“Points were subtracted for inelegant taping, dripping sweat on the art, and, once, because a team that finished early didn’t ‘waste time properly’ by leaving to smoke a cigarette or go to get a beer.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
When Dance Companies Practice Cultural Diplomacy
“As an effort to reach nontraditional audiences in countries that might not have entirely favorable ideas about the United States, DanceMotion USA, as the State Department project is called, was making headway” on a South African visit. But “breaching fundamental cultural and social differences is not just a matter of good intentions and good will.”
Original, R-Rated Grease Gets Its Chicago Accent Back
“‘Grease’ was first performed in 1971 in the original Kingston Mines Theatre…. From there, it conquered the world on stage and screen, but the content changed drastically and its teenage characters became less Chicago critters and more generic. Now, they’re coming back home.”
Authors Guild Cautions Members On E-Book Royalty Rates
On its website, it “warned members about letters that are being sent to authors and agents by two major publishers in an effort to amend contracts regarding e-book rights. According to the post, the letters are going to authors who don’t have a stated e-book royalty rate in their contracts, or who have never granted e-book rights to their publisher.”
One Reason We Need Librarians: To Teach Research Skills
“Closing libraries is always a bad idea, but for the Google generation, it could be disastrous. In a time when information literacy is increasingly crucial to life and work, not teaching kids how to search for information is like sending them out into the world without knowing how to read.” Librarians can help — but only if they have jobs.
How To Fatten Up PBS’s Emaciated Arts Programming
“[I]t should air fine-arts programs that encompass the full range of the performing arts. That means not just ‘The Nutcracker’ but ballet and modern-dance masterpieces of all kinds. It means not just ultrafamiliar operas but solo recitals and chamber music. It means not just Broadway musicals but performances of classic and contemporary plays.” It means arts all over the country.
And The Ugliest Building In Boston Is … City Hall!
“I’m against tearing things down just because we happen not to like their looks. What you do with ugly buildings is live with them, add to them, give them a new face or a new use, and treat them with disrespect — not with murder.” The architecture of Boston City Hall is a magnet for disrespect.
On The Symbolism Of Embassy Architecture
“How should an architect approach the task of designing a building to represent his home country abroad? What happens if the result — implicitly or explicitly — is critical of that country’s past, politics or most cherished values?”
Michelle, Girls Catch B’way Show During Health Care Drama
“Michelle Obama – with Sasha, 8, and Malia, 11, and about a dozen other people in tow – took in the matinee performance of ‘Memphis’ Sunday. … The musical tells the story of a white DJ, Huey Calhoun, in 1950s segregated Tennesse; his love for a black singer, Felicia Powell, and the then underground sound that gave birth to rock and roll.”
Wolfgang Wagner, Longtime Bayreuth Director, Dies At 90
“He was a hard-working, strong-minded festival administrator. From 1966 until 1998, he was also an active stage director. Yet he will always be most remembered for who he was, not what he did. His ambivalent legacy as Richard Wagner’s grandson dominated his life, thoughts and work.”