Allan Duffin - Writer/Producer

Two articles in the new DramaBiz Magazine

The July/August 2007 issue of DramaBiz Magazine has hit the streets. In it you'll find two articles I wrote. In "Theatre Flooring: It's Not Just for Standing On," explore the surprisingly fascinating world of floor surfaces, from vinyl to Marley:

Your most useful tool in choosing a new floor is to talk to those who will use it the most. Of course, opinions will vary depending on whom you’re asking. “Lighting designers like non-reflective floors and generally like black,” says Randy Swartz of Stagestep. “On the other hand, dancers usually prefer gray flooring, which gives them a horizon.” Renae Williams, the director of dance presentation at the Los Angeles Music Center, took a democratic approach to choosing a new stage floor for her facility: “Our Technical Director researched several different options and also spoke with the production staff from the companies we present. We want our visiting artists to feel comfortable and well taken care of while here.”

After that, check out "Attracting a Younger Audience with Web-Savvy Marketing Techniques," which contains many hints and secrets that can apply to all businesses, not just theatre-related ones:

“Like many theaters around the country,” says Susie Falk, director of marketing for California Shakespeare Theater in Berkeley, Calif., “we were concerned about the national decline in subscriptions.” To attack the problem, Cal Shakes launched its “New Generations” program, targeted to individuals in the 18-to-35 age group. The program blends low-tech marketing tools—discounted tickets, pre- and post-show parties—with high-tech methods like Web-based message boards, blogs, podcasts and video presentations.

Oral history from any telephone, anywhere

So much of my writing takes the form of personal storytelling -- interviews with people about their lives -- that I was intrigued to find the online service LifeOnRecord.com. During any event, or anytime at all, someone can dial a telephone number and record their thoughts for posterity. The audio recordings can then be dropped to a CD, transmitted via e-mail, or sent on iTunes. If you don't want to carry a voice recorder, don't have your computer nearby, or want to do something different for, say, your wedding, LifeOnRecord.com gives you an interesting option.

From the company's recent announcement:

Subscribers to the LifeOnRecord Personal Audio Journal receive a phone number to call and record their thoughts and stories of daily life that might otherwise be forgotten.

The LifeOnRecord Weddings and Events Services capture the well-wishes and anecdotes that surround special occasions. Guests invited to a birthday, wedding, or other special occasion call a toll-free number and record their sentiments and favorite stories about the guest of honor.

With both services, the recordings can be preserved on a keepsake CD, managed from a web site, listened to on a telephone, automatically emailed, and one-click downloaded into iTunes. The services take the traditional means of scrapbooking, journaling, and home videos one step further.

It's an interesting way to get an oral record of events because many people can call in to leave their thoughts and wishes in one place. Pretty cool!

Technology marches on:Adobe Creative Suite 3 and the iPhone

An important milestone for all designers, Adobe's release date for the next generation of Creative Suite is April 20th.  Once you wade through the six different CS3 bundles -- Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium, and Master Collection -- you can pick the one best suited to your needs. For many of us that's the Master Collection. This set contains InDesign (for print projects), Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Flash (formerly made by Macromedia, which was recently purchased by Adobe), Dreamweaver (which replaces GoLive for web design), Fireworks, AfterEffects, Premiere, and seven more software packages. At a retail price of $2,499 (or $1,399 for an upgrade), it's not cheap -- so if you can, make use of available business, government, or educational discounts through your software vendor.

A lot of us are all goofy about Apple's June 2007 release of the iPhone, a sleek-looking touchscreen device with an exclusive carrier deal through Cingular. (Or is it through AT&T's cellular service, which used to be Cingular, which before that was AT&T? I have a hard time keeping track.) If you own one of the top-of-the-line iPods, expect to pay similar prices for the iPhone: $499 for a 4GB version and $599 for 8GB. Don't expect any special deals like the $150 you paid for your Treo, though. (Speaking of the Treo, we got ours through WireFly.com. It took eight months and three rebate applications to get all of the refunds back, but it was worth it.) Check out everythingiPhone.com for news and notes on the upcoming release.