Daniel Evans, artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre: “Some directors actively seek out notes and use the opportunity to test the clarity of their intention at a certain crucial moment, or confirmation of a secret doubt they harbour about a certain costume or scene change. Other directors are more cautious and can appear so anxious about the amount of work ahead of them, and their own mountain of notes, that it seems there’s little head space for any other advice. And some (very few in my experience) show no interest in receiving [feedback] or discussing their work whatsoever.”
Blog
Here’s A Different Kind Of Community Outreach: Hosting A Naturalization Ceremony
“When we think of a museum doing outreach to communities who may not see themselves as connected to it, we rarely think about the kind of event put forth by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston yesterday, as it hosted its first-ever naturalization ceremony to swear in 187 new citizens … in front of the ‘Art of the Americas’ wing.”
Want To Watch A Ballet With Sports-Style Commentary Coming Over Your Phone?
That’s what the New Ballet in San Jose is offering for a performance of Sleeping Beauty this weekend: a group of patrons will sit together in the balcony, dial into a conference call, and listen on earbuds to live commentary as well as background on the ballet and interviews with dancers. Says company director Dalia Rawson, “It’s a bit radical, … but I think context and additional information will enhance the experience, just as it does when watching football or the Olympics.”
Dead Composers Have Been ‘Slighted’ By False Claims They Were Alcoholics Or Had STDs, Says Medical Author
“A retired surgeon’s research into the deaths of 70 of the best-known classical composers has led him to conclude that many of them were unfairly tainted with reputations for ‘venereal disease, alcoholism or sexual impropriety’.” Says the researcher, John Noble, “The list of composers who had syphilis is short. The list of composers said to have had syphilis is enormous.”
An Intensive Care Unit For Art Damaged By World War II
The Bode Museum in Berlin is using a Siemens Art Foundation grant to repair Old Master works that were damaged in a 1945 fire and then looted by the Red Army. Says the Siemens foundation’s general secretary, “Restoration is more important than acquisitions. If we were to buy works of this quality on the art market, then we would have to pay several times more than the amount we are investing in restoration – if they were even available.”
Two Women Beaten At Leading Beijing Art Venue For Wearing LGBT Rainbow Pins
“[Security] guards were filmed punching and knocking down the women after preventing them from entering the city’s 798 art zone, a complex of former military factories now known for its galleries and cafes. … An employee of the 798 district’s property management department told the [Global Times] newspaper guards had ‘a right to stop illegal activity. Wearing a rainbow badge is illegal to me, and they, the homosexuals, have distorted sexual orientation. It is terrifying.'” (includes video)
The Old Vic Theatre At 200
“Plain sailing for 200 years at the forefront of British theatre was never an option. Any theatre as venerable and vibrant as London’s Old Vic is bound to have had its ups and downs, but the Waterloo-based venue has had more than its fair share – from bankruptcy to bailiffs and bombing during the Second World War. What is regrettable is that arguably its worst ever crisis should have cast a major shadow over this, its bicentenary year.”
Sakari Oramo Renews With BBC Symphony Through 2021-22
“The 52-year-old conductor has held the [chief conductor] position since 2013 – having previously served [in] principal positions with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 05.15.18
Justice and Engagement
In March I participated in the Intersections Summit hosted by Milwaukee Repertory Theater. It was a gathering of community engagement practitioners from theaters (mostly) across the U.S. As frequently happens, the conference sparked a number of thoughts. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2018-05-15
Tom Wolfe, R.I.P.
Tom Wolfe, who died yesterday, was a card-carrying member of the Grand Old Party of Reality, a journalist whose sole and only loyalty was to the facts painstakingly gathered by hand and scribbled down in his reporter’s notebook. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2018-05-15
Technology As Conceptual Art
It might seem counterintuitive to think so, but the popular dissemination of technology is necessary for the electronic image to function as conceptual art. This isn’t necessarily true with any other medium and has much to do with the value that we as postmodern consumers of images and memes place on a removed and ironic perspective. For example, conceptual video art didn’t reach its proper golden age until the 1960s, with the advent of relatively cheap portable recording equipment.