Everyone Is Proclaiming That Hollywood Is Dead. No – It’s Just Adapting

“Cinema remains siloed into “studio” and “indie” efforts, with a good chunk of audiences largely ignoring the latter, while television (which essentially has to be made within a studio system) can offer the kind of adult dramas and politically aware works that are seemingly missing from multiplexes. But these aren’t the signs of a lifeless industry. Film is just doing what it’s always done—finding a way to adapt, survive, and serve new audiences.”

A Battle Over The Future Rages At A Historic African-American Theatre Company

As the New Freedom Theatre in North Philadelphia begins its 50th anniversary season, its debt has been reduced, it’s paying its actors, its productions are getting great reviews – and three longtime staffers have been abruptly fired, several attendees at a post-forum reception were forcibly removed and arrested, and protestors are demanding the replacement of the executive director.

Top Posts From AJBlogs 10.04.16

ABCD and Community Engagement
For those who have been fostering connections between art and communities for years, the term Arts-Based Community Development is well known and, while not a perfect expression of the work, one that is immediately recognizable and understood in the field. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-10-04

The perpetual now
Mrs. T and I opted last Monday to watch a William Powell comedy, My Man Godfrey, instead of subjecting ourselves to the first presidential debate. When I tweeted about our decision, these responses were immediately forthcoming from two of my followers: … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-10-04

Twelve years after: on adapting the classics
From 2004: If you’re going to make a stage or screen adaptation of a familiar work of art, you really only have two viable alternatives: try to reproduce the original as closely as possible, or go your own way. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-10-04

[ssba_hide]

Two Brothers Play The Same August Wilson Role At The Same Time On Opposite Coasts

“The work of August Wilson has for years sustained Brandon and Jason Dirden, actor brothers who have found themselves turning again and again to his plays for meaning and inspiration. Now, for the first time, the two are playing the same role, at the same time, on opposite coasts: Levee, the angrily ambitious trumpeter in one of Wilson’s best-known plays, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. … The two spoke in a joint telephone interview about their relationship with Wilson and with each other.”