“The artist, who works under the pseudonym Rokudenashiko – which roughly translates as ‘good-for-nothing girl’ – was arrested after emailing the data to 30 people who had answered a crowd-funding request for her recent artistic venture: a kayak inspired on her own genitalia she calls ‘pussy boat’.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Searching For The Right Pricing Model For Good Theatre
“Should we look to the past and replicate the ancient Rome model where the richest pay higher prices so the poorest can come for free? Should we look to the future and create our own bitcoin-like currency? … Can airline pricing in theatre really work?”
Shubert Organization, A Broadway Powerhouse, Moves Into Off-Broadway
“The Shubert Organization, a major Broadway player that owns 17 of the 40 theaters there, is positioning itself to move into the commercial Off Broadway sector in a significant way with the acquisition of the New World Stages complex, according to three theater executives with knowledge of the expected deal.”
Edinburgh Fringe To Begin Cinemacasts
“Productions from the Edinburgh fringe – including a one-man show from Steven Berkoff – are to be broadcast live to Odeon cinemas. The cinema chain has teamed up with online arts service Hibrow to bring live performances from the festival to [UK] cinemagoers in August.”
42,000 People Singing For Freedom In Estonia
With Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the conflict along its Ukrainian border, Estonia’s Laulupidu festival of traditional song and dance took on even more national import than usual (and that’s a lot.
The Deep Comfort Of Mediocre Sitcoms
“The easy tropes and practiced banter, the reliable fulfilling of a sitcom’s tasks, contributed to a sense of permanence. … Here was a world void of dread, danger, and anxiety, a place in which work and play were indistinguishable, in which jobs just meant different aesthetics attached to the same basic glee.” Exhibit A: Just Shoot Me.
Do We Comprehend Information Differently When We Read It Online Rather Than On A Page?
Researchers are finding that “the physicality of a printed page may matter for those reading experiences when you need a firmer grounding in the material. The text you read on a Kindle or computer simply doesn’t have the same tangibility.”
What Did Disability Look Like In The 19th Century?
“Clubs for ugly people, ear trumpets designed for mourners, mesmerism as a cure – disability in the 19th century reflected all of the Victorian era’s oddities and societal changes.”
Seven Things Writers Can Learn From Stand-Up Comedians
Author and journalism professor Ben Yagoda recommends such mainstays of the comedian’s art as the power of surprise and (yes) panic.
Johnny Winter, 70, Blues Guitarist
“He harnessed those two sounds – old blues and new rock – into something forceful and his own, a gritty music notable for a raw-nerved intensity.”