With a battle on several fronts – get more women on stage; make sure their characters are real, not caricatures; get more women into directing, etc. – what is the state of theatre for women characters in general? One playwright: “Probably the best decision every writer can make is to cultivate a loyal group of friends who are much smarter than you, whose feedback you trust, and who will tell you, ‘This is bullshit.'”
Author: ArtsJournal2
Robert Vaughn Was Known Best For ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ But His Acting Range Was Wider And Stronger Than That
The almost-84-year-old, who most recently starred in the BBC series “Hustle,” died on Friday. “He could play the silliest stuff without it leaving a mark on him. His performance took the edge off the bad writing and filled up the good.”
What Kind Of Music Do Birds Like To Listen To?
There’s a science experiment, using a vaguely Pandora-like device, to find out. “Demaray is attempting to build a database of the songs preferred by our wild, feathered friends and eventually present a music-discovery service for birds.”
There’s A New Documentary About The Australian Ballet’s First Indigenous Dancer
The movie, which was made by the only Indigenous student studying film and TV at his university, gained “unprecedented access” to the Australian Ballet’s rehearsal rooms and performance spaces. People will “get to see the pain, the trouble, the injuries, the competitiveness that goes on behind the making of these productions.”
When You’ve Already Gone To Disneyworld, What’s The Next Stop?
Broadway, of course, and a cappella Broadway at that: “The culture’s awareness and understanding of a cappella, and all the things a cappella can do, has changed. It’s not just a bunch of old guys singing ‘Blue skies smilin’ at me!'”
The Cold Open From Saturday Night Live That Made The Audience Cry
Kate McKinnon, who’s been playing Hillary Clinton for years – but will be most familiar from this year’s debates with Alex Baldwin’s Trump – sings Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” In a white pantsuit. [Video]
When Movies Are ‘Too Big To Fail’ – And Then They Do
When movies push the boundaries of the craft – you know, like when color and sound came around – they can fail hard, and then change everything. “But for every Mustang there’s an Edsel, and after two very costly, public humiliations, I think we can safely say that high frame rate is not the future of cinema.”
From Internment Camps To Star Trek To Marriage Equality: George Takei’s Museum
The Japanese American National Museum isn’t really Takei’s museum, but he’s donated “300 linear feet of banker’s boxes” worth of relics from his eight decades of life as an actor and activist.
What Does The Election Mean For The Arts? (Hint: It’s Not Good News)
Trump’s tastes run to beauty shows and gold-plated belt buckles. His disinterest in the other arts does not bode well for them. At all.
Two ‘Silicon Valley’ Actors Harassed By Trump Supporters
The two Trump supporters screamed the perjorative “cuck” in the actors’ faces and threatened to “go outside” until bar staff intervened. One of the actors wrote on Twitter, “This happened at a bar in LA surrounded by people. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be someone who looks like me in other parts.”