“The rapid departures at Canadian Stage and at Stratford, where co-artistic directors Marti Maraden and Don Shipley resigned before their first season had even opened, point to the difficulty in deviating from tried-and-true models of artistic administration.”
Tag: 03.30.08
Block Those Literary References (At Your Peril)
“Anyone who cares about books has at some point confronted the Pushkin problem: when a missed — or misguided — literary reference makes it chillingly clear that a romance is going nowhere fast.”
The Line Between Strong Criticism And Intolerance
Intolerance seems to take literary criticism into another arena, one in which the critics’ expression of their point of view, however trenchantly expressed, becomes confused with their view of the writer’s right to write what she has written. To take strenuous issue with a piece of work seems an entirely different matter from feeling that it shouldn’t have come into being at all.”
Actors’ Unions Alliance Splits
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild will go it alone. “Unions representing film and television actors will negotiate separately with producers in upcoming contract talks after board members of the TV actors union voted Saturday to sever a long-standing agreement between the two guilds.”
The New World Of Recording Orchestras
A few years ago, few orchestras were recording. But “several world-renowned American orchestras have figured out how to start recording again — many adopting a do-it-yourself mind-set that centers on digital retail. Already familiar to indie rock acts, the approach was entirely new terrain to orchestras that in decades past had enjoyed lavish contracts.”
Europe Condemns Film, Defends Right To Make/Show It
“European Union foreign ministers condemned on Saturday a Dutch film that accuses the Koran of inciting violence, but said its author had a right to make it under the bloc’s free speech principles.”
Do Dance And Civic Duty Mix?
On a couple of levels, Vitoria Marks believes, dance is the ultimate in spin. That phoniness led to her rescue mission for the art form. “I wanted to rescue it from my own contempt,” she says.
A City Or A Place?
“In Washington, there are people who wander the streets looking for things that feel like a city. And then there is the school of urban planning that worries more about whether this or that building feels like Washington.”
What Happened To The Art Of Jewelry?
“Jewelry has always been one form of art. So why is it that a good 99.99 percent of what is made today doesn’t come close to passing that test? Make that 99.999. Considering the bulging display cases at Zales and Kay, you might even have to add another bunch of nines.”
Are Festivals The Answer For The Ailing Music Business?
With the traditional recording business tanking, more bands and promoters are returning to the specialty festival model. “Modeled on successful ventures in Europe, the fests provide dozens of thematically and culturally aligned bands, a considerable bang for the buck and an air of exclusivity in which like-minded fans can gather. A number of acts are booked in multiple U.S. festivals.”