Jamar Roberts' first work for New York City Ballet, Water Rite, is a solo dance created for Corps de Ballet member Victor Abreu, set to music by Ambrose Akinmusire performed by NYCB Orchestra musicians, directed by Ezra Hurwitz, and filmed on the Lincoln Center Plaza in NYC. The film is immediately followed by a discussion of the creation of this work with Jamar Roberts and Victor Abreu in conversation with artistic director Jonathan Stafford. Part of New York City Ballet's New Works, Water Rite premiered October 30, 2020 in their digital fall season. Once again, dance lends itself so well to film...
Watch here while waiting for the 2021/2022 season to premiere on stage:
Webcast:
• September 9 @ 9pm Eastern: TheatreArtLife: Stage Managers Chat: Joshua Broadbent: A Sydney-based freelance Stage Manager, Joshua Broadbent is currently touring Australia on Come From Away as an assistant stage manager/props. A webcast about his career so far, including touring and opera works. Moderated by Anna Robb of TheatreArtLife. Register Here.
Looking Ahead, Register In Advance:
• September 13 @ 1:30pm Eastern: Chicago Flyhouse: Codes, Standards and Risk Assessment: This session will highlight the expanding role that codes and standards play in all entertainment industry work. • How do we know we are making good choices? • Differences between codes and standards, OSHA and ANSI • How can Risk Assessment be applied to technical production? • What makes a Risk Assessment formal, and why is that a good thing? Register Here.
• September 13 @ 4pm Eastern: Chicago Flyhouse: Forces and Loads: This class is a review of some basic concepts from physics that affect rigging work. • Review Newton’s laws of motion and examine what they mean for rigging • Consider the types of forces that can be applied to a rig and what those situations look like • Learn how to visualize the forces in a system and then communicate that information to others • Calculate loads across a beam, such as a batten or a truss • Review mechanical advantage with pulleys. Register Here.
• September 14 @ 1:30pm Eastern: Chicago Flyhouse: Automation Basics: In today’s industry, rigging and stage technicians should have a basic understanding of automation – to recognize the parts and understand their function. This class is for those who need an introduction to the basic parts of an automated system. We will focus is on generic components; we will mention equipment from a number of vendors, but not focus on any specific system. Register Here.
• September 13 @ 4pm Eastern: Chicago Flyhouse: Bridle Math: This session will highlight the role that Bridle Math plays in all entertainment industry work. • Understand what a bridle is and the reasons they are used • Break down the forces involved in a bridle rig • Calculate loads on bridle components and on the building using several different methods • Review available digital resources for bridle calculations. Register Here.
• September 27 @ 2pm Eastern: Strand Lighting FLX S Introductory Training: This is an introductory training class for the FLX S console line of the FLX S24 and the FLX S48 consoles running the powerful ZerOS software. This course will cover all basic components of the ZerOS software to get you up to speed and programming a basic show quickly and simply. Areas of the console that will be covered are console setup, patch, fixture control, and programming cues. For the session, the trainer will be running "Phantom ZerOS" software, that emulates ZerOS consoles on PC. Register Here.
• November 15-21: LDI2021: A comprehensive professional training program for the entertainment design and technology industry. Complete details here.
Things To Buy:
• Behind The Scenes Holiday Cards: Each design comes in a package of 10; Printed on 5 x 7 white card stock; Blank white envelopes included; Card packs are shipped in late November. Buy Here.
Exhibits:
• Showstoppers! Spectacular Costumes from Stage & Screen: Over 100 garments from Broadway, TV, film, and dance on display thru September 26, 2021. A great way to see costumes close up, and check out the detail and the craftsmanship. The venue is at Times Square, near 42nd & Broadway and the maze-like exhibit has been created by Thinc Design. Presented by the Costume Industry Coalition. All proceeds from the exhibition will raise money for the Costume Industry Coalition Recovery Fund, which continues to support one of the hardest hit sectors of the entertainment industry.
Podcasts:
• Light Talk: Episode 230: Soupy Eggs: The Lumen Brothers discuss everything from transferring light data between incompatible controllers to The Farkel Family. Join Steve, Zak, and David as they pontificate about: RIP Charlie Watts and Don Everly; The Studio School of Design's fall classes; Adam Honore' Swag; What happened to show jackets?; The weirdest thing we ever controlled on a lighting console; Isadora vs. QLab; Moving shows with incompatible controllers; What Shakespeare thought about the pandemic; Is Pass/Fail a better metric of evaluation for student artists?; Should students decide what the school productions should be?; and Our most embarrassing moments in the theatre. Listen Here.
• USITT: TECHnically Speaking: USITT's 2021 TDMY (Young Designers, Managers, and Technicians) winner podcast series comes to a close with costume artist Annie Ulrich, winner of the 2021 Barbara Matera Award for Costume Making. Annie Ulrich fell into theatre during her undergraduate studies at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she graduated with a BA in Theatre and Studio Art in 2013. From there, she freelanced as a costume designer and took on the role of assistant shop manager in the same costume shop at Middlebury. In the Spring of 2021, Annie completed her MFA in Theatre and Dance (Costume Technology) from the University of Texas at Austin. Listen Here.
• Inwood ArtWorks On Air: A Podcast With Libby Stadstad: Scenic designer Libby Stadstad discusses her work on an upcoming stop-motion animated film + much more: Listen Here. Read more about her in Live Design: Designing Couples: Libby Stadstad and Brandon Stirling Baker.
• USITT: TECHnically Speaking: 2021 YDMT Award Winner Casey Duke, winner of the 2021 Barbizon Lighting Company Jonathan Resnick Lighting Design Award: Casey Duke is a theatrical lighting designer and MFA candidate in the Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts (anticipated 2022), and received her B.A. in Theatre from the Mississippi University for Women in 2014. For the past seven years, Casey has worked in theatres and theme park entertainment such as the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Goodspeed Musicals, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Listen Here.
• Making Theatre: James Farncombe and Bruno Poet: Lighting designers James Farncombe and Bruno Poet host conversations about the complex and sometimes messy business of making a show for theatre. We aim to draw in guests from all aspects of production; from directors and designers to actors, stage managers, technicians, makers, builders and producers, to start a broader conversation about all things involved in bringing a show to the stage. Listen Here.
• Artistic Finance: Diversify: A discussion of diversification within a financial portfolio with lighting designer David Martin Jacques. He explains how his portfolio allocation has changed over time as he’s gone from freelancing to becoming a theatre professor. David has been designing lighting, sets, and projections for the past 40 years. His work spans across Europe, Asia, South America, Scandinavia, and North America. David has designed at venues such as The Royal Opera House, Teatro alla Scala, The English National Opera, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, and The National Theatre of Tokyo. David served as lighting consultant for Disney Creative Entertainment where he helped design many attractions for Disney Orlando, Euro-Disney, Epcot, and MGM.In 2017, David, along with fellow lighting educators Steve Woods (SMU) and Stan Kaye (University of Florida) created the popular weekly podcast "LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers." Listen Here.
Archives:
• 4Wall Sunday Roundtable Episode 48: Pat MacKay Diversity Scholarships: Join judges and former recipients of the Pat MacKay Diversity In Design Scholarships. Founded in 2019, and funded by LDI and Live Design, the goal of these unique Diversity In Design scholarships is to support underrepresented and unique voices in the field of entertainment design. The scholarships are named for Pat MacKay, formerly publisher of Theatre Crafts and Lighting Dimensions magazines and founder of the LDI Trade Show and Conference. Guests: Sydney Dye - Projection Designer (Past Recipient); Nina Field - Lighting & Sound Designer (Past Recipient/Judge); Roma Flowers - Lighting & Projection Designer (Judge); Ellen Lampert-Greaux - Live Design/LDI Creative Director; Yuko Taniguchi - Lighting Designer (Past Recipient). Watch Here.