Ottawa’s National Arts center posts its first deficit in six years. “The year’s planned deficit of $891,720 was funded by surpluses accumulated during the past six consecutive years,” the statement says, adding that the NAC still retains an accumulated surplus of almost $355,000.”
Tag: 06.06.06
Getting Ahead With The Circus
“The idea of using circus arts to help troubled youth was the brainchild of the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil. The Montreal-based entertainment empire began its first two “social circus” pilot projects in Chile and Brazil, in 1995. Today, Cirque du Soleil has 50 projects running in 19 countries, many of them in developing nations. Cirque du Soleil says the programs help get kids off the streets, off drugs, and improve their performance and behavior in school.”
Wisconsin Wants To Be In the Movies
The state is offering generous tax incentives. The state will have one of the more aggressive tax schemes in the country, with a refundable credit of 25% of direct production expenditures for feature films, television movies, episodic and miniseries television, video games and broadcast advertising production. Also being offered is an investment tax credit of 25% that can be claimed for investing in Wisconsin-based productions and a 15% state income tax credit for film, television and electronic game production businesses that make a capital investment by starting a business in Wisconsin.”
Jerry Lewis To Direct Nutty Professor
Jerry Lewis is going to direct a Broadway musical version of “The Nutty Professor.” “I’ve had an awful lot of inquiries about it for years, and I never really bothered to pay much attention to it. I saw this kid perform, and he wanted very much to do that, and he had money. I said, ‘With those pockets, we’ll give it a shot.'”
Vegas The New Broadway? Naaw! (Didn’t Work)
Hairspray becomes the second high-profile musical to close prematurely in Vegas. “We make this decision with regret and disappointment, but with the reality that the show did not find the audience it needed for us to continue.”
British Boy’s Bolshoi Adventure
Henry Perkins is only the second British boy in the Bolshoi Ballet’s 230-year history to have been accepted into the prestigious school…
Hacker Sends Hoax Message About Director Quitting Theatre
Paul Higgins has left the London fringe venue Theatre 503. But a hacker sent emails purportedly from Higgins saying he had left after a vote of no confidence. “The theatre is currently examining how someone could have gained access to the director’s account and says it is unaware of who might have held a grudge against him.”
Smithsonian Inspector Quits
The Smithsonian Institution’s inspector general has resigned. “In the last 10 years, the number of positions in this office went down 30 percent while the federal appropriation has grown 70 percent,”
A Little TV With Your Tank
Not getting enough TV? One company wants to help, offering TV programming at the gas pump. “Pumping gas is boring and mundane. We live in a very can’t-sit-still, multi-stimulus environment. We are convinced that people will be very favourable to this experience at the gas station.”
“X” Marks The Spot
Oakland Opera is a small company that does big things with contemporary work. Case in point – its revival of Anthony Davis’ “X”. “Operating on a shoestring — Sunday afternoon’s performance went ahead with neither lighting nor programs after a series of mechanical mishaps — the company has once again assembled all the elements it needs for gripping musical theater. There seems to be no limit to what these folks can pull off.”