Churches damaged by earthquakes, buildings ravaged by fire. It’s too dangerous for visitors to enter, or perhaps the site will be damaged by visits. Now a trove of 3D models has been put online so you can explore… – The Guardian
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Off-Label Brand: Why Do Some Writers Look Down On Science Fiction?
Even some writers writing science fiction get a bit cranky when you label is such… – The Guardian
John Cameron Mitchell’s New Podcast Has A Galaxy Of Stars And A Singing Brain Tumor
Anthem: Homunculus “is not the first podcast musical to be released. And though it contains a love ballad from a brain tumor to its host, it may not even be the strangest. But it is probably the most ambitious and, with a cast that includes [Patti] LuPone, Glenn Close, Cynthia Erivo, Marion Cotillard and Laurie Anderson (as the tumor), certainly the starriest.” – The New York Times
In The Early 20th Century, Birmingham AL Had 20 Theatres In Five Blocks. Then…
They closed from neglect. Most were abandoned or turned into storefronts. Now, one-by-one they’re being restored and reopened. It’s quite grand. – BBC
‘A Republic Of Readers’: Mexico’s New Chief Literary Minister (Yes) Is A Bomb-Thrower Who Aims To Transform Its Book Industry
The Fondo de Cultura Económica is a huge government-funded publishing house, influential throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and its boss basically is Mexico’s minister of literature. And the man whom populist president Andrés Manuel López Obrador chose for the job, famous radical author Paco Ignacio Taibo II, “is a full-time provocateur … imagine a somewhat younger Noam Chomsky being appointed US Secretary of State, and you’ll get the drift.” – The Nation
Canadian Government Initiates A Review Of Museum Policies On Indigenous Culture
Canadian museums have not done a good job including indigenous culture in their collections or on their walls. Now a new federal government initiative aims to make a review of museum policies across the country to “ensure they line up with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and to make recommendations for best practices going forward.” – CBC
Akram Khan Completely Overhauls ‘Giselle’
No more sweet village maiden, caddish duke, or white-clad dancing spirits. “Khan’s Giselle has a new score, new décor and costumes, a contemporary setting — migrant laborers in ghostly abandoned factories — and above all a new kind of dancing, which draws on kathak and ballet, on contemporary dance and everyday gesture, on animals and machines.” – The New Yorker
Miami – Crossroads Of The Americas (And Increasingly, Theatre, Too)
Miami is a curious place, one of the world’s most international cities. Everyone seems to be from someplace else. And in recent years that has translated into a lively theatre scene, with more than 80 theatres operating in South Florida. Here you can find a stew of international theatre… – American Theatre
Ugly Spending Battle And Insubordination Mean Another State Public TV Network May Split With Its Supporting Nonprofit
A legal dispute between Oklahoma’s network of PBS affiliates and the foundation through which viewers support it just ended (and so did the foundation). Similar discord in Arkansas is even worse: the CEO of both the network and the foundation spent foundation money on a payment the board explicitly forbid her to make, she fired the COO/development director when the latter told the board about it, so the foundation board fired the CEO (who remains in place at the network). – Current
Notre Dame’s Organ Survived. Hear The Last Recording Before The Fire
Organist organist Olivier Latry made the recording in January. This week he posted an update on the instrument on Facebook: “Despite all the damage in the Cathedral, the organ miraculously escaped the flames, as well as the water supposed to extinguish them. It is very dusty, but will continue to enjoy us as soon as the building will be restored. When? No one knows yet.” – CBC