The replica Elizabethan theatre in the Shenandoah Valley normally thrives, in the usual hand-to-mouth way, with a mix of school groups and out-of-town visitors. Now both are gone indefinitely. Peter Marks traveled to Staunton, Va. to see how the ASC is coping. – The Washington Post
Blog
A Guide To Concerts And Operas To Stream During The COVID Quarantine
Of the dozen or more such articles that we’ve seen so far, this one from David Patrick Stearns is our favorite so far — not only because it offers a lot of options, but also because of his sense of humor and compassion. – WQXR (New York City)
How Dancers And Dance Organizations Can Prepare For The Financial Fallout Of COVID-19
Garnet Henderson’s guide includes more than just obvious advice such as “keep three to six months’ worth of income in savings” (which, she acknowledges, is impossible for many dancers). One key point: be sure to save documentation of every gig you’ve lost because of the epidemic, because you’ll need it when you apply for aid. – Dance Magazine
Italy Debates: Are Physical Newspapers Necessary? The Answer Surprises
Newsstands are even registering a small bump in sales. That was clear in Milan. In a busier newsstand, near a major shopping street here, I had to wait to pay for the newspaper. And when my turn came, I had to ask my questions quickly. The newsagent was impatient, answering with short sentences, and insistently looking over my shoulder. A line was forming. – Quartz
The Role Of Plagues In Ancient Greek Stories – Tests Of Leadership
Plagues functioned as a setup for an even more crucial theme in ancient myth: a leader’s intelligence. At the beginning of the “Iliad,” for instance, the prophet Calchas – who knows the cause of a nine-day plague – is praised as someone “who knows what is, what will be and what happened before.” This language anticipates a chief criticism of Homer’s legendary King Agamemnon: He does not know “the before and the after.” – The Conversation
What Dance Companies Are Doing As Lockdowns Multiply
As dance, music and opera companies seek ways to stream performances online; dance teachers hold class and dance parties on Instagram live; university dance programs unveil plans to move curriculum online; and pioneering choreographers seek ways to make virtual dances amidst this period of social distancing, an uptick in innovative online dance experiences is imminent. But it is impossible to predict now what the overall economic impact of COVID-19 will be on arts and culture—an $800 billion U.S. industry. – Dance Magazine
British Public Discover Treasure With Metal Detectors
The British Museum on Tuesday announced that 1,311 finds which are defined as treasure had been found by members of the public across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2019. They also included an iron age drinking set, a solid gold bronze age arm ring and a coin which helps tell the story of Carausius, a usurper emperor who in 286AD broke Britain away from Europe, in an adventure which ended badly. – The Guardian
Home Because Of COVID? In Praise Of Boredom
Charles McNulty: “I’m sure I’m not the only writer who fantasizes about retreating to a country house with nothing to do but curl up by a fire beside a mountain of Dickens and Dostoevsky. But as the coronavirus pandemic upends our civilization, I’m urging myself to jump off the self-improvement treadmill.” – Los Angeles Times
Is This The End Of The Movie Theatre Business?
After many weeks of self-quarantining and social distancing, will people be eager to rub shoulders again when restrictions are lifted? And what will happen to the release calendar, with so many delayed blockbusters likely to clog up the schedule when they’re finally ready for the viewing public? There are far more urgent public-health concerns to consider in the short term, of course, but after years of industry hand-wringing over the future of the cinematic experience, it will still be quite a shock to see Hollywood go into total hibernation for weeks or months on end. – The Atlantic
What We Can Learn (And Should Unlearn) From Albert Camus’s ‘The Plague’
“If you read The Plague long ago, perhaps for a college class, … perhaps you paid more attention to the buboes and the lime pits than to the narrator’s depiction of the ‘hectic exaltation’ of the ordinary people trapped in the epidemic’s bubble, … caught up in ‘the frantic desire for life that thrives in the heart of every great calamity’: the comfort of community. The townspeople of Oran did not have the recourse that today’s global citizens have, in whatever town: to seek community in virtual reality.” – Literary Hub