George Lucas once joked that he loves making movies except that he has to deal with actors. Seems like he finally made his own dreams come true: to make a Star Wars film with no actors. Now, I realize that this is not exactly the forum for discussing Star Wars, but I also know how many of you cannot deny your adoration for the genre (yes, I think it gets its own genre, and the term “sci-fi” just doesn’t do it justice), so maybe not so inappropriate after all, eh?

I feel maybe it’s time to start compiling a list of things that should never be, this being among the first bastardizations of many. I’m all for technology and how it helps our lives everyday, but doing away with people altogether? Has Lucas seen Terminator? So, let’s start a list, specific to our industry, of things that should never be (or should never come back).

I’ll start: iPhone apps that churn out production designs given just a few parameters (no designers required). Hmmmmm?

 I just thought I would post a cool time-lapse video I took of the theatre crew loading in 5.5 tons of wet sand for our beach setting in Twelfth Night.  Unfortunately it rained the night and day of the delivery.  The load in actually only took about 25 minutes thanks to this amazing dump truck that had a conveyor belt that could shoot the sand up to 44 feet away.  One thing about wet sand is, once you turn the lights on to try and dry it, the theatre becomes a self contained green house…ugh.  Loading out will take a long time, but at least the load-in went well.

(Click, It Will Open a New Window)

In the August issue of Live Design, you’ll see a column by Bob Usdin about environmentally conscious practices, and I have a short rant in there in my editorial letter about how well we’re doing taking care of our planet. Talking with designer Patrick Dierson about issues he’s had trying to be as green as possible, I was heartened to hear that his company, Artfag, certainly does its share. Here’s what the designers at do, so far…

-donate to “1% for the Planet,” an organization that accepts 1% of a company’s sales and distributes it to environmental groups across the globe who are actively trying to protect & restore the environment.

-promote the goal of creating carbon neutral productions wherever possible, encouraging clientele to embrace it without making them feel guilty about it. “It basically comes down to offering the client possible environmentally sustainable solutions and not having them have to go out of their way to attain them,” Dierson notes.

-where possible, specify recyclable and/or sustainable materials for construction of scenic pieces and sets.

-alter and reuse existing scenic pieces and sets wherever possible to keep them from ending up in a dump somewhere.

-use LED and other energy-efficient light sources in designs to lower the overall energy consumption of a production

-promote the use of bio-diesel fuel in generators, tour buses, and trucking

-utilize pre-visualization technologies as much as possible to promote energy savings by not having the equipment fired up for days on end just to appease our need to program shows

They’re not suffering for their efforts either. Have you seen the roster of tours they’ve done this year alone?

Not to arouse fears in the hearts of all those who don’t sit behind a desk all day and have a wired phone at the ready, but this article is worthy of a read. With all the freelancers out there and folks working in venues lacking access all day to the old-fashioned version of the telephone (when’s the last time you heard someone use the word “telephone”?), this article made me take notice.

Check out the Associated Press announcement from this morning:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwzQ6Jsq3cSWa721yR84l99_pnlAD923S7T82

With all the speculation that cell phones might have an effect on the ol’ noggin, subsequently squashed by many studies, at least one guy is still worried, and heck, he’s a cancer researcher. There’s just something about the question “…do you want to play Russian roulette with your brain?” that gets me every time. Of course, still no conclusive evidence, but when smart people are concerned, I pay attention. Of course, they might have stock in phone jack wall plates

The second day of the NATEAC, the inaugural North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference, confirmed its success and importance. Once again there were three sessions X three times slots, followed by a concluding plenary session in the afternoon. I attended sessions on Alternative Theatre Spaces, The Greener Theatre, and Single Purpose Theatres-Vegas & Beyond. In the alternative spaces session, Chris Buckley, Stan Pressner, and Robert Long looked at recent technically challenging productions such as the Macbeth at the roof-less tobacco warehouse in Brooklyn and Die Soldaten at the Park Avenue Armory, using them as prime examples of the what’s, how’s and wherefore’s of using such spaces, from proper permits to enough power.

The Greener Theatre talked about created LEED certified buildings and ended on a pretty funny note. Architect Scott Georgeson had shown an image of a theatre with a grass roof so that people looking down on it from the bluffs above would see a park rather than an industrial roof. Later in the session, someone suggested that wool, right off the back of the sheep, would make great acoustic material and be a very organic option. So moderator David Taylor suggested putting grass on the top of all flytowers for the sheep, to keep them nearby. Taylor continued to be very funny and spot-on during the plenary session he co-chaired with Steve Ehrenberg… who had just moderated the single purpose theatre panel, using Vegas as an example, and even showing the numbers of how these $100 million venues recoup quickly.. in just two years for a sellout show.

In the plenary session, Steve and David wrapped up the two days of sessions.. Steve offered some funny lightbulb jokes.. how many architects etc…. and they provided a series of themes that had cropped up during all the various sessiosn. In the end, the first US NATEAC concluded with everybody ready to come back for the next one! Congrats again to Bill Sapsis and his staff for organizing and running a good conference. And maybe, just maybe, all of the sessions and discussions and networking will really lead to better buildings and a greener outlook for the future of the performing arts.