Staff at a Philadelphia-area theater company producing Neal LaBute’s “play that audaciously examines the way people who are not overweight perceive people who are” were surprised at the issues that arose as they searched for an actress to play the heroine. “How do you call someone and ask, Are you fat? Very carefully.”
Tag: 04.18.10
Returning To The Ballet Stage With A New Hip
Wayne Sleep, 62 and a veteran of the Royal Ballet, was to return to Covent Garden after a 20-year absence to dance one of the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella. But he had so much pain in his right leg that he couldn’t even put socks on without help. He tells about getting a hip replacement and learning how to dance anew.
Groundbreaking Film Editor Dede Allen Dies At 86
“Allen was the first film editor — male or female — to receive sole credit on a movie for her work. The honor came with ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ a film in which Allen raised the level of her craft to an art form that was as seriously discussed as cinematography or even directing.”
If You Build It, Cash Will Come?
“For decades” in New York, “new open areas have been born as by-products of business deals and carved out of leftover acreage into awkward, stingy shapes.” Governors Island, where the park design has come first, is a chance for the city to reverse its own pattern.
Evaluating Peter Gelb’s First Full Met Season
“Gelb has been running the company for more than three years, but this is the first full season he planned, paid for, and delivered–a rollout of eight new productions, culminating with Armida and laying out a program of modernization that is supposed to save the art form. … The strategy is fine, but its execution needs more muscle and judgment.”
Smoke Signal: TCG Files Brief In Denver Theatres’ Appeal
“‘Theatrical smoking has been a part of free expression in America since the First Amendment’s ratification in 1791,’ [Theatre Communications Group] executive director Teresa Eyring said in a brief filed Friday [with the U.S. Supreme Court]. ‘Theaters rely on actors’ expressive conduct, including smoking, to convey meaning in tandem with a play’s dialogue, movement, mood and tone.'”
Is “Reality” Show Voting Manipulated?
“Integrity and credibility are two primary factors that let a show sink or swim — without both, ratings slip. TV viewers are on some level aware that reality shows are scripted, cast and otherwise finessed, but competition programs that invite viewer participation through voting are particularly susceptible to appearances of impropriety.”
The Arts Of Twittering
“I have to say that I tweet, partly for the reasons that many people involved in the arts do – we’re tired of being isolated from our audience, tired of being misrepresented and having what we love both mystified and over-simplified in ways that help no one except those who seek to make themselves necessary as intermediaries. On Twitter I get what I used to from good arts broadcasting.”
Brought To You By… (The Age Of Advertising)
“You couldn’t help but conclude that we live in an age of persuasion, where people’s wants, wishes, whims, pleas, brands, offers, enticements, truths, petitions and propaganda swirl in a ceaseless, growing multimedia firestorm of sales messages.”
Web TV Is Where The Creativity Is
“Whereas the early wisdom of Web series was that no-names would use them to achieve mainstream fame, now it’s equally common to find recognizable faces using the Web as a playground for creative experimentation. Web video is the new Sundance. You can tell stories that wouldn’t necessarily be sold right away — stories that are much more personal. Niche is king.”