“[Gov. Cuomo] said that arts, entertainment and events venues can reopen April 2 at 33 percent capacity, with a limit of 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors, and a requirement that all attendees wear masks and be socially distanced. Those limits would be increased — to 150 people indoors or 500 people outdoors — if all attendees test negative before entering.” – The New York Times
Building Audiences
Dance Through The Mailbox
Audience members sit on stools in separated cubicles surrounding the stage, each with its own door and letter-drop slots through which they can watch the dancers. – Reuters
At The Detroit Symphony’s Virtual Orchestra Hall, Inside The Head Of A (Virtual) Listener
Michael Andor Brodeur: “I’m ‘here’ to virtually attend a rehearsal of Stride, a stirring newer work from the British composer Anna Clyne. And Clyne is ‘here’ with me as well, watching along through the eyes and ears of Ted — a standard-issue mannequin head, purchased off the Internet and outfitted with a 360-degree camera and an array of microphones by creator, audio engineer and Clyne’s husband, Jody Elff.” – The Washington Post
Requiring Audiences To Present Vaccine Passports — Would It Be Feasible?
On the surface, it certainly seems as if asking ticket buyers to show proof of COVID vaccination would be a good, quick way to performances running again and performers back to work — and in Chicago, at least, venues and presenters are considering the option seriously. Yet, writes Chris Jones, the idea poses potentially serious problems, both practical and ethical. – Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)
How To Smell A Dutch Still Life, Virtually
Perhaps this was an idea that could have gotten, shall we say, misplaced during various shutdowns? But no. What does Dutch art of the 17th century smell like? An exhibit “will shortly be available as a virtual tour with a four-scent fragrance box. It doesn’t just descant on the theme, although there is plenty of historical narrative about plagues, sewage, spices, tobacco and perfume in the Dutch golden age. It actually attempts to recreate the smells invoked by golden age art.” – The Observer (UK)
If You Want To Watch The Golden Globes Tonight, Here’s How
And here’s who is nominated, and who, and what, might win. – Los Angeles Times
How Is The San Francisco Symphony Staying Afloat Right Now? [VIDEO]
“We can make music online and everything, but it’s not the same as being onstage together.” But there are benefits – like practicing in Golden Gate Park, having extra time with kids at home, and filming themselves running in from gardening to perform the William Tell Overture, or performing in a gorilla mask, for an online audience. – KTVU (Oakland)
Lincoln Center To Open 10 Outdoor Spaces This Spring
“The broad initiative, known as ‘Restart Stages,’ … [includes] plans for a cabaret-style stage, a dedicated area for families that will feature arts activities for children, rehearsal venues that will be open to the public, an outdoor reading room created in partnership with the New York Library for the Performing Arts and an outdoor space for another kind of Lincoln Center ritual: public school graduations held each spring and summer.” – The New York Times
As They Stream Their Work, Theater Companies Find A New, Far-Flung Public
“Across the country, and beyond its borders, many theaters say new audiences for their streaming offerings has been an unexpected silver lining — one that could have ramifications for the industry even after it is safe to perform live again and presenters try to return patrons to their seats.” – The New York Times
Spotify Is About To Open In 85 More Countries
The move adds a billion more potential customers to the market for the audio streaming giant, which will now be available in 178 countries and will support more than 60 languages. – Variety
Governor: NYC Movie Theatres Can Reopen
Governor Andrew Cuomo said “cinemas in the city will be permitted to operate at 25% capacity, with no more than 50 people. Moreover, other safety measures such as masks, social distancing and heightened sanitizing measures will be required.” – Variety
Women Are Getting Stronger, Deeper Roles In A New Generation Of Bollywood Movies
Some of the change is due to a worldwide audience. Netflix and other streaming services “have a certain sensibility that they want to see in the kind of narratives that they are promoting on their platform. That has been a great boon for women filmmakers, women writers, women behind the camera and in front of the camera.” – The New York Times
The British Family Providing Lockdown Relief With Musical Parodies
The Marsh family of Faversham are dealing with Britain’s lockdowns by performing parodies. “This six-voice choir, with its sweet harmonies and the occasional wobbly note, is creating songs that dramatize the mundane moments of lockdown life, from too much screen time to the horrors of remote learning.” – The New York Times
The Show’s Going On Down Under
This sounds wildly exotic and dangerous to most theatregoers in the U.S. right now: “A few days ago, Kylie Estreich went to a theater in Sydney to see a Broadway show. In person. With hundreds of other people. She showed her ticket, went to her seat, and sat elbow-to-elbow with her masked mother on one side and a masked stranger on the other.” I’m sorry, what? That’s right, Australia has it figured out. – Washington Post
Nielsen Will Begin To Track Diversity Alongside Ratings Numbers
The initiative combines entertainment metadata with Nielsen’s audience measurement data. It’s designed to equip content creators, owners, distributors and advertisers with data around onscreen diversity and representation to enable more inclusive content. – Los Angeles Times
Research Paper Linking Violence To Video Games Is Retracted
“Zhang and his co-authors reported high levels of statistical significance for their finding, but the reported differences in the effects of violent games versus nonviolent games were too small for that high statistical significance to be possible.” – Science
Keeping Up Live Performance As The World Goes Virtual
“We have a total commitment to live performance. That’s what we do. We’re not a film company,” says the director of the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia. What’s more, “we really wanted to maintain work for artists as much as possible, as well as our staff, … at a time when they really didn’t have a lot of options.” And so, with safety measures in place, since this past fall the Annenberg has been streaming performances in real time from its stage. – The Philadelphia Inquirer
How Can ‘Our Town’ Still Feel Utterly Contemporary, 80 Years After Its Opening?
Howard Sherman, author of a new book about the play: “It’s a play that people think they know. People want to paint it as this old-fashioned love letter to the past. And that’s not what it is at all.” – NPR
Malls And Nail Salons Are Open, But Not Museums?
Dear Gavin Newsom, this makes no sense at all. Signed, a lot of LACMA and other art-lovers in California. Weirdly: “LACMA can open its Resnick Pavilion gift shop but not the galleries within the same Resnick Pavilion — even though the two share a front door and a ventilation system. The same goes at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, where you may visit the gardens with an advance reservation, then mill around the indoor gift shop at your leisure.” – Los Angeles Times
Empty Movie Theaters Are Being Rented Out To Video Gamers
The cinema chain Malco has been doing this in six Southern states since November, and the South Korean chain CGV started it in January. With prices for a small group of players running around $100 for two hours, it’s not close to making up for the lack of moviegoers, but it’s at least a bit of income. And the gamers seem to love it; said one, “The sound quality is particularly amazing. The sound of the gunshots is just so vivid, and when something flew directly at me from the screen I even screamed.” – BBC
Orchestras Must Overthrow The Tyranny Of Subscription Programming, Says NY Times
Anthony Tommasini: “[The format] locks them into standard-issue, week-after-week programs loaded with the classics and sprinkled, at best, with unusual or new choices. … Why can’t orchestras be nimble and respond to sudden inspiration, or current events? If the Pittsburgh Symphony has a hit with a premiere, why must audiences in other cities wait years to hear it?” – The New York Times
Facing Another COVID Summer, British Theatres Are Building Outdoor Stages
Social distancing is easier outdoors and there’s more air circulation, not to mention the fact that, as one director puts it, “Outdoor arts is more accessible because it’s in democratic open spaces.” So companies across the UK are getting ready to perform outside their buildings, many for the first time, as soon as weather and health regulations permit. – The Guardian
In Britain, Thousands Protest The Idea Of Closing To The Public A Library That Was Left To The Nation
The Wallace Collection “is in internal consultation” about closing the library and archive that was left to the country in 1897. Is that even legal? Will anyone notice during the pandemic? (More than 10,000 people certainly have noticed.) – The Guardian (UK)
Ballet Dancers, Getting Real (And Sometimes Really Funny) On TikTok
If Instagram is about selling your moves – and your clothing line, your toe shoe line, your skin care routine, etc. – then TikTok is about being yourself. Kind of. “Casual, confessional and playful, TikTok offers a release for ballet dancers, particularly students, who spend their days chasing impossible perfection. TikTok is a place to laugh about the impossibility, rather than obsess over perfection.” – The New York Times
Binging Or Drip Drip Drip? The Pros And Cons Of Streaming
Are we really just pleasure-seeking audiences looking for that instant hit of media indulgence? As the effects of lockdown and zoom fatigue have exposed, society seems to be increasingly experiencing media fatigue. – The Conversation