In a Dec. 5 email to board members, musicians, staff and donors, the DSO announced that Parsons is being treated at Henry Ford Health System with a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The email described Parsons as a “lifelong non-smoker.” – The Detroit News
Blog
Meet The Man Who Took Care Of Oakland’s Ghost Ship — And Who’s Awaiting Trial For The Deaths In The Fire There
“Once a week, Max Harris is allowed to leave his 6-by-12-foot cell to go outside. The first thing he does, before the other inmates arrive in the small cement yard in Santa Rita Jail, is run around and pick up all the bugs … He wants to move them out of harm’s way before other men start playing basketball. — The New York Times Magazine
How Top-Quality Oil Paints Get Made
David Coles, who’s been making paints for artists for 20-odd years, walks us through the process, from sourcing the linseed oil to hand-filling the tubes for shipping and sale. — Artsy
A Fundraiser’s Ten Aphorisms To Live By
Longtime Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) president Karen Brooks Hopkins: “I call these tidbits ‘KBHisms,’ which I hope will guide you through the cold winter months ahead and provide some comfort.” (Note no. 6: “You Lose More Money Presenting Opera by Intermission Than You Do Presenting an Entire Season of Theater.”) — Inside Philanthropy
Blockbuster Films With Female Leads Sell Better: Study
“In a report compiled by media research agency Shift7 in collaboration with leading agency CAA, revenue for 350 high-grossing films released between 2014 and 2017 was assessed, and the average results for female-led films did best, at every budget level.” What’s more movies that pass the Bechdel Test do better box office than those that fail it. — The Guardian
From Xeroxed Queer Fanzine To Internationally Influential Opera Blog: The Tale Of Parterre Box
“The first issue was published 25 years ago this month and distributed in bathroom stalls at the Metropolitan Opera. Now its writers are credentialed press at the Met.” Joshua Barone looks at the history of Parterre Box and talks to its founder and doyenne, James Jorden (aka La Cieca). — The New York Times
NPR’s ‘Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me’ To Be Adapted For TV
The hour-long program, being developed by NBCUniversal’s Wilshire Studios, “will stay true to the original while delivering bigger, visual and variety-themed games that can’t be captured on the radio.” — Deadline
Dinner Theater In The 21st Century: Upscale, ‘Immersive’, And Actually Related To The Play
Back in 1973, the Times described the then-popular phenomenon as “restaurants that feature live theater.” Now it’s the other way around, writes Elisabeth Vincentelli: “The productions I caught this fall at least tried to make food an integral part of a show’s aesthetic and thematic universe. In turning New York venues into giant food courts, some even succeeded.” — The New York Times
At Cleveland Orchestra, Deficit Is Down And Audience Is Up
The budget shortfall for fiscal 2018 was $1.3 million, but that’s down from $4.2 million the previous year. At the orchestra’s main venue, Severance Hall, attendance rose by 8%, while audience numbers for summer concerts at Blossom Music Center were up by 28%. — The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
University Group Asked Comedians To Sign ‘Behavioural Agreement’ Before Benefit Performance
A student group supporting UNICEF at the School of Oriental and African Studies, a prominent research institution in London, booked five comedians for a benefit performance. Then it sent them a contract “agreeing to our no tolerance policy with regards to racism, sexism, classism, ageism, ableism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia or anti-religion or anti-atheism. … All topics must be presented in a way that is respectful and kind.” — The Guardian