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The “Death Slot” On Broadcast TV Schedules: A Brief History

"Death slots" were times when audiences were presumed to be low, and therefore where network programmers would park shows presumed to be doomed anyway, so the series — most notoriously, the original Star Trek — would get cancelled for low ratings. Yet it turned out some shows thrived in "death slots." - Tedium

No Mics, No Musicals, Just A Lot Of Wisconsin Theatre Fans

At American Players Theater, “banking on the glory of the human voice is primarily an artistic decision: Nothing comes between the actors, their words and the public.” - The New York Times

This Conductor’s Group Gets Funding From A Russian State Bank, But Somehow It’s Still Welcome In Austria

It’s more than two years into Russia’s war with Ukraine, and Teodor Currentzis’ “continued presence is frustrating to many, raising uncomfortable questions about what is acceptable in service of music.” - The New York Times

Iowa Law Banning Books With Sexual Content Goes Back Into Effect

The law, which will be appealed again, “bans any titles that describe sexual acts from K-12 schools, with the exception of religious texts. The law also limits instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity before seventh grade.” - The New York Times

AI Music Production Is Getting Easier, But Is It Getting Better?

“Music appears so much earlier in human history than money, let alone the music industry. We’ve found all sorts of other reasons to make music anyway.” - Vox

The Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Dancers Joined A Union – And Then The Organization Fired Them All

The most recent post on DBDT’s Instagram is an audition call. “All of it comes after filed unfair labor practice charges last weekend against DBDT, Dallas’ oldest continuously operating professional dance company.” - Dallas Morning News (MSN)

How Michelangelo’s Dome Has Survived For Centuries

He had some (postmortem) secret weapons at St. Peter’s Basilica: A team of mathematicians … and the Pope. - Hyperallergic

How Small Towns And Rural Areas Can Keep The Arts Going

Collective action is the key: “A rural community may not necessarily receive the art it deserves, but it certainly gets the art it is collectively willing to work for. The majority of any given rural community must demonstrate a willingness to work towards arts vibrancy.” - SMU DataArts

The Four Children of Frank Zappa And Their Frustrations, Finances, And Fights

"Moon has spent decades reassessing the family dynamic. Dweezil no longer speaks to his siblings. Ahmet and Diva, meanwhile, seem dazed by the force of their siblings’ anger — siblings with whom they share not just a fraught business partnership but also a one-of-a-kind childhood." - The Washington Post

The Salzburgians Who Hate Sound Of Music On Its 60th Anniversary

“The story was too romantic. It was tears cutting out of your eyes. And the von Trapp, they left their home. For the others, it was not possible to go away, only for the noble family. And then all the other people in the film seemed to be Nazis.” - NPR

Banksy’s Fourth London Piece Is Stolen Nearly As Soon As It Goes Up

The image of a howling wolf was on a satellite dish on top of a store on Rye Lane. Two men with a ladder and masks quickly snagged the satellite dish and ran off with it. - BBC

Gradually, Restaurants Are Becoming Literally Inhuman: Pete Wells In His Farewell Column

"Blackbird’s new checkless exit gives me the creeps. It's just the latest in a series of changes that have gradually and steadily stripped the human touch and human voice out of restaurants. Each of these changes was small, but together they’ve made going out to eat much less personal." - The New York Times

Seattle Opera’s New General Director: Opera Theatre Of St. Louis’s James Robinson

"Robinson, who has been artistic director at the opera company in Missouri since 2008, will join Seattle Opera on Sept. 4. … He succeeds Christina Scheppelmann, who (is) leaving after the end of the 2023-24 season to become general and artistic director of Brussels’s La Monnaie/De Munt." - The Seattle Times

These Are The Thirteen Books Totally Banned In Utah Classrooms

Good luck keeping A Court of Thorns and Roses out of the hands of teenagers, but also, this is horrifying - and includes Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, for instance, along with Judy Blume, Rupi Kaur, and (are we surprised?) other women authors. - Salt Lake Tribune

Breaking At The Olympics: How The Judging System Works

"Understanding the intricacies of the judging system — and how it’s been adjusted to work in the Olympics, while still honoring breaking’s history — offers a window into how an art form will be incorporated into one of the most-watched sporting events worldwide." - Dance Magazine

Breaking At The Olympics: A Guide To The Power Moves

"This spring, at Red Bull’s Lords of the Floor competition, we watched Olympians bust out some of the moves they’ll showcase at the Summer Games and asked experts how some of breaking’s roots will be on display in Paris." - The New York Times

Anthony Roth Costanzo May Be Just The Right Guy To Save Opera Philadelphia

"Costanzo is a rare blend of artistic star power and equally starry connections, entrepreneurial intuition, and business savvy. He’s just the sort of triple threat who could bring opera in Philadelphia out of what’s been looking like a death spiral." - Philadelphia Magazine

The Artist Jailed By Putin For Five Tiny Pieces Of Paper

Sasha Skochilenko, released in the multi-country, multi-person prisoner swap, was serving seven years for substituting price tags in a grocery store with messages like, “The Russian Army bombed an art school in Mariupol where about 400 people were seeking shelter.” - The Atlantic (MSN)

If You Want Your Broadway Show To Do Well, You’ll Need To Capture The Influencers

How did The Great Gatsby get excitement for its cast album flowing? TikTok, of course - and also YouTube, Instagram, and X/Twitter, not to mention a party for influencers on all of these channels. Brand strategy: Snag the kids now, and it’ll pay off later. - The New York Times

Yuval Sharon Will Stage Metropolitan Opera’s Next “Ring” Cycle And “Tristan”

Sharon’s Tristan und Isolde opens March 9, 2026 with Lise Davidsen as Isolde. The Ring begins with Das Rheingold in spring 2028, continues with Die Walküre and Siegfried in 2028-29, and culminates with Gotterdämmerung in 2029-30. Davidsen will sing Brünnhilde, and there will be complete cycles in the spring of 2030. - AP
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