At the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo, the booth marketing the new game The Sims was placed in convention Siberia and no one was paying any attention to it, including the company that was putting it out. “But, within hours, an unplanned, illicit kiss between two of the game’s background characters made The Sims the talk of the show.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Why Italy’s Opera Houses Are In Crisis (And Why One Is Doing Rather Well)
“The final blow came last year when Italy’s government decided that only theaters with a balanced budget by the end of 2014 can access public money, exposing some opera houses to the risk of shutting down if they didn’t put their finances in order” – a notoriously difficult task in Italy. Yet one famous old theater has become quite entrepreneurial.
More And More, Choreographers Are Working In Art Museums (And Even At Art Basel)
“Art and dance have had a close relationship, from the Modernist flowerings of the Ballet Russes to the downtown scene in 1970s New York. … However, choreographers’ work is increasingly being incorporated into museum and gallery programmes, and as integral works rather than interruptions from a distinct artform.”
How A Dad Learned To Stop Dad-Dancing And Do It Right
“There was a time in my 20s when I would go clubbing without fail every week and it didn’t take much to lure me on to the dancefloor. … Today I am a middle-aged, married, mortgaged, fortysomething father. My opportunities for dancing have diminished, as has my confidence.” How Sarfraz Manzoor got his groove back.
‘Depressive Realism’ Is Real, It’s Depressive, And It’s Bad For You
Maria Konnikova recounts how researchers have found, over and over again, that people with depression have a clearer and more accurate picture of how much control they have in life than optimists do – and that optimists’ positive outlook, deluded though it be, wards off depression and tends to lead to better outcomes in life.
Stephen Sondheim Reveals How Disney Is Changing ‘Into The Woods’ For The Movie Version
To a group of drama teachers talking to him about why school administrators make them bowdlerize the plays their students perform – such as Into the Woods – Sondheim said, “Well, you’ll be happy to know that Disney had the same objections.” (includes spoilers)
If West End Theatres Aren’t Fit For Purpose, Knock ‘Em Down
Or at least hollow them out and do a complete rebuild, argues Lyn Gardner. “Unlike some, I certainly don’t believe that all theatre buildings must be saved for posterity. The Victorians and Edwardians who built many of our West End theatre barns would have laughed at that notion.”
L.A.’s Top Arts Advocate Named Head Of City’s Cultural Affairs Dept.
As executive director of the Arts for L.A., Danielle Brazell’s job “included regularly prodding City Hall to spend more money and pay more attention to L.A.’s nonprofit arts scene.” Now she’ll be the one getting the prods.
The Great Brazilian Architect You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Lina Bo Bardi, who immigrated to Brazil in 1947 at age 33, is admired for the care she took to make her buildings people-friendly and has been called “the most underrated architect of the 20th century.”
Meet China’s Most Famous Canadian Comedian
Yes, the Great White North is such an incubator of comic talent that it exports funnymen even to the People’s Republic. Dashan (né Mark Henry Rowswell) has been making the Chinese laugh – yes, in fluent Mandarin – in bars, in theatres and on national television for 25 years. (audio interview plus video clips)