“Naturally, as a woman and a mother, I am not for sexual predation of women in any industry. That kind of goes without saying. Before Nora Ephron died, she made a list of the things she wouldn’t miss. I think number one or two on that list of things I won’t miss are more panels about why there aren’t enough women in film. That’s kind of how I’m feeling now. We talk about it, and we talk about it, and nothing fucking changes. You can quote me on that.” – The Smart Set
Blackface Minstrelsy, America’s First Cultural Export
While other nations have had traditions of blackening the face to portray a particular character (e.g., Holland’s Zwarte Piet), “a man named Thomas Dartmouth Rice first brought American minstrel shows to Europe in 1836 in which white performers portrayed African American slaves in tattered clothes, dancing and singing songs such as ‘Jump Jim Crow.’ … [Subsequently,] blackface minstrels toured Australia, India, South America, South Africa and other places in the world. They were seen as American and therefore exotic” — and their imagery was absorbed into other cultures.” – Public Radio International
After 109 Years, Yale Whiffenpoofs Admit A Female
The most famous of collegiate a cappella groups, the Whiffenpoofs were an all-male outfit until a decision last year to choose singers based on voice range (still tenor, baritone, and bass) rather than gender. So the Whiffenpoofs line-up for 2018-29 includes tenor Sofia Campoamor. – The Washington Post
Jan Wahl, Children’s Book Author Who Worked With Greatest Illustrators, Dead At 87
“[He] was an extraordinarily prolific author who published more than 100 books, many of which found favor with children and parents alike. His collaborating with leading book artists” — among them Maurice Sendak, Edward Gorey, and Norman Rockwell — “was one measure of the esteem with which his work was held; they can be notably selective about what children’s book authors they’ll work with.” – The New York Times
Professional-Level Arts Are Thoroughly Subsidized By (If Not Addicted To) Unpaid Labor
Citing practices that “wouldn’t be tolerated in any other industry,” the ArtsPay 2018 survey “reveals that salaries in the sector, which are already low in comparison with other industries, are even less favourable than they appear because they take no account of the unpaid overtime that workers are routinely expected to do. It raises serious questions about the sustainability of careers in the arts.” – Arts Professional
How Neuroscience Is Going to Change The Business Of Finding An Audience
Neuroscience, it turns out, can help change how companies think about new opportunities, and specifically, within the emerging field of applied neuroscience. Applied neuroscience is best described as the use of neuroscience tools and insights to measure and understand human behavior. Using applied neuroscience, leaders are able to generate data about critical moments of decision making, and then use this data to make confident choices that help to navigate the future of an initiative. – Harvard Business Review
A Prescient Warning From 1994 About Dangers Of A Distraction Culture
Writing in 1994, Sven Birkerts worried that distractedness and surficiality would win out. The “duration state” we enter through a turned page would be lost in a world of increasing speed and relentless connectivity, and with it our ability to make meaning out of narratives, both fictional and lived. The diminishment of literature—of sustained reading, of writing as the product of a single focused mind—would diminish the self in turn, rendering us less and less able to grasp both the breadth of our world and the depth of our own consciousness. – Paris Review
The Six-Foot-Seven Prisoner Who Staged The First All-Black Shakespeare
Richard Crafus, aka “King Dick”, was shipped off to a prison in southwestern England as an enemy combatant during the War of 1812. The biggest and strongest man in a segregated wing of the jail, he ran everything there — including a prisoners’ theatre, where he staged Romeo and Juliet and Othello. – The Stage
Play Under Attack For Using Puppet To Play Autistic Child
In All In A Row by Alex Oates, “a puppet portrays the character of Laurence, who is described as ‘autistic, non-verbal and occasionally violent’. … The play has faced a backlash online since a production video previewing it was released.” Critics say that the casting “fed into ‘a negative narrative of dehumanising’. A spokesman for the play said it was ‘untenable’ to get autistic performers to play the part.” – London Evening Standard
Choose: Through This Door The World Is Getting Better. Through The Other Door…
This may not feel like a particularly revolutionary time. But, if we look closely, we can see current economic, social, and political forces pulling us in two directions. One direction will accelerate us forward, the other backwards. We will decide our fate by the revolution we embrace. – The Walrus
Why Instagram “Museums” Are Such Hollow Experiences
Photography has long played a crucial role in how we shape the narrative of our lives. Milestones are documented, creating an archive that can be looked back on for years to come. But the value of facilitated photographs—whether a carnival’s fake backdrop of Niagara Falls or giant stilettos at the Happy Place—are a bit more difficult to parse. The photos are blatantly staged and not attached to important life events. – The Walrus
The Bluegrass Song About Atonal Music That’s Gone Viral On YouTube
“(Gimme some of that) Ol’ Atonal Music,” by the singer Merle Hazard, details in sunny and endearing tones a love of atonality, while explaining to newbies what that is (music that isn’t in one clear key), and includes the best atonal banjo solo you’ve ever heard (probably the only atonal banjo solo you’ve ever heard). That the solo, and the production values, are so good, is no surprise: The soloist and the recording’s producer is Alison Brown, one of the leading five-string banjo players in the country. Combine that with a crack backup band, Hazard’s sweetly earnest delivery and a John Cage spoof that’s actually funny, and you have a lot of people laughing at their desks. – Washington Post
About Time: Landmark Deal Gives Actors Profit Sharing On Work They Help Develop
The deal, reached between Actors’ Equity, a union representing 51,000 performers and stage managers, and the Broadway League, a trade organization for producers, is a milestone, marking the first time that the industry’s financiers have tacitly agreed to acknowledge that performers are contributing ideas, not just labor, to shaping new musicals and plays. – The New York Times
As A Ring Is Busted, Counting The Ruinous Damage Of Years Of Fake ‘Authentic’ Native Art
Several businesses were involved in purchasing jewelry from the Philippines and selling it as “genuine” Native American art – scams worth $12 million, with 300 shipments from 2010-2015. “During the court hearing, Native American artist Liz Wallace said, ‘I don’t think calling this cultural appropriation is adequate. It’s economic colonization.'” – Hyperallergic
Let’s Just Sum Up The Publishing Scandals Of February
Holy hell. Quick recap: “We got a Talented Mr. Grifter story about a best-selling novelist, a plagiarism scandal involving the former editor of the biggest and most reputable paper in the country, and a blackmail saga involving dick pics.” – Vulture
Amazon, Privacy, And Kids At School
Hm. The company has announced some recent “initiatives” and training courses for kids. “These programs aren’t just charity of course: They stood to serve Amazon itself in various ways—the most obvious, perhaps, being PR.” (And data collection.) – Vice
Can A Dallas Museum Initiate A Thaw With Russia?
It’s worth a try. “It’s been nearly a decade since Russian state museums last loaned works from their vast and magnificent collections to U.S. institutions. For example, no art by Rembrandt, Matisse, Picasso, da Vinci, Monet, Pissarro, Van Gogh or Gauguin housed in Russia’s storied Hermitage Museum has appeared in the U.S. since the Russians withdrew from all lending agreements in 2010.” – Dallas Morning News
Is Britain’s West End Finally Stepping Up For Women Playwrights?
Looks like it. Of course, there’s always (been) Agatha Christie and The Mousetrap, but looking beyond Dame Agatha, “Changes do appear to be happening. And activism … is helping.” – The Stage (UK)
Lou Harrison and The Great American Piano Concerto — Reprised
Lou Harrison’s Piano Concerto is “a technical tour de force: a terrific sonata form whose trajectory does not depend on directional harmony.” – Joe Horowitz
The Director Of ‘The Shoplifters’ Isn’t Interested In Happy Endings
If you’ve seen Hirokazu Kore-eda’s other films, like Nobody Knows or Like Father, Like Son, you won’t be surprised that The Shoplifters isn’t all about joy. The director says, “I don’t portray people or make movies where viewers can easily find hope. … Some people want to see characters who grow and become stronger over the course of a film. But I don’t want to make such a movie.” – The New York Times
Rosamunde Pilcher, Author Of ‘The Shell Seekers,’ Has Died At 94
Pilcher had been writing short stories and novels for decades before her most famous book made her a star, and not just in Britain and the U.S. “A string of German TV productions based on her books and short stories was so popular in that country that German tourists traveled by the thousands to Cornwall to see the area where the films were shot and where some of her stories were set.” – The New York Times
Post-Apocalypse Now
The future, and present, of fiction is cli-fi – books about what humans do while, and after, we change the climate. “We need to show people what life will look like under current and future climate-change conditions, and to share ideas about how to mitigate those conditions. We know that people are more likely to absorb information from stories than from data and lectures.” – The Millions
A Brief Timeline Of All Of The Shady ‘National Enquirer’ Doings, Pre-Bezos
Just in case you haven’t been following along, here’s the deal. “The Enquirer makes no pretense of following journalistic norms, and its parent company has a longer history of ethical indiscretions. The warning signs have been there, from David Pecker’s early years in magazine publishing.” – Slate
James Baldwin Deserves Better Than Barry Jenkins’ ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’
Sure, it’s a nice celebration of two young Black people in love, but: “It has been defanged, declawed—and Baldwin’s novel works precisely because of those jagged, painful edges.” – LitHub
Actors Equity Strike Ends For Shows In Development
The strike was against the Broadway League; Actors Equity said that actors and stage managers involved with readings, labs, and developmental shows hadn’t seen a raise since 2007. “The new agreement will include profit sharing, higher wagers, and additional stage manager contracts.” – American Theatre