“Some grew up functionally bilingual, while others had to learn English from scratch. All overcame linguistic, cultural, and a variety of other hurdles to translate their acts for an English-speaking audience, which can potentially take their act from quiet clubs to packed theaters. They addressed a variety of topics, including the beauty of foreign accents, how American and British audiences are simultaneously more and less approachable, and why Germans aren’t exactly known for their sense of humor.” – Vulture
Author: Matthew Westphal
‘Byzantine Pompeii’ Will Be Moved To Make Room For Thessaloniki’s Subway
In 2013, construction of the new metro system for Greece’s second city uncovered, in an unusually well-preserved state, the major commercial crossroads of the town during the Byzantine era. Ever since, arguments have raged over whether to remove the ancient structures and return them after construction is complete, relocate them entirely, try to build around and through them and incorporate them into a subway station, or (expensively) re-route the entire metro line. Last month, Greece’s Central Archaeological Council made its decision, though opponents aren’t giving up just yet. – Global Voices
A ‘Star Wars’ Movie Unit Director Explains What She Does On A Shoot
“As Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s second unit director, and the first woman to ever hold the megaphone on a Star Wars movie, [Victoria] Mahoney got to experience all of it. Now that the movie is out, Mahoney — who’s been a writer, producer, actor, and director (Grey’s Anatomy, I Am the Night, her indie film Yelling to the Sky) — can finally talk about it.” – Wired
Gibney, New York Dance’s Mini-Empire, To Add New Component: A Contemporary Rep Company
Gina Gibney’s ever-expanding organization already operates two buildings (which include five theaters, 23 studios, a conference room and a media lab), a six-member dance company, and several performance-and-social-justice projects. Now a $2 million grant will support doubling the number of company dancers, forming what Ms. Gibney hopes will become a troupe on the lines of Nederlands Dans Theater and Ballet BC. – The New York Times
Romantic Fiction’s Top Awards Cancelled After Struggle Over Racism Blows Up
“The US’s most prestigious awards for romance writing, the Ritas, have been cancelled after a host of judges and entrants pulled out over an ongoing racism row involving the industry’s largest trade group, the Romance Writers of America.” – The Guardian
California’s New ‘Gig Work Law’, Aimed At Uber, Causes Big Headaches For Small Arts Organizations
Under Assembly Bill 5, “Uber and Lyft drivers, musicians, dancers, singers, artists of all kinds, freelance journalists, etc., under contract now will have to be employed, rather than paid as independent contractors under [what’s called] the ‘ABC test’.” AB5 has been in effect for a week, and already opera and theatre productions are being put on hold or called off — “just the beginning of a flood of potential problems, complaints, job losses, and project cancellations.” – San Francisco Classical Voice
Largest Musicians’ Union Plans Major Cuts To Pensions
“The plan, the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund — which covers more than 50,000 people, including Broadway musicians, players in some orchestras, and freelance musicians and recording artists — declared over the summer that it was in ‘critical and declining status’ and would run out of money to pay benefits within 20 years. … Now its trustees are taking the rare step of trying to cut benefits that have already been earned by many of the plan’s participants.” – The New York Times
Elizabeth Wurtzel, Author Of ‘Prozac Nation’, Dead At 52
Her memoir, published in 1994, when she was 27, “established her as one of the most provocative writers of her generation, generating awe among readers who saw in her work an honest depiction of depression and mental health issues, as well as derision from critics who accused her of self-absorption, narcissism and relentless self-promotion. … Ms. Wurtzel went on to make ‘a career out of my emotions,’ as she later put it, receiving a reported $500,000 advance for her second book, the essay collection Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women (1998).” – The Washington Post
The Times Of London Appoints New Chief Theatre Critic
“[Clive] Davis has more than thirty years of journalism experience, and was a regular freelance writer for The Times and The Sunday Times covering music, radio, theatre, comedy, and contributing op-ed columns. His other work has appeared in The Independent, Daily Express, New Statesman and Weekly Standard.” – News UK
After Seven-Year Vacancy, Pittsburgh Symphony Names Principal Pops Conductor
Byron Stripling, the former lead trumpet of the Count Basie Orchestra, “has conducted the [PSO] as a guest and will make his debut as principal [pops] conductor in October. This is only the second time the orchestra has named a principal pops conductor. The first was the renowned Marvin Hamlisch, who was hired in 1995 and died in 2012.” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette