Edith Love, credited with stabilizing the Dallas Theatre Center’s finances as the theatre’s managing director, has resigned. “Before the Theater Center hired Ms. Love, it faced a $1.75 million deficit. By the 1999-2000 season, the company was in the black. Though the recent economic slump has caused a drop in donations and cancellation of some productions, the Theater Center’s finances have remained stable as the annual budget has grown, from $3.9 million in 1996 to $5.5 million this year.”
Blog
Dallas Museum At 100
The Dallas Museum of Art is 100 years old. “The museum has grown enormously over the past century. From a tiny handful of paintings occupying one corner of a room in the Dallas Public Library, the collection has grown to 22,000 objects filling a building of 340,000 square feet.”
The New Movie Musical – No Julie Andrews Here…
Does the success of “Chicago” and “Moulin Rouge” mean movie musicals are making a comeback? “It wouldn’t be the strangest trend to ever sweep through pop culture, but it wasn’t that long ago when talking about a revival of movie musicals would have been akin to speculating on the horse-and-buggy craze that was just around the corner. In fact, today’s 18-34 crowd has been watching musicals since they were kids, in the form of all the Disney movies that got popped into the VCR whenever mom and dad needed a break.”
Big Changes Ahead For Big Music
Cracks in the music recording business are becoming more obvious as there is a growing recognition that senior recording execs are out of touch with new realities. “The industry is now selling 100 million fewer CD’s and cassettes than it did in 2000. According to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks album sales, 681 million were sold in 2002, down from 785 million in 2000. At the same time, music-swapping on the Internet, perceived as a major threat, continues to grow. The industry’s immediate problem is that although costs must be cut, the biggest costs of all — talent and marketing — are the toughest to rein in.”
Revolution – How Digital Will Create A New World Order
A new book from Sweden says the digital revolution – “the move from a society controlled by printed and broadcast mass media to an information age that provides interactivity is ‘at least as dramatic as the move from feudalism to capitalism’. The more information technology dominates, the more culture, society and the economy change. It’s the birth of a ‘whole new world’ — a world undergoing a paradigm shift right under our noses. Say goodbye to the nation state and governments. Capitalism will be no more and its chief proponent, the bourgeoisie, will gradually lose power and become a mere ‘underclass’.”
Is New “Rings” Installment Racist?
Is the latest movie installment of the “Lord of the Rings” racist? “In the nearly five decades since “Lord of the Rings” was first published, Tolkien fans were willing to overlook parts of the text some condemned as racially insensitive. In “Rings,” it was argued, race was never directly addressed in the book, and physical descriptions of enemy humans were rare. Better to focus on the “Rings'” main themes: of courage, hope and love, of friendship, loyalty and spiritual strength, in the face of a fearsome threat. But like the ghostly faces in the Dead Marshes, that irritating issue of race always lingered just beneath the surface” and with the new movie, some critics are raising the issue.
Chicago’s New Performing Arts Center – Will It Be Used? (Will It Be Paid For?)
Chicago’s new $53-million, 1,500-seat Music and Dance Theater Chicago is under construction despite a shortfall of $13 million. The theatre is designed to be a home to many of the city’s mid-size arts groups, but there’s some debate about how many of them will really use it. “Many of the groups lack the financial resources to make a go of it in this new space without a lot of new financial help. Some of them have struggled to pay their bills at the Athenaeum, which charges about as much per week as the new theater will charge per day.” Says one critic: “I don’t think we need that theater. But it’s not about need. It’s about being downtown and building a monument. So what can you do?”
University Press Editors – Gatekeepers To Academia
To get tenure at a big university, a young professor must publish books. “Recently, chief academic administrators have begun to demand that candidates for tenure publish two books, not just one, because more is somehow better; they actually don’t give a damn which presses churn out all these unreadable, uninspiring volumes.” But if books are the admittance pass, the book gatekeepers – editors of the university presses – have amazing power over the careers of academics. Is this a good development?
For Hire – Boston Symphony Hires Without Levine
Hiring musicians is one of an orchestra music director’s biggest responsibilities. “A music director has to put his stamp on the orchestra.” But James Levine, chosen to be the Boston Symphony’s next music director, wasn’t able to begin the job for three years. In the meantime, what about hiring players? Surprisingly, Levine isn’t part of the process – the players themselves will choose who gets hired. It’s an unusual arrangement – only one other US orchestra chooses players this way – Levine’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Slatkin: The Key To My Success – Choosing Players
In eight years Leonard Slatkin has remade Washington DC’s National Symphony. The key to his success? Choosing the right players. “The personality of an orchestra reflects the tastes of the music director. Sometimes you can encourage existing members to alter their approach to suit your purposes, but for the most part, you inherit the sound of the previous conductor, assuming he had one. Therefore, it is the appointment of new personnel that determines the overall sonic characteristics of the orchestra.”