Shore, a stand-up comedian who opened for Elvis’ comeback and comeback tour, and for everyone from Barbra Streisand to Sammy Davis Jr. to Bobby Darin, spent the last 20 years touring with his son, comedian Pauly Shore. – Variety
Author: ArtsJournal2
Book Clubs Are Getting Rather Niche
They’re niche, and sometimes they include industry professionals, but also, they’re more than that. “These expanded horizons imply responsibility: ‘You know these meetings are a tryout. The people at them are gonna be your collaborators, your co-conspirators, the people you start businesses and families with.'” – The New York Times
James Arkatov, Founder Of The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Has Died At 98
Arkatov was “a child from Russia who landed in San Francisco, befriended violinist Isaac Stern — whose fame was still to come — took up the cello and decided to pour his life into making music.” He lived long enough to see the LA Chamber Orchestra’s 50th anniversary after it lived through a lot of adversity (and some earthquakes). – Los Angeles Times
Shepard Fairey And 30 Other Artists ‘Transform’ An LA High School With Huge Murals
The buildings of Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School was drab gray and green until Saturday, when the artists got to work. “The Maya Angelou school project, which includes prominent artists such as the all-female collective Ni Santas, the artist known as Rabi of the collective Cyrcle and French artist JR’s Inside Out Project, has undergone rigorous planning during the last three years, organizers said. Students brainstormed themes for the artists to work with.” – Los Angeles Times
Hollywood Is Stressing Out Over The Elton John Biopic Because It’s ‘So Gay’
No pressure, but if this movie doesn’t do well, Hollywood might force itself back into its (extremely long lasting, tight, and transparent) closet, or at least that’s the threat. “Rocketman trails glitter — a million Swarovski crystals adorn the costumes and eyewear — and depicts gay sex, a first for a major studio.” (In 2019, y’all. 2019.) – The New York Times
A Theatre In Western New York Cast A White Woman To Play The Enslaved Character Tituba In ‘The Crucible’
Here’s how the play’s director responded to a mild backlash: “All I was doing was trying to put on a show. … It’s a community theater and the community of people that showed up to auditions were cast in the show.” – Olean Times Herald (New York)
A Playwright Says It’s Time To Dismantle Theatre’s Hierarchy
And, she says, it’s time to stop seeing playwrights as god. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm: “What I enjoy more as a creator is to be in a room with a bunch of people working it out together. … We need to think of a new structure for how we create things.” – The Stage (UK)
Elena Ferrante: Storytelling Has Been Wrested From Men, And Its Power Now Rests In Women’s Hands
Ferrante: “I chose to write out of a fear of handling more concrete and dangerous forms of power. And also perhaps out of a strong feeling of alienation from the techniques of domination, so that at times writing seemed to be the most congenial way for me to react to abuses of power.” – The New York Times
The Problem With Facebook And Twitter, And Politics? Flow
You know Flow. It’s a psychological idea that basically, psychologists say, describes “a state of engagement that arises when people are completely focused on an activity, such as tennis or rock climbing.” Turns out marketers know we get just as much into the flow of YouTube or Facebook – and that’s why we can’t quit. – The Atlantic
When Two Genre Writers Talk To Two Creative Writing Teachers, Sparks Fly
For a podcast – transcribed here – writers Daniel José Older and Marlon James (Booker prizewinner for 2015) talk with creative writing profs about what genre even is, and why it’s better not to be a snob. Older: “They put up the series of two albums, that were Duke Ellington albums, and one of them was called Piano in the Forefront. And one of them was called Piano in the Background, right? And that’s how I think about some of these terms. It’s like, if the plot is foregrounded, if most of the time that we see them, they’re on their mission, and they’re trying to solve the crime or get the bad guy or do what they have to do, that’s going to feel, rhythmically, like a genre novel.” – LitHub