• Tutorial: Practical Lighting for Production

    Saturday, June 14th, 2025
    Posted by Jim Thacker
    Tutorial: Practical Lighting for Production

    html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ";

    The Gnomon Workshop has released Practical Lighting for Production, a guide to VFX and cinematics workflows recorded by former Blizzard lighting lead Graham Cunningham.
    The intermediate-level workshop provides four hours of training in Maya, Arnold and Nuke.
    Discover professional workflows for lighting a CG shot to match a movie reference
    In the workshop, Cunningham sets out the complete process of lighting and compositing a shot to match a movie reference, using industry-standard software.
    He begins by setting up a basic look development light rig in Maya, importing a 3D character, assigning materials and shading components, and creating a turntable setup.
    Next, he creates a shot camera and set dresses the environment using kitbash assets.
    Cunningham also discusses strategies for lighting a character, including how to use dome lights and area lights to provide key, fill and rim lighting, and how to use HDRI maps.
    From there, he moves to rendering using Arnold, discussing render settings, depth of field, and how to create render passes.
    Cunningham then assembles the render passes in Nuke, splits out the light AOVs, and sets out how to adjust light colors and intensities.
    He also reveals how to add atmosphere, how to use cryptomattes to fine tune the results, how to add post effects, and how to apply a final color grade to match a chosen movie reference.
    As well as the tutorial videos, viewers of the workshop can download one of Cunningham’s Maya files.
    The workshop uses 3D Scan Store’s commercial Female Explorer Game Character, and KitBash3D’s Wreckage Kit, plus assets from KitBash3D’s Cargo.
    About the artist
    Graham Cunningham is a Senior Lighting, Compositing and Lookdev Artist, beginning his career as a generalist working in VFX for film and TV before moving to Blizzard Entertainment.
    At Blizzard, he contributed to cinematics for Diablo IV, Diablo Immortal, Starcraft II, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Overwatch 2, many of them as a lead lighting artist.
    Pricing and availability
    Practical Lighting for Production is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.
    Subscriptions cost /month or /year. Free trials are available.
    about Practical Lighting for Production on The Gnomon Workshop’s website

    Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X. As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.
    Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon.

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    #tutorial #practical #lighting #production
    Tutorial: Practical Lighting for Production
    Saturday, June 14th, 2025 Posted by Jim Thacker Tutorial: Practical Lighting for Production html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "; The Gnomon Workshop has released Practical Lighting for Production, a guide to VFX and cinematics workflows recorded by former Blizzard lighting lead Graham Cunningham. The intermediate-level workshop provides four hours of training in Maya, Arnold and Nuke. Discover professional workflows for lighting a CG shot to match a movie reference In the workshop, Cunningham sets out the complete process of lighting and compositing a shot to match a movie reference, using industry-standard software. He begins by setting up a basic look development light rig in Maya, importing a 3D character, assigning materials and shading components, and creating a turntable setup. Next, he creates a shot camera and set dresses the environment using kitbash assets. Cunningham also discusses strategies for lighting a character, including how to use dome lights and area lights to provide key, fill and rim lighting, and how to use HDRI maps. From there, he moves to rendering using Arnold, discussing render settings, depth of field, and how to create render passes. Cunningham then assembles the render passes in Nuke, splits out the light AOVs, and sets out how to adjust light colors and intensities. He also reveals how to add atmosphere, how to use cryptomattes to fine tune the results, how to add post effects, and how to apply a final color grade to match a chosen movie reference. As well as the tutorial videos, viewers of the workshop can download one of Cunningham’s Maya files. The workshop uses 3D Scan Store’s commercial Female Explorer Game Character, and KitBash3D’s Wreckage Kit, plus assets from KitBash3D’s Cargo. About the artist Graham Cunningham is a Senior Lighting, Compositing and Lookdev Artist, beginning his career as a generalist working in VFX for film and TV before moving to Blizzard Entertainment. At Blizzard, he contributed to cinematics for Diablo IV, Diablo Immortal, Starcraft II, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Overwatch 2, many of them as a lead lighting artist. Pricing and availability Practical Lighting for Production is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials. Subscriptions cost /month or /year. Free trials are available. about Practical Lighting for Production on The Gnomon Workshop’s website Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X. As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects. Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon. Latest News DreamWorks Animation releases MoonRay 2.15 Check out the new features in the open-source release of DreamWorks Animation's production renderer. used on movies like The Wild Robot. Sunday, June 15th, 2025 Tutorial: Practical Lighting for Production Master professional CG lighting workflows with former Blizzard lighting lead Graham Cunningham's tutorial for The Gnomon Workshop. Saturday, June 14th, 2025 Boris FX releases Mocha Pro 2025.5 Planar tracking tool gets new AI face recognition system for automatically obscuring identities in footage. Check out its other new features. Friday, June 13th, 2025 Leopoly adds voxel sculpting to Shapelab 2025 Summer 2025 update to the VR modeling app expands the new voxel engine for blocking out 3D forms. See the other new features. Friday, June 13th, 2025 iRender: the next-gen render farm for OctaneRenderOnline render farm iRender explains why its powerful, affordable GPU rendering solutions are a must for OctaneRender users. Wednesday, June 11th, 2025 Master Architectural Design for Games using Blender & UE5 Discover how to create game environments grounded in architectural principles with The Gnomon Workshop's new tutorial. Monday, June 9th, 2025 More News Epic Games' free Live Link Face app is now available for Android Adobe launches Photoshop on Android and iPhone Sketchsoft releases Feather 1.3 Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026.1 Autodesk adds AI animation tool MotionMaker to Maya 2026.1 You can now sell MetaHumans, or use them in Unity or Godot Epic Games to rebrand RealityCapture as RealityScan 2.0 Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.6 Pulze releases new network render manager RenderFlow 1.0 Xencelabs launches Pen Tablet Medium v2 Desktop edition of sculpting app Nomad enters free beta Boris FX releases Silhouette 2025 Older Posts #tutorial #practical #lighting #production
    Tutorial: Practical Lighting for Production
    Saturday, June 14th, 2025 Posted by Jim Thacker Tutorial: Practical Lighting for Production html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" The Gnomon Workshop has released Practical Lighting for Production, a guide to VFX and cinematics workflows recorded by former Blizzard lighting lead Graham Cunningham. The intermediate-level workshop provides four hours of training in Maya, Arnold and Nuke. Discover professional workflows for lighting a CG shot to match a movie reference In the workshop, Cunningham sets out the complete process of lighting and compositing a shot to match a movie reference, using industry-standard software. He begins by setting up a basic look development light rig in Maya, importing a 3D character, assigning materials and shading components, and creating a turntable setup. Next, he creates a shot camera and set dresses the environment using kitbash assets. Cunningham also discusses strategies for lighting a character, including how to use dome lights and area lights to provide key, fill and rim lighting, and how to use HDRI maps. From there, he moves to rendering using Arnold, discussing render settings, depth of field, and how to create render passes. Cunningham then assembles the render passes in Nuke, splits out the light AOVs, and sets out how to adjust light colors and intensities. He also reveals how to add atmosphere, how to use cryptomattes to fine tune the results, how to add post effects, and how to apply a final color grade to match a chosen movie reference. As well as the tutorial videos, viewers of the workshop can download one of Cunningham’s Maya files. The workshop uses 3D Scan Store’s commercial Female Explorer Game Character, and KitBash3D’s Wreckage Kit, plus assets from KitBash3D’s Cargo. About the artist Graham Cunningham is a Senior Lighting, Compositing and Lookdev Artist, beginning his career as a generalist working in VFX for film and TV before moving to Blizzard Entertainment. At Blizzard, he contributed to cinematics for Diablo IV, Diablo Immortal, Starcraft II, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Overwatch 2, many of them as a lead lighting artist. Pricing and availability Practical Lighting for Production is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials. Subscriptions cost $57/month or $519/year. Free trials are available. Read more about Practical Lighting for Production on The Gnomon Workshop’s website Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects. Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon. Latest News DreamWorks Animation releases MoonRay 2.15 Check out the new features in the open-source release of DreamWorks Animation's production renderer. used on movies like The Wild Robot. Sunday, June 15th, 2025 Tutorial: Practical Lighting for Production Master professional CG lighting workflows with former Blizzard lighting lead Graham Cunningham's tutorial for The Gnomon Workshop. Saturday, June 14th, 2025 Boris FX releases Mocha Pro 2025.5 Planar tracking tool gets new AI face recognition system for automatically obscuring identities in footage. Check out its other new features. Friday, June 13th, 2025 Leopoly adds voxel sculpting to Shapelab 2025 Summer 2025 update to the VR modeling app expands the new voxel engine for blocking out 3D forms. See the other new features. Friday, June 13th, 2025 iRender: the next-gen render farm for OctaneRender [Sponsored] Online render farm iRender explains why its powerful, affordable GPU rendering solutions are a must for OctaneRender users. Wednesday, June 11th, 2025 Master Architectural Design for Games using Blender & UE5 Discover how to create game environments grounded in architectural principles with The Gnomon Workshop's new tutorial. Monday, June 9th, 2025 More News Epic Games' free Live Link Face app is now available for Android Adobe launches Photoshop on Android and iPhone Sketchsoft releases Feather 1.3 Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026.1 Autodesk adds AI animation tool MotionMaker to Maya 2026.1 You can now sell MetaHumans, or use them in Unity or Godot Epic Games to rebrand RealityCapture as RealityScan 2.0 Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.6 Pulze releases new network render manager RenderFlow 1.0 Xencelabs launches Pen Tablet Medium v2 Desktop edition of sculpting app Nomad enters free beta Boris FX releases Silhouette 2025 Older Posts
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  • Toshiba’s Aurex AP-RX10 Bring Vinyl Listening On the Go

    In an era dominated by streaming services and digital music libraries, the vinyl record has made a remarkable comeback. Whether it’s the warmth of analog audio or the ritual of dropping the needle, vinyl has carved out a powerful niche in modern music culture. But while vinyl might win on audio quality and nostalgia, it’s long struggled with one key limitation: portability. Enter the Toshiba Aurex AX-RP10, a unique and compact portable vinyl record player designed to let music lovers take their turntables on the road – without sacrificing too much convenience.

    At first glance, the AX-RP10 seems like a niche curiosity, but it’s more than just a novelty. Toshiba has clearly put thought into the design and functionality of the device. It won’t slip into a pocket, but it’s small and lightweight enough to fit easily into a bag, which Toshiba includes in the box. This makes it a rarity: a vinyl player that actually invites you to leave the house with your records.

    The build quality leans into portability too. It’s compact, sturdy, and relatively minimalist, making it ideal for casual listening at a park, on a road trip, or anywhere your records might accompany you.

    A standout feature of the AX-RP10 is its built-in 2,000mAh rechargeable battery, which provides up to 10 hours of playback time on a single charge. That’s enough to get you through multiple full albums. Charging is done via USB-C, keeping it in line with modern charging standards, and making it convenient to recharge alongside your phone or other devices.

    Despite its retro concept, the AX-RP10 comes with a few modern touches. It supports both 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records, covering a wide range of albums and singles, whether you’re spinning new pressings or classic reissues.
    For audio output, Toshiba gives listeners multiple options. There are no built-in speakers, which helps keep the device compact and lightweight, but it features a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack so you can easily plug in wired headphones or connect to an external speaker.

    For those who prefer wireless audio, the AX-RP10 includes Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to pair the player with Bluetooth headphones or speakers. While Bluetooth may introduce some audio compression and purists might prefer wired setups, the convenience of wireless listening adds versatility for casual use and outdoor environments.

    There’s even a “jacket holder” built into the back of the device. This simple stand lets you display the album cover of the record you’re currently playing, letting you enjoy the artwork or share what’s spinning with others.

    Fans of vintage gear will likely recognize the concept behind the AX-RP10. It bears more than a passing resemblance to the Audio-Technica Sound Burger, a cult-favorite portable turntable that originally launched in the 1980s and was recently reissued due to popular demand. Toshiba’s AX-RP10 echoes that legacy, while updating it for modern listeners with improved battery life and wireless capabilities.

    As of now, Toshiba has not announced an official price for the Aurex AX-RP10. However, given the price point of the Audio-Technica Sound Burger, it’s likely the AX-RP10 will land in a similar range.
    For more information, visit aurex.jp.
    Photography courtesy of Aurex and Toshiba.
    #toshibas #aurex #aprx10 #bring #vinyl
    Toshiba’s Aurex AP-RX10 Bring Vinyl Listening On the Go
    In an era dominated by streaming services and digital music libraries, the vinyl record has made a remarkable comeback. Whether it’s the warmth of analog audio or the ritual of dropping the needle, vinyl has carved out a powerful niche in modern music culture. But while vinyl might win on audio quality and nostalgia, it’s long struggled with one key limitation: portability. Enter the Toshiba Aurex AX-RP10, a unique and compact portable vinyl record player designed to let music lovers take their turntables on the road – without sacrificing too much convenience. At first glance, the AX-RP10 seems like a niche curiosity, but it’s more than just a novelty. Toshiba has clearly put thought into the design and functionality of the device. It won’t slip into a pocket, but it’s small and lightweight enough to fit easily into a bag, which Toshiba includes in the box. This makes it a rarity: a vinyl player that actually invites you to leave the house with your records. The build quality leans into portability too. It’s compact, sturdy, and relatively minimalist, making it ideal for casual listening at a park, on a road trip, or anywhere your records might accompany you. A standout feature of the AX-RP10 is its built-in 2,000mAh rechargeable battery, which provides up to 10 hours of playback time on a single charge. That’s enough to get you through multiple full albums. Charging is done via USB-C, keeping it in line with modern charging standards, and making it convenient to recharge alongside your phone or other devices. Despite its retro concept, the AX-RP10 comes with a few modern touches. It supports both 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records, covering a wide range of albums and singles, whether you’re spinning new pressings or classic reissues. For audio output, Toshiba gives listeners multiple options. There are no built-in speakers, which helps keep the device compact and lightweight, but it features a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack so you can easily plug in wired headphones or connect to an external speaker. For those who prefer wireless audio, the AX-RP10 includes Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to pair the player with Bluetooth headphones or speakers. While Bluetooth may introduce some audio compression and purists might prefer wired setups, the convenience of wireless listening adds versatility for casual use and outdoor environments. There’s even a “jacket holder” built into the back of the device. This simple stand lets you display the album cover of the record you’re currently playing, letting you enjoy the artwork or share what’s spinning with others. Fans of vintage gear will likely recognize the concept behind the AX-RP10. It bears more than a passing resemblance to the Audio-Technica Sound Burger, a cult-favorite portable turntable that originally launched in the 1980s and was recently reissued due to popular demand. Toshiba’s AX-RP10 echoes that legacy, while updating it for modern listeners with improved battery life and wireless capabilities. As of now, Toshiba has not announced an official price for the Aurex AX-RP10. However, given the price point of the Audio-Technica Sound Burger, it’s likely the AX-RP10 will land in a similar range. For more information, visit aurex.jp. Photography courtesy of Aurex and Toshiba. #toshibas #aurex #aprx10 #bring #vinyl
    DESIGN-MILK.COM
    Toshiba’s Aurex AP-RX10 Bring Vinyl Listening On the Go
    In an era dominated by streaming services and digital music libraries, the vinyl record has made a remarkable comeback. Whether it’s the warmth of analog audio or the ritual of dropping the needle, vinyl has carved out a powerful niche in modern music culture. But while vinyl might win on audio quality and nostalgia, it’s long struggled with one key limitation: portability. Enter the Toshiba Aurex AX-RP10, a unique and compact portable vinyl record player designed to let music lovers take their turntables on the road – without sacrificing too much convenience. At first glance, the AX-RP10 seems like a niche curiosity, but it’s more than just a novelty. Toshiba has clearly put thought into the design and functionality of the device. It won’t slip into a pocket, but it’s small and lightweight enough to fit easily into a bag, which Toshiba includes in the box. This makes it a rarity: a vinyl player that actually invites you to leave the house with your records. The build quality leans into portability too. It’s compact, sturdy, and relatively minimalist, making it ideal for casual listening at a park, on a road trip, or anywhere your records might accompany you. A standout feature of the AX-RP10 is its built-in 2,000mAh rechargeable battery, which provides up to 10 hours of playback time on a single charge. That’s enough to get you through multiple full albums. Charging is done via USB-C, keeping it in line with modern charging standards, and making it convenient to recharge alongside your phone or other devices. Despite its retro concept, the AX-RP10 comes with a few modern touches. It supports both 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records, covering a wide range of albums and singles, whether you’re spinning new pressings or classic reissues. For audio output, Toshiba gives listeners multiple options. There are no built-in speakers, which helps keep the device compact and lightweight, but it features a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack so you can easily plug in wired headphones or connect to an external speaker. For those who prefer wireless audio, the AX-RP10 includes Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to pair the player with Bluetooth headphones or speakers. While Bluetooth may introduce some audio compression and purists might prefer wired setups, the convenience of wireless listening adds versatility for casual use and outdoor environments. There’s even a “jacket holder” built into the back of the device. This simple stand lets you display the album cover of the record you’re currently playing, letting you enjoy the artwork or share what’s spinning with others. Fans of vintage gear will likely recognize the concept behind the AX-RP10. It bears more than a passing resemblance to the Audio-Technica Sound Burger, a cult-favorite portable turntable that originally launched in the 1980s and was recently reissued due to popular demand. Toshiba’s AX-RP10 echoes that legacy, while updating it for modern listeners with improved battery life and wireless capabilities. As of now, Toshiba has not announced an official price for the Aurex AX-RP10. However, given the price point of the Audio-Technica Sound Burger (around $200), it’s likely the AX-RP10 will land in a similar range. For more information, visit aurex.jp. Photography courtesy of Aurex and Toshiba.
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  • The AMATOR Restaurant in Copenhagen Captures the Comforts of Home

    For his first solo venture, noted chef Mateusz Sarnowski, more affectionately known as Mati Pichci, wanted his restaurant to be the embodiment of the name he had chosen. In Latin, amator refers to a lover, a friend, an enthusiast, all descriptions of people who might dine at the new establishment located in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark.
    To bring his vision of a Danish hjemme spisested or “home dining place” to life, Pichci tapped his friend and fellow Poland native, Adam Wierciński, founder of wiercinski-studio, to design the space, the architect’s first in the city. He envisioned AMATOR as an inviting place where guests could dine and socialize, inspired by the many festive gatherings hosted by Pichci.

    Wierciński made the most of the compact 538-square-foot space, transforming it into three spots in one: a café, a restaurant, and a venue for private events. During the day the kitchen serves breakfast and lunch. Flavorful fare includes dishes based on seasonal vegetables and the chef’s personal favorite, a classic omelette. Evenings, meanwhile, are reserved for private candlelit dinners.

    Near the entrance there is a wall-mounted installation featuring a piece of a tree trunk from a forest in Poland, a nod to the project’s prevalent materials. Simple geometric constructions – also designed by Wierciński – are formed of raw steel combined with solid wood. A high counter by the front window offers a view of charming townhouses, a perfect spot to tuck in with a beverage.

    Rather than basic bistro furnishings, a communal table is the focal point in the restaurant. Made up of a series of small tops, it includes interspersed plates atop stands that are used to hold food, drinks, or even candles. Each oak top is angled, and together they form a distinctive jagged line. Gaps between the tops give the look of separate tables, but by pulling out steel rings they can be easily combined into one large piece. Patrons sit at space-saving oak stools, initial items in the upcoming wiercinski-objects series.

    A bar, crafted from the same materials, and enhanced with brown mirrors, separates the open kitchen. Pops of the same yellow that fills in the eatery’s signature brand dot are visible here. This sunny shade is found on ceramic tableware and plywood shelves above the gray tile backsplash. Stainless steel elements, from sconces to circular mirrors, add a bit of shine.

    In a nook at the rear of the space a selection of vinyl from a range of genres is available to spin on a turntable, and custom-made speakers by local company Arda Audio ensure high-quality sound. Music is another key ingredient, and just like the cuisine, is part of the overall sensory experience at AMATOR.

    Mati Pichci and Adam Wierciński
    For more information on AMATOR or wiercinski-studio, visit wiercinski-studio.com.
    Photography by Paolo Galgani.
    #amator #restaurant #copenhagen #captures #comforts
    The AMATOR Restaurant in Copenhagen Captures the Comforts of Home
    For his first solo venture, noted chef Mateusz Sarnowski, more affectionately known as Mati Pichci, wanted his restaurant to be the embodiment of the name he had chosen. In Latin, amator refers to a lover, a friend, an enthusiast, all descriptions of people who might dine at the new establishment located in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. To bring his vision of a Danish hjemme spisested or “home dining place” to life, Pichci tapped his friend and fellow Poland native, Adam Wierciński, founder of wiercinski-studio, to design the space, the architect’s first in the city. He envisioned AMATOR as an inviting place where guests could dine and socialize, inspired by the many festive gatherings hosted by Pichci. Wierciński made the most of the compact 538-square-foot space, transforming it into three spots in one: a café, a restaurant, and a venue for private events. During the day the kitchen serves breakfast and lunch. Flavorful fare includes dishes based on seasonal vegetables and the chef’s personal favorite, a classic omelette. Evenings, meanwhile, are reserved for private candlelit dinners. Near the entrance there is a wall-mounted installation featuring a piece of a tree trunk from a forest in Poland, a nod to the project’s prevalent materials. Simple geometric constructions – also designed by Wierciński – are formed of raw steel combined with solid wood. A high counter by the front window offers a view of charming townhouses, a perfect spot to tuck in with a beverage. Rather than basic bistro furnishings, a communal table is the focal point in the restaurant. Made up of a series of small tops, it includes interspersed plates atop stands that are used to hold food, drinks, or even candles. Each oak top is angled, and together they form a distinctive jagged line. Gaps between the tops give the look of separate tables, but by pulling out steel rings they can be easily combined into one large piece. Patrons sit at space-saving oak stools, initial items in the upcoming wiercinski-objects series. A bar, crafted from the same materials, and enhanced with brown mirrors, separates the open kitchen. Pops of the same yellow that fills in the eatery’s signature brand dot are visible here. This sunny shade is found on ceramic tableware and plywood shelves above the gray tile backsplash. Stainless steel elements, from sconces to circular mirrors, add a bit of shine. In a nook at the rear of the space a selection of vinyl from a range of genres is available to spin on a turntable, and custom-made speakers by local company Arda Audio ensure high-quality sound. Music is another key ingredient, and just like the cuisine, is part of the overall sensory experience at AMATOR. Mati Pichci and Adam Wierciński For more information on AMATOR or wiercinski-studio, visit wiercinski-studio.com. Photography by Paolo Galgani. #amator #restaurant #copenhagen #captures #comforts
    DESIGN-MILK.COM
    The AMATOR Restaurant in Copenhagen Captures the Comforts of Home
    For his first solo venture, noted chef Mateusz Sarnowski, more affectionately known as Mati Pichci, wanted his restaurant to be the embodiment of the name he had chosen. In Latin, amator refers to a lover, a friend, an enthusiast, all descriptions of people who might dine at the new establishment located in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. To bring his vision of a Danish hjemme spisested or “home dining place” to life, Pichci tapped his friend and fellow Poland native, Adam Wierciński, founder of wiercinski-studio, to design the space, the architect’s first in the city. He envisioned AMATOR as an inviting place where guests could dine and socialize, inspired by the many festive gatherings hosted by Pichci. Wierciński made the most of the compact 538-square-foot space, transforming it into three spots in one: a café, a restaurant, and a venue for private events. During the day the kitchen serves breakfast and lunch. Flavorful fare includes dishes based on seasonal vegetables and the chef’s personal favorite, a classic omelette. Evenings, meanwhile, are reserved for private candlelit dinners. Near the entrance there is a wall-mounted installation featuring a piece of a tree trunk from a forest in Poland, a nod to the project’s prevalent materials. Simple geometric constructions – also designed by Wierciński – are formed of raw steel combined with solid wood. A high counter by the front window offers a view of charming townhouses, a perfect spot to tuck in with a beverage. Rather than basic bistro furnishings, a communal table is the focal point in the restaurant. Made up of a series of small tops, it includes interspersed plates atop stands that are used to hold food, drinks, or even candles. Each oak top is angled, and together they form a distinctive jagged line. Gaps between the tops give the look of separate tables, but by pulling out steel rings they can be easily combined into one large piece. Patrons sit at space-saving oak stools, initial items in the upcoming wiercinski-objects series. A bar, crafted from the same materials, and enhanced with brown mirrors, separates the open kitchen. Pops of the same yellow that fills in the eatery’s signature brand dot are visible here. This sunny shade is found on ceramic tableware and plywood shelves above the gray tile backsplash. Stainless steel elements, from sconces to circular mirrors, add a bit of shine. In a nook at the rear of the space a selection of vinyl from a range of genres is available to spin on a turntable, and custom-made speakers by local company Arda Audio ensure high-quality sound. Music is another key ingredient, and just like the cuisine, is part of the overall sensory experience at AMATOR. Mati Pichci and Adam Wierciński For more information on AMATOR or wiercinski-studio, visit wiercinski-studio.com. Photography by Paolo Galgani.
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  • Limited Edition MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable has visual swag reminiscent of iconic Stratocaster

    Interesting vinyl players are not always about their tech prowess; for me, the looks matter. A recent entrant, the Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 was an instant winner in this department. Departing from the standard matte or wood finish, Audio Technica introduced a fully transparent form factor, a design not seen before. Now taking things back to the basics, yet with a charisma of its own: MoFi Electronics has teamed with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to introduce the MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable that redefines craftsmanship and the good old turntable fashion for the retro-modern enthusiasts.
    This collaboration isn’t just about design; it is a tribute to American audio heritage that blends MoFi’s acoustic know-how with Fender’s signature guitar-making genius. Born and brought up in America, by two native legacy brands, the American Vintage Turntable has a visual swag courtesy of the hand-finished sunburst alder-wood plinth, a 10-inch precision tonearm, and MoFi’s audiophile ethos within the iconic Stratocaster-inspired looks. To the accord, the turntable boasts the same three-color sunburst finish adorned by the ‘50s Fender Stratocaster, catapulting the new turntable into a different, unmatchable league.
    Designer: MoFi x Fender

    The Fender American Vintage Turntable is more than a curved body’s eye candy, built from a similar solid alder used in Stratocaster bodies. It is designed to offer low resonance so that you can hear clearly what’s in the vinyl grooves. The tri-color sunburst finish with a urethane seal, and the 10-inch aluminum tonearm featuring gimbaled bearings ensure low friction in the vertical and horizontal plane, made possible by mounting the turntable on advanced isolation feet that ensures the vibrations do not reach the plinth and tonearm.

    The turntable features a precision electronic speed-controlled motor to let the user swap between 33 1/3 and 45 RPM at the touch of a button, which runs on a massive 6.8 lbs. Delrin platter, adding durability and low friction to keep unwanted noise from reaching the stylus. The belt drive turntable has a compact 20.75-inch x 6-inch x 15.5-inch design, weighs 25.5 lbs., and is especially built for audiophiles and collectors who appreciate the warmth of analog sound without compromising style.

     
    With only a limited number of examples for release, the American Vintage Turntable is slated to begin shipping in June 2025. Of course, when it does, it is not going to come cheap. The basic American Vintage Turntable without the cartridge starts at If you have a little more to shell out, can get you a turntable with MoFi MasterTracker Moving Magnet cartridge. For you can get your vinyl collection the top-of-the-line Fender turntable with UltraGold Moving Coil cartridge from MoFi.

    The post Limited Edition MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable has visual swag reminiscent of iconic Stratocaster first appeared on Yanko Design.
    #limited #edition #mofi #fender #american
    Limited Edition MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable has visual swag reminiscent of iconic Stratocaster
    Interesting vinyl players are not always about their tech prowess; for me, the looks matter. A recent entrant, the Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 was an instant winner in this department. Departing from the standard matte or wood finish, Audio Technica introduced a fully transparent form factor, a design not seen before. Now taking things back to the basics, yet with a charisma of its own: MoFi Electronics has teamed with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to introduce the MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable that redefines craftsmanship and the good old turntable fashion for the retro-modern enthusiasts. This collaboration isn’t just about design; it is a tribute to American audio heritage that blends MoFi’s acoustic know-how with Fender’s signature guitar-making genius. Born and brought up in America, by two native legacy brands, the American Vintage Turntable has a visual swag courtesy of the hand-finished sunburst alder-wood plinth, a 10-inch precision tonearm, and MoFi’s audiophile ethos within the iconic Stratocaster-inspired looks. To the accord, the turntable boasts the same three-color sunburst finish adorned by the ‘50s Fender Stratocaster, catapulting the new turntable into a different, unmatchable league. Designer: MoFi x Fender The Fender American Vintage Turntable is more than a curved body’s eye candy, built from a similar solid alder used in Stratocaster bodies. It is designed to offer low resonance so that you can hear clearly what’s in the vinyl grooves. The tri-color sunburst finish with a urethane seal, and the 10-inch aluminum tonearm featuring gimbaled bearings ensure low friction in the vertical and horizontal plane, made possible by mounting the turntable on advanced isolation feet that ensures the vibrations do not reach the plinth and tonearm. The turntable features a precision electronic speed-controlled motor to let the user swap between 33 1/3 and 45 RPM at the touch of a button, which runs on a massive 6.8 lbs. Delrin platter, adding durability and low friction to keep unwanted noise from reaching the stylus. The belt drive turntable has a compact 20.75-inch x 6-inch x 15.5-inch design, weighs 25.5 lbs., and is especially built for audiophiles and collectors who appreciate the warmth of analog sound without compromising style.   With only a limited number of examples for release, the American Vintage Turntable is slated to begin shipping in June 2025. Of course, when it does, it is not going to come cheap. The basic American Vintage Turntable without the cartridge starts at If you have a little more to shell out, can get you a turntable with MoFi MasterTracker Moving Magnet cartridge. For you can get your vinyl collection the top-of-the-line Fender turntable with UltraGold Moving Coil cartridge from MoFi. The post Limited Edition MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable has visual swag reminiscent of iconic Stratocaster first appeared on Yanko Design. #limited #edition #mofi #fender #american
    WWW.YANKODESIGN.COM
    Limited Edition MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable has visual swag reminiscent of iconic Stratocaster
    Interesting vinyl players are not always about their tech prowess; for me, the looks matter. A recent entrant, the Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 was an instant winner in this department. Departing from the standard matte or wood finish, Audio Technica introduced a fully transparent form factor, a design not seen before. Now taking things back to the basics, yet with a charisma of its own: MoFi Electronics has teamed with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to introduce the MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable that redefines craftsmanship and the good old turntable fashion for the retro-modern enthusiasts. This collaboration isn’t just about design; it is a tribute to American audio heritage that blends MoFi’s acoustic know-how with Fender’s signature guitar-making genius. Born and brought up in America, by two native legacy brands, the American Vintage Turntable has a visual swag courtesy of the hand-finished sunburst alder-wood plinth, a 10-inch precision tonearm, and MoFi’s audiophile ethos within the iconic Stratocaster-inspired looks. To the accord, the turntable boasts the same three-color sunburst finish adorned by the ‘50s Fender Stratocaster (one of the most iconic electric guitar designs), catapulting the new turntable into a different, unmatchable league. Designer: MoFi x Fender The Fender American Vintage Turntable is more than a curved body’s eye candy, built from a similar solid alder used in Stratocaster bodies. It is designed to offer low resonance so that you can hear clearly what’s in the vinyl grooves. The tri-color sunburst finish with a urethane seal, and the 10-inch aluminum tonearm featuring gimbaled bearings ensure low friction in the vertical and horizontal plane, made possible by mounting the turntable on advanced isolation feet that ensures the vibrations do not reach the plinth and tonearm. The turntable features a precision electronic speed-controlled motor to let the user swap between 33 1/3 and 45 RPM at the touch of a button, which runs on a massive 6.8 lbs. Delrin platter (Delrin is a modern polymer developed by DuPont), adding durability and low friction to keep unwanted noise from reaching the stylus. The belt drive turntable has a compact 20.75-inch x 6-inch x 15.5-inch design, weighs 25.5 lbs., and is especially built for audiophiles and collectors who appreciate the warmth of analog sound without compromising style.   With only a limited number of examples for release, the American Vintage Turntable is slated to begin shipping in June 2025. Of course, when it does, it is not going to come cheap. The basic American Vintage Turntable without the cartridge starts at $2,995. If you have a little more to shell out, $3,495 can get you a turntable with MoFi MasterTracker Moving Magnet cartridge. For $4,000 you can get your vinyl collection the top-of-the-line Fender turntable with UltraGold Moving Coil cartridge from MoFi. The post Limited Edition MoFi x Fender American Vintage Turntable has visual swag reminiscent of iconic Stratocaster first appeared on Yanko Design.
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  • Pizza Bandit Combines Gears of War and Overcooked for a Tasty Shooter Slice

    You ever wonder who the first person to put peanut butter and chocolate together was? Part of me feels like whoever it was must be loaded; I mean, you’ve combined two already great flavors into something that Reese’s would more or less build a whole brand on. And then part of me thinks it plays out like the hypothetical guy who invented the Chicken McNugget in The Wire. A pat on the back from a big shot, and then it’s back to the basement to figure out a way to make the fries taste better. I don’t know the answer; I hope it's the former. But every now and then, you come across an idea, a combination of things, that’s so good that you wonder how nobody’s ever done it before. And every time my squad and I sprinted back to our time-traveling dropship, stopping only to deal with the Time Reapers that stood in our way, I wondered how the hell nobody had ever said “Hey, what if we combined Overcooked and Gears of War?” pre-Pizza Bandit.Pizza Bandit’s setup is pretty simple. You’re Malik, a former bounty hunter with dreams of being a chef who is pulled back into the bounty game when he’s scammed out of his pizza shop and his former crew needs his help to get out of a jam. Pizza Bandit’s writing is pretty silly, but that’s part of the charm. I can’t get mad when Albert, the android that upgrades your weapons, tells me he doesn’t know how to apologize for what happened to my pizza shop because he’s just an android, or when my pilot waxes nostalgic about how he misses the fog, or when someone utters the odd nonsensical line. It’s too silly, and the whole setup is just there to, well… set up Pizza Bandit’s wackiness.PlaySee, you’re not just any bounty-hunting crew. You’re a time-traveling bounty hunting crew, and that means you’ll be going all over space and time to get the job done. Don’t ask me how any of this works. All I know is that pizza heals and bullets kill, and that the Time Reapers — nasty little buggers that seem to be invading every timeline — don’t want this pizza shop owner to make any dough. And that’s not gonna fly. Pizza Bandit’s writing is pretty silly, but that’s part of the charm.“What makes Pizza Bandit unique is that you’re not just shooting stuff. You’re also, well, kinda playing Overcooked. After squading up, my first mission saw my crewheading to the Restaurant from N owhere, a hidden outpost run by another bandit crew. Our job: fulfill the pizza orders for other bounty hunting teams, and send them off in time-traveling rocket pods. That meant putting together the right type of pizza, getting it to the oven, making sure we were getting their drink orders right, and adding some extra bullets for when things got spicy, cramming it all into a pod, and doing it on time while fighting off the Time Reapers, who really, really don’t like supporting small businesses.Pizza Bandit ScreenshotsAnd that’s where the other part of the Overcooked/Gears of War marriage comes into play. See, the Time Reapers mean business, and you’re not going to talk them out of some time reaping. That’s their whole bag. The only solution, fellow bandit, is incredible violence. I’ve played several builds of Pizza Bandit at this point, and let me tell you, your arsenal is up to the task. You start with your choice of assau lt rifle, minigun, and sniper rifle, but the fun really begins when you start unlocking your secondary weapons by completing jobs. They start simple: landmines, grenades, that sort of thing, but once you unlock the disco ball that attracts enemies and gets them dancing before it explodes? Whew, buddy. And the sentry turret? Perfection. You could slice and dice them Time Reapers with a katana, but have you ever considered using a pizza slicer as big as a man? It’ll change your life.And the Time Reapers will force you to use everything in your arsenal. You got your standard guys who will just run at you, but there are also Time Reapers that’ll crawl around on all fours, Terminator-looking ones that will leap at you, giant ones with hammers, guys who throw fireballs, the works. You gotta prioritize.Pizza Bandit is at its best when you’re with a good team, calling out orders. A good match should be shouts of “We need a pepperoni pie!” and “I’m on the Coke!” and “I’m down!” interspersed with lots and lots of gunfire. Simple choices, like when to call down your own, once-a-mission rocket pod full of pizza and supplies, and more complex ones, like where to put it, spice things up, too. And here’s the thing: so far, I’ve just talked about Restaurant from Nowhere, which is only the first level. Pizza Bandit isn’t a one-trick pony. One of my favorite levels has you taking over a sushi joint and making sure you have the right stuff on the delivery turntable for your customers. Sometimes that means running downstairs and grabbing a big ol’ tuna, taking that bad boy upstairs, and chopping him up before the Time Reapers whack you and you drop him. Other times that means frying an egg, or making a cucumber roll. You gotta stay ahead of the curve, because new customers are prioritized over old ones, and the Time Reapers aren’t gonna sit there and wait for you to plate your masterpiece.Sometimes, you’re not even cooking food at all. Another favorite level, Wizard’s Tomb, has you exploring a magically booby-trapped tomb in search of a sarcophagus. You’ll have to navigate the tomb’s traps, solve basic puzzles to reveal the way forward, and take out the arcane heart powering the whole enterprise before getting to the sarcophagus itself, which you’ll naturally transport with jetpacks before booking it back to your ship. It isn’t enough to get any given job done; you gotta get home, too. Just another day in the life of a pizza bandit.Pizza Bandit is always ludicrous, and its inspirations are obvious, but it’s never less than fun.“There are more, of course: in one, you’ll defend a cabin with Dr. Emmert Brownewhile he invents the time travel device that makes your whole business profitable. Winning it all means keeping him warm, satiating his hunger with rabbit or venison, and stopping all those nasty Time Reaperswho are trying to stop time travel from happening. You’d think that the Time Reapers would understand time paradoxes, but I guess not. Can’t reap time if there’s no time to reap, y’all. Or maybe you’ll break into an enormous safe with a laser drill, like you’re roleplaying the opening scene of Michael Mann’s Thief with a drill that’s constantly exploding. That seems safe, right? But hey, apparently there’s a magical cookbook in that vault whose recipes can alter reality, and we’re being paid to get it, exploding drill or not. A Pizza Bandit always gets the job done. And there’s always time to do your best Breaking Bad impersonation and help a couple of guys cook some “magic powder” and hide it inside some chicken. Oh, and you have to kill and cook the chickens. Only fresh, never frozen, baby. Pizza Bandit is always ludicrous, and its inspirations are obvious, but it’s never less than fun.Between missions, it’s back to Pizza Bandit, where you can acquire and upgrade your weapons, decorate Pizza Bandit itself, use the ingredients you find during missions to bake and share a pie for some stat boosts on your next run, or get some spiffy new duds for your bounty hunter. The milk carton backpack is a classic choice, if I do say so myself, but I’m still saving up for one of the cat ones. The things we do for fashion, am I right? Then it’s right back to it. A bandit’s work is never done.Sometimes, you don’t know you want something until you get it. I didn’t know I wanted Pizza Bandit until the first time I played it at PAX two years ago. It was one of those games that generated a lot of word of mouth, but it’s one of those concepts that doesn’t seem like it’ll work until you get a controller in your hands and everything makes sense. I don’t know why we’ve never gotten something like Pizza Bandit before, but once I played it, I knew I wanted more. Pizza heals, bullets kill, and Pizza Bandit rocks. If Jofsoft can stick the landing, we’re in for a tasty slice of New York pie.
    #pizza #bandit #combines #gears #war
    Pizza Bandit Combines Gears of War and Overcooked for a Tasty Shooter Slice
    You ever wonder who the first person to put peanut butter and chocolate together was? Part of me feels like whoever it was must be loaded; I mean, you’ve combined two already great flavors into something that Reese’s would more or less build a whole brand on. And then part of me thinks it plays out like the hypothetical guy who invented the Chicken McNugget in The Wire. A pat on the back from a big shot, and then it’s back to the basement to figure out a way to make the fries taste better. I don’t know the answer; I hope it's the former. But every now and then, you come across an idea, a combination of things, that’s so good that you wonder how nobody’s ever done it before. And every time my squad and I sprinted back to our time-traveling dropship, stopping only to deal with the Time Reapers that stood in our way, I wondered how the hell nobody had ever said “Hey, what if we combined Overcooked and Gears of War?” pre-Pizza Bandit.Pizza Bandit’s setup is pretty simple. You’re Malik, a former bounty hunter with dreams of being a chef who is pulled back into the bounty game when he’s scammed out of his pizza shop and his former crew needs his help to get out of a jam. Pizza Bandit’s writing is pretty silly, but that’s part of the charm. I can’t get mad when Albert, the android that upgrades your weapons, tells me he doesn’t know how to apologize for what happened to my pizza shop because he’s just an android, or when my pilot waxes nostalgic about how he misses the fog, or when someone utters the odd nonsensical line. It’s too silly, and the whole setup is just there to, well… set up Pizza Bandit’s wackiness.PlaySee, you’re not just any bounty-hunting crew. You’re a time-traveling bounty hunting crew, and that means you’ll be going all over space and time to get the job done. Don’t ask me how any of this works. All I know is that pizza heals and bullets kill, and that the Time Reapers — nasty little buggers that seem to be invading every timeline — don’t want this pizza shop owner to make any dough. And that’s not gonna fly. Pizza Bandit’s writing is pretty silly, but that’s part of the charm.“What makes Pizza Bandit unique is that you’re not just shooting stuff. You’re also, well, kinda playing Overcooked. After squading up, my first mission saw my crewheading to the Restaurant from N owhere, a hidden outpost run by another bandit crew. Our job: fulfill the pizza orders for other bounty hunting teams, and send them off in time-traveling rocket pods. That meant putting together the right type of pizza, getting it to the oven, making sure we were getting their drink orders right, and adding some extra bullets for when things got spicy, cramming it all into a pod, and doing it on time while fighting off the Time Reapers, who really, really don’t like supporting small businesses.Pizza Bandit ScreenshotsAnd that’s where the other part of the Overcooked/Gears of War marriage comes into play. See, the Time Reapers mean business, and you’re not going to talk them out of some time reaping. That’s their whole bag. The only solution, fellow bandit, is incredible violence. I’ve played several builds of Pizza Bandit at this point, and let me tell you, your arsenal is up to the task. You start with your choice of assau lt rifle, minigun, and sniper rifle, but the fun really begins when you start unlocking your secondary weapons by completing jobs. They start simple: landmines, grenades, that sort of thing, but once you unlock the disco ball that attracts enemies and gets them dancing before it explodes? Whew, buddy. And the sentry turret? Perfection. You could slice and dice them Time Reapers with a katana, but have you ever considered using a pizza slicer as big as a man? It’ll change your life.And the Time Reapers will force you to use everything in your arsenal. You got your standard guys who will just run at you, but there are also Time Reapers that’ll crawl around on all fours, Terminator-looking ones that will leap at you, giant ones with hammers, guys who throw fireballs, the works. You gotta prioritize.Pizza Bandit is at its best when you’re with a good team, calling out orders. A good match should be shouts of “We need a pepperoni pie!” and “I’m on the Coke!” and “I’m down!” interspersed with lots and lots of gunfire. Simple choices, like when to call down your own, once-a-mission rocket pod full of pizza and supplies, and more complex ones, like where to put it, spice things up, too. And here’s the thing: so far, I’ve just talked about Restaurant from Nowhere, which is only the first level. Pizza Bandit isn’t a one-trick pony. One of my favorite levels has you taking over a sushi joint and making sure you have the right stuff on the delivery turntable for your customers. Sometimes that means running downstairs and grabbing a big ol’ tuna, taking that bad boy upstairs, and chopping him up before the Time Reapers whack you and you drop him. Other times that means frying an egg, or making a cucumber roll. You gotta stay ahead of the curve, because new customers are prioritized over old ones, and the Time Reapers aren’t gonna sit there and wait for you to plate your masterpiece.Sometimes, you’re not even cooking food at all. Another favorite level, Wizard’s Tomb, has you exploring a magically booby-trapped tomb in search of a sarcophagus. You’ll have to navigate the tomb’s traps, solve basic puzzles to reveal the way forward, and take out the arcane heart powering the whole enterprise before getting to the sarcophagus itself, which you’ll naturally transport with jetpacks before booking it back to your ship. It isn’t enough to get any given job done; you gotta get home, too. Just another day in the life of a pizza bandit.Pizza Bandit is always ludicrous, and its inspirations are obvious, but it’s never less than fun.“There are more, of course: in one, you’ll defend a cabin with Dr. Emmert Brownewhile he invents the time travel device that makes your whole business profitable. Winning it all means keeping him warm, satiating his hunger with rabbit or venison, and stopping all those nasty Time Reaperswho are trying to stop time travel from happening. You’d think that the Time Reapers would understand time paradoxes, but I guess not. Can’t reap time if there’s no time to reap, y’all. Or maybe you’ll break into an enormous safe with a laser drill, like you’re roleplaying the opening scene of Michael Mann’s Thief with a drill that’s constantly exploding. That seems safe, right? But hey, apparently there’s a magical cookbook in that vault whose recipes can alter reality, and we’re being paid to get it, exploding drill or not. A Pizza Bandit always gets the job done. And there’s always time to do your best Breaking Bad impersonation and help a couple of guys cook some “magic powder” and hide it inside some chicken. Oh, and you have to kill and cook the chickens. Only fresh, never frozen, baby. Pizza Bandit is always ludicrous, and its inspirations are obvious, but it’s never less than fun.Between missions, it’s back to Pizza Bandit, where you can acquire and upgrade your weapons, decorate Pizza Bandit itself, use the ingredients you find during missions to bake and share a pie for some stat boosts on your next run, or get some spiffy new duds for your bounty hunter. The milk carton backpack is a classic choice, if I do say so myself, but I’m still saving up for one of the cat ones. The things we do for fashion, am I right? Then it’s right back to it. A bandit’s work is never done.Sometimes, you don’t know you want something until you get it. I didn’t know I wanted Pizza Bandit until the first time I played it at PAX two years ago. It was one of those games that generated a lot of word of mouth, but it’s one of those concepts that doesn’t seem like it’ll work until you get a controller in your hands and everything makes sense. I don’t know why we’ve never gotten something like Pizza Bandit before, but once I played it, I knew I wanted more. Pizza heals, bullets kill, and Pizza Bandit rocks. If Jofsoft can stick the landing, we’re in for a tasty slice of New York pie. #pizza #bandit #combines #gears #war
    WWW.IGN.COM
    Pizza Bandit Combines Gears of War and Overcooked for a Tasty Shooter Slice
    You ever wonder who the first person to put peanut butter and chocolate together was? Part of me feels like whoever it was must be loaded; I mean, you’ve combined two already great flavors into something that Reese’s would more or less build a whole brand on. And then part of me thinks it plays out like the hypothetical guy who invented the Chicken McNugget in The Wire. A pat on the back from a big shot, and then it’s back to the basement to figure out a way to make the fries taste better. I don’t know the answer; I hope it's the former. But every now and then, you come across an idea, a combination of things, that’s so good that you wonder how nobody’s ever done it before. And every time my squad and I sprinted back to our time-traveling dropship, stopping only to deal with the Time Reapers that stood in our way, I wondered how the hell nobody had ever said “Hey, what if we combined Overcooked and Gears of War?” pre-Pizza Bandit.Pizza Bandit’s setup is pretty simple. You’re Malik, a former bounty hunter with dreams of being a chef who is pulled back into the bounty game when he’s scammed out of his pizza shop and his former crew needs his help to get out of a jam. Pizza Bandit’s writing is pretty silly, but that’s part of the charm. I can’t get mad when Albert, the android that upgrades your weapons, tells me he doesn’t know how to apologize for what happened to my pizza shop because he’s just an android, or when my pilot waxes nostalgic about how he misses the fog, or when someone utters the odd nonsensical line. It’s too silly, and the whole setup is just there to, well… set up Pizza Bandit’s wackiness.PlaySee, you’re not just any bounty-hunting crew. You’re a time-traveling bounty hunting crew, and that means you’ll be going all over space and time to get the job done. Don’t ask me how any of this works. All I know is that pizza heals and bullets kill, and that the Time Reapers — nasty little buggers that seem to be invading every timeline — don’t want this pizza shop owner to make any dough. And that’s not gonna fly. Pizza Bandit’s writing is pretty silly, but that’s part of the charm.“What makes Pizza Bandit unique is that you’re not just shooting stuff. You’re also, well, kinda playing Overcooked. After squading up, my first mission saw my crew (you can play with up to three friends) heading to the Restaurant from N owhere, a hidden outpost run by another bandit crew. Our job: fulfill the pizza orders for other bounty hunting teams, and send them off in time-traveling rocket pods. That meant putting together the right type of pizza, getting it to the oven, making sure we were getting their drink orders right, and adding some extra bullets for when things got spicy, cramming it all into a pod, and doing it on time while fighting off the Time Reapers, who really, really don’t like supporting small businesses.Pizza Bandit ScreenshotsAnd that’s where the other part of the Overcooked/Gears of War marriage comes into play. See, the Time Reapers mean business, and you’re not going to talk them out of some time reaping. That’s their whole bag. The only solution, fellow bandit, is incredible violence. I’ve played several builds of Pizza Bandit at this point, and let me tell you, your arsenal is up to the task. You start with your choice of assau lt rifle, minigun, and sniper rifle, but the fun really begins when you start unlocking your secondary weapons by completing jobs. They start simple: landmines, grenades, that sort of thing, but once you unlock the disco ball that attracts enemies and gets them dancing before it explodes? Whew, buddy. And the sentry turret? Perfection. You could slice and dice them Time Reapers with a katana, but have you ever considered using a pizza slicer as big as a man? It’ll change your life.And the Time Reapers will force you to use everything in your arsenal. You got your standard guys who will just run at you, but there are also Time Reapers that’ll crawl around on all fours, Terminator-looking ones that will leap at you, giant ones with hammers, guys who throw fireballs (these can really ruin your day), the works. You gotta prioritize.Pizza Bandit is at its best when you’re with a good team, calling out orders. A good match should be shouts of “We need a pepperoni pie!” and “I’m on the Coke!” and “I’m down!” interspersed with lots and lots of gunfire. Simple choices, like when to call down your own, once-a-mission rocket pod full of pizza and supplies, and more complex ones, like where to put it (you can block off a stairway, for instance), spice things up, too. And here’s the thing: so far, I’ve just talked about Restaurant from Nowhere, which is only the first level. Pizza Bandit isn’t a one-trick pony. One of my favorite levels has you taking over a sushi joint and making sure you have the right stuff on the delivery turntable for your customers. Sometimes that means running downstairs and grabbing a big ol’ tuna, taking that bad boy upstairs, and chopping him up before the Time Reapers whack you and you drop him. Other times that means frying an egg, or making a cucumber roll. You gotta stay ahead of the curve, because new customers are prioritized over old ones, and the Time Reapers aren’t gonna sit there and wait for you to plate your masterpiece.Sometimes, you’re not even cooking food at all. Another favorite level, Wizard’s Tomb, has you exploring a magically booby-trapped tomb in search of a sarcophagus. You’ll have to navigate the tomb’s traps, solve basic puzzles to reveal the way forward, and take out the arcane heart powering the whole enterprise before getting to the sarcophagus itself, which you’ll naturally transport with jetpacks before booking it back to your ship. It isn’t enough to get any given job done; you gotta get home, too. Just another day in the life of a pizza bandit.Pizza Bandit is always ludicrous, and its inspirations are obvious, but it’s never less than fun.“There are more, of course: in one, you’ll defend a cabin with Dr. Emmert Browne (Great Scott, Jofsoft, I see what you’re doing here, and I like it!) while he invents the time travel device that makes your whole business profitable. Winning it all means keeping him warm, satiating his hunger with rabbit or venison, and stopping all those nasty Time Reapers (and Wendigos?) who are trying to stop time travel from happening. You’d think that the Time Reapers would understand time paradoxes, but I guess not. Can’t reap time if there’s no time to reap, y’all. Or maybe you’ll break into an enormous safe with a laser drill, like you’re roleplaying the opening scene of Michael Mann’s Thief with a drill that’s constantly exploding. That seems safe, right? But hey, apparently there’s a magical cookbook in that vault whose recipes can alter reality, and we’re being paid to get it, exploding drill or not. A Pizza Bandit always gets the job done. And there’s always time to do your best Breaking Bad impersonation and help a couple of guys cook some “magic powder” and hide it inside some chicken. Oh, and you have to kill and cook the chickens. Only fresh, never frozen, baby. Pizza Bandit is always ludicrous, and its inspirations are obvious, but it’s never less than fun.Between missions, it’s back to Pizza Bandit (your restaurant), where you can acquire and upgrade your weapons, decorate Pizza Bandit itself, use the ingredients you find during missions to bake and share a pie for some stat boosts on your next run, or get some spiffy new duds for your bounty hunter. The milk carton backpack is a classic choice, if I do say so myself, but I’m still saving up for one of the cat ones. The things we do for fashion, am I right? Then it’s right back to it. A bandit’s work is never done.Sometimes, you don’t know you want something until you get it. I didn’t know I wanted Pizza Bandit until the first time I played it at PAX two years ago. It was one of those games that generated a lot of word of mouth, but it’s one of those concepts that doesn’t seem like it’ll work until you get a controller in your hands and everything makes sense. I don’t know why we’ve never gotten something like Pizza Bandit before, but once I played it, I knew I wanted more. Pizza heals, bullets kill, and Pizza Bandit rocks. If Jofsoft can stick the landing, we’re in for a tasty slice of New York pie.
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  • Stranger Things: The First Shadow Teases Season 5 Secrets

    A famous character of the stage once remarked there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. It’s a truism which holds for our world, as well as that of Hawkins, Indiana. Sure, Lucas, Dustin, Eleven, and the rest of the gang might have faced the Demogorgon in the Upside-Down, and the Mind Flayer and Vecna too, but there are so many other horrors the writers have dreamed up for this poor town that no single TV show can contain them.
    These days even Broadway appears to be straining to its technical limit in assisting the effort, as gleaned during the opening prologue of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a new original play written by Kate Trefry, a veteran of Stranger Things’ writers’ room since season 2 and a co-author of the story for First Shadow alongside series creators Matt and Ross Duffer, and The Cursed Child’s Jack Thorne. Their story, like so much else of Stranger Things, also begins with a mind-bending spectacle: an American battleship during World War II vanishing before a live audience’s eyes and being transported into hell. Into the Upside-Down.

    “It’s something that we had been floating around in the writers’ room for a long time in Stranger Things,” Trefry admits with a wry smile a few weeks after The First Shadow’s premiere at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway. “The Philadelphia Experiment is like the Montauk Project and MKUltra, one of those touchstones of American conspiracy theory heavy hitters.”
    First Shadow’s theatrical cold open is indeed informed by the supposed real-life cover up of an American naval ship that is said to have accidentally discovered teleportation, much to the physical and mental horror of its crew. Trefry muses that this old story plays out a little like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, albeit if Mike Teavee’s atoms were reassembled with his brain stuck between a wall. It’s a concept she and the Duffers always wanted to work into the show, and it became the first thing Trefry wrote down when asked to pen the Stranger Things

    “They challenged me to write whatever I want, and they’d figure out how to make it into a play,” Trefry recalls. “So I was like, ‘Okay, let me just throw down this gauntlet.’ I was kind of testing to see what the limits of the stage were, because it seemed so impossible what I wanted to do. But they went crazy for it because it was so audacious.”
    Audacity might be the guiding star for every aspect of The First Shadow. Obviously co-directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Mark immediately warmed to the idea of doing a riff on the Philadelphia Experiment, complete with the familiar silhouette of the Mind Flayer, yet everything about this production is massive, with stars of the production comparing it to doing an Olympic marathon on stage every night. This ranges from the massive ensemble cast of 34 players to a veritable village of costumers, stagehands, techies, and various other crew members always scrambling behind the scenes.
    “Physically, what this show requires of us, does not feel like a normal play,” says Alison Jaye, who stars in the show as a young Joyce Maldonado. “If anything it feels closer to a musical, but even then, like a steroid version of anything you’re seeing on stage.”
    It is in fact one of the most spectacular theatrical experiences this writer has viewed in terms of stagecraft and visual illusion. As writer Trefry surmises, “The images, if they were strong enough, would catch on like a disease. And once everyone was infected, every department couldn’t help but get obsessed with trying to make it work.”
    Yet what might be more impressive is that for as much obvious visual panache as a Stranger Things production must sport, there is a similar narrative ambition at work in First Shadow as well. Not only is the play an original story set in 1950s Hawkins—back before Eleven, Max, and Steve the Babysitter—but it is one suffused with as much emotional pathos and dread as the series. It even centers its narrative on the most monstrous creation from Season 4, if not the whole series: young Henry Creel, the boy who would grow up to be Vecna, played on stage by the now Tony-nominated Louis McCartney.
    “Knowing where the TV show goes, it was fun to conceive a play that is in its heart a tragedy, which is so different tonally from the show,” Trefry says of her Vecna protagonist. It’s a subtle but profound aesthetic detour, and one which invites even the staunchest Stranger Things into the truly unknown. Here the shadows are deep—and perhaps revealing about the still developing season 5.

    At the beginning of The First Shadow’s second act, a young man and woman share a flirtation and daydream anyone who was ever young might recognize: two kids imagining what it would be like to leave their small town and escape to a better life. Most audience members will understand the yearning to be free, but in the show it comes with the bitterest of bittersweet edges. If you’ve watched Stranger Things the TV series, you know the destinies of this would-be couple, a slouching high school cool guy named Hopperand a boundlessly optimistic go-getter they call Joyce. And that future’s a million miles away from their fantasy life in sunny Mexico.

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    Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

    “That scene feels as serious to me and honest in terms of what their love is as anything you see in season 4,” says Joyce performer Jaye of the moment. “A lot of people can connect to the love of your life; a single person following you through the world, or in your head and in your body, never being able to let go of that person, whether or not you’re able to live the story with them.”
    It’s a scene that also was developed in tech only days and weeks before Stranger Things: The First Shadow’s earliest bow in New York City. While the play opened last year in London’s West End, Trefry and directors Martin and Daldry have been tinkering with and perfecting the hitherto unknown backstories of Joyce and Hop ever since, as well as other fan favorite characters like Bob Newbyand Dr. Brenner.
    “We did about a month of workshops in London in November before we came over to America in January,” explains Trefry, “Almost every page has had some tweak to it. We strengthened storylines; we made things better; we cut 20 minutes; it was actually an amazing opportunity to get another crack at it.”
    It heightened the inherent opportunity in The First Shadow which always appealed to Trefry: digging into the lives of the many adult characters in Stranger Things, and perhaps tweak our very understanding of who they are—from an innocent like Bobto the play’s central protagonist: Henry Creel. Despite being the seemingly most irredeemably evil character in the TV series, Henry is introduced here as a scared adolescent haunted by horrible images in his head that he cannot control.
    “His story is very personal to me, being somebody who’s struggled a lot with bad thoughts,” Trefry says. “I have very hardcore OCD, so the life of Henry Creel being inundated with dark imagery is close to my heart.” The playwright admits that when they first developed Vecna for season 4, they imagined him as a “Michael Myers” type. Someone born bad. But she and the Duffers saw the chance to go beyond a bad seed backstory when legendary theater director Daldry first approached about doing a Stranger Things play.

    Hence the stage’s story of young Henry moving to Hawkins with his ill-fated family, and genuinely hoping to start a better life at a new school. In fact, one of the many complex scenes of the play is how the production uses three rotating turntables to introduce an entire cast of ‘50s high school archetypes in the show. It’s a marvel of stagecraft that Bob actor Juan Carlos reveals is so complex that if audiences applaud or laugh too long, or on an odd beat, it can throw the entire watchlike timing off.
    This technical feat can also prove illuminating for the whole Stranger Things universe. For example, we discover that Joyce and Bob knew each other in the drama club, which surprise, surprise, Joyce is the president of.
    “There’s a couple of off the cuff references to Joyce being a communist,” muses Trefrey. “To meshe’s a champion for the underdog. And who other than the theater kids are bigger underdogs?”
    Her Broadway performer certainly thinks it makes sense.
    “Oh my God, I feel like she’s such an obvious theater kid!” Jaye enthuses. “I feel like there is a kind of a cool girl, tough exterior that then underneath it all is like, ‘no, no, no. She is as weird as everybody else.’” It also allows Stranger Things the play to tap into some of the same meta joys of Stranger Things the TV series.
    “I think one of the lovely things about the series is how it pays homage to the movies of the ‘80s,” Carlos acknowledges of the setup. “We’re kind of paying homage to theater in a very similar sense and I think it fits right in.” Whereas the TV show centers on the type of nerd who obsessed over Dungeons & Dragons and Ghostbusters in the ‘80s, it is likely a theatrical audience of young people can relate to a Bob Newby who seems to be at least initially excited about doing Oklahoma! at his school. “Weare kind of outcasts,” Carlos says, “especially in high school and middle school when it’s like, ‘Oh there goes the drama geek.’”

    Or as their writer observes, “A little inside baseball isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
    Hence there are quite a few laughs about a play within a play at Hawkins’ high school. Hopper actor Swanson even ruefully concedes he can relate a bit since like Hawkins, his school put on Oklahoma! back in the day where he played Curly and did “a pretty spot on impersonation of Hugh Jackman’s version.” Yet so much of the humor and pleasure of this side of the play is derived from the familiar characters we think we know in suddenly new contexts.
    “There’s this really beautiful balance that we’re all trying to play in,” Swanson notes. “These characters are so iconic and they’re so beloved by so many that to ignore completely what’s been done before would be, I think, a disservice to the fans and to those who are hoping to see a taste and new version of those people. But at that same exact point, it is a new version…
    Jaye, for instance, drew as much inspiration from watching Winona Ryder in her 1988 breakout film, Heathers, as Stranger Things, citing the unlikely angst of Ryder’s popularhigh schooler in that dark comedy as informative. Nonetheless, the actor believes “the way to do justice to that is to tell the story, be truthful, and people will give you endless flowers for that because they believe you.”
    Ultimately they are trying to get you to believe these characters in a different context that takes on shadings of a ‘50s adventure story, particularly as Hopper, Bob, and Joyce eventually investigate the darker side of the play like a veritable Nancy Drew novel. But no matter the setting, their seemingly innocent adventure still exists in the emotionally mercurial world of Stranger Things.
    Says Swanson, “This sort of Scooby-Doo element of our story in First Shadow, with Bob, Joyce, and Hopper trying to investigate something that they really don’t fully understand and won’t fully understand for 30-plus years, adds to this level of tragedy that Stranger Things does so well—in the most painful, beautiful sense of the word.”

    Going into Stranger Things 5
    When we catch up over Zoom with Trefry, the writer says she is in her “floating” stage after completion of production on an extremely anticipated season of television. She has just come back from checking in with the Duffers in the edit bay for Stranger Things 5.
    In one sense, it’s a million miles away from the 1950s setting she and those same brothers settled on for the play.Nevertheless, the two creative endeavors are interwoven. While the playwright strongly insists First Shadow is intended to stand on its own for newcomers, and is not meant to be a preview of Stranger Things Season 5, overlap becomes inevitable when one realizes it is exploring what Hopper and Joyce might remember of a boy named Henry Creel.
    “It’s interesting because Joyce and Hopper are sequestered all of season 4 in Russia,” Trefry says. “We did talk about what the implication is. If Henry Creel lived in Hawkins during this time, then ostensibly they would have encountered him. But because they were sequestered, it gave us an opportunity to have the teenagersdiscover all of this information and not just have it be told to them by the adults.”
    It also invites tantalizing possibilities for season 5. For instance, might Hopper and Joyce tell Eleven or Will about that kid they knew in their drama club with a strange shine about him? As signaled by the writer’s tight smile toward the question, no one is going to directly answer the question. However, there would appear to be some intersection.
    “Knowing some of the gifts that will go on for the audience in season 5,lines it up perfectly,” Jaye teases. Her co-star Swanson would agree.
    “I really don’t think folks who have come to see the show, and who will see the show, realize how integral and irrevocably linked it is to season 5 and to the show itself,” Swanson says. “We get to plant the seeds that we see starting to sprout and come to fruition within the TV show. And from a sense of season 5, it is my opinion that you will not be able to see season 5 without seeing this show, and I think that when people do see season 5, they’re going to come back to this show in droves because they’re going to realize how laid out it was actually for you.”

    Still, for the play’s writer who has lived with these characters for nearly a decade, and can relate to all her beloved outsiders, from Eleven to the boy who became Vecna, it is about more than lore and all that visual razzle dazzle.
    “The spectacle is amazing,” Trefrey considers, “but selfishly from a personal angle I hope that there is emotional resonance. I have put a lot of emotion into the play, and I hope that that reads past all the incredible illusion work. That there’s a real story at the core of it that people can connect to and feel seen by.”
    Audiences can see for themselves right now at the Marquis Theatre in New York, as well as the Phoenix Theatre in London.
    #stranger #things #first #shadow #teases
    Stranger Things: The First Shadow Teases Season 5 Secrets
    A famous character of the stage once remarked there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. It’s a truism which holds for our world, as well as that of Hawkins, Indiana. Sure, Lucas, Dustin, Eleven, and the rest of the gang might have faced the Demogorgon in the Upside-Down, and the Mind Flayer and Vecna too, but there are so many other horrors the writers have dreamed up for this poor town that no single TV show can contain them. These days even Broadway appears to be straining to its technical limit in assisting the effort, as gleaned during the opening prologue of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a new original play written by Kate Trefry, a veteran of Stranger Things’ writers’ room since season 2 and a co-author of the story for First Shadow alongside series creators Matt and Ross Duffer, and The Cursed Child’s Jack Thorne. Their story, like so much else of Stranger Things, also begins with a mind-bending spectacle: an American battleship during World War II vanishing before a live audience’s eyes and being transported into hell. Into the Upside-Down. “It’s something that we had been floating around in the writers’ room for a long time in Stranger Things,” Trefry admits with a wry smile a few weeks after The First Shadow’s premiere at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway. “The Philadelphia Experiment is like the Montauk Project and MKUltra, one of those touchstones of American conspiracy theory heavy hitters.” First Shadow’s theatrical cold open is indeed informed by the supposed real-life cover up of an American naval ship that is said to have accidentally discovered teleportation, much to the physical and mental horror of its crew. Trefry muses that this old story plays out a little like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, albeit if Mike Teavee’s atoms were reassembled with his brain stuck between a wall. It’s a concept she and the Duffers always wanted to work into the show, and it became the first thing Trefry wrote down when asked to pen the Stranger Things “They challenged me to write whatever I want, and they’d figure out how to make it into a play,” Trefry recalls. “So I was like, ‘Okay, let me just throw down this gauntlet.’ I was kind of testing to see what the limits of the stage were, because it seemed so impossible what I wanted to do. But they went crazy for it because it was so audacious.” Audacity might be the guiding star for every aspect of The First Shadow. Obviously co-directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Mark immediately warmed to the idea of doing a riff on the Philadelphia Experiment, complete with the familiar silhouette of the Mind Flayer, yet everything about this production is massive, with stars of the production comparing it to doing an Olympic marathon on stage every night. This ranges from the massive ensemble cast of 34 players to a veritable village of costumers, stagehands, techies, and various other crew members always scrambling behind the scenes. “Physically, what this show requires of us, does not feel like a normal play,” says Alison Jaye, who stars in the show as a young Joyce Maldonado. “If anything it feels closer to a musical, but even then, like a steroid version of anything you’re seeing on stage.” It is in fact one of the most spectacular theatrical experiences this writer has viewed in terms of stagecraft and visual illusion. As writer Trefry surmises, “The images, if they were strong enough, would catch on like a disease. And once everyone was infected, every department couldn’t help but get obsessed with trying to make it work.” Yet what might be more impressive is that for as much obvious visual panache as a Stranger Things production must sport, there is a similar narrative ambition at work in First Shadow as well. Not only is the play an original story set in 1950s Hawkins—back before Eleven, Max, and Steve the Babysitter—but it is one suffused with as much emotional pathos and dread as the series. It even centers its narrative on the most monstrous creation from Season 4, if not the whole series: young Henry Creel, the boy who would grow up to be Vecna, played on stage by the now Tony-nominated Louis McCartney. “Knowing where the TV show goes, it was fun to conceive a play that is in its heart a tragedy, which is so different tonally from the show,” Trefry says of her Vecna protagonist. It’s a subtle but profound aesthetic detour, and one which invites even the staunchest Stranger Things into the truly unknown. Here the shadows are deep—and perhaps revealing about the still developing season 5. At the beginning of The First Shadow’s second act, a young man and woman share a flirtation and daydream anyone who was ever young might recognize: two kids imagining what it would be like to leave their small town and escape to a better life. Most audience members will understand the yearning to be free, but in the show it comes with the bitterest of bittersweet edges. If you’ve watched Stranger Things the TV series, you know the destinies of this would-be couple, a slouching high school cool guy named Hopperand a boundlessly optimistic go-getter they call Joyce. And that future’s a million miles away from their fantasy life in sunny Mexico. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! “That scene feels as serious to me and honest in terms of what their love is as anything you see in season 4,” says Joyce performer Jaye of the moment. “A lot of people can connect to the love of your life; a single person following you through the world, or in your head and in your body, never being able to let go of that person, whether or not you’re able to live the story with them.” It’s a scene that also was developed in tech only days and weeks before Stranger Things: The First Shadow’s earliest bow in New York City. While the play opened last year in London’s West End, Trefry and directors Martin and Daldry have been tinkering with and perfecting the hitherto unknown backstories of Joyce and Hop ever since, as well as other fan favorite characters like Bob Newbyand Dr. Brenner. “We did about a month of workshops in London in November before we came over to America in January,” explains Trefry, “Almost every page has had some tweak to it. We strengthened storylines; we made things better; we cut 20 minutes; it was actually an amazing opportunity to get another crack at it.” It heightened the inherent opportunity in The First Shadow which always appealed to Trefry: digging into the lives of the many adult characters in Stranger Things, and perhaps tweak our very understanding of who they are—from an innocent like Bobto the play’s central protagonist: Henry Creel. Despite being the seemingly most irredeemably evil character in the TV series, Henry is introduced here as a scared adolescent haunted by horrible images in his head that he cannot control. “His story is very personal to me, being somebody who’s struggled a lot with bad thoughts,” Trefry says. “I have very hardcore OCD, so the life of Henry Creel being inundated with dark imagery is close to my heart.” The playwright admits that when they first developed Vecna for season 4, they imagined him as a “Michael Myers” type. Someone born bad. But she and the Duffers saw the chance to go beyond a bad seed backstory when legendary theater director Daldry first approached about doing a Stranger Things play. Hence the stage’s story of young Henry moving to Hawkins with his ill-fated family, and genuinely hoping to start a better life at a new school. In fact, one of the many complex scenes of the play is how the production uses three rotating turntables to introduce an entire cast of ‘50s high school archetypes in the show. It’s a marvel of stagecraft that Bob actor Juan Carlos reveals is so complex that if audiences applaud or laugh too long, or on an odd beat, it can throw the entire watchlike timing off. This technical feat can also prove illuminating for the whole Stranger Things universe. For example, we discover that Joyce and Bob knew each other in the drama club, which surprise, surprise, Joyce is the president of. “There’s a couple of off the cuff references to Joyce being a communist,” muses Trefrey. “To meshe’s a champion for the underdog. And who other than the theater kids are bigger underdogs?” Her Broadway performer certainly thinks it makes sense. “Oh my God, I feel like she’s such an obvious theater kid!” Jaye enthuses. “I feel like there is a kind of a cool girl, tough exterior that then underneath it all is like, ‘no, no, no. She is as weird as everybody else.’” It also allows Stranger Things the play to tap into some of the same meta joys of Stranger Things the TV series. “I think one of the lovely things about the series is how it pays homage to the movies of the ‘80s,” Carlos acknowledges of the setup. “We’re kind of paying homage to theater in a very similar sense and I think it fits right in.” Whereas the TV show centers on the type of nerd who obsessed over Dungeons & Dragons and Ghostbusters in the ‘80s, it is likely a theatrical audience of young people can relate to a Bob Newby who seems to be at least initially excited about doing Oklahoma! at his school. “Weare kind of outcasts,” Carlos says, “especially in high school and middle school when it’s like, ‘Oh there goes the drama geek.’” Or as their writer observes, “A little inside baseball isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” Hence there are quite a few laughs about a play within a play at Hawkins’ high school. Hopper actor Swanson even ruefully concedes he can relate a bit since like Hawkins, his school put on Oklahoma! back in the day where he played Curly and did “a pretty spot on impersonation of Hugh Jackman’s version.” Yet so much of the humor and pleasure of this side of the play is derived from the familiar characters we think we know in suddenly new contexts. “There’s this really beautiful balance that we’re all trying to play in,” Swanson notes. “These characters are so iconic and they’re so beloved by so many that to ignore completely what’s been done before would be, I think, a disservice to the fans and to those who are hoping to see a taste and new version of those people. But at that same exact point, it is a new version… Jaye, for instance, drew as much inspiration from watching Winona Ryder in her 1988 breakout film, Heathers, as Stranger Things, citing the unlikely angst of Ryder’s popularhigh schooler in that dark comedy as informative. Nonetheless, the actor believes “the way to do justice to that is to tell the story, be truthful, and people will give you endless flowers for that because they believe you.” Ultimately they are trying to get you to believe these characters in a different context that takes on shadings of a ‘50s adventure story, particularly as Hopper, Bob, and Joyce eventually investigate the darker side of the play like a veritable Nancy Drew novel. But no matter the setting, their seemingly innocent adventure still exists in the emotionally mercurial world of Stranger Things. Says Swanson, “This sort of Scooby-Doo element of our story in First Shadow, with Bob, Joyce, and Hopper trying to investigate something that they really don’t fully understand and won’t fully understand for 30-plus years, adds to this level of tragedy that Stranger Things does so well—in the most painful, beautiful sense of the word.” Going into Stranger Things 5 When we catch up over Zoom with Trefry, the writer says she is in her “floating” stage after completion of production on an extremely anticipated season of television. She has just come back from checking in with the Duffers in the edit bay for Stranger Things 5. In one sense, it’s a million miles away from the 1950s setting she and those same brothers settled on for the play.Nevertheless, the two creative endeavors are interwoven. While the playwright strongly insists First Shadow is intended to stand on its own for newcomers, and is not meant to be a preview of Stranger Things Season 5, overlap becomes inevitable when one realizes it is exploring what Hopper and Joyce might remember of a boy named Henry Creel. “It’s interesting because Joyce and Hopper are sequestered all of season 4 in Russia,” Trefry says. “We did talk about what the implication is. If Henry Creel lived in Hawkins during this time, then ostensibly they would have encountered him. But because they were sequestered, it gave us an opportunity to have the teenagersdiscover all of this information and not just have it be told to them by the adults.” It also invites tantalizing possibilities for season 5. For instance, might Hopper and Joyce tell Eleven or Will about that kid they knew in their drama club with a strange shine about him? As signaled by the writer’s tight smile toward the question, no one is going to directly answer the question. However, there would appear to be some intersection. “Knowing some of the gifts that will go on for the audience in season 5,lines it up perfectly,” Jaye teases. Her co-star Swanson would agree. “I really don’t think folks who have come to see the show, and who will see the show, realize how integral and irrevocably linked it is to season 5 and to the show itself,” Swanson says. “We get to plant the seeds that we see starting to sprout and come to fruition within the TV show. And from a sense of season 5, it is my opinion that you will not be able to see season 5 without seeing this show, and I think that when people do see season 5, they’re going to come back to this show in droves because they’re going to realize how laid out it was actually for you.” Still, for the play’s writer who has lived with these characters for nearly a decade, and can relate to all her beloved outsiders, from Eleven to the boy who became Vecna, it is about more than lore and all that visual razzle dazzle. “The spectacle is amazing,” Trefrey considers, “but selfishly from a personal angle I hope that there is emotional resonance. I have put a lot of emotion into the play, and I hope that that reads past all the incredible illusion work. That there’s a real story at the core of it that people can connect to and feel seen by.” Audiences can see for themselves right now at the Marquis Theatre in New York, as well as the Phoenix Theatre in London. #stranger #things #first #shadow #teases
    WWW.DENOFGEEK.COM
    Stranger Things: The First Shadow Teases Season 5 Secrets
    A famous character of the stage once remarked there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. It’s a truism which holds for our world, as well as that of Hawkins, Indiana. Sure, Lucas, Dustin, Eleven, and the rest of the gang might have faced the Demogorgon in the Upside-Down, and the Mind Flayer and Vecna too, but there are so many other horrors the writers have dreamed up for this poor town that no single TV show can contain them. These days even Broadway appears to be straining to its technical limit in assisting the effort, as gleaned during the opening prologue of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a new original play written by Kate Trefry, a veteran of Stranger Things’ writers’ room since season 2 and a co-author of the story for First Shadow alongside series creators Matt and Ross Duffer, and The Cursed Child’s Jack Thorne. Their story, like so much else of Stranger Things, also begins with a mind-bending spectacle: an American battleship during World War II vanishing before a live audience’s eyes and being transported into hell. Into the Upside-Down. “It’s something that we had been floating around in the writers’ room for a long time in Stranger Things,” Trefry admits with a wry smile a few weeks after The First Shadow’s premiere at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway. “The Philadelphia Experiment is like the Montauk Project and MKUltra, one of those touchstones of American conspiracy theory heavy hitters.” First Shadow’s theatrical cold open is indeed informed by the supposed real-life cover up of an American naval ship that is said to have accidentally discovered teleportation, much to the physical and mental horror of its crew. Trefry muses that this old story plays out a little like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, albeit if Mike Teavee’s atoms were reassembled with his brain stuck between a wall. It’s a concept she and the Duffers always wanted to work into the show, and it became the first thing Trefry wrote down when asked to pen the Stranger Things “They challenged me to write whatever I want, and they’d figure out how to make it into a play,” Trefry recalls. “So I was like, ‘Okay, let me just throw down this gauntlet.’ I was kind of testing to see what the limits of the stage were, because it seemed so impossible what I wanted to do. But they went crazy for it because it was so audacious.” Audacity might be the guiding star for every aspect of The First Shadow. Obviously co-directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Mark immediately warmed to the idea of doing a riff on the Philadelphia Experiment, complete with the familiar silhouette of the Mind Flayer, yet everything about this production is massive, with stars of the production comparing it to doing an Olympic marathon on stage every night. This ranges from the massive ensemble cast of 34 players to a veritable village of costumers, stagehands, techies, and various other crew members always scrambling behind the scenes. “Physically, what this show requires of us, does not feel like a normal play,” says Alison Jaye, who stars in the show as a young Joyce Maldonado (later Byers). “If anything it feels closer to a musical, but even then, like a steroid version of anything you’re seeing on stage.” It is in fact one of the most spectacular theatrical experiences this writer has viewed in terms of stagecraft and visual illusion. As writer Trefry surmises, “The images, if they were strong enough, would catch on like a disease. And once everyone was infected, every department couldn’t help but get obsessed with trying to make it work.” Yet what might be more impressive is that for as much obvious visual panache as a Stranger Things production must sport, there is a similar narrative ambition at work in First Shadow as well. Not only is the play an original story set in 1950s Hawkins—back before Eleven, Max, and Steve the Babysitter—but it is one suffused with as much emotional pathos and dread as the series. It even centers its narrative on the most monstrous creation from Season 4, if not the whole series: young Henry Creel, the boy who would grow up to be Vecna, played on stage by the now Tony-nominated Louis McCartney. “Knowing where the TV show goes, it was fun to conceive a play that is in its heart a tragedy, which is so different tonally from the show,” Trefry says of her Vecna protagonist. It’s a subtle but profound aesthetic detour, and one which invites even the staunchest Stranger Things into the truly unknown. Here the shadows are deep—and perhaps revealing about the still developing season 5. At the beginning of The First Shadow’s second act, a young man and woman share a flirtation and daydream anyone who was ever young might recognize: two kids imagining what it would be like to leave their small town and escape to a better life. Most audience members will understand the yearning to be free, but in the show it comes with the bitterest of bittersweet edges. If you’ve watched Stranger Things the TV series, you know the destinies of this would-be couple, a slouching high school cool guy named Hopper (Burke Swanson) and a boundlessly optimistic go-getter they call Joyce. And that future’s a million miles away from their fantasy life in sunny Mexico. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! “That scene feels as serious to me and honest in terms of what their love is as anything you see in season 4,” says Joyce performer Jaye of the moment. “A lot of people can connect to the love of your life; a single person following you through the world, or in your head and in your body, never being able to let go of that person, whether or not you’re able to live the story with them.” It’s a scene that also was developed in tech only days and weeks before Stranger Things: The First Shadow’s earliest bow in New York City. While the play opened last year in London’s West End, Trefry and directors Martin and Daldry have been tinkering with and perfecting the hitherto unknown backstories of Joyce and Hop ever since, as well as other fan favorite characters like Bob Newby (Juan Carlos) and Dr. Brenner (Alex Breaux). “We did about a month of workshops in London in November before we came over to America in January,” explains Trefry, “Almost every page has had some tweak to it. We strengthened storylines; we made things better; we cut 20 minutes; it was actually an amazing opportunity to get another crack at it.” It heightened the inherent opportunity in The First Shadow which always appealed to Trefry: digging into the lives of the many adult characters in Stranger Things, and perhaps tweak our very understanding of who they are—from an innocent like Bob (Sean Astin’s character from season 2 who Trefry half-jokes “we did pretty dirty”) to the play’s central protagonist: Henry Creel. Despite being the seemingly most irredeemably evil character in the TV series (#JusticeForMax), Henry is introduced here as a scared adolescent haunted by horrible images in his head that he cannot control. “His story is very personal to me, being somebody who’s struggled a lot with bad thoughts,” Trefry says. “I have very hardcore OCD, so the life of Henry Creel being inundated with dark imagery is close to my heart.” The playwright admits that when they first developed Vecna for season 4, they imagined him as a “Michael Myers” type. Someone born bad. But she and the Duffers saw the chance to go beyond a bad seed backstory when legendary theater director Daldry first approached about doing a Stranger Things play. Hence the stage’s story of young Henry moving to Hawkins with his ill-fated family, and genuinely hoping to start a better life at a new school. In fact, one of the many complex scenes of the play is how the production uses three rotating turntables to introduce an entire cast of ‘50s high school archetypes in the show. It’s a marvel of stagecraft that Bob actor Juan Carlos reveals is so complex that if audiences applaud or laugh too long, or on an odd beat, it can throw the entire watchlike timing off. This technical feat can also prove illuminating for the whole Stranger Things universe. For example, we discover that Joyce and Bob knew each other in the drama club, which surprise, surprise, Joyce is the president of. “There’s a couple of off the cuff references to Joyce being a communist [in the TV series],” muses Trefrey. “To me [that means] she’s a champion for the underdog. And who other than the theater kids are bigger underdogs?” Her Broadway performer certainly thinks it makes sense. “Oh my God, I feel like she’s such an obvious theater kid!” Jaye enthuses. “I feel like there is a kind of a cool girl, tough exterior that then underneath it all is like, ‘no, no, no. She is as weird as everybody else.’” It also allows Stranger Things the play to tap into some of the same meta joys of Stranger Things the TV series. “I think one of the lovely things about the series is how it pays homage to the movies of the ‘80s,” Carlos acknowledges of the setup. “We’re kind of paying homage to theater in a very similar sense and I think it fits right in.” Whereas the TV show centers on the type of nerd who obsessed over Dungeons & Dragons and Ghostbusters in the ‘80s, it is likely a theatrical audience of young people can relate to a Bob Newby who seems to be at least initially excited about doing Oklahoma! at his school. “We [theater kids] are kind of outcasts,” Carlos says, “especially in high school and middle school when it’s like, ‘Oh there goes the drama geek.’” Or as their writer observes, “A little inside baseball isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” Hence there are quite a few laughs about a play within a play at Hawkins’ high school. Hopper actor Swanson even ruefully concedes he can relate a bit since like Hawkins, his school put on Oklahoma! back in the day where he played Curly and did “a pretty spot on impersonation of Hugh Jackman’s version.” Yet so much of the humor and pleasure of this side of the play is derived from the familiar characters we think we know in suddenly new contexts. “There’s this really beautiful balance that we’re all trying to play in,” Swanson notes. “These characters are so iconic and they’re so beloved by so many that to ignore completely what’s been done before would be, I think, a disservice to the fans and to those who are hoping to see a taste and new version of those people. But at that same exact point, it is a new version… Jaye, for instance, drew as much inspiration from watching Winona Ryder in her 1988 breakout film, Heathers, as Stranger Things, citing the unlikely angst of Ryder’s popular (and arguably murderous) high schooler in that dark comedy as informative. Nonetheless, the actor believes “the way to do justice to that is to tell the story, be truthful, and people will give you endless flowers for that because they believe you.” Ultimately they are trying to get you to believe these characters in a different context that takes on shadings of a ‘50s adventure story, particularly as Hopper, Bob, and Joyce eventually investigate the darker side of the play like a veritable Nancy Drew novel. But no matter the setting, their seemingly innocent adventure still exists in the emotionally mercurial world of Stranger Things. Says Swanson, “This sort of Scooby-Doo element of our story in First Shadow, with Bob, Joyce, and Hopper trying to investigate something that they really don’t fully understand and won’t fully understand for 30-plus years, adds to this level of tragedy that Stranger Things does so well—in the most painful, beautiful sense of the word.” Going into Stranger Things 5 When we catch up over Zoom with Trefry, the writer says she is in her “floating” stage after completion of production on an extremely anticipated season of television. She has just come back from checking in with the Duffers in the edit bay for Stranger Things 5. In one sense, it’s a million miles away from the 1950s setting she and those same brothers settled on for the play. (Mind you, one reason the setting worked in Trefry’s mind is that, like the 1980s, the ‘50s were hotbed for science fiction cinema and literature, plus the cynical paranoia that breeds conspiracy theories.) Nevertheless, the two creative endeavors are interwoven. While the playwright strongly insists First Shadow is intended to stand on its own for newcomers, and is not meant to be a preview of Stranger Things Season 5, overlap becomes inevitable when one realizes it is exploring what Hopper and Joyce might remember of a boy named Henry Creel. “It’s interesting because Joyce and Hopper are sequestered all of season 4 in Russia,” Trefry says. “We did talk about what the implication is. If Henry Creel lived in Hawkins during this time, then ostensibly they would have encountered him. But because they were sequestered, it gave us an opportunity to have the teenagers [of the TV show] discover all of this information and not just have it be told to them by the adults.” It also invites tantalizing possibilities for season 5. For instance, might Hopper and Joyce tell Eleven or Will about that kid they knew in their drama club with a strange shine about him? As signaled by the writer’s tight smile toward the question, no one is going to directly answer the question. However, there would appear to be some intersection. “Knowing some of the gifts that will go on for the audience in season 5, [Trefry] lines it up perfectly,” Jaye teases. Her co-star Swanson would agree. “I really don’t think folks who have come to see the show, and who will see the show, realize how integral and irrevocably linked it is to season 5 and to the show itself,” Swanson says. “We get to plant the seeds that we see starting to sprout and come to fruition within the TV show. And from a sense of season 5, it is my opinion that you will not be able to see season 5 without seeing this show, and I think that when people do see season 5, they’re going to come back to this show in droves because they’re going to realize how laid out it was actually for you.” Still, for the play’s writer who has lived with these characters for nearly a decade, and can relate to all her beloved outsiders, from Eleven to the boy who became Vecna, it is about more than lore and all that visual razzle dazzle. “The spectacle is amazing,” Trefrey considers, “but selfishly from a personal angle I hope that there is emotional resonance. I have put a lot of emotion into the play, and I hope that that reads past all the incredible illusion work. That there’s a real story at the core of it that people can connect to and feel seen by.” Audiences can see for themselves right now at the Marquis Theatre in New York, as well as the Phoenix Theatre in London.
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  • WiiM Intros Sonos-Killing Smart Speaker and Apple and Google Get More Accessible—Gear News of the Week

    Plus: Nothing confirms over-ear headphones, there’s a new Xperia phone, and a striking transparent turntable from Audio-Technica catches our eye.
    #wiim #intros #sonoskilling #smart #speaker
    WiiM Intros Sonos-Killing Smart Speaker and Apple and Google Get More Accessible—Gear News of the Week
    Plus: Nothing confirms over-ear headphones, there’s a new Xperia phone, and a striking transparent turntable from Audio-Technica catches our eye. #wiim #intros #sonoskilling #smart #speaker
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    WiiM Intros Sonos-Killing Smart Speaker and Apple and Google Get More Accessible—Gear News of the Week
    Plus: Nothing confirms over-ear headphones, there’s a new Xperia phone, and a striking transparent turntable from Audio-Technica catches our eye.
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