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So You Want To Make A Play. It’s Tough…

We quit on our work much more readily than our work quits on us. We walk away, we claim defeat, we belittle our inadequate attempts—and in many cases, we blame our own play for this turn of events! As though our play teased, tricked, or betrayed us. It didn’t. - American Theatre

1948, The Worst Year Of John Steinbeck’s Life

"His best friend, the marine biologist Ed Ricketts, had died in a train crash, before his second wife, Gwyn, left him and took their children with her. The diary Steinbeck wrote throughout the year that followed was the most 'intense and private' journal he ever wrote." - The Observer (UK)

Own Culture? You Better Have A Physical Copy Of It

Every time news breaks of one of these deletions, a refrain echoes online: Buy physical media! The internet is too impermanent, the argument goes: The real cultural cornucopia was in the outside world. - Reason

What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Still Teach Us About Grief: Teju Cole On Seeing Aeschylus At Epidaurus

"'Tragedy,' in drama, is concerned with suffering, but there's more to it than that. ... Individuals inherit fallout from events in the remote past, through no fault of their own. The next move is the test: What do you do with the bad hand you've been dealt?" - The New York Times Magazine

Disney/Charter Deal Demonstrates The Weakness Of The Cable And Streaming Businesses

The traditional TV business is losing customers until it hits a bottom that it may take a while to find. Streaming is losing money without any end in sight. It’s ascending, but it’s still underwater. Disney and Charter avoided a breakup. Now they can set about finding a way to change math. - Slate

Drew Barrymore Breaks The Hollywood Strikes To Restart Her Talk Show, And She’s Getting Serious Blowback

"Barrymore was initially announced as host of the Nov. 15 (National Book Awards) in late July. Now, just days after some protested her decision to bring back her talk show on Sept. 18, the foundation has revoked its decision, with no replacement host announced." - Variety

Who Benefits From Dance Company Apprenticeships?

As trainees and apprentices, dancers may perform on professional stages for years without being compensated. Not everyone can afford to work for free—much less to pay for the privilege. - Dance Magazine

The Van Gogh In The Ikea Bag: Why The Criminals Who Had It Gave It Back

The purloined painting, says the art detective to whom it was returned, "was a little bit cursed." - The Guardian

The Punk Trio That Co-Directs France’s National Ballet Of Marseille

"They may only be three but they are a horde. They are (La)Horde. … How did the threesome end up as artistic directors of Ballet National de Marseille? While they were visiting Los Angeles, …" - The New York Times

Billionaire’s Heirs Will Return 33 Looted Statues To Cambodia

"In one of the most significant repatriations of art to Cambodia from a private collection, the family of billionaire George Lindemann has agreed to turn over 33 ancient statues that officials say include stolen antiquities trafficked to the United States." - International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Oscar-Winning Writer Of “Moonlight” And “Choir Boys” Named Geffen Playhouse’s Artistic Director

"An ensemble member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company," Tarell Alvin McCraney "is professor of playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University and has earned a reputation as a passionate mentor. He will continue to teach at Yale while leading the Geffen Playhouse." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

Evidence For A Putin War Crimes Trial In A New Report On Destruction Of Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage

"(The briefing) by the NGO Blue Shield International has tentatively made the claim that the Putin regime has premeditatively, systematically — and provably — targeted heritage sites in Ukraine. If the report is correct, the critical legal threshold needed to prosecute Putin for a war crime is now significantly closer." - The Art Newspaper

The Dude Endowment: $40 Million Gift To New York Philharmonic To Fund Gustavo Dudamel’s Music Director Position

"The 42-year-old Dudamel has been music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009, a tenure that will end after 17 seasons when he starts in New York. … (He) will become The Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Music and Artistic Director Chair starting with the 2025-26 season" - AP

Pulitzer Board Opens Arts And Literature Prizes To Non-US Citizens

"The prestigious award for books, drama and music, which had previously been open to just US citizens, will now consider permanent residents of the US and those who have made the US 'their longtime primary home', according to a press release on behalf of the Pulitzer prize board." - The Guardian

The Risks And Creative Rewards Of Loneliness

The lonely are at substantially elevated risk for heart disease, stroke, obesity, addiction, and dementia; being lonely increases your overall risk of premature death by more than 60%. And the number of Americans afflicted by loneliness is not small: a recent survey found that more than 50 percent of us reported feeling lonely. - American Scholar

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