Who’d want to be a Broadway theatre producer? It’s a business where 80 percent of projects fail, investors lose millions, and, let’s face it, producers are rarely liked… But more than 300 aspiring producers have signed up for a three-day course in how to become “that rare breed of theater lovers who seldom get credit or a return on the investment.”
Blog
When Business Takes On Education
“Whether the commercialization of higher education has reached the crisis point probably is a matter of definition, but there can be no doubt that it is at least headed there.” A new book by former Harvard president Derek Bok argues that the rising influence of commercial interests on campus puts universities on a road lined with compromises…
Ireland’s Dreams For Scottish Theatre
Kenny Ireland is leaving Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre. He’s got lots of criticism for local theatre, but he’s hoping to come back for bigger things. “He has also turned the Lyceum round from a debt-ridden and under-maintained venue into a successful and rather lovely theatre. He wants to do the same for the whole of Scottish theatre and he wants to create a Scottish national theatre to make it happen. When Ireland took over 10 years ago, the theatre owed £1m to the city and had a £400,000 deficit…”
Learning From Reality TV
British drama-makers are learning how to make their projects in a different way, borrowing from lessons learned from reality TV. “Not having words, only outlines, you get a different kind of energy taking off. They are tremendously scary projects — with two or three of these films in the cutting room people have told us they are untransmittable. There is a very fine line between working and not working. That is what is so exciting; this kind of danger in the endeavour has given a new kick of life to the drama scene.”
Survey: Seattle Loves Arts
A new study reveals that: “Seattleites love their performing arts, with more than two of three residents attending at least one such event every year. And Seattle’s support is strong across all almost all demographic groups, including age, sex and economic means. Yet among those who attend arts events in Seattle, only one-quarter make an annual financial donation to even one arts organization. And almost two-thirds of those who frequently attend make no such contribution.”
Save Antiquities By Letting The Free Market Work?
Andre Emmerich wonders why museums like Iraq’s National Museum have such a high concentration of available artifacts in one place. Wouldn’t it be better for the preservation of the art if it were spread between many museums and collections? “Contrary to what some believe, trade in ancient objects is not the enemy of preservation. The great contribution the art market makes to this cause is to endow works of art with value. As a practical matter, the objects yielded by excavating tombs are generally quite repetitive within each culture. An obvious solution would be to deaccession the masses of such repetitive minor objects now stored in deplorable conditions.”
Fast-Thinking Conductor Lands American Beethoven Premiere
Mobile (Alabama) Symphony conductor Scott Speck was watching CNN in March when the news ticker at the bottom of the screen flashed: “Beethoven oboe concerto premieres in the Netherlands.” “I said, ‘WHAT?'” Speck recalls. “What Beethoven concerto? What are they talking about? As far as I knew, there was none. And if there had been one, surely I would known. Even if there was one, what do they mean by ‘premiered’?” So he tracked down the recently-discovered piece, and scheduled it for the orchestra’s next concert…
Close Call – Museums Shut While Building For Future
A number of big American museums are closed or closing (sometimes for a couple of years) while major additions/renovations are undertaken. “The spate of temporary closings represents a new phase in the building boom that began in the go-go 90’s, when institutions found it relatively easy to raise large sums. Some museums are refurbishing old buildings; some are commissioning new ones. Others, like the Corcoran and the Aldrich, are doing both. For directors who shut down their institutions, consequences go beyond the obvious loss of revenue and the danger that the museum’s support will erode. The impact is felt most keenly by employees who are laid off, but also extends to scholars who are dependent on easy access to artworks.”
Reading Test – A Presidential Aspirant’s Minefield
One of the bigger tests for an American presidential candidate? Believe it or not it’s “What’s your favorite book?” This may seem an innocuous query, but it’s actually one of the more treacherous a candidate can answer…
NEA’s Shakespeare Initiative Plays It Safe
So the National Endowment for the Arts is paying to bring Shakespeare to the far corners of America. “On the face of it, it seems like a sound idea, but you don’t have to scratch far beneath the surface to detect the icky stench beneath,” writes Dominic Papatola. “By aiming high, the program targets the lowest common denominator: The NEA’s decision to do a nationwide Shakespeare program speaks more to the once-controversial agency’s fear of offending than it does to bringing a master playwright to the masses.”