Why? Well … drive-in movies and a summer that’s full of actual horror as well. “It turns out that inexpensive horror flicks, which have been part of the Hollywood ecosystem as long as cinema has existed, are thriving as a result of a sparse film landscape and a largely quarantined moviegoing populace.” – The Atlantic
Author: ArtsJournal2
Falling (Back) In Love With Jazz Dance
A new streaming documentary does a lot more than set jazz dance into context – it asks the ballet and dance communities to restructure what they consider “foundational.” – Dance Magazine
The Covid-19 Proms Start With A Remote Beethoven Mashup
For the new Beethoven piece, 323 musicians and choir members will perform remotely – and during Proms, most performances will be from years past (though there’s a faint hope some final performances might be live). Proms organizer David Pickard: “This year it is not going to be the Proms as we know them, but the Proms as we need them.” – BBC
Who’s Making Money Off Of Cheap Language Instruction?
It’s not the language teachers, especially the English-language teachers from places like the Philippines, who are getting paid poverty wages. And what of apps? Uh … “Language ‘learners’ on Duolingo are actually just performing the free labor—or even paying for the privilege—of helping the company improve its proprietary algorithms.” – Boston Review
Playwright Paula Vogel’s Advice Right Now: Follow Your Joy
Vogel isn’t saying this lightly. She started a play reading series in the middle of a pandemic. “The reason that I started Bard at the Gate is because I have asthma and diabetes. I was actually in rehearsal in New York, and all of us got tremendously sick and we thought, Oh, no. And I came back home to Wellfleet. And then I thought, ‘Well, it’s possible that the virus has my number.’ … [But] I don’t want to die before I see the play that I quit my job over in 1978.” – Token Theatre Friends
In Hollywood, Some LGB Representation Is Up, But What Happened To Trans Rep?
Truly embarrassing themselves again, major studios released 118 films in 2019 and, well, they all got low grades from GLAAD. “Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, United Artists Releasing and Universal Pictures were marked as ‘insufficient’ by GLAAD, while Sony Pictures Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios received ‘poor’ grades and STX Films was slapped with a ‘failing’ grade as it had no LGBTQ representation in its 2019 film slate.” But they all failed at trans representation. – The Hollywood Reporter
Gabriella Tucci, Italian Soprano Who Sang 20 Roles At The Met, 90
Tucci began her career in Italy in the 1950s and went on to international acclaim, including in the 1960s at the Metropolitan Opera. “An unaffected and subtly compelling actress, she was best known for her interpretations of the spinto repertory, like her rendition of the title role of Verdi’s Aida, which demanded both lyric soprano lightness and the vocal heft to lift soaring phrases over an orchestra.” – The New York Times
Fire Breaks Out In France’s Nantes Cathedral, Destroying Famed 17th Century Organ
Inspectors suspect arson for the fire that “broke the main stained glass windows between the two towers of the 15th-century cathedral, and destroyed the organ.” – Yahoo News (AP)
Comedy’s Pretty Darn Big Racism Problem
Let’s be honest about LA’s Upright Citizens Brigade and the Groundlings, say BIPOC comedians: “The self-perpetuating white power structure fostered by these institutions led to the belittling and marginalizing of diverse voices, racial bias in voting for team members, and lip service to the concept of inclusion while providing little mentorship or paths for advancement to Black, Indigenous or other people of color.” – Los Angeles Times
Shooting A Sex Scene During A Global Pandemic Isn’t Easy
What’s safe now? Uh, mannequins. “We’ve had a lot of strange looks and questions like, Do you really want to do this? … But everyone is game. They are getting their first latex kiss.” – The New York Times