A 24-year-old in Minnesota, tired of seeing what he considers the same old thing on stage, decided to produce his own play. But this is no small production. “He has rented the thousand-seat Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. He has hired union actors, musicians and technicians. He has built his financial structure like a Broadway production, courting three dozen investors to raise a budget estimated at more than $400,000 — more than what all but the largest theaters in the area spend over the course of an entire season. For tickets, he’s charging something close to Broadway touring show prices.”
Tag: 03.14.05
Diana As Dance
How to represent your favorite Royal in art? Danish choreographer Peter Schaufuss has chosen ballet for “Diana the Princess.” “This is Diana as she would have liked to be remembered: dashing around for an hour and a half in a tight white catsuit. On every hand, there are men and women literally dancing attendance upon her: Beefeaters, aids patients, paparazzi—the usual crowd. Also present are Her Majesty the Queen and her close family.”
Coming Up: TV-Over-Internet
Is TV over the internet the next big thing? “Now that broadband networks are bedding down, and it is becoming essential for millions, the big telcos are keen to start shooting video down the line. Software giant Microsoft thinks IPTV – Internet Protocol TV – is the future of television, and it sits neatly with its vision of the connected entertainment experience.”
Christian Group To Sue BBC Over Springer Opera
A Christian group wants to take the BBC to court after the broadcaster’s January airing of Jerry Springer, The Opera. “The Christian Institute says the programme breached the BBC’s charter and broke the Human Rights Act by discriminating against Christians.”
Taylor Resigns As CBC Chair
Carole Taylor has resigned as chair of the CBC, a post she has held since 2001. “During her term, she introduced new conflict of interest guidelines for members of the CBC board and put through a new policy on whistleblowers. In her statement, Taylor said the public broadcaster needs improved and stable funding to produce quality work.”
Will Christo And Jeanne-Claude Move On To Colorado Project?
“Since at least 1992, Christo and Jeanne- Claude have pursued “Over the River,” a project to cover 6.7 miles of the Arkansas River between Cañon City and Salida with translucent fabric panels 10 to 23 feet above the water. But the controversial husband-and-wife artistic duo set it aside several years ago to focus on “The Gates.” After a three-week display that New York City officials estimated drew 4 million people, including 1.5 million from outside the five boroughs, a question arises: Will the couple shift their focus back to Over the River?”
In Search Of Big Sales
“Despite occasional hot sellers such as ”The Da Vinci Code,” book sales have grown little in the past few years, and mass-market paperback sales have declined steadily. One big reason, it seems, is that baby boomers, historically the biggest mass-market buyers, increasingly find those little books too hard to read. Mass-markets are the thick, squareish paperbacks — mostly entertainment fiction — that you stick in your pocket or purse and read on the subway, airplane, or beach. It’s a tried-and-true format. But something is wrong.”
Report: Orchestra Pit Not Dangerous To Hearing
Researchers have determined that noise levels in the typical orchestra pit are not dangerous to players’ hearing. “The researchers found that the noise exposure of players of all of the instrument groups fell below acceptable 85 dBA (noise exposure level measured in decibels – dB, corrected to the frequency response of the human ear – A) for an eight-hour day recommended by institutions such as the U.S. National Institute of Safety and Health, the International Standard Organization (ISO) and also included in the Canadian Standards Association.”
The Day Aussie Orchestras Died?
A new Australian government report recommends reducing the number of musicians in the country’s major orchestras. The author of the report “doesn’t like to call them ‘player cuts’. He refers to ‘a reduction in the permanent establishment’ of the Queensland Orchestra (from 89 to 74 musicians), Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (from 74 to 56) and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (from 47 to 38, or a large chamber orchestra). ‘Any suggestion there be less players [will be] met with some emotion. But we’ve tried to be realistic and look at long-term viability’.”
Critics: Aussie Orchestra Report Will Kill Orchestras
“Sydney is the only city in Australia that can justify two orchestras, and it’s unrealistic for the others to expect world-class standards from even one, a new report says.”