“Every so often you come upon an actor’s bio that lists training at a school outside the United States. What makes a performer decide to study abroad and what are the benefits? Six actors who’ve done it” – in Russia, England, Denmark and Italy – “let us know.”
Tag: 02.11.09
SAG Sacks Executive Director – Again
“The self-described moderate faction of the Screen Actors Guild’s national board of directors fired national executive director Doug Allen for the second time in less than two weeks Feb. 8, hoping to turn the corner on 18 months of infighting.” The first dismissal was challenged last week in a lawsuit which was itself dismissed. “They fired him a second time to make absolutely certain it would take.”
NY Phil To Visit Vietnam Next Fall
As a follow-up to last year’s headline-making concerts in North Korea, the Philharmonic (with incoming music director Alan Gilbert) will play two programs in Hanoi. The Asia tour will also include Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Tokyo and possibly Bangkok.
Connecticut Opera: No Refunds For Cancelled Shows
Having called off the rest of its season, the company last week sent a letter to subscribers saying, “In keeping with our promise to keep you informed of our plans for the future, we have the disappointing task of announcing that we are unable to provide refunds for your remaining tickets. You may, to the full extent allowed by the law, claim your unused tickets… as a charitable contribution to Connecticut Opera.”
Supreme Court Should Reverse Miami’s Ban Of Cuba Book
“Schools are supposed to introduce children to a variety of ideas and viewpoints, but the Miami-Dade School Board decided a few years ago to put one viewpoint off limits. It banned the children’s book ‘A Visit to Cuba’ from its school libraries because it said the book offers too positive a portrait of life under the Castro regime. That was bad enough, but then last week, a federal appeals court upheld the ban. The Supreme Court should reverse this disturbing ruling.”
Dogs Go About Their Business At The Dog Park, In Bronze
“Dogs do what dogs do – and in Berkeley, ‘dog do’ is now part of some very public art. Decorative medallions depicting dogs sniffing, dumping and humping each other have recently been added to the base of one of a pair of sculptures commissioned by the city on either end of the pedestrian and bike bridge over Interstate 80.”
Ticketmaster-Live Nation Union Bodes Ill For Consumers
“It’s easy to see why Live Nation Inc. and Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. want to blend their operations into a new entity called Live Nation Entertainment. … Far more difficult to fathom is how this partnership would in any way benefit consumers, and how it could pass muster in a federal antitrust proceeding.”
As Funding Tightens, Pew Gives Even More To Dance
“In the fragile realm of dance, funding is hard to come by even in the best of times. But now, despite a decidedly mean economic climate, the Pew Charitable Trusts’ dance program has awarded its largest sum yet: $917,000 to 26 performers and organizations.”
Seeking Viewers, Oscars Ask Presenters To Skip Red Carpet
“What if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences threw an Oscar show and not everyone came . . . early? With last year’s audience for the telecast at a historic low of 32 million, the academy has devised a new strategy for enticing more viewers on Feb. 22: Ask presenters to eschew the pre-show red carpet so people will tune in to see who’s handing out the awards — or at least to get a look at what they’re wearing.”
Right Now, Bankers Don’t Deserve To Be Music Sponsors
“The spectacle of those four unrepentant arch-capitalists in front of the Treasury Select Committee yesterday was one of the most extraordinary displays of complacency and denial you will ever see. … How can the art made at festivals sponsored by these bankrupt individuals and companies do the job that classical music should do, and have a necessary, critical voice in contemporary culture, if it continues to be supported by the dead hand of big banking?”