“A political cartoonist who was jailed on sedition charges for drawings that mocked corruption in the Indian government was released on bail Wednesday. … [Aseem] Trivedi was arrested Sunday based on a political activist’s complaint that his cartoons insulted the country.”
Tag: 09.12.12
Afghanistan Veterans Turn Their Experiences Into Theatre
“The Two Worlds of Charlie F was conceived by the producer Alice Driver after a conversation with a surgeon about casualties returning from Afghanistan. Most of the actors are W.I.S. soldiers from the British armed forces; some are drawn from Commonwealth nations. The playwright cum poet cum novelist Owen Sheers developed the script after group workshops with the members of Bravo 22 Company, incorporating many of their stories and jokes.”
Translating Miriam Makeba Into Dance – Without Makeba
Choreographer Nora Chipaumire’s Miriam, which she describes as “a solo for two people,” is definitely a translation rather than a representation of the late South African singing star. “[V]iewers of workshop showings … complained to Ms. Chipaumire that they couldn’t find Makeba at all … [and] Omar Sosa’s score, which runs from dense percussion to ruminative electric piano, refers to Bach’s music but not Makeba’s.”
Japan’s Praemium Imperiale 2012 To Philip Glass, Henning Larsen, Others
“Composer Philip Glass and artist Cai Guo-Qiang won the Praemium Imperiale, an international arts prize patronized by Japan’s ruling dynasty, worth 15 million yen ($192,600). The other three recipients were Danish architect Henning Larsen, Japanese ballerina Yoko Morishita, and Italian sculptor Cecco Bonanotte.”
Why Some Playwrights Avoid Interviews
Caryl Churchill is one of several prominent playwrights who simply refuse to speak to the press about their work. Mark Lawson understands the point – as Michael Frayn once said, “[I didn’t] spend two years writing a play in order to sum it up impromptu over lunch.”
The Ig Nobel Prizes’ Greatest Hits
Ig Nobel founder and emcee Marc Abrahams explains the awards and names some of his favorites: the discovery of homosexual necrophilia in ducks; the use of magnets to levitate a frog; the study titled “An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep Across Various Surfaces.” (He also clues us in on the Ig Nobels’ secret weapon: Miss Sweetie Poo.)
Composer Mason Bates Wins $250K Heinz Award
“At 35, Bates is one of the youngest recipients in the 18-year history of the awards, which are given in five categories: arts and humanities; environment; human condition; public policy; and technology, the economy and employment. Previous winners in the arts and humanities category include composer John Harbison, soprano Beverly Sills and writer Dave Eggers.”
Nathan Gunn To Front Opera Co. Of Philadelphia’s American Opera Program
The baritone/sex symbol has been “appointed director of the opera company’s American Repertoire Council … For the next three years, Gunn function as artistic advisor to the company’s two composers in residence, Lembit Beecher and Missy Mazzoli, and will guide American repertoire choices and assemble both partnerships and creative teams for new works.”
Kennedy Center Honors 2012: Letterman, Hoffman, Makarova, Buddy Guy, Led Zeppelin
“Actor Dustin Hoffman, whose career has included some of the most wide-ranging and memorable roles in film history, and bluesman George ‘Buddy’ Guy , who began playing ‘before the guitar was electrified'” are honorees, along with “comedian and late-night TV host David Letterman; ballerina Natalia Makarova; and keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant, all of rock band Led Zeppelin.”
HarperCollins Deal Means Cheaper E-Books
“For consumers, this means a few bucks off their next HarperCollins e-book. And for Amazon, this means the beginning of at least two years when it will be setting the prices of many more e-books than it could in the past.”