Everyone’s watching to find out, but one big issue is social distancing and profit margins (such as they are not, typically, in theatre). “Keeping audience members two metres apart would limit the audience to 30 per cent of normal capacity, and that simply isn’t sustainable.” – CBC
Month: May 2020
A Gallery Helped African American Artists In The 1990s – But Perhaps It Also Ripped Them Off
The George N’Namdi galleries were sometimes the only game in the country for Black artists in the 1980s. According to a recent lawsuit, “Discrimination in the art world prevented the recognition that these artists deserved until the last several years.” But the lawsuit also alleges that “the N’Namdis took advantage of this situation by egregiously and systematically breaching their fiduciary obligations to [the plaintiff] and others.” – The New York Times
In The Most British Isles Quarantine Update Ever, Maypole Dancers Shared The Ritual Over Video
The organizer said, “Lockdown Maypole dancing is still possible,” and, in their own gardens or even inside, many agreed. – BBC
What’s Going To Happen To Improv?
This isn’t a great time for teachers and performers of improv comedy. Caroline Martin, who taught at Upright Citizens Brigade: “I have seen and been invited to do improv shows online on Zoom and on Instagram, and I have declined because there’s something about it that fundamentally makes me sad. Zoom does not help comedic timing.” – Slate
Appreciating Tony Allen, Afrobeat Creator Who Has Died At 79
Allen was a Nigerian drummer who perhaps didn’t invent Afrobeat but certainly popularized it and took it everywhere. “Allen’s swirl of jazz, Yoruba and highlife was unlike anything the world had ever heard: a full-body polyrhythmic workout that would give most drummers sore wrists just thinking of it.” – The Guardian (UK)
A Glimpse Of The Future
The U.S. and other countries have been looking to China and Italy to predict what the pandemic would be like during the most intense times of infection. Now, take Wuhan as an example, the slow reopen is accompanied by fear of a second wave. “Trains, highways, and buses are humming anew and people venture out more. Yet many businesses have not reopened, many people … are still working from home, many restaurants are still open only for takeout, and the local economy is still a shadow of its former self.” – The Atlantic
A Ballet In Amsterdam’s Emptied Streets
The dancers rehearsed at home and performed on streets and beside canals. “I like this project because we can show what we want to do, and what we’re waiting to do again. … Art, right now, is really important for everyone,” says one of the Dutch National Ballet dancers. A video of the dancers is being edited for release later this month. – Yahoo
Peter Jonas, Whose Innovations Changed Opera, Has Died At 73
Jonas ran the English National Opera and the Bavarian State Opera in his career, emphasizing “bold interpretive approaches to the great yet elusive and multilayered operas of the past.” And he changed the options for opera houses’ rotations: “He championed overlooked 20th-century works, reached out to living composers and presented many premieres. Yet he also made the case that Baroque operas were not just fare for early-music aficionados but also compelling music dramas.” – The New York Times
Author Sarah Perry Says Books, And Writing, Felt Useless For A While
Perry (The Essex Serpent) couldn’t even go into her study at first; books seemed items of contempt. But: “Recently I have concluded that all this amounts to a kind of failure of courage. As lockdown continues, I find my imagination has not faltered against this hard reality, but has itself grown harder. Everything which was sad before is sadder now, but everything which was wonderful is more wonderful. Imagination roots itself in feeling, and the novel I’d been working on grew larger and more vivid while my back was turned.” – The Guardian (UK)
The Berlin Phil Tests A Path Out For Orchestras
The concert hall was empty; the musicians were greatly reduced in number and sitting far from each other; they wore masks backstage and were tested before the event. “Though the seating arrangement was strange — and it was momentarily odd to see a conductor and concertmaster bow to each other rather than shake hands — it was also inspiring to see musicians trying to find some way, however awkward, to keep making live art.” – The New York Times