“People think classical music is supposed to be taken terribly, terribly seriously, but in fact there has been quite a lot of funny classical music over the years. Musical jokes that make you smile, or laugh out loud.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
What A Songbird Might Tell Us About Human Speech
“The genome of the male zebra finch devotes a lot of genetic code to hearing and singing songs, according to an analysis in the journal Nature. Much of that code controls brain circuits that are similar to the circuits people use for vocal learning.”
Paula Vogel Will Take Fall Semester Off To Write A Play
The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, who chairs the Yale School of Drama playwriting program, will spend the semester working “on a new play commissioned by Yale Rep through the Yale Center for New Theater.” Doug Wright will join the school as a lecturer.
Bibliophile Seeks E-Reader; Must Be Easy On The Eyes
“So far, there’s little scientific evidence about which screens are better for the eyes. Ophthalmologists say there isn’t really much of a difference between how the eye works with either e-paper or back-lit screens. Neither could damage the eye and neither of these modern screens flicker like old-fashioned TVs.”
On Dancing With The Stars, Jocks Rule
“While athletes represent just 18% of the contestants, not counting this season, they’ve won five of the nine competitions, placed second three times and third once more. That works out to a collective success rate of 47%…. The only group that compares is musicians, who’ve managed to claim eight spots on the podium.”
Hollywood Is United In Its Loathing Of Box-Office Futures
“Among those coming out against the proposed markets … are the Directors Guild of America, the Independent Film and Television Alliance, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the National Assn. of Theater Owners. The groups sent a letter to the [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] criticizing the idea.”
Is Retrofitting 2-D Movies As 3-D Even A Good Idea?
“Among movies previously envisioned as 2-D productions, Sony is planning a 3-D reworking of its 2011 vampire story ‘Priest,’ while Warners has similar stereoscopic plans for the last two ‘Harry Potter’ films, 2011’s ‘Sucker Punch’ and ‘Green Lantern.’ But the tactic does have its doubters, including ‘Avatar’s’ own.”
DIY Plays Bigger Role In Theatre, And That’s A Good Thing
A new crop of artist-led, artist-funded “projects defiantly see themselves as creative opportunities rather than businesses, with an-anything-is-possible attitude that I find cheering. … The shows that we never see because they never got past the grant application stage may have been the ones that would have changed the way we think about theatre.”
Banksy Blockbuster Prevents Saatchi Choke Hold
Two Saatchi Gallery exhibitions were “the first and third most visited shows in the UK” last year. “Only the ‘Banksy effect’ stopped Saatchi securing a top one and two in the UK. The street artist/local boy made good drew almost 4,000 people a day to see his interventions, or ‘remix’, of Bristol’s City Museum and Art Gallery.”
Globally, Japanese Exhibitions Draw The Most Visitors
“Japan’s museums remain in a league of their own when it comes to organising blockbuster exhibitions. In The Art Newspaper‘s 15th annual survey of attendance figures three Tokyo museums and one in Nara … fill the top four places,” and “average visitor-per-day statistics … are staggering.”