The curated images of other people’s lives we see on the screen can leave us feeling like we’re comparatively inadequate. The often spoken of “fear-of-missing-out” is a real thing. When you have dozens of people doing something once, with continual updating it can appear like everybody is doing something all the time. The political aspects of social media can make things worse. Even when people agree with you, the slew of information can be too much, says Dr. Erin Elfant, a clinical psychologist working out of California. – Big Think
Colorado Springs Philharmonic Canceled Musicians’ Contract And Won’t Negotiate New One
The orchestra and its players worked out a contract in April, when the pandemic was still new. Management says it then kept the musicians on full salary through the summer but, with no ticket revenue coming in, can no longer pay anything and so canceled the agreement entirely. The musicians union says it offered numerous times to make further changes — even suggesting a switch from salaries to per-service fees until a full concert schedule resumes — but that all such offers were rejected. – KOAA (Pueblo/Colorado Springs)
Lengthy Lawsuit Over Robert Indiana’s Estate Is Near Settlement
“The estate of Robert Indiana and the late artist’s longtime representative have tentatively agreed to settle their legal dispute and asked the judges in the complicated case involving his art and legacy to pause the proceedings so they can work out the details of the settlement. … Indiana died at age 89 within a day after the suit was filed. In addition to dragging on for more than 2½ years, the case has cost the Indiana estate as much as $8 million in legal fees.” – Portland Press Herald
As It Seeks New Owners, Can Second City Fix Its Perennial Problems?
“The company’s ownership and leadership teams are in flux after allegations of institutional racism went viral on social media, and the remaining decision makers vowed to review everything from human resources protocol to material used in shows and artwork on their walls.” In a multi-article package, the Chicago Tribune examines the current state of the institution, considers the search for new owners, looks at the diversity promises the company made this past summer, and spoke with numerous BIPOC Second City alumni. – Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)
There’s One Place In The World Where A Major Art Fair Just Opened Normally
That’s South Korea, where the novel coronavirus is largely under control and Art Busan has now begun in the country’s second city. The fair didn’t begin on schedule (it was postponed from its usual date in May), but it is happening as other Asian fairs (such as the new Art SG in Singapore) are still being cancelled. – ARTnews
Anne Hathaway Apologizes To The Disability Community About Her Character In The Witches
Hathway’s character had three fingers on one hand – and the film made that a stand-in for her character’s evil. “The disability community reacted to the now-streaming film with disappointment, sadness, and outrage.” – Los Angeles Times
Another Kind Of Virtual Theatre
The kind that’s in print – “a book reflecting on what it means to make theatre at a time when live performance is effectively halted.” Depressed playwrights, this one’s for you. – American Theatre
How Will Britain’s National Theatre Deal With The Second Shutdown – And Christmas Pantos?
The NT has a lot more plans this time: “It’s radically different from last time. We’ve got a space that’s ready to go and we know what the shows are that we want to do. We’re hoping lockdown will be lifted at least for a time over Christmas so that the panto that’s in rehearsal [Dick Whittington] can take place. If by any chance the lockdown continues, then we’ll capture it and do something with that recording. The other thing that’s in rehearsal is Romeo and Juliet, which is a film.” – The Guardian (UK)
Dancer And Choreographer Akram Khan Embraces A New Physical Challenge
The world of mixed martial arts is deeply violent – and Khan, who has been dancing for 30 years, wanted to confront his own fears about violence. He ended up choreographing for the fighters. “Once Khan realised that the spectacle surrounding MMA was just as important as the fight itself, he set about creating a dance-based narrative for Brazier’s walk-on to the cage, merging the controlled violence of both practices.” – The Guardian (UK)
Watching Women Who Wallop
Mahnola Dargis: “I looked to Hong Kong (the great Michelle Yeoh), French nonsense (“La Femme Nikita”) and American exploitation flicks (the indelible Pam Grier), where the punches were in service to braless jiggling. Only recently did I grasp that the behind-the-scenes videos I was looking at were showing women kicking and punching their way to different kinds of female representation.” – The New York Times
Don’t Let The Orchestra Become A Museum piece
Many orchestras fumbled the move to digital, which isn’t really a surprise since they weren’t prepared. “We need to draw people in with ideas they can relate to. Why do we need to do this? Theatre, dance, cinema, the visual arts have been doing this successfully for years. Their audiences are more diverse. Orchestras are several steps behind in this respect.” – The Strad
After Losing Libel Case In Britain, Johnny Depp Is Asked To Leave The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Franchise
Warner Bros. is recasting the role of Grindelwald for its third movie in the franchise. The British court’s decision last week “came after a trial in which Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard, 34, presented scandalous conflicting testimony about their turbulent years together — testimony that included admissions of heavy drug use by Depp and allegations of violence on both sides.” – Los Angeles Times
Penumbra Theatre Is 44, And In Middle-Age It’s Sitting Pretty Even During The Pandemic
With Ford and Mellon grants plus pledges of twice its annual operating budget from other sources, the St. Paul theatre is on firm financial footing. The artistic director says, “This allows us to dream,” while the managing director is happy that “We’re now resourced in a way that we’ve never been, so we’re getting out of grind mode.” It’s an enviable position to be in right now, but it only comes after decades of that grind. – Minneapolis Star-Tribune
How To Market To Millennials And Zoomers?
Maybe ask this guy, who tweeted that he was going to write an erotic story about the president. “He released Trump Temptations: The Billionaire and the Bell Boy, a fictional account of Mr. Trump and a male lover, on Amazon. It blew up before it was taken down, at which point Mr. Daniel released it for free on Wattpad, a self-publishing site focused on fan fiction, where it was viewed 2.3 million times.” – The New York Times
Hundreds Of Authors Come Together To Support Indie Bookstores In The UK
The UK’s second lockdown is terrifying for small bookshops in the run-up to Christmas. “Bestselling novelist Holly Bourne came up with the idea of providing stores with signed, personalised bookplates to incentivise customers to buy from their local shop rather than online.” – The Guardian (UK)
Marguerite Littman, Truman Capote’s Inspiration For Holly Golightly, Has Died At 90
Littman was “a honey-voiced Louisianian and literary muse who taught Hollywood to speak Southern, but [she] left her most enduring legacy as an early force in the fight against AIDS” – The New York Times
The Woman Who Built Beethoven’s Pianos
Oops, Beethoven scholars: Nannette Streicher “owned her own company — employing her husband, Andreas Streicher, a pianist and teacher, to handle sales, bookkeeping and business correspondence. But many Beethoven scholars, perhaps finding it inconceivable that an 18th-century woman could build a piano, have turned Andreas into the manufacturer and Nannette into his shadowy helpmate.” – The New York Times