“In prosperous societies, where social media is common, social lives are affordable and accessible, and families are no longer a financial necessity, is the era of communal living over and done? If so, are we losing our ability to be intimate, or are we simply evolving into creatures with different needs?”
Month: February 2012
How Can Audiences Fall For New Plays? Passion – And Marketing
“We need to choose stories for that part of the human soul much more often than we do. We need to learn how to market those stories to people, too. We need to expand this city’s understanding of what going to the theater can be: not only familiarity, but discovery; not only comfort, but a healthy rattling of the cages.”
Without Books, Can Cinema Survive?
No. In making movies, “the key factors are ideas and money – and both are currently in short supply.”
The Necessary Persistence Of Christo
“Christo sits stone-faced as they call him a liar, a cheater, a con man, a killer, as they politely suggest he is a fool, as they angrily denounce him as an enemy of nature.
He is the world’s most famous artist and this is what he must endure for these odd projects he dreams up.”
A Worthy Biographer For A Worthy Dancer
How Brenda Dixon Gottschild came to write the biography of Philadelphia’s Joan Myers Brown, legend of African-American dance.
With Police Escort And Rock Star Status, Dudamel And The LA Phil Move Mahler To Caracas
“The day was warm and humid. The air was soft and thick. The very diverse audience included students and parents, rich and poor, children as young as 5. Attire could be anything: jeans and T-shirts, suits and mini-skirts. Kids carried musical instruments. Teenagers danced and necked on the plaza. Vendors sold delicious local chocolate wrapped with portraits of Gustav Mahler.”
With Budgets Hurting, How Do Arts Organizations Reach New Audiences?
“Some organizations have invited audience members into the creative process. Others have altered their ticket policies, offering more liberal exchanges or hooking up with Groupon. Whatever the case, business as usual has lost its sense of usual.”
New Director Works On Funding – And Inspiration – At The California Arts Council
Craig Watson: “In all of my early discussions around the state, it is clear the role the Arts Council played historically as a convener has been missed. We are getting back in that business where it makes sense.”
An Off-Off-Broadway Revival? Is That Done? Yes, For ‘The Navigator’
The director: The “process includes readings, staged readings, the opportunity for a small production, and finally for a main stage production. I don’t see this sort of development happening enough in these days of limited finances.”
Artists Say Independence For Scotland Would Mean Death For The Arts
As Scotland prepares for a vote on independence, some in the arts think a yes vote would be disastrous. Mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill: “For the arts in Scotland, funding is difficult. There is an audience for classical music, but it’s very small, and we can’t deny that people travel from south of the border to attend. I think we’re stronger together.”