“Fifty years ago this fall, San Francisco leaders got a novel idea to put a small surcharge on every hotel bill to fund city arts programs. Grants for the Arts was intended to be symbiotic – City Hall would use the hotel tax to fund its Ballet, Opera, Symphony, museums and music festivals, which in turn would promote San Francisco and draw more tourists.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Problem With Histories: The Historian
“All too often the scholar believes he is just offering an objective vision of the world, his own self comfortably absent from the text. But then the reader turns a corner, and the writer’s neuroses are laid out for all to see, the writer himself often remaining unaware he’s been stripped so bare.”
Suspect Arrested In Mugging/Beating Of Young Ballet Dancer
“Jack Widdowson, 19, suffered serious back and neck injuries in the assault in Cardiff and it is feared that even if he recovers he may never dance again. South Wales police said on Wednesday that a 23-year-old man had been arrested … on suspicion of assault and robbery.”
Occupy London Has Its Own Lending Library
“It’s only a table and a couple of bookshelves, set up for the moment opposite the Starbucks that protesters have attracted such criticism for using, but StarBooks sees a steady flow of books being borrowed, books being dropped off. There’s a constant trickle of donations as well.”
The Difference Between American And British Humour (According To Ricky Gervais)
“It’s often dangerous to generalize, but under threat, I would say that Americans are more ‘down the line.’ They don’t hide their hopes and fears. They applaud ambition and openly reward success. Brits are more comfortable with life’s losers. We embrace the underdog until it’s no longer the underdog.”
Marian McPartland Hands Over Piano Jazz Radio Show
The 93-year-old McPartland, who launched her NPR music/interview program in 1979, will pass the microphone to Chicago jazz pianist Jon Weber in January. The series will be renamed Piano Jazz Rising Stars.
William Hogarth’s Home Reopens After Fire
“The house was due to reopen a year ago [following a renovation], but in August 2009 fire broke out in a ground floor electrical cupboard. It spread behind the wooden panelling … Firefighters were just in time to prevent the house from being gutted.”
BBC Cancels Rebroadcast Of The Singing Detective Over £5,000
“The BBC has pulled out of re-broadcasting Dennis Potter’s landmark drama series The Singing Detective in its 25th anniversary year because managers were not willing to pay an extra £5,000.”
English National Ballet Chief To Step Down
“Craig Hassall, managing director of English National Ballet, is to leave the company at the beginning of next year. Hassall is to take up the new role of chief operating officer at [impresario] Raymond Gubbay Limited in February 2012.”
How Far Can Theatre Go In Confronting Its Audience? This Company Keeps Trying To Find Out
In various pieces. the Belgian troupe Ontroerend Goed (roughly, “feel estate”) has strangled performers onstage, blindfolded audience members and tied them into wheelchairs, and harassed spectators with video cameras.