Author: Matthew Westphal

Making New Theatre From The Messenger Speeches In Greek Tragedies

“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most basic rules of dramatic writing. Yet the ancient Greeks told-rather-than-showing all the time: convention forbid onstage violence, so messengers recounted the tragedies’ grisly denouements. Five years ago, shortly after she had told friends she was giving up theatre, JoAnne Akalaitis got the idea to assemble some of those monologues — describing the sacrificing of Iphigenia, Pentheus being torn to pieces by the Bacchae, the poisoning of Jason’s bride by Medea, the slaughter of the Persian army — into a work called Bad News! I was there. – American Theatre

LAPD Finds Trove Of Artworks Stolen From Homes 25 Years Ago

In 1993, there was a series of break-ins across the more expensive neighborhoods of Los Angeles in which dozens of paintings, antiques, and historic documents were taken. Two perps were captured year ago, but the art was lost until an auctioneer tipped off police this summer. More than 100 items have been recovered, and the issue now is finding their owners. – Los Angeles Times

Margaret Atwood Talks About ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ And Why She Wrote A Sequel

“Totalitarian systems don’t last, it is my fervent belief. Some of them have lasted longer than others. When they come apart, what is it that causes them to fall apart? … [And] how do you get to be a high-ranking person within a totalitarian dictatorship? Either you’re a true believer from the beginning, at which point you’re probably going to get purged later on, or you’re an opportunist. Or it can be fear … I would put fear as No. 1: If I don’t do this, I will be killed.” – The New York Times

Women Are Making Real Progress Toward Parity In Television: Study

“According to the 22nd annual Boxed In report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film …, female characters comprised 45% of all speaking characters across comedies, dramas, and reality shows on broadcast, cable, and streaming. That is up from 40% in 2017-2018. … Off-screen, 31% of all creators, directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and directors of photography in television were women, beating the previous high of 28% set in 2016-2017.” – Variety

Baltimore Symphony’s Regular Season Is Supposed To Begin Next Week. Will It? If Not, Is It Still A Lockout?

“Technically, the lockout ends Monday, but the musicians’ first work obligation isn’t until 10 a.m. Wednesday. If the players show up for rehearsal, the work stoppage would be over. If, instead, they are picketing outside the Meyerhoff, expect the dispute to continue for some time. (Whether the work stoppage could then be categorized as a strike or merely as a continuation of the lockout is one of those complicated legal questions that attorneys wrangle over and courts ultimately decide.)” – The Baltimore Sun

In Trial For Oakland’s Ghost Ship Fire, One Defendant Acquitted, One Gets Hung Jury

Three years after three dozen people died in the flames at the warehouse-turned-artist-colony, Max Harris, the 29-year-old resident caretaker, was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter; jurors deadlocked 10-to-2 over Derick Almena, the 49-year-old master tenant and organizer of the derelict warehouse’s informal transformation into a live-work complex. – San Francisco Chronicle

Arts Council England Defends Its New ‘Relevance’ Funding Requirement

Simon Mellor, the Council’s deputy chief executive: “To be clear, of course we’re not going to be asking organisations to justify the relevance of individual works of art. We do, however, think that it is not unreasonable to expect organisations in receipt of the public’s money to be relevant – to ensure that the way they work, including their public programmes and other activities, is valued by their communities and stakeholders.” – Arts Professional

Dallas Opera Cancels Plácido Domingo Gala Following Latest Sexual Misconduct Allegations

The tenor’s performance at the benefit concert next March would have been his first appearance with The Dallas Opera since his U.S. operatic debut in 1961. (The one accuser in the latest report who was willing to be named publicly, soprano Angela Turner Wilson, is the daughter of the president of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.) – The Dallas Morning News