“In Russia, that most macho of societies, male ballet has never been a sniggering joke about guys in tights. There is no finer expression of manly patriotism than to dance, especially for the Bolshoi.” Reporter Janice Turner goes to the theatre to watch the company’s men rehearse (what else?) Spartacus. – The Times (UK)
Author: Matthew Westphal
If Your Theatre Company Wants To Produce More Plays By Women, Here’s Where To Find Some
For five years now, a collective called The Kilroys has been releasing an annual list of recommended new plays, as yet unproduced or “under-produced,” by female, transgender, and non-binary writers. “The list appears to be having an impact. The organization says that 100 plays it has named have been produced or promised productions, and one, Cost of Living by Martyna Majok, won a Pulitzer Prize.” – The New York Times
How Jaap Van Zweden Used Music To Get His Autistic Son To Speak
Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes talks to the conductor and his wife, Aaltje, about how their son Benjamin, now 29 and able to speak Dutch and English, was uncommunicative until they found a way to use songs to help him speak. The van Zwedens went on to start a foundation and a residential facility for seriously autistic young people. (includes video) – CBS
In Indie Films, At Least, Female Writers And Directors Are Making Progress (If Not Yet Parity)
“Women made up nearly a third of the directors, executive producers, writers, cinematographers and editors, and though they were still outnumbered by men two to one, the new figures represented a leap: A decade ago, women occupied just 24 percent of those positions.” – The New York Times
National Academy Of Design In New York Will Not Be Reopening Its Museum
“After years of financial crises, shifting leadership and painful internal debate about its future, the National Academy closed its museum, separated from its school and began selling off its Manhattan properties in 2016.” Says one of the organization’s co-chairs, “The National Academy became the thing that devoured itself. The museum and school were draining all the resources. There wasn’t any money for the programmes that would actually improve the academicians’ lives.” – The Art Newspaper
CEO Of London’s Serpentine Galleries Resigns Following Uproar Over Investment In Spyware Firm
“The chief executive of the Serpentine Galleries, Yana Peel, resigned on Tuesday after a newspaper investigation revealed she had connections to a cybersecurity firm whose technology has been used to target journalists and human rights activists.” – The New York Times
La Scala’s Next Superintendent Will Be Dominique Meyer Of Vienna State Opera: Reports
Italian media are reporting that the mayor of Milan, who is ex officio chair of La Scala’s board, said after a meeting that Meyer was the choice; for now, English-language outlets report that the mayor said only that a candidate whom he couldn’t name had been selected (but that all the speculation points to Meyer). The contract of the current superintendent, Alexander Pereira, expires in 2020 and (beyond a possible two-year extension) is not being renewed. – The Guardian
For First Time, Nonwhite Writer Wins UK’s Most Prestigious Children’s Book Prize
Elizabeth Acevedo, a Dominican-American who got her literary start at poetry slams, won the 2019 Carnegie Medal for her verse novel The Poet X. Jackie Morris won the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration for The Lost Words, about words that were removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary because they supposedly aren’t used enough by children. – The Guardian
The Poetry Slam Comes To Dubai
Two Dubai-resident Sudanese who met at a poetry event in Abu Dhabi (because there was no such thing in Dubai) have joined forces to open Blank Space, where they’ve basically created a spoken-poetry scene in the city. – Gulf News
Soprano Measha Brueggergosman Hospitalized, Awaiting Emergency Heart Surgery
As she posted on Facebook, “Nearly ten years to the day of my aorta exploding, I woke up in Calgary on the day I was meant to fly home to Nova Scotia” — for her father’s funeral, no less — “with severe chest pain.” Brueggergosman, 41, is expected to have a coronary double-bypass. – Ludwig van Toronto