“The Philadelphia Cultural Pass will provide free tickets to any of the roughly 40,000 Penn Medicine and 6,800 Drexel [University] employees working full-time or more than half-time. … At the moment the supporting institutions are Penn Medicine and Drexel, which will provide operating funds to the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Kimmel Center. The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is also a partner.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
05.08.19
Tag: 05.08.19
Woolly Mammoth’s Howard Shalwitz Checks Out Russia’s Contemporary Theatre Scene
The co-founder and recently retired director of DC’s famed theatre company reports from this year’s Golden Mask Festival, where selected companies from all over the vast country meet to show their best work. – HowlRound
Hong Kong’s Long-Delayed New Arts Mecca Is About To Start Hemorrhaging Executives
Five key high-level staffers of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority didn’t renew their contracts and are leaving between now and the fall. And one much-anticipated venue in the WKCD, a flexible theatre called The Box at Freespace, did not open as scheduled last month; another, the contemporary visual art center M+, was supposed to open two years ago and may not open for another two. – South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
How Do You Bring Hong Kongers Back To Boring Old Cantonese Opera? Write One About Donald Trump, Zombies, And ‘The Sound Of Music’
Trump on Show, which ran for four days last month at the city’s last commercial Cantonese opera theater, “tells a story of Mr. Trump’s long-lost twin, Chuan Pu, who was raised in China and works at a crematory. There he meets the undead corpse of Liu Shaoqi, the Chinese leader who died during the Cultural Revolution. The opera includes a Ping-Pong game between Mao and Nixon, who later gets stumbling drunk at a state banquet; a visit to the White House by a scheming Kim Jong-un; the ghost of Lincoln; Mr. Trump’s disappearance on an extraterrestrial spacecraft; and multiple singings of ‘Edelweiss.'” – The New York Times
Does What I’m Doing Right Now Count As Writing?
Making lists of ideas, reading novels, scheduling time to sit down at your computer, researching new coffee shops at which to work, and establishing weekly word goals may seem like parts of writing, but they are not. They are procrastination, which, if you think about it, is actually writing in its purest form. – The New Yorker
Nicholas Hytner To Open New 600-Seat Theatre In Kings Cross
Former National Theatre bosses Sir Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr will run the venue, which is under construction and is set to open in winter 2021. It will be based on the Bridge Theatre, which the pair opened in October 2017. – BBC
Study: Participating In Arts Boosts Sense Of Wellbeing
Commissioned by BBC Arts, it represents the first time that researchers have explored how creative activities, such as acting in a play, singing in a choir, or playing an instrument or painting, can help manage emotions and mood. It found three main ways in which people use creativity as coping mechanisms to control emotions. – The Stage
LA MoCA Announces A New Senior Curator, Says No To A New Chief Curator
The museum will announce Wednesday that its new senior curator and head of new initiatives will be Mia Locks, co-curator of the 2017 Whitney Biennial. She is an independent curator based in New York who had been an assistant curator at New York’s MoMA PS1, the Museum of Modern Art’s affiliate in Queens. – Los Angeles Times
Engaging In A Creative Activity Really Does Make You Feel Better: Report
“Almost 50,000 people took part in the BBC Arts Great British Creativity Test. It suggested that being creative can help avoid stress, free up mind space and improve self-development, which helps build self-esteem. The findings also said there are emotional benefits from taking part in even a single session of creativity.” – BBC