For years, standing and sitting in that hours-long queue for free Shakespeare in the Park tickets has been almost as much a part of the experience as the performance itself. But not everyone is able to take a day off work and sit out in the elements. So, for its last Central Park production of the season, the Public is making its tickets available only by lottery. – The New York Times
Tag: 08.26.19
People Who Attend Cultural Events Feel Better About Their Lives And Hometowns: Study
“A new study [commissioned by Arts Council England] has quantified just how much arts offerings influence people’s choice to relocate or stay in a particular city. And as it turns out, the presence of arts and culture overwhelmingly affected respondents’ sense of well-being and satisfaction, their attachment to a place, and their sense of community.” – Artnet
Tech Giants Are Hiring Philosophers. Will It Help?
“Tech companies seem to be recognizing that they need advice on the unprecedented power they’ve amassed and on many challenging moral issues around privacy, facial recognition, AI, and beyond. Philosophers, who contemplate these topics for a living, should welcome any interest in their work from organizations that are set on shaping humanity’s future. But they need to be wary of the potential conflicts of interest that can arise from these collaborations, and of being used as virtue-signaling pawns for ethically problematic companies.” – Wired
The Comic Books About Great Artists (A Good Idea?)
“There’s something inherently odd about using one artistic tradition to depict the life (to say nothing of reproducing the work) of an artist from a different tradition. And yet, not only are a growing number of cartoonists creating books about famous artists, but their approaches are dizzyingly varied. When is a comic book a fitting tribute to an icon?” – NPR
Watching The Chief Lighting Technician Of ‘Hamilton’ At Work
“Brian (Rizzo) Frankel, … a veteran of both the Air Force and Broadway — he’s been in the business since 1980 — is long-haired and goateed, with necklaces, bracelets, a wildly patterned shirt, and a genial, easygoing manner. Since 1994, hes worked at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, on West Forty-sixth Street, Hamilton’s home for the past four years. He’s in charge of the show’s spotlight, and also all of its electricity.” (video) – The New Yorker
How Spain Became A Case Study For The Global Streaming Wars
“Netflix may have been the first to crack the key European market, with locally produced hit Money Heist, but the streamer is now facing heated competition from the likes of Amazon, HBO, Viacom and local player Movistar, which are all vying for Spanish talent and content.” – The Hollywood Reporter
An Exit Interview With The Two Teens Who Debated Heidi Schreck In ‘What The Constitution Means To Me’
With the Broadway run of the show having ended, 14-year-old Rosdely Ciprian will travel with the production to the Kennedy Center whole 17-year-old Thursday Williams heads off to college. The pair talk to a reporter about juggling a Broadway schedule with high school and the thrill of having two Supreme Court justices (Sotomayor and RBG) visit them backstage. – The New York Times
To Desegregate Public Schools, NYC Proposes To Eliminate Gifted Programs
Gifted programs and screened schools have “become proxies for separating students who can and should have opportunities to learn together,” the panel, made up of several dozen education experts, wrote in the report. – The New York Times
A First? Actual Self-Effacing Conductor Takes Helm At Berlin Philharmonic
A self-effacing conductor may seem almost impossible in itself, but in the job held by Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle? Kirill Petrenko — who was elected chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic four years ago but is only now taking up the job — refuses to give press interviews or schmooze VIPs. But musicians absolutely love the man. – The New York Times
In Response To Lara Spencer’s Mockery Of Boys Doing Ballet, Two Of Dance’s Biggest Male Stars Lead A Giant Class In Times Square
On Monday morning, as Good Morning America host Lara Spencer was trying to make amends for her faux pas of last week, Travis Wall (of So You Think You Can Dance) and Robbie Fairchild (formerly of New York City Ballet, now well on his way to a Broadway career) led about 400 dancers through a ballet workout. – The New York Times