Tag: 10.07.19

A Frightening History Of America’s Theatre Fires

William Paul Gerhard, an engineer with the British Fire Prevention Committee, stated in a report that by May 1897 there had been 1,115 recorded theater fires in Europe and America (since records had been kept); there were 460 theater fires across America and Europe just from 1800 to 1877. Gerhard claimed that the average life of a theater in the United States was only about thirteen years due to fire. – Lapham’s Quarterly

The Play That Made Me Understand Why ‘Porgy And Bess’ Can Be Stifling

Soraya Nadia McDonald: “Does it still make sense to present an opera written by [four whites] as the opera about black American life? Is it a collection of insulting stereotypes set against gorgeous orchestrations, or something more? Attending a performance of Porgy and Bess helped clarify some of those questions for me. But it was another show altogether that helped me reframe how to think about them: Keith Hamilton Cobb’s American Moor.” – The Undefeated

Coachella’s Desert X Partners With Saudi Arabia (And Three Artist/Board Members Resign In Protest)

Although the Saudi exhibition signals growing international interest in Desert X, three of 14 members on the organization’s board of directors resigned over the decision to work with a government responsible for human rights abuses and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The three are artist Ed Ruscha, art historian and curator Yael Lipschutz and philanthropist and former fashion stylist Tristan Milanovich. – Los Angeles Times

Can A Rope Bondage Show Empower Women? These Two Actor-Aerialists Think So

Everything I See I Swallow, which scored a success at this summer’s Edinburgh Fringe and is now touring regional England, involves “the art of shibari, the centuries-old practice of Japanese rope bondage … It’s the spark for a piece of theatre that speaks to something universal and pressing, about the rights of women over their own bodies, the ramifications of digital life, and that knotty old question: can it ever be empowering for a woman to take her clothes off in public?” – The Guardian

‘The Stage’ Runs Pro And Con Articles On The Old Vic’s Gender-Neutral Toilets, Then Deletes Them In A Panic

“The website issued a statement on Twitter today saying it had taken the articles [about the battle of the loos] down after receiving what it described as ‘strong responses’ from readers, adding they had ‘only polarised the debate further’.” Sareah Ditum, who wrote one of the essays, called the move “gross editorial cowardice.” – Press Gazette (UK)

In Wake Of Racial Incident, Boston’s Museum Of Fine Arts Works To Make Amends

Last spring, a group of black middle school students had an ugly encounter with a few museum patrons and a guard. “Critics rightfully pounced, and the museum moved swiftly to contain the damage. … It might have ended there. But in this city still scarred by court-ordered desegregation and the turbulent busing of minority students to white suburbs in the 1970s, the museum — which welcomes 1.2 million visitors each year — took it as a wakeup call.” – Yahoo! (AP)

American Research Universities Association Decides To Expel Canadian Universities… Then Backtracks

Whatever the reasons for its decision, AAU received significant blowback not only from the Canadian institutions but from some of its U.S. members, who argued that it seemed tone-deaf for an association whose core enterprise — scientific research and education — is an increasingly global one. The seeming parallel to the inward-lookingness of the Trump administration didn’t help. – Inside Higher Ed

Pop-Up Pop Culture Experiences Are Everywhere. Bored Yet?

The gold standard and the pop-up worth getting on line early to score tickets for is probably “Saved by the Max.” After its launch last year, Eater Los Angeles described it as a “near-complete recreation of the ’90s Saturday morning staple Saved by the Bell‘s diner.” It feels like it has items from every episode and Easter eggs to inside jokes for both die-hard and casual fans lurking in there somewhere. A $40 ticket gave Chicago and West Hollywood fans an appetizer, an entree, and all the fandom they could handle. – Fast Company