Yearly Archives: 2021
Theatre Norms: Always Changing
The 19th century brought about the popularization of the proscenium arch: an architectural feature that effectively separates the audience from the actors on stage. Alongside...
Two Books Explore What It’s Really Like To Be A Ballerina
There are dancers, and there are ballerinas. Just like there are cooks, and then there are chefs. - Alastair Macaulay
Pianist Stephen Hough: Music Isn’t Icing On The Cake Of Life, It Is Life
Hough played the first live, streamed concert after shutdown to an empty hall in London. "It was a reminder of how important a cog...
The Deep Emotional Appeal Of Nature Photos
Photos of animals bypass logic and get directly to the heart. One photographer makes sure her subjects are looking directly at the camera: "We...
Lin-Manuel Miranda Turned Jonathan Larson’s Solo Show Into A Filmed Rock Opera
It's not a direct adaptation: "Miranda and his co-writer Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen) have added music from Larson's other shows, tweaked some of...
How Saturday Night Live Turned Itself Into The Internet
"Given the anxious state of the world today, watching the show has started to feel uncannily like doomscrolling through a social-media feed." That's mixed with daffy...
San Antonio Symphony Musicians Strike To Prevent Personnel And Pay Cuts
Mary Ellen Goree, principal second violin: "I cannot sit on stage in my chair knowing that 26 of my colleagues lost their jobs just...
We Need To Puncture Our Knowledge Bubbles
"What we don’t know — about the lives of our neighbors and fellow citizens and why they think the way they do — is...
An Ancient Book’s Journey From Irish Bog To Museum
It was a scary path. "Archaeologists placed the 'conglomeration' of squashed pages, leather and turf in a walk-in cold store in the museum at...
An Appreciation Of Dave Hickey, Prolific Art Critic
Christopher Knight: "Lots of smart people write smart things about art but nobody was a better writer than Dave. ... Hickey, a brilliant and...
Gary Shteyngart On The Keys To Writing Novels Quickly
The novelist, who says it doesn't get any easier no matter how many you've written, has a few tips like, well, write what you...
A Man Who Helped Loot Cambodia Wants To Atone, And Recover The Artifacts
Toek Tik was "an unschooled man from a thatch-roofed hut who recently began disclosing to authorities how he oversaw hundreds of confederates as they...
Why Are Online Art Shows Phoning It In?
After all, we've had nearly two years to experiment and make them at least decent, if not great. - Hyperallergic
This Year, Says The Palme D’Or Winner, Women Kicked ‘Serious Ass’ In Film
The winner at Cannes, Julia Ducournau is excited "about the current boom in female horror; she particularly rates British films by Rose Glass (Saint...
How Pianist Bruce Liu Won The Chopin Competition
According to the Canadian pianist Liu, the answer after an extra COVID year was spontaneity. "That was the challenge, actually: to not get bored...
Lockdown Band The Verinos Tells Middle-Aged Women It’s Time To Make More Music
"'Often there's that idea that you're just going to dig your garden and go to Zumba or visit a National Trust property,' songwriter and...
The Documentary Effect
In recent weeks, documentaries about R. Kelly, Britney Spears, Malcolm X's killers, and Julius Jones appear to have had real-world effects. Why now? Theory:...
An Archconservative Flips Out About The Met
The museum has an Afrofuturist room; therefore, civilization as "we" know it is ending. "Conservatives want to conserve. ... But if you value history,...
Adele Changed Spotify This Weekend
She told Spotify to quit with the shuffle on albums - and "on Saturday, the streaming giant confirmed that it had agreed to the...
Professional Armorers Say Guns Belong On Film Sets
One armorer: "You can’t keep hiring people who aren’t qualified just to get your movie made because you have a time constriction. ... Getting...
The Best Set For A Teen Comedy Is A High School You Bought For...
At American High, "the school has not had actual students in the halls for years, but it is once again home to high school...
Decades Of Success As An Arts Administrator Requires Flexibility And Nimble Responses
Of course the past two years have meant near-constant revisions of goals, budgets, and the definition of success - but in Portland, the Friends...
It’s Well Past Time To Democratize The Arts In New York
In New York, the arts' elitism "stands in stark contrast to the middle decades of the 20th century, when the city was a haven...
The Joys Of Playing In The Long-Locked Beatles Vault
"It is striking just how much joy is contained within the vivid and eerily detailed footage. Contrary to almost all accounts over the past...
Bonnie Sherk Had A Performance-Based Take On Landscape Art
The artist, dead at 76, did this near an on-ramp: "A young woman was sitting on a bale of hay, surrounded by potted palm...