Hailing the move as “a major shift in an industry that has largely remained non-union since VFX was pioneered during production of the first Star Wars films in the 1970s”, the IATSE said a supermajority of Marvel’s 50-plus VFX crew had signed authorisation cards. - The Guardian
"At its best, minimalism ignites the audience's imagination, making theatergoers active participants instead of passive consumers. … But practicality may also be driving minimalism's appeal. Building a set on Broadway has only gotten more expensive." - T — The New York Times Style Magazine
"The green front door leads straight into Kevin Duffy's living room, the nerve centre of Bluemoose books, his independent literary hit factory. It is at a cluttered table in the corner that Duffy has built a business with a success rate that billion-pound publishers regard with envy." - The Guardian
"In June the opera company announced plans to slash its budget by about two-thirds and no longer put on full productions. After a transition year in 2024 with only a couple of scaled-down productions, the company would serve as an 'incubator' that hosts workshops of new operas in development." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Hailed by critics for its high standards and wide-ranging repertoire, which has included all eras but emphasized the 20th and 21st centuries, the organization has struggled financially for years. Its financial problems have been exacerbated by a drop-off in both ticket sales and donations following the pandemic." - San Francisco Classical Voice
"The two-and-a-half-year contract is retroactive to July 1 and includes a minimum salary increase of nine percent, starting with three percent now and again at the start of 2024 and 2025 (this is in addition to the three percent increase the staff received in January)." - Artnet
"English teachers in Hillsborough County … (and) school district officials redesigned their instructional guides for teachers because of revised state teaching standards and a new set of state exams that cover a vast array of books and writing styles." - Tampa Bay Times
"Boyd's tenure at the RSC (2003-2012) helped rejuvenate the organisation after the rocky stewardship of his predecessor Adrian Noble. It also saw him direct a cycle of eight of Shakespeare's historical plays in the space of just two years, a process he admitted left him exhausted but satisfied." - The Guardian
Despite all the claims made for it, the literary canon does not make you morally better, nor does it provide any special insight into non-literary academic fields, nor is it of any help in most practical matters. - 3 Quarks Daily
In a cruel twist, Istanbul Modern and Turkish art is all too easily recruited as an aid to Erdoğan’s ambitions on the world stage. The building itself, with its Italian “starchitect” pedigree, effortlessly puts it at the service of a homogeneously Eurocentric narrative. - The New European
Actors who book multiple plays a year. Writers with rave reviews. Award-winning designers. These people are performing at a professional level while living like hobbyists, putting together a mishmash of odd jobs outside their art to provide for themselves while anxiously waiting for a next gig that may or may not come. - Toronto Star
The fact that Barbie is so successful means that, for a huge percentage of its audience, this will be their first cinema visit since 2019. And four years is easily long enough to forget some of the rules. - The Guardian
“They pay this small fee to lots of shows and throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Gilmore became this runaway hit for them and we don’t share in any of that success." - Rolling Stone
Researchers say they have created a system that can work out which keys are being pressed on a laptop keyboard with more than 90% accuracy, just based on sound recordings. - The Guardian
"There was one person in my audience today when I performed my one-woman play, 'Sunsets' at #edfringe. It's fine, isn't it? It's fine …?" tweeted Georgie Grier with a tearful selfie. Then social media worked the magic it sometimes does. - CNN
