On one side, new faces have meant less tolerance for the flippant bigotry that has long been a part of stand-up—Shane Gillis, for example, recently lost a spot on Saturday Night Live after people called out his history of using homophobic and racist slurs. On the other side—which includes some of the biggest names in the business, like Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, and Ricky Gervais—comedians complain that people can no longer take a joke and that the art is losing its edge because of what they dismiss as “cancel culture.” – The Walrus
And Now A Word From The Cassandra Of American Letters
Lionel Shriver, who is sixty-three, thinks people are ridiculous for congratulating themselves on enduring quarantine, when the worst is yet to come. “This is not the bad part,” she said. – The New Yorker
The Tragedy Of Philosophy
To live is to encounter the tragic — a reality shot through with utter strife, and covered in complete darkness. Despite our best attempts, we are not going to get out of it. For philosophers to overlook, sugarcoat, or rationalize this fact is to deny something essential about who we are and what we might become, both intentionally but also in spite of ourselves. – Los Angeles Review of Books
Do We Need A Different Way Of Categorizing Books?
A category only exists in relation to other categories, similarly constituted. You would need to establish a number of other clearly defined hierarchies of value, or centers of interest, generating distinct, or at least recognizable, types of plot and character interaction. For example, stories in which good and evil are absolute, not subordinated to the community, which in this case would matter only in so far as it fosters goodness, not vice versa. – New York Review of Books
Alan Jacobi, 67, Self-Taught Engineer Who Revolutionized Stagecraft
A self-taught engineer, AJ virtually created the rigging industry out of a background in theatre lighting. When he began, in the early 1980s, technicians still hung their own lights, but in the era of extravagant musicals, rock concerts and spectaculars AJ saw an opportunity within the gravity-defying ambitions of designers and directors. – The Guardian
The Pandemic Has Shown Us The True Realist Among Playwrights: Samuel Beckett
Charles McNulty: “Stuck indoors with little to distract us from the bewilderment of our metaphysical predicament, we are like one of his immobilized characters, not scrunched into trash cans like Hamm’s elderly parents in Endgame but confined all the same to a narrow loop of existence.” – Los Angeles Times
A Carnegie Hall Debut Re-imagined Online
Bucking the trend in classical music of often low-quality livestreams, yet not wanting to lay low completely, Timo Andres decided to salvage his Carnegie program by documenting it as a series of videos on the platform. – The New York Times
Actor Showcases Go Online – A Push To The Future?
Some representatives believe that, even after social distancing measures fade, schools will begin to incorporate video into at least part of their showcase models. On-demand video allows agents and managers to avoid the hassle of attending a live event, to choose the time when they view the showcase, to take meetings with students over a longer period and to see actors who they are considering for television or film projects onscreen. – The Hollywood Reporter
Broadway League President Says A January Reopening?
Charlotte St. Martin said that in the last ten weeks Broadway has been losing an average of $35 million a week; this will remain so for however long Broadway remains closed. If this continues to January, that means a total loss of around $1.5 billion—with the sum heading towards $2 billion if the closure continues into next spring. – The Daily Beast
2020 Turner Prize Cancelled – £100,000 Prize Will Be Used To Help Artists
“Gallery closures and social distancing measures are vitally important, but they are also causing huge disruption to the lives and livelihoods of artists. The practicalities of organising a Turner Prize exhibition are impossible in the current circumstances, so we have decided to help support even more artists during this exceptionally difficult time.” The move was broadly welcomed on social media with one contributor calling the initiative a “philanthropic and democratic move”. – The Art Newspaper
Pioneering Op Art Painter Richard Anuszkiewicz Dead At 89
“[He] devoted his career to studying how some of the fundamental elements of art could be manipulated to create perceptual effects. His experiments with color led him to make paintings of geometric shapes that seem to vibrate and emanate light.” – The New York Times
Insurance Companies Put Theatres At Risk
Most theatres and show producers have been sold expensive “business interruption” policies to cover closure as a result of events outside their control. But believe it or not, according to the insurers Covid-19 does not count. I repeat, the closure of every theatre in the country by the pandemic does not meet the insurers’ idea of business interruption. – The Times (UK)
The Dangers And Delights Of Choreographing Over-Familiar Music
Carmina Burana. Bolero. Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel. Even The Rite of Spring. They’re good pieces, they work for dance, and audiences are familiar with them. “Still, many choreographers have been sabotaged by the formidable nature and Muzak-y overuse of these iconic compositions,” writes Joseph Carman, who talks to several choreographers about how they’ve successfully pulled the feat off. – Dance Magazine
How Will Art Schools Reopen In The Fall? In California, They Really Aren’t Sure
“Hyperallergic reached out to several art schools in California to see how they are planning to address the need for social distancing while maintaining the integrity of their arts curriculums.” The consensus: there’s no telling yet what the rules will be in September, so administrators and faculty are working out multiple scenarios. – Hyperallergic
London’s Southbank Centre Says It Must Close Until April 2021 Unless It Gets More State Money
“The UK’s largest arts and cultural organisation, the Southbank Centre, has warned that it will have used up its financial reserves by September, forcing its closure until April 2021 unless it gets further government support. The centre, which puts on more than 3,500 events every year” and contains three concert halls, an art gallery, and a library “and is home to eight orchestras, revealed details of the crippling financial pressures it is facing as a result of the coronavirus crisis.” – The Guardian
Salzburg Festival 2020 Will Go Ahead — In Reduced Form
“Bucking the trend of the vast majority of international festivals and opera companies that have been forced to shutter due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Salzburg Festival announced today that it plans to present a modified festival this summer, with fewer performances in shortened formats taking place from August 1 through 30.” No details of the programming were revealed. – Opera News