We found that attending these plays increased empathy for people depicted in them and changed people’s political attitudes about a variety of issues related to the show, such as income inequality. Additionally, seeing theatre changed behavior. After attending these plays, people donated more to charity — whether or not these charities were related to the show. – Psychology Today
The Weird Pilots That Didn’t Make It To TV
TV networks spend about $100 million a year in developing pilots for series. Only a small number get to the schedule. Even fewer become ratings successes. So there’s an awful lot of very weird failed pilots out there… – Tedium
How Cellphones Power Popular Music In Africa
“While I was doing the recording, it became really apparent that the cellphone was such a prominent actor in that transaction,” says Christopher Kirkley. When he sat down with an artist, children nearby would pull out their cellphones and do the same. Contrary to Western notions, music from the region has been digitised at a high rate because of the use of cellphones. – New Frame
Through Assassination, Official Harassment, And Right-Wing-Media Smears, A Theatre In A West Bank Refugee Camp Keeps Running
The Freedom Theatre, founded in the Jenin camp in 2006, has as dual missions “to build back Palestinian identity destroyed by years of brutal occupation and tour the often unheard, first-hand experiences of Palestinians to the international community.” Ten years ago, the company’s co-founder and leader, Juliano Mer-Khamis, was murdered just outside the camp. Director Zoe Lafferty, who has worked several times with the company, writes about how tenaciously it has kept at its work in the face of enormous obstacles. – The Stage
The College That’s Brought Popping, Breaking, Hip Hop, And Other Urban Dance Styles Into Academia
The University of East London has offered a BA in “Dance: Urban Practice” (as the program is called) since 2007. Carla Trim-Vamben, the program’s director, talks about what exactly the program teaches and what kind of students enroll. – Dance Magazine
Make It Stop! Top French Publisher Pleads With Writers To Stop Sending Manuscripts
Successive Covid-19 lockdowns in France have given budding writers the time to finally work on that idea for a novel or to polish up an old manuscript languishing in a drawer. As a result, publishers are overwhelmed. Before the pandemic, Gallimard received around 30 manuscripts a day; now they receive around 50. – Yahoo!
Spotify Turns 15 — It Revolutionized The Music Business
How completely has streaming transformed the music world? The platform rose from 7% of the U.S. market in 2010 to a whopping 83% by the end of 2020 — and recorded-music revenues saw their fifth consecutive year of growth, topping $12.2 billion, per the RIAA. It’s no understatement to say that streaming saved the record- ed-music business, and that global market leader Spotify led the charge toward the stability and growth that the industry is enjoy- ing today. – Variety
Most People Think In Images. I Think In Sound
One of the distinctive features of my cognition is that not only do I think with sound and music; I also don’t think in images during my waking hours (although I dream vividly and visually at night). This lack of visual imagery is known as aphantasia, partial in my case. – Aeon
How Beethoven (And The Philadelphia Orchestra) Brought The US And China Together
The idea that the world’s two most powerful countries can simply “decouple” as their strategic competition grows fiercer — a concept promoted by China hawks — doesn’t match reality. In the case of classical music, as Beethoven in Beijing illustrates, the ties that bind our two countries are historically driven and deeply emotional. – Philadelphia Inquirer
Why Would Any Self-Respecting Woman Sing Schumann’s ‘Frauenliebe Und -Leben?’ In 2021? Let This One Tell You Why
Soprano Carolyn Sampson summarizes the texts of the eight songs in the cycle thus: “1. I can’t think of anything but him; 2. He’s wonderful and I am not worthy; 3. OMG – he said he loved me; 4. I am his and have the ring to prove it; 5. Girlfriends: today I leave you for him; 6. I am pregnant with mini-you; 7. I feed my baby and am fulfilled; 8. Your death is the first time you have truly hurt me.” She continues: “Isn’t it faintly ridiculous to stand before an audience and sing these pieces today? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say … well, no, I don’t think it is.” – The Guardian
‘The First Great Balanchine Dancer’, Mary Ellen Moylan, Dead At 95
“Still in her teens, Ms. Moylan began to perform principal roles with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where Balanchine, ever more enthusiastic about her work, was the resident choreographer. … [Her] career began and largely took shape before Balanchine formed Ballet Society and, in 1948, the New York City Ballet. But her career was closely associated with his work. … And yet her death, almost a year ago, went largely unnoticed in the dance world.” – The New York Times
Univision And Televisa Sign Merger To Create Spanish-Language Media Giant
Univision, the largest producer of Spanish-language in the United States, and Televisa, Mexico’s largest media conglomerate (and one of the world’s biggest single producers of broadcast material in any language) will combine their content operations to form Televisa-Univision, which could become the dominant media force in the entire Hispanophone world. – Variety
Edinburgh International Festival Will Go On This Summer — Outdoors (Yes, In Scotland)
Last summer, COVID forced the cancellation of the flagship of the Festival City’s summer events; this year, with new cases falling in Scotland and people getting their shots, the show will go on — in three specially constructed outdoor pavilions “specially built to maximize air flow and allow social distancing.” Edinburgh’s weather being what it is, the pavilions will have roofs. – The New York Times
How Big Tech Has “Weaponized” Design Patents
Introduced in 1842, the US design patent law saw just 14 designs registered in its first year, including a typeface, a bathtub and a “corpse preserver”. By 1930, the patent office was issuing 3,000 design patents a year, and 6,500 by 1941, a figure that wasn’t exceeded until 1989. That number has now mushroomed to around 35,000 – good news for lawyers, but maybe less so for innovators. – The Guardian
What The Closing Of The Arclight Theatres Means For Movie Theatres
The truth is, the cinema experience as we know it, is likely doomed. While it isn’t going to disappear entirely, it will become a “nice to have” option for the populace, versus the “must have” it was through much of the 20th century. Look forward to much more expensive tickets and far fewer movie houses, more like what happened with live theater and Broadway. – Forbes
Awards Shows Used To Be Ratings Gold. Now They Struggle
The Emmy Awards — already in a ratings tailspin in recent years as it no longer celebrates mass-appeal hits — showed how far audience levels can drop, sinking 9% to 6.1 million viewers Sept. 20. Other shows, such as the American Music Awards, the Country Music Assn. Awards and the Billboard Music Awards, hit all-time lows as well. – Los Angeles Times
‘I’m Just Free, Now That I Don’t Have To Worry About Fees’: Frank Gehry At 92
“Buzzing through his sprawling work space, the architect said he has now reached a point in his career where he has the luxury of focusing on what matters to him most: projects that promote social justice.” – The New York Times