“Currently, Mexico is going through a change of government, which has reduced the national budget for culture and has been removed a lot of art scholarships. On top of this, more and more states are moving away from the idea that arts hubs need to be in the capital cities, which is encouraging smaller communities across the country to create their own theatrical markets.” – Howlround
Tag: 07.02.19
The “Pursuit Of Happiness” In The Collective Sense (Rather Than Personal)
The topic of what Hannah Arendt called “public happiness” is largely ignored by those who think and write about contemporary culture. Apparently, politics and happiness don’t go together any more. Collective happiness — as Socrates intended it, as a shared political experience — is largely out of the picture. – The New York Times
Max Wright, Stage Actor Who Became Known For TV’s ‘ALF’, Dead At 75
He never much enjoyed working on the popular series, though he acknowledged that that “doesn’t matter … ALF brought people a lot of joy. They adored it.” While he did quite a bit of other film and television work, his true love was the stage, with notable roles in The Great White Hope (opposite James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander), Andrei Serban’s staging of The Cherry Orchard, the Al Pacino Richard III, the Broadway revival of Chekhov’s Ivanov (for which he garnered Tony and Drama Desk nominations), and a famous 1998 Lincoln Center production of Twelfth Night. – The New York Times
With ‘AMC Artisan Films’, Big Theater Chain Tries To Give Smaller Movies A Boost
“According to a press release, the initiative will spotlight ‘character and narrative driven movies’ that big-budget box-office behemoths tend to overshadow. … If any of this sounds familiar to you, it’s because … the promise to recognize ‘artist-driven, thought-provoking’ movies that show ‘expertise in writing, directing, acting and/or one of the many component parts that make up a movie,’ echoes one of the company’s previous initiatives” — AMC Independent from 2010. – Slate
In Barbershops And Laundromats, Bringing Books To Kids Who Can’t Get To Libraries
“This developing movement, supported by nonprofit groups, entrepreneurs, libraries and community fund-raising, is redefining the borders of traditional neighborhood public libraries by creating literary spaces in places where children find themselves with time on their hands. It is bringing the book to the child, instead of the child to the book.” – The New York Times
Philanthropy Seems Good. But Is It Also Part Of The Problem?
“Philanthropy is an exercise in power, by definition by the wealthy. It’s an attempt to have some public influence. And in that respect, it’s a plutocratic element in the democratic setting.” – The Atlantic
A Fringe Festival Of A Fringe Festival Is Popping Up In Philly
“At the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the vast majority of shows require paid admission … with tickets for the curated shows (those are the shows that the festival invites to participate) regularly closing in on the $50 mark. But at Free Fringe Philly, all shows will be free.” Says Sarah Knittel, one of the Free Fringe Philly’s creators, “We’ve been getting really bummed out over how ‘fringe’ in this town has started to feel really exclusive and unaffordable. So we’re going to take fringe back to the people and Robin Hood it a bit.” – Philadelphia Magazine
After 35 Years Of Performing, Tap Master Savion Glover Is Still Searching
“His post-rehearsal explanations kept coming out like Zen meditations: ‘Do you hear what you see? Or do you see what you hear? … What does the sound look like that you see when you are listening?'” – The New York Times
Controversial Purchase Of Westminster Choir College By Chinese Company Canceled
“Rider University has dropped a controversial plan to sell Westminster Choir College to a for-profit company based in China and instead is resuscitating efforts to relocate the choir college. The decisions, announced Monday, put Rider back where it was at the end of 2016, when students and alumni fought against the idea of relocating Westminster from its own campus in Princeton, N.J., to Rider’s main campus seven miles away in Lawrenceville, N.J.” – Inside Higher Ed
Two Women Writers Claim They Were ‘Pushed Off’ Idris Elba/Kwame Kwei-Armah Play
Tree, inspired by Elba’s 2014 “character album” Mi Mandela, is debuting this week at the Manchester International Festival before a run at London’s Young Vic, where Kwei-Armah is artistic director. The current script is by Kwei-Armah, but Tori Allen-Martin and Sarah Henley argue that they worked on a script for four years before being “pushed off” and “bullied and silenced.” Kwei-Armah claims — backed up by Elba, MIF and the Young Vic — that, following workshops, the Allen/Martin-Henley script was not “artistically viable” and that they were unwilling to meet with Kwei-Armah to “discuss the future of the show.” – The Guardian