Author: Matthew Westphal

The Problems With Cellphones In Theaters Aren’t Just In The Audience – They’re Everywhere

“Performing artists across genres say the situation can be just as bad offstage, where cellphones are increasingly intruding on rehearsals, auditions and backstage culture. ‘I’ve had to scream at dancers in rehearsal,’ said choreographer Anthony Rue II … ‘The moment they have a second to breathe, they run to their phone. It takes them four or five minutes to mentally get back.'”

There’s A Fast-Rising Conductor Hiding In Plain Sight In Philadelphia

“Philadelphia Orchestra associate conductors are like U.S. vice presidents: They have huge exposure, a bit of dirty work to do, and ascend to the boss’ job only in dire circumstances. Nonetheless, Philadelphia’s Cristian Macelaru (once associate conductor – new title, ‘conductor-in-residence’) is making a more-than-vice-presidential career for himself” – including important gigs filling in for the late Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and the ailing Pierre Boulez.

Why Did The FBI Spy On James Baldwin? (And How Did They Get So Much Wrong?)

“[His] file contains 1,884 pages of documents, collected from 1960 until the early 1970s … [while] the FBI accumulated 276 pages on Richard Wright, 110 pages on Truman Capote, and just nine pages on Henry Miller. … [Yet] what is perhaps most interesting about the Baldwin dossier is that it reads like a long, poorly written novel itself – it is, in every sense, fiction produced by the state.”

Italy’s Culture Minister Brings In Wave Of New Directors For Museums – Including (Gasp!) Some Foreigners

“Fourteen art historians, four archaeologists, one cultural manager and a museum specialist make up the new directors, who will be at the forefront of cultural reform in Italy. The majority have international backgrounds and half are women, although the culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said nationality and gender had no influence on Tuesday’s appointments.”

Santa Monica’s Troubled Arts Center Brings In New Chief To Shake Up Programming

The Broad Stage, which has seen a serious decline in box office income and donations over the past three years – even as it prepares to open a third performance space next year – has hired Stanford Live director Wiley Hausam. He says, “My sense is that this is a community willing to take artistic risks and do stuff that’s more interesting.”