"Puy du Fou has been voted the best amusement park on Earth despite having no rides, just swashbuckling re-enactment shows with fireballs, sword fights, shipwrecks and chariot races that draw millions in France, … despite criticism from some ... that its traditionalist framing of history is spurring rightwing culture wars." - The Guardian
“Speaking broadly, I think both traditions value virtuosity and virtuosic display. Both traditions value advanced musicianship and instrumental ability, and don't mind openly showcasing those abilities.” - Van
In a small audio repair shop in Peshawar, across the Afghan-Pakistani border in Peshawar, refugee Mohammed Hasan Zamri collects old commercial cassettes and sometimes makes his own recordings of escaped musicians — protecting Afghan musical heritage from the destructive zeal of the Taliban. - The Guardian
The company says a “significant percentage” of its podcast division has been laid-off. “Like many in the industry, we are further streamlining our structure as we continue to shift our creative strategy and focus on building big audiences across a select group of ongoing shows and our subscription business." - Inside Radio
"A string of job postings from high-profile training data companies, such as Scale AI and Appen, are recruiting poets, novelists, playwrights, or writers with a PhD or master’s degree. Dozens more seek general annotators with humanities degrees, or years of work experience in literary fields." - Rest of World
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced additional investments in the arts through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for a combined total of $6.25 million focused on supporting arts and cultural institutions led by diverse artists and groups. - CBS News
"Anil Kapoor (filed suit) because of the large number of morphed videos and emojis bearing his likeness going around as well as his iconic phrase 'jhakaas', first used in 1985 film Yudh. The phrase, which translates roughly as ‘awesome’ or ‘wicked,’ is now protected by the court order." - Variety
Six years on from the #MeToo movement, they say there remains a culture of misogyny and male privilege in the comedy industry that emboldens predators and prevents women from speaking out. - The Guardian
"California Shakespeare Theater plans to produce a show of its own in 2024, after operating exclusively as a rental house this year. The production, As You Like It, ... will mark the company's 50th anniversary and run Sept. 12-29 at the Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda." - MSN (San Francisco Chronicle)
"Scenic painters who once added 'Disney dirt' to make walls look old are now working on actual old walls, prop fabricators who built mechanical dolls are building folding desks, and the warehouses that once supplied set decorators and prop masters with furniture are, in this lull, selling to the masses." - Curbed
"I kind of fell into this avenue of media literacy influencing to help Gen Z get invested back into print media," said Kelsey Russell (whose first video got 1.7 million views), acknowledging that the platform is popular precisely because attention spans are so short." - Yahoo! (TheWrap)
"Bookstore owners and staffers agreed that TikTok increases their visibility when they make a concerted effort to use it. … Though it's time-consuming to monitor and to apply tags and trending sounds strategically, those contacted for this article said sustained engagement is worthwhile." - Publishers Weekly
Yes, she wants to make the world's largest museum more welcoming, relevant, and diverse. She also wants to carve an entirely new second entrance into the building (for the people who want to see more than the Mona Lisa), and that will be a serious challenge. - The New York Times
"Lexington-native Mikelle Bruzina and Harald Uwe Kern were named Louisville Ballet's new artistic directors after former artistic director Robert Curran's abrupt resignation earlier this year after nearly 10 years with the ballet." - Yahoo! (Louisville Courier Journal)
The organization's entire board of directors has resigned. "This means," said a statement, "that the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony will cease all operations as of today, and will not return for any future seasons." - Waterloo Region Record (Kitchener, Ontario)
