NEW YORK — New play submissions for the 34th annual Samuel French, Inc., Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival will be accepted starting Jan. 6. The festival will feature a selection of 40 short plays, chosen from hundreds of submissions by playwriting workshops, university theatre programs and professional companies nationwide. 

NEW ORLEANS — Mayor C. Ray Nagin, joined by members of the New Orleans City Council and local arts organizations, has announced the line-up of programs and entertainers that will highlight the re-opening of the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts.   

The new model, the Spectran HF60100, is a handheld RF analyzer, which features the following specifications: frequency range 1MHz to 9.4GHz, sensitivity -130dbm, bandwidth resolution 1KHz, stability 0.5PPM and accuracy +/- 1dB. 

NEW YORK — The Joint Training Initiative of the ESTA Foundation and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) has announced a Control Protocols Workshop to be held two days prior to the annual USITT National Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. The registration deadline is March 9, 2009. 

MADRID — Harlequin has announced the opening of its new office branch in Madrid on the heels of recent branch openings in Paris and Hong Kong, totaling nine Harlequin office branches.   

PHILADELPHIA – James Haskins, managing director of the Wilma Theater, has been appointed to Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s newly formed Cultural Advisory Council. 

MILLBURN, N.J. — Paper Mill Playhouse has announced that it is currently accepting applications for the 2009 Rising Star Awards, which recognize the best of New Jersey high school musicals.