The 2016 Michael Merritt Awards are nearly here, and you’re running out of time to make a nomination. One of the things I’ve always loved about the Merritt Awards is that they aren’t a competition: they are a recognition. They…
Category: News
Theatre fires are not a thing of the past: there were at least 33 just this year.
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Many people respond to reminders to follow the fire laws with an attitude of “well, that won’t happen in MY theatre.“ Which is ironic, because that was the assumption of those at the Iroquois Theatre back in 1903, and all the people at these…
After the explosion, silence.
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Marie Sanderson was 51. She was married, and had one son. Aimee Cothran was 43. She had a committed partner, one son, one daughter, and one granddaughter. Aimee and Marie worked in the entertainment industry, behind the scenes. In fact,…
Theatre fires aren’t a thing of the past: at least 18 this year alone.
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By now I hope I have demonstrated to you why following every fire code, law, regulation, and simple common sense in your theatre is important. If not, let’s recap: You cannot depend on any single person, plan, device, or system…
Sick burn, bro.
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There is a tendency among some in the theatre community to jump on another theatre’s problems in almost a gleeful, childish “Oooooo! You’re in trouble! Wait ’til mom hears about this!” This is not intended to be that sort of…
Theatre fires are not “something that used to happen.” There were at least 22 just this year.
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By now I hope I have demonstrated to you why following every fire code, law, regulation, and simple common sense in your theatre is important. If not, let’s recap: You cannot depend on any single person, plan, device, or system…
North Shore Music Theatre fire: financial impact contributed to bankruptcy.
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This article was originally posted on our old blog on Dec 18, 2010. It has been updated to reflect minor changes in since that time. In July of 2005, the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA suffered a fire…
Fire Safety: It’s always a series of problems, not just one.
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This article was originally posted on our old blog Dec. 14, 2010. It has been updated to reflect changes that have occurred since then. Many times I hear the complaint that the fire codes “go overboard” in all their requirements. …
“Fire. The flies are on fire.”
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This article was originally posted on our old blog on Dec 5, 2008. It has been updated to reflect changes since that time. 137 years ago today, fire struck the Brooklyn Theatre in Brooklyn, NY during a performance of The…
Paying for gel swatchbooks?
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Last week I posed a question to my Twitter followers: would you pay $10 for a standard swatchbook for gel company X if it meant that their gel would be priced about $2 less per sheet. Cheaper gel, but no…