layers. You can call up any 24 microphonesthat you want in front of you at any given moment. Butif you’re looking for the second viola, and it’s input 74 and you’remixing a show, where is input 74? How do you get to it? Midashas created population groups, which is a series of 12 nice, biglit buttons that you can assign groups of faders to, so if I wantto adjust my viola, I hit the population group called strings, andimmediately next to my microphone volumes, the first 16 fadersbecome all of the string inputs on the console. If I need to adjust16 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

All Photographs by Carol RoseggBecause of the two height levels of the set, more foldback than usual was necessary.something in the percussion then I hit percussion and now thepercussion faders are right there. If I’m ever looking for anything,nothing is more than one button way, which from a live mixingstandpoint is tremendously helpful.What was something new that you learned on A Tale Of TwoCities?That I can actually create stage monitors with a lavalier headmic. If you’re familiar with traditional concert performance whenpeople are using handheld mics, there is always foldback —speakers that face the performers because they need to hearthemselves. It’s very unusual on Broadway. There are alwaysspeakers on stage because they need to hear the orchestra, andyou might give them a hint of their mic, but it’s very unusual toactually give them foldback. In this show the singer requestedconcert-level foldback on one number, and it was a challengebecause you have a mic on the middle of your forehead, so anythingyour ear hears the mic hears. It was tricky.There are actually 14 monitor speakers built into the set of ATale Of Two Cities. The show actually has speakers that are builtinto the deck that are grilled over — side speakers, top speakers— and they’re programmed by scene. Depending on thescene, an actor might move from upstage to downstage whilethey’re singing, and the monitoring will move with them. There’sno miscellaneous, extra monitoring onstage. At times there are30 people onstage singing with 30 open mics, and they pick upeverything, not just the people singing. We had an issue with thesnow machines because in one Christmas scene the machinesare tremendously noisy and there’s no masking on the show. Wewere in tech one day and it sounded like a hovercraft had justbeen introduced to the stage.The only other thing on this show that was very different was,because it’s a multilayer show and you have people at differentheights, their monitoring from the orchestra was very importantbecause it needed to also be at the same heights with them, orthey sang out of time. If you have somebody downstage centerstanding almost right over the conductor, they’re hearing theorchestra three feet away from them, and if someone is 18 feetup in the air and 20 feet upstage, they’re hearing the orchestraa beat later. We started to notice it in rehearsal and realized thatit was just the time of the acoustic sound traveling to their ears.They were time with what they were hearing. So, we ended upactually putting monitor speakers upstage at different heightsthat also go on with each scene, so when they’re singing upthere they’re not hearing the acoustic sound, but the speaker,which is in time with the downstage front acoustic sound. Nowthe chorus is singing in time.“Because it’s a multilayershow and youhave people at differentheights, theirmonitoring from theorchestra was veryimportant because itneeded to also be atthe same heights withthem, or they sang outof time.”— Carl CasellaNick Wyman (left) and James Barbour in a moment from A Tale of Two Citieswww.stage-directions.com • December 2008 17

Theatre Spotlight By Kevin M. Mitchell|A Very Kerry ChristmasSan Diego’s Lamb’s Players Theatre Kerry Meads goes original every year.‘Tis the season of giving, and Kerry Meads gives the giftthat keeps on giving — an original Christmas play withmusic every year.“It’s a very interesting thing, and has become quite a tradition,”Meads says. “It’s kind of tricky to do — it has to havemagic, wonder, a happy ending and music.”The prolific playwright is also an actress, director and associateartistic director at San Diego’s respected Lamb’s PlayersTheatre. There she and her co-Christmas conspirers concocta holiday show with all the trappings, and has been doing itsince 1978, the year she first joined the ensemble.It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Back when she was astudent at Bethel University in Minnesota, she was studyingmedical technology. Taking a random acting class on a larkput her on the path toward her current career, and she starteddoing theatre professionally in 1971. Today, in addition toeverything else, she also writes non-holiday plays. Currently,she has one running called Boomers, a musical revue aboutthe baby boom generation.Stage Directions: So, you write a new Christmas showevery year?Kerry Meads: I’ve written a total of 15 Christmas shows,and every eight years, we bring one back, which I end uprewriting. This year we’re bringing back one of my mostrequested, and my first one. It’s called Angel’s Arms, which isabout a novelist who is suffering writer’s block and unexpectedlydiscovers the true meaning of Christmas while workingthrough his block.When do you start thinking of what to write?I start thinking about next year’s show when the currentChristmas show opens. I’m an incubator — I incubate ideasfor eight months, then bam, I slam it out in about four to sixweeks. It’s crazy hard!Do you enjoy the process?Actually, I’m a very social person, and writing is lonely. Ifeel vulnerable because it’s just me — there’s no one else toblame!But I’m very blessed with a company that I can bounceideas off of. It’s such a creative environment. Artistic DirectorRobert Smyth is a superb editor. But it’s tough too becauseyou need them to be honest and critical, and that’s uncomfortablesometimes.climax. That’s where the othersin the company come in.See, every character, good,bad or ugly, is part of me,and sometimes I’m a littleafraid to go where the characterreally needs to go. Theothers push me to go whereit’s a little uncomfortable,which is good.It seems daunting to dothis every year — do youfeel more pressure everytime?It is stressful, but verysatisfying, too. It’s a tradition.It’s the type of thingthat is truly a gift we giveto the community. There’snothing else like it.A scene from a previous holiday production,Christmas On My MindKerry MeadsLove blooms in It’s Christmas and It’s Live.How close is your first table read draft to being the finaldraft?It’s about 85 percent there. Usually, it’s just one scenethat needs work — but it’s the most important scene, theA scene from the original production of Angel’s Arms“I incubate ideas for eight months, then bam, I slam it out inabout four to six weeks. It’s crazy hard!” — Kerry Meads18 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

Education Feature By Bret Love|Setting Roots for aMalleable FormCharna HalpernCharna leads CERN scientists in an improv exercise.Charna Halpern continues to transform the face of improv.Aside from being some of the most successful comedicactors in the world, what do Mike Myers, Chris Farley,Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey have incommon? At one point or another, they all studied underlegendary improv guru Charna Halpern.Halpern originally got involved in Chicago’s burgeoningimprov scene back in 1980 when Second City was the only gamein town. But her career really took off after she founded theimprovOlympic theatre (now known simply as iO), joined forceswith the Second City co-founder Del Close and created a longerform of improvisation known as the Harold, whose frameworkwas loosely based on the structure of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.Teaching a philosophy known simply as “yes and” becauseit encourages accepting your scene partner’s ideas and addingyour own to them, Close and Halpern revolutionized the faceof improv, emphasizing strong characters and organic relationshipsrather than pimping others out in the quest for a laugh. Intheir influential book Truth In Comedy, the co-authors introducedconcepts such as callbacks, patterns and unconditional support.The impact of their legacy can be felt today in TV shows such asCurb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, in the largely improvised filmsof Judd Apatow and Sacha Baron Cohen and especially in thesketch comedy of Saturday Night Live and MADtv.Though Close passed away in 1999, Halpern continues toserve as a leading light on the improv scene, operating iOtraining centers in Chicago and Los Angeles, authoring thebook Art By Committee and teaching workshops everywherefrom improv festivals to the corporate world. We recentlyspoke with Halpern as she returned from Switzerland, whereshe’d led a workshop for scientists at CERN.Stage Directions: What was your theatre backgroundbefore you started teaching?Charna Halpern: When I was in college I was a minor intheatre. They made me do a few plays, and my plays alwaysturned into comedies. I was in an Ionesco play called No Exit,in which these people realize at the end that it’s their hell tobe together forever in this room. To prove that the girl is lying,I’m supposed to pick up this knife and stab her, but the propfell apart. So, I had to improvise and strangled her, and I guessI had a funny reaction on my face because the whole audiencewas in hysterics. That was my first foray into comedy.How did you and Del Close get connected?I’d heard through the grapevine that Del hated me becauseI’d started improvOlympic, which had been created in Canadaby David Shepard, who Del had worked with at the CompassTheatre in St. Louis (which also featured Mike Nichols andElaine May). Del thought David was a jerk, and didn’t realizeI felt the same way. I was growing bored with the same oldstuff at iO, so I needed to learn more if I was gonna take mytheatre further. I ran into Del at a coffee shop, and he wasa big stoner at the time, so I asked him, “How’d you like tomake $200 and some pot?” He asked what he’d have to doand I told him he’d teach a class. He said, “Can I do anything Iwant?” I said sure, so he taught the class and it was fantastic.We went out for coffee afterwards and decided to start workingtogether to change the face of improvisation, and that’swhat we did for the next 19 years. We had so many differentrelationships — mentor-student, mother-son, father-daughter,best friends — it was like we were family.“It teaches you not to rely on characters with funny glasses, a fake wigand a hat, but instead to fully embody a character honestly.”— Charna Halpern20 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

FeatureWhat do you think it is about your training methods thatmake your students so successful?I think the reason people love the school is that the ideas andvisions it stood behind were about support and trust and treatingeach other as if they were geniuses. When we had our 25thanniversary show a few years ago, we had over 50 stars like MikeMyers, Tim Meadows, Adam McKay, Amy Poehler and Tina Feycome back to be part of it. They came back because the ideas weteach in our community — agreement, working together, makingeach other look good, group mind, establishing callbacksand connections, and letting the laughs come naturally ratherthan through forced jokes — are important for everyone tolearn, and they led to friendships that have lasted forever.I’ve always thought the “yes and” philosophy at the heart ofimprov can be used as a guiding philosophy in business orin everyday life.Absolutely, and we do a lot of corporate work as well. I justcame back from CERN in Switzerland where I met with thephysicists who created the Large Hadron Collider that everyonewas worried would createa black hole. They’re like mybest friends now: They’re takingimprov classes and one of themis coming to Chicago to do amonologue for one of our iOshows. They’re totally hooked,because they love these ideasabout treating each other asgeniuses instead of saying noto each other and trying to lookmore brilliant than the next guy.Everyone loves these ideas thathave made us so successful onstage.Charna Halpern and Del CloseCharna Halpern and Mike Meyers at the iO Chicago 25th AnniversarycelebrationIt seems like more “serious”actors are turning to improv22 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

training these days and more TV shows and films are usingad libbing to great effect. Why do you think impov trainingcan lead to better performers and performances?Because it shows you know how to bring yourself to the work.It teaches you not to rely on characters with funny glasses, a fakewig and a hat, but instead to fully embody a character honestlywith the information that you add to it. It goes back to the “yesand” rule from my first book, Truth In Comedy, which is all aboutkeeping the performance honest and real. A lot of my actors getwriting credits because they come up with so much stuff on theset, like Neil Flynn on Scrubs: They’re constantly going to him forideas because he’s so good at ad-libbing.How do you feel about the state of improv today?I think the state of improv is great for a number of reasons.There’s more work out there than ever before. When I firststarted there was no improv scene to speak of, and now there’sa huge scene and casting agents call us all the time looking tobook improvisers for union and non-union work. For TV, castingdirectors want people who know how to improvise, andin Los Angeles, talent managers are making their clients go toiO West to study improv. Ever since the breakthrough successof Curb Your Enthusiasm, everything on TV is scenario-basedand improv-based. So, if they see an actor from iO they givethem a really good look, because they see that as evidence thatthese actors are really taking the time to get good instead ofjust throwing themselves out there with no training. To castingagents, that’s important.Charna taught scientists at CERN her method of improv.

Feature|By Geri Jeterall photos by Jeff SpeerTending toHigh School Musical 2In deep camouflage, Ryan and Sharpay (Jonathan Sangster and Molly Rosenberger) spy on Gabrielle and Troy.The high school version of the hit show blooms in Green Valley.The first High School Musical television movie spawnedsing-along, dance-along and pop-up DVDs, a stage version(Disney’s High School Musical: On Stage), a concerttour, an ice show (Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour)and another stage version designed specifically for highschool productions. Obsessed tween fans filled the Disneycoffers, purchasing DVDs, soundtrack CDs, games, stickers,clothing and other licensed ephemera — a masterpieceof brand extension. HSM2 has generated a similar flurry ofspin-offs and licensed merchandise. It also provided a boonto schools and theatres producing the stage version of theshow, as they consistently sold out and brought in a hugeinflux of participation and cash into theatres.This year, Disney rolled out both professional and highschool versions of Disney High School Musical 2: On Stage. Aswith each incarnation of the original show, adjustments hadto be made to the script, staging, score and choreography.To get the high school version on stage, The Walt DisneyCompany and Music Theatre International (MTI), the exclusivelicensor of The Disney Collection, asked six schools toparticipate in a pilot program to work out any problems inthe adaptation. All six schools participated in preparing theoriginal HSM for high school performers to great success;four of the schools agreed to work on HSM2. Because of theirparticipation, the four schools were then granted permissionto premier the show prior to general licensing.Green Valley High School in Henderson, Nev., one of theparticipating schools, made the production an integral partof its summer program. Theatre Department Head JenniferL. Hemme met the members of theatrical rights agencyMusic Theatre International over eight years ago at theSoutheastern Theatre Conference (SETC). When MTI’s boothcomputer broke down, Hemme loaned them her laptop; theyhave been friends ever since. Through them, Green ValleyHigh School has been asked to act as a pilot program fora number of shows being adapted for high school performance,including the two High School Musical productions.Getting StartedThe school’s theatre department is small — Hemme is theonly instructor, although before the latest round of schoolbudget cuts, the 250-student department had a part-timetechnical theatre coach/instructor. She has been fortunate,though, in enlisting help from generous friends and the localLas Vegas theatre community. Additionally, before losing thetechnical theatre position, the industrial arts department lostits woodshop program.“I happened to be in the right place at the right time,”explains Hemme, “and suggested that we hire a technicaltheatre teacher and expand the tech program. The woodshopkids were moved into tech at that time.” Most of thesestudents remained in the theatre program, so when thetechnical theatre position was eliminated Hemme still had asmall group of students who had been trained to handle thetechnical responsibilities. Nevertheless, for a production thesize of HSM2, the technical demands were significant.“Our main technical challenge was to have enough techsover the summer to work the show,” says Hemme. “Therewere also some smaller things, such as how to deal with therealities of stage versus screen productions. For example,24 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

Choreographer Jared Hunt (center) and dancers go over notesduring the scene at the pool, we had tosuggest the presence of an actual swimmingpool as most high school theatreslack water facilities. We chose to havea couple of set pieces that looked likerock formations; then we lit the rocks.”The school was lucky to get someoutside technical help. Barry Mims, whodoes sound for the Cirque du Soleilshows on the Las Vegas Strip, donatedhis time to work with the students onthe school’s new sound system — aset of Meyer UltraSeries speakers runoff of a Yamaha DM1000 digital board.The theatre department purchased thesound system with the proceeds fromthe school’s production of the originalHigh School Musical: On Stage.The new sound system has been agreat benefit to the entire school; however,making any sound system work fora musical can be tricky. In this instance,because the actors are constantly movingfrom one dance routine to the other,there were some issues with the micheads. “The kids sweat out their micson a daily basis,” says Hemme. “Theyget their sweat into them and it makesthem go out. Also, one of the leadsgot ice cream in his mic. That’s highschool!”While the sound system is elaboratefor a public high school, the lightingsetup is economical both in design andcost. Green Valley uses a LanBox systemhooked into a wireless router. “Thewhole thing runs off my laptop,” saysHemme, “and the LC Edit software thatruns it is free. It can even run off of anolder computer, as it doesn’t require thelatest and greatest hardware to run.”www.stage-directions.com • December 2008 25

Feature“Humuhumunukunukuapua’a” was cut from the film, but reinstated for the stage version.Turn the PageBeyond the technical issues, the development of theadaptation offered other challenges. For example, thestudents mostly worked without a finished script. “Wereceived pages as we went via e-mailed PDF files,” saysHemme. “There were eight versions of the script. BetweenVersion 4 and Version 6, there was a 29-hour rewritesession; there was another 29-hour session to get fromVersion 6 to Version 8.”There were other variations from the original material.One big one is that, with the exception of Mrs. Darbus’ openingloudspeaker announcement and Fulton, the countryclub general manager, all the adults were removed from thescript. A major addition was made to the high school stageproduction — the song “Hummuhummunukunukuapua’a,”which was omitted from the original movie (although it wasincluded in the DVD as a bonus feature.)Rehearsing with the music also was a challenge. Becausethere was no actual score, the production could not use livemusicians. “Disney paid someone to lay down some tracks forthe schools to work from,” explained Hemme.Added to that, the scoring was different from the originaltelevision movie, so although the schools were free to useany of the original dance material, they couldn’t do so exclusivelybecause the musical arrangements for dance had beenaltered — with cuts and changes in the musical lines andsong setups. This was fine with Hemme and choreographerJared Hunt, who explains, “It worked for me as I really tried tostay away from borrowing from the original.”In addition, the styles and tempi ranged from swing torock ‘n’ roll, to Stomp-styled arrangements, to musical theatre.“We had to use a piano score,” saysHunt, “just like for any other new musical.It was fun, but the different musicalstyles meant a different choreographiclanguage for each number.”A production of this magnitudecould have broken the school’s budget,but because the cast, crew and directorwere expected to offer feedbackalong the way, the school didn’t haveto pay for rights to perform the show.Costumes were economical as well, asstudents mostly wore their own clothes.Also, to help with the program budget,the students sold program ads. “Ticketsales also help our program’s bottomline,” says Hemme, “plus we do elementaryschool performances during schoolday. The ticket prices are reasonable($5), and the younger kids get a taste oflive theatre.”“The main benefit,” adds Hemme, “isthat the students, who normally workwith tried-and-true material, had therare opportunity to participate in theactual creation of a show.”The feature film High School Musical3 was released on Oct. 24, 2008 and HighSchool Musical 4 is already in the planningstages. Music Theatre Internationaland Disney Theatrical began licensing thetheatrical rights to High School Musical2: On Stage in late October.26 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

Special Section: Renovations & InstallationsJacob CoakleyFor Criss Angel Believe, designers went back to theatre basics, with a twist.By Jacob CoakleyHarry Houdini was a great debunker of spiritualfrauds. Before he died he gave his wife a secretcode word, so that if anyone tried to convince herthat Houdini was speaking from beyond the grave shewould know they were a charlatan if they didn’t say thecode. The code word? “Believe.”Criss Angel and Cirque du Soleil have teamed up to communicatetheir vision of what awaits in the limbo betweenlife and death in their show Criss Angel Believe.The Original SparkTo create the look of the show, Cirque contacted RayWinkler at Mark Fisher Studios in London and tapped him tobe the production designer to meld the style of Criss Angeland the vision of Serge Denoncourt, director and co-writer.Winkler was happy to do it, but needed someone closer tothe action, as he was based in London. He spoke with hiscolleague Tamlyn Wright, a freelance designer based out ofL.A., and she agreed to be assistant production designer.“We needed somebody who would be able to nip over toLas Vegas in short notice,” Winkler says. “Keep tabs on whatthe scenery shop was doing, take some of the designs thatwe had in concept level and develop them up to the pointwhere they could be bid out and built.”This was important because the ideas flowed fast andfurious in the beginning.“Ideas come for free, implementing them doesn’t,”Winkler says. “It's better to start off with 100 ideas and settlewith 10 than only come up with 10 ideas when we need100. Serge would say something, I would sketch it, and,Ray WinklerTamlyn Wrightyou know, it would be the most horrific thing that he hadever seen and this is exactly not what he meant, or it wasthe most amazing thing that he had ever seen and this isexactly what he meant, or it was not what he meant, but it'sgreat anyway.”The process was fairly straightforward. During the first fewmonths of design work, Winkler and the creative team met inperson in Montreal to discuss ideas, generating hundreds ofsketches. In their time apart, sketches would flow betweenthe creative team as pictures or PDF files. When one wasdecided upon, Winkler would draw it in AutoCAD. His Londonteam would then import it into LightWave and work up textures,colors, lighting, ect. and animate it. If it looked good,the design made it to the next phase, a trial implementation.In-person meetings took place every few months, but most ofthe design communication took place virtually.28 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

Jacob Coakley“It’s not the nut and boltsthat create the mood.There is a bigger intentbehind it.” — Ray WinklerThe proscenium arch extends out into the seating area of the audience.“It doesn’t really matter whereyou are in the world, as long as youcan overcome the time differences,the information can be exchanged,”Winkler says.“I’m busy early in the morning,”Wright adds, laughing.Moving Into RealityThe final design called for aspace that stayed true to its theatreorigins. There would be no movingstage or giant pool of water.Instead, audience members wouldbe greeted by a traditional gildedproscenium frame.“We are trying to establish the moodof the theatre,” Winkler says. “That wasvery important, so that when the audiencefirst comes into the house thetheatre takes possession of the spacethat it sits in.”In order to have the theatre takepossession of the space, they oversizedthe proscenium frame, arching it horizontallyout into the house past the lipof the stage. The gilded prosceniumspills out into the sixth or seventh rowof seating and features such design elementsas rabbits pulling Criss Angel’shead out of a hat.“When you first walk in it looks rathercozy and kosher,” Winkler says. “It’s elaborateand it’s beautiful, but it warrantsa second look because the more youlook at it the more that cozy and kosherappearance gets undermined by a slightlydarker and sinister force that runs notonly through the set and the scenery,but throughout the whole show.”The vibe of the show has beendescribed as “twisted Victorian,” afusion between a Victorian vernacularstyle that on second reading containsmodern gothic nuances and interpretations,which take the design to a differentlevel. It’s not quite steampunk,but not fully gothic either.“It’s not quite what you think itwould be,” Winkler says. “It is a verymysterious world, and what we understandfrom the world of design is thatit’s not the nut and bolts that createthe mood. There is a bigger intentbehind it.”Making MagicThe crew spent months rehearsingand building in warehouses aroundLas Vegas in order to find the perfectbalance between design, fabricationand illusion.www.stage-directions.com • December 2008 29

Special Section: Renovations & InstallationsCourtesy of Ray WinklerJacob CoakleyA plaster cast of an early design of thescrollwork on the proscenium leg.Courtesy of Ray WinklerAnother view of the stage left proscenium legJacob CoakleyA close-up of the finished detail on the proscenium legA fuller view of the stage-left proscenium legA Ray Winkler sketch for a proscenium leg“We’re not trying to reinvent the theatre.” — Ray Winkler“We had a warehouse here in Vegas that was filled withdifferent chain link fences, different glitter curtains, differenttypes of black duveteen,” Winkler says.Over the two years the project was in development,research workshops took place to test various materialsand techniques, judging how fabrics, textures, lighting andprojection interacted.“There is no fixed or absolutely empirical method bywhich you want to establish how to do an illusion,” Winklercomments. “It is a very long, drawn out process.”Not helping things was the space itself. The theatre, originallybuilt to be a standard cavernous Vegas showroom, wasmodified for the Blue Man Group and then further modifiedfor a run of Hairspray. The sightlines were designed to showone person, downstage, not moving much. Winkler andWright set about creating a much larger field of play inorder to give the creative team a broader canvas to moveactors and dancers on and help them direct the eye to supportthe illusions. (Another reason for an impressive proscenium,it functions literally as a frame to direct the eye.) Therake of the stage was slightly raised, a catwalk was addedto the house grid, the house was repainted and seats reupholstered.More fly lines were added backstage so there arenow more than 20. Speakers were embedded into the wallsso that audience members weren’t confronted with a hugecluster of speakers when walking in.“It is kind of a black box at this point,” Wright says.“Everything else that we have added then pops from that,so it is quite nice.”The design team is proud of their black-box aesthetic, theidea that traditional staging — however ornate, glamorousor sinister — is sufficient for a Cirque du Soleil spectacular.“I am not trying to do what Ka or Love or O does. We’re nottrying to reinvent the theatre,” Winkler explains. “There is agood reason why theatres do what they do. The best sceneryis that way because it works, and it works really well. I thinkit is a very refreshing aspect of a show in Vegas that sort ofbreaks out of that extravaganza that a lot of the shows onthe Strip seem to be thriving on and just goes back to a fairlytraditional approach to theatre design and to staging.”Traditional staging also puts the focus on the performers,as opposed to the technology, so all eyes will be onthe magic of Criss Angel, to see if he can amaze as muchas the set does.30 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

Special Section: Renovations & InstallationsA Mid-Century LandmarkFaces a New CenturyThe Mark Taper Forum digs deep to improve while keeping Its hallmarks.By David KotelesWhen news came out that the 40-year-old MarkTaper Forum was getting a $30-million renovation,many Angelinos were concerned that the celebratedWelton Beckett drum-shaped structure be somehowcompromised. Beckett was the famed architect responsiblefor the overall majestic-yet-modern New Formalistic designof the Los Angeles Music Center (LAMC), as well as numerousL.A. pop landmarks, including the Capital Records Tower, theCinerama Dome and, in part, the iconic space-age ThemeBuilding at LAX. Many feel it’s his most accomplished work,with the Mark Taper Forum arguably the crowning piece ofthe complex.“It’s a tour de force of ‘60s Architecture,” confirms BobHale, an architect and designer with Rios Clementi HaleStudios, one of the lead firms on the project. Naturally, therewere similar worries that the spectacular Jacques Overhofffrieze that covers the building like a delicate meringue wouldnot survive. But rest assured, the original exterior, meringueand all, remains beautifully intact. The 378-foot concreterelief was actually cleaned, relit and is once again a brilliant,gleaming white. And, according to Howard Sherman, vicepresident of operations for LAMC, it’s been relit to look muchlike it did on opening day in 1967. “We tried to be respectfulwith everything we did,” explains Sherman, “in regards to theintent of the original design.” The recently reopened Taper isnow 41 and looking better than ever.Mapping Out the ChangesIt began with trying to reconfigure the tight backstagearea and solve the problem of the women’s room havingonly four stalls. But soon the list of what would be great to fixbecame rather extensive. And complicated — such as addinga lobby to a building that never really had one. “If we weregoing to close for a period of time,” explains ProductionsManager Jonathan Barlow Lee, “we thought, let’s close onlyonce and do everything we need done. Get it done right.”Pyrotechnics (and Dame Edna) helped celebrate the re-opening of the Mark Taper Forum.Once the board agreed and they raised the money, the yearlongrenovation began. “And all the renovations are fully paidfor,” adds Sherman with pride.Generous contributions from individuals, foundations andcorporations made the renovation possible. Then architectureand design firms Rios Clementi Hale Studios and HarleyEllis Devereaux, along with a team of contractors, theatricalconsultants, acousticians and workers — estimated between400 and 500 people in total — made it happen.While discussions went back and forth whether to addan annex to the building to accommodate the additionseveryone agreed were necessary, in the end they successfullyavoided that. “We had a deep appreciation for what wasthere,” says Hale. “We only wanted to enhance it, and quicklydecided it was best not to disrupt the exterior.”In fact, most theatergoers probably won’t see much of adifference if they haven’t been to the Taper in the past fewyears. “If patrons don’t notice the changes, that’s OK,” saysTheatrical Consultant Roger Morgan of Sachs Morgan Studio.“But they’ll have a better theatre-going experience, and that’swhat will bring them back.” The new seats are now a comfortabletwo inches wider and a plush, lively green fabric. Seatsare also easier to get to, with modified levels, gentler inclinesand the addition of railings. Although there was never a badseat in the house before, sightlines have been improved. Aset of box seats has also been added. The women’s restroomhas gone from four stalls to 16, there’s now a good-sizedlobby and a sleek downstairs lounge, which didn’t existbefore. The audience’s experience and comfort were drivingfactors for most of the changes. The solutions are clever withimpressive results.WatchmakersHow exactly do you expand a theatre that has a finiteamount of space? Especially a small, round structure like thisone? “A round building is like a Swiss watch,” says Sherman,32 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

“you change one thing and everything is impacted around it.It can be very tricky.”“Which is why we pretty much gutted everything andstarted fresh,” says Lee.However, that doesn’t explain the extra space, whichcame from a few unexpected sources. Most of the additionalbackstage space came from the removal of a goliath midcenturyair conditioning unit that took up a sizable chunkof backstage. After a smaller, more efficient unit was put onthe roof of the theatre, backstage suddenly became muchlarger. There’s now a new third floor, which was once the airconditioning facility. An outdated built-in treadmill — seeminglythe set design “wave of the future” in 1967 — took upa tremendous amount of room and was rarely used. Rippingthe treadmill out created backstage storage space for thefirst time. Then three feet of concrete was cut out to drop thestage and backstage. The small stage doors, which famouslycaused many sets to be sawed in half before loading, werereplaced with larger doors for easier scenery mobility. Castand crews can now enjoy an actual green room, a kitchen, anelevator and a hair and makeup room. While these all soundlike backstage basics, they didn’t exist before the overhaul.There’s also a larger wardrobe room and more spaciousdressing rooms.The second way space was created was by digging deeper— not only into the pockets of benefactors, but actuallyinto the underground parking below the theatre. Space wasgingerly carved out of the public garage without interruptingbusy traffic flows. Keep in mind, LAMC houses fourmajor theatres, with up to 8,200 patronsattending on a busy Saturday night, soevery parking spot is vital and architectscould only negotiate a small block ofactual parking spaces. With no smallamount of ingenuity, architects fromSachs Morgan Studio and Rios ClementiHale Studios, working respectively onthe performance space and the commonarea, figured out ways to drop thestage, add fully functional traps, expandbackstage, develop the lobby and createa new 1,350-square-foot lounge —all from a few parking spaces and abetter use of the existing space.Cleaning UpWho knew the Taper was such amess? Well, it wasn’t a mess, but it alsowasn’t ready to carry on with businessas usual for another 40 years. Accordingto Morgan, part of the problem withthe Taper was that it wasn’t built with atenant in mind. No one knew if the 740-seat house would be used for chambermusic, modern dance, theatre or as alecture hall. “It was built basically asan auditorium,” says Morgan. “In fact,there was a lot of wasted space in themiddle of the theatre dedicated to projectionequipment, which no one knewwhat to do with.”John Pankow in The House of Blue Leaves, the first production in the re-designed space.Craig Schwartzwww.stage-directions.com • December 2008 33

Special Section: Renovations & InstallationsThe newly redesigned Mark Taper ForumDuring original construction inthe ‘60s, Jo Mielziner, whose nameis synonymous with American theatredesign (A Streetcar Named Desire,Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Death of aSalesman), was brought in to transformBeckett’s building into a theatre.He had just finished Lincoln Center’sSpace was found for a lobby to the theatre. Read more about the challenges and reception of the lobbyonline at www.stage-directions.com/mtf.Vivian Beaumont Theatre and hebrought those same then-innovativeideas on theatre space to the Taper.Besides the thrust stage, “the overalluse of space is remarkably similar,”says Morgan. In addition to being anaccomplished theatre designer himself,Morgan served as an assistantto Mielziner in his youth, importantlyduring the Beaumont construction. So,it’s rather poetic that Morgan shouldbe selected to update the Taper. Hemaintained the integrity of the roomcreated by Mielziner while making ita much more practical performancespace for modern productions.“Thrust stages have always presentedproblems,” explains Morgan, “butLORT theatres have always loved thembecause they aren’t like Broadwaystages.” So, a succession of thrust stageswere built in the ‘60s before thekinks could be discovered and workedout. “You go into an older theatre andwonder how on earth did they standit all these years?”, reports Morgan.“And you find more often than notthey don’t realize there are obstaclesbecause they’ve simply learned to dealwith them.”At the Taper, however, Lee andArtistic Director Michael Ritchie hadthe drive to eliminate those obstacles.Everyone felt it was important to keepthe elements that worked so well atthe Taper, so every effort was made toimprove it without changing it. Morganclarifies, “It’s the same space, but a differentexperience of that space.”[A lot happened in this project, andspace prevented us from talking aboutthe acoustical treatment to the theatre,its new rigging and the flashy newlobby. To get all that info, head online towww.stage-directions.com/mtf — ed.]David Koteles is a Los Angeles-basedplaywright.34 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

Feature Flooring, Title Seating and Staging DirectoryAll Access StagingAnd Productions1320 Storm Pkwy.Torrance, CA 90501P: 310-784-2464F: 310-517-0899W: www.allaccessinc.comAlva’s Dance &Theatrical Supplies1417 W 8th St.San Pedro, CA 90732P: 800-403-3447F: 310-831-6110W: www.alvas.comAmerican HarlequinCorp.Philadelphia Office1531 Glen Ave.Moorestown, NJ 08057P: 800-642-6440F: 856-231-4403W: www.harlequinfloors.comAmerican Seating401 American Seating Ctr.Grand Rapids, MI 49504P: 800-748-0268F: 616-732-6401W: www.americanseating.comAnderson Ladd450 Industrial Blvd.Minneapolis, MN 55413P: 800-433-9128F: 612-331-4884W: www.andersonladd.comApplied Electronics722 Blue Crab Rd.Newport News, VA 23606P: 800-883-0008F: 757-591-9514W: www.appliednn.comASI ProductionServices, Inc.10101 General Dr.Orlando, FL 32824P: 800-808-3179F: 407-240-4358W: www.asiprod.comAudio Incorporated172 W Westfield Ave.Roselle Park, NJ 07204P: 908-620-1007F: 908-620-1002W: www.audioincorporated.comBertolini, Inc.13941 Norton Ave.Chino, CA 91710P: 800-647-7725F: 909-613-1396W: www.bertolinidirect.comBestek Lighting &Staging98 Mahan St.West Babylon, NY 11704P: 631-643-0707F: 631-643-0764W: www.bestek.comBMI Supply, NY571 Queensbury Ave.Queensbury, NY 12804P: 800-836-0524F: 518-793-6181W: www.bmisupply.comBMI Supply, SC209-B Depot St.Greer, SC 29651P: 800-670-4264F: 864-877-1062W: www.bmisupply.comCalifornia Seating12455 Branford St.Units 2-3Arleta, CA 91331P: 818-890-0226F: 805-581-0226W: www.californiaseating.comCalifornia Stage &Lighting, Inc.3601 W Garry Ave.Santa Ana, CA 92704P: 714-966-1852F: 714-966-0104W: www.calstage.comChameleon Designs1900 Premier RowOrlando, FL 32809P: 407-859-9300F: 407-859-9444W: www.chameleonorlando.comChicago ScenicStudios, Inc.1315 N North BranchChicago, IL 60622P: 312-274-9900F: 312-274-9901W: www.chicagoscenic.comCircuit Lighting, Inc.299 Route 22 E, Ste. 12Green Brook, NJ 08812P: 732-968-9533F: 732-968-9231W: www.circuitlighting.comDance Equipment Intl.2103 Lincoln Ave., Ste. CSan Jose, CA 95125P: 408-267-1446F: 408-265-7290W: www.danceequipment.comDarcor Casters, Inc.7 Staffordshire Pl.Toronto, ON M8W 1T1P: 416-255-8563F: 416-251-6117W: www.darcor.comEide Industries, Inc.16215 Piuma Ave.Cerritos, CA 90703P: 800-422-6827F: 562-924-2233W: www.eideindustries.comEntertainmentFlooring Systems, Inc.P.O. Box 7783Lancaster, PA 17604-7783P: 866-616-3375F: 615-220-2579W: www.flooradvice.comEvents Fx245 Park Ave.24th Fl.New York, NY 10017P: 800-982-6411W: www.eventsfx.comGala Systems3185 1st St.St. Hubert, QC J3Y 8Y6P: 450-678-7226F: 450-678-4060W: www.galasystems.comGear-Source, Inc.3101 Fairlane Farms Rd.Ste. 4Wellington, FL 33414P: 866-669-4327F: 561-792-0602W: www.gearsource.comGenie Industries18340 NE 76th St.Redmond, WA 98073P: 800-536-1800F: 425-883-3475W: www.genieindustries.comGRT Genesis, Inc.173 Glidden Rd.Brampton, ON L6W 3L9P: 800-361-1698F: 905-452-8217W: www.grtgenesis.comH.T.I.C.S.P.O. Box 175Center Valley, PA 18034P: 610-865-9151F: 610-758-9999W: www.hticsproaudio.comHolzmuellerProductions1000 25th St.San Francisco, CA 94107P: 415-826-8383F: 415-826-2608W: www.holzmueller.comHussey Seating Co.38 Dyer St. ExtensionNorth Berwick, ME 03906P: 207-676-2271F: 207-676-2222W: www.husseyseating.comInternationalTheatrical Truss Corp.4 W Red Oak Ln.White Plains, NY 10604www.stage-directions.com • December 2008 35

Feature TitleP: 914-641-2000F: 914-696-2950W: www.ittcorporation.comIrwin SeatingCompanyP.O. Box 2429Grand Rapids, MI 49501P: 866-464-7946F: 616-574-7411W: www.irwin-seat.comJ.R. Clancy, Inc.7041 Interstate Island Rd.Syracuse, NY 13209P: 800-836-1885F: 315-451-1766W: www.jrclancy.comJames ThomasEngineering Ltd.10240 Caneel Dr.Knoxville, TN 37931P: 865-692-3060F: 865-692-9020W: www.jthomaseng.comJoseph C. HansenDrapery Co.629 Grove St.Lot #26Jersey City, NJ 07310P: 212-246-8055F: 201-222-1699W: www.jchansen.comKi1330 Bellevue St.Green Bay, WI 54302P: 800-424-2432W: www.ki.comMilos America, Inc.10409 Dow-gil Rd.Ashland, VA 23005P: 800-411-0065F: 800-411-0165W: www.milosamerica.comNortheasternProduction SystemsP.O. Box 23199Rochester, NY 14692P: 585-427-8760F: 585-427-8854W: www.northeasternproduction.comPegasus Theatrical, Inc.20570 W 8 Mile Rd.Southfield, MI 48075P: 248-353-6130F: 248-353-5013W: www.pegasustheatrical.comPenn-Elcom1955 Springfield Ave.Maplewood, NJ 07040P: 973-378-8700F: 973-378-8796W: www.penn-elcom.comPerformanceSolutions Fx29 Basin St.Toronto, ON M4M 1A1P: 416-410-1102F: 416-461-0770W: www.performancesolutions.netPeter AlbrechtCompany, Inc.6250 Industrial Ct.Greendale, WI 53129P: 800-878-6630F: 414-421-9091W: www.peteralbrecht.comPittsburgh Stage, Inc.8325 Ohio Road Blvd.Pittsburgh, PA 15202P: 877-734-3902F: 412-734-5411W: www.pittsburghstage.comQuinette Gallay AtThe Seating Works202 U.S. Rte. 1, #378Falmouth, ME 04105P: 207-651-0369F: 801-659-2818W: www.theseatingworks.comR.A. ReedProductions, Inc.955 N Columbia Blvd.Bldg. APortland, OR 97217P: 503-735-0003F: 503-735-0306W: www.reed-usa.comRosco Laboratories, Inc.Corporate52 Harbor View Ave.Stamford, CT 06902P: 800-767-2669F: 203-708-8919W: www.rosco.comRose Brand East4 Emerson Ln.Secaucus, NJ 07094P: 800-223-1624F: 212-242-7565W: www.rosebrand.comRose Brand West10616 Lanark St.Sun Valley, CA 91352P: 800-360-5056F: 818-505-6293W: www.rosebrand.comSacramento TheatricalLighting, Ltd.950 Richards Blvd.Sacramento, CA 95814P: 916-447-3258W: www.stlltd.comSapsis Rigging, Inc.233 N Lansdowne Ave.Lansdowne, PA 19050P: 800-727-7471F: 215-228-1786W: www.sapsis-rigging.comSeating Concepts2225 Hancock St.San Diego, CA 92110P: 800-868-8464F: 619-491-3172W: www.seatingconcepts.comSecoa8650 109th Ave. NChamplin, MN 55316P: 800-328-551936 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

Feature Flooring, Title Seating and Staging DirectoryF: 763-506-8844W: www.secoa.comSerapid USA, Inc.5400 18 Mile Rd.Sterling Heights, MI48314P: 586-274-0774F: 586-274-0775W: www.serapid.comSeries USA2224 E Winona Ave.Warsaw, IN 46580P: 800-729-1190F: 574-372-3394W: www.seriesusa.netShow DistributionGroup2195 Rue Leon-HarmelQuebec, QC G1N 4N5P: 877-632-6622F: 418-686-3836W: www.showdistribution.comSico America, Inc.7525 Cahill Rd.Minneapolis, MN 55439P: 800-328-6138F: 952-941-6688W: www.sicoinc.comSignature Fencing &Flooring50 E 42nd St., Ste. 501New York, NY 10017P: 212-953-1116F: 212-953-1117W: www.eventdeck.comSilhouette Lights &Staging2432 S Inland Empire WaySpokane, WA 99224P: 800-801-4804F: 509-456-3718W: www.silhouettelights.comSmartstage Las Vegas2510 E Sunset Rd., #5-222Las Vegas, NV 89120P: 905-891-0090F: 905-271-2447W: www.smartstage.comStage Tech, Inc.P.O. Box 361307Indianapolis, IN 46236P: 317-485-4981F: 317-485-4986W: www.stagetechinc.comStage Technology, Inc.3110 Washington Ave. NSte. 100Minneapolis, MN 55411P: 800-889-4081F: 612-455-0224W: www.stagetechnology.comStagerightCorporation495 Pioneer Pkwy.Clare, MI 48617P: 800-438-4499W: www.stageright.comStagestep, Inc.4701 Bath St. #46BPhiladelphia, PA 19137P: 800-523-0960W: www.stagestep.comStageworks1510 S Main St.Little Rock, AR 72202P: 501-375-2243F: 501-375-2650W: www.stageworks.comStaging Concepts, Inc.7008 Northland Dr.Ste. 150Brooklyn Park, MN 55428P: 763-533-2094F: 763-533-2096W: www.stagingconcepts.comSteeldeck, Inc.3339 Exposition Pl.Los Angeles, CA 90018P: 800-507-8243F: 323-290-9600W: www.steeldeck.comSunbelt Scenic Studios8980 S Mckemy St.Tempe, AZ 85284P: 800-235-6588F: 480-598-0188W: www.sunbeltscenic.comTheatre Service AndSupply Corp.1792 Union Ave.Baltimore, MD 21211P: 410-467-1225F: 410-467-1289W: www.stage-nstudio.comTheatre Solutions121 Park Ave.Quakertown, PA 18951P: 215-538-8033F: 215-538-8974W: www.theatresolutions.netTheatrical MediaServices, Inc/ TMS7510 Burlington St.Omaha, NE 68127P: 402-592-5522F: 402-592-0094W: www.tms-omaha.comTLS, Inc.Main Office1221 Jordan Ln.Huntsville, AL 35816P: 866-254-7803F: 800-229-7320W: www.tlsinc.comTMB, London21 Armstrong WaySouthall UB2 4SDP: 442085749700F: 442085749701W: www.tmb.comTMB, Los Angeles10643 Glenoaks Blvd.Pacoima, CA 91331P: 818-899-8818F: 818-899-8813W: www.tmb.comTMB, New York100 Asia Pl.Carlstadt, NJ 07072P: 201-896-8600F: 201-896-8601W: www.tmb.comTMB, Toronto409 Saddler St. WDurham, ON N0G-1R0P: 519-369-9990F: 519-369-9992W: www.tmb.comTomcat USA, Inc.2160 Commerce Dr.Midland, TX 79703P: 432-694-7070F: 432-689-3805W: www.tomcatglobal.comTotal Structures, Inc.1696 Walter St.Ventura, CA 93003P: 805-676-3322F: 805-676-1616W: www.totalstructures.comUnited StageEquipment, Inc.110 Short St.Hartselle, AL 35640P: 800-227-5407F: 256-773-2586W: www.unitedstageinc.comUnited Staging &RiggingNY/ CT Office250 5th St.Bridgeport, CT 06607P: 203-416-5380F: 203-416-5387W: www.unitedstaging.comUpstaging, Inc.Corporate Headquarters821 Park Ave.Sycamore, IL 60178P: 815-899-9888F: 815-899-1080W: www.upstaging.comWenger Corporation555 Park Dr.P.O. Box 448Owatonna, MN 55060P: 800-493-6437F: 507-455-4258W: www.wengercorp.comSee their ad insidethe front coverwww.stage-directions.com • December 2008 37

Show Biz|By Tim CusackHow They Got HEREHERE Arts Center seeks to prove you can create adventurous work even whileowning your own space.Kristin Marting, the founder and artistic director of HEREArts Center in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood hasdisplayed a remarkably consistent curatorial eye forspotting the new talent on the horizon, providing them witha home and offering publicity and marketing support toconnect them to wider audiences and the prize- and grantawardingbodies that enable artists to have careers.From its beginning, HERE had a certain roughhewn charm— when the space first opened it featured large windowsfacing Sixth Avenue and a café that ran along most of itsfront, furnished with bohemian-chic secondhand chairs andtables. A long art gallery led back to the main stage and thecabaret space, while a grand staircase led down to the offices,a smaller proscenium space and the restrooms.However, all of this changed when Marting and her boardcommitted to purchasing the space. As Marting tells it, “Wemade a decision to buy less real estate than we had beenoccupying — about 9,000 square feet as opposed to 13,000square feet.”The needs were specific. “We were not looking to make thekinds of changes where you would really want an architectthat only specialized in theatres. We needed architects whowere familiar with the rules that govern public assemblyspaces such as restaurants and clubs,” she says. “We did havea whole team of other people working on the project as well,like a fire alarm engineer and an acoustical engineer.”To find the professionals who would actually render thedesigns, file the permits, get the approvals and execute thework, Marting and her staff reached out to members of thecommunity. “It was references from people on our board, fromother theatres and from other people in the building becausethe whole building was undergoing renovations at the time.”After initially interviewing seven architectural firms, the poolwas narrowed down until one was chosen “based on a feelingthat the aesthetic was going to fit nicely and also the price beingsomething that was within our range.”The project ultimately cost $1.7 million, the bulk of whichcame from the City of New York as part of Mayor Bloomberg’sefforts to invest in the arts as engines of economic growth andneighborhood stability. However, the wheels of city bureaucracyturn very slowly, and Marting ended up having to borrow themoney to get started, which was than repaid when the city’sfinancing finally came through.The results of all this work: public space that feels bothmodern and inviting, featuring red epoxy floors, wood andmulticolored stained glass doors that can open up the caféto the street in warmer weather. The main stage retains theflexible seating that’s always been one of HERE’s hallmarks,but with chairs that are far more comfortable for audiences.In short, a space that is worthy of the significant careers thathave been launched there.I asked Marting to name some of the best practices shediscovered during this process. She recommends that producersfocus on generating accurate estimates of “soft costs,” e.g.architecture, engineering and project management fees, relocationand storage costs and the loss of business revenue thatwill accrue while your space is inoperable.Double the amount of time you think you need for planningit. “Although we were delayed by going through thecity process, it actually helped us figure out how to get theproject done in a timeframe that was realistic,” she says. Makesure your architectural documents are complete and thateveryone is in agreement in the planning stages. “Once youhave a really good set of drawings, there can’t be that manyarguments once you are in construction.” In other words,negotiate when everything’s still on paper. “If your project iscoming in too high, your contractor can look at one detail andbe like, ‘You know, this one thing is really costing you. Is thatreally worth it for you?’”Also, make sure to budget the money to hire a goodproject manager. That way you can spend your time raisingthe money to create your dream theatre (or even making thework to fill it), not filing the paperwork to keep the bureaucratsat bay.38 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

TD Talk|By Dave McGinnisThose Who Do, Teach…SometimesThinking of moving into academic life?Make sure, my friend. Make sure.One of my grad school mentorsonce told me — along with agaggle of other grad students —that the odds pointed directly to each andevery one of us teaching at some point oranother, even if we didn’t see it or wantit. Most people I have known have foundacademic life tolerable, if not enjoyable…myself included. But a friend of mine —who works in lighting design — took ajob working at a university to make endsmeet, and he ran screaming at the firstopportunity. This month, I shall attemptthe impossible — to debate with myselfon an issue I’ve already decided.1. The ConsFirst, the academy requires other dutiesbesides those that immediately cometo mind. Working in a university settingrequires membership on this committeeor that, faculty meetings, professionaldevelopment workshops, academic conferences,teaching of classes, numerousincidental duties and, of course, the workwith which we are already familiar. All ofthese things can achieve balance, but forthose who refuse to allow anything to“get in the way,” having two meetings andthree classes on the same afternoon thatyou planned to get the final stages of yourset erected could dampen your spirits.Second, while exceptions do exist, thegeneral wisdom dictates that your budgetat a university theatre program willnever compete with that of a LORT theatre,or even a non-LORT regional house.The university TD’s job, then, requires notthat we ask for more budget, but that wemake what we have work. (It should benoted here that, for those who read lastmonth’s installment, some of us do NOTconsider this a con.)Finally, university professors do notgenerally achieve fame. Of course, theoccasional anomaly reaches a modicumof name recognition outside of academiccircles, but most of us simply do a goodjob for neither the fame nor the fortune. Itend to like this con because it separatesthose of us who wish to be here fromthose who simply feel that they mustendure it to pay the rent.2. The ProsI would have to state that thenumber one reason to pursue academicemployment labels itself “jobsecurity.” Aside from the occasionaldenial of tenure, academic institutionsoffer far superior job securitythan that afforded by the gig-to-giglifestyle. Academics retain the luxuryof consistent pay at regular intervals,while giggers retain the possibilityof greater recognition and financialgain, though at a greater risk. (Note,though, that most institutions preferthat their theatre faculty — techincluded — also keep up some outsidework to stay current, so your gigcareer need not go down the drain.)This financial stability offers some— SOME — protection from financialstraits, such as those the world suffersat the moment. Of course, given time,financial woes affect us all, but thoseon salaries at schools have a bit morecushioning (hence, time) before theyfind themselves on their duffs.Finally, universities also grant theiremployees some room to experiment.Ever had an idea you weren’t willing totry in front of an audience its first timeout? See if you can garner some timeand space on campus to bench test itbefore running it through the performativepaces. On a related note, collegesand universities tend to understandthat students produce your shows, asopposed to hardened pros. While onenever wishes to stage more than oneturkey every… I don’t know… lifetime,at least universities forgive a bit moreeasily. (Another note: Not every institutiondoes, so tread lightly and always doyour best, as if that should even needto be said.)The college environment canentice even the best of us away fromthe feast-or-famine lifestyle we knowso well, but to simply use it as a safezone cheapens both your experienceand that of your students. In the end,the experience belongs to them, sogive them their due by making certainthat university theatre truly calls you,not entices. Of course, this comesfrom one man’s experience. I’d love tohear what others have gone through,so send me a message at dmcginnis@stage-directions.com.www.stage-directions.com • December 2008 39

Off the Shelf |By Stephen PeithmanLast-Minute IdeasBooks, CDs and DVDs for the hard-to-please — or youLast month we trotted out a number of holiday gift ideas,and this time we add several more. These books, CDs andDVDs might well please that hard-to-shop-for theatre personin your life — or please you, for that matter.The Best Plays Theater Yearbook 2006-07 is the latestin a series that dates back to 1919 and remains a must-readfor anyone who cares about theatre. The “Best Plays” includeBlackbird (David Harrower), The Clean House (Sarah Ruhl), TheCoast of Utopia (Tom Stoppard), Dying City (Christopher Shinn),Frost/Nixon (Peter Morgan), The Pain and the Itch (Bruce Norris),Passing Strange (Stew and Heidi Rodewald), Radio Golf (AugustWilson), The Scene (Theresa Rebeck) and Spring Awakening(Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik). The articles on each of theseworks are excellent, as always, but for many people, the mainattraction is the overview of the theatre season in New Yorkand cast/production credits of new productions around thecountry. There’s also the “Facts and Figures” section, with itslists of long runs (on and off Broadway), 2006-07 award winners,Best Plays and major prizewinners from 1894 to 2007.[$49.95, Limelight Editions]There’s much to be said for the Internet’s ability to help uslocate theatrical resources, but it can’t replace a well-organizedand vetted directory of product and service providers. That prettywell sums up The Entertainment Sourcebook 2009. It’s packedwith more than 5,000 company entries from across the country,plus listings of products and services organized by category.You’ll also find Web resources, support services and professionalorganizations. This is truly an insider’s guide to finding any itemimaginable, from authentic Amish clothing to 19th-century chandeliers,from human skulls to plumbing supplies and fixtures.[$39.95, Limelight Editions]If you know a young person who’s contemplating a careeron the stage, you might consider giving them Laying theFoundation for a Successful Acting Career: A Teen DramaStudent’s Guide, by Debbie Lamedman. This thoughtful booktakes the reader through all the necessary steps — beginningwith how to commit to, or rule out, an acting career. (Perhaps themost important step of all.) Lamedman discusses the importanceof good training and explains how a teen can determine whathe or she wants to achieve in a college program, how to pick theright program to match those objectives and the best ways tonavigate the college-application process. Throughout, she doesa good job of balancing the dream with the reality, pointing outwhy a successful career needs a strong foundation in the basicsof theatre. [$16.95, Smith and Kraus]Musical theatre fans usually enjoy having recordings of rareor unusual musicals in their collection, and The Body Beautiful isboth. This 1958 production marked the first work by the Fiddleron the Roof team of Jerry Bock (music), Sheldon Harnick (lyrics)and Joseph Stein (book). With a plot centering on boxing, it’s oneof the few musicals of its time not based on a book or film, andthe new recording of the score by the York Theater Company isa pleasure. Several songs are standouts — “A Relatively SimpleAffair,” “Fair Warning” and “All These and More.” Once heard, therock-tinged “Uh-Huh, O Yeah” is hard to get out of your head.Bonus tracks include two singles recorded by the 1958 show’soriginal star, Mindy Carson, and demos from Bock and Harnick— including one song cut before the show opened. [$17.95,Original Cast Records]Getting some mileage from the name “American Idol” and thepopularity of High School Musical is a new CD collection for childrencalled Future Idols. New and older roadway tunes include“Do-Re-Mi” (The Sound of Music), “Tomorrow” (Annie), “Popular”(Wicked), “Consider Yourself” (Oliver!), “A Day With the Cat in theHat” (Seussical), “Getting to Know You” (The King and I), “Put on aHappy Face” (Bye Bye Birdie), “Closer and Closer” (The Little Prince),“Big Rock Candy Mountain” (from the relatively forgotten SingOut Sweet Land), “Anything You Can Do” (Annie Get Your Gun) and“76 Trombones” (The Music Man). It makes for a stylistic jumble,but it certainly would help youngsters understand the varietyinherent in American musical theatre. [$13.98, Hip-O Records]Style is a mixed blessing when it comes to filmed stage plays.For one thing, the stage set, which we accept as real in the theatre,may look contrived when we watch it on TV. Still, the 1984filmed version of Mister Roberts — the 1948 Broadway hit thatbecame an even more successful film — has fine performancesby Charles Durning as the tyrannical captain of a Navy supplyship in World War II, Robert Hays as the title character, a youngKevin Bacon as Ensign Pulver (so memorably portrayed by JackLemmon in the movie) and Howard Hesseman as the ship’s doctor.It’s good to see what fine stage actors these four really are.[$25.94, Acorn Media]Finally, there’s the return of the 1995 concert performance ofLes Misérables, featuring cast members of various internationalproductions and supported by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestraat London’s Royal Albert Hall. The new DVD couples this withthe documentary, Stage by Stage — The Making of Les Misérables,which features interviews with producer Cameron Mackintoshand the composer and lyricist, Alain Boublil and Claude-MichelSchonberg. [$34.98, BBC/Warner Home Video]40 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

By Stephen Peithman |The Play’s the ThingReaching for Something DifferentPlays that encourage actors and the art form to stretchTheatre has never been a “one-size-fits-all” proposition,and there is always a need for imaginative plays that willchallenge actors, directors and audiences. This month’scomedies and dramas do exactly that.In Avery Crozier’s Eat the Runt, a job applicant fora grants manager position is flown in for a series ofinterviews. He’s whisked from office to office, and bossto boss, in semi-improvised scenes that verge on theoffensive and often cross into the bizarre. But, wait —there’s more! Just before the play starts, the audienceis asked to audition the actors and decide which onesthey want to play each role (all the character names areandrogynous and the play is entirely without pronouns— although not without sexuality). And so it goes untilthe play’s seven characters are cast — and since eightactors begin the process, one gets to go home early.With no real narrative thread, the play depends on thenear-improv feel of its individual scenes, plus a strongending that tips its hat to Oscar Wilde’s comedies ofidentity confusion. Eat the Runt is not in the same leagueas Wilde, but it is a triumph of style over substance,with each actor prepared to play any of the roles andthe audience in suspense as they watch intently whatthey’ve created. [Broadway Play Publishing]Comedy and suspense blend in Peter Gordon’sMurdered to Death, a thriller-farce set in a countryestate in the 1930s. Following the mysterious death ofthe house’s owner, it becomes clear that the murdererisn’t finished yet. The question is whether the culpritwill be revealed before everyone else has met theirmaker. In this case, “everyone else” is the requisitegaggle of quirky characters — Bunting, the butler; anEnglish colonel with the stiff upper lip; a shady Frenchart dealer and his girlfriend; a bumbling local policeinspector; and a well-meaning local sleuth who, likeAgatha Christie’s Miss Marple, seems to attract murderwherever she goes. Five men, five women. [DramatistsPlay Service]Quirky characters are central to The Dixie SwimClub as well, a comedy-drama by Jessie Jones, NicholasHope and Jamie Wooten. Five Southern women, whosefriendships began many years ago on their collegeswim team, set aside a long weekend every Augustto recharge those relationships and meddle in eachother’s lives. The play focuses on four of those weekendsover a period of 33 years. As their lives unfold andthe years pass, these women come to rely increasinglyon one another in order to get through the challengesof men, sex, marriage, parenting, divorce and aging.In the second act, when fate throws a monkey wrenchinto one of their lives, the group’s strength and lovemoves this comedy in a poignant and surprising direction.[Dramatists Play Service]The surprising twists of Cassandra Medley’s NoonDay Sun are based on a true incident. A light-skinnedyoung Southern woman named Zena boards a train in1947, fleeing from an abusive marriage. The conductor,mistaking her for a white woman in a colored-car,invites her to move to the car reserved for white clientele.Sensing fate in the conductor‘s misreading of herrace, she arrives in Fort Wayne, Ind., as an ostensiblywhite woman. The play then leaps ahead 10 years,with Zena (now Wendy) married to an up-and-comingyoung Irish-American salesman. Before the final scenes,however, Zena/Wendy is forced to confront her past,including the fact that years ago she lost her baby twindaughters to the flu and that she’s still legally marriedto their black father. This cautionary tale about beingtrue to your own self perhaps relies on too many plotcoincidences, but it’s still an intriguing story of characterscaught in nets of their own making. Three women,three men. [Broadway Play Publishing]One hundred years earlier, in Hannibal, Mo., teenagedSam Clemens is bored with life in the small rivertown, but can’t seem to muster the courage to leave.Since the title of Mary Collins Barile’s play is LeavingHannibal, we know that he will, but when and why?The critical moment occurs when Sam and his friend,Tom, attend the theatre for an evening of magic andhypnotism presented by a traveling showman namedProfessor Barton. Soon, Tom and other town folk areon stage, undergoing hypnosis and sharing their real orimagined adventures with river rats, sweethearts and acertain whitewashed fence. Sam declares it’s all a hoax,and the Professor challenges him to prove it. Sam takeshim on and is soon revisiting a nightmare of his own— a step that gives him the courage to leave his fearsbehind to seek fortune on the river. Six males, threefemales; parts may be redistributed for up to eightmales and five females. [Anchorage Press Plays]www.stage-directions.com • December 2008 41

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Classified AdvertisingCheck outour otherpublications:www.plsn.comIf you think classifieds don’t work...why are you reading this?Call Maria at 702.932.5585www.fohonline.comwww.stage-directions.com • December 2008 43

Answer Box|By Kelly D. RobertsonCollecting for CrowsA designer goes low-tech to costume A Murder of Crows.Cast members of Mildred Umbrella’s production of A Murder of CrowsOne of Robertson’s costume sketches for her crowsWhen I began working with an avant-garde theatrecompany, Mildred’s Umbrella, I knew that I was infor a bumpy ride. Small budgets and big ideas oftenbring the best out in designers and technicians. When webegan working on A Murder of Crows by Mac Wellman, I felt thefamiliar thrill up the spine that you get when approaching a bigproduction with few resources — whether it is fear or anticipation,I’m never quite sure.With a cast of nine consisting of three larger-than-life crows,a tap-dancing dead man, a gold-covered soldier and an assortmentof social misfits and stereotypes, I knew that this wouldnot be a show I could simply pull and then walk away from. Thecrows were the knottiest problem, and fortunately, the directorwas willing to indulge my vision for them.The script is mercifully mute on the crows — merely notingthat they don’t look like actual crows, which is a good thingbecause I wasn’t sure how I’d pull off three 5-foot-by-6-inch“realistic” crows. After ruminating on the script and the natureof the scenery (a dilapidated front porch littered with beer cansand dead vegetation set cozily against a jumbled trash heapprovided by set designer Rebecca Ayers), the director JenniferDecker and I reached the conclusion that perhaps these crowswere more akin to magpies. Maybe they had gone so far as toarray themselves in bits of human detritus: shiny, noisy, slinkybits of trash. Perhaps they were even made of trash bags andscraps!With this in mind, I began with a black, long-sleeved leotardas my base. I attached several layers of irregularly cut trashbags and scraps of black fabrics of varying textures and patterns.The end result was a softening on the actor’s silhouetteand a slight rustling of trash bag “feathers” with the actor’smovement. To simulate wings, a 39-gallon black trash bag wasattached to the backs of the leotard’s arm and the top of theback neckline. The wings were then slashed, gouged, stretchedand trimmed to resemble old, well-used garbage bags. I beganto attach pieces of waste among the feathers and on the wingsthemselves, including bottle caps, broken jewelry, food wrappers,condom wrappers, beads, soda can tabs — basicallyanything I could get my hands on.It is here that a willing and helpful cast comes in handyand from them I quickly had Ziploc baggies full of beer bottlecaps, old coins, luggage tags, bells and other small pieces oftheir lives that were destined for the trash or the over-full junkdrawer. I added these pieces to the crow costumes, creating acluttered collage.In the end, the crows, who danced throughout the play,became very tribal and alien. The rhythmic jingling of the junkattached to their costumes was reminiscent of castanets andtambourines. Even when they stood stock-still (which wasrare), pieces of their costume caught the light or swayed slightly.This junkiness and clutter was carried through to the humancharacters in the script, creating a design that comments onAmerican consumerism and artifice. With our shiny iPods andflashing Bluetooth earpieces, aren’t we a little like magpiescovering ourselves with bits of this and that?Kelly D. Robertson is assistant professor of Drama/TechnicalTheatre at the University of Houston-Downtown.Answer Box Needs You!Every production has its challenges. We’d like to hear how you solved them!Send your Answer Box story and pics to answerbox@stage-directions.com.44 December 2008 • www.stage-directions.com