Anna Fleischle, an award-winning designer, has defined “a moment of reset in our industry.” Rachel O’Riordan, artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith, says she is looking at the public square outside the theatre on King Street. West End producers know that the days of the premium ticket and rip-off booking charges are over. And one can only say to all three parties: what took you so long? – Prospect Magazine
Tag: 07.01.20
How Conductor Alan Pierson Brought ‘Ten Thousand Birds’ Indoors
Back in 2014, Alarm Will Sound — the contemporary music ensemble Person founded at Eastman and has been leading ever since — played the world premiere of John Luther Adams’s Ten Thousand Birds (which is basically a big catalogue of birdsong transcriptions in no prescribed order) as a sort of outdoor sound installation. This year, as the coronavirus confined Pierson and his colleagues in their homes, he got the idea to reconceive the piece as Ten Thousand Screens, an online video in which the musicians each played from their own homes. Author Garth Greenwell, a friend of Pierson’s going back to college days, talks with him about why and how he did it. – The Paris Review
Why Apologies Are Important
How is it that a mere apology can turn long-held assumptions upside down in a way that practical solutions, such as more social support or even financial assistance, simply can’t do alone? Those one-dimensional symbols, such as statues and flags, can give way to richer, more complete stories that embrace empathy and respect. A sincere apology on a national scale can turn once-revered heroes, such as Confederate leaders, into villains, and once-despised outsiders, such as an enslaved people and their descendants, into human beings who have endured unimaginable injustices. – JSTOR
Pandemic As Inflection Point For The Arts
Today, the convergence of Covid-19 closing down all public events, along with the explosive outrage with continued police carnage in communities of color, brings us to a similar inflection point as the late 1960s. Once again a fundamental shift wherein art is stripped of any pretense is emerging. As well, the enormous chasm between aesthetics and inequity must be addressed as systemic racism is dismantled. – VTDigger
Turkey Might Really Turn Hagia Sophia Back Into A Mosque
The Byzantine emperor built it in the sixth century to be the flagship cathedral of Eastern (and perhaps all) Christianity. When the Ottoman sultan conquered Constantinople in 1453, he converted it into a landmark mosque. When Atatürk’s secular revolutionaries founded the modern Turkish republic, he made it a public museum honoring both faiths and their histories. But next week, a Turkish court will rule on whether President Erdoğan can make good on his longtime campaign promise to (as his justice minister puts it) “see its chains broken and opened for a prayer.” – Public Radio International
Chicago’s Commercial Theatre Is Devastated. Will It Return?
Why have Chicago’s for-profit institutions been so hit? The main reason is their total revenue dependence. A big non-profit potentially can rely on its board members to bankroll it through these hard times, or can sweet talk its big donors. In some rare cases, endowments can be tapped. But that’s not true of for-profit theaters, entirely reliant on ticket sales, bar takings and concessions for their survival. – Chicago Tribune
NYC Slashes Arts Education In Schools
Budgets across departments have been slashed as the city looks to recover from an estimated $9 billion loss in tax revenue due to the shutdown. Among the hard hit is New York City’s Department of Education, which will see $15 million cut from the $21.5 million budget for arts education services in middle and high schools—a roughly 70 percent reduction. – Artnet
Dance Magazine’s Editor In Chief Judged A Major Competition, And Here’s What She Wants Contestants To Know
Jennifer Stahl, who juried this year’s Boston semi-finals of Youth America Grand Prix: “Putting exact numbers to qualities like ‘musicality’ and ‘épaulement’ is just as tricky as it sounds. But I learned a few surprising takeaways that could make a big difference in a dancer’s final score. Whether you’re competing virtually right now or just starting to plan your solo for next year, keep these six things in mind.” – Dance Magazine
What Four Great Black Female Theatermakers Show Us About How And Why We Create Theater
“Todd London reflects on why and how we gather, and looks at the canons-in-the-making of four African-American playwrights — Jackie Sibblies Drury, Aleshea Harris, Anna Deavere Smith, and Dael Orlandersmith — for how they serve as a map for this moment of revision.” – HowlRound
A Gallery Of Detroit’s Fabulous 20th Century Ruins
They’re grand spaces now in decay – which gives them altogether another kind of beauty. – The Guardian