If we cannot slow down and grow cautiously, evenly, gradually into our new technological and political possibilities and responsibilities—even the potentially liberating ones—the last recognizably individual men and women may give place, before too many more generations, to the simultaneously sub- and super-human civilization of the hive. – Commonweal
Kurt Weill Was Destined For Broadway All Along
Joshua Barone: “Kurt Weill is often described as if he were two composers. One spun quintessential sounds of Weimar-era Berlin in works like The Threepenny Opera, and the other wrote innovative earworms for Broadway’s golden age. His career was bifurcated, so the story goes — split not only by a shift in style, but also by the Atlantic Ocean, when he fled Nazi Germany and eventually settled in the United States. Yet it’s possible to trace an unbroken line from Weill’s earliest works, as a teenager, to his final projects for the American stage, before his death in 1950.” – The New York Times
What Will Happen To NYC’s Thriving Burlesque Scene?
Many burlesque entertainers pull together a living in New York through a variety of performance gigs, while others use it as a release from more conventional day jobs. The city had been a hub for burlesque for more than a decade; before the pandemic, you could find a show on almost any given night in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. – The New York Times
How The Oakland Symphony Built Its Record Of Social Justice
Michael Morgan believes the power of the symphony orchestra lies in its ability to be harnessed for a diversity of musical styles and genres. As such, he views the orchestra as a way to bring people together in community, especially groups that have historically been excluded from these kinds of arts and culture spaces. “Our primary question is ‘who’s not here?’ And we look around the room, and see who is not there.” – Oaklandside
The Queen Of England’s Houses Cannot Be Searched For Looted Cultural Artifacts
Wait, are palaces like Sandringham likely to host stolen cultural artifacts? We’ll never know – at least not from the police, who are barred by a 2017 law from searching the royal residences. – The Guardian (UK)
Fake News From Assyria, 2700 Years Ago
It all comes down to the earring. “The arresting piece of jewellery, which bursts from the borders of itself with piercing radiance like a celestial orb, transforms the static action from a callous chronicle of recurring cruelty, however impeccably wrought, to something more sympathetically mythic: a meditation on the interconnectedness of all things” – and the supposed godlike powers of King Ashurbanipal, wearer of the earring. – BBC
Now We Truly Have Everything, Including A Playlist Of Jane Austen’s Favorite Music
Music was inextricably linked to Austen’s creativity – she practiced, when she had access to a piano, every day, and copied friends’ sheet music note by note. During the times her family didn’t have a piano? As far as scholars can tell, she wasn’t writing. – Colorado Public Radio
Regal Theatres Owner Cineworld Posts $3 Billion Loss
The U.K.-based company also said it has secured binding commitments for $213 million in additional cash via a bond to boost its financial flexibility “in the event of continued disruption as a result of COVID-19.” The funding and an expected $200 million U.S. CARES Act tax refund “will provide the group with a liquidity runway to year-end in the event that cinemas remain closed,” it said, but it also warned of continued challenges and questions marks caused by the pandemic. – The Hollywood Reporter
How Playwriting Competitions Help The Entire Field Of Theatre
Despite the fact that they can sometimes feel like (as one literary manager put it) “the Hunger Games of playwriting,” prizes do help bring new voices into an industry that can be very much a closed shop. Lyn Gardner talks to people who run competitions, and people who’ve entered them, about the difference prizes make and the issues involved (e.g., whether or not submissions should be anonymous). – The Stage
Restored Ghent Altarpiece Is Finally Back Home — In A $6 Million Bulletproof Display Case
The van Eyck masterpiece is the most stolen individual artwork we know of (one panel is still missing after 87 years), and its Flemish custodians have given it a €5 million, 20-feet-tall, meticulously climate-controlled, bulletproof display case as part of a €30 million installation at St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent. – The Guardian
Dream Big, Sure. But It Can Paralyze You
Sure, audacious goals can be energizing. But a fixation on them can lead to big disappointments. Worse, when your eyes are constantly on the horizon, you can miss what is right in front of you. For happiness, we need a better approach to setting goals—one that sets us up for success in life and lets us enjoy the here and now. – The Atlantic
Google Podcasts Has An Extremism Problem
“Even in the world of podcasting, Google Podcasts … stands alone among major platforms in its tolerance of hate speech and other extremist content. A recent nonexhaustive search turned up more than two dozen podcasts from white supremacists and pro-Nazi groups, offering a buffet of slurs and conspiracy theories. None of the podcasts appeared on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher.” – The New York Times
How The Pandemic Has Changed Audio Quality On Public Radio
Producers and engineers have come to rely on specialized apps, and they’ve developed workarounds for the shortcomings of Zoom’s recording functions, among other solutions. – Current
LA’s Music Center Is First Arts Center To Get “Healthy Building” Designation
The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles says that it is the first performing arts organization in the country to receive a UL “healthy building” verification, representing high standards for air quality at four venues — Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre. – Los Angeles Times
Those Unknown Sappho Poems Discovered Back In 2014? There’s A Problem
Don’t worry: so far, there’s no evidence that they’re forgeries. But “the editors of a scholarly volume in which the circumstances of the discovery were detailed have formally retracted the chapter because the manuscript’s ‘provenance is tainted'” — which is to say, the story told to researchers by the current owner of the manuscripts of how he acquired them was evidently a lie. – The Guardian
San Francisco Starts Program Providing Guaranteed Basic Income To Artists
“More than 100 San Francisco artists will be guaranteed $1,000 a month for six months under a pilot program set to launch in May, following similar efforts by Stockton, Oakland and Marin County to support struggling residents during the pandemic.” – San Francisco Chronicle
Filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, 79
“The filmmaker, cineaste and critic who emerged in the wake of the French New Wave with such classics as The Clockmaker of St. Paul, A Sunday in the Country and ‘Round Midnight, … [the] five-time César Award winner (two prizes for directing, three for screenwriting) … was accomplished in a wide variety of genres and epochs, from gritty crime movies to ambitious war flicks to intimate historical dramas and music films.” – The Hollywood Reporter
After Three Decades As Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie To Retire From ABT
“The company announced on Thursday that McKenzie, 68, will continue to oversee programming and performances through 2022 while a search for a successor begins this summer. … A former principal dancer with the company, McKenzie is a direct link to the founders of Ballet Theater, which was formed in 1939 by Richard Pleasant, and partially financed by a dancer, Lucia Chase.” – The New York Times
Germany Tries To Figure Out How To Go About Returning Benin Bronzes
“On the heels of a German state visit to Benin City, … the culture ministry and museums are now playing catch-up. … Culture minister Monika Grütters has called a meeting with relevant state culture ministers and museum directors in April to try to find a national strategy to address the handling of objects and art that were looted from the Benin Royal Palace in 1897.” – Artnet
Actor Jessica Walter Dead At 80
“Walter’s six-decade acting career spanned across film and television, from Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, to the voice of Malory Archer on the animated series Archer, to Emmy-nominated roles on Trapper John, M.D. and Streets of San Francisco. [She] won an Emmy for portraying the title character on the police drama series Amy Prentiss. For younger audiences, Walter was most recognizable for her role as Arrested Development matriarch Lucille Bluth.” – Rolling Stone
Connecting Dance And Nursing
Devynn Emory, 40, sees nursing as “not so far away from dancing,” they said in a video interview. “It’s really just another understanding of how the body works.” – The New York Times
NYC Mayor Orders Vaccinations For Theatre Workers
At a news conference, Mr. de Blasio said that in addition to the Broadway vaccination site, there would be a mobile vaccination unit to serve theater workers beyond Broadway. The sites will be staffed by theater workers, many of whom have been relying on unemployment insurance since Broadway shut down over a year ago. – The New York Times
Debates Are Roiling The Translation World — Who Gets To Translate?
Debates ensued about whether the choice of a translator should be only merit-based or whether identity should play a part. Another thread was about publisher practices and how translators are chosen. Some White translators who have spent their careers translating writers of color into other languages questioned their own pursuits. – Washington Post
UK Arts Organizations Have Bled Memberships During COVID. What To Do?
The decline in cultural memberships has undoubtedly been accelerated by Covid-19. Just this month, the Royal Academy (RA) reported a loss of 18,000 members since February 2020. Other organisations should prepare themselves for a similarly large exodus. – Arts Professional
The STEEP Road Back
The many threats and threads around reopening social spaces for live performance can easily blur together. Focused problem-solving and readiness require that we tease them apart. One way to do so might be the age-old approach to environmental scanning: the acronym STEEP. – Andrew Taylor