Three for the Price of One

[Erich Friend]

It's been a busy week here at TheatreFace, so rather than whipping-up something more, I'm going to refer you to three very interesting conversations already in-play.

Weapons on Stage:  More specifically - Shotguns.  Phil Funkenbusch asked about this in the Literary Forum at http://theatreface.ning.com/forum/topics/shotgun-rifle-prop.  This is a serious issue that if not addressed with the utmost care can disrupt a department, school, and even the community.  There have been numerous deaths due to firearms misuse on stage, one of the most famous was Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee.  Guns thought to be only loaded with blanks can kill someone, too.  Two recent incidents happened this way: John Eric Hexum died in 1984, and in the fall of 2008, a High School student, Tucker Thayer, made the same tragic error while working as a technician for a production of Oklahoma!

Planning a Theatre Safety Curriculum was brought-up by Matthew Overturf in the Backstage Forum at http://theatreface.ning.com/forum/topics/theatre-safety-curriculum.  This can be an expansive subject and requires some preplanning so as to get the most important parts defined up-front, then the supporting elements addressed as the school year progresses.  PLEASE JOIN IN THIS CONVERSATION SO WE CAN ALL HELP TO GET THIS TOPIC COVERED MORE THOROUGHLY.

Building a Black Box Theatre was discussed at the Theatre Design and Construction Forum.  Miriam Morgan wanted to know about some of the planning issues that should be considered for converting 'found space' for her Fine Arts Department.  There have been many insightful comments by a variety of practitioners, and they all seem to point the same direction – Planning first and Building second.  Do you have any anecdotal experience with converting / repurposing existing buildings into theatre production spaces?  Sign-up for this group and let us know!