As longtime artistic director Tony Taccone leaves and new AD Johanna Pfaelzer comes in, Berkeley Rep’s managing director, Susan Medak, explains how that transition is working. “Part of the culture is undeniably a result of Tony having been here for twenty-two years. … I’ve also been saying, ‘As long as Tony’s here, this is the way it will be. But let’s all remember that when Tony leaves, this may be very, very different.’ That’s been a hard thing for some people to absorb but very easy for others to absorb.”
Author: ArtsJournal2
A Novelist Hailed As ‘The Voice Of The Snapchat Generation’ Deals With The Pressure
Sally Rooney’s follow-up book to her smash first novel was just named Waterstone’s Book of the Year, but she doesn’t want people to think she believes the hype. “I certainly never intended to speak for anyone other than myself. Even myself I find it difficult to speak for. My books may well fail as artistic endeavours but I don’t want them to fail for failing to speak for a generation for which I never intended to speak in the first place.”
The King And I Is Whistling A Happy Tune As It Rakes In The Money For A Theatrical ‘Event’ At The Cinema
Nothing’s more amazing than a musical, we guess: More than 135,000 people watched the cinematic broadcast of the West End musical (which transferred from Broadway), and it took in nearly 2 million pounds – and it’s getting yet more screenings.
Ask Six Directors To Chat For A Few Hours, And You Get A Wide-Ranging Discussion About Everything From Netflix To IPhones
Spike Lee says, “This is a good time to be a filmmaker … the more places that stream, they need product. They need people, they need young people. And it gives filmmakers an opportunity because there’s just more outlets.”
The Long Shadow Of Machismo In Latin American Publishing
When Nona Fernández delved into Chilean history in her novels, the reaction was “Why aren’t you writing about bulemia?” she says. Columbia writer Laura Restrepo, whose novel Leopard in the Sun was about violence between feuding drug lords, says a publisher told her she wrote like a man. “Misogyny is slow to leave the world of letters,” say seven authors – but this year, after decades, things seem to be changing.
One Theatre, Three Actors, Overcoming Trump’s Travel Ban
Celebrities including Sting and Benedict Cumberbatch, the mayors of New York and London, and the former archbishop of Canterbury intervened with the Trump administration The Jungle was a hit in London, and “the creative team and producers were reluctant to move the play without all the cast members, saying their life experiences — several had lived in the Calais refugee camp being depicted — gave the show its authenticity. But trying to get two Iranians and a Syrian into Trump-era America to perform a drama that is inherently sympathetic to refugees was, to put it mildly, daunting.”
No One Saved Filmstruck, So Stop Celebrating
Indeed, this was all a master class in PR spin. “It’s difficult to not see the WarnerMedia item as anything other than a previously determined property-maximization plan, reframed as a response to bad press.”
San Diego’s Outdoor Symphony At The Marina Is Getting Closer
The California Coastal Commission has approved a permanent structure. “The new, permanent outdoor concert space would feature a 57-foot acoustic shell housing a stage, turf lawn with temporary seating, a box office and two food pavilions.”
Changing The Way Children Are Depicted In Anime Isn’t Easy, But It Is Necessary
Sometimes it takes real-life models to get more realistic animation, and this animator just happened to have two of his own on hand.
Can Anyone, Or Anything, Revive The British High Street?
Decimated by online shopping and giant box stores, the British high street needs help. “The identity and self-esteem of entire towns and city districts is wrapped up with retail – what, for example, is a ‘market town’ if it doesn’t have a market? As it has become ingrained that one of the main forms of shared public life is shopping, its loss becomes an existential threat to society.”