“The effort to bring Wagner’s Ring cycle to Connecticut with digital samples instead of a traditional orchestra has been postponed. Organizers announced Monday that they were canceling their first offering, a production of Das Rheingold planned for August, saying that several artists had withdrawn, citing threats to their careers.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
So, U.S. Theaters, You Say You Can’t Find Any Good Plays By Women? We Found Them For You, So Produce Them Already
“All but daring American theaters to put on more new plays by women, an advocacy group of female writers and producers released a list of 46 such works on Monday that have been recommended for production by dozens of other playwrights, dramaturges and artistic directors.”
Russia Censors Children’s Play Because It Has A Gay Pillow
The Culture Ministry demanded that the Moscow Open International Book Festival cancel a scheduled play titled The Soul of a Pillow for promoting homosexuality. (Also censored, for naughty language, was the grown-up play Herbivores.) Said the Ministry’s letter, “The content of both plays goes against the traditional moral values of Russian culture.”
When Second City Alums Perform Alongside British And Irish Improv Troupes
“So when the Americans took to the stage in their own showcase, … the laughs were less rapid but much more explosive, and there was far greater development of character. And … I was staggered to learn that the five had never previously performed together.”
Benedict Cumberbatch Is More Than A Star: He’s Now ‘A Walking, Talking Meme’
“His presence is guaranteed to make anything go viral, whether it’s a literary festival, a TV miniseries, or one of the most frequently staged Shakespearean tragedies. … Combine photos of him looking intuitive or alluring with pictures of fuzzy kittens and it’s a wonder the Internet doesn’t implode.”
Actor Sam Kelly, Star Of “‘Allo, ‘Allo”, Dead At 70
“Equally at home in panto and Pinter, sitcom and Shakespeare, Sam Kelly … was a quirky, instantly recognisable character actor, often playing beyond his natural age, and often peering through rimless spectacles like a mole pushing through to the surface. And once there, he quipped and cavorted with the best of them.”
What We Can Learn From Medieval Theatre
Carl Heap, longtime artistic director of the UK’s Medieval Players: “We soon discovered that it was not so much the material of medieval theatre that assured our success, but its style. Central to this style was the acknowledgment by the actors of a visible, lit, audience.”
S.C. Governor Leaves Arts Funding Alone For A Change
Every year Nikki Haley uses her line-item veto power to try to zero out the South Carolina Arts Commission’s budget, and every year the state Legislature overrides her veto and restores the funding. This year, for once, she didn’t bother, and the Commission’s $2.9 million budget is intact.
Would Charlotte, N.C. Enact A Dedicated Tax For The Arts?
That’s one of the suggestions – for the city, suburban towns, and the county – made by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Cultural Life Task Force, convened by local government to suggest solutions to what the task force found was a year-after-year shortfall of $8 million in the local arts sector.
Spun-Off Time, Inc. Faces Long, Difficult Road
“What was once a jewel in terms of profit and stature is now a drag on the share price of Time Warner, its parent company, and is being spun off with little ceremony and a load of debt. Absent the diversified portfolio of Time Warner, Time Inc. will be going it alone with more than 90 magazines and 45 websites in a market that views print as a thing of the past.”