“The Seattle theater scene is a well-oiled machine fueled by a commitment to community-building, a home where performers are inspired to work together, pursue their passions, and try new things. More so than in larger metropolitan cities, theater companies dedicate themselves to enabling Seattle-based artists to choose their own adventure.”
Louvre’s Poussin is A Poussin After All
“A painting downgraded to the work of a follower a century ago is reattributed to the 17th-century master – just in time for an anniversary exhibition next year.”
What Was Beckett Waiting For As He Doodled?
“Some of the doodles have sparked academic guesswork. Why, for instance, does the third notebook contain doodles of golfers teeing off?”
Entire Board Of Toronto’s Sony Center Performing Arts Center Resigns Amid Management Questions
“All eight citizen directors of Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts have resigned, the latest upheaval at the city-owned theatre, which is facing questions about oversight and cost overruns for a renovation that has yet to be finished.”
The Battle Between Artists And Landlords In Queens
“I thought: Here’s my community. We’ll see each other every day. We’ll chat. We’ll have shows together.”
U.K.’s New Culture Secretary Offers Government Support, But Calls For Rich People To Donate To The Arts Too
“One of the reasons such people choose to live here is our world-beating cultural scene and there’s no reason why they can’t do more to support it.”
The Acoustics – And Joy – Of Eavesdropping
“The delight in these places comes from hearing a voice carry an unexpected distance, and this effect is more dramatic if the sound is a quiet whisper to begin with.”
When A Successful Leader Leaves, How Does The New One Get Established?
“The early period is crucial: the future is being constructed, and internal loyalties must be tested and negotiated, particularly if staff have worked with the same director for years and are used to doing their jobs a particular way.”
Our Culture Controls Us More Than We Ever Know (Witness The Go-Cup)
“We rarely feel constrained by these because we forget that it could be another way. This is the power of culture to make alternative ways of life invisible and, as a result, gain massive public conformity to arbitrary norms and laws.”
When Dogs Auditioned For The Baltimore Symphony
“The ideal ‘dream dog’ — a companion to the man in the moon, one of the characters in ‘Midsummer’s’ play-within-the-play, ‘Pyramus and Thisbe,’ would be calm, a little sleepy looking and tolerant of loud music.”
Yes, It’s Just Fine For Adults To Read YA Fiction (Or Anything At All)
“The best books fall into our hands serendipitously, and lead to conversation, debate, self-reflection, procrastination, even escapism.”
The Country’s Best Theatre Scene Is In … Seattle?
“The Seattle theater scene is a well-oiled machine fueled by a commitment to community-building, a home where performers are inspired to work together, pursue their passions, and try new things. “
On Writing Obits (Including One For A Carp) For The Economist
“The subject of the week’s obituary is decided on Monday, and it must be written and polished by Tuesday. This 36-hour window is a marathon attempt to consume as much information as possible.”
When You’re Stuck, Embrace The Creative Block (For A Little While, Anyway)
“I know we live in a capitalist society where success is increasingly measured by quantity rather than quality but, for the sake of this exploration, set that aside if you can.”
Peter Gelb Says The Met Could Go Bankrupt In Two Years
“We are getting a newer audience, a younger audience, but there aren’t enough new audience members to replace the old audience members who are dying off.”
Our Morbid Fascination With The Death Of The Humanities (If They’re Dying At All)
“The stinging irony of the whole situation is difficult to dismiss: The very people demanding to know why English and art-history departments weren’t doing very well were often the people who’d helped drive students away from those departments to begin with.”
Did “No Child Left Behind” Law Kill Music Classes? No, But…
“NCLB may have had no discernible effect on overall enrollment rates in music,” he writes. However, his analysis—which tracked 9th- through 12th-grade enrollment in music classes from 1982 to 2009—concludes that the law “likely exacerbated the underrepresentation of Hispanic students in all types of music courses.”
Indie Bookstores Mount Campaign Against Amazon
Independent bookshops have moved to profit from the situation, after the American Booksellers Association produced two digital banners reading “Thanks, Amazon, the indies will take it from here”, “Independent bookstores sell books from all publishers. Always”, or “Pre-order and buy Hachette titles today”.
Is The British Government About To Kill Music Education In Schools?
“This is a looming disaster: potentially, the government is turning back to the scorched earth policy for music education in the 1980s that resulted from Margaret Thatcher’s decision that local authorities didn’t have to ringfence the money they gave to their music services.”
Singing Nun Wins Voice Of Italy Contest
She won the TV talent contest on Friday after winning millions of followers with her lively dance act and soulful renditions of lusty pop classics. Here’s her performance.
Hirshhorn Names New Director: Asia Society’s Melissa Chiu
The Australian-born 42-year-old is currently senior vice president for global arts and cultural programs at the Asia Society Museum in New York. “[She] succeeds former director Richard Koshalek, whose tenure was marked by controversy over funding for his signature Seasonal Inflatable Structure proposal.”
Mary Anthony, 97, Godmother Of American Modern Dance
“[She was] known since the 1940s for the lyricism and drama in her choreography but even better known as a teacher of some of American dance’s leading performers and choreographers.”