Says Ken-Matt Martin, who was named artistic director last month after having been Robert Falls’s number-two at the Goodman, “If I figured out how to get Black people to come to a theater in Des Moines,” — he founded the Pyramid Theatre Company, which present the work of Black artists in Iowa’s capital — “I can probably figure out how to get all peoples within this larger beautiful city to come out as well.” – The New York Times
As The Pandemic Eases, Netflix Forecasts Much Lower Growth
This year Netflix is forecasting 6 million new subscribers, the lowest first-quarter increase since 2017, well down on the almost 16 million sign-ups in the first quarter last year, as lockdown restrictions ease. – The Guardian
Dudamel Isn’t Known For Conducting Opera. Will That Be A Problem As Music Director At Paris Opera?
Almost all his renown has come from his exhilarating performances with symphony orchestras. Does lacking operatic experience matter in landing an important opera post? – The New York Times
At The RSC, ‘The Winter’s Tale’ Is Finally Coming Together After Two False Starts
The COVID lockdown hit Britain just days before this production was to open and put the company’s entire operations on hold; the show was set to start again last autumn when a second lockdown had to be imposed. Now, by heaven, they’re doing it, at least for broadcast on BBC Four. “What’s curious is that, if you were looking for a drama that distills the emotions so many of us have been through in the past year, it would be hard to find a better candidate than The Winter’s Tale.” – The Guardian
Beijing, Hong Kong, The Streisand Effect, And The Oscar For Best Documentary Short
“[Anders] Hammer is bemused at the lengths to which China has gone to stop its citizens catching even a brief glimpse of his latest film” — Do Not Split, about the 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. “In the rest of the world, that move has earned him the type of press coverage he could never have dreamt of.” – The Guardian
Gen Z’s Say Movies, TV Are Fifth On Their Entertainment Preferences
About 26% of Gen Z said video games are their top entertainment activity, and 87% of those in the age bracket said they play video games daily or weekly. That’s followed by listening to music (14%), browsing the internet (12%) and engaging on social media (11%). Only 10% of Gen Z respondents said watching TV or movies was their favorite entertainment pastime, the Deloitte study found. – Variety
How The Republican Party Buys Books In Bulk To Boost Its Candidates (And Get On Bestseller Lists)
Four party-affiliated organizations, including the Republican National Committee, collectively spent more than $1 million during the past election cycle mass-purchasing books written by GOP candidates, elected officials and personalities, according to Federal Election Commission expenditure reports. The purchases helped turn several volumes into bestsellers. – Washington Post
Composer Wayne Peterson, 93 — Was At The Center Of A Pulitzer Prize Controversy
For 30 years, Mr. Peterson had been a composer, pianist and professor at San Francisco State University, respected by most musicians who knew his work and highly regarded by his students. The Pulitzer — and the ensuing squabble — changed his life. Another composition, Ralph Shapey’s hour-long piece for orchestra, “Concerto Fantastique,” had been the unanimous choice of the music jury — George Perle, Roger Reynolds and Harvey Sollberger, all distinguished composers and academics. Perle and Reynolds were past Pulitzer winners. – Washington Post
On What It Takes To Be A Ballerina
“We dancers bonk up against the insanity of pining after someone else’s pair of legs day after day, but with age and maturity and years of fixating on our bodies – our instruments – we come to grips with what we have and what we can do with it. … I scrutinize my physique in the same way a painter stands back to examine her canvas. It’s my creation, made for a purpose.” – Oregon Arts Watch
Choreographer Liam Scarlett, 35
He was a star British choreographer who staged a prodigious number of works and was assured a major international career. But “after allegations of sexual misconduct at the Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School, the company severed ties with him; an independent investigation found there were ‘no matters to pursue’ in relation to students.” – The Guardian
Why Andrew Cuomo Can’t Let A Penn Station Development Go
Well, it’s obvious, right? The New York governor “is currently resisting calls to resign over allegations of sexual harassment. So what better way to prove that he is definitely not a phallocratic bully than to ‘ram through,’ as one outlet puts it, a super-tall tower called Penn 15, and a vast development around it?” – The Observer (UK)
The Project That Is Mapping Anti-Racist Street Art
In 2020, after the death of George Floyd at the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin, “a team of researchers from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis launched the George Floyd and Anti-Racist Street Art database to record and map anti-racist street art in the wake of Floyd’s murder. Crowdsourced through an online submission form, the database now includes more than 1,800 images of artworks from around the world, ranging from graffiti and tags to stickers, wheat pastes, murals, and projections.” – Hyperallergic
In The Age Of Instagram, You Probably Do Judge A Book By Its Cover
One of the big literary events of last week? The cover reveal for Sally Rooney’s new novel. “In recent years, book cover design has taken on a higher profile, and we may be seeing a new heyday for book design. It was Rooney’s 2018 novel Normal People that Arter believes signalled the shift towards the book cover as a ‘cultural phenomenon on Instagram in terms of being almost like an accessory.’ Scroll Instagram or Twitter feeds related to books, and eye-catching designs, with bright colours and bold graphics jump out.” – The Guardian (UK)
Daniel Kaluuya’s Rise To Movie Stardom Came From Talent, And Britain’s Public Funding For The Arts
Kaluuya grew up on a council estate – the rough equivalent to “the projects” in the United States – the son of Ugandan immigrants to Britain. He took advantage of every possible free arts program, and, at 18, ended up bot a writer and an actor for the program Skins. And, years later, came Get Out. “By the time he won best ‘newcomer’ at the Baftas for Get Out in 2018, Kaluuya had been a professional actor for 10 years. ‘I am a product of UK arts funding,’ he told the audience, before dedicating that award to his mum and old teachers.” – The Observer (UK)
Asian American Artists Say The Times Require They Must Also Now Be Activists
Artist Kenneth Tam started to keep a spreadsheet as microaggressions arose at the beginning of the pandemic. Then the micro became far too macro. “The rise of racist attacks, some of them horrifyingly lethal, has galvanized Asian-American artists around the country. They are leveraging social media to raise awareness, gathering to protest despite the pandemic precautions, making new work, and — perhaps above all — finding new grounds for solidarity with one another and with other affected communities to figure out how to respond to the current climate.” – The New York Times
Scott Rudin’s Apology Is Not Enough
Not great: “Broadway producers I spoke to told me that Rudin seems to be sincere about stepping away from the day-to-day running of his megahits, The Book of Mormon and To Kill a Mockingbird, but no one seems to think he’ll be relinquishing his financial stakes. When Broadway resumes, so will his revenue streams.” What can Broadway, and Hollywood, do? – Los Angeles Times
One Week Until We Find Out If The Oscars Ratings Will Hit An All-Time Low
Just as Chloé Zhao seems a near-lock for Best Director, the predictions are … that no one watches this year’s Oscars ceremony. “At a time when the traditional film industry is fighting for its primacy at the center of American culture — with at-home entertainment soaring in popularity and pandemic-battered theater chains closing — a collective shrug for the Oscars would send Hollywood deeper into an identity crisis. And a shrug certainly could happen.” – The New York Times