“Melissa Erdman has a killer recipe for vomit. ‘Mixed-fruit oatmeal,’ she said.” Scenes from a gathering of about 50 “prop tarts” at the Public Theater in New York.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Could A Fungus Make A Cheap Fiddle Sound Like A Strad?
A wood researcher in Switzerland “has succeeded in modifying the wood for a violin through treatment with special fungi. This treatment alters the acoustic properties of the instrument, making it sound indistinguishably similar to a Stradivarius.”
Parody ‘A Not Wholly Admirable Art?’ Not!
“Leaving aside its immediate aim of making the reader laugh, parody – literary parody especially – has an infinitely wider remit. … [It] is ultimately a form of literary criticism, where the judgments are arrived at by amplifying a writer’s stylistic idiosyncrasies to the point where they collapse in a wounded heap.”
The Father Of The IgNobels Speaks!
“Marc Abrahams is an evangelist for science with a sense of humor. Founder of The Annals of Improbable Research and the accompanying Ig Nobel prizes, his new book is called This is Improbable: Cheese string theory, magnetic chickens, and other WTF research. He has spent the last 23 years looking for research that makes people laugh – and then makes them think.”
Does Time Out London Have A Conflict-Of-Interest Problem?
“It seems obvious that a publication that claims to offer independent critical opinion on a production can’t also serve as that show’s producer. But this is just what Time Out is doing, writes Alistair Smith.”
Black Dancers And Ballet: Racism Isn’t The Problem
Luke Jennings: “There is not a single director of a UK ballet company who wouldn’t jump at a talented black or mixed-race dancer. … For UK ballet directors and choreographers, the issue is one of line and style. The physique and technique have to fit, not the skin tone.”
British Venture Launches Online Archive Of Rare Theatre Footage
“At launch, the archive contains more than 40 hours of material brought together from private archives and includes interviews with Stanislavki’s translator, the late Jean Benedetti, and a fully-translated Russian documentary on the work of Michael Chekhov.”
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Makes New, Somewhat Less Draconian Offer To Musicians
The latest proposal includes a 36-week annual contract and a base salary reduction of 15% from the expired contract. Management’s previous offer, made public last week, guaranteed a season of only 15 to 20 weeks, with a total salary redction of close to 50% from current levels.
Finland Plans To Cut Theatre And Opera Funding In Favor Of Art And Sports
Minister of Culture and Sport Paavo Arhinmäki has announced plans to redirect a portion of the national lottery proceeds that fund the Finnish National Opera and National Theatre (currently the largest recipients) to art museums and to sports clubs for children and youth.
Madrid’s Teatro Real Faces Strike Threat
Employees at the opera house are protesting the sudden layoff of ten staffers in August, during the summer vacation period. A union spokesman says that labor actions will be taken during each of the Real’s next three productions if management does not meet with the union and take steps to reinstate the laid-off workers.