Mysteries, children’s books, nonfiction, romance, books about race and racism, and so much more – along with an awful lot of screentime and chill, it’s how we coped with this, OK, yes, unprecendented year. – Washington Post
Author: ArtsJournal2
How Bollywood Is Adapting To The Coronavirus
Bollywood is up and running again, kind of. Some adaptations: Very restricted international travel, smaller numbers of people allowed for dance scenes, and sprinkler systems that douse costumes in disinfectant. Still, the infection numbers continue to mount. One director: “All I could think was, it’s like you’re a sportsman and the rules of the game have changed.” – Los Angeles Times
The Met Is Offering Opera Workers Pandemic Paychecks – In Exchange For Big, Lasting Cuts
The offer for a paycheck would be very tempting – but it comes with 30 percent pay cuts post-pandemic, ones that wouldn’t be recovered even if the opera company recovers. “The unions that work with the Met are against making such significant concessions that could affect workers long after the most severe impacts of the pandemic subside, and have accused management of taking advantage of the outbreak in order to get them to agree to cost-cutting measures.” – The New York Times
In-Person Theatre During Covid-19: Quarantine, Ventilate, And Be Ready To Quit
A recent New Jersey show demonstrates that, if the perfect factors come together, Equity theatre can happen – though it will be more rare in the winter, certainly. “The whole time we were working on it, I would wake up feeling like Icarus and wondering if my wings were going to melt. But it was worth all the hurdles.” – American Theatre
In Their Country’s Second Lockdown, London’s Royal Ballet Dancers Are Still Performing
The director of the Royal Ballet, discussing the live-streamed performances: “It’s so important for them to do what they’re trained to do, to be in the studios together, to be rehearsing, and to be performing. It’s their job; it’s their life.” – CNN
In Boston, Museum Of Fine Art Workers Vote, In An Absolute Landslide, For A Union
And what union will the more than 200 museum employees be joining? “The vote, which passed by a margin of 133 to 14, means employees across some 30 departments are eligible to join United Auto Workers Local 2110 at a time of deep economic uncertainty.” – The Boston Globe
Jan Morris, Legendary Travel Writer And Memoirist, 94
Morris established her reputation with dispatches from Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary’s climb of Mount Everest – she went 3/4 of the way up herself – and continued as a journalist interviewing everyone from Che Guevara to Guy Burgess. In a book review, “Anatole Broyard extolled Ms. Morris’s travel books as ‘oddly reassuring, showing us that there are more ways of experiencing cultures than most of us supposed.'” – The New York Times
Athens Workers Find A Bust Of A Greek God While Doing Sewer Work
The Greek Culture Ministry was calm about it. “The head, one of many that served as street markers in ancient Athens, was found Friday and it appears to be from around 300 B.C. — that is, either from the late fourth century B.C., or the early third century. It depicts Hermes at ‘a mature age.'” – Seattle Times (AP)
Life After A Star (Wars) Turn
John Boyega is 28 and already been there, done that with a Star Wars trilogy. Where to go from that point in one’s career? “He decided it was time to ‘explore more versatility. I’m into so many different types of genres and storytelling. I want to explore that with the freedom I have now.'” And Boyega’s production company already has a several-film deal with Netflix for films from west and east Africa. – The Observer (UK)
A Decades Long Break From Writing, And Then The Booker Shortlist
Tsitsi Dangarembga’s first book, Nervous Conditions, published in 1988, “was hailed as one of the 20th century’s most significant works of African literature.” Then she went to film school. “What saved me was a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in 2016. My husband took care of the children in Zimbabwe, and I spent four weeks in a place where I was intellectually stimulated, talking about writing with writers.” – The New York Times