Friday, March 31, 2006

 

Free, Cheap and Papered Theatre

A new email list has launched:

Paper Chicago's Houses - it's for people who want to paper a house, and for those who want to see a show that is papering.

It may be too new to know how effective it may end up being, and it is somewhat similar to the Free and Cheap Theatre (FACT). FACT is older, more established and has had their web site under renovation for some time now (one can still add a show to their Weekly Update, but I'm no longer subscribed, so I can't say if it is still working). While I know Bethany, who runs FACT, I am not affiliated with either resource.

 

The Break Up is in Reshoots Now

The Break Up is doing some reshoots, possibly as I type this, in Chicago. Joan Philo is seeking extras, especially those who own formal wear and can dance. Break a leg!

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Thursday, March 30, 2006

 

Shakespeare Folio to be Sold

The complete first folio of the playwright's work had a print run of approximately 750 in 1623.
However, only a third of these survive and most of them are incomplete.
The book is being sold by Dr Williams's Theological Library in London, which hopes the proceeds - expected to be more than £3m - will secure its future
(from BBC News). 3 million British pounds is about 5.2 million U.S. dollars right now. A Facsimile of the First Folio can be had for about 80 U.S. dollars. You can read Shakespeare's Complete Plays online for free.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

 

Prison Break Picked Up Again for Next Season

The network gave an early greenlight Tuesday to a sophomore season of Prison Break.
November's midseason finale pulled in a season-high 12.2 million viewers
(from E! online). Prison Break shoots in and around Chicago (and in some studios in LA). I posted earlier about extras casting for Prison Break.

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Audiences Get Rude to the Rude

Thanks to rude behavior of fellow patrons, audiences are mad as hell - and not going to take it anymore.
Instead, they're taking matters into their own hands. It's vigilantism, Broadway-style
(from New York Daily News). Is this happening in Chicago as well?

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

 

Harold Pinter Is More Than Pausing

He says he really won't be writing any more plays. An interesting tidbit from the interview:
Well I've been through a number of gruelling experiences some of them quite gruesomely funny in a way. I attended a rather exhilarating festival of my work given by the Dublin Gate Theatre last October for my 75th birthday. I was leaving Dublin the next day and, as I was getting out of the car at the airport, I slipped and gashed my head on the stone slab of the concrete pavement. My wife, who is also here, turned and found me covered in blood. I spent four hours in hospital that night in a pretty terrible state, got back to England the next morning, started to recover and woke up two days later to discover that I'd been given the Nobel prize for literature! So my life over the past year has, quite literally, had its ups and downs.
(from Guardian Unlimited).

Sunday, March 12, 2006

 

Confusion Over Small Format Video

From Venal Scene:
I know that we can download movies on to our cellphones/iPods...but who are these people who want to? Do they actually enjoy watching content on a screen the size of a Grinch's heart? Tell me, you downloading-movie-to-cellphone people, why is squinting pleasurable?
Driven by the audience's desire to access what they want, where they want, when they want, the rise of the portable video device is a good thing for us makers of theatre/film/video/entertainment.

NBC has made over six million from having their shows on iTunesicon for only a few months. 'What do we care about NBC's bottom line' you say. They pay writers and actors.

If video on small portable screens means it's easier for me to pay my rent, I'm all for it. Even if I weren't, the consumer of our work is, so will us or nil us, this is a direction things are going for the immediate future. Worry not: Radio was not killed by the Television, and Theatrical Movies were not killed by the video tape.

The average American now spends more on Entertainment (including equipment) than they do food. All of this makes it easier to find a way to get our work to the audience. That makes it easier to pay for our food, rent, doctor and life. That makes it easier to do the kind of work we want to do. That is good. Part one of the Small Format and Online Video series of posts:
  1. Confusion Over Small Format Video
  2. Online Video May Affect Production, Distribution and Our Income
  3. TV to Become Small Format Online Video More and More
  4. SNL Half Gets Online Video
  5. Warner Bros. Domestic TV Embraces Small Format/Online Video

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Sunday, March 05, 2006

 

Improv Jelly Returns

Back for a limited 8 week run, The Second City Training Center's, "Improv Jelly!"
The "Improv Jelly" is an open improv jam for any and all to come perform games, scenes, and more. This long running late night staple from 1998 - 2002 is back to give the students of the Training Center stage time and experience in Donny's Skybox Theater. If you are a writing student bring a 3 page scene or less and there will be a chance for them to be read as a cold reading on stage. All are invited!!!
Saturday's at midnight. March 11th - April 29th.
Donny's Skybox Theater.
Ticket $5. Only $3 dollars for Training Center students with I.D.

Friday, March 03, 2006

 

Midwest Independent Film Festival March 7th

The Midwest Independent Film Festival takes place Tuesday, March 7th at 6 p.m. at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema, 2828 North Clark Street [Google Map].