“It’s not often that you see a manifestation of Satan within the precincts of Westminster Abbey, but at a ceremony to unveil a memorial to the founders of the Royal Ballet, he made a striking appearance. [Two dancers] took the part of the fallen angel in synchronised performances of an extract from Ninette de Valois’s Job, performed at either end of the long nave, so that the entire congregation could see something.”
Tag: 11.17.09
28-Year-Old Playwright Wins $25K Wendy Wasserstein Prize
“Chicago-based dramatist Marisa Wegrzyn has won the 2009 Wasserstein Prize for her new play, Hickorydickory.” The award, which also includes a reading at New York’s Second Stage Theater, is given “for an outstanding script by a young woman who has not yet received national attention.”
Anne Midgette Looks At The ’00s In Classical Music
The Washington Post‘s classical critic answers ten questions about the decade past, covering such issues as the decline of record labels, the rise of the Web, hits (in both senses) at the box office, and the trajectory of classical radio. And she predicts the future. (“Classical music will survive. I predict that.”)
Panicking Over A 2012 Apocalypse? NASA Says You Can Relax
What with the movie, the Mayan calendar, and the solar-galactic-alignment thing, one NASA astronomer has “been getting about 20 letters and e-mail messages a day from people … scared out of their wits,” seriously wondering if they should euthanize themselves and loved ones before the end of the world less than three years hence. So the agency “felt it was prudent to provide a resource.”
‘The Most Anti-War War Game I’ve Ever Played’
There’s a “reprehensible message” underlying most war-themed video games: “Killing foreigners on behalf of one’s country is one hell of a good time.” But Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is “a first-person shooter that plays as a tragedy, not a power fantasy[,] … a murder simulator that won’t let you forget the nature of your actions.”
Edward Woodward, 79, Star Of TV’s The Equalizer
The British actor played Robert McCall, the title character of the CBS detective series, from 1985 to 1989. He also starred in the films The Wicker Man and Breaker Morant.
What Does ‘Postmodern’ Mean? Trisha Brown Reveals The Truth
“Nothing. (laughter) No, it was a joke in the dressing rooms at Judson. We were all naming categories of visual art practitioners and someone said, ‘We were doing postmodern dance at Judson.’ We all cracked up and no one countered us.”
The History Of Opera, 140 Characters At A Time
“How many tweets does it take to cover the entire span of opera history? The San Diego Opera wants to find out and has launched a Twitter project in which it will tweet about everything from Monteverdi to Mozart to Philip Glass on a daily basis. With more than 400 years to cover – and at a rate of two tweets per day – the project could take years to finish.”
Tampa Bay PAC Gets A New Name (And Several Million Dollars)
“Thanks to what was billed as the largest individual philanthropic gift made to a cultural institution in the bay area, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center will be renamed the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts.” The donation is thought to be upwards of $20 million.
There’s A Lyricism To Your Search History — Or, Um, Not
“The people behind a controversial movement known as ‘flarf’ believe phrases found on the Internet and strung together into poetry provide a critical social commentary. Others,” needless to say, “think it’s worthless drivel.”