“They’re sharp: make a typo and they’re on it like a shot, and they tease without mercy. However, if you set them a verbal challenge, a frisson sweeps through them. They did very well with definitions for ‘dold socks’–one of my typos–and ‘Thnax,’ another one. And they really shone when, during the Olympics, I said that ‘Own the podium’ was too brash to be Canadian….”
Tag: 03.29.10
Sondheim = Shakespeare. Discuss.
Actor Michael Ball: “Sondheim has never written typical musicals – the kind made famous in the US in the 1940s and 1950s – he writes about the human condition, with layer upon layer of depth. His is musical theatre – like plays with music – not musical comedy, and there’s a big difference. It’s also why his legacy is so important: Stephen Sondheim changed the face of the medium.”
What It Takes To Forge A Dance Company
After Christopher Wheeldon’s departure from Morphoses, it’s “important to use this moment to commemorate the remarkable persistence and hard work of those who did stick with their companies for decades and decades. … Those who had to scrounge for the most meager budgets and who were not offered many performance opportunities.”
If The Postal Service Contracts, Does Netflix Follow?
“The elimination of Saturday delivery would mean that Netflix subscribers will have to endure two consecutive days of no service–nothing to scoff at in a time when consumers have come to expect high speeds and (nearly) instant gratification. And Saturday is a big movie day….”
London Cultural Olympiad Director Gives First Interview
“[Ruth] Mackenzie and her team will create something called Festival 2012, which will run from 21 June to 9 September that year. This is being billed as the ‘finale’ of the Cultural Olympiad, which, in case you hadn’t noticed, has been in motion since September 2008.”
College Revokes Its Dance Company’s Charter Because It Requires Auditions
“After at least one year of turning a blind eye, [Quinnipiac University] Student Government revoked Dance Company’s organizational charter last Wednesday … Dance Company’s yearly audition process was in opposition to the SGA chartering policy that disallows organizations from turning away students.”
The Problems With Political Art
“There is nothing like a contentious political debate to get the arts out of their ghetto and into the news section. … Yet for every successful piece of political art, there is a lot of wreckage.” And it’s not just that politically motivated artworks tend to preach to the already-converted …
James Franco’s Short Story Gets The Harper’s Index Treatment
Oh dear. Last week, Esquire published a brief work of fiction by James Franco, who is (not without reason) better known as a movie star. As if the abuse this story has received at the hands of the blogosphere weren’t enough, Vanity Fair has subjected Franco’s prose to some statistical analysis.
Kate Whoriskey Goes Solo Early At Intiman
So much for Whoriskey working in tandem “with outgoing Artistic Director Bartlett Sher over the next theater season before fully taking the reins in 2011.” Already, “Whoriskey is … the theater’s sole artistic director.”
Canada’s 2-Year Fest Stimulus Deserves Permanent Status
“All across Canada, people who operate festivals are waiting for an announcement from the minister of tourism and small business. At the same time, they are also apprehensive because this is the second and final year of a short-term program the federal government clearly labelled ‘stimulus’ only.” There are strong reasons the program should live on.