Theatre leaders met in May to hash out a response to the Black Lives Matter protests and the extrajudicial killings of George Floyd and other unarmed Black people. “They were beginning a process to overhaul the entire ecology of their field, at every level — casting, staffing, fundraising, boards, tech crews, audiences, everything — and inject anti-racism into its DNA. … If this broad coalition of theater makers effectively transforms one part of the arts world in one city, it might just set a standard that can be exported — not simply to other arts disciplines, but to other sectors in America that are struggling with the deep, pervasive and seemingly intractable problem of institutional racism.” – Seattle Times
Author: ArtsJournal2
How The Ailey Company Is Dealing With The Pandemic
Considering that it’s not an easy time for dance companies, the Times says, the Ailey is making wonderful choices for its current and future audiences. “Since Dec. 2, the company has been releasing themed programs mixing archival and newly filmed performance excerpts with taped conversations about the dances and the moment.” – The New York Times
As Britain Goes Under A New Lockdown, Insurance Extended For Actors And Crew Members
And independent cinemas are getting support as well, or at least some support. Actors are into it. Gemma Arterton, perhaps also over the streaming discussions: ““We have to support our local cinemas to make sure those special moments can be experienced by generations of children and adults alike, for years to come. Watching a film at home just isn’t the same.” – Variety
It Sure Got Easier To Binge-Watch Shows This Year
A show with 121 episodes? Sure. What’s going to interrupt you – your baking plans? In addition, of course, there’s the comfort-watch of familiar characters like the cast of Friends or Living Single. Then there’s the pleasant idea of things changing. “Character-driven shows about crime soon became my balm for the unrelenting sameness of daily life. These worlds follow a consistent storytelling logic. The plot changes as time moves along, and time—unlike in real life—always moves along.” – The Atlantic
Some Writers Spend Their Time On Christmas Novels All Year Long
Not so easy this year. “‘It’s the least festive I’ve ever felt in my life,’ Ashley says, of writing A Surprise Christmas Wedding amid the gloom of 2020. ‘Every word was a struggle.'” – The Guardian (UK)
The Path From Broadway To Your TV Screen Is, While Now Familiar, Still Bumpy
The good: “Musicals — and, in a way, plays too — are now being filmed because of their music, not in spite of it.”
The less good: “They put us onstage with the story and give us no say.” – The New York Times
Philadelphia Orchestra’s New Principal Guest Conductor Says It’s A Good Time For Women On The Podium
Nathalie Stultzmann: “It’s very clear that things have improved. … What is incredibly difficult still is for a woman to get a position. We see great orchestras always having women coming for a week to guest conduct. It’s very important to see in the next years more women in the crucial positions of music director and principal guest conductor at the head of important orchestras.” – Philadelphia Inquirer
Why Netflix’s ‘Ma Rainey’ Ends With A Scene That’s Not In The Play
Director George C. Wolfe says of the final scene, “It’s a very slippery little slope: When does sharing become cultural appropriation become theft?” – Los Angeles Times
Many TV Shows Shut Down Because Of Positive Tests – Many Of Them False Positives
Several shows got what might be called early Christmas holidays this week, with a side of positive coronavirus test terror spicing up those free days. – Vulture
The Berlin Film Festival Is Now Delayed
And there are pretty clear indications that Cannes and Venice may – and probably should – follow suit. “‘There is a great desire to meet face to face,’ Mariette Rissenbeek, the festival’s executive director, said in a statement, but ‘the current situation does not allow a physical festival in February.'” – The New York Times