How such a promising tenure at Spain’s Teatro Real went so sour; the problems with the Paris Opera and Paris audiences; why he constantly worked with some collaborators and refused others entirely; what he believed was most important about opera. (in French)
In The UK, Rural Theatre Takes Risks
“It made me smile to see one comment from a user who liked the place because it was where he went both to see standup comedy and to give blood. Nobody would ever say that about the National Theatre – but maybe we should be able to. Otherwise, theatre becomes separated from the everyday lives of ordinary people and hidden away in cathedrals to art that have no connection to the real world.”
Canada’s National Film Board Vows To Bring About Gender Parity – And Change The Film Landscape
“If the NFB’s enforced parity seems like a reasonable solution, it is because the larger industry is so heavily male that women filmmakers have begun calling for radical change, believing that the shortage of female directors behind the camera and the absence of strong female stories on screen are linked.”
Theatre’s 18th-Century Thunder Machine Rumbles Once More
“The ‘thunder run’ in the British theater’s ceiling is a rare example of cutting-edge Georgian technology that involves balls rolling down a wooden chute to conjure the roar of a tempest.” (includes video)
Binge-Watching Makes Us Depressed, Says (Depressing) Study
“[The study] found that, of 408 participants, 35 percent qualified as binge-watchers, and those binge-watchers reported higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression than their non-binge-watching counterparts.”
‘I’m Judgy McJudgerson’ – Audra McDonald Can’t Give Herself A Break
“Over dinner one evening, she tears up talking about [her six Tony Awards], as if she had gotten them fraudulently. … So vigilant is she about not seeming grand or entitled that you can’t help wondering what phantoms she’s boxing.”
Can Hollywood Fix Its Muslim Problem? (Does It Really Want To?)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently met with studio execs on “how to counter [the] #Daesh narrative”. (Daesh = ISIS) The problem is that, for several generations, the way Hollywood has portrayed Muslims has played right into that narrative.
28 Reasons New York Theater Is In A New Golden Age
“16. Old ladies!
Lois Smith, who has been acting on Broadway since 1952, … is having a golden age of her own at 85, and she’s not the only one. … We’ve got Phylicia Rashad, Linda Lavin, Judith Light, and even Cicely Tyson showing up year in, year out.”
Julie Kent Has Big Plans For Washington Ballet
“On Kent’s dream list of ballets to add to the repertoire are works by English, Russian and American masters, such as Frederick Ashton, Alexei Ratmansky and Martha Graham. She aims to group them into programs by their nationality, to explore ‘the similarities, and what makes an English or a Russian masterpiece, and the chronologies.'”
Here Are The Women Who Are Changing Classical Music
It will take longer for the work of women composers to establish itself in the repertory, but the sheer amount and rich variety of creativity now underway is inspiring.
Musician Brains: Ever Wonder What Musicians Focus On While They’re Performing?
In pie charts, you can see what musicians playing various instruments are thinking as they play.
Rarity: A Major American Newspaper Is Hiring A Theatre Critic
“As the theater critic for the dominant media outlet, you will provide robust features, news stories, digital and print content, as well as reviews of one of the most diverse and lively theater scenes in the United States.”
What It Feels Like To Read When You’re Dyslexic
“The letters constantly flicker around, and everything seems jumbled. The words seem to make sense at first and then they don’t, and just when you think you’ve figured out the word, it seems to morph into a totally different one.”
Silicon Valley Ballet Shuts Down
“News of the $5.5 million company’s demise, which impacts an estimated 32 staff members and 32 dancers, has left many in the arts community saddened if not shocked, and comes in the wake of the death of San Jose Repertory Theatre in 2014. The ballet’s closing raises questions anew about the stability of the arts in Silicon Valley, despite its status as capital of the tech world.”
Kennedy Center Appoints Its First Ever Artistic Director Of Hip Hop
“An important aspect of our identity here at the center is the fact that we are a living memorial. You can’t really, as a performing arts center, recognize [Kennedy’s] achievements, but you can extrapolate the ideals that we associate with him and bring these ideals to life through performing arts activities.”
Ten Things Herbie Hancock And Wayne Shorter Want To Tell The Next Generation Of Artists
The world needs more one-on-one interaction among people of diverse origins with a greater emphasis on art, culture and education. Our differences are what we have in common.”
#CreatorGate – Scientific Academia Goes Nuts Over One Word In A Study About Hands
“It’s rare for any kind of deity to get a shout out in a scientific journal, let alone one as well-known and widely-read as PLOS One, so the reference raised alarms in the scientific community as soon as it was pointed out online last week.”
Bill Gates-Steve Jobs Musical Cancels Broadway Opening
“Nerds, the long-aborning and much-delayed musical comedy about the rivalry of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, has hit another roadblock, cancelling a Broadway opening that had been scheduled for April. The musical has been kicking around since it debuted at the New York Musical Theater Festival in 2005.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.08.16
Complex Problem? Fail your way to a solution.
Like Ed Catmull of Pixar states, failure is necessary to producing successful creative work. If only because the first idea is not always the best idea. It requires reworking, shapeshifting. … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2016-03-08
Setting Intention
“One great lesson we learn when we mess up is how to set intention.” … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2016-03-08
It’s a Shark
Have you heard the saying “a few sharks can ruin the sea”? Probably not. It’s not an actual saying. Perhaps it should be. Have you ever wanted to take a chance … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2016-03-08
Boulez haunts the Philharmonic – from his noisy youth
Pierre Boulez has been haunting the New York Philharmonic mercilessly. On Monday night at the fashionable Williamsburg, Brooklyn venue known as National Sawdust, the recently deceased composer was heard alongside … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2016-03-08
“We All Paint in Delacroix’s Language”
Paul Cezanne said that. He also said that Delacroix’s palette was “the most beautiful” in France. … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-03-08
Mad Met: More on the Met Breuer’s Misfire on Madison
While the Met Breuer’s inaugural show, Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, may prove to be a popular success, given the interest in the Metropolitan Museum’s new Madison Avenue initiatives, it got mostly tepid to negative verdicts … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-03-08
Dancing in Places
Eiko performing in Precarious II: Guest Solos in PLATFORM 2016: A Body in Places at St. Mark’s Church. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2016-03-08
Midweek Special: Farmer, Hall Swallow, Perkins — Just Because
Art Farmer, flugehorn; Jim Hall, guitar; Steve Swallow, bass; and Walter Perkins, drums, play Sergio Mihanovich’s “Sometime Ago,” on Ralph J. Gleason’s public television series Jazz Casual, ca. 1963. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-03-08
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U.S. Supreme Court Declines Appeal Of Apple Ebook Price Fixing Case
“The Supreme Court on Monday refused to review an appeals court’s determination that Apple had conspired with book publishers to raise the prices of digital books. The court’s order, which following custom was issued without any accompanying explanation, puts into effect a $450 million settlement that Apple had agreed to pay if it lost the case.”