“For years now, some of the best, wildest, most moving or revealing stories we’ve been telling ourselves have come not from books, movies or TV, but from video games. So we’re starting an occasional series, Reading The Game, in which we take a look at some of these games from a literary perspective.” Exhibit A: Mo Man’s Sky.
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Beautiful, Brand-New Concert Hall With Fabulous Acoustics That You Probably Don’t Know About
No, it’s not the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg – we already told you about that one, and this one didn’t run 920% over budget. This one is also next to one of the world’s most handsome train stations. Where is it? (includes video interviews with the chief exec, the acoustician, and a musician)
Here’s One Actor Who Says That Being Openly Gay Helped, Not Hurt, His Career
Russell Tovey: “For so long, as a young actor, I had this anxiety about making sure I could get straight roles, and now I know that’s not necessary. The gay roles are the best for me. Being gay has made my career.”
Acting Out Shakespeare With Items From The Kitchen Pantry
How the British troupe Forced Entertainment dreamed up and put together Table Top Shakespeare, in which solo actors perform each of his plays, using the likes of a can of beans, a bottle of bleach, and a cheese grater to represent the characters. And no, it’s not (or not merely) a gag.
Baltimore Evicts Artists From Warehouse Complex Due To Safety Concerns
“Dozens of local artists were abruptly evicted Monday from their work spaces at the Bell Foundry building in the city’s Station North Arts District after city officials said they discovered a variety of safety violations in the two-story hub of theater, art and recording studios. The move … came days after a fire in an Oakland, Calif., warehouse used for art studios killed at least 36 people, a reality not lost on many tenants and supporters of the community workspace.” (includes video)
Westminster Choir College’s Parent University Considers Closing And Selling It
Back in 1992, facing severe financial problems, the revered school for choral conductors and singers merged with nearby Rider University. Now Westminster is healthy again and Rider is in fiscal trouble – and eyeing the cash it could get for Westminster’s Princeton campus.
New York Times Kills Its ‘Inside Art’ Column
“[The paper’s art editor] said that cramming a bunch of art-market nuggets into a single day had become inconvenient, especially as websites publishing market scoops (this one included) became able to put up those kinds of stories untethered to a publication schedule.”
An Auction House’s Dream-Come-True: Guy Walks In Off The Street With A Leonardo Da Vinci
“That, more or less, is what happened to Thaddée Prate, director of old master pictures at the Tajan auction house [in Paris] … In March, Mr. Prate recalled being ‘in a bit of a rush’ when a retired doctor visited Tajan with 14 unframed drawings that had been collected by his bibliophile father.”
Is Benjamin Millepied About To Dance Onstage For The Last Time?
The L.A. Times buries the lede in a story about a collaboration between Millepied’s L.A. Dance Project and Rufus Wainwright: “Both men, too, are at a crossroads between their present and past. Millepied said this performance will likely be his last time dancing.”
When Tango Was Nearly Snuffed Out By The Juntas (And Rock)
“In the 1940s, Argentina was tango and tango was Argentina. … Then, two disparate but hugely impactful things arrived: a series of military dictatorships and rock ‘n’ roll. While in opposition in every other respect, the [juntas] and the new music genre inadvertently collaborated in dethroning tango and driving it to near-oblivion.”