“I think that the work needs to begin in the places with the largest disparity: disabled critics, queer-identified critics, critics of color, both women and men. I want us to not lose sight of the ball.”
Month: July 2018
A Project To Get California Singing… At The Same Time
The hub cities and venues are Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego; Nourse Theater in San Francisco; Community Center Theater in Sacramento; Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall at Clovis Unified Performing Arts Center in Fresno; and Coil School for the Arts at Riverside City College in Riverside. The combined capacity of the six venues is 9,800.
Do Psychedelics Teach Anything Objective About The Brain? Or Is All Culturally Biased?
We hope that we are discovering something objectively true about the brain, or about ultimate reality. And psychedelic neuroscience might discover certain common neural patterns underlying different types of psychedelic experience. But as for the subjective experience, how do we know if our trips reveal ‘ultimate reality’ or just the reflection of our subconscious?
The Science Of Shakespeare – He Was Influenced…
A small but growing number of scholars are now taking up the connection between Shakespeare and science. And, spurred perhaps by science fiction, by the ways that science factors in the works of key late-modern writers such as Nabokov, Pynchon, and Wallace, and by the rise of scientific themes in contemporary literary fiction, a growing number of readers are aware that writers can and do take up science, and many are interested in what they do with it.
Arts Festival Initiatives In America’s Heartland
Kansas City’s biennial is not the only major initiative to debut this summer in the American Midwest. Front International, a triennial in Cleveland, Ohio, also aims to draw attention to the under-represented art scene in the US’s Heartland. The region is a vague geography defined more by a state of mind: proudly homegrown but overshadowed by the rich coastal cities.
Young Chinese Conductors Are Finally Getting The Chance To Lead Major Chinese Orchestras
“Aged 36, Jing [Huan] is part of a new breed of foreign-trained conductors, as China hopes to gain recognition in the field after winning global fame for its soloists, including piano and string virtuosos. After long relying on Western conductors, a growing number of symphony orchestras around the country are now entrusting the baton to a fresh generation of Chinese musical directors.”
Christine Nöstlinger, 81, Prolific, Award-Winning Children’s Author
“[Her] more than 150 books — including works about an oppressive ‘cucumber king’ who lords over a cellar and a ‘factory-made boy’ who always goes to bed on time — earned her some of the highest honors in children’s literature, … sold millions of copies and were translated into 30 languages.”
The Challenges (And Rewards) Of Producing “Cyrano” In Prison
“We just sat in chairs and read the script,” said Mr. Scatamacchia, who is 63 and retired from the music-publishing industry. “‘What are you saying here?’ ‘What does this mean?’ I encouraged them to rewrite their dialogue in modern jargon. These guys are just talking to each other.” Both performances — one for the inmates and another for about 100 outsiders — were well received, despite the periodic interruption of a prison guard’s walkie-talkie. It wasn’t hard to imagine that some of the men were being applauded for the first time in their lives.
Kansas Governor Complains About Artist’s Flag Depiction And University Takes It Down
“Untitled (Flag 2)” by German artist Josephine Meckseper was intended to serve as commentary on the deep divisions in the United States, according to a statement by the artist. Meckseper drip painted a rough illustration of the U.S. on the flag and a striped sock in the left-hand corner to symbolize children imprisoned on the border. Some are viewing the work as an affront to active military and veterans. Among them is Kansas governor Jeff Colyer, who called for the flag’s removal in a statement Wednesday.
Can Boston Re-Establish Itself As The Big Pre-Broadway Tryout Town?
“Composer Richard Rodgers, of Rodgers & Hammerstein fame, used to say he wouldn’t open a can of tomatoes without first bringing it to Boston. … It’s been a long time since the Hub had that kind of clout. But now a major new player, the UK-based Ambassador Theatre Group, and Emerson College are pouring millions of dollars into making the Emerson Colonial Theatre a venue for pre-Broadway tryouts.”