“The code of ethics will develop industry-wide standards to tackle perceived issues within what [Equity member Lubna] Kerr described as a ‘degrading casting process’, such as lack of communication and feedback, as well as bad treatment and last-minute changes.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
UK Tax Breaks For Theatre Could Bring In £120M
“Tax breaks for the theatre industry to be introduced this autumn could bring in £100 million for commercial theatre and £20 million for touring productions in coming years, Arts Council England’s chair Peter Bazalgette has said.”
Manga About Fukushima Cleanup Become Hit In Japan
“As an insider’s account, 1F: The Labour Diary of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, has proved popular among readers seeking an antidote to patchy information from the government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), and at times wildly speculative media reports.”
This Manga Got Suspended After What It Said About Fukushima Plant
“A comic that recently depicted one of its characters as suffering from a chronic nosebleed after a visit to the Fukushima power plant has been suspended indefinitely after outrage from Japanese officials.”
The Shawshank Residuals
“Twenty years after an unremarkable opening, The Shawshank Redemption still holds a powerful grip on viewers. How one of Hollywood’s great second acts keeps making money.”
Dogs Have Grasp Of Deceit And Morality, Say Researchers (Dog Owners Already Knew)
“Watch a couple of dogs play, and you’ll probably see seemingly random gestures, lots of frenetic activity and a whole lot of energy being expended. But decades of research suggest that beneath this apparently frivolous fun lies a hidden language of honesty and deceit, empathy and perhaps even a humanlike morality.” (includes video and slide show)
Monologuist Mike Daisey May Have Found His Perfect Subject
And it’s the big, volatile, controversial, and, er, colourful mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford. (audio)
Brazil’s New Dance Craze, From Rio’s Favelas To The Big-Time
“Hailed by some as the new capoeira, passinho is a lightning-quick dance style that evokes 1980s b-boy battles in the Bronx, as performers push their physical limits in exhilarating head-to-head contests. Within the space of a decade, it has gone from a side attraction within the bailes funk – those raucous, illicit parties that light up Rio’s outer neighbourhoods – to a national phenomenon with primetime TV slots, lucrative sponsorships and star status for a lucky few.”
Who’s The Best Blanche DuBois In 15 Years? L.A. Times Theater Critic Says It’s Renée Fleming
Charles McNulty writes of the soprano’s performance in André Previn’s operatic adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play, “Fleming is quite simply the best Blanche I’ve seen since Elizabeth Marvel brutally assayed the role in Ivo van Hove’s brilliant deconstruction at New York Theater Workshop in 1999.”
Minnesota Orchestra Names New Top Officials
Kevin Smith, who in 25 years at the helm of Minnesota Opera expanded its season, doubled attendance and sextupled the budget, will become the orchestra’s interim CEO as of Sept. 1. Dianne Brennan, who served for 16 years as the Guthrie Theater’s development director, will be the orchestra’s new Vice President for Advancement.