Author: Laura Collins Hughes

Might Blogging Be The Savior Of Theatre Criticism?

“The rise of the internet and the blogosphere – still in its infancy and often stumbling as it takes its first tentative steps – makes me think that theatre criticism may get a whole new lease of life. … I welcome blogging. I don’t think it will supplant newspaper criticism, but I do think these new voices will keep us on our toes. Suddenly theatre criticism has got a whole lot more interesting.”

Behind One Author’s Name, The Toil Of Many

“When Thomas Carlyle spoke of ‘the difficulties of a book, of getting it done, of reducing chaos to order’ he wasn’t kidding. Books don’t just happen. They are the result of the will to publish an individual’s writings, thoughts and ideas. It’s the backroom boys who make this happen, who – in short – get it right. And in getting it right, they erase themselves from the book.”

Oligarch’s Mega-Purchase Stops Rostropovich Auction

“A spectacular sale of Russian art was cancelled last night, on the eve of the London auction, when a Russian billionaire stepped in to buy the entire collection of the late musician Mstislav Rostropovich, promising to return it to Russia. Alisher Usmanov, the 18th richest man in Russia, is believed to have paid more than £25m, well above the highest estimate of £20m, to stop the sale. Sotheby’s, which initially refused to identify Mr Usmanov, later confirmed his name when the Russian news agency Interfax identified him.”

Canadian Film Library In Peril Of Deteriorating

“Canada’s film board risks losing large swaths of its vast library because it lacks the technology to digitize the aging collection, a newly released document says. Much of the National Film Board’s library of more than 13,000 films is in peril because the agency’s catalogue is ‘largely non-digitized’ and could deteriorate, says an internal audit obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.”

Philly Museum’s Expansion A Boon To Its Restoration

The newly expanded Philadelphia Museum of Art “now offers something grand that the public will see only indirectly – through the benefits conferred on thousands of works of art” in its “vastly enlarged conservation facilities for paintings, works on paper, photographs, and costumes and textiles. For the museum’s paper and textile conservators, who have previously labored in quarters that charitably could be called cramped, the opening means they will finally have space to work on quilts and screens, large drawings and gowns, throws and scrolls.”

A Psychic Makes Himself Disappear From YouTube

Psychic Uri Geller, who found television fame in the ’70s, more recently has been on YouTube and other sites in old TV clips that discredit him. That’s where the Digital Millennium Copyright Act come in handy for him, even when he doesn’t own the posted content. “Using the DMCA, aggressive litigants like Geller and such copyright-hoarding companies as Viacom and Disney can simply make your work disappear if they do not like what you have to say, something that was much more difficult in the pre-digital world.”

At Virtual Concerts, Technology Determines Experience

As classical music performances, complete with visuals, go online on Second Life and elsewhere, there are some technical hurdles to leap. “‘It’s an odd medium,’ said John Shibley, the director of organizational learning at the consulting company EmcArts, which helped manage (chamber ensemble) Red’s performance. ‘It’s sort of like listening to the radio and watching a puppet show, and the puppet show is not synched to the radio.'”

Graham’s Dancers Trade Tales Of The Master

“Martha Graham, a tiny, raven-haired woman with the passion and fury of several armies, put modern dance on the map. And like any choreographer, she didn’t do it alone.” On Saturday at the Joyce Theater, some of those collaborators — her dancers — reunited to trade tales about working with her in a storytelling program called “From the Horse’s Mouth.”