“The National Theatre dominated the new writing categories, with Coram Boy, its recent children’s play, Howard Brenton’s controversial drama Paul, and Simon Stephens’s On the Shore of the Wide Wild World receiving nominations.”
Blog
Flowers Grow Since Hartford Dance Failure
Hartford Ballet and Dance Connecticut both collapsed in debt. But “the demise of the Hartford Ballet has allowed smaller troupes, many of whom existed in its shadow, to gain attention, opening the door to experimental works in intimate settings that supporters hope will please experienced dance enthusiasts as well as attract new eyes. ‘The idea of a traditional company being a central institution in a city like Hartford may have played itself out’.”
Paper-Thin – Computer Screens You Can Roll Up
In just a few years we’ll be reading on thin flexible paper-like screens. “The display, which currently has the resolution of a normal computer screen — 100 pixels per square inch — and four levels of gray scale, could help usher in durable, paper-like screens that can be attached to small electronic devices such as mobile phones and then rolled up and tucked away when not in use.”
Calatrava’s City Canvas
Architect Santiago Calatrava has been using Valencia, Spain as his canvas, building one of Europe’s biggest performing arts palaces. “It’s a flashy new culture palace all right, designed by one of the world’s premier league ‘starchitects’, Calatrava, and it could well do for Spain’s third city what Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim did for Bilbao. But there are some key differences. First and foremost, Valencia is Calatrava’s home town. He was born there, grew up there, studied there and even published a book on the city’s architecture. And although his office is based in Zurich, Calatrava has been building in Valencia for most of his career.”
Elliot Forbes, 88
Harvard faculty-member and Beethoven expert “was a great-grandson of Ralph Waldo Emerson, combined a Yankee sense of duty with an un-Yankee-like personal warmth. A daily attendee at morning prayers at Harvard’s Appleton Chapel, Mr. Forbes was a trustee of the New England Conservatory and board member of the Pro Arte and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (the museum’s piano is dedicated in Mr. Forbes’s name).”
Denver’s New Opera House Gets Acoustic Tweaks
Denver’s new Ellie Caulkins Opera House opened last fall. But “because of the tight construction schedule for the Caulkins Opera House and the need to have it ready in time for the 2005 fall season, the paint was barely dry when the hall opened. The first significant tests of its acoustics came during public performances.” They’ve so far proven disappointing, so “tweaks” are being made.
Philadelphia Orchestra Adds Colorado To Its Annual Summer Schedule
The Philadelphia Orchestra is adding Vail, Colorado to its list of annual summer residencies. “The orchestra has struck a deal to become a resident orchestra at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival starting in 2007. The deal with the Vail festival, whose artistic director is flutist Eugenia Zukerman, runs three years. The orchestra will play six concerts each summer starting in early July.
WB Network In Freefall
The WB network is in dire straits. This season its audience has dropped by eight percent. That follows a drop of nearly 10 percent last season. It’s now behind former last-place network UPN, and the network is cutting staff.
Wholphin’ It Up With A New Magazine
Wholphi is a new magazine. But not a traditional magazine with old-fashioned pages. It comes in the form of a DVD crammed with features. Why might it work? “We’re sick and tired of words — endless words marching one after another in horizontal line after horizontal line in paragraph after paragraph in article after article in magazine after magazine. In other words, we’re sick of reading. We long to join the rest of our fellow Americans sitting on the sofa with beer and Doritos, basking in the glow of a TV screen. And now Wholphin enables us to do just that.”
Talk About Unreality Shows – “The Next Prime Minister”
It’s a Canadian TV show in which contestants try to convince former Prime Ministers they have what it takes to run the country. “The contest has already received hundreds of video submissions from Canadians aged 18 to 29. The show, set to be taped in Toronto on Jan. 30 and airing Feb. 4, will have the former PMs picking a winner from the top five finalists. Policy goals are a big criteria in the contest, but how well the contestants sell themselves to the former PMs is said to be the point of the show. The winner gets $50,000 in cash and a six-month paid internship in both the public and private sector.”