“As coronavirus numbers continue to rise in most U.S. states, the willingness of theatre patrons to return to their old theatregoing habits has plummeted, two tracking surveys show. … The earliest date most theatregoers say they’d be comfortable returning, according to [one] report? May or June of 2021.” – American Theatre
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Frieze Cancels Two Art Fairs In London This Fall
“As the pandemic continues to ravage large parts of the world, it is becoming clear that such events may not take place as planned, and on Tuesday, Frieze London and Frieze Masters informed exhibitors that they would not hold their fairs in early October.” – ARTnews
Grant Imahara, Co-Host Of TV’s ‘Mythbusters’, Dead At 49
“For more than 200 episodes, Mr. Imahara, lovingly referred to as the ‘geek’ of the show’s build team” — he had been an engineer at Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm — “wowed audiences by bringing tech to life through his ability to design and operate complex robotics that helped test myths in subjects ranging from skydiving to driving stunt cars to firing guns.” – The Washington Post
Some Ideas To Reconfigure Theatres In The COVID Age
“The West End is full of wonderful historic theatres, but they’re now completely outmoded. People are four inches taller than when they were built, so the seats are too small, the sight lines are terrible and a huge number of seats are restricted by columns. The air is bad and the loos and bars are always too small to cope. With the government’s funding announcement, now is the time to make them fit for purpose.” – The Guardian
Why The US Constitution Doesn’t Work Without Local News
To hold public officials accountable, in other words, “intelligent men”—all people, in fact—need reliable reporting about the activities of government and politicians. But these days, local news is withering in many places across America. – The Atlantic
Man Convicted Of Trying To Steal Magna Carta From Salisbury Cathedral
In October 2018, Mark Royden, 47, went equipped with a claw hammer, gloves and safety goggles, tampered with a CCTV camera and set off a fire alarm to cause a distraction before smashing the document’s protective case. – The Guardian
How I Learned To Be An Art Critic
“How did I learn to judge between one work and another? By looking and reading and looking and reading and looking. It is not a matter of mere subjectivity. You acquire the skill to transmit your excitement before a work, feel its pulse, recognize why it comes alive, pinpoint the source of its visual allure.” – Hyperallergic
The Virus In Canadian Publishing
The COVID-19 lockdown, which has caused overall unit sales to drop by 27 percent, places Canadian publishers under huge financial pressure. Indigo’s continued delays in payment could push them to the brink. At the moment, their revenue is largely dependent on shuttered independent bookstores, which are limping by on online orders, Indigo-style diversification into gift sales, and home delivery. Indigo, by contrast, can’t afford to limp by; its shareholders demand a profit. – The Walrus
How Music Lessons Have Adapted Online
“It was a novelty for a week or two,” said Catherine Keen. “But it was really tough on the kids. They were on their computers all day with their home classes. And then to have to come to an online voice lesson was really hard. Some of them did well. But others . . . “ She doesn’t go into specifics. But clearly, some of her students were struggling. – Movers & Makers
How Classical Crossover Ran Amok And Ran Aground
The Three Tenors franchise was hardly great opera, but it was effective, and Yo-Yo Ma’s various crossover projects are genuinely good. So how did we get from The Silk Road Project to Hildegard von Bingen club remixes to The Shirtless Violinist and the quartet Well-Strung? Basically, writes James Bennett, II, blame the suits. – WQXR (New York City)