Today's Stories

“Look, I Think It’s All Not To Be Taken Too Seriously,” Says Tilly Norwood’s Creator

Eline van der Velden said that in response to a question about the AI-generated “actress” suddenly speaking in Cantonese during an interview. About Norwood’s future career, van der Velden said “We get loads of offers in, we’ve said no to anything (like) a traditional film, because that’s not what she’s made for.” - Variety

Turkish Comedian Sentenced To Prison For Insulting Both “Religious Values” And President Erdoğan

“Deniz Göktaş, 32, has been held jailed since July 3 after clips of one of his routines, which included a reference to Erdoğan as a ‘dictator,’ were circulated online. He was convicted Monday …, receiving a combined prison sentence of 19 months and 10 days.” He has been released pending an appeal. - AP

California Bans “Ghost” Ticketing

The law prohibits using software to get around ticket limits, queue and presale restrictions. It restricts websites and ads designed to make resellers look like authorized ticket sources. Sellers in violation could face misdemeanor charges and penalties. - Los Angeles Times

Influential MoMA Curator To Retire

Ann Temkin has been a curator at the museum since 2003 and was promoted to chief curator in 2008, becoming the first woman to lead MoMA’s richest and most powerful department. - The New York Times

How One News Organization Went From Zero To 250,000 Subscribers

“It’s not just about a one and done, you know, ask for a payment and be done. We really want to nurture the relationship through the journey from anonymous all the way into a paying subscription, and we know that the majority of people aren’t going to ever come over to a paying subscription." - Press...

Xander Parish Opens New Dance Company Patterned After Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes

A Florence-based nonprofit, the New Generation Foundation, is backing the company, called the Nouveaux Ballets Russes. Parish, a Briton who was until 2022 a principal at Russia's Mariinsky Theater, is artistic director, and he aims, as Diaghilev did, to engage collaborators in the vanguard of art, music, tech, and fashion. - Pointe Magazine

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Your eyes on the world through a culture lens

Has The Kids Scholastic Book Fair Been Ruined?

If the goal is to celebrate books and reading and get kids excited… is a for-profit book fair the best way to do that? - LitHub

In Search Of The Perfect Audio Experience

The word audiophile — etymologically, one who “loves to hear” — has a wine-sipping pretension that I hate, but sometimes an ugly shoe fits. - n+1

Inside Those Spicy Microdrama Factories

It’s no secret that we’re kind of in a content race to the bottom right now. Social media and shortform video have pushed everything from music to documentaries into a race to truncate their lengths and make everything bite-size, in order to bend to the current of algorithm-centric audiences. - Slate

Maine’s Small-Town “Opera Houses,” Really Performing Arts And Community Centers

The late 19th century saw a wave of American towns building what they called opera houses. They presented all kinds of entertainment, from plays to vaudeville to lectures to magic shows (and yes, occasionally touring opera and classical music artists). Here are five in Maine which are still thriving. - The New York Times

Pittsburgh Arts Groups Are Fundraising For Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars

“Given sweeping changes in the arts and nonprofit ecosystems both locally and nationally since early 2025, many original benchmarks and timelines included are no longer realistic,” according to the Downtown nonprofit’s funding application. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Cuba’s Ballet Tradition Continues Amid Blackouts

For months, two-thirds of Cuba had no electricity at night. Some neighborhoods in the capital of Havana have been without running water for more than two weeks. Transportation is scarce and eggs, bread and cooking oil are hard to find. - AP News

A Reprieve For Philly’s Academy of Natural Sciences?

Drexel says that while it appreciates the William Penn Foundation’s “public suggestion that it assist in temporarily keeping the Academy’s museum open,” they have “not received a formal proposal with a defined level of financial support.” - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Gets New Leadership, Including Famous Alumnus David Schwimmer

The new co-artistic directors are Ericka Ratcliff, most recently literary manager at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and longtime Lookingglass ensemble member David Catlin. Another longtime member, Philip R. Smith, will be executive director, while Schwimmer takes the new position of producing director, focusing on fundraising, marketing, board development and finding co-producing partners. - Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)

Soprano Christine Goerke Launches New Organization To Present Vocal Music (Of All Kinds) In Detroit

She will be the artistic director, with Matthew Principe as executive director and creative strategist, of VOX Detroit, which will produce concerts of — as Goerke describes it — “opera, cabaret, musical theatre, song, recital, spoken word, and whatever wonderful things happen to fall in between.” - Detroit Free Press

Whitney Museum Staffers Are Going On Strike Right Before Major Roy Lichtenstein Retrospective

“Unionized staff at the Whitney Museum of Art will begin striking on Monday, October 5, if they cannot reach a contract agreement with the museum, Local 2110 UAW announced. … (That’s) only three days before member and press previews open for the museum’s major Roy Lichtenstein retrospective (the show opens to the public October 11).” - ARTnews

England’s National Museums Will Keep Free Admission For Everyone, UK Government Confirms

“The decision follows months of discussions between the Government, museums, the tourism sector and local leaders to examine whether charging tourists from abroad could boost the institutions’ finances. … Free entry to museums was introduced by Sir Tony Blair’s government in 2001.” - The Independent (UK)

Hollywood Is Now Eyeing The Boston Globe’s Viral Lesbian Bar Article

“UTA, which represents the Globe, has been fielding inquiries about potential adaptations for the article” — headlined “A Western Mass. lesbian bar required KN-95 masks. When it changed the rules, all hell broke loose.” — “both in the scripted space and the documentary sphere.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Novelist Louise Erdrich Wins $250K Dorothy And Lillian Gish Prize

The award, established by the estate of the silent film stars, is given for “an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.” Among previous winners are Gustavo Dudamel, Isabelle Allende, Merce Cunningham, Ava DuVernay, Laurie Anderson, Tricia Brown, Maya Lin, and Meredith Monk. - AP

Nashville Symphony “Suspends” Its Season And Furloughs Its Musicians And Staff

“The Nashville Symphony has declared a state of 'financial emergency,' suspending the 2026-27 season effective Oct. 18, as well as furloughing roughly half their staff and all 77 members of the orchestra. At this time, 29 full-time Symphony staff members remain, while 27 were furloughed.” - The Tennessean (Yahoo!)

By Topic

Middle Schoolers, Blocked From Most Social Media, Turn Comments On An NPR Podcast Into A Hangout Spot

“When Glass asked one of the kids why they picked this particular podcast, they said, ‘We just, like, looked for podcasts that didn’t have many comments.’” Ouch. But also, creative as heck. - The Verge

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger On Creativity

A culture of creativity is also a culture accepting of failure. Creativity is not a science. You can’t possibly bat 1,000. There are inevitable failures, and it’s really important to know as a culture how to process failure so that when you do, it doesn’t destroy people’s ability to continue to create. - Harvard Business Review

Why America Looks The Way It Does

It would be hard to overstate how ignorant the Founders of the United States were about their own country. The main map they’d used to negotiate the postwar peace with Britain was woefully inaccurate. - The New Yorker

AI And The Flattening Of Creative Aesthetic

Like the coffee shops of 2016, widespread AI adoption is generating a massive amount of content and products that share an eerie sameness. - Noema

Habermas’ Ideas On Public Debate

He explained the three types of discourse that characterise deliberation – moral, ethical, and pragmatic – and was clear that when it comes to the moral, there are no experts: only individuals working out, together, what’s right in a given context. - Aeon

Is AI Above The Law? Outside? Under?

At least for now, then, robots legally are things, not persons. But neither category quite fits. Instead, robots are outlaws: they lie outside the protection of the law, and their actions are not answerable to it. - The New Yorker

California Bans “Ghost” Ticketing

The law prohibits using software to get around ticket limits, queue and presale restrictions. It restricts websites and ads designed to make resellers look like authorized ticket sources. Sellers in violation could face misdemeanor charges and penalties. - Los Angeles Times

Maine’s Small-Town “Opera Houses,” Really Performing Arts And Community Centers

The late 19th century saw a wave of American towns building what they called opera houses. They presented all kinds of entertainment, from plays to vaudeville to lectures to magic shows (and yes, occasionally touring opera and classical music artists). Here are five in Maine which are still thriving. - The New York Times

Pittsburgh Arts Groups Are Fundraising For Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars

“Given sweeping changes in the arts and nonprofit ecosystems both locally and nationally since early 2025, many original benchmarks and timelines included are no longer realistic,” according to the Downtown nonprofit’s funding application. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Checks And Balances That Could Have Saved The Kennedy Center Failed

Even as these and other construction-related lawsuits are pending, the Trump administration has proven its willingness and ability to build, renovate or destroy federal landmarks without clear authority to do so. - The Conversation

The NAZA Filmmakers Defend Themselves And The Film At Its NY Premiere

“'These crimes that you saw are ongoing,’ Abraham said. ‘They’re ongoing because it’s what our country is doing, and because of what your country is supporting and funding.’” - The Guardian (UK)

Meta’s New Surveillance Mascot Looks Like A Toy

It’s supposed to be for adults only, but it looks like a Tamagotchi. Will the cuddliness cause us all to forget the deep, deep creep factor? - Wired

In Search Of The Perfect Audio Experience

The word audiophile — etymologically, one who “loves to hear” — has a wine-sipping pretension that I hate, but sometimes an ugly shoe fits. - n+1

Soprano Christine Goerke Launches New Organization To Present Vocal Music (Of All Kinds) In Detroit

She will be the artistic director, with Matthew Principe as executive director and creative strategist, of VOX Detroit, which will produce concerts of — as Goerke describes it — “opera, cabaret, musical theatre, song, recital, spoken word, and whatever wonderful things happen to fall in between.” - Detroit Free Press

Nashville Symphony “Suspends” Its Season And Furloughs Its Musicians And Staff

“The Nashville Symphony has declared a state of 'financial emergency,' suspending the 2026-27 season effective Oct. 18, as well as furloughing roughly half their staff and all 77 members of the orchestra. At this time, 29 full-time Symphony staff members remain, while 27 were furloughed.” - The Tennessean (Yahoo!)

The Glenn Gould Of Imagination

The first thing anyone notices about Gould’s playing is the precision of his articulation, and that articulation is so precise that you might—not that you should, but you might—think of him as mechanical, if you didn’t also see him. - Hedgehog Review

Dolly Parton’s Estate Is In Shambles Over Accusations, Lawsuits, And Restraining Orders

“While the family appeared to be putting on a united front, behind the scenes, things were far from harmonious. Employees were afraid to come to work and some were allegedly quitting.” Then there was the security guy’s threats. - Vulture

The Strike Is Over In Cleveland

“In a deal reached late Saturday night and ratified Sunday by the union, the two sides agreed to a three-year contract that includes a 5 percent annual raise for each of the three years, according to the orchestra.” - The New York Times

Influential MoMA Curator To Retire

Ann Temkin has been a curator at the museum since 2003 and was promoted to chief curator in 2008, becoming the first woman to lead MoMA’s richest and most powerful department. - The New York Times

A Reprieve For Philly’s Academy of Natural Sciences?

Drexel says that while it appreciates the William Penn Foundation’s “public suggestion that it assist in temporarily keeping the Academy’s museum open,” they have “not received a formal proposal with a defined level of financial support.” - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Whitney Museum Staffers Are Going On Strike Right Before Major Roy Lichtenstein Retrospective

“Unionized staff at the Whitney Museum of Art will begin striking on Monday, October 5, if they cannot reach a contract agreement with the museum, Local 2110 UAW announced. … (That’s) only three days before member and press previews open for the museum’s major Roy Lichtenstein retrospective (the show opens to the public October 11).” -...

England’s National Museums Will Keep Free Admission For Everyone, UK Government Confirms

“The decision follows months of discussions between the Government, museums, the tourism sector and local leaders to examine whether charging tourists from abroad could boost the institutions’ finances. … Free entry to museums was introduced by Sir Tony Blair’s government in 2001.” - The Independent (UK)

What Will Westminster Do With Banksy’s Flag Statue?

“The council said it had spent almost £60,000 on safety barriers, administration and for a security guard to keep watch over it.” - BBC

What Happens To Your Art When You Become The Set Designer For Everything, Including The Olympics?

“In the 30 years since she won the Linbury prize for stage design in 1995, Es Devlin has established herself as a go-to set designer for highbrow theatre, international opera, global pop …, official celebrations …, fashion runways and public sculpture.” - The Guardian (UK)

Has The Kids Scholastic Book Fair Been Ruined?

If the goal is to celebrate books and reading and get kids excited… is a for-profit book fair the best way to do that? - LitHub

Novelist Louise Erdrich Wins $250K Dorothy And Lillian Gish Prize

The award, established by the estate of the silent film stars, is given for “an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.” Among previous winners are Gustavo Dudamel, Isabelle Allende, Merce Cunningham, Ava DuVernay, Laurie Anderson, Tricia Brown, Maya Lin, and Meredith Monk. - AP

Booksellers Are Sounding The Alarm About A Presidential Memorandum

“The presidential security memo issued last year specifically targets what the regime sees as leftist ideas in books, zines, and other publications, which is a major concern for all of us that care about books and freedom of expression.” - LitHub

Rose Tremain Knows Her Generation Of Novelists Is Dying, But She’ll Keep Going As Long As She Can

“Contrary to what publishers hope and expect, serious writers don’t think obsessively about readers, or even about sales, royalties and prizes. What we talk to each other about, what we dream of, what we can’t live without is the work itself.” - The Guardian (UK)

Ashland, Oregon, Is Known For Its Shakespeare Fest, But Now It’s Got A Murder Fest As Well

OK, you could argue that Shakespeare is a murderfest of his own, but “Mystery Fest has given cozy mystery fans a new reason to discover Ashland, attracting readers who might not otherwise have put the city on their travel list.” - Oregon ArtsWatch

Haitian-Canadian Author’s Book Withdrawn From Goncourt Short List Over Accusations Of AI

“As critics sparred with defenders of Mr. Orélien, who is Black, over whether he was targeted because of his race and his book’s treatment of migrants, he was accused of plagiarism in earlier writings, inflaming the controversy.” - The New York Times

“Look, I Think It’s All Not To Be Taken Too Seriously,” Says Tilly Norwood’s Creator

Eline van der Velden said that in response to a question about the AI-generated “actress” suddenly speaking in Cantonese during an interview. About Norwood’s future career, van der Velden said “We get loads of offers in, we’ve said no to anything (like) a traditional film, because that’s not what she’s made for.” - Variety

How One News Organization Went From Zero To 250,000 Subscribers

“It’s not just about a one and done, you know, ask for a payment and be done. We really want to nurture the relationship through the journey from anonymous all the way into a paying subscription, and we know that the majority of people aren’t going to ever come over to a paying subscription."...

Inside Those Spicy Microdrama Factories

It’s no secret that we’re kind of in a content race to the bottom right now. Social media and shortform video have pushed everything from music to documentaries into a race to truncate their lengths and make everything bite-size, in order to bend to the current of algorithm-centric audiences. - Slate

Hollywood Is Now Eyeing The Boston Globe’s Viral Lesbian Bar Article

“UTA, which represents the Globe, has been fielding inquiries about potential adaptations for the article” — headlined “A Western Mass. lesbian bar required KN-95 masks. When it changed the rules, all hell broke loose.” — “both in the scripted space and the documentary sphere.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Paramount Boss David Ellison’s Big Challenge: Winning Over Hollywood

The Paramount Skydance chief executive will have to work hard to repair badly frayed relations with Hollywood talent who fiercely opposed the consolidation of two historic studios as a bad deal for workers. - Los Angeles Times

Why Viewers Love To See What People Will Suffer For Money

Beast Games does not provoke debates about who can or should win and how. Rather, it stages a demonstration of what money can make people agree to. - The Conversation

Xander Parish Opens New Dance Company Patterned After Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes

A Florence-based nonprofit, the New Generation Foundation, is backing the company, called the Nouveaux Ballets Russes. Parish, a Briton who was until 2022 a principal at Russia's Mariinsky Theater, is artistic director, and he aims, as Diaghilev did, to engage collaborators in the vanguard of art, music, tech, and fashion. - Pointe Magazine

Cuba’s Ballet Tradition Continues Amid Blackouts

For months, two-thirds of Cuba had no electricity at night. Some neighborhoods in the capital of Havana have been without running water for more than two weeks. Transportation is scarce and eggs, bread and cooking oil are hard to find. - AP News

The All-Night Song And Dance Parties Of Veracruz

“This syncopated, jubilant folk music is a melange of European, Caribbean and Indigenous influences. While fandangos — where folks gather to play their instruments, sing and dance — are more than 300 years old, their popularity is now spreading around the world.” - NPR

City Ballet Finally Gets A Woman On Its Choreography Staff

She - Tiler Peck - just happens to be a City Ballet principal dancer as well. - The New York Times

Atlanta Ballet Cuts Way Back On Its Orchestra, And Musicians Picket

Members of the pit orchestra protested outside the theater last weekend at performances of the company’s season-opening program, which was danced to recorded music. Atlanta Ballet management says it can afford a live orchestra this season only for its stagings of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. - ArtsATL

Australian Ballet Gets Its First Black Principal

Davi Ramos grew up in a Rio favela and didn’t start ballet lessons until he was 12. Only two years later, he competed in Youth America Grand Prix and, subsequently, the Prix de Lausanne; he studied in London and apprenticed in Amsterdam before coming to Melbourne, drawn by AD David Hallberg. - Dance Australia

Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Gets New Leadership, Including Famous Alumnus David Schwimmer

The new co-artistic directors are Ericka Ratcliff, most recently literary manager at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and longtime Lookingglass ensemble member David Catlin. Another longtime member, Philip R. Smith, will be executive director, while Schwimmer takes the new position of producing director, focusing on fundraising, marketing, board development and finding co-producing partners. - Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)

An Ohio School District Cancels A Popular Play, And The Fallout Is Ongoing

“Copley Superintendent Aimee Kirsch said the play was canceled not because of its gay themes but because the proper vetting procedure wasn't followed.” Unh-hunh. The students cast in the canceled She Kills Monsters were offered parts in the newly approved Alice in Wonderland. - Akron Beacon Journal (Yahoo)

Theatre As A Public Good

To me, Theatre as Public Good argues that the convening power of theatre, and the belonging and connection it creates, is essential, and should therefore be classified as a public good. - Karthik Subramanian

Beckett Is Only Bleak If You Have No Sense Of Humor

“I think Irish actors and directors have an innate advantage in dealing with Beckett. They get his humour.” - Irish Times

The School District That Tried To Cancel ‘Ragtime’ Claimed It Was A Miscommunication, But Emails Reveal A Different Story

“In emails with members of the public obtained by KyCIR, Duncan repeatedly said the show was never canceled because Balasubramanian ‘went rogue.’” That’s a little different from a miscommunication. - WFPL

We Don’t Make People Pay To Access Public Parks

Public parks are widely considered a social good, and we know that because our tax dollars go to maintain them, we don’t have to pay every time we go to a park. What if the same were true for theatre? - American Theatre

Turkish Comedian Sentenced To Prison For Insulting Both “Religious Values” And President Erdoğan

“Deniz Göktaş, 32, has been held jailed since July 3 after clips of one of his routines, which included a reference to Erdoğan as a ‘dictator,’ were circulated online. He was convicted Monday …, receiving a combined prison sentence of 19 months and 10 days.” He has been released pending an appeal. - AP

If You’re A Northern Irish Actor, You’ve Probably Been In A Show About The Troubles

Lola Petticrew wasn’t just in one show about the Troubles before she left Northern Ireland; she starred in - and was acclaimed for - two. “A lot of the questions that were raised were questions that I, as a young adult, have about how we heal and move on,” she said. - The New...

The Mighty Sparrow, One Of The Last Great Calypso Singers, Has Died At 91

“A singer, songwriter and guitarist, Sparrow — his given name was Slinger Francisco — was renowned for his sonorous voice, unremitting energy and extraordinary command of the verbal prestidigitation and sly double-entendre that are among the hallmarks of calypso lyrics.” - The New York Times

Sylvester Stallone Finally Reckons With Decades Of Trauma

“When I look at that footage, I look distorted. I was gone for a few seconds. Sometimes in acting or painting or writing, you just subliminally lose yourself. You do not know where you are. ... What was that?” - The New York Times

Catching Up With Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick, Now That He’s Out Of Prison

“I’ve done my time, and all that I ask is that people give me the benefit of the doubt. I may not be given a second chance — but at least recognize that I’ve suffered a lot from what happened.” - Artnet

Steve Reich At 90: Most Music Isn’t Very Good

Born in New York in 1936, Reich has spent the last six decades producing music that has changed the soundtrack of modern life in Europe and North America, and inspired superlatives from a wide array of music critics. The New Yorker has called him “the most original musical thinker of our time”. - The...

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Art Gallery of Alberta seeks Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer. Salary range is between $160,000-$200,000.

Nashville Symphony “Suspends” Its Season And Furloughs Its Musicians And Staff

“The Nashville Symphony has declared a state of 'financial emergency,' suspending the 2026-27 season effective Oct. 18, as well as furloughing roughly half their staff and all 77 members of the orchestra. At this time, 29 full-time Symphony staff members remain, while 27 were furloughed.” - The Tennessean (Yahoo!)

The Strike Is Over In Cleveland

“In a deal reached late Saturday night and ratified Sunday by the union, the two sides agreed to a three-year contract that includes a 5 percent annual raise for each of the three years, according to the orchestra.” - The New York Times

In Leipzig, Ousted Boston Symphony Orchestra Director Andris Nelsons Feels The Love

“When he conducts, he does not think in English or German or Latvian, even if that would be his own. But he thinks directly in music, and this is so direct. … Sometimes in a concert you have suddenly a new gesture never seen before, that everybody understands.” - Boston Globe

Sylvester Stallone Finally Reckons With Decades Of Trauma

“When I look at that footage, I look distorted. I was gone for a few seconds. Sometimes in acting or painting or writing, you just subliminally lose yourself. You do not know where you are. ... What was that?” - The New York Times

Haitian-Canadian Author’s Book Withdrawn From Goncourt Short List Over Accusations Of AI

“As critics sparred with defenders of Mr. Orélien, who is Black, over whether he was targeted because of his race and his book’s treatment of migrants, he was accused of plagiarism in earlier writings, inflaming the controversy.” - The New York Times

We Don’t Make People Pay To Access Public Parks

Public parks are widely considered a social good, and we know that because our tax dollars go to maintain them, we don’t have to pay every time we go to a park. What if the same were true for theatre? - American Theatre

A Guy Who Scammed Writers And Publishers For Years Sure Appears To Be Back, If Hidden, Online

“The messages bear the hallmarks of Bernardini’s original scheme: look-alike emails, carefully replicated fonts and signatures, fluency in industry slang and an intimate knowledge of relationships in the book world.” Then there are the poop emojis. - The New York Times

Mark Swed’s Farewell Column As L.A. Times Classical Music Critic

“When I accidentally stumbled into music criticism with an academic penchant for music analysis, my crutches for writing about music were technical and of little use in a newspaper. I had to find a way to simply listen. It gave me new ears, and I was hooked.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Mamdani And The Met To Give Away 70,000 Free Opera Tickets A Year

The program, which the mayor said would continue indefinitely, will draw from the pool of unsold tickets, which will be distributed by lottery via the Metropolitan Opera app. The catch: you’re not eligible if you’ve bought Met tickets any time since fall 2018. - The New York Times

Cleveland Orchestra Musicians On Strike

“Violinist Elayna Duitman, head of the (musicians’ negotiating) committee, said their pay lags both inflation and the other ‘Big Five’ orchestras in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, while upper management is well-compensated. … Their most recent contract extension expired earlier this week.” - Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland)

Financial Crisis At Nashville Symphony, “Restructuring” Is Being Planned

Money troubles aren’t new to the orchestra, but in the wake of the recent death of longtime benefactor Martha Ingram, “the organization does not have sufficient cash on hand to sustain operations at its current level. The Symphony's executive committee is developing a restructuring plan designed to stabilize the organization.” - Nashville Scene

When You Get Offered A Met Opera, But At The Last Minute, Do You Take The Job?

Louisa Proske: "It was insane and thrilling. … It was like, ‘the director has to assemble a team, and we kind of need the design yesterday.’” - The New York Times

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