On one hand, it is a testament to the continuous hard work of a lot of people that the sector is able to, on balance, keep funding to SAAs relatively stable. On the other hand, it is frustrating and emblematic of how far we still have to go in terms of effective lobbying and making the case for our value to the public, that we can’t realize consistently meaningful significant increases, sustainable over time. – Barry’s Blog
Tag: 02.03.19
Historians Set Out Their Case Against “Hamilton”
It’s not just the portrait of Hamilton that has drawn fire. Critics also say Miranda’s portrait of Burr is horribly distorted and argue that Hamilton’s sister-in-law, Angelica Schuyler, was in no way a feminist, as she is portrayed in the musical. – The Star-Tribune (Mpls)
The Absurdity Of The Debates Around The Leonardo Painting
“Of course, we are all entitled to our opinions. But how did we come to live in a day when the opinions of those who are not experts can stand head and shoulders alongside science-informed and specialist pieces? Are all opinions and judgements really equal?” – 3 Quarks Daily
Will Amazon’s Northern Virginia HQ2 Help Crowd Out DC’s Always-Strapped Small Theater Companies?
Synetic Theater, for instance, has had its stage right in the Crystal City complex that Amazon is taking over. “That catapulted Synetic back to its start-up roots, scrambling for places to perform. But as the Amazon deal proved, real estate near downtown has become more desirable than ever, and prices are only going up. For small and midsize theater companies, that means affordable performance space is harder than ever to find.” — The Washington Post
C.Y. Lee, Author Of ‘Flower Drum Song’, Dead At 102
“Over a career spanning seven decades, Mr. Lee wrote nearly a dozen volumes of historical fiction, but his best-known work was his debut novel, The Flower Drum Song, which brought instant literary stardom upon its release. He was called an overnight sensation, but in fact, he had spent years toiling in obscurity after having arrived in the United States from China on a student visa during World War II.” — The Washington Post
Is Netflix A “Colonial Power” Subverting Foreign Cultures?
That’s the contention of the CBC’s Catherine Tait. Netflix is such a force in Canada it’s difficult for homegrown productions to compete. As countries struggle to protect their national cultures, streaming services such as Netflix have threatened the media ecosystem. – Toronto Star [paywall]
Transfigured Night
I am always amazed by the dances that Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker creates for her Belgium-based company, Rosas. To begin with, I’m never sure what I’ll see or where I’ll have to go in order to see one of them. — Deborah Jowitt
Theatre, Bar, Underground Space, Warehouse – London’s Edgiest Theatre?
Everything The Yard does is underpinned by three values, Jay Miller said. The first is that “the stories we tell have to feel like they aren’t being told by mainstream culture. The second is we create a space where audiences and artists feel able to take risks together. The third is we really celebrate the idea of the live moment, and what that means in a society mediated by technology.” – The New York Times
A Short Look At The History Of Minstrelsy
Wesley Morris, on Ralph Northam’s press conference: “The governor wasn’t arguing that his young self came to see that blackface was wrong because he had learned how minstrelsy wasn’t some cultural niche but was once America’s popular culture and how that popularity helped cement the nation’s perception of black people as hideous and stupid and freakish and dumb and lusty and unworthy of more than torture, exploitation, derision, oppression, neglect and extermination.” – The New York Times
She’s A Choreographic Chameleon For Broadway
Camille Brown burst into Broadway with her choreography for the award-winning revival of Once on This Island, and now she’s everywhere, even using a dramaturg to help tell stories on Broadway, through dance. – Playbill