“I was their second choice for Usual Suspects, fourth choice for American Beauty and 15th choice to host this year’s Tony Awards. I think my career is definitely going in the right direction,” said Kevin Spacey. “Maybe I can get shortlisted to host the Oscars if everyone else turns it down.”
Tag: 04.18.17
Where The Debate Around Black American And British Actors Is Going Wrong
Much of the response to Samuel L. Jackson’s complaint about the wave of black British actors playing high-profile African-American roles has been along the lines of Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya’s “I resent that I have to prove that I’m black.” Angelica Jade Bastién argues that this is not the issue: for one thing, “the black experience throughout the diaspora isn’t an interchangeable one,” and for another, there’s a group of black American actors as highly trained as any from Britain that still have trouble getting work.
Binge-Watchers, Don’t Feel Guilty – Academic Researchers Have Your Back
“For one thing, … our attitudes toward television have yet to catch up to the age of peak TV. In fact, … as shows have become increasingly complex in recent years, watching TV has become a more cognitively stimulating activity.”
NY Times Classical Editor Says LA Phil Is ‘The Most Important Orchestra In America. Period.’
Zachary Woolfe: “As it prepares to celebrate its centennial in 2019, the Philharmonic puts more energy into new work than any other orchestra. It presents a greater sense of the diversity of today’s music and its creators than any other orchestra. It ties its mission to education and social justice in its city more than any other orchestra. And, yes, more than any other orchestra, it combines a commitment to the future with a fresh eye on the past.”
Barkley L. Hendricks, 72, Pioneer Of African-American Portraiture
“Even more astounding than Hendricks’s astute color sense, and his intricate handling of his subjects’ sartorial choices, was the almost-preternatural skill he had for crafting portraits that exude psychic states.”
Without Warning, Music Director Of England’s Opera North Is Out After Less Than One Season
According to a statement on the company’s website, Aleksandar Marković “is currently on extended leave and it has been mutually agreed that he will not return to the Company for the remainder of the season.” He was to conduct a production of Turandot that opens in ten days.
Soprano Nadine Sierra Wins $50K Richard Tucker Award
The 28-year-old Florida native was the youngest winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition. Among her predecessors as Tucker Award winners are Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Joyce DiDonato, Matthew Polenzani, Lawrence Brownlee, Michael Fabiano, and Jamie Barton. (includes video)
Arts Philanthropist Dorrance Hill Hamilton Dead At 88
“The billionaire Campbell Soup Co. heiress … has given support, much of it quite substantial, to the University of the Arts, the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Main Line Health, the Morris Arboretum, WHYY, the Philadelphia Museum of Art,” and numerous educational endeavors.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.18.17
Doin’ It: Performing Arts
In my last three posts I have been exploring participatory experiences as being an important element in the work of arts organizations. This week I want to talk about participatory experiences in the performing arts. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-04-18
Butch Morris’s workbook for spontaneous composition published
The deathbed wish of composer-cornetist Lawrence Douglas “Butch” Morris (1947-2013) was that his detailed documentation of Conduction®, the method he devised to enable spontaneous composition for ensembles of literally any type employing codified hand-signals, be published … read more
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2017-04-18
Amidst Villar Rojas’ Chaotic Ruins on Met’s Roof Garden, Dan Weiss Sets Me Straight (with video)
“Barratt’s Back,” I announced in the erroneous headline of a recent post. It seems that she never left. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-04-18
Jerry Saltz – The Critic As (Failed) Artist (Or Not)
“I miss art terribly. I’ve never really talked about my work to anyone. In my writing, I’ve occasionally mentioned bygone times of once being an artist, usually laughingly. Whenever I think of that time, I feel stabs of regret. But once I quit, I quit; I never made art again and never even looked at the work I had made. Until last month, when my editors suggested that I write about my life as a young artist.”