In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part. Usually, when the understudy takes over, the theater manager will make the announcement prior to the start of the performance.

In the opera world, the term cover or covering is used.

More recently, the term "understudy" has generally only been applied to performers who will cover a part, but still regularly perform in another role within the show; usually a minor, extra role.

Similar tasks[link]

Performers who are only committed to covering a part and do not regularly appear in the show are often referred to as standbys. Standbys are normally required to sign-in and remain at the theater the same as other cast members, although sometimes they may call in, until they are released by the Production Stage Manager. If there is no doubt about the health of the actor being "covered," or there are no hazardous stunts to be performed, a standby may be released at the first intermission if not before. At times, standbys are required to stay within a certain area around the theater (10 blocks in New York City is a common standard). The standby must also have a cell phone so that at any time they can be called to the theater.

The term is also regularly applied in association football, most often to describe a second choice goalkeeper whose appearances are limited to when the regular first choice player is absent through injury or suspension. A notable example is Chris Woods as long term understudy to Peter Shilton for the England national football team.

In musical theater, the term swing is often used to refer to a member of the company who understudies several chorus and/or dancing roles. If an understudy fills in for a lead role, a swing will act the parts normally performed by the understudy. A super swing is a swing who may commute around the country as needed to act in various productions of a widespread show.

In contrast, a prompt cues an actor while not personally being on the stage or in the spotlight.

Multiple understudies[link]

In some instances, a lead role will be covered by multiple understudies. The second understudy will only perform if both the principal actor and the first understudy are unable to perform.

Notable examples[link]

Several actors made their name in show business by being the understudy of a leading actor and taking the role over for several performances, including: Anthony Hopkins for Laurence Olivier, when Olivier became ill with cancer during the run of the National Theater's ''The Dance of Death'', 1967; Ted Neeley for Jeff Fenholt during the 1971 Broadway run of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' when Neeley was asked to star in the 1973 film version and subsequent tours; and more Edward Bennett for David Tennant as Hamlet in the RSC's 2008 production.

References[link]

Category:Acting

de:Einspringer he:שחקן מחליף nl:Understudy simple:Understudy

name	Julie White
birth date	June 04, 1961
birth place	San Diego, California, U.S.
occupation	Actress
yearsactive	1991–present }}

Julie White (born June 4, 1961) is an American actress. She is known for her role in ''Grace Under Fire'' and for her role as Judy Witwicky in the ''Transformers'' film series.

Personal life[link]

White was born in the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, California, the daughter of Sue Jane, a therapist, and Edwin White, a dentist. White and her family moved to Austin, Texas, to take up ranching when she was three years old. She started acting in local plays and became a semi-professional at 16. While she was playing the lead role in the musical, ''The Baker's Wife'', the show's authors encouraged her to take her talent to New York City. After graduating from high school, she followed their advice, enrolling as a history major at Fordham University.

Career[link]

White has been a prolific stage actress, getting her start in regional theatre. Her theater credits include roles in ''Absurd Person Singular'', ''Money and Friends'', ''Marvin's Room'', ''Largo Desolato'' and ''On the Verge''. White made her off-Broadway debut as the lead in ''Lucky Stiff''. Her other off-Broadway credits include ''The Stick Wife'', ''Early One Evening'', ''Just Say No'', ''Over Texas'', and a starring role in ''Spike Heels'' with Kevin Bacon and Tony Goldwyn. White also appeared in a one-woman show, Theresa Rebeck's ''Bad Dates'', written especially for her.

On Broadway, White appeared in a production of Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, ''The Heidi Chronicles''. In 2006, she appeared in ''The Little Dog Laughed'' by Douglas Carter Beane, playing Diane, a screen agent, who, as one critic put it, is "a Mephistopheles in Manolos". The show, originally produced off-Broadway, transferred to Broadway with a new cast, including former ''Grace Under Fire'' costar Tom Everett Scott. She won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her performance, over fellow nominees Angela Lansbury, Vanessa Redgrave, Swoosie Kurtz and Eve Best.

White played Nadine, the quirky neighbor on ''Grace Under Fire''. White joined the show when it launched in 1993 and appeared in the first four seasons. However, she did not appear in the show's final season. Her departure was attributed to conflict with the show's troubled star, Brett Butler.

White has subsequently made several guest appearances on HBO's ''Six Feet Under'' as Mitzi Dalton-Huntley and on NBC's ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' as Dr. Anne Morella. White also appeared on ''Desperate Housewives'' as Amanda in the Season Two finale but chose to turn down a recurring role when she was offered the role in ''The Little Dog Laughed''. She plays Judy Witwicky, mother of the main human character Sam Witwicky, in ''Transformers'' and its sequels, ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''. White appeared in the ABC sitcom ''Cavemen'' in 2007.

In 2008, White received a Drama Desk Award nomination for her role in the play ''From Up Here''. In 2009, she appeared in the HBO original movie ''Taking Chance'' starring Kevin Bacon. She also lent her voice to the 2009 computer-animated film ''Monsters vs. Aliens''.

White has served several times as a guest judge on the reality TV series ''Iron Chef America''.

Filmography[link]

''The Heidi Chronicles'' ''Flypaper'' ''Grace Under Fire (TV series) ''Arli$$'' ''Touched by an Angel'' ''What Women Want'' ''Strong Medicine'' ''JAG (TV series) ''Thieves'' ''Say It Isn't So (film) ''Nathan's Choice'' ''Six Feet Under (TV series) ''Slap Her... She's French'' '' Whoopi'' ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' ''Rescue Me (TV series) ''Sunday on the Rocks'' ''War of the Worlds'' ''The Astronaut Farmer'' ''Desperate Housewives'' ''Michael Clayton'' ''The Nanny Diaries (film) ''Transformers (film) ''Cavemen'' ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' ''Breaking Upwards'' ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' ''Taking Chance'' ''Funny in Farsi'' ''Language of a Broken Heart'' ''Morning'' ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''

Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1991–1992	''Law & Order''	Sandy
1995	|	Fran
1997	|	Cindy
1993–1997	Grace Under Fire''||	Nadine Swoboda	97 episodes
1998	|	N/A	1 episode
1999	|	Molly Avery	1 episode
2000	|	N/A	Unconfirmed
2000	|	Caitlin Crawford	1 episode
2000	JAG''||	Det. Wanda Schilling	1 episode
2001	|	Barb Lieser	1 episode
2001	Say It Isn't So''||	Ruthie Falwell
2001	|	Marcia
2001	Six Feet Under''||	Mitzi Dalton Huntley	4 episodes
2002	|	Bootsie Grady
2003	|	Press Secretary	1 episode
2003	|	Dr. Anne Morella	5 episodes, 2003–2007
2004	Rescue Me''||	Dr. Goldberg	1 episode
2004	|	Elly
2005	|	Woman
2006	|	Beth Goode
2006	|	Amanda	2 episodes
2007	|	Mrs. Greer
2007	The Nanny Diaries''||	Jane Gould
2007	Transformers''||	Judy Witwicky
2007	|	Leslie	7 episodes
2009	|	Judy Witwicky
2009	|	Joanie
2009	|	Wendy Murphy	Voice
2009	|	Colonel Karen Bell
2010	|	Candace Smiley	1 episode
2010	|	Mimi
2010	|	Mary
2011	|	Judy Witwicky

References[link]

External links[link]

Leading Ladies, Working in the Theatre video from American Theatre Wing, December 2006

BroadwayWorld Article: "Julie White to Star in 'From Up Here' at MTC"

Category:1961 births Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from Texas Category:American film actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Fordham University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Austin, Texas Category:People from San Diego, California Category:Tony Award winners

de:Julie White es:Julie White fr:Julie White it:Julie White nl:Julie White pt:Julie White

name	Joseph-Michel Montgolfier
birth date	August 26, 1740
birth place	Annonay, Ardèche, France
death date	June 26, 1810
death place	Balaruc-les-Bains, France
occupation	inventor
spouse	None
signature	}}

name	Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier
birth date	January 06, 1745
birth place	Annonay, Ardèche, France
death date	August 02, 1799
death place	Neuchâtel, Switzerland
occupation	inventor
signature	}}

Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) were the inventors of the ''montgolfière''-style hot air balloon, ''globe aérostatique''. The brothers succeeded in launching the first manned ascent, carrying Étienne into the sky. Later, in December 1783, in recognition of their achievement, their father Pierre was elevated to the nobility and the hereditary appellation of de Montgolfier by King Louis XVI of France.

Early years[link]

The brothers were born into a family of paper manufacturers in Annonay, in Ardèche, France. Their parents were Pierre Montgolfier (1700–1793) and his wife, Anne Duret (1701–1760), who had sixteen children. Pierre established his eldest son, Raymond Montgolfier, later Raymond de Montgolfier (1730–1772), as his successor.

Joseph, the 12th child, possessed a typical inventor's temperament—a maverick and dreamer, and impractical in terms of business and personal affairs. Étienne had a much more even and businesslike temperament. As the 15th child, and particularly troublesome to his elder siblings, he was sent to Paris to train as an architect. However, after the sudden and unexpected death of Raymond in 1772, he was recalled to Annonay to run the family business. In the subsequent 10 years, Étienne applied his talent for technical innovation to the family business; paper making was a high-tech industry in the 18th century. He succeeded in incorporating the latest Dutch innovations of the day into the family mills. His work led to recognition by the government of France as well as the awarding of a government grant to establish the Montgolfier factory as a model for other French paper makers.

Early experiments[link]

Of the two brothers, it was Joseph who first contemplated building machines. Gillispie puts it as early as 1777 when Joseph observed laundry drying over a fire incidentally form pockets that billowed upwards. Joseph made his first definitive experiments in November 1782 while living in the city of Avignon. He reported, some years later, that he was watching a fire one evening while contemplating one of the great military issues of the day—an assault on the fortress of Gibraltar, which had proved impregnable from both sea and land. Joseph mused on the possibility of an air assault using troops lifted by the same force that was lifting the embers from the fire. He believed that contained within the smoke was a special gas, which he called Montgolfier Gas, with a special property he called levity.

As a result of these musings, Joseph set about building a box-like chamber 1×1×1.3 m (3 ft by by 4 ft) out of very thin wood and covering the sides and top with lightweight taffeta cloth. He crumpled and lit some paper under the bottom of the box. The contraption quickly lifted off its stand and collided with the ceiling. Joseph then recruited his brother to balloon building by writing the prophetic words, "Get in a supply of taffeta and of cordage, quickly, and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the world." The two brothers then set about building a similar device, scaled up by three (so 27 times greater in volume). The lifting force was so great that they lost control of their craft on its very first test flight on 14 December 1782. The device floated nearly two kilometers (about 1.2 mi). It was destroyed after landing by the "indiscretion" of passersby.

Public demonstrations[link]

The brothers decided to make a public demonstration of a balloon in order to establish their claim to its invention. They constructed a globe-shaped balloon of sackcloth with three thin layers of paper inside. The envelope could contain nearly 790 m³ (28,000 cubic feet) of air and weighed 225 kg (500 lb). It was constructed of four pieces (the dome and three lateral bands) and held together by 1,800 buttons. A reinforcing fish net of cord covered the outside of the envelope.

On 4 June 1783, they flew this craft as their first public demonstration at Annonay in front of a group of dignitaries from the ''États particuliers''. Its flight covered 2 km (1.2 mi), lasted 10 minutes, and had an estimated altitude of 1,600-2,000 m (5,200-6,600 ft). Word of their success quickly reached Paris. Étienne went to the capital to make further demonstrations and to solidify the brothers' claim to the invention of flight. Joseph, given his unkempt appearance and shyness, remained with the family. Étienne was ''the epitome of sober virtues ... modest in clothes and manner...''

In collaboration with the successful wallpaper manufacturer Jean-Baptiste Réveillon, Étienne constructed a envelope of taffeta coated with a varnish of alum (which has fireproofing properties). The balloon was sky blue and decorated with golden flourishes, signs of the zodiac, and suns. The design showed the intervention of Réveillon. The next test was on the 11th of September from the grounds of ''la Folie Titon'', close to Réveillon's house. There was some concern about the effects of flight into the upper atmosphere on living creatures. The king proposed to launch two criminals, but it is most likely that the inventors decided to send a sheep, a duck, and a rooster aloft first.

On 19 September 1783, the ''Aérostat Réveillon'' was flown with the first living beings in a basket attached to the balloon: a sheep called Montauciel ("Climb-to-the-sky"), a duck and a rooster. The sheep was believed to have a reasonable approximation of human physiology. The duck was expected to be unharmed by being lifted aloft. It was included as a control for effects created by the aircraft rather than the altitude. The rooster was included as a further control as it was a bird that did not fly at high altitudes. This demonstration was performed before a crowd at the royal palace in Versailles, before King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. The flight lasted approximately eight minutes, covered two miles (3 km), and obtained an altitude of about . The craft landed safely after flying.

Manned flight[link]

With the successful demonstration at Versailles, and again in collaboration with Réveillon, Étienne started construction of a balloon for the purpose of making flights with humans. The balloon was about seventy-five feet tall and about fifty feet in diameter. It had rich decorative touches supplied by Réveillon. The color scheme was gold figures on a deep blue background. Fleur-de-lis, signs of the zodiac, and suns with Louis XVI's face in the center interlaced with the royal monogram in the central section graced the majestic machine. Red and blue drapery and golden eagles were at the base of the balloon. It is fitting that Étienne Montgolfier was the first human to lift off the earth, making at least one tethered flight from the yard of the Réveillon workshop in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. It was most likely on October 15, 1783. A little while later on that same day, Pilâtre de Rozier became the second to ascend into the air, to an altitude of , which was the length of the tether. On 21 November 1783, the first free flight by humans was made by Pilâtre, together with an army officer, the marquis d'Arlandes. The flight began from the grounds of the Château de la Muette (close to the Bois de Boulogne (park)) in the western outskirts of Paris. They flew aloft about above Paris for a distance of nine kilometres. After 25 minutes, the machine landed between the windmills, outside the city ramparts, on the Butte-aux-Cailles. Enough fuel remained on board at the end of the flight to have allowed the balloon to fly four to five times as far. However, burning embers from the fire were scorching the balloon fabric and had to be daubed out with sponges. As it appeared it could destroy the balloon, Pilâtre took off his coat to stop the fire.

The early flights made a sensation. Numerous engravings commemorated the events. Chairs were designed with balloon backs, and mantel clocks were produced in enamel and gilt-bronze replicas set with a dial in the balloon. One could buy crockery decorated with naive pictures of balloons.

Following launches[link]

In 1766, the British scientist Henry Cavendish had discovered hydrogen, by adding sulphuric acid to iron, tin, or zinc shavings. The development of gas balloons proceeded almost in parallel with the work of the Montgolfiers. This work was led by Jacques Charles and ''les Frères Robert'' (Anne-Jean Robert, and Nicolas-Louis Robert). On 27 August 1783, their hydrogen balloon was launched from the Champ de Mars in Paris. Six thousand people paid for a seat. On 1 December Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert flew ''La Charlière'', the first manned hydrogen balloon, for 2 hours 5 minutes and covered 36 km. Jacques Charles immediately flew again, alone, and ascended to 3,000 metres.

Work on each type of balloon was spurred on by the knowledge that there was a competing group and alternative technology. For a variety of reasons, including the fact that the French government chose to put a proponent of hydrogen in charge of balloon development, interest in hot air balloons was largely superseded by gas balloons over the following decades.

Hydrogen balloons were used for all subsequent major ballooning accomplishments, such as the crossing of the English Channel on 7 January 1785 by the Franco-American aviators Jean-Pierre Blanchard and Dr. John Jeffries. In recent times many aviation endurance records have been achieved by hybrid balloon designs such as the Rozière Balloon; which combine the altitude control of hot air balloons with the permanent buoyancy of lifting gases.

Competing claims[link]

Some claim that the hot air balloon was invented some 74 years earlier by the Brazilian Portuguese priest Bartolomeu de Gusmão. A description of his invention was published in 1709 in Vienna, and another one that was lost was found in the Vatican in about 1917. However, this claim is not generally recognized by aviation historians outside the Portuguese-speaking community, in particular the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

The Montgolfier company[link]

The Montgolfier Company still exists in Annonay (Ardèche, France). In 1799, Etienne de Montgolfier died. His son-in-law, Barthélémy Barou de la Lombardière de Canson (1774–1859), succeeded him as the head of the company, thanks to his marriage with Alexandrine de Montgolfier. The company became "Montgolfier et Canson" in 1801, then "Canson-Montgolfier" in 1807. Nowadays, Canson still produces fine art papers, school drawing papers and digital fine art and photography papers and is sold in 120 countries.

See also[link]

List of firsts in aviation

References[link]

External links[link]

"Lighter than air: the Montgolfier brothers"

"Balloons and the Montgolfier brothers"

Category:French balloonists Category:18th-century French people Category:Sibling duos Category:People of the Industrial Revolution Category:Aviation pioneers Category:Papermakers Category:People from Ardèche Category:Aviation history of France Category:18th-century aviation

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