“Richard Burbage was the go-to leading actor for the greatest playwrights of the 17th century. RSC artistic director Gregory Doran assesses the legacy of the first man to play Hamlet and Lear, four hundred years after his death.” – The Stage
Author: Matthew Westphal
Mauling Sprawling Art Installations: Are Outdoor Works Destined for Desecration?
Marko Remec’s 2018 piece Vertebrate Progression (Field Totem), commissioned for the grounds of a Long Island art museum, has already been damaged by visitors sitting on parts of it. One takeaway for custodians of outdoor sculpture in difficult-to-guard public settings may be that such works had better be less fragile. But that’s blaming the victim. – Lee Rosenbaum
Air-Safety Kabuki (This Is Not A Metaphor)
“Japan’s largest airline, All Nippon Airways, has taken that literally, with actual kabuki performers in its newest in-flight safety video. … Kabuki actors stow their elegantly lacquered bamboo boxes in the overhead bins and under the seats (not in the aisles, thank you), fasten seat belts over their elaborate kimono and dutifully turn off electronic devices displaying scenes from classic ukiyo-e woodblock prints on their screens.” – Forbes
Peter B. Kaplan, Panorama Photographer With Absolutely No Fear Of Heights, Dead At 79
“He persuaded architects, developers and public officials to let him immortalize their buildings and monuments on film in altitudinous detail. He would scale precarious perches with construction workers and point his lens toward the ground hundreds of feet below, or mount his camera, sometimes equipped with a fisheye lens, on poles as long as 42-feet, so that he could snap the shutter remotely and even photograph himself.” (And, actually, he did have a fear of heights.) – The New York Times
Should Batsheva Dance Company Be Held Responsible For Bibi Netanyahu’s Policies?
Protests against the Israeli government’s policies toward the West Bank and Gaza have become almost routine outside (and occasionally inside) Batsheva’s performances abroad. “But why target a dance company? What does Batsheva have to do with Israel’s geopolitical conflicts?” Brian Schaefer wonders if that isn’t like protesting Trump’s policies at a U.S. company’s tour dates. – Dance Magazine
When Early Newsreels Used Fake Footage To Show Real Events
When a huge earthquake killed 140,000 people in Japan in 1923, written and radio reports could get around the world quickly, but film footage couldn’t. That didn’t stop the makers of newsreels, who used special-effects tricks to recreate the event. That sort of thing was common from the earliest newsreels to the 1930s. – Gizmodo
Talking With The Choreographer Who Gave Lupita Nyong’o Those Weird Moves In ‘Us’
“To hear more about [Madeline] Hollander’s role in the film’s production, ARTnews spoke with the artist, whose background in ballet helped her supply the Nutcracker-inspired choreography in one prominent sequence. The conversation, which includes spoilers for Us, follows.” – ARTnews
What’s The Huge Fight Between The Writers Guild And The Hollywood Agents All About? Here’s An Explainer
The struggle is over how the talent agencies negotiate pay for the writers they represent and whether there’s a conflict of interest. As David Simon (The Wire, Tremé, The Deuce) put it to a notional agent, “If you can only leverage profit for yourself, but not for me, what the fuck do I need you for?” – Vulture
San Antonio Symphony’s Music Director Announces Departure, Gives Orchestra $100K
Sebastian Lang-Lessing will finish up a successful, admired (if sometimes difficult) ten-year tenure at the end of next season. But he says he means to stay involved with the orchestra in his emeritus position — and he’s backing it up with a $100,000 challenge grant. – The Rivard Report (San Antonio)
Court Throws Out All But One Of James Levine’s Defamation Claims Against Met Opera
“The ruling came just over a year after the Met fired Mr. Levine, who had been its music director for four decades and who had recently assumed an emeritus position … Mr. Levine, who has denied any wrongdoing, sued the Met for breach of contract and defamation; the Met countersued him, accusing Mr. Levine of decades of misconduct.” – The New York Times