Today’s Stories
Study: Music Works As Well As Drugs In Calming Nerves Before Surgery
The patients in the trial were either given the drug midazolam or played the song Weightless by UK band Marconi Union for three minutes, while having an anaesthetic to numb a region of the body. – BBC
A Sneak Peek At George Lucas’ New LA Museum
A 30-minute slide presentation provided a brief snapshot of what will be in the museum — a collection, curators said, that will include the poetic paintings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the bright and rounded comic art of graphic novelist Chris Ware and the work of celebrated L.A. muralist Judy Baca. The pieces that generated oohs and ahhs from the San Diego audience, however, were of a more pop variety, namely those connected to the “Star Wars” franchise. – Los Angeles Times
What Is That Odd Ungrammatical Language People Are Using On The Internet?
Today, thanks to the development of autocorrect, we could all easily write “correctly,” and yet, as Gretchen McCulloch notes, we don’t. We override automatic capitalization when our phones provide it, if it doesn’t suit our purposes. We purposely “misspell” and “misuse” words, ignore and overuse punctuation marks, and modify the basic rules of grammar. Hell, we even retype a keyboard smash (like “asdjhfksaskd,” which I just typed three times) if it appears insufficiently smashy. – The Baffler
London’s Mayor Canceled Norman Foster’s Flashy 1000-Foot Observation Tower. Here’s Why
It’s not the tower’s unpopularity that’s a surprise. The flashy but essentially functionless concept has largely been greeted with publicridicule since being unveiled last year. It’s that the mayor has used his discretionary powers to cancel it. – CityLab
We Hate To See Orchestras Fail. It’s Just That We Don’t Support Them, Either
Anne Midgette: “I often talk about the way the classical-music world tends to conflate institutions with the art form. When an orchestra closes, it’s seen as an assault on Beethoven and Brahms. By contrast, when a restaurant closes or a car company goes bankrupt, people may bitterly bemoan it, but they don’t see it as a threat to food, nor do they think that cars are endangered.” – Washington Post
Books That Can Take You Deep Into Travel
“As much as I’d like to dissolve the beach read label entirely, I must also admit I have a type: I want a meaty, absorbing book that takes me further into a vacation by connecting with the cultures that produced it. I want a book that can’t be disposed of, one that will take me somewhere entirely new.” – The Conversation
Do We Have An Internal GPS Tuned In To The Earth’s Magnetic Field?
Perhaps our distant evolutionary ancestors, millions of years in the past, also had an innate navigational ability that exploited magnetic field lines. This would be extremely useful, offering advantages not only in barren environments, but when exploring new territories to find resources for survival. – Aeon
Why Do We Do Things To Be Perverse?
Unruliness, perversity, pigheadedness—psychologists have long been interested in this bestiary of paradoxical thought and action. Perversity is a puzzle. It’s hard to explain, scientifically, what Edgar Allan Poe described as “the imp of the perverse.” – The New Yorker
The Rise Of Ambient (Background) Music
Ambient is often as haunting and uncanny as it is gorgeous. But the idea of music that eschews gestural rhetoric—there are no statements, no returns, no developments—is still highly experimental, avant-garde territory in the current state of the classical tradition. – Van
‘Russian Ark’ Director Closes His Film Foundation, Citing Hostility From Putin’s Government
Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark, Faust, Father and Son, Mother and Son) set up the Primer Intonatsii (Example of Intonation) foundation in 2013 to aid young Russian filmmakers. But the organization has had trouble getting and maintaining funding and suffered what Sokurov called “unfriendliness and aggressiveness,” including an embezzlement investigation, from Russia’s Ministry of Culture. (Yes, Sokurov is a critic of Vladimir Putin.) – The Hollywood Reporter
A Tiny Russian Town Of Artists Has Made Icons For Centuries. Now Its Livelihood Is Failing
It survived the Soviet Union, changes in taste, the rise of cheap knockoffs and fakes. But the modern world might prove too much. – The New York Times
These Two Guys Mean To Become The Kings Of Temporary Theatre Venues
Tristan Baker and Oliver Royds first became business partners in 2015, when they designed and built the pop-up theatre in London that housed Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female Shakespeare trilogy and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights. “Out of that experience came Troubadour Theatres, their new company … [which has] developed a reusable, modular construction kit that can turn an empty site into a huge temporary auditorium in 12 weeks.” – The Stage
Our Arts Patronage Problem – The Scandals And Those Who Fund
Keeping track of all the scandals around museum patronage in the United States in the last few years is no easy feat. There are scandals over real estate money, prison money, oil money, funding by climate change deniers, funding by supporters of far-right causes in general, Koch Brothers funding, and more. And as they multiply, the scandals begin, more and more, to become less about individuals and more about the system. Sometimes voiced out loud but mainly behind the scenes, the question for museums is: Where will the money come from? – Momus
A Fierce (And Weird) Battle Over Who Gets To Be New Hampshire’s Poet Laureate
“At issue is a controversial nominee for state laureate, private negotiations with a governor who says he’s ‘not a poetry expert,’ and a bit of verse that an elected official described to me as ‘a misogynistic poem about sex with Condoleezza Rice on Air Force One.'” – Slate
Does The Shed Suggest New York Is Looking For Something Different In Its Arts?
“It seems there is a divergence in our artistic landscape, where we value trend and zeitgeist as highly as artistic growth and creative development. The Shed serves as a manifestation of this tension between art and spectacle, highbrow and lowbrow. My suggestion is that we view the construction of the Shed as a call for change on an artistic level—a sign that audiences and funders are ready and searching for new ideas and, more importantly, a new approach to exacting those ideas.” – Howlround
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Baltimore Symphony Management Releases Most Recent Audit, And It’s Even More Dire Than You Thought
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This Year’s Kennedy Center Honorees
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‘Grand Theft Brancusi’: Collector Claims He Was Tricked Into Selling Sculpture, Sues Philadelphia Lawyer For $200M
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We Hate To See Orchestras Fail. It’s Just That We Don’t Support Them, Either
Premium Classifieds
Facilities Manager – The Pershing Square Signature Center
Signature Theatre, one of New York’s leading off-Broadway theatres, is seeking a FACILITIES MANAGER to join the facilities team and report to the Director of Production and Facilities. … [Read More...]
Shattering Barriers Between Art & Audience – Free Webinar
How arts organizations leverage mobile technology to remove physical, cultural and perceptual barriers for audiences. Shattering Barriers Between Art & Audience with LiveNote … [Read More...]
DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center seeks an exceptional Director of Administration, a key executive position, to join the organization at an exciting time of institutional accomplishment … [Read More...]
Marketing Manager Position Available
Under the musical direction of Nicholas McGegan for 34 years, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) is recognized as "America's leading historically-informed ensemble" (The New York … [Read More...]
Director of Collections and Research – National Museum of Wales
National Museum Wales – Amgueddfa Cymru – is the most important cultural institution in Wales and a leader in the UK in public engagement and cultural participation. It holds internationally … [Read More...]
Should Books Include Credits The Way Movies Do?
Trapeze, an Orion/Hachette imprint, is starting to do just that. David Barnett observes that almost 60 people were involved in the publication of his new novel: “the editors, the marketing and PR types – but also the smaller but crucial roles: the proofreaders who make sure you haven’t started calling Maisy Maisie in chapter 12, the all-important cover designers, the team behind the audiobooks, …” – The Guardian
Mezzo Sarah Connolly Withdraws From BBC Proms And English National Opera For Emergency Breast Cancer Treatment
“She had been due to star in the ENO’s Orpheus and Eurydice, which is choreographer Wayne McGregor’s opera directing debut, this October. Alice Coote will step in to play the role of Orpheus, while Julie Boulianne will now take her place at the BBC Proms, singing Berlioz’s [L’Enfance du Christ]. – BBC
Examining The Ethics Of Partnering In Dance
Ilya Vidrin was a competitive ballroom dancer until the day he fractured his back while partnering. “In the years since, the incident has led him into a deep exploration of the less tangible elements involved in partnering: motivation, trust, interpersonal chemistry and implicit agreements.” His studies, including a PhD, have led him to form what he calls the Reciprocity Collective, with which he’ll be offering a “partnering and science lab” at Jacob’s Pillow. – Times Union (Albany)
Will Other Museums Follow The Louvre In Removing The Sackler Name? Probably Not, And Here’s Why
Other institutions have said they’ll stop accepting Sackler money, but none have said they’ll drop the name from any existing buildings. “That is because removing a name, even one that has become culturally toxic, is an enormously complicated decision, mined with legal, financial and moral concerns. Here are some of those issues.” – The New York Times
‘Grand Theft Brancusi’: Collector Claims He Was Tricked Into Selling Sculpture, Sues Philadelphia Lawyer For $200M
“In a lawsuit filed this week in New York State Supreme Court, Manhattan collector Stuart Pivar, a one-time friend of Andy Warhol, says he was swindled out of a 1920 cast of the sculpture [Mademoiselle Pogany II] by John H. McFadden, a Philadelphia lawyer, arts patron, and scion of a prominent Main Line family.” As Pivar puts it, “Philadelphia lawyer hornswoggles savvy New York collector out of $100 million. That’s my story.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Fabio Luisi Resigns As Music Director Of Florence’s Maggio Musicale
Luisi, music director of the Zurich Opera House and former principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, only took up the post (one created for him) at the Tuscan music festival-cum-opera house in April of last year. He’s leaving, one year into a five-year contract term, as a result of one of the political power struggles that seem to afflict Italian cultural institutions regularly. – Musical America
Four Members Of All-Female Afghan Orchestra Disappear During European Tour
“Zohra, a 35-member orchestra, performed at a concert on July 13 at the Pohoda Festival in the [Slovakian] town of Trencin … Four members went missing from their hotel on July 14, police said.” – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Facilities Manager – The Pershing Square Signature Center
Signature Theatre, one of New York’s leading off-Broadway theatres, is seeking a FACILITIES MANAGER to join the facilities team and report to the Director of Production and Facilities.
Applicants from populations underrepresented in the theatre field are strongly encouraged to apply.
Founded in 1991, Signature Theatre celebrates playwrights and gives them an artistic home, producing six to eight productions annually. In 2005, Signature began its groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative, providing subsidized, affordable tickets to all its productions. In 2012, Signature Theatre opened the Pershing Square Signature Center, the Frank Gehry-designed 75,000 square foot center featuring three theatres, two rehearsal studios, a central, public lobby with a café and bookstore, as well as administrative offices. The center is not only home to Signature’s production but also rentals throughout the calendar year. In FY19, over 150 different productions and events rented space in the center.
The Facilities Manager oversees all aspects of operating and maintaining the center. Working closely with the administrative, production and rental departments to coordinate day-to-day operations and minor projects, The Facilities Manager ensures that facilities functions are incorporated effectively into the performance and events schedule while maintaining and emphasizing facilities policies and procedures.
We are looking for someone who possesses:
- Minimum three years’ experience managing/assistant managing the operations of a large, multi-use facility
- Excellent communication/ interpersonal skills to support smooth interactions with internal and external clients
- Willingness to ask questions
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and an eye to detail
- Ability to convey technical information to a non-technical audience
Has knowledge of:
- Automated BMS, CCTV, CMMS and trouble ticket systems
- Mechanical, Electrical Plumbing (MEP) systems
- HVAC systems o Building Codes
- Exposure to theatre/live performance operations preferred
Responsibilities Include:
- Ensure the operation and maintenance of the center are in line with Signature Theatre’s mission while adhering to center procedures, policies, safety codes
- Evaluate and effectively implement solutions to onsite technical issues with all center systems, including MEP, HVAC, CCTV and key card systems
- Coordinate all external vendor and maintenance scheduling
- Manage security team, maintenance personnel and on-site contractors
- Work with Production, General Management and Rental departments to coordinate resources and address challenges pertaining to theatre production and operations
- Ensure task lists for porters and cleaning are generated and work is completed
- Develop and maintain vendor contracts
- Create and manage budgets
- Respond to off-hours emergencies, reporting on-site when required
- Plan and manage construction projects as they arise
- Manage key and keycard tracking systems
- Schedule HVAC for all activities in the center
The salary for this exempt position is commensurate with experience. Benefits include group health, dental, and vision plans, as well as the opportunity to participate in tax-saving flexible spending, commuter and 401(k) plans.
Please email a cover letter and resume to careers@signaturetheatre.org. Please type FACILITIES MANAGER in the subject line.
No phone calls please. For more information on Signature, please visit http://www.signaturetheatre.org
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, affectional preference, gender identity or expression, sexual and reproductive health decisions, pregnancy, disability, genetic predisposition, age, military or veteran status, marital or familial status, or any other protected characteristic, in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.
This Year’s Kennedy Center Honorees
This year’s class of honorees, the 42nd annual since 1978, is eclectic as usual. – NPR
Elon Musk Wants To Implant Computers Inside People’s Brains
The company is developing a device to implant inside the brain that supposedly will allow people to control computers and other devices with their minds. At the announcement, Musk said the company is on track to begin testing the implants in human patients as soon as next year. – The Atlantic