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Ott Resignation Surprises Theatre World

The sudden resignation of Sharon Ott from Seattle Repertory Theatre has shocked many in the theatre community. “Any time something like this happens, everybody in the field quivers,” adds Berkeley Rep managing director Susan Medak, who worked with Ott for seven years. Drawing parallels to Pamela Rosenberg’s resignation at the San Francisco Opera, Medak cites the increased difficulties in “running an arts institution now. There’s not the general level of support that makes the job easy. The anxiety level has shot up, because you can’t afford to make mistakes. “

Miami PAC Manager Abruptly Quits

Gail Thompson, who was demoted last week from project manager of the troubled Mimai-Dade Performing Arts Center project, suddenly quit her new job Monday. “Building of the center, touted as Miami’s cultural centerpiece, is 20 months behind schedule and $67 million over budget. Thompson, hired in 1999 after successfully overseeing the construction of Newark, New Jersey’s Performing Arts Center, was pushed aside last week by Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess in an attempt to get the project back on track.”

Canadians Go To Movies In Record Numbers

“Canadians flocked to the movies in record numbers last year, with the lure of big-money blockbusters outweighing the impact of higher admission prices and a decline in the number of screens in this country. According to the government agency, attendance at theatres and drive-ins rose to 125.7 million in 2002-03, the highest level on record.”

Toronto To Get Giant Film Studio

A huge “media film village” is to be built in Toronto. The state-of-the-art facility will include 14 soundstages and cost more than $100-million. “It’s been a truism in Toronto film circles for the last decade that while the city has sufficiently talented crews to host ‘runaway productions,’ it’s been bypassed by Titanic-sized Hollywood films — movies with budgets in excess of $150-million involving support staff of as many as 2,000 persons — because it has lacked an appropriately huge, purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility.”

The New Criticism (Or Not)

“Critics today, it is claimed, are too cozy behind the ivied walls of academe, content to employ a prose style that is decipherable only to a handful of the cognoscenti. The deadly dive of university critics into the shallow depths of popular culture, moreover, reveals the unwillingness of these critics to uphold standards. Even if the reasons offered are contradictory, these Jeremiahs huddle around their sad conclusion that serious cultural criticism has fallen into a morass of petty bickering and bloated reputations. Such narratives of declension, a staple of American intellectual life since the time of the Puritans, are misplaced, self-serving, and historically inaccurate. And difficult to prove. Has the level of criticism declined in the last 50 years?”

Corcoran To Ask DC For $40 Million

The Corcoran Museum is asking the District of Columbia city council for $40 million towards the museum’s $200 million Frank Gehry-designed expansion. “Some will see the TIF package as a creative financing vehicle to promote the arts and deliver a jolt to the city’s tourism industry. Others no doubt will consider it a $40 million gift to a solidly backed institution at the expense of D.C. taxpayers.”