Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins: “There’s a thing where just because you’re an arts journalist, you’re automatically assumed to be quote ‘woke’. But that’s actually part of what this moment is about, it’s about not being so complacent with your own perceived tolerance.”
A Translators’ Bureau To Facilitate Translating Books
The idea of forming some kind of “literary translators’ agency”—which would perform a similar role to an author’s agency—is one that translators have been mulling over for years. After all, such agencies exist for most other creative professions, such as illustrators, actors, musicians, and designers. But it’s a rather tough nut to crack for literary translators, mainly because there simply isn’t enough money in literary translation to make such a venture financially sustainable.
Lawsuits Against God (A Brief History)
Oh yes, they do happen – as recently as last year in India, and in 2007 in the U.S. (in Omaha). One major problem, though, is serving the defendant with papers. Seriously.
Patti LuPone Is Doing Her Last Musical
In a War Paint backstage interview in which she talks about plenty else as well, the Broadway diva tells Jackson McHenry, “I don’t know how long my voice will last. By the time another one comes along I may not have a voice. I don’t want to have be character woman and be put in a box [on the side of a poster]. I can’t be a leading lady forever, so why not go out in a blaze of glory as Helena Rubinstein?”
Rei Hotoda Named Music Director Of Fresno Philharmonic
A former concert pianist, Hotoda has been assistant conductor at the Dallas and Winnipeg Symphonies and is finishing up a stint as associate conductor of the Utah Symphony. She was the unanimous choice of the board and musicians.
Welsh National Opera Offers First Virtual Reality Opera Experience
Created by Welsh National Opera, the project will allow visitors to step inside the worlds of The Magic Flute and Madam Butterfly, including performances from WNO productions. Called Magic Butterfly, the production will combine motion capture, animation and music to create an “immersive experience using responsive animation and sound”. WNO claims this is the first time an opera company has used VR in this way.
Why Sony Is Producing “Clean” Versions Of Its Movies
“The shift to new home options for these ‘clean’ versions aligns with the public movement away from traditional broadcast venues towards on-demand or streaming services. Simply waiting for scrubbed content to arrive on television is not only inconvenient from the audience’s new get-it-now standpoint, but allows studios including Sony a new vector for improved profitability. While the streaming revolution has, for the most part, been a knife in the heart of network television, it could prove a long-run boom for the studios who, in some cases, manage better distribution deals through these new services.”
The Surprising Place Where A Mother Lode Of Historic Silent Film Footage Turned Up
Dawson City, in the Yukon Territory, wound up being the end of the line in an early film distribution network, and distributors thought shipping the prints back from there was too expensive to bother with – so an enormous body of films piled up there. Filmmaker Bill Morrison made an avant-garde documentary (?!) about it all.
Making Sense Of Isadora Duncan’s Life (And Her Less-Than-Reliable Autobiography)
Amelia Gray: “Isadora spent her whole life straddling the gap between public perception and private reality. In writing Isadora, a novel set during a particularly dark year and a half of her life, I found myself having to pick through that reality, reality as Isadora wished to create it, and a third, emotional reality, which aspired to contain recognizable truths.”
Finding Hidden Treasures Of The African Musical Diaspora
Music librarian and historian Melanie Zeck writes of the works and composers she discovered for the first time when she went to work at the Center for Black Music Research in Chicago.
Founder Of DC’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Stepping Down After Four Decades
“In another seismic change for Washington theater, Howard Shalwitz, who in nearly 40 years at the helm has made Woolly Mammoth Theatre a national champion of the new – and frequently provocative – American play, will leave his post as artistic director in June 2018.”
Oops, Never Mind: Banksy Withdraws His Offer Of Free Prints To Britons Who Vote Against Tories
“The artist, who found global fame with his pop-up street art, [had] offered prints of his famous ‘girl with balloon’ for those who voted against Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative party in six constituencies near his Bristol home.” His reason for cancelling the offer is a good one, though.
United Airlines Employee Tries To Wrestle Musician’s 17th Century Violin Away From Her
“Without provocation, the supervisor for the Chicago-based carrier then lunged for Ms. Correia’s case and, incredibly, tried to wrestle it away from the musician,” said a statement written by MacNaughton. “I start screaming, ‘Help, help, help, can somebody record what’s happening because this lady’s trying to take my personal suitcase from me,’” Correia told Houston NBC-affiliate KPRC.
Why Your Next Creative Collaborator Might Be An AI
“The computer learns by having another algorithm—a teacher—progressively introduce constraints—here are different available instruments, these are chords, this what it means to sing in soprano. In essence, the algorithm is replicating Bach’s creativity based, not evolving its own creative genius. As such, AI algorithms are best suited to be creative collaborators.”
How Recognizing People’s Faces Works In The Brain
“As far as your neurons are concerned, a face is a sum of separate parts, as opposed to a single structure.”
Former Washington Ballet Director To Lead Hong Kong Ballet
The relationship with Hong Kong Ballet, a company of about 50 dancers, grew out of a planned tour to the territory with the Washington Ballet about three years ago, Septime Webre said. The tour fell through, but later on the agent for the trip alerted Webre to the company’s search for a director. Webre will replace Madeleine Onne, director since 2009.
Remaking Irish Step Dancing (Let’s Loosen Up That Torso!)
“Anyone who thinks that Irish dance is a necessarily rigid form, defined by a stiff upper body and dancers moving in militaristic unison, should spend some time watching Colin Dunne.”
Whoever Wins This Week’s UK Election, It Could Be Good For The Arts
“In a surprise move, both the Conservative and Labour parties have made manifesto pledges to create a new funding stream for the arts.”
Four Decades Of NPR’s ‘Fresh Air’ Now In Searchable Online Archive
“As many of the old, old tapes as possible, going back to the 1970s, have been baked (that’s what you do) and played and their data turned into WAV and MP3 files and parked at a big catalog site named WorldCat.org.”
‘This Is A Terrible Idea For A Musical’ – The Playwright Of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Talks About How And Why They Did It Anyway
In a Q&A, Tony nominee for Best Book of a Musical Steven Levenson talks with Marissa Martinelli “about the musical’s unlikely success, what goes into creating a nuanced portrayal of mental illness, and why he found writing about teenagers especially nerve-wracking.”
Evan Hansen Is A Lying, Immoral Creep – How Is It That Audiences Love Him So?
Jason Zinoman: “It’s particularly amazing that this gifted dissembler has received such goodwill at a time when there is such anxiety about fake news and Internet disinformation. … That Evan Hansen is not just a kind of hero but one whose story will stay with a generation of young theatergoers forever is testament to the power of skillfully crafted art to reframe, manipulate, and even obscure moral concerns.”
Harper Lee Estate Approves Graphic Novel Version Of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’
“The Lee estate approached the publisher with the idea of a graphic novel. It is just the latest in a series of projects using Lee’s groundbreaking book since her death in February 2016.”
Organizers Of Ghost Ship Artist Space Charged With Manslaughter
“Alameda County prosecutors capped a six-month investigation into the deadly blaze on Monday when they charged [Derick] Almena and [Max] Harris with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter, saying their management of the Ghost Ship was not simply negligent, but criminal.”
Sergei Vikharev, Russia’s Master Reconstructor Of Petipa’s Original Ballets, Dies Suddenly At 55
Ismene Brown: “Sergei Vikharev was the passionate pioneer of a brave new movement to install period sensibilities in an art form that had long become the plaything of its performers and coaches rather than its creators.”
New York’s Big Summer Solstice Music Festival Makes Last-Minute Emergency Plea For Funds
Due to the unexpected cancellation of a grant, “Make Music New York, the non-profit behind an expansive one-day music festival that takes over the city on the first day of summer, has issued a plea for emergency financial aid before its forthcoming edition on June 21.”