“I don’t feel like I’ve got that cachet that I had at a certain point [after those three films]. I see people seizing the moment when they have the same kind of explosion that I had, and I just didn’t do it. I didn’t know how to do it – I didn’t want to do it. I just thought ‘Oh, this is good! I’ll be able to just keep working.'”
Author: Matthew Westphal
How Much Ear Did Van Gogh Really Cut Off? There’s Some New Evidence
“A [recently discovered] note written by Félix Rey, a doctor who treated van Gogh at the Arles hospital, contains a drawing of the mangled ear.” Problem is, the note contradicts some key eyewitness testimony.
Lunch With Audra McDonald And Zachary Quinto
“Over fruit salad and cool drinks, the pair discussed the childhood difficulties that drew them to acting; their shared commitment to young people at risk and L.G.B.T. issues; and the emotional dividends of that work, as well as becoming role models to younger women of color and gay men.”
It’s The Worst Audience Behavior I’ve Ever Seen, Says Producer
Richard Jordan: “Attending the final Friday evening performance of Doctor Faustus starring Kit Harington at the Duke of York’s Theatre, my heart sank.” There was talking, eating, taking pictures – and complaining after being asked to stop. There was popcorn, chips crisps, and even Chicken McNuggets.
We’ve Got To Stop This Audience-Shaming, Says Indie Theatre Exec
Amber Massie-Blomfield, executive director of Camden People’s Theatre: “Not only does this line of discourse do little to change behaviour, it might well serve to alienate the new audiences that are so crucial to the continuing vitality of the art form. … The fear of not knowing how to behave at the theatre is a genuine barrier to entry.”
Theatre Etiquette Is All Over The Place These Days, And Audiences Are Confused, Says Editor
Alastair Smith, print editor of The Stage: “[Once,] the rules may not have been written down, but they were clear and strict … Then along came jukebox musicals that asked you to dance along to a megamix. At Shakespeare’s Globe, actors started engaging with the groundlings. … Next, immersive theatre asked audiences to touch the set, to react to the actors. … Rules of audience engagement vary wildly from one show to the next. And the expectations of what one audience member finds permissible also varies from one person to the next.”
Tennessee Williams’s Final Novel As (Sad, Scary) Auto-Fiction
Moise and the World of Reason, “seemingly sees Williams splitting himself in two and making the younger self horrified and repulsed by the older, whom that character sees as premonitory.”
After Orlando: Nine LGBTQ Writers Reflect On Finding ‘Home’
“In an effort to create more space for healing and solidarity, to help articulate a more peaceful and just world, CF has invited a number of LGBTQ-identified writers to respond to this question: Can you tell us about a time that you felt at home in your identity? Home is a complicated notion, as several of our contributors note, and it’s ultimately inadequate to the task of realizing justice – but it is a powerful idea.”
Let’s Stop Dissing Amateur Orchestras, Okay?, Says Maestro
“[Eric] Kujawsky is the director, founder, and inspiration behind the Redwood Symphony, which he has recently nicknamed ‘the Bernie Sanders of Symphonies’ because of their steadfast commitment to a progressive approach that embraces ambitious and contemporary music. If you wonder whether that includes a chip on the shoulder; yes, it does.”
Headphones, Headphones Everywhere – Are They Changing Everything?
“Certainly, headphones are an obvious method of exercising autonomy, control – choosing what you’ll hear and when, rather than gamely enduring whatever the environment might inflict upon you. In that way, they are defensive; users insist upon privacy (you can’t hear what I hear, and I can’t hear you) in otherwise lawless and unpredictable spaces. Should we think of headphones, then, as just another emblem of catastrophic social decline, a tool that edges us even deeper into narcissism, solipsism, vast unsociability? Another signifier of that most plainly American ideology: independence at any cost?”