“Due to a range of factors, from overspending on a few high-profile productions to a stagnant, post-Sept. 11 economy, the Rep emerged from the brief Michael Bush era owing more money than it ever had before. Deep cuts in state funding made a bad situation worse. Now, facing a persistent and growing gap between income and expenditures, Rep officials say the company is in real danger of going under.”
Tag: 12.19.04
Digital Dreams – UK Promotes Theatres’ Digital Conversion
The UK Film Council wants to help promote digital conversion in movie theatres. “The program will disburse an estimated $25 million to install approximately 250 digital projectors in theaters throughout the United Kingdom. (By comparison, there are currently about 120 digital projectors in U.S. movie houses.)”
Danger, Warning! (The Study Says)
Two studies indicate how we pick up danger signals from others. “One, in Science, found seeing the whites of the eyes triggered a danger message in the brain. A second, in Neuron, showed that, even if an image of a scared face is shown too briefly to be consciously recognised, the brain registers it.”
New Haven Schubert Needs A Reinvent
New Haven’s Schubert Theatre has a storied past as a Broadway out-of-town tryout venue. But “the insistence of the Shubert board to put most of its eggs in the Broadway basket in the ’90s in either pre-Broadway or post-Broadway shows put it in difficult financial straits for what was viewed as the Fenway Park of theaters: charming, but with a limited box office.” Now the theatre has fallen on hard times, needing a plan for how to reinvent itself.
How’s Your Christmas Lit Cred?
Eew… ArtsJournal’s editor scored only 9 of 15 in this year’s Guardian books quiz… We’re sure you can do better…
Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial Close To Opening
Peter Eisenman’s Holocaust Memorial in Berlin is nearing completion. “Germany’s largest memorial to the Holocaust into position, certainly had his problems. But despite everything, his design, spreading over nearly five acres of central Berlin, promises to be one of Europe’s most extraordinary pieces of architecture. A spectacle that defies the spectacular.”
Connections – What New Music Needs To Live
What does new music need to win the hearts of listeners? “Decades ago, composer Pierre Boulez predicted that audiences would subscribe to music-generating computers much the way they now do to their favorite orchestra. Guess why that hasn’t happened: no warm bodies. Instead, I hear current composers translating the shape and timbre of electronic sound to, say, the live acoustic string quartet.”
How To Watch Merce Cunningham
“It seems to me that watching Cunningham is like taking a nature walk. The shifting landscape you scan offers many beautiful (or fascinating or eerie) things, but in an entirely evenhanded way. It is your own wandering view, guided by your own temperament, that selects which of them to notice, which of them to enhance through deeper contemplation, which of them to elaborate with your personal fantasies. The choreographer has chosen to abstain from dictating in these matters. He is present in the scheme, absolutely, but mysterious and silent.”
Did BBC Cut Too Far?
The BBC’s new chairman made major cuts in the corporation, but did he go too far? “My fear is that the government will say, fine, we’re pleased to see you’re prepared to beat yourself so willingly, we’ll finish off the job. And if he has got it wrong, thousands of staff will have lost their jobs for nothing.”
Oscars Won’t Revive Original Musical Category
The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has decided not to activate its dormant original musical category because only five films would have qualified for consideration. “Although academy rules state that the original musical category can be activated provided there are at least five movies eligible, the board chose not to go that route.”