“Laundry literacy programs have recently sprung up all over the country, … and thousands of children have benefited from the chance to hone their early-literacy skills in an everyday setting, often with their parents participating, often on a regular basis, and always for free. Can’t these children simply go to a branch library instead? Not necessarily.” – American Libraries
Tag: 05.01.19
Perhaps The World’s Biggest Theatre Empire? Cruise Ships
Consider: Royal Caribbean International’s cruise line directs 134 shows in 50 theatres on 26 ships around the world, including seven Broadway-originating shows, eight aqua shows, 18 ice shows and dozens of original musicals. It’s an audience of 100,000… every night. – Toronto Star
When Classic Broadway Stories Meet Modern Gender Politics
“Empowering the female lead may be a celebratory hook for selling a show, particularly given that women buy the bulk of Broadway tickets. But on closer inspection, it is rarely the women that require revision. … No, the real problem with these stories is the men. They are terrible, and yet they have the audacity to believe they can teach these women lessons, and to come out on the other side looking like plausible romantic leads. A modern production’s success rests on how it tames its man.” – The New York Times
What Is The Power Of Bodies — Naked Ones — Walking And Running In A Circle?
“ALL — a physical poem of protest … explores what [Mia] Habib refers to as ‘the protesting body.’ It can be performed for up to 12 hours, though the New York iteration will clock in at a brisk 45 minutes. And there’s one other integral component — all the performers are nude. For Ms. Habib, a Norwegian-Israeli choreographer based in Oslo, the result illustrates group strength: What is the power of bodies meeting together in a public space?” In a Q&A with Gia Kourlas, she explains what that power is. – The New York Times
Do Indie Bookstores Really Need To Pay Their Workers So Badly?
As Sarah Malley discovered while working at an independent bookshop, some routine practices legally qualified at least in her state) as wage theft. And it’s far more common for indie bookstore employees to skip vacation and sick days because they can’t afford to take them. “Does a business that can’t afford to pay its employees a living wage deserve to be in business? … I have no idea. I haven’t the faintest idea at all.” – Popula
Professional YouTubers, The Protestant Work Ethic, And The Future Of Employment
“If YouTubers represent the epitome of the uphill battle to create stable employment and meaningful connection all in one place, they may also offer clues to an alternative approach to work … [and] a different way of looking at work and status.” – JSTOR Daily
Here’s The Anjelica Huston Interview That Has The Internet Abuzz
The Oscar winner and third generation of a four-generation movie dynasty (so far) speaks very plainly about her complicated relations with her family members and romantic partners (i.e., Jack Nicholson), getting thoroughly snubbed by (an evidently jealous) Oprah Winfrey, and defends (sort of) Roman Polanski and (definitely) Woody Allen. – New York Magazine
Dance Magazine Editors Dish The Tony Award Nominations
Among the questions: whether Oklahoma! choreographer John Heginbotham was snubbed, why Casey Nicholaw (The Prom) was nominated for Best Director but not Best Choreography, the wonderfulness of Hadestown, and whether or not the Best Choreography award will make the telecast. – Dance Magazine
Creative Versus Not Creative? Start With The Culture
“Why does it actively hurt to work in some places?” I have asked myself. “And why doesn’t it hurt to work in others?” I wanted to know what the organizations behind the positive spaces were doing that made me feel valued, respected, and like my presence mattered. How have these places reinvented what professionalism means under the confines of the non-profit industrial complex? – HowlRound
Me, John Kander, and the opera/music theater coup d’état
Here’s some history of a 1980s funding coup pulled off by opera companies, theater companies, and Broadway producers — one that made a huge difference for some great artists who had been caught between the funding silos. – Greg Sandow