“The shifts across the network era, magnified in the early 1980s, help us to see how variable the category of soap opera, and perhaps the ordering concept of genre itself, may be.” What’s more, that boom changed the acting profession. – Literary Hub
Blog
Brooklyn Public Library And Brooklyn Historical Society Merge
Under the plan, which was approved this week by the boards of both organizations, the library — the nation’s fifth largest — will become the parent institute of the historical society. The society will remain in its landmark 1881 building in Brooklyn Heights, which houses nearly 100,000 books, manuscripts, photographs, maps and other rare items dating to the 17th century. – The New York Times
Edgar Allan Poe Probably Didn’t Commit Suicide, Say Researchers
“One of the most mysterious aspects of Poe’s legacy is his untimely death at the age of 40 after being found ‘delirious’ and in ‘great distress’ on the streets of Baltimore. The author was incoherent, rambling, and wearing someone else’s clothes when he was discovered, and after a few days spent in a local hospital he passed away. Many believe that the authors death was a deliberate act, but researchers at Lancaster University are challenging the notion that Poe killed himself.” – Study Finds
What Philadelphia’s University Of The Arts Has Learned About Using Virtual Reality In Classes
It allows students to design and test ideas in ways not possible in traditional classes. The school decided to dip its toe into the VR world, then discovered its classes quickly filled up. – Philadelphia Inquirer
The Stories In, And Behind, Raphael’s Tapestries For The Sistine Chapel
“By 1515, after Pope Julius II famously commissioned Michelangelo to repaint the chapel’s ceiling (1508–1515), the chapel had become decidedly top-heavy in its decoration. Then-Pope Leo X (born Giovanni de’ Medici) commissioned a series of designs for tapestries from the artist who was already decorating the papal apartment, Raffaello Sanzio, known to many as Raphael. The Medici crest features prominently in the woven frames of the tapestries’ scenes.” – Hyperallergic
Twenty Years Of ‘The Laramie Project’
By now the documentary theatre piece about the murder of Matthew Shepard has been performed thousands of times by professionals, amateurs, and students; an estimated 10 million people have seen it live in 13 languages and 20 countries, and another 20 million have seen the HBO adaptation; arguably, The Laramie Project even helped change federal law. Journalist John Moore looks back at how the play developed and spread. – American Theatre
Head Writer Of ‘The Laramie Project’ Looks Back 20 Years To The Play’s Creation
Leigh Fondakowski: “When we arrived in Denver, the play was not yet finished. It had only two acts then. … Moments were shifting, and the order of scenes kept changing all through previews. … The actors would be running offstage doing their costume quick-changes and looking at the poster boards to know which scene came next.” – American Theatre
The Rise Of ‘Relaxed Performances’
“What does make a theatre feel like home? Negotiating mobile phones, sweet wrappers and chatty Kathys is a well-documented headache for theatre staff and spectators alike. The academic Kirsty Sedgman … notes: ‘We may say we want audiences to feel at home in the theatre, but we are still not willing to go so far as to let them act like they are at home.’ So can you make everyone feel at home?” – The Guardian
Why Has A Cookbook About ‘Rage Baking’ Enraged The Social Justice Twitterverse?
“When Rage Baking: The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices dropped earlier this month, it was poised to become an instant hit. The anthology, a mix of recipes and essays about baking as an outlet for women’s political rage, is the latest in a series of books that address the organizing power of female anger, including Rebecca Traister’s Good and Mad and Soraya Chemaly’s Rage Becomes Her. However, Rage Baking is now on the receiving end of women’s anger over a controversy about who owns — and profits from — the concept of ‘rage baking.’ Here’s what you need to know.” – Slate
Jennifer Higdon’s New Opera Will Have Three Different Endings
Woman with Eyes Closed, commissioned by Opera Philadelphia for its O20 festival this September, has a plot inspired by the 2012 theft, from the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, of seven paintings now thought to have been burnt in Romania by the mother of one of the thieves. Jerre Dye’s libretto and Higdon’s 80-minute score, written for five singers and 11 instruments, will have three alternate endings; the choice of which one to perform will be made the day of each performance. – Yahoo! (AP)