To mark the place in Pennsylvania where the fourth plane went down on 9/11/01, architect Paul Murdoch and his team designed the Tower of Voices, a 93-foot-tall open-air structure with 40 specially designed and tuned aluminum chimes, one for each passenger and crew member. Carolina Miranda talks to Murdoch and others about the incredible technical and aesthetic (and, yes, political) challenges that building the memorial posed. – Los Angeles Times
Author: Matthew Westphal
How To Remake American Theater In The Wake Of COVID? Five New York Times Critics Offer Their Ideas
“Things clearly had to change — and with the enforced pause of the pandemic, the opportunity has now arrived in the nick of time. If ever there was a need, and a moment, to fix the theater, this is it. So for the six-month anniversary of the shutdown, The New York Times asked its theater critics … what those fixes might look like.” – The New York Times
20 Stage Professionals Weigh In On How To ‘Revolutionize’ American Theater
“Here, six months after most stages went dark, 20 theater figures — many far from the heart of the commercial sector — offer their own suggestions.” – The New York Times
How Does This Classical Music TV Series Attract Millions Of Viewers? It’s Made Like A Cooking Show
Each episode of Now Hear This “manages to turn its exploration of a single subject into a hybrid of travelogue, mystery, history, cultural study, documentary and performance — all with … intricate webs of narrative that connect composers across episodes and eras.” Showrunner Harry Lynch and host Scott Yoo freely acknowledge that they were inspired by the approach of food-TV stars such as Anthony Bourdain. – The Washington Post
#CancelNetflix Becomes A Thing As Anger Mounts Over Film Sexualizing Young Girls
“Controversial French film Cuties — about a young Senegalese girl in Paris who joins a ‘free-spirited dance clique’ to escape family dysfunction — has spawned a new backlash against Netflix by critics who allege it goes over the line in portraying children in a sexualized manner.” – Variety
Where Do Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Stand on the Arts?
“With the election less than two months away, Hyperallergic looked at the Democratic candidate and his running mate’s track record in the field, from legislative achievements to museum affiliations and general support of the industry.” – Hyperallergic
TikTok Says It’s Paying Out Hundreds Of Millions To Video Creators. Some Of Those Creators Are Ticked Off
It seemed like very good news when the company said it was setting aside $200 million to compensate the users who make its mini-videos. It seemed even better news when TikTok raised the amount to $1 billion in the U.S. and at least $1 billion more overseas. Now some of those creators say they’re getting a few dollars a day even when they get six-figure view numbers; others say their traffic mysteriously drops after they sign up. Many say the program is far from transparent. – Wired
Canceled And Online Shows Will Be Eligible For 2020 Pulitzer For Drama
“Traditionally, eligibility rules required in-person productions. This year, plays that were scheduled to be produced in theaters during 2020 but postponed or canceled due to the pandemic, as well as plays produced and performed in places other than theaters, including online, outside or in site-specific venues, will be considered.” – Deadline
Ben Brantley Retires As New York Times Co-Chief Theater Critic
“‘This pandemic pause … seemed to me like a good moment to slip out the door,’ Brantley said in a statement. … [He] joined the Times as its second-string theater critic in 1993, taking the chief critic job three years later. His last day on the job will be Oct. 15. The paper’s newish co-chief critic title currently is shared by Brantley and Jesse Green, who will remain on board.” – Deadline
At This Point, Should Australia Even Have A National Opera Company?
“Opera is an urban art form par excellence. … Now, however, under the shadow of COVID-19, the future of the city itself is under question; the rise of video platforms like Zoom seems to make the necessity of ‘being there’ no longer a necessity.” Opera Australia gets more government funding than any other performing arts institution in the country, but for the company to travel even from Sydney to Melbourne twice a year is very expensive, let alone touring anywhere else. Peter Tregear argues that it’s time to consider a more grassroots, locally-based approach to the art form. – The Conversation